Job 10:16 · Bible study
Job 10:16 Commentary: When God Hunts Like a Lion
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore Job's accusation that God hunts him like a lion. Hebrew grammar, context, and pastoral reflection on suffering and divine hiddenness.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Job feels that God relentlessly pursues him like a lion, turning past care into present torment.
- Key words: גָּאָה (rise up), שַׁחַל (lion), פָּלָא (show wonderful), שׁוּב (return).
- Main debate: Whether 'head held high' refers to Job’s pride or the increase of his affliction.
- Theological theme: The tension between God's goodness and hidden severity; the validity of lament.
- Best use: Preaching or teaching on suffering, lament, and the freedom to be honest with God.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Should I hold my head high, You would hunt me like a lion, and again display Your power against me.
WEB World English Bible 2000
If my head is held high, you hunt me like a lion. Again you show yourself powerful to me.
KJV King James Version 1769
For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And ifmy head exalt itself, thou huntest me as a lion; And again thou showest thyself marvellous upon me.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And it riseth--as a lion Thou huntest me. And Thou turnest back--Thou shewest Thyself wonderful in me.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And it increaseth: thou huntest me as a fierce lion; and ever again thou shewest thy marvellous power upon me.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And for pride thou wilt take me as a lioness, and returning, thou tormentest me wonderfully.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y subirá de punto, pues me cazas como á león, y tornas á hacer en mí maravillas.
Se minha cabeça se exaltar, tu me caças como um leão feroz, e voltas a fazer em coisas extraordinárias contra mim.
Et si j’ose la lever, tu me poursuis comme un lion,
Und wenn ich es aufrichte, so jagst du mich wie ein Löwe und handelst wiederum wunderbar an mir.
Want zij verheft zich; gelijk een felle leeuw jaagt Gij mij; Gij keert weder en stelt U wonderlijk tegen mij.
Se l’avessi alzata, m’avresti dato la caccia come ad un leone e contro di me avresti rinnovato le tue maraviglie;
Którego przybywa; bo jako lew srogi gonisz mię, a coraz dziwniej się przeciwko mnie stawiasz.
оно увеличивается. Ты гонишься за мною, как лев, и снова нападаешь на меня и чудным являешься во мне.
我若昂首自得，你就追捕我 如獅子，又 在我身上 顯出奇能。
And that if there was cause for pride, you would go after me like a lion; and again put out your wonders against me:
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Job 10:16
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Job here pictures God as a relentless hunter, pursuing him with the ferocity of a lion. The image draws on ancient Near Eastern motifs of divine judgment, where a lion symbolizes overwhelming, untamed power. Adam Clarke notes that God's designs are 'incomprehensible' to Job, the 'marvellous' deeds are terrifying, not comforting. Barnes adds that the lion does not kill at once but returns to torture its prey, mirroring Job's sense that his suffering is repeated and renewed (Job 10:17). The Hebrew root גָּאָה (ga'ah) can mean 'rise up,' which some read as Job's head lifting in pride, but most see it as his affliction itself rising. Keil and Delitzsch see Job accusing God of having a hidden cruel purpose all along. The consensus holds that this verse is a raw expression of feeling hunted by God, not a theological statement about God's character, but a lament that gives voice to the experience of inexplicable suffering.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Affliction increases: Barnes, Gill, and the KJV read 'it increaseth' as referring to Job's suffering mounting, making the lion hunt an intensification of pain.
- Pride is hunted: Keil & Delitzsch and some ancient versions (Jerome) read 'if my head lifts up' as pride that God punishes.
- God as the lion or Job as the lion: Most see God as predator; a minority (Schultens via Gill) see Job as once bold like a lion, now humbled.
What is clear: Job perceives God as relentlessly pursuing him with suffering, and this perception stands in stark tension with the life and kindness God earlier gave him (v.12).
