Job 30:16

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Job 30:16 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have taken hold upon me.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have taken hold upon me.
Job 30:16 — American Standard Version

Context — Job 30

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
16And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have taken hold upon me.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And now my soul is poured out upon me, etc.] Either in prayer to God for help and deliverance; or rather he was dissolved as it were in floods of tears, because of his distress and anguish; or his spirits were sunk, his strength and courage failed, and his heart melted, and was poured out like water; yea, his soul was pouring out unto death, and he was, as he apprehended, near unto it; his body was so weakened and broken by diseases, that it was like a vessel full of holes, out of which the liquor runs away apace; so his life and soul were going away from him, his vital spirits were almost exhausted: the days of affliction have taken hold upon me; afflictions seize on good men as well as…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Job's outward calamities affect his mind. poured out--in irrepressible complaints (Psa 42:4; Jos 7:5).”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“And now my soul is poured out upon me - So in Psalms 42:4, “I pour out my soul in me.” We say that one is dissolved in grief. The language is derived from the fact that the soul in grief seems to lose all firmness or consistence. The Arabs style a fearful person, one who has a watery heart, or whose heart melts away like water. Noyes. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“my soul: Psa 22:14, Psa 42:4; Isa 53:12 have taken hold: Psa 40:12 Job 30:17”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“16 And now my soul is poured out within me, Days of suffering hold me fast. 17 The night rendeth my bones from me, And my gnawers sleep not. 18 By great force my garment is distorted, As the collar of my shirt it encompasseth me. 19 He hath cast me into the mire, And I am in appearance as dust and ashes. With this third ועתּה ( Job 30:1, Job 30:9) the elegiac lament over the harsh contrast between the present and the past begins for the third time. The dash after our translation of the second and fourth strophes will indicate that a division of the elegy ends there, after which it begins as it were anew. The soul is poured out within a man (עלי as Job 10:1, Psychol. S. 152), when, "yielding…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification