Job 34:31 · Bible study
Job 34:31 Commentary: Humble Confession or Rare Repentance?
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Study Job 34:31: Is this a model prayer of confession or a rhetorical question about rare repentance?
Research Summary
- Meaning: Two main readings, (a) a prescriptive model of humble confession under suffering, or (b) a rhetorical question implying such confession is rare and Job should be the one to offer it.
- Key words: nasaʾ (bear, carry, forgive) and chabal (act corruptly, take a pledge), both have semantic range that shapes interpretation.
- Main debate: Whether the verse is a direct call to repentance or a rhetorical challenge about the rarity of genuine confession.
- Theological theme: Repentance and humility as the appropriate response to God's disciplining hand.
- Best use: A prompt for self-examination in prayer, not a simplistic formula but a direction toward honest confession.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Suppose someone says to God, ‘I have endured my punishment; I will offend no more.
WEB World English Bible 2000
“For has any said to God, ‘I am guilty, but I will not offend any more.
KJV King James Version 1769
Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more:
ASV American Standard Version 1901
For hath any said unto God, I have bornechastisement, I will not offend any more:
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
For unto God hath any said: `I have taken away, I do not corruptly,
Darby Darby Bible 1890
For hath he said unto God, I bear [chastisement], I will not offend;
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Seeing then I have spoken of God, I will not hinder thee in thy turn.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
De seguro conviene se diga á Dios: Llevado he ya castigo, no más ofenderé:
Por que não tão somente se diz: Suportei teu castigo não farei mais o que é errado;
Car a-t-il jamais dit à Dieu:
Denn zu Gott muß man sagen: “Ich habe gebüßt, ich will nicht übel tun.
Zekerlijk heeft hij tot God gezegd: Ik heb Uw straf verdragen, ik zal het niet verderven.
Quell’empio ha egli detto a Dio: “Io porto la mia pena, non farò più il male,
Zaprawdę miałbyś mówić do Boga: Przepuść; poniosę, a nie będę się wzbraniał.
К Богу должно говорить: я потерпел, больше не буду грешить.
有誰 對 神 說：我受了責罰，不再 犯罪；
...
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Job 34:31
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators broadly agree this verse addresses the proper human response to divine affliction: humble submission. Barnes states it 'becomes all who are afflicted to submit to God, and to resolve to offend no more.' Gill and Matthew Henry treat the words as a model prayer for the sufferer to speak. However, a key division arises from the Hebrew opening heʾamar, which may be read either as a rhetorical question ('Has anyone said?') or as a declaration ('It is meet to say'). The Cambridge Bible leans toward the rhetorical reading, suggesting Elihu is challenging Job to be that rare person who genuinely confesses. Keil and Delitzsch parse it as a statement of what one actually says to God. Under either view, the content of the speech is clear: the speaker accepts chastisement and resolves not to offend. The verb nasaʾ (bear, carry) implies enduring discipline willingly, while echbol (I will act corruptly, or take a pledge) points to a commitment against sin. The core is that suffering should drive us to honest confession, not defensive self-justification.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Rhetorical question reading: The Hebrew interrogative particle <em>he</em> attached to <em>amar</em> suggests a question, and the surrounding context (Job 34:33–35) reinforces Elihu's challenging tone: 'Has anyone said this? No — so Job, you need to.'
- Prescriptive reading: Many English translations (KJV, BSB) treat it as a statement of what ought to be said, supported by Elihu's role as instructor. Barnes and Gill argue that the verse begins a new section of advice.
- Divine speech reading: Some Jewish exegetes (Rashi, Ben Gershom) and the Geneva Bible note parse the words as God's own: 'I pardon, I will not destroy.' This relies on a different lexical choice for <em>chabal</em> (take a pledge/release) and a different subject for the verbs.
