Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Have pity on me, have pity on me, you my friends; for the hand of God has touched me.
- KJV Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me.
- NKJV “Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends, For the hand of God has struck me!
- NASB “Pity me, pity me, you friends of mine, For the hand of God has struck me.
- NLT “Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy, for the hand of God has struck me.
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 pleads twice for pity from his friends, since the hand of God has struck him. He longs for compassion, not condemnation.
Overview
In a heartfelt cry, Job begs his friends for mercy, appealing to the very fact of God's heavy hand upon him as grounds for sympathy. Where they see proof of guilt, he asks them to see a man in need of compassion. The verse models how the afflicted rightly seek and how the godly should give tender mercy rather than judgment (Romans 12:15).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Job 1:11But stretch out Your hand and strike all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”
- Ps 38:2For Your arrows have pierced me deeply, and Your hand has pressed down on me.
- 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.
- Heb 13:3Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.
- Job 2:5But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”
- Job 6:4For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks in their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
- Job 6:14A despairing man should have the kindness of his friend, even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
- Rom 12:15Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
- 1 Cor 12:26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
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 19:21 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.