Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little,

JOB 10:20KJV
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Job 10:20 (KJV)

What does Job 10:20 mean?

Job 10:20 shows Job asking God to leave him alone for a short time so he can have a little relief before his life ends, since he feels his days are already few. Job is expressing deep weariness and longing for a brief moment of comfort in the midst of his suffering.

Job is the speaker here, addressing God directly in the middle of his intense suffering and questioning. In this verse, Job is not asking for a long life or for his troubles to be explained, but simply for a pause from his pain. The verse highlights Job’s sense of how short and difficult his life has become, and his desperate wish for even a small measure of peace.

The Hebrew behind Job 10:20

  • "few" (מְעַט, me‘at): This word means "little" or "few," emphasizing how Job sees his remaining time as very limited. It adds to the sense of urgency and despair in his plea.
  • "cease" (חָדַל, chadal): This word means "to stop" or "to leave off." Job is asking God to stop afflicting him, even if only for a short while.
  • "comfort" (שָׁעַע, sha‘a): This word can mean "to have a moment of ease" or "to be cheered." Job is not asking for full restoration, just a brief respite from his pain.

Why Job 10:20 matters

  • This verse shows Job’s honesty in prayer, revealing that it is possible to bring raw feelings and questions directly to God, even when those feelings are full of pain and confusion.
  • Job’s request for a little comfort, rather than a full answer or deliverance, highlights just how desperate and worn down he is by his suffering.
  • The verse connects to the larger theme of Job’s speeches, where he often reflects on the brevity and hardship of human life, and his struggle to find meaning or relief in the midst of suffering.

Where else these words appear

“comfort” Hebrew H1082 · used in 4 verses

  • Job 9:27 If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself:
  • Psalms 39:13 O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.
  • Amos 5:9 That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.

“cease” Hebrew H2308 · used in 56 verses

  • Genesis 11:8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
  • Ruth 1:18 When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.
  • Job 19:14 My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me.

“alone” Hebrew H7896 · used in 80 verses

  • Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
  • Job 14:13 O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
  • Psalms 88:8 Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.

“few” Hebrew H4592 · used in 92 verses

  • Genesis 18:4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
  • 1 Samuel 14:29 Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.
  • Proverbs 10:20 The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.