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Tuesday, July 29th, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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Good News Translation

Job 2:8

Job went and sat by the garbage dump and took a piece of broken pottery to scrape his sores.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Ashes;   Boil;   Job;   Potsherd;   Temptation;   Thompson Chain Reference - Job;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Diseases;   Resignation;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Ashes;   Job;   Potsherds;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Suffering;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Greatness of God;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Mourn;   Potsherd;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Ashes;   Bildad;   Leper;   Mourning;   Potsherd;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Job, the Book of;   Pottery in Bible Times;   Vessels and Utensils;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ashes;   Job;   Perfection;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Ashes (2);   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Potsherd;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Leper;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Medicine;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Ashes;   Sit (and forms);   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Ashes;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Ashes;   Boil (1);   Job, Book of;   Joshua (3);   Mock;   Number;   Ostraca;   Potsherd;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Ashes;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself while he sat among the ashes.
Hebrew Names Version
He took for himself a potsherd to scrape himself with, and he sat among the ashes.
King James Version
And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.
English Standard Version
And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.
New Century Version
Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself, and he sat in ashes in misery.
New English Translation
Job took a shard of broken pottery to scrape himself with while he was sitting among the ashes.
Amplified Bible
And Job took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself, and he sat [down] among the ashes (rubbish heaps).
New American Standard Bible
And Job took a piece of pottery to scrape himself while he was sitting in the ashes.
World English Bible
He took for himself a potsherd to scrape himself with, and he sat among the ashes.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And he tooke a potsharde to scrape him, and he sate downe among the ashes.
Legacy Standard Bible
And he took a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes.
Berean Standard Bible
And Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes.
Contemporary English Version
Then Job sat on the ash-heap to show his sorrow. And while he was scraping his sores with a broken piece of pottery,
Complete Jewish Bible
He took a piece of a broken pot to scratch himself and sat down in the pile of ashes.
Darby Translation
And he took a potsherd to scrape himself with; and he sat among the ashes.
Easy-to-Read Version
Job sat on the pile of ashes where he was mourning and used a piece of broken pottery to scrape his sores.
George Lamsa Translation
And he took a potsherd to scrape himself with it; and he sat down upon ashes.
Lexham English Bible
So he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and he sat in the midst of the ashes.
Literal Translation
And he took a broken piece of pottery with which to scrape himself. And he sat down among the ashes.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
so that he sat vpon the grounde in the asshes, and scraped of the etter off his sores with a potsherde.
American Standard Version
And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself therewith; and he sat among the ashes.
Bible in Basic English
And he took a broken bit of a pot, and, seated in the dust, was rubbing himself with the sharp edge of it.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he toke a potsharde to scrape hym: and he sat downe among the asshes.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself therewith; and he sat among the ashes.
King James Version (1611)
And hee tooke him a potsheard to scrape himselfe withall; and hee sate downe among the ashes.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he took a potsherd to scrape away the discharge, and sat upon a dung-heap outside the city.
English Revised Version
And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat among the ashes.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
which Joob schauyde the quytere with a schelle, `and sat in the dunghil.
Update Bible Version
And he took for himself a potsherd to scrape himself therewith; and he sat among the ashes.
Webster's Bible Translation
And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself with [it]; and he sat down among the ashes.
New King James Version
And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.
New Living Translation
Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes.
New Life Bible
Job took a piece of a broken pot to try to cut off the sores while he sat among the ashes.
New Revised Standard
Job took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he took him a potsherd, to scrape himself therewith; he being seated in the midst of ashes.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And he took a potsherd and scraped the corrupt matter, sitting on a dunghill.
Revised Standard Version
And he took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes.
Young's Literal Translation
And he taketh to him a potsherd to scrape himself with it, and he is sitting in the midst of the ashes.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
And he took a potsherd to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes.

Contextual Overview

7 Then Satan left the Lord 's presence and made sores break out all over Job's body. 8 Job went and sat by the garbage dump and took a piece of broken pottery to scrape his sores. 9 His wife said to him, "You are still as faithful as ever, aren't you? Why don't you curse God and die?" 10 Job answered, "You are talking nonsense! When God sends us something good, we welcome it. How can we complain when he sends us trouble?" Even in all this suffering Job said nothing against God.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

took him: Job 19:14-17, Psalms 38:5, Psalms 38:7, Luke 16:20, Luke 16:21

he sat: Job 42:6, 2 Samuel 13:19, Isaiah 61:3, Ezekiel 27:30, Jonah 3:6, Matthew 11:21

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 2:8 - the poor 1 Kings 20:41 - the ashes away Esther 4:1 - with ashes Job 7:5 - flesh Job 30:19 - dust Psalms 38:3 - soundness Psalms 41:8 - An evil disease Psalms 113:7 - needy Isaiah 1:6 - the sole Isaiah 3:26 - shall sit Isaiah 47:1 - down Isaiah 58:5 - to spread Lamentations 3:16 - covered me with ashes Micah 1:10 - roll Matthew 8:32 - the whole Mark 5:5 - crying Revelation 16:2 - a noisome

