Job 10 15

Job 10:15 kjv

If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction;

Job 10:15 nkjv

If I am wicked, woe to me; Even if I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head. I am full of disgrace; See my misery!

Job 10:15 niv

If I am guilty?woe to me! Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head, for I am full of shame and drowned in my affliction.

Job 10:15 esv

If I am guilty, woe to me! If I am in the right, I cannot lift up my head, for I am filled with disgrace and look on my affliction.

Job 10:15 nlt

If I am guilty, too bad for me;
and even if I'm innocent, I can't hold my head high,
because I am filled with shame and misery.

Job 10 verses

Job 10 15 Meaning

Job 10:15 encapsulates Job's profound despair and bewildering situation before God. He declares a no-win scenario: whether found guilty or innocent, his suffering remains constant and his ability to experience honor or relief is completely denied. He feels utterly overwhelmed by public shame and intensely aware of his relentless affliction, culminating in a desperate plea for God to witness his distress.

Job 10 15 Context

Job chapter 10 is part of Job's second soliloquy, a deep lament where he directly addresses God. Following the counsel of his friends and their accusations, Job has defended his integrity and questioned the divine justice system as he experiences it. In chapters 9 and 10, Job grapples with God's overwhelming power (9:4-10), the futility of arguing with Him (9:14-20), and his perceived arbitrary judgment (9:21-24). Verse 15 follows Job's protestation that God treats him as an enemy (10:13-14), despite God having intricately formed him (10:8-12). This verse intensifies his dilemma: his profound suffering makes no sense under any moral framework, as neither wickedness nor righteousness yields him relief or honor in God's presence. He is completely bewildered and overwhelmed, convinced that he is suffering without cause. This deeply challenges the traditional retributive theology held by his friends, which posited that all suffering is direct punishment for sin.

Job 10 15 Word analysis

• If I am wicked, woe to me (אִם רָשַׁעְתִּי אוֹי לִי - ʾim rāshaʿtî ʾôy lî):

  • אִם (ʾim - If): Introduces a conditional statement, a premise Job explores.
  • רָשַׁעְתִּי (rāshaʿtî - I am wicked): From the verb רָשַׁע (rasha'), meaning to be guilty, condemned, act wickedly. Job hypothetically admits guilt, only to demonstrate that it makes no difference in his condition. This sets up the logical conundrum.
  • אוֹי לִי (ʾôy lî - woe to me): An emphatic exclamation of lament, sorrow, and impending judgment. It signifies a state of profound and inescapable misery, consistent with a person receiving just punishment.

• if righteous, I cannot lift up my head (וְצָדַקְתִּי לֹא אֶשָּׂא רֹאשִׁי - wəṣādāqtî lōʾ ʾeśśāʾ rōʾšî):

  • וְצָדַקְתִּי (wəṣādāqtî - and if I am righteous): From the verb צָדַק (tsadaq), meaning to be just, innocent, in the right, acquitted. This is the paradoxical alternative to "wicked." Job claims that even if his moral standing is upright, his state remains dire.
  • לֹא (lōʾ - not): A strong negation, indicating absolute inability or refusal.
  • אֶשָּׂא רֹאשִׁי (ʾeśśāʾ rōʾšî - I will lift up my head): "Lift up my head" is a Hebrew idiom signifying confidence, honor, vindication, boldness, or pride (in a good sense, e.g., after acquittal). For Job, the inability to lift his head even if righteous expresses profound shame, despair, or the inability to assert his innocence or find vindication in the face of relentless suffering. He is deprived of the dignity righteousness should confer.

• filled with disgrace (שָׂבַע קָלוֹן - śāvāʿ qālôn):

  • שָׂבַע (śāvāʿ - filled with / satiated): Implies being completely saturated, having one's fill to overflowing. It suggests a profound and overwhelming experience, not a passing emotion.
  • קָלוֹן (qālôn - disgrace / shame / contempt): Refers to public dishonor, ignominy, or reproach. This is not just internal feeling but external perception and condemnation from others and even God (as Job perceives it). He is weighed down by public perception of his suffering as divine punishment.

