that it would please God to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job isn't just asking for death; he's expressing a desperate desire for God to finish the job. He feels God has only begun to "crush" him, and he longs for the release of a decisive, final blow rather than this prolonged agony.
that it would please God to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job is deep in conversation with his friends, who are offering terrible advice, insisting his suffering must be a punishment for some hidden sin. In response, Job laments his horrific condition, desperately wishing God would simply end his life and suffering, like an archer releasing a fatal arrow or a weaver cutting a finished cloth from the loom. He feels God's hand has already been heavy upon him, but he wants it fully unleashed to bring about his final release through death.
Job feels God's power held back, like a coiled spring. He wishes it would unleash, not out of malice, but for an end to his agony.
Job's words reveal a profound, paradoxical desire. He doesn't wish for God's wrath, but for the release of God's hand. Imagine a surgeon holding a scalpel, hesitating before a critical cut. Job feels God's power poised, 'let loose his hand,' but not yet delivering the final, decisive action that would end his suffering.
This isn't a wish for punishment, but for cessation. He sees God's hand as the source of both his suffering and potential release. He wants God to 'crush me' – a powerful image of being broken into pieces – not to inflict more pain, but to bring his life and torment to a definitive end.
Job understands God's hand as the ultimate force. He wants that same hand, which sustains life, to also bring it to an end.
The imagery of 'letting loose his hand' speaks volumes about Job's theological understanding. He sees God not just as a distant deity, but as an active agent whose 'hand' directly impacts the created order and individual lives.
This hand, which Job acknowledges in his affliction, is also the hand that could bring about his end. The metaphors of 'crushing' (to break in pieces) and 'cutting off' (like a finished web) emphasize a complete, definitive action. Job isn't asking for random destruction, but for God's sovereign power to be fully applied to end his existence and his pain.
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chaphats · Hebrew Verb
To break, shatter, or grind to powder. In the Old Testament, it is frequently used metaphorically for God’s judgment or the severe trials that bring a person to the end of their strength.
This passage echoes Job's despair, where he questions why God allows the suffering of the wretched and gives life to those in bitterness of soul, highlighting a recurring theme of wishing for an end to suffering.
Psalm 22:15The psalmist describes his strength being dried up like a potsherd, similar to Job's desire to be 'crushed' or reduced to dust, illustrating the deep physical and emotional suffering that can lead to such desperate pleas.
Isaiah 38:12This verse describes Hezekiah's life being cut off 'like a weaver's web,' a powerful image that is directly compared in commentaries to Job's wish to be 'cut off,' showing a shared metaphor for the abrupt end of life.
Jeremiah 20:7Jeremiah cries out to God, 'You have enticed me, and I was enticed; You have overpowered me and prevailed,' expressing a similar sense of being overwhelmed and manipulated by divine forces, though his lament differs in its ultimate outcome.
clarkeJob 6:9: "Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!"
Let loose his hand - A metaphor taken from an archer drawing his arrow to the head, and then loosing his hold, that the arrow may fly to the mark. See on Job 6:4 (note).
pulpitJob 6:9: "Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!"
Verse 9. - Even that it would please God to destroy me; or, to crush me (Revised Version) - "to break me in pieces" (Lee). That he would let loose his hand; or, put forth his hand - stretch it out against me threateningly." And cut me off. "Cut me off bit by bit" (Lee); comp. Isaiah 38:12, where the same word is used of a weaver, who cuts the threads of his loom one by one, until the whol…
Job isn't just asking for death; he's expressing a desperate desire for God to finish the job. He feels God has only begun to "crush" him, and he longs for the release of a decisive, final blow rather than this prolonged agony.
Job is deep in conversation with his friends, who are offering terrible advice, insisting his suffering must be a punishment for some hidden sin. In response, Job laments his horrific condition, desperately wishing God would simply end his life and suffering, like an archer releasing a fatal arrow or a weaver cutting a finished cloth from the loom. He feels God's hand has already been heavy upon him, but he wants it fully unleashed to bring about his final release through death.
Job is deep in conversation with his friends, who are offering terrible advice, insisting his suffering must be a punishment for some hidden sin. In response, Job laments his horrific condition, desperately wishing God would simply end his life and suffering, like an archer releasing a fatal arrow or a weaver cutting a finished cloth from the loom. He feels God's hand has already been heavy upon him, but he wants it fully unleashed to bring about his final release through death.
"that it would please God to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!" — Job isn't just asking for death; he's expressing a desperate desire for God to finish the job. He feels God has only begun to "crush" him, and he longs for the release of a decisive, final blow rathe…
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Last reviewed October 2026