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of 'head held high' / 'it increaseth' (גאה) | The Hebrew verb indicates something rising, whether Job's head or his affliction. | Barnes and others read it as Job's affliction increasing; Keil & Delitzsch see it as Job lifting his head in pride, prompting God to hunt him. |
| Is Job accusing God of being unjust? | Job clearly believes his suffering is disproportionate and mysterious. | Some traditions (e.g., Calvin, Gill) see Job as sinning by impugning God's justice; others (e.g., modern pastoral theology) read this as legitimate lament within covenantal relationship. |
| The lion metaphor: God as predator or Job as lion? | The image depicts a ferocious pursuit. | Most view God as the lion (so Clarke, Barnes). But some (Gill mentions Schultens) read it as Job formerly bold as a lion (Prov 28:1) now being hunted. |
| The word 'marvellous' (פָּלָא) in this context | It refers to God's extraordinary acts, here, terrible ones. | Is Job being sarcastic or genuinely perplexed? Clarke favors incomprehensibility; Lange sees it as ironic twisting of praise language. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Job 10 is part of Job's second speech (chapters 9, 10), responding to Bildad's insistence that God punishes only the wicked. In the ancient Near East, lions were symbols of royal power and divine judgment. The Hebrew word for 'lion' here is שַׁחַל (shachal), likely a mountain lion or lioness known for fierceness. The hunting metaphor was common in the Old Testament: Psalm 38:13; Lamentations 3:10; and Hosea 13:7, 8 all use lions to describe God's judgment.
Job's accusation is sharpened by the immediate context. In verses 8, 12 he recounted God's care in forming him in the womb and granting him 'life and lovingkindness.' Now that same God 'hunts him like a lion.' The verb 'show yourself wonderful' (תִּתְפַּלָּא, Hithpael of פָּלָא) is the same root used for God's marvelous works in Job 5:9, but Job uses it sarcastically: God's wonderful deeds are now acts of torment. This ironic twist reflects the wisdom tradition's struggle with retributive theology. Job is not denying God's justice; he is insisting that God's present actions are incomprehensible to human reason.
Literarily, Job's lament echoes the complaint genre found in Jeremiah (20:14, 18) and Psalm 88. By using the lion imagery, Job reverses the expected order, the God who gave life is now the source of its destruction. The passage invites readers to sit with the tension between God's previous goodness and present severity.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Job 10:16. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts. The main interpretive differences arise from the ambiguity of the verb גאה (rise up) and the precise nuance of the Hitpael form of פָּלָא.
Reception History
Job 10:16 has been read across Christian traditions as a raw expression of lament. Reformation commentators like Calvin used it to show that even saints feel crushed by God's hidden judgments, but should not charge God foolishly. In the Anglican tradition, the verse has been referenced in prayers of lament for those in extreme distress. Contemporary pastoral theology often cites this passage to validate feelings of divine abandonment, noting that God includes such cries in Scripture. The image of God as a hunter has also been used in some liturgical contexts during Lent, reflecting on Christ's own sense of abandonment.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Relentless Hunter, Job accuses God of pursuing him like a lion, never letting up (vv.16, 17).
- The Incomprehensible God, Job uses the word 'marvellous' for God's actions, but here it means terrifying and inscrutable (v.16b).
- The Cry for Space, In vv.18, 20 Job wishes he had never been born, pleading to be left alone. This shows the depth of his despair.
Five-point outline
- From Care to Hunt, Contrast Job 10:12 with 10:16: the same God who knit him now hunts him.
- Lion imagery, The word shachal suggests a fierce lion; God is portrayed as a predator.
- The ‘Wonderful’ Turn, Pala (to show wonderful) is ironic: God's wonders are now afflictions.
- Relentless Visiting, Verse 17: fresh witnesses and increased indignation, the hunt continues.
- The Unspoken Question, Job never says 'why?' but the shape of his lament asks it.
Illustration hooks
- A runner in a marathon who feels something is always at her heels, a sense of being pursued by misfortune.
- A farmer whose crops fail three years in a row: 'What more does God want from me?'
