Job 16:19
in Job 16Even now my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is on high.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, And he that voucheth for me is on high.
KJV
Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high.
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This verse in Job 16
Commentary
10 notes on this verseVer. 19. Also, now, behold my witness is in heaven, and my heart's associate is on high. For when the Son was brought to His downfall on earth, there was a witness to Him in heaven. Since the Father is the witness of the Son; concerning Whom He Himself saith in the Gospel, And the Father Himself, Which hath sent Me, hath borne witness of Me. Who is also rightly called 'mine heart's associate,' in that with one will, and with one counsel, the Father acts always in union with the Son.
This site's exposition
O earth, do not cover my blood
on Job 16:18-19
Job asks that his case stay open after death. While the friends accuse him on the ground, "my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is on high". Delitzsch reads this as the second rung of a ladder, after the arbiter at 9:33 and before the redeemer of 19:25.
This site's exposition
my witness is in heaven
Job turns from friends who testify against him to a witness on high who knows his innocence. Barnes calls this returning confidence in God, the trust Job comes back to after his most passionate words. Henry names it Job's triumph.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
It is true that it is difficult for a man to act according to his earthly condition without the evil of mortal sin, yet it is not impossible, with the help of God through grace who is a witness also to our interior purity. Thus …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven,....
Those who are free in passing such censures must expect to have them retorted; it is easy, it is endless: but cui bono?--what good does it do? It will stir up men's passions, but will never convince their judgments, nor set truth in a clear light.
The witness in our own bosoms for us will stand us in little stead if we have not a witness in heaven for us too; for God is greater than our hearts, and we are not to he our own judges. This therefore is Job's triumph, My witness is in heaven.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
My witness is in heaven - That is, I can appeal to God for my sincerity. He is my witness; and he will bear record for me. This is an evidence of returning confidence in God - to which Job always returns even after the most passionate and irreverent expressions. Such is his real trust in God, that though he is betrayed at times into expressions of impatience and irreverence, yet he is sure to return to calmer views, and to show that he has true confidence in the Most High.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Also now--Even now, when I am so greatly misunderstood on earth, God in heaven is sensible of my innocence. record--Hebrew, "in the high places"; Hebrew, "my witness." Amidst all his impatience, Job still trusts in God.
My witness is in heaven - I appeal to God for my innocence.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| גַּם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| עַ֭תָּה | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| הִנֵּה־ | hineh- | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| בַשָּׁמַ֣יִם | vashamayim | [is] in the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| עֵדִ֑י | ʾedi | witness my | H5707 → | 70 times |
| וְ֝שָׂהֲדִ֗י | vesahadi | and witness my | H7717 → | |
| בַּמְּרוֹמִֽים׃ | bameromim | [is] in <the> high places | H4791 → | 54 times |
גַּם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
עַ֭תָּהnow
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
הִנֵּה־there!
hineh-H2009 →843 times
בַשָּׁמַ֣יִם[is] in the heavens
vashamayimH8064 →421 times
עֵדִ֑יwitness my
ʾediH5707 →70 times
וְ֝שָׂהֲדִ֗יand witness my
vesahadiH7717 →
בַּמְּרוֹמִֽים׃[is] in <the> high places
bameromimH4791 →54 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 1:9God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you
it leads to
- Ephesians 6:18
Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.
- Ephesians 1:16–19
I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
- 2 Timothy 1:3
I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as did my forefathers, as I constantly remember you night and day in my prayers.
- Romans 9:1
I speak the truth in Christ; I am not lying, as confirmed by my conscience in the Holy Spirit.
- Ephesians 6:18
Through
Romans 9:1I speak the truth in Christ; I am not lying, as confirmed by my conscience in the Holy Spirit.
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 2:7
For this reason I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a faithful and true teacher of the Gentiles. I am telling the truth; I am not lying about anything.
- Romans 1:9
God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you
- Galatians 1:20
I assure you before God that what I am writing to you is no lie.
- 1 Timothy 2:7
Through
1 Thessalonians 2:10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless our conduct was among you who believed.
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 1:5
because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with great conviction—just as you know we lived among you for your sake.
- 1 Thessalonians 1:5
About Job
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XIII; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.