Job 17:3 · Bible study
Job 17:3 Commentary: A Plea for a Divine Surety
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Job's desperate cry for God to be his surety reveals a hope for a mediator, ultimately fulfilled in Christ.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Job calls on God to provide a guarantor who will secure his vindication, anticipating the mediator Christ.
- Key words: “Give a pledge” (שׂים ערבון), “be surety” (עָרַב), “strike hands” (תָּקַע כַּף).
- Main debate: Is this a direct prophecy of Christ or a general expression of hope for vindication?
- Theological theme: God as both judge and surety; the need for a mediator between God and humanity.
- Best use: Preaching on lament, hope, and the role of Christ as our advocate and guarantee.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Give me, I pray, the pledge You demand. Who else will be my guarantor?
WEB World English Bible 2000
“Now give a pledge. Be collateral for me with yourself. Who is there who will strike hands with me?
KJV King James Version 1769
Lay down now, put me in a surety with thee; who is he that will strike hands with me?
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Give now a pledge, be surety for me with thyself; Who is there that will strike hands with me?
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Place, I pray Thee, my pledge with Thee; Who is he that striketh hand with me?
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Lay down now [a pledge], be thou surety for me with thyself: who is he that striketh hands with me?
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Deliver me, O Lord, and set me beside thee, and let any man's hand fight against me.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Pon ahora, dame fianza para litigar contigo: ¿ quién tocará ahora mi mano?
Concede-me, por favor, uma garantia para comigo; quem outro há que me dê a mão?
Sois auprès de toi-même ma caution;
Sei du selber mein Bürge bei dir; wer will mich sonst vertreten?
Zet toch bij, stel mij een borg bij U; wie zal hij zijn? Dat in mijn hand geklapt worde.
O Dio, da’ un pegno, sii tu il mio mallevadore presso di te; se no, chi metterà la sua nella mia mano?
Staw mi, proszę, rękojmię za się. Któż jest ten? Niech mi na to da rękę.
Заступись, поручись Сам за меня пред Собою! иначе кто поручится за меня?
願 主拿憑據給我，自己 為我作保。在你以外誰 肯與我擊 掌呢？
Be pleased, now, to be responsible for me to yourself; for there is no other who will put his hand in mine.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Job 17:3
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Job addresses God directly with a legal metaphor. The imperatives “give a pledge” and “be surety for me” (Hebrew עָרַב, to become surety) use language from ancient courtrooms. Job wants a guarantor who will guarantee justice in his case against God. Keil and Delitzsch describe the concept as “God conceived of as two persons”, judge and bondsman. The Cambridge Bible notes the same division, connecting it to Job 16:21. Barnes explains that Job desired a pledge that God would not use His power to overawe him. Gill and Jamieson-Fausset-Brown read the passage as a prophetic anticipation of Christ, the ultimate surety (Hebrews 7:22). The closing question, “Who else will strike hands with me?”, underscores that no human can act as Job's guarantor; only God can.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Direct typology of Christ: Gill, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, and others see a clear foreshadowing of Christ as surety (Heb 7:22).
- General hope for vindication: Some modern critical scholars interpret the verse as a metaphorical expression of Job's desire for vindication, without specific prophetic intent.
- God's divided roles: Keil & Delitzsch and the Cambridge Bible emphasize the paradox of God acting as both judge and bondsman, a theological tension in Job's thought.
What is clear: Job uses legal language to ask God to become his guarantor in the dispute between himself and God.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The addressee of the verse | All commentators agree that Job is speaking to God. | Some traditions see this as a prayerful appeal, while others emphasize a courtroom metaphor; no disagreement on the addressee. |
| The role of the 'surety' | Everyone reads the legal language as Job's request for a guarantor of justice. | Christians across traditions view Christ as the ultimate surety; critical scholars interpret it as a general cry for vindication without specific messianic referent. |
| Job's perceived relationship with God | Job feels both accused and hopeful; God is seen as both adversary and potential advocate. | Reformed commentators (e.g., Gill) emphasize divine sovereignty and hope; others stress the tension and almost irreverent boldness of Job's request. |
| Interpretation of 'strike hands' | It refers to the gesture of confirming a suretyship agreement. | Whether this implies a literal ritual or is solely metaphorical varies, but most see it as a standard cultural act. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Job’s speech in chapter 17 moves from lament to a bold legal request. In the ancient Near East, lawsuits often required both parties to deposit a pledge as security that they would abide by the court’s decision. Barnes notes that Job desires such a pledge from God, so that God would not use His almighty power to overawe him. The phrase “strike hands” (Hebrew תָּקַע כַּף) refers to the gesture that sealed a suretyship agreement (Proverbs 6:1; 11:15; 17:18). By striking hands, a person bound himself to cover another’s debt or stand trial for him.
Job finds no human willing to take his side, not even his friends, whom he calls mockers (Job 17:2). So he turns to God Himself with a paradoxical request. Job’s friends attribute his suffering to hidden sin, and Job feels that God has set him up for attack (Job 16:12, 14). Now he asks the same God to be his surety. The Cambridge Bible observes that Job “beseeches God to become surety for him,” implying a division within God’s role: the God who opposes Job must also guarantee his innocence. This recalls Job 9:33, where Job longed for an umpire. Here, God Himself is asked to fill that role. Later revelation would identify Jesus Christ as “mediator between God and men” (1 Timothy 2:5) and the “surety of a better covenant” (Hebrews 7:22). For Job, this was a cry of faith in the dark.
Textual Notes
The Masoretic Text of Job 17:3 is stable. No significant textual variants are noted in the supplied commentaries. Some English translations vary in phrasing (e.g., KJV: “put me in a surety”; WEB: “Be collateral for me”), but these reflect translation choices rather than manuscript differences. The Hebrew is consistent across witnesses.
