Job 23:7
in Job 23Then an upright man could reason with Him, and I would be delivered forever from my Judge.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
There the upright might reason with him; So should I be delivered for ever from my judge.
KJV
There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge.
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This verse in Job 23
Commentary
11 notes on this verseLet Him put forth equity against me, and my judgment shall come unto victory. PROPHETICAL INTERPRETATION For who else saving the Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus, is denoted by the title of 'equity?' Concerning Whom it is written, Who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness. And whereas this same righteousness came into this world against the ways of sinners, we get the better of our old enemy, by whom we were held captive.
This site's exposition
Would He contend with me in His great power
on Job 23:6-7
Job answers his own question with "No, He would certainly take note of me", a hearing that gives him standing to plead. The line "Then an upright man could reason with Him" expects acquittal. The words "I would be delivered forever from my Judge" look past the present ordeal.
This site's exposition
an upright man could reason with Him
Barnes holds that Job means himself by the upright man, though he speaks in the third person. Clarke notes that the Hebrew for forever may also be read as to victory, the sense the Vulgate took. Either way, the case ends in acquittal.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
So he then says, "Let him propose fairly what he has against me," that is, let him give an explanation which is based on equity, and it will be clear then that I have not been punished for malice. So he says, "and my claim …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
There, in the court of heaven, when the final sentence is to be given, the righteous might dispute with him and come off in his righteousness. Now, even the upright are often chastened of the Lord, and they cannot dispute against it; integrity itself is no fence either against calamity or calumny; but in that day they shall not be condemned with the world, though God may afflict by prerogative.
There - At that throne of grace, where God lays aside his majesty, and Judges according to his wonted clemency. Dispute - Humbly propounding the grounds of their confidence.
There the righteous might dispute with him,.... That is, at his seat, either at his mercy seat, where even God allows sinners to come and reason with him, for pardoning grace and mercy, upon the foot of his own declarations and promises, and the blood and sacrifice of his son, Isa 1:18; or at his judgment seat, pleading the righteousness of Christ, which is fully satisfactory to law and justice.
Job's friends pleaded against him with all the power they had; but will God do so? No; his power is all just and holy, whatever men's is. Against those that are obstinate in their unbelief and impenitency God will plead with his great power; their destruction will come from the glory of his power.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
There--rather, "Then": if God would "attend" to me (Job 23:6). righteous--that is, the result of my dispute would be, He would acknowledge me as righteous. delivered--from suspicion of guilt on the part of my Judge.
There the righteous might dispute with him - נוכח nochach, might argue or plead. To dispute with God sounds very harsh. So should I be delivered for ever - Mr. Good translates: “And triumphantly should I escape from my condemnation.” The Hebrew word לנצח lanetsach may as well be translated to victory as for ever: and in this sense the Vulgate understood the words: Proponat aequitatem contra me; et perveniat ad victoriam judicium meum. “He would set up equity against me; and would lead on my cause to victory.” Coverdale renders thus: - But let hym give me like power to go to lawe, then am I sure to wynne my matter. Nothing less than the fullest conviction of his own innocence could have led Job to express himself thus to the Judge of quick and dead!
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
There the righteous might dispute with him - One who is conscious of his integrity might carry his cause there, with the assurance that he would be heard, and that justice would be done him. There can be no doubt that Job here refers to himself, though. he speaks in the third person, and advances this as a general proposition. So shall I be delivered forever from my judge - From him who would judge or condemn me (משׁפטי mı̂shâphaṭı̂y).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שָׁ֗ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| יָ֭שָׁר | yashor | an upright [person] | H3477 → | 119 times |
| נוֹכָ֣ח | nokhach | [will be] reasoning | H3198 → | 59 times |
| עִמּ֑וֹ | imo | with him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| וַאֲפַלְּטָ֥ה | vaafaletah | and I will deliver | H6403 → | |
| לָ֝נֶ֗צַח | lanetzach | to perpetuity | H5331 → | 43 times |
| מִשֹּׁפְטִֽי׃ | mishofeti | from judge my | H8199 → | 202 times |
שָׁ֗םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
יָ֭שָׁרan upright [person]
yashorH3477 →119 times
נוֹכָ֣ח[will be] reasoning
nokhachH3198 →59 times
עִמּ֑וֹwith him
imoH5973 →1050 times
וַאֲפַלְּטָ֥הand I will deliver
vaafaletahH6403 →
לָ֝נֶ֗צַחto perpetuity
lanetzachH5331 →43 times
מִשֹּׁפְטִֽי׃from judge my
mishofetiH8199 →202 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 8:1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
it leads to
- John 3:18–19
Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
- 2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!
- Galatians 3:13
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
- Romans 5:1
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
- 1 Corinthians 1:30
It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
- John 3:18–19
Through
Isaiah 1:18“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.
it leads to
- Isaiah 44:22
I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.
- Revelation 7:14
“Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the…
- Psalms 51:7
Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
- Isaiah 44:22
Where this verse is studied
About Job
This page draws on 10 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); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XVI; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.