Job 19:20 (KJV)

What does Job 19:20 mean?

Job 19:20 describes Job’s extreme physical suffering, saying that his bones stick to his skin and flesh, and that he has barely survived—“escaped with the skin of my teeth.” This paints a vivid picture of someone who is emaciated and clinging to life by the thinnest margin.

In this verse, Job is speaking to his friends while describing the depths of his misery. Job’s words highlight just how much his suffering has affected his body, not just his emotions or spirit. The phrase “skin of my teeth” is an ancient way of saying he has barely survived, emphasizing how close he feels to death.

The Hebrew behind Job 19:20

• “Bone” (עֶצֶם, etsem): This word refers to Job’s physical bones, stressing how his body has wasted away until only skin and bone are left.
• “Cleaveth” (דָּבַק, davaq): This verb means “to cling” or “stick,” showing how Job’s bones are now so thinly covered by flesh that they seem stuck to his skin.
• “Escaped” (מָלַט, malat): This word means “to slip away” or “barely survive,” underlining how Job feels he has only just managed to stay alive.
• “Skin” (עוֹר, or) and “teeth” (שֵׁן, shen): The phrase “skin of my teeth” uses these words to express a very narrow escape, a Hebrew idiom for surviving by the smallest possible margin.

Why Job 19:20 matters

• Job 19:20 helps readers understand the severity of Job’s suffering—not just emotional pain, but physical devastation that leaves him barely alive.
• The verse’s vivid imagery explains why Job feels so desperate and misunderstood by his friends, setting up his later pleas for compassion.
• The phrase “skin of my teeth” has become a common saying, but here it shows its original sense: a poetic way to describe escaping death by the slimmest chance.