New King James Version
Job 16:15
15“I have sewn sackcloth over my skin, And laid my head 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 Living Translation (NLT)I wear burlap to show my grief. My pride lies in the dust.
Context of Job 16:15
13His archers surround me. He pierces my heart and does not pity; He pours out my gall on the ground. 14He breaks me with wound upon wound; He runs at me like a warrior. “I have sewn sackcloth over my skin, And laid my head in the dust. 16My face is flushed from weeping, And on my eyelids is the shadow of death; 17Although no violence is in my hands, And my prayer is pure.
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 21:27So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning.
- Isaiah 22:12And in that day the Lord God of hosts Called for weeping and for mourning, For baldness and for girding with sackcloth.
- Job 30:19He has cast me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes.
- 1 Samuel 2:10The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces; From heaven He will thunder against them. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to His king, And exalt the horn of His anointed.”
- Psalms 7:5Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me; Yes, let him trample my life to the earth, And lay my honor in the dust. Selah
- Psalms 75:5Do not lift up your horn on high; Do not speak with a stiff neck.’ ”
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries