The big picture
Job, a man in deep pain after the loss of his children and wealth, continues speaking to his friends. They have linked his ruin with wrongdoing, but he will not confess to charges he believes false. He swears to keep speaking honestly even while feeling denied a fair hearing by God. He then describes the fate of those who do oppress others. He refuses false blame. That does not mean he thinks cruelty is safe from judgement.
In this chapter
- An Oath Guards Honest Speech Job 27:1-6
Swearing by the living God, Job says that God has denied him justice and made his life bitter.
- Empty Gain Cannot Supply Hope Job 27:7-12
Now Job wishes that those opposing him would receive the fate of the wicked.
- Stored Wealth Reaches Other Hands Job 27:13-18
Job describes the portion God gives to an oppressor.
- Terror Sweeps the Oppressor Away Job 27:19-23
The picture ends with a rich wrongdoer losing his place in the world.
Central truth
Job refuses a false confession while insisting that wealth and power cannot protect those who truly do evil.
Scripture beside the summary
Job · King James Version · 23Job 27:1-6
An Oath Guards Honest Speech
Swearing by the living God, Job says that God has denied him justice and made his life bitter. Yet the breath that keeps him alive still comes from God. As long as he has that breath, he will not speak lies. He refuses to declare his friends right about him. He means to hold to the honest conduct he has claimed until death. This is both a protest and a pledge. Job feels wronged by God but still calls on God as the witness to his refusal to deceive.
In everyday life
The dismissed cashier signs her appeal beside a box of returned uniforms. Accepting a false admission would end the dispute sooner, but she refuses to sign it. She checks each claim against the till record and keeps her own name on the account. Job swears before the God whom he also accuses of withholding justice.
Notice
Job 27:2 Job makes his oath by the same God he says has denied him justice. His protest has not removed God from the centre of his appeal.
Job 27:1-6
King James Version1Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,
2As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;
3All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;
4My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.
5God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
6My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.
Job 27:7-12
Empty Gain Cannot Supply Hope
Now Job wishes that those opposing him would receive the fate of the wicked. He asks what a false person's gain is worth when God takes that person's life. Will a cry in trouble be heard? Does such a person truly delight in God or seek him at all times? Job offers to teach his friends about God's power. They have already seen enough to know better, he says. His challenge turns their roles around: the man they tried to instruct now questions the worth of their empty speech.
In everyday life
A bankrupt shop owner spreads worthless reward cards across a kitchen table. He spent years collecting benefits from a supplier who will not answer his calls now. The printed totals offer no help at the point of need. Job asks about a person's hope before God at death, not the loss of a trading scheme.
Notice
Job 27:8 The question moves from what a false person gains to what remains when life ends. Profit during life cannot answer the question of hope before God.
Job 27:7-12
King James Version7Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.
8For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?
9Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him?
10Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?
11I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.
12Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain?
Job 27:13-18
Stored Wealth Reaches Other Hands
Job describes the portion God gives to an oppressor. A large family does not ensure safety: children face violence, hunger and death. The sorrow reaches those left behind, with no secure future for the household. Silver and fine clothes can pile up in great heaps, yet innocent people will end up using them. A house that seems strong is as fragile as a moth's shelter or a guard's rough hut. Job does not deny that wrongdoing can end in ruin. He denies that his own losses prove he belongs in that group.
In everyday life
Heritage staff sort an abandoned mansion's silk coats and silver cups after the owner's fraud is exposed. One worker enters each item for transfer to those owed money. Fine cloth does not preserve the family name stitched inside it. The room feels stripped of the certainty its owner once claimed. Job's account also includes deaths within the oppressor's family.
Notice
Job 27:17 The owner prepares the clothes, but someone innocent wears them. The change of hands breaks the assumed link between storing wealth and enjoying it.
Job 27:13-18
King James Version13This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty.
14If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
15Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep.
16Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;
17He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.
18He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh.
Job 27:19-23
Terror Sweeps the Oppressor Away
The picture ends with a rich wrongdoer losing his place in the world. He lies down with wealth but opens his eyes to loss. Fear comes like a flood, and a storm carries him off at night. An east wind tears him from his settled place. Job describes God refusing to spare him as he tries to escape. Other people clap and hiss at his fall. The man's riches have not bought refuge. His downfall becomes public disgrace as well as the end of his private sense of safety.
In everyday life
That eviction officer pauses as a former racketeer's boxes are carried down the front steps. Neighbours who once lowered their eyes now watch openly from the pavement. The heavy front door no longer gives its owner control of the street. Job describes God's judgement and the loss of life, not only removal from a house.
Notice
Job 27:22 The oppressor's wish to flee does not produce an escape. Job puts the limit of his power at God's hand, rather than at the size of his savings.
Job 27:19-23
King James Version19The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not.
20Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night.
21The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place.
22For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.
23Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Job 27:1 begins with “Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,”
Where the chapter turns
Job 27:12 forms a natural hinge: “Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain?”
The final note
Job 27:23 leaves the reader with “Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words Almighty, hand, hold, place, prepare, silver help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- fain
- Gladly or eagerly, here describing a strong wish to escape.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
