Job 30 19

Job 30:19 kjv

He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes.

Job 30:19 nkjv

He has cast me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes.

Job 30:19 niv

He throws me into the mud, and I am reduced to dust and ashes.

Job 30:19 esv

God has cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes.

Job 30:19 nlt

He has thrown me into the mud.
I'm nothing more than dust and ashes.

Job 30 verses

Job 30 19 Meaning

Job 30:19 describes Job's perception of his utterly debased and humiliated state. He attributes this complete downfall directly to God, who he believes has deliberately cast him into the lowest and most defiling condition. His existence feels reduced to mere worthless dust and ashes, symbolizing complete physical decay, social ostracism, and existential annihilation, a stark reversal from his former eminence.

Job 30 19 Context

Job 30:19 is part of Job's third and final lament in response to his friends. Chapter 29 details Job's glorious past, depicting his honor, influence, and compassionate actions within the community. In stark contrast, Chapter 30 reveals his current reality of utter destitution and public contempt. Job laments not only his physical suffering but also his complete social degradation. He recounts being mocked by those younger and less esteemed than himself, enduring scorn and physical abuse from society's outcasts, and feeling abandoned by God. This verse encapsulates his deep despair and perception that God has actively brought him to the lowest possible state of human existence, mirroring the dust and ashes of death and decay.

Job 30 19 Word analysis

• He: This pronoun implicitly refers to God. In Job's narrative, he consistently attributes his immense suffering and degradation directly to God's hand, despite his perceived innocence. This highlights a central theological tension in the book regarding divine justice and human suffering.
• has cast me: The Hebrew term is yarani (יָרָנִי), derived from yarah (יָרָה), meaning "to throw," "to cast," "to hurl." The Hiphil imperfect form suggests a deliberate, active, and forceful action by the subject ("He"). It conveys a sense of violent displacement and intentional affliction, not mere passive suffering or natural consequence. Job feels flung down, not merely fallen.
• into the mire: The Hebrew is be-tiṭ (בַּטִּיט), meaning "in the mud," "in the miry clay," or "in the sticky filth." Mire is universally associated with impurity, deep degradation, powerlessness, entrapment, and a state of lowliness or death. It suggests being submerged in something vile and inescapable.
• and I am become: The Hebrew is va-ehyeh (וָאֶהְיֶה), a waw-consecutive imperfect of hayah (הָיָה), "to be," "to become." This construction indicates a consequential state or result directly following the divine action of "casting." It shows a transformation of being from a revered elder to a despised nonentity.
• like dust: The Hebrew is ka-ʿāpār (כַּעֲפָר), meaning "like dust." Dust (ʿāpār) is a pervasive biblical metaphor. It signifies mortality, fragility, insignificance (e.g., Gen 3:19; Ps 103:14), and a state of complete decomposition or degradation. To become like dust implies losing all substance, value, and vitality.
• and ashes: The Hebrew is va-ēper (וָאֵפֶר), meaning "and ashes." Ashes (ēper) frequently symbolize mourning, repentance (Job 42:6; Jon 3:6), desolation, humiliation, and complete destruction or dissolution. They represent what remains after something valuable has been consumed or destroyed, leaving behind only worthlessness and emptiness.

Words-group analysis

• "He has cast me into the mire": This phrase emphasizes the active, intentional, and demeaning nature of the suffering Job experiences, attributing it directly to God. It evokes an image of violent degradation, where Job is deliberately thrust into a disgusting and inescapable low state, reflecting extreme physical decay and social abasement.
• "and I am become like dust and ashes": This expression powerfully describes the outcome of that casting. It signifies complete dehumanization and existential reduction. "Dust and ashes" together amplify the meaning of utter insignificance, fragility, and decomposition, a state where one is stripped of all dignity, honor, and even vitality, feeling as though they are already part of the earth of the dead. This double imagery reinforces the extremity of Job's perceived state of decay and worthlessness.

Job 30 19 Bonus section

The juxtaposition of Job 29 (honor and status) and Job 30:19 (mire, dust, ashes) underscores the dramatic reversal of fortune that Job experiences, amplifying his despair. This imagery is particularly potent in the ancient Near East, where physical abasement and public shame were powerful forms of punishment and disgrace. Being cast into mire, or reduced to dust and ashes, was understood as being worse than death, representing a complete annihilation of identity and social standing. The lament also touches upon the mystery of suffering where the righteous perceive God as their tormentor, a concept challenging easy theological explanations. It portrays the intense psychological and spiritual trauma of one who feels actively pursued and debased by the very Being they previously revered and trusted.

Job 30 19 Commentary

Job 30:19 is a profound expression of utter despair and perceived divine abandonment. After detailing his former esteemed position in Chapter 29, Job now describes his precipitous fall into the lowest echelons of society and existence. The verse is stark in its indictment: Job directly attributes his degradation to God ("He has cast me"), viewing it as an active, deliberate, and punitive act, not a natural disaster or consequence of personal failing. The imagery of being "cast into the mire" speaks to defilement, being submerged in filth, and a loss of all standing and purity. The subsequent transformation to "dust and ashes" represents the ultimate reduction to worthlessness and decay. It embodies the deepest form of humiliation, akin to a pre-death state where one is stripped of all dignity, strength, and hope, becoming a symbol of everything ephemeral and desolate. This raw lament highlights the intensity of Job's suffering, extending beyond physical pain to profound spiritual and existential anguish, believing himself to be dismantled by God's own hand.