Job 16:15

I have sewed sackcloth on my skin, ¹  and buried ²  my horn ³  in the dust;

"I have sewed sackcloth over my skin and buried my brow in the dust.

"I have sewed sackcloth over my skin And thrust my horn in the dust.

Here I sit in sackcloth. I have surrendered, and I sit in the dust.

"I sewed myself a shroud and wore it like a shirt; I lay face down in the dirt.

I have made haircloth the clothing of my skin, and my horn is rolled in the dust.

I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and have laid my strength in the dust.

"I have sewn sackcloth over my skin, And laid my head in the dust.

I have sewed sackcloth on my skin, ¹  and buried ²  my horn ³  in the dust;

¹ sn The language is hyperbolic; Job is saying that the sackcloth he has put on in his lamentable state is now stuck to his skin as if he had stitched it into the skin. It is now a habitual garment that he never takes off.

² tn The Poel עֹלַלְתִּי (’olalti) from עָלַל (’alal, “to enter”) has here the meaning of “to thrust in.” The activity is the opposite of “raising high the horn,” a picture of dignity and victory.

³ tn There is no English term that captures exactly what “horn” is meant to do. Drawn from the animal world, the image was meant to convey strength and pride and victory. Some modern commentators have made other proposals for the line. Svi Rin suggested from Ugaritic that the verb be translated “lower” or “dip” (“Ugaritic – Old Testament Affinities,” BZ 7 [1963]: 22-33).