Job 33:9
in Job 33‘I am pure, without transgression; I am clean, with no iniquity in me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I am clean, without transgression; I am innocent, neither is there iniquity in me:
KJV
I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me.
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This verse in Job 33
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
I am clean - I am pure and holy. Without transgression - Job had not used these very expressions, nor had he intended to maintain that he was absolutely free from sin; see Job 9:20. He had maintained that he was not chargeable with the transgressions of which his three friends maintained that he was guilty, and in doing that he had used strong language, and language which even seemed to imply that he was without transgression; see Job 9:30; Job 10:7; Job 13:23; Job 16:
This site's exposition
Surely you have spoken in my hearing
on Job 33:8-12
“Surely you have spoken in my hearing” begins Elihu's quotation. He answers, “you are not right in this matter”, “for God is greater than man”. Wesley reads verse 12 as the thesis stated early, the argument still to come, and Henry notes the quotation is fair to Job's words.
This site's exposition
I am pure, without transgression
Barnes and Henry both note that Job never used these exact words about being pure and clean. Job had owned himself a sinner, as at Job 9:20. Wesley says Job claimed only that no transgression of his deserved so severe a punishment from God.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistMorals on the Book of Job, Book XXIII · Written before 604.
proposed
I am clean, and without spot of sin, and there is no iniquity in me, because He hath found complaints in me, therefore He hath counted me as His enemy, He hath placed my feet in the stocks, He hath guarded all my ways. And in answer to these words which he said blessed Job had spoken, he immediately states his own opinion.
First, he had noted in the words of Job that he had said that he was immune from sin (13:6 and 16:18) and so he says, "I am clean," from the impurity of the flesh, "and without fault," caused by the sin of omission; "without …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Clean - Not absolutely, for he often confesses himself to be a sinner, but no such transgression, as might give God just occasion to punish him so severely, as is implied, where he blames God for finding occasions against him, implying that he had given him none by his sins.
And sickness, ver. 19- 30. He requests Job to answer him, or let him go on, ver. 31-33 Commentary on Chapter XXXIII 3. My words - I will not speak passionately or partially, but from a sincere desire to do thee good.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-19/31-anchored-8-11
): Thou hast said, I am clean without transgression. Job had not said this totidem verbis--in so many words; nay, he had owned himself to have sinned and to be impure before God; but he had indeed said, Thou knowest that I am not wicked, my righteousness I hold fast, and the like, on which Elihu might ground this charge.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
I am clean without transgression,....
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זַ֥ךְ | zakh | [am] pure | H2134 → | 11 times |
| אֲנִ֗י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| בְּֽלִ֫י | beli | not | H1097 → | 58 times |
| פָ֥שַׁע | fasha' | transgression | H6588 → | 93 times |
| חַ֥ף | chaf | [am] innocent | H2643 → | |
| אָנֹכִ֑י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| וְלֹ֖א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עָוֹ֣ן | ʾavon | iniquity | H5771 → | 233 times |
| לִֽי׃ | li | [belongs] to me |
זַ֥ךְ[am] pure
zakhH2134 →11 times
אֲנִ֗יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
בְּֽלִ֫יnot
beliH1097 →58 times
פָ֥שַׁעtransgression
fasha'H6588 →93 times
חַ֥ף[am] innocent
chafH2643 →
אָנֹכִ֑יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
וְלֹ֖אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
עָוֹ֣ןiniquity
ʾavonH5771 →233 times
לִֽי׃[belongs] to me
li
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 29:14I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; justice was my robe and my turban.
it leads to
- Isaiah 61:10
I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom…
- Isaiah 59:17
He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on His head; He put on garments of vengeance and wrapped Himself in a cloak of zeal.
- Psalms 132:9
May Your priests be clothed with righteousness, and Your saints shout for joy.
- Ephesians 6:14
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed,
- Revelation 19:8
She was given clothing of fine linen, bright and pure.” For the fine linen she wears is the righteous acts of the saints.
- Isaiah 61:10
Through
Job 11:4You have said, ‘My doctrine is sound, and I am pure in Your sight.’
it leads to
- Job 10:7
though You know that I am not guilty, and there is no deliverance from Your hand?
- Job 10:7
Through
Job 16:17yet my hands are free of violence and my prayer is pure.
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:8
The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
- Proverbs 15:8
Through
Job 10:7though You know that I am not guilty, and there is no deliverance from Your hand?
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:39
See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My…
- Deuteronomy 32:39
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Job
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXIII; 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.