Job 30:9 kjv
And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword.
Job 30:9 nkjv
"And now I am their taunting song; Yes, I am their byword.
Job 30:9 niv
"And now those young men mock me in song; I have become a byword among them.
Job 30:9 esv
"And now I have become their song; I am a byword to them.
Job 30:9 nlt
"And now they mock me with vulgar songs!
They taunt me!
Job 30 9 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Deut 28:37 | "And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples..." | Warning of Israel's disgrace if they disobey. |
| 1 Kgs 9:7 | "then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them... and Israel will become a proverb and a byword..." | Similar judgment for disobedience leading to shame. |
| 2 Chr 7:20 | "...I will uproot them from My land... and this house will become a byword and a derision among all peoples." | Consequence of abandoning the covenant. |
| Ps 22:6 | "But I am a worm and no man; a reproach of men and despised by the people." | A lament of intense public contempt and lowliness. |
| Ps 35:15-16 | "But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together... with malicious mockers at feasts..." | The Psalmist's experience of being mocked by enemies. |
| Ps 44:13-14 | "You make us a reproach to our neighbors, a scoffing and a derision to those around us. You make us a byword among the nations..." | The nation's shame and ridicule from others. |
| Ps 69:10-12 | "...I became a byword to them. I also made sackcloth my clothing, and I became a proverb to them... they who sit in the gate talk about me..." | Profound humiliation and public scorn. |
| Ps 79:4 | "We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a scoffing and derision to those around us." | Israel's collective disgrace. |
| Isa 53:3 | "He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him." | Prophecy of Christ's rejection and low esteem. |
| Jer 24:9 | "I will make them a horror, a byword, a taunt, and a curse in all the places where I have driven them." | Exile brings national disgrace. |
| Lam 3:14 | "I have become a derision to all my people, their mocking song all the day." | The city (Jerusalem/Judah) as an object of scorn. |
| Mk 15:29-30 | "And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, shaking their heads and saying, 'Aha! You who are going to destroy the temple...'" | Christ's public ridicule during crucifixion. |
| Lk 23:35-37 | "And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, 'He saved others; let Him save Himself...'" | Jesus is mocked by rulers, soldiers, and criminals. |
| Heb 10:33 | "...by becoming a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations..." | Believers enduring public scorn for their faith. |
| Ps 73:6-9 | "Therefore pride is their necklace... they scoff and speak maliciously of oppression..." | Wicked prosperous who mock the suffering. |
| Mt 5:11 | "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me." | Persecution for righteousness includes verbal abuse. |
| 1 Pet 4:4 | "In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they malign you..." | Those living godly lives are often slandered. |
| Jas 2:6-7 | "...Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the good name by which you are called?" | The poor are often reviled and scorned by the rich. |
| Job 29:21-25 | (Contrasts with this verse) "Men listened to me and waited... For they waited for my words... If I smiled on them, they did not believe it..." | Job's former exalted status and respect. |
| Job 17:6 | "He has made me a byword among the people, and I am a public object of spitting." | Another of Job's laments about being scorned. |
Job 30 verses
Job 30 9 Meaning
Job laments the utter depths of his humiliation. He, once a man of immense respect and influence, has been reduced to an object of derision. He has become the subject of mocking songs and a common, contemptuous saying even among those society regards as the most wretched and insignificant. This signifies a complete and agonizing reversal of his social status, adding profound psychological and emotional pain to his physical suffering.
Job 30 9 Context
Job chapter 30 starkly contrasts Job’s past grandeur (chapter 29) with his present, abysmal state. In previous chapters, Job’s suffering was physical and spiritual. Here, the focus shifts to social degradation. Job recounts how even the lowliest and most despised members of society—whom he had previously supported or had compassion on—now heap scorn upon him. These are described as outcasts and vagrants (Job 30:1-8). This verse specifically highlights how his immense fall from grace has made him a target of common mockery. His former wisdom and uprightness, once admired, are now mocked in song and jest, showing the profound reversal of fortune and complete public humiliation. This forms part of Job's sustained argument against the conventional retribution theology, where such suffering would imply immense wickedness, which Job vehemently denies for himself.
Job 30 9 Word analysis
And now: This phrase emphasizes the drastic shift in Job’s circumstances from the past glorious description in chapter 29. It marks a poignant transition to his current, pitiful reality.
I am become: Denotes a state of being entered into, an irreversible transformation. Job is not merely experiencing something; he is now identified by this new, degraded status.
their song: (Hebrew: נְגִינָה, nəḡîy•nâ). Originally refers to music or a melody played on stringed instruments. Here, its meaning is perverted to a song of ridicule, a mocking tune, or a derisive ballad. It implies that Job's tragic situation is the very subject of their contemptuous amusement. He has become a public performance of scorn.
yea: An intensifying particle, reinforcing the depth of the subsequent statement. It underlines the severe nature of his social fall.
I am their byword: (Hebrew: מִלָּה, millâ). While millâ can simply mean "word," in this context, amplified by nəḡîy•nâ, it refers to a proverb, a common saying of contempt, a jest, or an idiom used to express disdain. It means Job’s name or situation has become synonymous with something contemptible, casually used in their daily scornful discourse. His very name is now uttered with mockery.
"I am become their song, yea, I am their byword": This parallelism powerfully conveys Job's utter social destitution. Not only is he publicly mocked through deliberate songs, but his very person has become integrated into their common, dismissive vocabulary. This twofold description emphasizes complete social alienation and abject contempt, stripping Job of his identity as a respected patriarch and rebranding him as an object of public disgrace. The people of lowest standing (those he spoke of in Job 30:1-8) are the ones now doing the mocking, amplifying the irony and severity of his degradation.
Job 30 9 Bonus section
The deep irony in Job 30:9 lies in the identity of the mockers: "men younger than I am, whom I disdained to put with my sheepdogs" (Job 30:1). These are society’s marginalized, those Job would previously have regarded with a measure of contempt or at least significant social distance. That these are the ones now composing mocking songs and turning Job into a byword amplifies the severity of his fall. It is not just anyone, but those at the absolute bottom of the social hierarchy, who now rise to verbally assault one who was once at the top. This detail heightens Job's anguish and challenges the rigid social order. This reversal underscores the precariousness of earthly status and esteem.
Job 30 9 Commentary
Job 30:9 captures the profound social anguish Job endures, perhaps as painful as his physical afflictions. Having plummeted from unparalleled prestige to universal scorn, his lament articulates the dehumanizing effect of public derision. He is not merely suffering, but is himself turned into an instrument of ridicule, embodying disgrace. This challenges the prevalent retribution theology which assumed such suffering must indicate gross sin, by showcasing Job's blamelessness and highlighting the cruel, often irrational nature of human judgment when faced with unexplained suffering. It foreshadows the pattern of mockery directed at prophets and ultimately Christ Himself, who also endured becoming a "byword" for the sake of truth and redemption, exposing the world's hostility to unmerited suffering. For believers, this verse resonates with the call to bear reproach for Christ (Heb 13:13) and find solace in divine vindication rather than earthly esteem.