English Standard Version
Job 2:8
8And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.
Job 2:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.
- New International Version (NIV)Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes.
Context of Job 2:8
6And the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life." 7So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. 9Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die." 10But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Read all of Job 2Job 2:8 word by word
וַיִּֽקַּֽח־ל֣וֹ חֶ֔רֶשׂ לְהִתְגָּרֵ֖ד בּ֑וֹ וְה֖וּא יֹשֵׁ֥ב בְּתוֹךְ־הָאֵֽפֶר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 2:8
- Job 19:14My relatives have failed me, my close friends have forgotten me.
- Psalms 38:5My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness,
- Luke 16:20And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
- Job 42:6therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes."
- 2 Samuel 13:19And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long robe that she wore. And she laid her hand on her head and went away, crying aloud as she went.
- Isaiah 61:3to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
- Ezekiel 27:30and shout aloud over you and cry out bitterly. They cast dust on their heads and wallow in ashes;
- Jonah 3:6The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
- Matthew 11:21"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
Commentaries on Job 2:8
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8And he took him a potsherd - The word used here חרשׁ chârâsh means a fragment of a broken vessel; see the notes at Isaiah 45:9. The Septuagint renders it ̓́ ostrakon - “a shell.” One object of taking this was to remove from his body the filth accumulated by the universal ulcer, compare Job 7:4-5; and another design probably was, to “indicate” the greatness of his calamity and sorrow. The ancients were accustomed to show their grief by significant…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-10Verses 7-10 The devil tempts his own children, and draws them to sin, and afterwards torments, when he has brought them to ruin; but this child of God he tormented with affliction, and then tempted to make a bad use of his affliction. He provoked Job to curse God. The disease was very grievous. If at any time we are tried with sore and grievous distempers, let us not think ourselves dealt with otherwise than as God sometimes deals with the best of his…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8Job might have scraped his skin for relief. The ancient Greek Old Testament (Septuagint) says it was “to scrape away the pus.” The ashes might refer to a place where they placed lepers in isolation. But Job was probably showing his grief and how desperate he was (30:19; Genesis 18:27; 2 Samuel 13:19; Isaiah 58:5; Jonah 3:6).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. a potsherd--not a piece of a broken earthen vessel, but an instrument made for scratching (the root of the Hebrew word is "scratch"); the sore was too disgusting to touch. "To sit in the ashes" marks the deepest mourning (Jon 3:6); also humility, as if the mourner were nothing but dust and ashes; so Abraham (Ge 18:27).Read the comment
Topics related to Job 2:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries