Job 17:7 kjv
Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, and all my members are as a shadow.
Job 17:7 nkjv
My eye has also grown dim because of sorrow, And all my members are like shadows.
Job 17:7 niv
My eyes have grown dim with grief; my whole frame is but a shadow.
Job 17:7 esv
My eye has grown dim from vexation, and all my members are like a shadow.
Job 17:7 nlt
My eyes are swollen with weeping,
and I am but a shadow of my former self.
Job 17 7 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ps 6:7 | My eye is wasted away because of grief; it has grown old because of all my foes. | Suffering dims the eyes |
| Ps 31:9-10 | Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief... my strength fails. | Grief and physical wasting |
| Ps 38:10 | My heart throbs; my strength fails me; and the light of my eyes has gone from me. | Inner turmoil affecting physical sight |
| Ps 88:9 | My eye grows dim because of sorrow... | Eyes dimmed by deep affliction |
| Lam 2:11 | My eyes are spent with weeping... My liver is poured out on the ground because... | Weeping leads to physical decay |
| Lam 5:17 | For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim. | Dim eyes from overwhelming distress |
| Ps 39:5 | Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths... indeed every man living is but a breath! | Humanity's transient nature |
| Ps 90:9-10 | For all our days pass away under your wrath... our years are like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy... strength eighty... then its pride is but toil and trouble... we fly away. | Life is fleeting, toil and sorrow |
| Ps 102:11 | My days are like an outstretched shadow... | Days fleeting like a shadow |
| Ps 144:4 | Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow. | Human existence as a fleeting shadow |
| Ecc 6:12 | For who knows what is good for man in life, during the few days of his vain life which he passes like a shadow? | Life's brevity and vanity, shadow metaphor |
| Ecc 8:13 | But it will not be well with the wicked... his days will not be prolonged, but like a shadow they will not lengthen. | Wicked's short, fading existence |
| Isa 40:6-7 | All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field... the grass withers, the flower fades... | Human fragility and decay |
| Jas 4:14 | Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. | Life's uncertainty and ephemeral nature |
| Job 8:9 | For we are but of yesterday and know nothing, for our days on earth are a shadow. | Humanity's short knowledge and life |
| Job 14:2 | He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and does not continue. | Human life is brief and vanishes like a shadow |
| Ps 139:15-16 | My frame was not hidden from You... your eyes saw my unformed substance... | God forming Job's "members" (yetzurai) |
| Prov 17:22 | A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. | Emotional state impacts physical health |
| 2 Cor 4:16 | So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. | Inner strength amidst outer decay (NT perspective) |
| Phil 4:13 | I can do all things through him who strengthens me. | Strength in Christ, counteracting weakness (NT) |
| Heb 4:16 | Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. | Divine help in distress (NT) |
Job 17 verses
Job 17 7 Meaning
Job 17:7 describes the profound physical and emotional deterioration of Job. His eyes have grown dim due to intense sorrow and distress, signifying a loss of sight, hope, and clear perception. Furthermore, his entire body, once a vibrant creation, is wasting away, becoming as insubstantial and fleeting as a shadow, reflecting extreme frailty and the approaching embrace of death.
Job 17 7 Context
Job 17 falls within Job's third cycle of speeches, following the disheartening and often accusatory arguments of his friends. In this chapter, Job intensifies his lament, acknowledging his physical deterioration (v. 1: "My spirit is broken; my days are extinct") and expressing a profound sense of abandonment by both God and his human companions. He sarcastically appeals for a divine guarantee of justice (vv. 3-4), highlights his isolation (v. 6), and foresees further suffering and ridicule (vv. 7-10). Despite this despair, Job retains a sliver of hope that God will eventually vindicate him, even from the grave (vv. 13-16), contrasting his immediate decay with a yearning for future vindication. Job 17:7 vividly depicts the extent of his suffering's physical impact, serving as a desperate plea to the uncaring world around him, showcasing the complete breakdown of his bodily well-being alongside his mental and spiritual anguish. Historically, this aligns with the ancient understanding of holistic human experience, where physical health was inextricably linked to spiritual and emotional states.