What is clear: The verse addresses the proper human posture before God under affliction — humble acceptance of discipline and a determination to turn from sin.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Framing of the verse | Christians agree the verse addresses the proper human posture before God under affliction. | Is it a prescriptive statement of what a sufferer should say (Barnes, Gill, Matthew Henry) or a rhetorical question implying that no one has said it and Job should be the first (Cambridge Bible, Keil)? The Hebrew <em>heʾamar</em> can be read either way. |
| Meaning of <em>echbol</em> | The verb indicates a negative action the speaker resolves to avoid. | Does it mean 'I will not offend' (moral sense), 'I will not act corruptly' (broader corruption), or 'I will not take a pledge' (i.e., demand a guarantee from God)? Each shifts the scope of the vow. |
| Source of the words | The words are a speech addressed to God. | Some Jewish commentators (Rashi, Ben Gershom) read them as God's own declaration: 'I pardon, I will not destroy.' The Geneva Bible notes also reflect this reading. Most Christian commentators treat them as human words. |
| Job's compliance | Job eventually humbles himself before God (Job 40:3, 5; 42:1, 6). | Is Job's later response exactly the kind of confession Elihu intended, or does Elihu expect a fuller admission of specific sin? Job acknowledges his limited understanding, not a list of transgressions. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Elihu speaks in Job 34 as a younger, more passionate counselor than the three friends. He has just argued that God is both just and sovereign, afflicting the proud and hearing the cry of the poor (vv.27, 30). Verse 31 pivots from theological argument to direct call. The verb nasaʾ carries a rich semantic range: to lift, bear, carry, or even forgive. In contexts of guilt (as in Leviticus 5:1, 17), it often means bearing the penalty of sin. Elihu likely expects Job to accept suffering as deserved correction, not as inexplicable cruelty.
The phrase lo echbol is more elusive. The root chabal can mean 'act corruptly' (Nehemiah 1:7), 'take a pledge' (Exodus 22:26), or 'destroy'. Gill notes that some render it 'I will not break through', i.e., resist the affliction. Poole similarly reads 'I will not corrupt myself or my ways.' The lexical ambiguity means that the exact scope of the resolve is debated: to stop sinning, to stop complaining, or to stop demanding a pledge from God.
Ancient Near Eastern wisdom texts often depict suffering as discipline from the gods, and the proper response is humility, not accusation. Elihu stands in that tradition, but his specific rhetorical move, a question that implies the answer ('Has any said?'), intensifies the challenge. He is not merely offering advice; he is pressing Job to be the first to model this confession.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Job 34:31 in the Hebrew manuscripts. The main interpretive difficulty lies not in manuscript divergence but in the syntactic parsing of the opening particle heʾamar (interrogative with a perfect verb) and the semantic range of the verbs nasaʾ and chabal. The Douay-Rheims rendering ('Seeing then I have spoken of God...') follows a different understanding of the verse's connection to the context. No major critical edition indicates a need to emend the text.
Reception History
Job 34:31 has been read in multiple streams of tradition. In early Jewish commentators like Rashi, the words were understood as God speaking, a declaration of pardon and a promise not to destroy. This reading appears in the Geneva Bible marginal notes and was adopted by some Protestant interpreters. The Latin tradition, represented in the Vulgate and carried into the Douay-Rheims, took a different syntactic path, connecting the verse more loosely to Elihu's preceding speech.
In the Reformation period, Matthew Henry and others saw the verse as a model of penitent speech, often paired with Job 33:27 to form a scriptural pattern for confession. Puritans incorporated its language into prayers of repentance. In modern evangelical teaching, the verse is frequently cited to illustrate the proper attitude under discipline: not complaint, but humble admission and resolve to change. Catholic catechesis has linked it to the sacrament of penance, where the penitent accepts the consequences of sin and resolves to amend. The verse's ambiguity continues to generate discussion, but its pastoral function as a call to honest confession remains constant across traditions.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Acknowledging divine discipline. The speaker says 'I have borne chastisement', an acceptance that suffering has a purpose in God's hand, not a denial of innocence in every sense but a recognition of God's right to chasten.
- Resolving to turn from sin. 'I will not offend any more', repentance is not just feeling sorry but a determined change of direction, empowered by grace.
- Asking for insight. Verse 32 (immediately following) adds 'Teach me what I do not see', humility includes an open ear, not a closed case.
Five-point outline
- The context: Elihu confronts Job's self-righteousness.
- The confession: accepting punishment as deserved.
- The resolution: ceasing from offense.
- The prayer for teaching: 'that which I see not teach thou me', an admission of limited perspective.
- The result: restoration (Job 40:3, 5 shows Job finally using similar language).
Illustration hooks
- A parent disciplines a child; the child's real growth comes when they say, 'I was wrong, and I'll try not to do it again.'
