Job 27:5
in Job 27I will never say that you are right; I will maintain my integrity until I die.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Far be it from me that I should justify you: Till I die I will not put away mine integrity from me.
KJV
God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
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This verse in Job 27
Commentary
8 notes on this verseGod forbid that I should justify you; till I die, I will not depart from mine innocency. For he would 'depart from his innocency,' if he reckoned good things of bad persons; as Solomon bears witness, who saith, He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord. For there are persons, who, whilst they extol with commendation deeds of men ill done, heighten that which they ought to have rebuked.
This site's exposition
I will never say that you are right
on Job 27:5-6
"I will never say that you are right" refuses the one settlement the friends have pressed, that Job confess a guilt he does not have. "I will maintain my integrity until I die" holds to the integrity of chapters 1 and 2 in Job's own words.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
This is what Job means, one who is full of iniquity has neither liberty to express himself nor to say what I say now. Rather, he has been taken away and stays silent. On the contrary, I did not experience that, but I speak and answer. But the same does not happen to those who are iniquitous.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Since the friends of Job had asserted opinions like this he adds, "Far be it from me to judge you just": for he could not judge them just unless he approved of their unjust opinion, in which he would be deviating from his own justice. …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It is God that justifies. To resolve that our hearts shall not reproach us when we give them cause to do so is to affront God, whose deputy conscience is, and to wrong ourselves; for it is a good thing, when a man has sinned, to have a heart within him to smite him for it, 2 Sam. xxiv.
God forbid that I should justify you,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
God forbid - לי חלילה châlı̂ylâh lı̂y. “Far be it from me.” Literally, “Profane be it to me;” that is, I should regard it as unholy and profane; I cannot do it. That I should justify you - That I should admit the correctness of your positions, and should concede that I am an hypocrite. He was conscious of integrity and sincerity, and nothing could induce him to abandon that conviction, or to admit the correctness of the reasoning which they had pursued in regard to him.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
God forbid - חלילה לי - di chalilah lli, far be it from me, that I should justify you - that I should now, by any kind of acknowledgment of wickedness or hypocrisy justify your harsh judgment. You say that God afflicts me for my crimes; I say, and God knows it is truth, that I have not sinned so as to draw down any such judgment upon me. Your judgment, therefore, is pronounced at your own risk.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חָלִ֣ילָה | chalilah | far be it | H2486 → | |
| לִּי֮ | li | to me | ||
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| אַצְדִּ֪יק | ʾatzdik | I will declare right | H6663 → | 41 times |
| אֶ֫תְכֶ֥ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| אֶגְוָ֑ע | ʾegva' | I will expire | H1478 → | 24 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אָסִ֖יר | ʾasir | I will put aside | H5493 → | 299 times |
| תֻּמָּתִ֣י | tumati | integrity my | H8538 → | 5 times |
| מִמֶּֽנִּי׃ | mimeni | from me | H4480 → | 1188 times |
חָלִ֣ילָהfar be it
chalilahH2486 →
לִּי֮to me
li
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
אַצְדִּ֪יקI will declare right
ʾatzdikH6663 →41 times
אֶ֫תְכֶ֥ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
אֶגְוָ֑עI will expire
ʾegva'H1478 →24 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
אָסִ֖ירI will put aside
ʾasirH5493 →299 times
תֻּמָּתִ֣יintegrity my
tumatiH8538 →5 times
מִמֶּֽנִּי׃from me
mimeniH4480 →1188 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
Job 13:15Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. I will still defend my ways to His face.
it leads to
- Psalms 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
- Job 23:10
Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
- Job 19:25–28
But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end He will stand upon the earth.
- Romans 8:38–39
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
- 1 John 3:20
Even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and He knows all things.
- Psalms 23:4
Through
Proverbs 17:15Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous—both are detestable to the LORD.
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:23
who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 23:7
Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the guilty.
- Proverbs 18:5
Showing partiality to the wicked is not good, nor is depriving the innocent of justice.
- Isaiah 5:23
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Job
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Job; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XVIII; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON JOB 27:5B-6; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.