Bible Strands
Job 19:21
Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Job addresses his three companions while cataloging his physical decay and perceived abandonment. He speaks from the depths of acute suffering, directly confronting those who claim to understand his plight.
The words — חָנֵּוּ־נִי (ḥannû-nî) repeats twice, literally meaning "show favor to me." יַד־אֱלֹהַּ (yad-ʾĕlōah) translates directly as "hand of God."
The thread — The motif of God's hand inflicting pain or pressing down appears in Job 1:11, Job 2:5, and Psalm 38:2. These passages parallel Job's claim that his suffering originates from divine action rather than human agency.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to stop attributing the speaker's agony to mere circumstance or human cruelty. It forces an acknowledgment that the source of the pain is divine, rendering human consolation irrelevant.
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
Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me.
Cross-references
- Job 1:11 But stretch out Your hand and strike all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”
- Psalms 38:2 For Your arrows have pierced me deeply, and Your hand has pressed down on me.
- Job 2:5 But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”
- Job 2:10 “You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
- Job 6:4 For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks in their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
- Job 6:14 A despairing man should have the kindness of his friend, even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
- Romans 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
- 1 Corinthians 12:26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
- Hebrews 13:3 Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.