Cross-References

Genesis 2:8
Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the East, and there he put the man he had formed.
Genesis 2:9
He made all kinds of beautiful trees grow there and produce good fruit. In the middle of the garden stood the tree that gives life and the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad.
Genesis 3:24
Then at the east side of the garden he put living creatures and a flaming sword which turned in all directions. This was to keep anyone from coming near the tree that gives life.
Genesis 4:16
And Cain went away from the Lord 's presence and lived in a land called "Wandering," which is east of Eden.
Genesis 13:10
Lot looked around and saw that the whole Jordan Valley, all the way to Zoar, had plenty of water, like the Garden of the Lord or like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord had destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.)
2 Kings 19:12
My ancestors destroyed the cities of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and killed the people of Betheden who lived in Telassar, and none of their gods could save them.
Isaiah 51:3
"I will show compassion to Jerusalem, to all who live in her ruins. Though her land is a desert, I will make it a garden, like the garden I planted in Eden. Joy and gladness will be there, and songs of praise and thanks to me.
Ezekiel 27:23
The cities of Haran, Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, the cities of Asshur and Chilmad—they all traded with you.
Ezekiel 28:13
You lived in Eden, the garden of God, and wore gems of every kind: rubies and diamonds; topaz, beryl, carnelian, and jasper; sapphires, emeralds, and garnets. You had ornaments of gold. They were made for you on the day you were created.
Ezekiel 31:16
When I send it down to the world of the dead, the noise of its downfall will shake the nations. All the trees of Eden and all the choice, well-watered trees of Lebanon who have gone to the world below will be pleased at its downfall.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal,.... His mouth was shut, his lips were silent, not one murmuring and repining word came from him, amidst all this anguish and misery he must be in; much less anything that looked like cursing God and blaspheming him, as some are said to do, because of their pains and their sores,

Revelation 16:11; but Job bore his with the utmost patience; he took a piece of a broken pot, which perhaps lay in the ashes among which he sat, and scraped himself with it; either as some think to allay the itching, or rather to remove the purulent matter that ran from his boils; which he used instead of linen rags to wipe them with, having no surgeon to come near him, to mollify his ulcers with ointment, to supple them with oil, and lay healing plasters upon them; there were none to do any of these things for him; his maids and his servants, and even his wife, stood at some distance from him; the smell of him might be so nauseous, that it was intolerable, he was obliged to do what was done himself, which is here mentioned; though it seems something strange and unnatural, considering his case; Schmidt thinks that this scraping was done by him as a rite and ceremony used by mourners in those times and countries, and which Job would not omit though his body was full of sores:

and he sat down among the ashes; which was often done in cases of mourning and humiliation, see Jonah 3:6; and which Job did to humble himself under the mighty hand of God upon him; whether these ashes were outside or inside the house is not certain; some think they were outside, and that he had no house to dwell in, nor bed to lie on, nor couch to sit upon, and therefore was obliged to do as he did; but the contrary is evident from Job 7:13; others say, that his disease being the leprosy, he was obliged to sit alone and outside; but it is not certain that that was his disease; and besides, the law concerning lepers did not as yet exist; and had it, it would not have been binding on Job, who was not of the Israelitish nation: the vulgar notion that Job sat upon a dunghill outside the city has no other foundation than the Septuagint version of this passage, which is a wrong one; for his sitting in ashes, there might be a reason in nature, and it might be chosen on account of his disease; for ashes are a drier, and an abstersive of ulcers, and Galen f says they are used in fresh wounds to stop the flow of the blood.

f De simpl. Med. ad Paternian. apud Schenchzer. Physic. Sacr. vol. 4. p. 661.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And he took him a potsherd - The word used here חרשׁ chârâsh means a fragment of a broken vessel; see the notes at Isaiah 45:9. The Septuagint renders it ὄστρακον ostrakon - “a shell.” One object of taking this was to remove from his body the filth accumulated by the universal ulcer, compare Job 7:4-5; and another design probably was, to “indicate” the greatness of his calamity and sorrow. The ancients were accustomed to show their grief by significant external actions (compare the notes at Job 1:20), and nothing could more strongly denote the greatness of the calamity, than for a man of wealth, honor, and distinction, to sit down in the ashes, to take a piece of broken earthen-ware, and begin to scrape his body covered over with undressed and most painful sores. It does not appear that anything was done to heal him, or any kindness shown in taking care of his disease. It would seem that he was at once separated from his home, as a man whom none would venture to approach, and was doomed to endure his suffering without sympathy from others.

To scrape himself withal - The word used here גרד gârad has the sense of grating, scraping, sawing; or to scrape or rasp with an edged tool. The same word identically, as to letters, is used at present among the Arabs; meaning to rasp or scrape with any kind of tool. The idea here seems to be, that Job took the pieces of broken pottery that he found among the ashes to scrape himself with.

And he sat down among the ashes - On the expressions of grief among the ancients, see the notes at Job 1:20. The general ideas of mourning among the nations of antiquity seem to have been, to strip off all their ornaments; to put on the coarsest apparel, and to place themselves in the most humiliating positions. To sit on the ground (see the note at Isaiah 3:26), or on a heap of ashes, or a pile of cinders, was a common mode of expressing sorrow; see the note at Isaiah 58:5. To wear sackcloth to shave their heads and their beards and to abstain from pleasant food and from all cheerful society, and to utter loud and long exclamations or shrieks, was also a common mode of indicating grief. The Vulgate renders this “sedates in sterquilinio,” “sitting on a dunghill.” The Septuagint, “and he took a shell to scrape off the ichor (ἰχῶρα ichōra) the “sanies,” or filth produced by a running ulcer, and sat upon the ashes “out of the city,”” implying that his grief was so excessive that he left the city and his friends, and went out to weep alone.


 
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