God’s Word Translation
Job 16:15
15“I have sewn sackcloth over my skin, and I have thrown my strength in the dust.
Job 16:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust.
- New International Version (NIV)“I have sewed sackcloth over my skin and buried my brow in the dust.
- English Standard Version (ESV)I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin and have laid my strength in the dust.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“I have sewn sackcloth over my skin, And laid my head in the dust.
Context of Job 16:15
13and his archers surrounded me. He slashes open my kidneys without mercy and spills my blood on the ground. 14He inflicts wound after wound on me. He lunges at me like a warrior. “I have sewn sackcloth over my skin, and I have thrown my strength in the dust. 16My face is red from crying, and dark shadows encircle my eyes, 17although my hands have done nothing violent, and my prayer is sincere.
Read all of Job 16Job 16:15 word by word
שַׂ֣ק תָּ֭פַרְתִּי עֲלֵ֣י גִלְדִּ֑י וְעֹלַ֖לְתִּי בֶעָפָ֣ר קַרְנִֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 16:15
- 1 Kings 21:27When Ahab heard these things, he tore his clothes ⌞in distress⌟ and dressed in sackcloth. He fasted, lay in sackcloth, and walked around depressed.
- Isaiah 22:12On that day the Almighty Lord of Armies will call for crying and for mourning, for shaving your heads and for wearing sackcloth.
- Job 30:19He throws me into the dirt so that I become like dust and ashes.
- 1 Samuel 2:10“Those who oppose the Lord are broken into pieces. He thunders at them from the heavens. The Lord judges the ends of the earth. He gives strength to his King and lifts the head of his Messiah.”
- Psalms 7:5then let the enemy chase me and catch me. Let him trample my life into the ground. Let him lay my honor in the dust. Selah
- Psalms 75:5Don’t raise your weapons so proudly or speak so defiantly.”
Commentaries on Job 16:15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15I have sewed sackcloth - שק sak, a word that has passed into almost all languages, as I have already had occasion to notice in other parts of this work. Defiled my horn in the dust - The horn was an emblem of power; and the metaphor was originally taken from beasts, such as the urus, wild ox, buffalo, or perhaps the rhinoceros, who were perceived to have so much power in their horns. Hence a horn was frequently worn on crowns and helmets, as is evident on…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15I have sewed sackcloth - I have put on the badges of humiliation and grief; see the notes at Isaiah 3:24. This was the usual emblem of mourning. In order more deeply to express it, or to make it a “permanent” memorial of sorrow, it would seem that it was “sewed” around the body - as we “sew” crape on the hat. And defiled my horn in the dust - The word rendered “defiled” (from עלל ‛âlal ) has, according to Gesenius, the notion of “repetition,” derived…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-16Verses 6-16 Here is a doleful representation of Job's grievances. What reason we have to bless God, that we are not making such complaints! Even good men, when in great troubles, have much ado not to entertain hard thoughts of God. Eliphaz had represented Job as unhumbled under his affliction: No, says Job, I know better things; the dust is now the fittest place for me. In this he reminds us of Christ, who was a man of sorrows, and pronounced those…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15Since Job insisted he was innocent, wearing sackcloth showed grief, not asking God to forgive him. He might have worn it to show he would never take it off because no one could comfort him (Genesis 37:34–35). I have buried my horn in the dust: A horn symbolized dignity and power (1 Samuel 2:1; Psalms 75:4–5; 89:17, 24; 92:10; 112:9; 148:14). Cutting it off caused deep humiliation (Psalm 75:10; Jeremiah 48:25; Zechariah 1:12).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. sewed--denoting the tight fit of the mourning garment; it was a sack with armholes closely sewed to the body. horn--image from horned cattle, which when excited tear the earth with their horns. The horn was the emblem of power (1Ki 22:11). Here, it is in the dust--which as applied to Job denotes his humiliation from former greatness. To throw one's self in the dust was a sign of mourning; this idea is here joined with that of excited despair, depicted…Read the comment
Topics related to Job 16:15
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 16
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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