Job 19:16 (GNV)

Passage

I called my seruant, but he would not answere, though I prayed him with my mouth.

Nearby Context

Job 19:14 My neighbours haue forsaken me, and my familiars haue forgotten me.

Job 19:15 They that dwel in mine house, and my maydes tooke me for a stranger: for I was a stranger in their sight.

Job 19:16 I called my seruant, but he would not answere, though I prayed him with my mouth.

Job 19:17 My breath was strange vnto my wife, though I prayed her for the childrens sake of mine owne body.

Job 19:18 The wicked also despised mee, and when I rose, they spake against me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "called", "seruant", "answere", "though", "prayed", and "mouth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "called" and "seruant", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "They that dwel in mine house and..." into verse 17's "My breath was strange vnto my wife...", so "called" and "seruant" 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 "called" and "seruant" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.