The Meaning of Job 10:16 Explained

Job 10:16

KJV: For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me.

YLT: And it riseth -- as a lion Thou huntest me. And Thou turnest back -- Thou shewest Thyself wonderful in me.

Darby: And it increaseth: thou huntest me as a fierce lion; and ever again thou shewest thy marvellous power upon me.

ASV: And if my head exalt itself, thou huntest me as a lion; And again thou showest thyself marvellous upon me.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For it increaseth.  Thou huntest  me as a fierce lion:  and again  thou shewest thyself marvellous  upon me. 

What does Job 10:16 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 10:1-22 - Soul Bitterness
In this chapter Job accuses God of persecuting His own workmanship, Job 20:3; of pursuing him with repeated strokes, as if he had not time enough to wait between them, but must hurry on to achieve His design, Job 10:5; of reversing the careful providence which had watched over his earlier years, Job 10:12; of hunting and playing with him as a wild beast with his prey, Job 10:16-17; and asks that he may be allowed speedily to enter the land of Sheol, Job 10:18-22.
As we read these complaints, we may remember days in our lives when we uttered similar ones, but we are without excuse. And when we are tempted in this direction, it is for us to remember that probably we are being tried to teach the manifold wisdom of God, and that the works of God should be made manifest in us, Ephesians 3:10; John 9:3. It will enable us to endure, if we remember that God has conferred on us high honor, by choosing us to show that we can stand the fire, like those iron safes, blackened by smoke, which the makers place in the shop windows to prove the stability of their workmanship. [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 10

1  Job, taking liberty of complaint, expostulates with God about his afflictions
18  He complains of life, and craves a little ease before death

What do the individual words in Job 10:16 mean?

and if [my head] is exalted Like a fierce lion You hunt me and again You show Yourself awesome against me
וְ֭יִגְאֶה כַּשַּׁ֣חַל תְּצוּדֵ֑נִי וְ֝תָשֹׁ֗ב תִּתְפַּלָּא־ בִֽי

וְ֭יִגְאֶה  and  if  [my  head]  is  exalted 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: גָּאָה  
Sense: to rise up, grow up, be exalted in triumph.
כַּשַּׁ֣חַל  Like  a  fierce  lion 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שַׁחַל  
Sense: lion.
תְּצוּדֵ֑נִי  You  hunt  me 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: צוּד 
Sense: to hunt.
וְ֝תָשֹׁ֗ב  and  again  You 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect Jussive, second person masculine singular
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
תִּתְפַּלָּא־  show  Yourself  awesome 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: פָּלָא  
Sense: to be marvellous, be wonderful, be surpassing, be extraordinary, separate by distinguishing action.
בִֽי  against  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular