Job 19:21 (ASV)

Passage

Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; For the hand of God hath touched me.

Nearby Context

Job 19:19 All my familiar friends abhor me, And they whom I loved are turned against me.

Job 19:20 My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, And I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.

Job 19:21 Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; For the hand of God hath touched me.

Job 19:22 Why do ye persecute me as God, And are not satisfied with my flesh?

Job 19:23 Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book!

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "pity", "upon", "friends", "hand", "hath", and "touched". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "pity" and "upon", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "My bone cleaveth to my skin and..." into verse 22's "Why do ye persecute me as God...", so "pity" and "upon" belong inside that flow. In Job context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "pity" and "upon" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.