Bible Strands
Job 16:15
I have sewn sackcloth over my skin; I have buried my horn in the dust.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Job addresses his companions and God during a moment of intense confrontation, responding to his perception that God is attacking him relentlessly like a warrior. He declares his physical devastation and emotional collapse in direct reply to his friends' accusations and his own suffering.
The words — The Hebrew תָּ֭פַרְתִּי (ta.far.ti) translates literally as "I have sewed," while קַרְנִֽי (kar.ni) means "my horn," a biblical metaphor for strength or honor. The verse explicitly records Job sewing sackcloth over his skin and burying his horn in the dust.
The thread — The practice of wearing sackcloth for mourning appears in Genesis 37:34 and 1 Kings 21:27, while the image of honor or strength being cast into dust echoes Psalms 7:5. These passages share the motif of profound loss or humiliation expressed through physical gestures and imagery.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition of how extreme grief can reduce a person to a state of utter vulnerability and lost strength. It requires the reader to confront the tangible reality of suffering without offering immediate comfort or explanation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust.
Cross-references
- Genesis 37:34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
- Psalms 7:5 then may my enemy pursue me and overtake me; may he trample me to the ground and leave my honor in the dust. Selah
- 1 Kings 21:27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around meekly.
- Psalms 75:5 Do not lift up your horn against heaven or speak with an outstretched neck.’”
- Isaiah 22:12 On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth.
- 1 Samuel 2:10 Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder from heaven against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth and will give power to His king. He will exalt the horn of His anointed.”
- Job 30:19 He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes.
- Psalms 75:10 “All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous will be exalted.”