Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net.

JOB 19:6KJV
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Job 19:6 (KJV)

What does Job 19:6 mean?

Job 19:6 means that Job believes God is the one who has brought disaster upon him and surrounded him with trouble, as if trapping him in a net. Job is expressing his sense of being overwhelmed and caught by circumstances he cannot escape, which he sees as coming directly from God.

In this verse, Job is speaking to his friends during his suffering, trying to explain that his hardship is not due to hidden sin but because God Himself has acted against him. Job uses strong imagery, saying God has "overthrown" him and "compassed" him with a "net," which shows how trapped and powerless he feels in his situation.

The Hebrew behind Job 19:6

  • "Overthrown" (עָוַת, avath): This word often means to twist, pervert, or overthrow. Job is saying that God has turned his life upside down or treated him unjustly, at least from his perspective.
  • "Compassed" (סָבַב, savav): This word means to surround or encircle. Job feels completely hemmed in by his troubles, with no way out.
  • "Net" (מְצוּדָה, metzudah): This word refers to a literal net or trap used for catching animals. Job uses it to describe his sense of being caught by forces beyond his control, unable to free himself.

Why Job 19:6 matters

  • Job 19:6 clarifies that Job sees his suffering as coming directly from God, not from random misfortune or personal failure, which challenges his friends' assumptions about why he is suffering.
  • The verse highlights Job's feeling of being trapped and powerless, deepening our understanding of his emotional and spiritual struggle.
  • This statement sets the stage for Job’s later arguments about justice and his desire to plead his case before God, showing how deeply he feels wronged.

Where else these words appear

“overthrown” Hebrew H5791 · used in 10 verses

  • Job 8:3 Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?
  • Psalms 146:9 The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.
  • Ecclesiastes 12:3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,

“now” Hebrew H645 · used in 15 verses

  • Genesis 27:33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.
  • Judges 9:38 Then said Zebul unto him, Where is now thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? is not this the people that thou hast despised? go out, I pray now, and fight with them.
  • Job 24:25 And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?

“compassed” Hebrew H5362 · used in 19 verses

  • Leviticus 19:27 Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
  • 2 Chronicles 4:3 And under it was the similitude of oxen, which did compass it round about: ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about. Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast.
  • Psalms 48:12 Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof.

“net” Hebrew H4686 · used in 22 verses

  • 1 Samuel 22:4 And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.
  • 2 Samuel 23:14 And David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.
  • Psalms 66:11 Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins.