Bible Strands
Job 19:10
He tears me down on every side until I am gone; He uproots my hope like a tree.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Job addresses his friends while cataloging his complete physical and social devastation, immediately after noting that God has stripped his honor and removed his crown. He frames his condition as the direct result of divine hostility in the moments before stating that God counts him among His enemies.
The words — The verb יִתְּצֵנִי (yiṭṣēnî) means "he has torn down," modified by סָבִיב (sāḇîḇ), "all around," to describe total dismantling. The phrase וַיַּסַּע (wa-yassaʿ), "he has uprooted," directly governs תִקְוָתִי (tiqwāṯî), "my hope," treating it as the object of destruction.
The thread — The dismantling and uprooting imagery runs through Job 12:14, which declares what God tears down cannot be rebuilt, and parallels the tree metaphors in Job 24:20 and Psalms 37:35 regarding ruin and stability.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to observe that human hope can be systematically removed by divine action without implying moral cause or permanent abandonment. It demands a clear-eyed recognition of suffering's mechanics before moving to theological 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
He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone: and mine hope hath he removed like a tree.
Cross-references
- Job 24:20 The womb forgets them; the worm feeds on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is broken like a tree.
- Psalms 37:35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted native tree,
- Job 12:14 What He tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man He imprisons cannot be released.
- 2 Corinthians 4:8 We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
- Job 1:13 One day, while Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,
- Job 2:7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.
- Job 6:11 What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What is my future, that I should be patient?
- Job 7:6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope.
- Job 8:13 Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so the hope of the godless will perish.
- Job 17:11 My days have passed; my plans are broken off—even the desires of my heart.