Job 36:21
in Job 36Be careful not to turn to iniquity, for this you have preferred to affliction.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Take heed, regard not iniquity: For this hast thou chosen rather than affliction.
KJV
Take heed, regard not iniquity: for this hast thou chosen rather than affliction.
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This verse in Job 36
Commentary
11 notes on this verseTake heed, regard not iniquity,.... Not any iniquity, as to show any approbation of it, love for it, and desire after it. All appearance of sin, of every sin, is to be abstained from; but particularly by the iniquity here meant may be the sin of impatience under his affliction; murmuring at the dealings of God with him; arraigning his justice, and saying very indecent things of him, as in Job 34:
This site's exposition
The godless in heart harbor resentment
on Job 36:13-21
Elihu warns Job directly that he is “laden with the judgment due the wicked”, and that “judgment and justice have seized you”. Wesley takes “Do not long for the night” in verse 20 as a warning against wishing for death, the wish Job voiced in chapter 3.
This site's exposition
you have preferred to affliction
To turn to iniquity here is to speak against God, say Jamieson, Fausset and Brown. Job preferred that to bearing his affliction with patience. Complaint only adds sin to sorrow.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church3 voices
All these things tend to this conclusion: To avoid injustice in the state of future prosperity. So he says, "Beware that you do not fall into evil," in one of these ways or others. Job could say that this warning was superfluous because he was …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistMorals on the Book of Job, Book XXVI · Written before 604.
proposed
Take heed that thou decline not to iniquity, for thou hast begun to follow this after misery. He follows iniquity after misery, who, after the evils which he endures for his correction, inflames himself, in his glowing heart, with the torches of impatience.
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistMorals on the Book of Job, Book XXVI · Written before 604.
proposed
Decline not to iniquity; for thou hast begun to follow this after misery. Haughty men in truth call this the misery of the Church, because they suspect that its main body is despised by God: and they scorn it with loftier pride, the more they suspect that it is utterly despised by God.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Those that ease their cares by sinful pleasures, increase their wealth by sinful pursuits, escape their troubles by sinful projects, and evade sufferings for righteousness' sake by sinful compliances against their consciences, make a choice they will repent of; for there is more evil in the least sin than in the greatest affliction. It is an evil, and only evil.
His demonstration of God's sovereignty and omnipotence, which he gives instances of in the operations of common providence, and which is a reason why we should all submit to him in his dealings with us,
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Take heed, regard not iniquity - That is, be cautious that in the view which you take of the divine government, and the sentiments which you express, you do not become the advocate of iniquity. Elihu apprehended this from the remarks in which he had indulged, and regarded him as having become the advocate of the same sentiments which the wicked held, and as in fact manifesting the same spirit. It is well to put a man who is afflicted on his guard against this, when he attempts to reason about the divine administration.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
regard--literally, "turn thyself to." iniquity--namely, presumptuous speaking against God (Job 34:5, and above, see on Job 36:17, 18). rather than--to bear "affliction" with pious patience. Men think it an alleviation to complain against God, but this is adding sin to sorrow; it is sin, not sorrow, which can really hurt us (contrast Heb 11:25).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Regard not iniquity - It is sinful to entertain such wishes; it is an insult to the providence of God. He sends affliction; he knows this to be best for thee: but thou hast preferred death to affliction, thereby setting thy wisdom against the wisdom of God. Many in affliction, long for death; and yet they are not prepared to appear before God! What madness is this! If he takes them at their wish, they are ruined for ever. Affliction may be the means of their salvation; the wished-for death, of their eternal destruction.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִ֭שָּׁמֶר | hishamer | take heed | H8104 → | 468 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תֵּ֣פֶן | tefen | you turn | H6437 → | 135 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אָ֑וֶן | ʾaven | wickedness | H205 → | 77 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | <on> | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| זֶ֝֗ה | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| בָּחַ֥רְתָּ | bacharta | you have chosen | H977 → | 171 times |
| מֵעֹֽנִי׃ | meoni | more than affliction | H6040 → | 36 times |
הִ֭שָּׁמֶרtake heed
hishamerH8104 →468 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תֵּ֣פֶןyou turn
tefenH6437 →135 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אָ֑וֶןwickedness
ʾavenH205 →77 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
עַל־<on>
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
זֶ֝֗הthis
zehH2088 →1180 times
בָּחַ֥רְתָּyou have chosen
bachartaH977 →171 times
מֵעֹֽנִי׃more than affliction
meoniH6040 →36 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
Matthew 16:24Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
it leads to
- Matthew 10:38
and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.
- Luke 14:27
And whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.
- 1 Peter 4:1–2
Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin.
- Luke 9:23–27
Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
- Mark 10:21
Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, “There is one thing you lack: Go, sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then…
- Matthew 10:38
Through
Psalms 66:18If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
it leads to
- John 9:31
We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to the one who worships Him and does His will.
- Proverbs 28:9
Whoever turns his ear away from hearing the law, even his prayer is detestable.
- Proverbs 15:29
The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.
- John 9:31
About Job
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXVI; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.