What Does Job 30:17 Mean?

My bones are pierced in me in the night season (לַיְלָה עֲצָמַי נִקַּר מֵעָלָי)—The verb naqar (נָקַר) means to pierce, bore through, or dig out; atsam (עֶצֶם) means bones, the body's structural framework. Job's skeletal system—what gives him shape and support—is being hollowed out, pierced through. Night intensifies suffering when darkness amplifies pain and prevents distraction. The psalmist echoes this: 'my bones are vexed' (Psalm 6:2); Christ's bones were 'out of joint' on the cross (Psalm 22:14).

My sinews take no rest (וְעֹרְקַי לֹא יִשְׁכָּבוּן)—Araq (עֹרֵק) means sinews, gnawing pains, or possibly arteries; shakav (שָׁכַב) means to lie down or rest. Job's connective tissues, the ligaments and tendons binding his bones, won't be still—constant pain prevents sleep. This describes neuropathic or inflammatory pain that worsens at night. Job's suffering is comprehensive: bones (structure), sinews (connection), day and night (time)—no respite exists.