He has kindled his wrath against me and counts me as his adversary.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job doesn't just feel afflicted; he feels personally targeted by God, as if God's "wrath" has been deliberately ignited against him. This isn't about Job admitting he's God's enemy, but about the overwhelming, terrifying perception that God is treating him exactly like one.
He has kindled his wrath against me and counts me as his adversary.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job is pouring out his anguish, feeling utterly abandoned and assaulted by God. Following vivid descriptions of his path being blocked and his glory stripped away, he now feels God's fiery anger directed squarely at him, treating him like a declared enemy. This intense feeling leads him to plead for compassion from his friends, whom he feels are only increasing his suffering by siding with God's perceived wrath against him.
Job feels the heat of God's fury, a divine anger so intense it's compared to fire. What does this fiery wrath mean for us today?
The Intensity of Divine Wrath
The Bible often uses imagery of fire to describe God's wrath. This isn't just a fleeting emotion, but a powerful, destructive force that signifies His holy opposition to sin and rebellion.
Job doesn't just feel God's anger; he feels like God views him as an enemy. What's the difference between God's perspective and our perception?
The Weight of Divine Disfavor
Job's deepest pain isn't just the afflictions themselves, but the feeling that God sees him as an adversary. This is a profound misunderstanding that Job struggles with, and we often do too.
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Understand the original words
ap̄ · Hebrew Noun
Refers to God's holy, righteous, and settled indignation against sin and rebellion. In this context, Job experiences this intensity as a personal judgment.
ṣar · Hebrew Noun
One who opposes, confronts, or acts as an enemy. It is often used in the context of legal accusations or spiritual opposition.
Job 19:11 arises from the depths of personal catastrophe, where the patriarch feels not only abandoned by friends but, more profoundly, targeted by the very God he has served. The imagery of 'kindled wrath' and being counted an 'adversary' paints a picture of total alienation, as if Job is facing a divine enemy in battle.
c. 1800–1600 BC
Patriarchal Period
Job's life takes place during the Patriarchal Period, a time of nomadic tribal societies and loosely structured governance in the ancient Near East.
c. 1800–1600 BC
Job's Prosperity and Faith
Job is depicted as a wealthy, righteous man, living a life of domestic peace and devotion to God.
c. 1800–1600 BC
Divine Test Begins
Satan challenges God, suggesting Job's faithfulness is conditional on his prosperity, leading to a divine test of Job's character.
c. 1800–1600 BC
Devastating Losses Occur
Job experiences a series of catastrophic losses: his livestock, servants, and all ten of his children are killed.
c. 1800–1600 BC— this verse
Job Afflicted with Sores
Job is struck with painful sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head, leaving him in extreme physical agony.
c. 1800–1600 BC
Friends Arrive and Counsel
Job's three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, arrive to comfort him but soon engage in theological debate, arguing his suffering is punishment for hidden sin.
This verse echoes Job's lament, highlighting the intense personal attack he feels from God, similar to how an enemy would fiercely pursue him.
Psalm 44:9This psalm describes a similar sense of abandonment and divine displeasure, where God's presence seems to have withdrawn, leaving them to be treated as enemies by others.
Lamentations 2:3-4This passage vividly portrays God's anger as a consuming fire and His actions against His people as those of an enemy, drawing a parallel to Job's feeling of being under fierce divine judgment.
Hebrews 12:6This New Testament passage offers a counterpoint, explaining that God's chastening, though painful and sometimes feeling like wrath, is actually a sign of His fatherly love, not enmity, for His children.
barnesJob 19:11: "He hath also kindled his wrath against me, and he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies."
He hath also kindled his wrath - He is angry. Wrath in the Scriptures is usually represented as burning or inflamed - because like fire it destroys everything before it. And he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies - He treats me as he would an enemy. The same complaint he elsewhere makes; see Job 13:24; perhaps also in Job 16:9. We are not to understand Job here as admitting that "he…
clarkeJob 19:11: "He hath also kindled his wrath against me, and he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies."
And he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies - From the seventh to the thirteenth verse there seems to be an allusion to a hostile invasion, battles, sieges, etc. 1. A neighboring chief, without provocation, invades his neighbor's territories, and none of his friends will come to his help. "I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard," Job 19:7. 2. The foe has seized on all the passes, and…
Job doesn't just feel afflicted; he feels personally targeted by God, as if God's "wrath" has been deliberately ignited against him. This isn't about Job admitting he's God's enemy, but about the overwhelming, terrifying perception that God is treating him exactly like one.
Job is pouring out his anguish, feeling utterly abandoned and assaulted by God. Following vivid descriptions of his path being blocked and his glory stripped away, he now feels God's fiery anger directed squarely at him, treating him like a declared enemy. This intense feeling leads him to plead for compassion from his friends, whom he feels are only increasing his suffering by siding with God's perceived wrath against him.
Job is pouring out his anguish, feeling utterly abandoned and assaulted by God. Following vivid descriptions of his path being blocked and his glory stripped away, he now feels God's fiery anger directed squarely at him, treating him like a declared enemy. This intense feeling leads him to plead for compassion from his friends, whom he feels are only increasing his suffering by siding with God's perceived wrath against him.
"He has kindled his wrath against me and counts me as his adversary." — Job doesn't just feel afflicted; he feels personally targeted by God, as if God's "wrath" has been deliberately ignited against him. This isn't about Job admitting he's God's enemy, but about the o…
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Last reviewed October 2026