- The image from nature documentaries of a lion stalking a herd: focused, patient, terrifying.
Questions your congregation is asking
- 'Why does God seem to target me when others get away?'
- 'Is it a sin to feel like God is my enemy?'
- 'How do I hold onto hope when there’s no break in the pain?'
Leading a Discussion
This passage gives voice to raw feelings that many believers suppress, the sense of being pursued by God for no apparent reason. Job’s lament is not rejected by God; it is preserved as Scripture. As you discuss, let the honesty of this text speak to your own experiences.
Discussion questions
- What words or images in Job 10:16 stand out to you? Why?
- How does the lion image differ from the way God is described earlier in the chapter (v.12)?
- Why does Job call God’s actions 'wonderful'? What tone does that word carry here?
- How do Job’s friends’ views of God (retribution theology) make this lament even more painful?
- Have you ever felt that God was 'hunting' you? If so, how did you respond?
- Is it possible to be completely honest with God in anger and still have faith? Support from other Bible passages.
- What does this passage teach us about the freedom to lament in the community of faith?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Numbers 16:29 | If these men die the common death of all men, or if they experience what all men experience, then Yahweh hasn’t sent me. |
| Numbers 16:30 | But if Yahweh makes a new thing, and the ground opens its mouth, and swallows them up with all that belong to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall understand that these men have despised Yahweh.” |
| Deuteronomy 28:59 | then Yahweh will make your plagues and the plagues of your offspring fearful, even great plagues, and of long duration, and severe sicknesses, and of long duration. |
| Job 5:9 | who does great things that can’t be fathomed, marvelous things without number; |
| Isaiah 38:13 | I waited patiently until morning. He breaks all my bones like a lion. From day even to night you will make an end of me. |
| Lamentations 3:10 | He is to me as a bear lying in wait, as a lion in hiding. |
| Hosea 13:7 | Therefore I am like a lion to them. Like a leopard, I will lurk by the path. |
| Hosea 13:8 | I will meet them like a bear that is bereaved of her cubs, and will tear the covering of their heart. There I will devour them like a lioness. The wild animal will tear them. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that the suffering grows heavier each day and that friends turn against the person as lions do. He also says God’s methods are completely beyond understanding.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes dwells on God's relentless pursuit of Job, comparing it to a lion that does not kill its prey at once but returns to torment it again. He reads "thou showest thyself marvelous" as God dealing with Job in ways that are wonderful and utterly incomprehensible, leaving no clue as to why.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges notes that God’s early work on Job and his later suffering were part of one plan from the start. This plan was meant to fulfill a purpose that is explained in later parts of the book.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes highlight Job’s despair that God is not simply testing him but actively hunting him like a lion, then displaying terrifying power against him. Job sees God as a relentless pursuer, not a rescuer.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill highlights that Job's affliction is not static but growing, piling on beyond what he can bear. He sees God as the source, hunting Job like a fierce lion and showing Himself marvellous by devising new, surprising ways to afflict him, which leaves even the righteous Job astonished at such severity.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
Jamieson Fausset Brown notes that lifting one’s head may invite pursuit. The text also compares the predator to a lion that returns to torment its catch instead of killing it at once.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch see God’s purpose as revealed through Job’s suffering, showing that the life protected so far will now face the most severe punishment. They believe God will bring new evidence of sin and increase His wrath constantly.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange observes that Job pictures God as both a predator stalking him like a fierce lion and then as one whose actions are too marvellous for Job to grasp. This dual image captures Job's conviction that God's dealings with him are terrifying and utterly beyond human understanding, revealing divine power as arbitrary and crushing.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that God notices even the smallest sin and holds a person accountable for it. He believes this strictness shows justice rather than extreme severity.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley draws a sharp contrast between a lion's swift attack, which ends its prey's suffering quickly, and God's repeated afflictions on Job. He argues that God renews calamities again and again, making the plagues extreme in kind, severity, and duration far beyond what any beast would inflict.