Reception History
In the history of interpretation, Job 17:3 has been read by many Christian commentators, from the early church onward, as a pointer to Christ as the surety who stands in the place of the guilty. Gregory the Great, for instance, saw in Job a type of Christ and in the request for a surety a foreshadowing of the mediator. Jewish commentators in the medieval period focused on the legal procedures implied by the text, exploring the metaphor of surety without a messianic reference. During the Reformation, Luther and Calvin found here an expression of faith that clings to God even when God seems to oppose. Modern critical scholarship often interprets the verse as an existential cry for vindication, part of Job's legal metaphor. Both readings respect the legal language but draw different conclusions about its ultimate referent.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Job’s isolation, He has no human advocate. His friends mock him, and no one will “strike hands” as his guarantee (Job 17:2, 3).
- Job’s audacious request, He asks God to be both the judge who hears the case and the surety who secures his innocence. This is the only hope left.
- God’s ultimate provision, The New Testament reveals Christ as the surety who stands in our place, the one who strikes hands for us (Hebrews 7:22).
Five-point outline
- Context: Job is dying, mocked, and desperate (vv. 1, 2).
- The legal metaphor: a pledge and a surety guarantee a fair trial.
- The paradox: God is the adversary and the desired advocate.
- The rhetorical question: “Who else?”, only God can be both.
- Fulfillment: Christ as mediator and surety.
Illustration hooks
- A defendant facing a powerful prosecutor and needing a co-signer to get bail, someone to vouch for them before the judge. Job is looking for that person.
- A child who has broken something valuable and needs a parent to promise to make it right. The parent becomes the surety.
- A lawsuit between two parties where one is infinitely more powerful; the weaker party asks for a guarantee that the powerful one will play fair.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does Job call on God when he feels accused by God? Isn’t that contradictory?
- How does this verse connect to Jesus as our advocate before the Father?
- Can we pray with such raw honesty when we feel abandoned, or is that disrespectful?
Leading a Discussion
Job’s cry in 17:3 shows that even in deepest despair, he still believed God was his only hope. His legal language might feel foreign, but the underlying need is universal: someone to vouch for us when we cannot vouch for ourselves. Use these questions to explore the text together.
Discussion questions
- Observation: What specific words does Job use to frame his request? (pledge, surety, strike hands)
- Observation: Who is Job addressing? How do we know?
- Interpretation: Why does Job ask God to be his surety with God? What does this reveal about Job’s view of God?
- Interpretation: How does the question “Who else will strike hands with me?” emphasize Job’s isolation and his exclusive hope in God?
- Interpretation: Read Hebrews 7:22 and 1 Timothy 2:5. In what ways does Christ fulfill the role Job asks for?
- Application: When have you felt that you needed someone to stand in your place? How does Jesus as surety change that situation?
- Application: Job’s prayer is raw and honest. How can we give ourselves permission to speak to God like this in our own pain?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 43:9 | I’ll be collateral for him. From my hand will you require him. If I don’t bring him to you, and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever; |
| Genesis 44:32 | For your servant became collateral for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I don’t bring him to you, then I will bear the blame to my father forever.’ |
| Job 9:33 | There is no umpire between us, that might lay his hand on us both. |
| Psalms 119:122 | Ensure your servant’s well-being. Don’t let the proud oppress me. |
| Proverbs 6:11 | so your poverty will come as a robber, and your scarcity as an armed man. |
| Proverbs 11:15 | He who is collateral for a stranger will suffer for it, but he who refuses pledges of collateral is secure. |
| Proverbs 17:18 | A man void of understanding strikes hands, and becomes collateral in the presence of his neighbor. |
| Proverbs 20:16 | Take the garment of one who puts up collateral for a stranger; and hold him in pledge for a wayward woman. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that the speaker believes God will examine each person’s actions and life to decide who is right. He hopes that God will show him to be wrong while the other person is found righteous.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes explains that Job's request for a "pledge" reflects an ancient legal custom: he wants God to give security that He will not use His overwhelming power in the trial. Job desires a fair, equal hearing, not an arbitrary verdict. Barnes cautions against charging Job with irreverence, noting this is courtroom language used for dramatic effect.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Job asks God to act now as his surety so that his innocence will be recognized before God later. He sees God as having both the power to harm him and the ability to defend him.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note highlights Job's desperate appeal for God Himself to become his guarantor. Job asks God to provide a surety, implying that no human can stand as his pledge, only the Lord can undertake for him before the divine court.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill sees this as Job's plea for God to appoint a surety, and he identifies that surety as Christ. The commentator emphasizes that Christ voluntarily engaged from eternity to pay his people's debts and satisfy justice. No other mediator could take this role, making Job's request a prayer of faith.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
Jamieson Fausset Brown notes that striking hands means acting as a surety by giving one’s own property as security in court. He also says this phrase points to a future Mediator between God and people.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch emphasize that Job's cry for God to be his bondsman 'with Yourself' presents God in two distinct roles: the judge who treats Job as guilty, and the surety who pledges Job's innocence
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange notes that Job, repulsed by his friends and without human comfort, turns to God directly and asks Him to be his surety. This appeal shows a genuine though limited progress: Job trusts God more than before, yet his bitter, hopeless complaint remains essentially unchanged.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that Job describes his life force as leaving his body so quickly that death seems imminent. He believes this view encourages people to consider their own mortality often especially when they are sick.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley explains that the speaker is asking God to become his surety—someone who will guarantee and defend his righteous cause against his accusers. The phrase "strike hands" refers to the customary gesture of sealing such a pledge.