Job 7:20

If I have sinned, what have I done to You, O watcher of mankind? Why have You made me Your target, so that I am a burden to You?

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Job speaks directly to God during a period of relentless physical pain and sleepless anguish. He voices his complaint while feeling isolated and overwhelmed by his condition.

The words — The Hebrew מִפְגָּע (mif.ga') literally means "target" or "mark struck at," describing the position Job claims God has assigned him. The verb שַׂמְתָּ (sam.ta) translates as "you have made" or "you have set," indicating deliberate placement.

The thread — The target imagery appears in Lamentations 3:12, where God bends His bow and sets someone as a target. The pattern of unanswered complaint and divine scrutiny continues in Job 3:24 and Job 7:11.

Why it lands — The text demands readers face the raw question of why suffering persists despite acknowledged sin. It requires honest engagement with divine silence without providing theological shortcuts or comfort.

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

חָטָ֡אתִיcha.Ta.tiI have sinned מָ֤הmahwhat?אֶפְעַ֨ל׀'ef.'Aldo I doלָךְ֮lo/Khto/ youנֹצֵ֪רno.TzerO watcher of הָאָ֫דָ֥םha./'A.Dam<the>/ humankind לָ֤מָהLa./mah<to>/ why?שַׂמְתַּ֣נִיsam.Ta./nihave you set/ me לְמִפְגָּ֣עle./mif.Ga'to/ a targetלָ֑ךְLa/khof/ youוָאֶהְיֶ֖הva./'eh.Yehand/ I have become עָלַ֣י'a.La/ion/ myself לְמַשָּֽׂא׃le./ma.Sa'<into>/ a burden

King James Version

I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?

Cross-references

Lamentations 3:12 He bent His bow and set me as the target for His arrow.
Job 3:24 I sigh when food is put before me, and my groans pour out like water.
Job 7:11 Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
Psalms 36:6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains; Your judgments are like the deepest sea. O LORD, You preserve man and beast.
Nehemiah 9:6 You alone are the LORD. You created the heavens, the highest heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all things, and the host of heaven worships You.
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 9:29 Since I am already found guilty, why should I labor in vain?
Job 13:26 For You record bitter accusations against me and bequeath to me the iniquities of my youth.
Job 14:16 For then You would count my steps, but would not keep track of my sin.
Job 16:12 I was at ease, but He shattered me; He seized me by the neck and crushed me. He has set me up as His target;