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Atomic Bible
Job

Chapter 27

Job Affirms His Integrity and The Wicked Man’s Portion

Job continues by swearing that, despite the God who has allowed him to suffer, he will not call falsehood truth in order to satisfy his friends. He clings publicly to his integrity while also insisting that the godless truly do have no enduring hope before God, and the chapter ends by describing the unstable, terror-struck, and finally stripped-down portion that belongs to the wicked.

This chapter matters because it keeps two convictions together that the friends have tried to tear apart: Job can insist on his innocence without denying that wickedness does in fact come to ruin. In that sense the chapter distinguishes Job from both the hypocrite and the friend, since he refuses both moral surrender and simplistic theology.

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Job 27

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vv. 1-6

Job Affirms His Integrity

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J1ob continued his discourse: 2“As surely as God lives, who has deprived me of justice — 3as long as my breath is still within me

4my lips will not speak wickedness, 5I will never say that you are right; 6I will cling to my righteousness and never let go.

vv. 7-23

The Wicked Man’s Portion

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M7ay my enemy be like the wicked 8For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, 9Will God hear his cry 10Will he delight in the Almighty? 11I will instruct you in the power of God. 12Surely all of you have seen it for yourselves.

13This is the wicked man’s portion from God — 14Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword; 15His survivors will be buried by the plague, 16Though he heaps up silver like dust 17what he lays up, the righteous will wear, 18The house he built is like a moth’s cocoon,

19He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more; 20Terrors overtake him like a flood; 21The east wind carries him away, and he is gone; 22It hurls itself against him without mercy 23It claps its hands at him

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  1. 01vv. 1-6Job Affirms His IntegrityJob begins with an oath by the living God, the very God who has denied him justice and embittered his soul, and yet he vows not to speak wickedly or pretend that his friends are right. As long as breath remains in him he will hold fast to his righteousness and refuse the lie that his conscience should condemn him.
  2. 02vv. 7-23The Wicked Man’s PortionJob then turns toward the fate of the wicked, wishing that his enemy might share their end rather than his own condition. He argues that the godless person has no lasting hope, no real delight in the Almighty, and no secure future, for whatever wealth, children, or houses are amassed will finally be lost under judgment, terror, and public derision.
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