“I have sewed sackcloth over my skin, And thrust my horn in the dust.
Parallel translations
- WEB I have sewed sackcloth on my skin, and have thrust my horn in the dust.
- KJV I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust.
- BSB I have sewn sackcloth over my skin; I have buried my horn in the dust.
- NKJV “I have sewn sackcloth over my skin, And laid my head in the dust.
- NLT I wear burlap to show my grief. My pride lies in the dust.
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 has put on sackcloth and laid his strength low in the dust. He expresses utter mourning and humiliation.
Overview
Job describes sewing sackcloth to his very skin and thrusting his horn, a symbol of dignity and strength, into the dust. These are signs of deep grief and lost standing. His self-abasement shows a man stripped of all earthly honor, yet still turning toward God, foreshadowing the humility through which true exaltation finally comes (1 Peter 5:6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Gen 37:34Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
- Ps 7:5let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it; yes, let him tread my life down to the earth, and lay my glory in the dust. Selah.
- Ps 75:5Don’t lift up your horn on high. Don’t speak with a stiff neck.”
- 1 Kgs 21:27When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
- Isa 22:12In that day, the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, called to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to dressing in sackcloth:
- Ps 75:10I will cut off all the horns of the wicked, but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.
- Job 30:19He has cast me into the mire. I have become like dust and ashes.
- 1 Sam 2:10Those who strive with Yahweh shall be broken to pieces. He will thunder against them in the sky. “Yahweh will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 16:15 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.