• and aware of my affliction (וּרְאֵה עָנְיִי - ûraʾēh ʿānyî):

  • וּרְאֵה (ûraʾēh - and see!): This is a Qal imperative, 2nd masculine singular, meaning "and you see!" or "and behold!" Many modern translations interpret this descriptively ("aware of," "and seeing") to convey Job's current state, implying he is acutely conscious of his suffering. However, the direct imperative form suggests a desperate appeal to God, a raw demand for God to acknowledge the intensity of his suffering, aligning with his continuous questioning of divine justice. It is a cry of utter distress.
  • עָנְיִי (ʿānyî - my affliction): Refers to misery, suffering, distress, humiliation, or poverty. This highlights the deep personal experience of his ongoing anguish, a painful reality that God appears to disregard.

• Words-group Analysis:

  • "If I am wicked, woe to me; and if righteous, I cannot lift up my head": This central paradox is the core of Job's despair. It eloquently expresses his lose-lose situation from his human perspective. There is no theological category into which his experience fits, as both a state of guilt and a state of innocence lead to the same result of shame and suffering in his view. This directly confronts the prevailing belief that good always leads to reward and wickedness to punishment.
  • "filled with disgrace and aware of my affliction": These two phrases describe the consequence of his predicament. The disgrace is likely external (what others and he perceives his situation to be from God) while the affliction is his personal, physical, and emotional suffering. The combination paints a picture of complete internal and external desolation, an overwhelming burden that consumes his entire being, with no avenue for relief or escape.

Job 10 15 Bonus section

Job's complaint in this verse, stemming from his lived experience rather than abstract theology, marks a pivotal challenge to ancient Near Eastern wisdom traditions and their tidy explanations for suffering. It hints at the limitations of human wisdom in comprehending the divine plan and foreshadows the broader biblical theme of innocent suffering, which finds its ultimate expression in Christ. Christ, being perfectly righteous, nonetheless endured the greatest shame, disgrace, and affliction (Isa 53:3, Phil 2:8), far more than simply "not lifting His head"—He bowed His head in death (Jn 19:30), bearing the disgrace and sin of humanity. Job's struggle also sets the stage for a revelation of God's sovereignty (Job 38-41) that transcends human concepts of merit and desert. His words reflect the "riddle" of suffering that the entire book of Job seeks to address, not by fully explaining suffering, but by revealing God's character and purposes within it.

Job 10 15 Commentary

Job 10:15 powerfully articulates the depths of Job's existential crisis and spiritual confusion. In this verse, Job dismisses the simplistic theology of his friends by asserting that under the present inexplicable circumstances, his moral standing is irrelevant to his suffering. He lives in a world where God's actions defy human logic and the established principle of retributive justice. Whether he is found "wicked" and deserving of his pain, or "righteous" and supposedly innocent, the outcome is the same: profound sorrow, public shame, and an utter lack of honor or vindication.

The phrase "I cannot lift up my head" signifies an intense state of humiliation and loss of dignity. It reflects not just personal dejection, but a profound public disgrace that he feels unable to escape, even if God were to declare him righteous. His "disgrace" (קָלוֹן - qālôn) suggests public scorn, which further amplifies his suffering beyond mere physical pain to include social and spiritual ostracism. His being "filled" (שָׂבַע - śāvāʿ) with it indicates its overwhelming nature, a deep saturation in contempt. The direct appeal "See my affliction!" highlights Job's desperate yearning for divine acknowledgement and perhaps understanding, underscoring his perceived abandonment by the very God he believes has brought this calamity upon him. This verse highlights the profound human struggle when divine action appears inscrutable and contrary to assumed principles of justice, preparing the ground for a deeper revelation of God's wisdom and sovereignty.