Job 19:21
in Job 19Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; For the hand of God hath touched me.
KJV
Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me.
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This verse in Job 19
Commentary
11 notes on this verseThe noble Job in his harsh adversity cried out in blame not misery. That is to say, 'You're meant to be merciful not unjustly reproach me! Instead you assail me and overwhelm a man with whose sufferings you ought to show sympathy for friendship's sake.
This site's exposition
the skin of my teeth
on Job 19:20-22
"I have escaped by the skin of my teeth" gave the proverb. Clarke and Delitzsch give two readings: escape with nothing, or the bare gums the disease has left. The cry "Have pity on me, my friends, have pity" asks what he believes God withholds.
This site's exposition
Have pity on me, my friends
The doubled plea shows how far suffering has worn Job down, as Clarke reads it. He turns from accusing the friends to begging them, and his reason is the hand of God that struck him. Henry adds that friends in trouble owe each other pity.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Pity me, pity me, O friends, for it is the hand of the Lord that has touched me." "You are not ashamed before the one who says righteous words. As benevolent persons, you have compassion upon me and take pity by considering also the respect …
The Medieval Church2 voices
Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me. HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION Therefore these particulars being finished, which he spoke in the voice of the Head, blessed Job is brought back to his own words, saying; Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me. The mind of godly men is used to have this peculiar to itself, that when it suffers unjust treatment at the hands of enemies, it is not so much moved to wrath as to prayer; that if the wickedness of those persons could be made to subside to a calm, they would choose rather to beseech than to be wroth; whence it is rightly said in this place, Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me. Observe, those by whom he sees that he is ever being treated with insults, he calls 'friends,' in that to godly minds the very things that seem contrary are made favourable; for any that are wicked are either converted by the sweetness of the good so as to turn back, and by this alone they are friends, viz. that they are made good, or they persevere in their wickedness, and herein also even against their will they are 'friends,' in that, if there be any transgressions of the good, by their persecutions they purge them away even unknowingly. Observe too, that with these things which are done with God in secret, the words of the blessed man openly spoken are quite of a piece. Thus he had been smitten by Satan, yet he did not ascribe his being smitten to Satan, but he calls himself 'touched by the hand of God,' as Satan himself too had said; But put forth thine hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and see if he bless Thee not to Thy face. For the holy man knew that in that very thing which Satan had done towards him with an evil will, he derived his power not from himself, but from the Lord.
After he has enumerated his own adversities, he invites them to compassion, doubling his request for mercy because of the great number of his miseries saying, "Have pity on me, have pity on me, you, at least, who are my friends," because I have been …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
My case is sad indeed, for I have fallen into the hands of the living God, my spirit is touched with the sense of his wrath, a calamity of all other the most piteous." Note, It becomes friends to pity one another when they are in trouble, and not to shut up the bowels of compassion.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Have pity upon me, have pity upon me,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He comforts himself with the believing hopes of happiness in the other world, though he had so little comfort in this, making a very solemn confession of his faith, with a desire that it might be recorded as an evidence of his sincerity,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Have pity on me - A tender, pathetic cry for sympathy. “God has afflicted me, and stripped me of all my comforts, and I am left a poor, distressed, forsaken man. I make my appeal to you, my friends, and entreat you to have pity; to sympathize with me, and to sustain me by the words of consolation.” One would have supposed that these words would have gone to the heart, and that we should hear no more of their bitter reproofs. But far otherwise was the fact.
Have pity upon me - The iteration here strongly indicates the depth of his distress, and that his spirit was worn down with the length and severity of his suffering.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חָנֻּ֬נִי | chanuni | show favor to me | H2603 → | 78 times |
| חָנֻּ֣נִי | chanuni | show favor to me | H2603 → | 78 times |
| אַתֶּ֣ם | ʾatem | O you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| רֵעָ֑י | reai | friends my | H7453 → | 188 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יַד־ | yad- | [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אֱ֝ל֗וֹהַּ | ʾeloah | God | H433 → | 57 times |
| נָ֣גְעָה | nageah | it has touched | H5060 → | 150 times |
| בִּֽי׃ | bi | <in> me |
חָנֻּ֬נִיshow favor to me
chanuniH2603 →78 times
חָנֻּ֣נִיshow favor to me
chanuniH2603 →78 times
אַתֶּ֣םO you
ʾatemH859 →1094 times
רֵעָ֑יfriends my
reaiH7453 →188 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
יַד־[the] hand of
yad-H3027 →1618 times
אֱ֝ל֗וֹהַּGod
ʾeloahH433 →57 times
נָ֣גְעָהit has touched
nageahH5060 →150 times
בִּֽי׃<in> me
bi
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
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.
it leads to
- James 1:12
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.
- Lamentations 3:38–41
Do not both adversity and good come from the mouth of the Most High?
- Job 1:21–22
saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
- Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.
- James 5:10–11
Brothers, as an example of patience in affliction, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
- James 1:12
Through
1 Corinthians 12:26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
it leads to
- Romans 12:15
Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
- Galatians 6:2
Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
- Romans 12:15
Through
Job 1:11But stretch out Your hand and strike all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”
it leads to
- Job 2:5
But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”
- Job 2:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Job
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Basil of Caesarea, Commentary (church-history corpus); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XIV; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Olympiodorus of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON JOB 19:20-22 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.