Job 19:19 (DBY)

Passage

All my intimate friends abhor me, and they whom I loved are turned against me.

Nearby Context

Job 19:17 My breath is strange to my wife, and my entreaties to the children of my [mother's] womb.

Job 19:18 Even young children despise me; I rise up, and they speak against me.

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

Job 19:20 My bones cleave 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, ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "intimate", "friends", "abhor", "loved", "turned", and "against". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "intimate" and "friends", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "Even young children despise me I rise..." into verse 20's "My bones cleave to my skin and...", so "intimate" and "friends" 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 "intimate" and "friends" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.