Job 19:20 (YLT)

Passage

To my skin and to my flesh Cleaved hath my bone, And I deliver myself with the skin of my teeth.

Nearby Context

Job 19:18 Also sucklings have despised me, I rise, and they speak against me.

Job 19:19 Abominate me do all the men of my counsel, And those I have loved, Have been turned against me.

Job 19:20 To my skin and to my flesh Cleaved hath my bone, And I deliver myself with the skin of my teeth.

Job 19:21 Pity me, pity me, ye my friends, For the hand of God hath stricken against me.

Job 19:22 Why do you pursue me as God? And with my flesh are not satisfied?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "skin", "flesh", "cleaved", "hath", "bone", "deliver", and "myself". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "skin" and "flesh", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "Abominate me do all the men of..." into verse 21's "Pity me pity me ye my friends...", so "skin" and "flesh" 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 "skin" and "flesh" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.