Job 19:17 (KJV)

Passage

My breath is strange to my wife, though I intreated for the children’s sake of mine own body.

Nearby Context

Job 19:15 They that dwell in mine house, and my maids, count me for a stranger: I am an alien in their sight.

Job 19:16 I called my servant, and he gave me no answer; I intreated him with my mouth.

Job 19:17 My breath is strange to my wife, though I intreated for the children’s sake of mine own body.

Job 19:18 Yea, young children despised me; I arose, and they spake against me.

Job 19:19 All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "breath", "strange", "wife", "though", "intreated", "children", "sake", and "mine". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "breath" and "strange", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "I called my servant and he gave..." into verse 18's "Yea young children despised me I arose...", so "breath" and "strange" 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 "breath" and "strange" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.