Job 30:16
in Job 30And now my soul is poured out within me; days of affliction grip me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have taken hold upon me.
KJV
And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me.
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This verse in Job 30
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And now my soul is poured out upon me - So in Psa 42:4, “I pour out my soul in me.” We say that one is dissolved in grief. The language is derived from the fact that the soul in grief seems to lose all firmness or consistence. The Arabs style a fearful person, one who has a watery heart, or whose heart melts away like water. Noyes.
This site's exposition
Terrors are turned loose against me
on Job 30:15-16
“Terrors are turned loose against me” pictures fear as an active hunter. “And now my soul is poured out within me” describes grief as a liquid no vessel can hold. Gill reads the verb as the language of lament poured out in the Psalms, with Job's soul the thing emptied.
This site's exposition
my soul is poured out within me
Barnes compares Psalm 42:4 and hears a soul dissolved in grief, with all its firmness gone. Henry says Job felt lost as water spilled on the ground. Days of affliction grip him now and will not let go.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
When his desirable goods had been taken away, his soul remained in sadness, and so he says, "Now my soul droops within me," through sadness. He truly could not have been anything but sad, after he had lost his children and his property. Because he …
But now my soul in mine own self is withered, and the days of affliction have taken hold upon me. Since 'the soul' of the Elect 'withers now,' because it is afterwards made green in that eternal triumphing. 'Now, the days of affliction take hold upon them,' because the days of joy follow afterwards. As it is written, To him that feareth God it shall go well at the last. And again it is delivered touching the Church, And she shall laugh in the last day.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And still, which way soever he looked, they turned upon him; which way soever he fled, they pursued him. My soul (Heb., my principal one, my princess ); the soul is the principal part of the man; it is our glory; it is every way more excellent than the body, and therefore that which pursues the soul, and threatens that, should be most dreaded.
And now my soul is poured out upon me,....
He was not only weak as water, but, in his own apprehension, lost as water spilt upon the ground. 14 , My heart is melted like wax. His bodily diseases were very grievous; for, (1.) He was full of pain, piercing pain, pain that went to the bone, to all his bones,
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַתָּ֗ה | veatah | and now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| עָ֭לַי | ʾalai | on me | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| תִּשְׁתַּפֵּ֣ךְ | tishtapekh | it pours itself out | H8210 → | 114 times |
| נַפְשִׁ֑י | nafshi | life my | H5315 → | 754 times |
| יֹ֭אחֲז֣וּנִי | yochazuni | they seize me | H270 → | 67 times |
| יְמֵי־ | yemei- | days of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| עֹֽנִי׃ | ʾoni | affliction | H6040 → | 36 times |
וְעַתָּ֗הand now
veatahH6258 →433 times
עָ֭לַיon me
ʾalaiH5921 →5755 times
תִּשְׁתַּפֵּ֣ךְit pours itself out
tishtapekhH8210 →114 times
נַפְשִׁ֑יlife my
nafshiH5315 →754 times
יֹ֭אחֲז֣וּנִיthey seize me
yochazuniH270 →67 times
יְמֵי־days of
yemei-H3117 →2304 times
עֹֽנִי׃affliction
ʾoniH6040 →36 times
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
Isaiah 53:12Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He has poured out His life unto death, and He was numbered with the…
it leads to
- Luke 22:37
For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about Me is reaching its fulfillment.”
- Hebrews 9:28
so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.
- Luke 23:32–34
Two others, who were criminals, were also led away to be executed with Jesus.
- Mark 15:27
Along with Jesus, they crucified two robbers, one on His right and one on His left.
- 1 John 2:12
I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven through His name.
- Luke 22:37
Through
Psalms 40:12For evils without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, so that I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart has failed within me.
it leads to
- Psalms 38:4
For my iniquities have overwhelmed me; they are a burden too heavy to bear.
- Psalms 38:4
Through
Psalms 22:14I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me.
it leads to
- Psalms 31:10
For my life is consumed with grief and my years with groaning; my iniquity has drained my strength, and my bones are wasting away.
- Daniel 5:6
his face grew pale and his thoughts so alarmed him that his hips gave way and his knees knocked together.
- Psalms 31:10
About Job

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XX; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.
