Job 19 17

Job 19:17 kjv

My breath is strange to my wife, though I intreated for the children's sake of mine own body.

Job 19:17 nkjv

My breath is offensive to my wife, And I am repulsive to the children of my own body.

Job 19:17 niv

My breath is offensive to my wife; I am loathsome to my own family.

Job 19:17 esv

My breath is strange to my wife, and I am a stench to the children of my own mother.

Job 19:17 nlt

My breath is repulsive to my wife.
I am rejected by my own family.

Job 19 verses

Job 19 17 Meaning

Job 19:17 expresses the utter depths of Job's suffering and social abandonment. He laments that his very breath has become offensive and strange to his wife, his most intimate companion. Furthermore, he declares that his physical state, or his very being and pleas, are abhorrent and loathsome to his own children, those of his bloodline, signifying complete rejection even by his immediate and most fundamental family unit. This verse vividly portrays his extreme physical decay leading to complete isolation and a profound sense of humiliation and despair.

Job 19 17 Context

Job 19 is a poignant lament in response to Bildad’s harsh and theologically rigid condemnation, asserting that Job's profound suffering must be a consequence of hidden sin. In this chapter, Job describes his universal abandonment: by God (vv. 6-12), his friends (vv. 13-14), his servants, and even the young (vv. 15-16). Verse 17 represents the deepest wound, expressing that even his wife, his closest confidante, and his own children, those of his very flesh and blood, are utterly repulsed by him. This underscores the comprehensive nature of his suffering, affecting not just his external circumstances but dissolving his most intimate human bonds. In ancient Near Eastern societies, familial loyalty and support were paramount; to be forsaken by one's wife and children constituted an unbearable social and personal death, indicating Job's complete isolation and disfiguration, culturally perceived as a sign of extreme divine displeasure or pollution.

Job 19 17 Word analysis

• רוּחִי (Ruachi): From the Hebrew word ruach, meaning "breath," "wind," or "spirit." Here, "my breath" signifies his exhalation, which would carry the foul odor associated with his severe illness, a direct sign of his physical decay. It can also subtly hint at his life essence or utterances being repulsive.
• נָכְרְָה (nakherah): From the verb nakhar, meaning "to be strange," "alienated," or "estranged." In the Piel stem, it can mean "to recognize as strange" or "to treat as strange." In this context, his breath is perceived as alien and loathsome.
• לְאִשְׁתִּי (l'ishti): Literally "to my wife." Ishah is the Hebrew for "woman" or "wife." This emphasizes the intimacy of the relationship, making the repulsion even more grievous, as even the one meant to cleave to him now turns away.
• וְחַנֹּתִי (v'chanoti): This is a difficult word, subject to scholarly debate.
  • Some interpret it as derived from chana ("to be gracious" or "to encamp"). If "my graciousness/plea," it would mean his very attempts to seek favor or compassion are rejected, perhaps seen as repugnant or futile.
  • More commonly, and in modern translations, it is understood in context to describe his foulness or loathsomeness. Some scholars propose a link to chên (favor), meaning he had "no favor," or even a rare, similar root suggesting putrefaction, making him physically repulsive. The Septuagint's "warred against" (πολεμεῖται) suggests open hostility, reinforcing alienation. Given the context, it conveys his physical putrefaction making him abhorrent.
• לִבְנֵי בִטְנִי (livnei bitni): Literally "to the sons of my womb" or "children of my body/belly." This Hebrew idiom, b'nei beten, signifies biological offspring, children directly descended from one's own loins. It highlights the deepest blood kinship, making their rejection an absolute betrayal of familial ties and an ultimate indignity.

• "My breath is offensive to my wife": This phrase highlights the absolute breakdown of intimacy. Breath is the most personal and unavoidable physical emanation. For it to be offensive to one's wife, the person with whom one shares the closest physical proximity, denotes an unbearable level of physical and relational decay, causing revulsion where affection should reside. It reflects Job's physical disintegration.
• "And I am loathsome to my own brothers" (or "children of my womb"): This second part, "v'chanoti livnei bitni," further expands the scope of abandonment to his own children. If v'chanoti refers to his putrid state, it underscores his total physical decay and its effect on his biological offspring. If it refers to his pleas, it indicates that even his cries for help are rejected and deemed disgusting by his own kin, underscoring total emotional and relational destitution. The reference to "children of my womb" powerfully conveys the ultimate breach of the most foundational human bonds, indicating an unmatched level of isolation and public shame in that society.

Job 19 17 Bonus section

The extremity of Job's physical decay leading to social ostracism is amplified by the fact that in ancient Near Eastern thought, family and communal integration were foundational to one's identity and well-being. To be an outcast even to one's immediate bloodline, "children of my womb," signified a complete erasure of personal honor and societal standing, perhaps viewed as a living death. The debate around v'chanoti underscores the visceral and repugnant nature of Job's affliction; whether his "pleas" or "physical stench" were rejected, the effect is the same: he is completely repulsive. This absolute human desolation prepares the ground for Job's monumental confession of faith in a Redeemer in the subsequent verses (19:25-27), illustrating that even in the face of absolute despair, true faith can transcend earthly support.

Job 19 17 Commentary

Job 19:17 presents a devastating portrait of human isolation, amplifying Job's suffering beyond the physical to the relational and existential. It captures the essence of complete societal and familial abandonment. His condition is so dire that his closest relations—his wife and own children—find him utterly repugnant. This detail not only emphasizes his physical decomposition but, more profoundly, his experience of social death and abject humiliation, an ultimate test of his faith. This verse showcases the excruciating pain when the last vestiges of human comfort and solidarity collapse, demonstrating that genuine suffering can entail radical solitude and the alienation even of one's dearest and deepest bonds, challenging conventional wisdom that associates prosperity and strong family ties with righteousness.