Read & explore together
Job Affirms His Integrity
In these verses, Job speaks firmly about truthfulness and integrity. He feels deeply wronged, yet he still chooses his words carefully and refuses to say what he believes is false.
Understanding the passage
Listening in context
This passage presents Job speaking again in a parable. He speaks of God as living, says God has taken away his right and made his soul bitter, and then states how he will speak and how he will hold to his integrity while he lives.
Job 27:1–6Main takeaway
This passage shows Job insisting that deep suffering does not make him willing to speak deceitfully or abandon what he calls his integrity.
Look closely at the words
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01Job begins to speak againThe passage opens by saying Job took up his parable and spoke. That tells us we are listening to a deliberate statement, not a casual comment.
Explanation
The passage opens by saying Job took up his parable and spoke. That tells us we are listening to a deliberate statement, not a casual comment. What follows is carefully expressed wisdom and dialogue, where Job sets out his position in strong, serious words.
02Job speaks while feeling wrongedJob swears by the life of God, yet he also says God has taken away his right and made his soul bitter.
Explanation
Job swears by the life of God, yet he also says God has taken away his right and made his soul bitter. The words show two things together: Job still speaks in relation to God, and Job honestly describes his pain and sense of injustice.
03Life and breath still remainJob adds that his life is still in him and the spirit of God is in his nostrils. In this passage, that is his reason for continuing to speak.
04He refuses deceit and will hold fastJob says his lips will not speak unrighteousness and his tongue will not utter deceit. He will not justify the others, and until death he will not put away his integrity.
Explanation
Job says his lips will not speak unrighteousness and his tongue will not utter deceit. He will not justify the others, and until death he will not put away his integrity. He says he holds fast to his righteousness, and his heart will not reproach him while he lives.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01What two painful things does Job say about God in this passage?
Look for Job’s own description of what has been taken away and how his soul has been affected.
02How does Job describe the way he will use his mouth and tongue?
Notice the exact words he uses about unrighteousness and deceit.
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
Job 27:1–6
1Job again took up his parable, and said,
2“As God lives, who has taken away my right, the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter
3(for the length of my life is still in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils);
4surely my lips will not speak unrighteousness, neither will my tongue utter deceit.
5Far be it from me that I should justify you. Until I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
6I hold fast to my righteousness, and will not let it go. My heart will not reproach me so long as I live.