Job 27 6

Job 27:6 kjv

My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

Job 27:6 nkjv

My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live.

Job 27:6 niv

I will maintain my innocence and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.

Job 27:6 esv

I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go; my heart does not reproach me for any of my days.

Job 27:6 nlt

I will maintain my innocence without wavering.
My conscience is clear for as long as I live.

Job 27 verses

Job 27 6 Meaning

Job 27:6 asserts Job's unwavering commitment to his righteousness, refusing to abandon it despite his severe suffering and the accusations of his friends. He declares that his conscience, his inner being, will not condemn him for any unconfessed sin, affirming his integrity and blamelessness in the eyes of his own heart for as long as he lives.

Job 27 6 Context

Job 27 forms part of Job's final extended discourse (chapters 27-31). His three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, have exhausted their arguments, attributing Job's suffering to hidden sin. Job, however, consistently maintains his righteousness. In this chapter, Job renews his oath, solemnly asserting his integrity before God and his friends. This verse is a powerful declaration of his commitment to this stance until death, directly contrasting his blameless self-assessment with their accusations. He is not claiming absolute sinlessness, which no human can, but an innocence from the specific gross transgressions for which they presumed God was punishing him. Historically, Job's narrative would have resonated with audiences grappling with the problem of evil and divine justice, challenging the simplistic belief that all suffering is direct punishment for sin. It implicitly refutes the idea that one's internal conscience can be silenced indefinitely if actual grave sin is present.

Job 27 6 Word analysis

• My righteousness (צדק, tsedeq):
  • Word Level: Tsedeq often signifies a standard of right conduct, justice, and moral integrity, often related to covenant faithfulness. It describes an adherence to what is right or equitable.
  • Significance: Job is not claiming a works-based perfect righteousness, but an uprightness in his dealings, a faithful adherence to God's ways as he understood them, and the absence of grave sin worthy of his extraordinary affliction. It is the righteousness of his life, his integrity. He knows his standing before God, independent of outward circumstances. This contrasts sharply with his friends' implied belief that only sin produces such suffering.
• I hold fast (החזיק, hechezíq):
  • Word Level: This verb denotes a firm grasp, a clinging, a refusal to let go. It implies persistence, strength, and unwavering resolution.
  • Significance: Job's grip on his integrity is resolute, not passive. It speaks of an active, deliberate choice to maintain his upright character, even when everything around him, including his theological friends, conspires to make him abandon it. It reflects endurance through tribulation.
• And will not let it go (ולא-ארף, we-lo-ʼarhph):
  • Word Level: The verb rāphâ (רפה) means "to let drop, relax, abandon, lose heart." With the negative particle loʼ, it emphatically means "not relax my hold, not abandon."
  • Significance: This reinforces the previous phrase, emphasizing an absolute refusal to relinquish his moral stance. It’s an act of defiance against the pressure to confess a sin he hasn't committed. It points to a deep, internal conviction that no external force can shake.
• My heart (לבי, libbî):
  • Word Level: Lev (לֵב) in Hebrew thought is not merely the emotional center but the core of a person – the mind, will, intellect, conscience, and moral decision-making seat.
  • Significance: This signifies Job’s inner moral compass and conscience. It’s a testament to his self-knowledge and transparency before God. He declares his innermost being is clear, not hiding secret wickedness. It emphasizes his personal witness, that his internal court finds him innocent of his friends' charges.
• Shall not reproach me (יחרף-לי, yĕchārāph-lî):
  • Word Level: Chaaraph (חָרַף) means "to taunt, reproach, revile, defy, scorn, disgrace." In this context, it refers to an internal sense of shame, guilt, or condemnation.
  • Significance: This means his conscience will not accuse him of hypocrisy or hidden guilt. A guilty conscience is a source of severe internal torment and God's law inscribed on the heart convicts of sin. Job asserts his heart is clear, bearing no such internal witness against him. This suggests true spiritual peace, despite his physical torment.
• So long as I live (כל-ימי, kol-yāmay):
  • Word Level: "All my days." This is a temporal phrase emphasizing perpetuity or lifelong duration.
  • Significance: Job pledges his integrity until his dying breath. This underscores his resolute and enduring conviction. It's a testament to his ultimate faith in God to vindicate him, even if it happens after death. It makes his declaration final and unconditional, spanning his entire existence.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go": This phrase asserts Job's unwavering conviction of his own integrity and his fierce determination to maintain it. It shows an active defense of his character against all external pressure, revealing the depth of his commitment to his perceived blamelessness before God. This is not pride but a plea for justice, based on his self-perception of a life lived according to God’s known will.
• "My heart shall not reproach me so long as I live": This is a powerful statement of a clear conscience. Job is asserting his inner peace and lack of self-condemnation for the specific sins his friends accused him of. It indicates a profound confidence in his own moral standing, rooted in an unblemished inner testimony, enduring until his final day. This demonstrates spiritual health where true repentance is present, allowing peace of mind from known sin.

Job 27 6 Bonus section

The Hebrew concept of the "heart" (lev) as the center of moral and intellectual life is crucial here. Job's statement "My heart shall not reproach me" is highly significant because it reflects an inner courtroom. In biblical thought, God's law is written on the heart (Jer 31:33, Rom 2:15), and a conscience can accuse or excuse. For Job's lev not to reproach him implies that his internal self-assessment aligns with innocence regarding the charges brought by his friends. This underscores a spiritual integrity where self-deception concerning grave sin is absent. It's an affirmation of transparency with oneself and, implicitly, with God, demonstrating a person who is living according to his known walk with the Divine, trusting in eventual vindication even unto death.

Job 27 6 Commentary

Job 27:6 stands as a profound declaration of integrity and an affirmation of the inner peace that comes from a clear conscience, even in the midst of extreme suffering and public accusation. Job, against the incessant accusations of his friends that he must have sinned greatly to warrant such calamity, resolutely clings to his righteousness. This is not a claim to absolute perfection (for no human is perfect), but an insistence that his life and his heart are not defiled by the grievous, hidden sins his accusers posit as the cause of his suffering. He knows his life; his inner being bears him witness.

His determination to "hold fast" his righteousness illustrates remarkable spiritual fortitude. This commitment is a refusal to yield to false guilt or to compromise his moral truth for temporary relief. It suggests a reliance on a deep personal relationship with God, where one's inner witness aligns with God's ultimate standard. The absence of internal reproach from his heart ("my heart shall not reproach me") points to the state of a conscience at peace because no unconfessed or deliberate sin of a nature warranting divine punishment, as claimed by his friends, burden him. This spiritual state, cultivated through a life lived seeking to honor God, provides an anchor amidst life's storms. It is a vital aspect of God's grace that a believer can, by God's cleansing and strengthening, experience an unburdened conscience, which serves as a lamp in the inner person. Job's assertion speaks to the truth that a genuinely upright person can maintain inner peace even when outwardly assailed.

• Examples for Practical Usage:
  • In times of false accusation, one's inner conviction of integrity, by God's grace, can sustain hope and perseverance.
  • A clear conscience, fostered by regular confession and walking in God's light, provides an invaluable peace that external circumstances cannot easily disrupt.
  • Holding fast to Christ's righteousness (not just one's own efforts) through faith provides true and lasting vindication before God.