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;
Parallel translations
- WEB I was at ease, and he broke me apart. Yes, he has taken me by the neck, and dashed me to pieces. He has also set me up for his target.
- KJV I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.
- NKJV I was at ease, but He has shattered me; He also has taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces; He has set me up for His target,
- NASB “I was at ease, but He shattered me, And He has grasped me by my neck and shaken me to pieces; He has also set me up as His target.
- NLT “I was living quietly until he shattered me. He took me by the neck and broke me in pieces. Then he set me up as his target,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Job recalls his former ease shattered as God seized and crushed him, setting him up as a target. His peace was violently undone.
Overview
Job describes how God broke apart his settled life, dashing him to pieces and making him a mark for attack. The imagery conveys sudden, overwhelming calamity from God's hand. While Job cannot see the reason, the reader knows his trial serves a greater purpose, reminding us that God's people are sometimes broken not in wrath but for ends beyond their sight.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Job 7:20If 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?
- Lam 3:11–12He forced me off my path and tore me to pieces; He left me without help.
- Lam 3:4He has worn away my flesh and skin; He has shattered my bones.
- Job 9:17For He would crush me with a tempest and multiply my wounds without cause.
- Ps 44:19But You have crushed us in the lair of jackals; You have covered us with deepest darkness.
- Job 29:18–19So I thought: ‘I will die in my nest and multiply my days as the sand.
- Matt 21:44He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
- Ezek 29:7When Israel took hold of you with their hands, you splintered, tearing all their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke, and their backs were wrenched.
- Job 4:10The lion may roar, and the fierce lion may growl, yet the teeth of the young lions are broken.
- Job 29:3when His lamp shone above my head, and by His light I walked through the darkness,
- Rom 16:4who have risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.
- Job 7:12Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that You must keep me under guard?
- Job 15:26rushing headlong at Him with a thick, studded shield.
- Job 1:2–3He had seven sons and three daughters,
- Job 3:26I am not at ease or quiet; I have no rest, for trouble has come.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 16:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.