Job 27

General context

Job continues his parable. He swears by God, who he says has taken away his judgment and vexed his soul, that while breath is in him his lips will not speak wickedness nor his tongue deceit. God forbid, he says, that he should justify the friends; until he dies he will not remove his integrity. He holds fast his righteousness and his heart will not reproach him. Let his enemy be as the wicked. He asks what hope the hypocrite has when God takes away his soul, whether God will hear his cry, and whether he will always call upon God. Job then says he will teach them by the hand of God and not conceal what is with the Almighty; they have all seen it, so why are they vain? He describes the portion of a wicked man: his children multiplied for the sword, his offspring short of bread, his remnant buried and his widows not weeping. Though he heaps up silver as dust and raiment as clay, the just will wear it and the innocent divide the silver. His house is like a moth's or a keeper's booth. The rich man lies down and is not gathered; he opens his eyes and is gone. Terrors take hold like waters, a tempest steals him in the night, the east wind carries him away. God casts upon him without sparing; men clap their hands at him and hiss him out of his place.

Cited passages: Job 27:1, Job 27:2, Job 27:3, Job 27:4, Job 27:5, Job 27:6, Job 27:7, Job 27:8, Job 27:9, Job 27:11, Job 27:12, Job 27:13, Job 27:14, Job 27:15, Job 27:16, Job 27:17, Job 27:18, Job 27:19, Job 27:20, Job 27:21, Job 27:22, Job 27:23

Job 27 (KJV)

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Historical context

The heading says Job "continued his parable"; "parable" is the word the text uses for the speech, and "continued" marks it as a continuation rather than a reply to a new speaker, since no friend speaks between chapters 26 and 27. The oath "As God liveth" is Job's, and his statement that God "hath taken away my judgment" is his own claim about God. The "you" of verse 5 and the "ye yourselves" of verse 12 are plural, addressing the friends together. The account of the wicked man's portion in verses 13 to 23 resembles what Eliphaz said in chapter 22 about the wicked being cut down and their remnant consumed, and stands in tension with Job's statement in chapter 24 that God lays no folly to oppressors. The text does not resolve this; some readers assign parts of the chapter to another speaker, but the printed heading gives the whole chapter to Job. The chapter names no place or time.

Cited passages: Job 27:1, Job 26:1, Job 27:2, Job 27:5, Job 27:12, Job 27:13, Job 22:16, Job 22:20, Job 24:12

Literary context

The chapter opens with an oath formula and a string of first-person possessives: my judgment, my soul, my breath, my lips, my tongue, mine integrity, my righteousness, my heart. The refusal "God forbid that I should justify you" is the direct answer to Eliphaz's "If thou return to the Almighty"; Job will not buy restoration with a confession. At verse 11 the speech turns from oath to instruction, "I will teach you," and from verse 13 it becomes a catalogue of the wicked man's losses: children, offspring, remnant, widows, silver, raiment, house, sleep, and finally his place, as men hiss him out of it. The images echo Eliphaz with a twist. Eliphaz promised Job would "lay up gold as dust" on returning; Job describes the wicked heaping "silver as the dust" only for the innocent to divide it. The terrors and waters that overtake the wicked in the night match the sudden fear and abundance of waters Eliphaz said covered Job, but Job now applies them to his enemy, having first said, "Let mine enemy be as the wicked."

Cited passages: Job 27:2, Job 27:4, Job 27:5, Job 22:23, Job 27:11, Job 27:23, Job 22:24, Job 27:16, Job 27:17, Job 27:20, Job 22:10, Job 27:7, Job 22:11

Key moments

1. Oath by the living God (Job 27:2). Job swears by God, who he says has taken away his judgment.
2. No justifying the friends (Job 27:5). Job says he will not justify them or give up his integrity until he dies.
3. Righteousness held fast (Job 27:6). Job says his heart will not reproach him as long as he lives.
4. Hope of the hypocrite (Job 27:8). Job asks what hope the hypocrite has when God takes his soul.
5. I will teach you (Job 27:11). Job turns to instruct the friends about what is with the Almighty.
6. Silver for the innocent (Job 27:17). The wicked man's raiment is worn by the just and his silver divided by the innocent.
7. Hissed out of his place (Job 27:23). Job ends with men clapping their hands at the wicked man and hissing him away.

For reflection

Job swears he will never say the friends are right, then describes the fate of the wicked in words close to theirs. Is he conceding their point, or turning it against them?

People in this chapter

• Job