- A person in recovery admits they have a problem and commits to change, not just a promise, but a surrender of control.
- A driver who caused an accident accepts the ticket and resolves to drive more carefully, rather than arguing with the officer.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Did Job ever actually say this to God? (See Job 40:3, 5 for his eventual humble response.)
- Does this mean all suffering is punishment for specific sin? (Elihu's view is that suffering can be fatherly correction, not necessarily a direct equation for every case.)
- How can I tell if I am really repentant or just saying words? (The presence of a changed life, 'I will not offend', is the test.)
Leading a Discussion
This verse sits at a turning point in the Elihu speeches. After defending God's justice at length, Elihu now puts words into Job's mouth, or challenges him to say words that nobody seems to utter. The question for your group: what does genuine repentance under trial look like? The language here is specific: bearing chastisement, resolving to sin no more, and asking for teaching. These are not automatic responses for any sufferer, but they are the goal Elihu sets.
Discussion questions
- Read Job 34:31, 33 together. How does Elihu's approach differ from the three friends' earlier accusations?
- The Hebrew verb nasaʾ can mean 'bear' or 'forgive.' How does the meaning shift if the speaker says 'I have been forgiven' instead of 'I have borne chastisement'? Which reading fits the context better?
- Why might Elihu frame his instruction as a rhetorical question ('Has any said to God...') rather than a direct command?
- Compare verse 31 with Job 33:27 and Job 40:3, 5. Does Job eventually offer this kind of confession? In what way?
- What does it mean to 'bear chastisement' willingly? How can a person distinguish between healthy acceptance and passive resignation?
- The second verb echbol is ambiguous, 'I will not act corruptly' or 'I will not take a pledge.' How does each nuance affect the meaning of the resolve?
- In practical terms, what does it look like today to say to God, 'I have borne your discipline, and I will not offend again'? How might this be an act of trust rather than shame?
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)
| Leviticus 26:41 | I also walked contrary to them, and brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled, and they then accept the punishment of their iniquity, |
| Ezra 9:13 | “After all that has come on us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such a remnant, |
| Ezra 9:14 | shall we again break your commandments, and join ourselves with the peoples that do these abominations? Wouldn’t you be angry with us until you had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant, nor any to escape? |
| Nehemiah 9:33 | However you are just in all that has come on us; for you have dealt truly, but we have done wickedly. |
| Nehemiah 9:38 | Yet for all this, we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, our Levites, and our priests, seal it.” |
| Job 33:27 | He sings before men, and says, ‘I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it didn’t profit me. |
| Job 40:3 | Then Job answered Yahweh, |
| Job 40:5 | I have spoken once, and I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.” |
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
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that Elihu urges Job to speak the words I have suffered so that he will not offend God. This approach shows humility toward the Almighty. Your hope lies in Christ and the resurrection.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes stresses that even a person with a fair character should accept affliction as a possible sign of hidden sin. The proper response is humble submission to God, not complaint, together with a sincere resolve to search one's life and offend no more.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges notes that the word God is stressed in this verse. It also points out that no one has ever said to God that they have suffered punishment even though they have not sinned.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note insists that only God has the right to declare pardon and to withhold destruction. No human or angel can claim this authority; it belongs to God alone. The comment underscores the exclusive divine prerogative over forgiveness and judgment.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses that a person under God's fatherly chastisement should acknowledge bearing it willingly and patiently, content to endure until God removes it. The same person must also resolve not to offend by sinning again, recognizing that sin provokes God's discipline. An alternative reading takes these as God's own words of pardon.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
Job shares in the same human weakness to sin that all people have. Therefore his suffering is a merciful way for him to humble himself before God.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch note that when God brings peace after punishing the wicked rulers, people will see his justice instead of condemning him. They also say that if he hides his face in anger, no one can see him.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange notes that Elihu here attacks the self-contradiction in Job’s position: Job appeals to God as the ultimate Judge, yet at the same time doubts God’s justice toward him. The passage exposes the folly of this inconsistency by showing that Job ought to submit in repentance, not argue against the Judge he himself invokes.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that Elihu advises Job to say he has suffered punishment and will not sin again. He believes it is right for Job to admit he spoke unwise words without knowledge.