And Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes.
Parallel translations
- WEB He took for himself a potsherd to scrape himself with, and he sat among the ashes.
- KJV And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.
- NKJV And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.
- NASB And Job took a piece of pottery to scrape himself while he was sitting in the ashes.
- NLT Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes.
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 scrapes his sores with a potsherd and sits among ashes. The picture is one of utter misery and humiliation.
Overview
Reduced to scraping himself with a broken shard and sitting in the ash heap, Job is a portrait of degradation and grief. The ashes signal deep mourning and outcast suffering. Yet even here he does not abandon God, setting up his wife's challenge and his continued faithfulness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Job 42:6Therefore I retract my words, and I repent in dust and ashes.”
- Jonah 3:6When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
- Ezek 27:30They will raise their voices for you and cry out bitterly. They will throw dust on their heads and roll in ashes.
- Matt 11:21“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
- Luke 16:20–21And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores
- Ps 38:5My wounds are foul and festering because of my sinful folly.
- 2 Sam 13:19And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore her robe. And putting her hand on her head, she went away crying bitterly.
- Jer 6:26O daughter of my people, dress yourselves in sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with bitter wailing, as you would for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.
- Ps 38:7For my loins are full of burning pain, and no soundness remains in my body.
- Job 19:14–17My kinsmen have failed me, and my friends have forgotten me.
- Isa 61:3to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.
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 2:8 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.