Job 19:3 (KJV)

What does Job 19:3 mean?

Job 19:3 records Job’s complaint that his friends have repeatedly spoken against him while showing no shame for treating him like a stranger. Job is describing not one hurtful remark but a pattern that has left him feeling rejected by people who came to see him.

After asking how long they will torment him in verse 2, Job calls their treatment “these ten times.” The number gives force to his complaint about repeated attacks; it need not be a precise count. In the KJV, “ye” means “you,” addressed to more than one person.

The Hebrew behind Job 19:3

• “reproached” — כָּלַם (kalam): This word can carry the sense of putting someone to shame or humiliating them. Job presents his friends’ words as an attack on his dignity, not merely a disagreement.
• “make yourselves strange” — הָכַר (hakar): This word is often understood to mean treating someone as a stranger. In the KJV’s wording, Job accuses the friends of acting as though he no longer belongs among them.

Why Job 19:3 matters

• Job’s complaint is about more than the friends’ opinions. His phrase “not ashamed” also challenges their lack of embarrassment over their conduct.
• The verse shows a break in Job’s relationships as well as a dispute over his suffering. Their arrival to comfort him in Job 2:11 makes his accusation that they treat him like a stranger especially sharp.
• Job’s response in verse 4 puts their criticism in perspective: even if he has made a mistake, he says, the error remains with him. His words question why the friends should use that possibility to speak against him.