Job 16 · Verse 9

Job 16:9

He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.
Job 16:9, King James Version

Job 16:9 in other translations

BSBHis anger has torn me and opposed me; He gnashes His teeth at me. My adversary pierces me with His eyes.
WEBHe has torn me in his wrath and persecuted me. He has gnashed on me with his teeth. My adversary sharpens his eyes on me.
ASVHe hath torn me in his wrath, and persecuted me; He hath gnashed upon me with his teeth: Mine adversary sharpeneth his eyes upon me.
YLTHis anger hath torn, and he hateth me, He hath gnashed at me with his teeth, My adversary sharpeneth his eyes for me.
DARBYHis anger teareth and pursueth me; he gnasheth with his teeth against me; as mine adversary he sharpeneth his eyes at me.
BBEI am broken by his wrath, and his hate has gone after me; he has made his teeth sharp against me: my haters are looking on me with cruel eyes;
WebsterHe teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; my enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.

What does Job 16:9 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
9. Image from a wild beast. So God is represented (Job 10:16). who hateth me--rather, "and pursues me hard." Job would not ascribe "hatred" to God (Psa 50:22). mine enemy--rather, "he sharpens, &c., as an enemy" (Psa 7:12). Darts wrathful glances at me, like a foe (Job 13:24).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 9 He teareth me in his wrath - Who the person is that is spoken of in this verse, and onward to the end of the fourteenth, has been a question on which commentators have greatly differed. Some think God, others Eliphaz, is intended: I think neither. Probably God permitted Satan to show himself to Job, and the horrible form which he and his demons assumed increased the misery under which Job had already suffered so much. All the expressions, from this to the end of the fourteenth verse, may be easily understood on this principle; e.g., Job 16:9 : "He (Satan) gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me." Job 16:10 : "They (demons) have gaped on me with their mouth; - they have gathered themselves together against me." Job 16:11 : "God hath delivered me to the ungodly, (עויל avil, to the Evil One), and turned me over into the hands of the wicked." He hath abandoned me to be tortured by the tempter and his host. If we consider all these expressions as referring to Job's three friends, we must, in that case, acknowledge that the figures are all strained to an insufferable height, so as not to be justified by any figure of speech.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 16:6-16

Here is a doleful representation of Job's grievances. What reason we have to bless God, that we are not making such complaints! Even good men, when in great troubles, have much ado not to entertain hard thoughts of God. Eliphaz had represented Job as unhumbled under his affliction: No, says Job, I know better things; the dust is now the fittest place for me. In this he reminds us of Christ, who was a man of sorrows…

Read the full comment on Job 16:6-16 →

Job 16:9 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אַפּ֤וֹ'a.Poanger hisH639
טָרַ֨ף\׀ta.Rafit has torn [me]H2963
וַֽיִּשְׂטְמֵ֗נִיvai.yis.te.Me.niand it has assailed meH7852
חָרַ֣קcha.Rakhe has gnashedH2786
עָלַ֣י'a.Laitowards meH5921
בְּשִׁנָּ֑יוbe.shi.Navwith teeth hisH8127
צָרִ֓י\׀tza.Riopponent myH6862
יִלְט֖וֹשׁyil.To.oshhe sharpensH3913
עֵינָ֣יו'ei.Naveyes hisH5869
לִֽי\׃Lito me

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Job 16:9

  • Psalms 35:16

    With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.

  • Job 13:24

    Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?

  • Lamentations 2:16

    All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee: they hiss and gnash the teeth: they say, We have swallowed her up: certainly this is the day that we looked for; we have found, we have seen it.

  • Hosea 6:1

    Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

  • Job 19:11

    He hath also kindled his wrath against me, and he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies.

  • Job 18:4

    He teareth himself in his anger: shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall the rock be removed out of his place?

  • Job 13:27

    Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly unto all my paths; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet.

  • Acts 7:54

    When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

  • Job 10:16-17

    For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me. Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me.

  • Psalms 37:12

    The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.

  • Micah 7:8

    Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.

  • Lamentations 3:10

    He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
teareth me.
10:16,17; 18:4; Ps 50:22; La 3:10; Ho 5:14
he gnasheth.
Ps 35:16; 37:12; La 2:16
mine.
13:24,27; 19:11; Mic 7:8

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Job 16:8

    And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me: and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face.

  • Job 16:9

    He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.

  • Job 16:10

    They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me.

Read all of Job 16

Job 16:9 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Su furor me destrizó, y me ha sido contrario: crujió sus dientes contra mí; contra mí aguzó sus ojos mi enemigo.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Sa colère me déchire et me poursuit; il grince des dents contre moi; comme mon adversaire, il aiguise contre moi ses yeux.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Sein Zorn hat mich zerfleischt und verfolgt, er hat mit seinen Zähnen wider mich geknirscht; als mein Feind schärft er seine Augen wider mich.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Rugæ meæ testimonium dicunt contra me, et suscitatur falsiloquus adversus faciem meam, contradicens mihi.