Job 17 7 Word analysis
- My eye (עֵינִי - einí): Refers to Job's physical organ of sight. In Hebrew thought, the eye is often more than just sight; it symbolizes perception, understanding, and even hope for the future. For it to be affected speaks to a deep, holistic affliction.
- is dim (כָּהֲתָה - kahathah): From the verb kāhāh, meaning to be faint, grow dull, be extinguished. It's used of a dull sword, a quenched coal, or dimming sight. Here, it denotes not just poor physical vision but also the fading of his mental acuity, the loss of any "light" of understanding or future hope. This implies Job can no longer clearly see the path ahead or grasp the reason for his suffering.
- by reason of sorrow (מִכַּעַס - mikká'as): The noun ka'as translates as anger, vexation, grief, or indignation. This is a profound, internal distress, not mere sadness. Job's suffering includes deep frustration and anger at his circumstances and the injustice he perceives, and this gnawing anguish directly impacts his physical state, dulling his senses and sapping his strength.
- and all my members (וְכָל־יְצֻרָי - vechol-y'tzurai): "All my formed parts" or "my whole frame/body." Y'tzurai derives from yatsar, "to form," often used in creation accounts (e.g., God formed man from the dust). This word highlights that Job's entire physical being, specifically that which was divinely crafted, is now deteriorating. It suggests a complete bodily breakdown, not just an isolated ailment.
- are as a shadow (כַּצֵּל - ka-tzel): This powerful simile likens Job's entire being to a shadow, a common biblical metaphor for human frailty, transience, and insubstantiality. A shadow is fleeting, lacking substance, and indicative of decay. Job feels himself to be wasting away, becoming massless and unsubstantial, reflecting an advanced state of physical emaciation and a spiritual sense of dissolution. This metaphor emphasizes his proximity to death, where his former robust self has vanished.
- Words-Group analysis: The phrase "My eye... is dim by reason of sorrow" connects his inner emotional torment directly to his physical decline. It underscores the psychosomatic effects of profound suffering, where prolonged anguish physically manifests in his body. "And all my members are as a shadow" expands this decay to his entire being, indicating not merely sickness but a complete loss of substance and vitality. This image speaks to the ultimate consequence of overwhelming pain and loss: a vanishing act where one's very existence feels on the verge of disappearing into nothingness.
Job 17 7 Bonus section
The lament of Job, where his very body feels like it's dissolving, contrasts sharply with the earlier descriptions of Job as a perfectly healthy and prosperous man (Job 1:1-3). This profound degradation emphasizes the incomprehensible nature of his suffering, defying the conventional wisdom of his friends which dictated that such affliction was a direct result of sin. Job's decay, in this context, highlights the limits of human understanding concerning divine justice and the purposes of suffering. Even as he faces dissolution, there's a faint, often contradictory, undertone of hope in Job's subsequent statements in this chapter and beyond (Job 19:25-27), showing the complexity of faith struggling with unbearable pain. His cry is also a stark reminder that prolonged distress can indeed wear down the physical body, impacting vision and strength, aligning with observations that severe stress has tangible biological consequences.
Job 17 7 Commentary
Job 17:7 provides a vivid, poignant portrayal of suffering's total dominion over a person. Job's diminishing sight represents his fading ability to perceive truth or hope amidst his trials, born out of his overwhelming emotional burden. This "dimming" is more than physical; it implies a spiritual and psychological loss of vision. The simile of his body becoming "as a shadow" eloquently communicates his extreme physical emaciation and the profound sense of insubstantiality he feels. His entire divinely "formed" frame is now on the brink of vanishing. This verse captures the severe holistic impact of chronic, unexplained suffering—a wasting away of physical substance directly linked to the consuming grief and despair within his soul. It serves as a stark testament to human vulnerability and the corrosive power of deep anguish.