Bible Strands
Job 19:16
I call for my servant, but he does not answer, though I implore him with my own mouth.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Job speaks to his friends and family during a moment of total social collapse after losing his wealth, children, and health. He addresses them from a position of physical ruin and complete abandonment.
The words — The Hebrew קָרָאתִי (qārāʾtî) means "I call," paired with יַעֲנֶ֑ה (yaʿănêh) for "he answers." The text records Job’s direct verbal summons and the servant’s failure to respond despite his personal entreaty.
The thread — This breakdown of household authority appears in Job 1:15 and Job 1:19, where raiders and a collapsing house destroy his staff. The narrative tracks a complete reversal of the master-servant relationship that once defined his status.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that suffering strips away social structures and personal agency. It requires the reader to confront abandoned authority without offering immediate comfort or theological resolution.
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 called my servant, and he gave me no answer; I intreated him with my mouth.
Cross-references
- Job 1:15 the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
- Job 1:19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”