Job 13 27

Job 13:27 kjv

Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly unto all my paths; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet.

Job 13:27 nkjv

You put my feet in the stocks, And watch closely all my paths. You set a limit for the soles of my feet.

Job 13:27 niv

You fasten my feet in shackles; you keep close watch on all my paths by putting marks on the soles of my feet.

Job 13:27 esv

You put my feet in the stocks and watch all my paths; you set a limit for the soles of my feet.

Job 13:27 nlt

You put my feet in stocks.
You examine all my paths.
You trace all my footprints.

Job 13 verses

Job 13 27 Meaning

Job 13:27 expresses Job’s deep anguish and his perception of God’s harsh treatment. He sees God as a celestial judge meticulously documenting accusations and punishing him for sins committed in his youth, implying that the severity of his current suffering is an unjust and disproportionate consequence for past, perhaps minor, transgressions. It is a cry of bewilderment and a plea for understanding why his distant past is being called into account for his present immense suffering.

Job 13 27 Context

Job 13:27 falls within Job's third speech, a direct address to God, shifting from debating his friends to directly confronting the divine. In this chapter, Job has declared his desire to plead his case before God, confident in his own righteousness (v. 15-18). He challenges God to reveal his transgressions (v. 23-24). Prior to verse 27, Job has described God's hand as heavy upon him, accusing God of being a cruel adversary rather than a compassionate sovereign. He questions God's relentless pursuit, "Why hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?" (v. 24). Verse 27, therefore, elaborates on this perceived hostility, where Job sees God not just hiding His face, but actively scrutinizing his past for reasons to justify his current, profound suffering, as if keeping a meticulous record of his youthful shortcomings. This reflects a common ancient Near Eastern belief that suffering was directly proportional to sin, which Job is grappling with in the extreme.

Job 13 27 Word analysis

• For Thou writest:

  • Original Hebrew: Tiktov (תִּכְתֹּב) – from the root katav (כָּתַב), meaning "to write," "to register," "to inscribe."
  • Significance: Implies God is acting as a judge or a prosecuting scribe. He is actively creating a written record or decree of accusation against Job, making the charges formal and undeniable from Job's perspective. This is not a passive judgment, but an intentional act of recording Job’s perceived guilt. It suggests a methodical process of recalling and noting down every past misdeed, however small.

• bitter things:

  • Original Hebrew: Merorot (מְרֹרוֹת) – plural of mar (מַר), meaning "bitter," "bitterness," "gall."
  • Significance: These "bitter things" refer to harsh, grievous, or painful decrees or judgments. The term evokes the physical and emotional unpleasantness of something bitter, like a poisonous substance or bitter herbs (e.g., in Passover). Job feels these written accusations are not only condemning but also agonizingly painful in their effect, mirroring his severe suffering.

• against me:

  • Implies an adversarial stance from God. Job feels targeted and unjustly accused. God is positioned as an opponent.

• and makest me to possess:

  • Original Hebrew: Vat'torishenee (וַתּוֹרִישֵׁנִי) – from the Hiphil stem of yarash (יָרַשׁ), meaning "to inherit," "to possess," "to take possession of," but in the Hiphil, "to cause to inherit," "to make one possess," or "to cause one to take as one's own."
  • Significance: This goes beyond merely suffering for sin; Job feels he is being forced to inherit his past misdeeds as a form of "possession," meaning he cannot escape them. The suffering is directly presented as the unavoidable legacy of these former actions, actively assigned to him by God. It signifies a profound sense of entrapment within his past.

• the iniquities:

  • Original Hebrew: Avonot (עֲוֹנוֹת) – plural of avon (עָוֹן), referring to "perversity," "moral guilt," "punishment for iniquity," or "sin itself."
  • Significance: Not just errors, but sins carrying guilt and requiring atonement. Job is questioning if what God views as "iniquities" are genuinely proportionate to his immense suffering. He feels the punishment far outweighs any actual "iniquity," particularly those of his younger days.

• of my youth:

  • Original Hebrew: Ne'uraay (נְעוּרָי) – "my youth," referring to the time of adolescence and early adulthood.
  • Significance: Job emphasizes the time frame, suggesting that even if he sinned then, they were the less considered actions of immaturity. It highlights a common plea for grace for youthful mistakes. He finds it inexplicable that God would meticulously remember and apply judgment for actions long past, especially when his adult life has been one of faithfulness. It implies God is unearthing old, perhaps minor, transgressions from a period when wisdom and discernment were still developing.

• Words-group Analysis:

  • "Thou writest bitter things against me": This phrase portrays God as an active adversary, recording a harsh legal case or severe condemnation against Job. It creates an image of a cosmic ledger, meticulously updated with Job's perceived offenses. This act of "writing" implies formality, permanence, and irrefutable judgment from God's side.
  • "and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth": This expands on the consequence of the "bitter things." Job's current suffering is experienced not merely as punishment, but as an inescapable "inheritance" from his past, even from actions in his formative years. He is burdened by deeds that he believes should long since have been forgiven, forgotten, or at least not magnified to justify such overwhelming calamity. It suggests that God is relentlessly connecting his suffering to his earliest and perhaps least significant missteps, rather than focusing on his mature life of piety.

Job 13 27 Bonus section

The imagery of God "writing" accusations (like a divine indictment or a record in a celestial book) against Job resonates with ancient legal practices where formal charges were inscribed. It reflects Job's fear that God's actions are pre-determined and based on an immutable record. This contrasts sharply with later biblical themes of God's forgiveness, blotting out sins, and not remembering transgressions. Job's perception also underscores the existential fear of the unknown sin – a minor, youthful error magnified by divine decree. The very act of God "making him possess" his youth's iniquities suggests a judicial act of assigning full ownership and consequence of every past mistake directly onto his present existence, with no grace for youthful folly or passage of time.

Job 13 27 Commentary

Job 13:27 powerfully conveys Job's anguish over God's seemingly severe and inexplicable judgment. He perceives God not as a benevolent Father, but as a relentless prosecuting attorney, meticulously "writing bitter things" – formal, harsh accusations – against him. This suggests God is creating a definitive record of his transgressions, treating him as a serious offender. Job is bewildered why these severe charges target "the iniquities of my youth." This highlights his protest that the extent of his suffering is utterly disproportionate to any minor missteps from his less discerning younger years. He feels he is forced to "possess" these past sins as a tangible, inescapable burden, with his current affliction being the "inheritance" of those earlier faults. This plea is central to Job's wider argument that his current suffering does not align with the traditional understanding of retribution theology as proposed by his friends. He is desperately seeking clarification on what "bitter things" are written against him and why God would unearth past actions as the cause for his unprecedented calamity.