What is the meaning of Job 19:15?

My guests

“ ‘My guests …’ ” (Job 19:15a)

• In Job’s prosperous days, travelers and dignitaries eagerly accepted his hospitality (Job 29:7-11).

• Now, even those who once enjoyed his table avoid him. Psalm 38:11 echoes the same pain: “My friends and neighbors stand at a distance because of my affliction.”

• The shift reminds us how quickly human approval evaporates when suffering strikes (James 2:1-4).

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and maidservants

“… ‘and maidservants’ …” (Job 19:15a)

• Job’s own household staff—people he had treated with justice (Job 31:13-15)—no longer respect him.

• Their distance magnifies the humiliation: servants who depended on him now act as though he is beneath them.

• Proverbs 19:7 observes, “All the brothers of a poor man hate him; how much more do his friends avoid him!” The principle applies even inside Job’s home.

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count me as a stranger

“… ‘count me as a stranger’ …” (Job 19:15b)

• Being labeled “stranger” means denial of relationship and rights (Exodus 23:9).

• Psalm 69:8 voices a similar cry: “I have become a stranger to my brothers.”

• Job’s isolation previews the rejection Christ would later endure—“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11).

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I am a foreigner in their sight

“… ‘I am a foreigner in their sight.’ ” (Job 19:15b)

• “Foreigner” pushes the alienation further—Job is treated as someone without any claim on them.

• Isaiah 63:16 captures the anguish: “Though Abraham does not know us … You, O LORD, are our Father.”

• For believers facing similar rejection, Hebrews 13:13 invites us to “go to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach,” finding fellowship with the Savior who understands.

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summary

Job 19:15 shows the depth of Job’s social collapse: from honored host to ignored outsider, even within his own household. Guests, servants, everyone—each group that once affirmed him now avoids him. Scripture affirms this literal account to remind us that earthly status is fleeting, but God’s regard never fails (Psalm 27:10). When human circles close their doors, the Lord opens His, offering fellowship that suffering cannot sever.