Single lesson
Job 27: Comparing the Voices in the Debate
Job 27:1–6; Job 27:7–23
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. This lesson also brings together The Wicked Man’s Portion.
Before you teach
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.
Explain the central teaching of Job 27: Comparing the Voices in the Debate, using two details from the reading. This passage shows Job insisting that deep suffering does not make him willing to speak deceitfully or abandon what he calls his integrity. In Job’s speech here, apparent success cannot give lasting safety to the wicked before God.
Welcome: Job 27: Comparing the Voices in the Debate
5 minIntroduce “Job Affirms His Integrity”, “The Wicked Man’s Portion” and locate Job 27:1–6; Job 27:7–23. This passage shows Job insisting that deep suffering does not make him willing to speak deceitfully or abandon what he calls his integrity. Invite each learner to name a detail or question they will listen for.
Job 27:1, Job 27:4, Job 27:6
Read and explain the passage
12 minJob Affirms His Integrity (Job 27:1–6): 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.
The Wicked Man’s Portion (Job 27:7–23): The speech opens with a wish that Job’s enemy be like the wicked and unrighteous. Then come searching questions: what hope does the godless have when cut off? Will God hear his cry in trouble? Will he delight himself in the Almighty and call on God at all times?
Read the selected verses together, pausing at “Job Affirms His Integrity”, “The Wicked Man’s Portion”. Use the source reading below and check the explanation against the words of the passage.
Job 27:1, Job 27:7, Job 27:8, Job 27:9, Job 27:10
Discuss the details and their meaning
8 minUse the three questions below. Begin with “What two painful things does Job say about God in this passage?” and allow time to find the supporting verses. In Job’s speech here, apparent success cannot give lasting safety to the wicked before God. Ask learners to explain which details support their answer and to identify a question they would like to explore further.
Job 27:2, Job 27:4, Job 27:19, Job 27:20, Job 27:21, Job 27:23
Make and respond: Wisdom comparison cards
12 minWork on “Job 27: Comparing the Voices in the Debate: Wisdom comparison cards”. Follow the materials and steps below, using “Job Affirms His Integrity”, “The Wicked Man’s Portion” as reading headings. Each learner should include at least two accurate details and their verse references. Share one observation from the finished sheet and explain how it connects with the central teaching.
Job 27:1, Job 27:12, Job 27:23
Closing: return to The Wicked Man’s Portion
3 minRevisit Job 27:7–23. Invite a learner to summarise what the group has learned about The Wicked Man’s Portion and another to support the summary with a verse. Give learners a moment to complete their response sheet. They can share a question or, if appropriate for the group, join the optional prayer.
Job 27:7, Job 27:15, Job 27:23
Questions to explore
What 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.
Job 27:2
How does Job describe the way he will use his mouth and tongue?
Notice the exact words he uses about unrighteousness and deceit.
Job 27:4
Which pictures show that wealth cannot secure the wicked person?
Look for the contrast between lying down rich and then being overtaken, swept away and publicly driven out.
Job 27:19, Job 27:20, Job 27:21, Job 27:23
Make, think or respond
Job 27: Comparing the Voices in the Debate: Wisdom comparison cards
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pencils or pens
- a Bible or the source reading on this page
Try it together
- Fold a sheet into three panels or draw three columns. Label them “What the passage commends”, “What it warns against”, “The reason or outcome stated”.
- Read Job 27:1–6; Job 27:7–23. Use “Job Affirms His Integrity”, “The Wicked Man’s Portion” as your reading headings and add a short quotation or detail with its verse reference to each panel.
- Compare your notes with a partner. Check that every quotation is accurate and every conclusion has support in the passage.
- Write a proposed everyday example beside one teaching. Label it as your example and explain which words in the text guided it.
The finished sheet keeps the details of Job 27: Comparing the Voices in the Debate connected to their Bible references and gives the group a way to explain what they noticed.
Adapt for your group
- For learners who need more support, prepare the reading headings “Job Affirms His Integrity”, “The Wicked Man’s Portion” and let them match short quotations to the correct heading.
- For confident readers, compare two sections of Job 27:1–6; Job 27:7–23. Ask for a written explanation with two supporting references and one question that the text leaves open.
An optional closing prayer
“God, help us listen carefully as we read Job 27:1–6; Job 27:7–23. Help us understand what we have read, ask thoughtful questions and respond with care for others. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Job 27
1 Job 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);
4 surely my lips will not speak unrighteousness, neither will my tongue utter deceit.
5 Far be it from me that I should justify you. Until I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
6 I hold fast to my righteousness, and will not let it go. My heart will not reproach me so long as I live.
7 “Let my enemy be as the wicked. Let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
8 For what is the hope of the godless, when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
9 Will God hear his cry when trouble comes on him?
10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty, and call on God at all times?
11 I will teach you about the hand of God. I will not conceal that which is with the Almighty.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves; why then have you become altogether vain?
13 “This is the portion of a wicked man with God, the heritage of oppressors, which they receive from the Almighty.
14 If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword. His offspring will not be satisfied with bread.
15 Those who remain of him will be buried in death. His widows will make no lamentation.
16 Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare clothing as the clay;
17 he may prepare it, but the just will put it on, and the innocent will divide the silver.
18 He builds his house as the moth, as a booth which the watchman makes.
19 He lies down rich, but he will not do so again. He opens his eyes, and he is not.
20 Terrors overtake him like waters. A storm steals him away in the night.
21 The east wind carries him away, and he departs. It sweeps him out of his place.
22 For it hurls at him, and does not spare, as he flees away from his hand.
23 Men will clap their hands at him, and will hiss him out of his place.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.