Bible Strands
Job 23:11
My feet have followed in His tracks; I have kept His way without turning aside.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Job speaks this declaration while defending his integrity before God amid intense suffering and divine silence. He addresses the Almighty directly to counter his friends' accusations of hidden sin.
The words — The Hebrew אָחֲזָה ('a.cha.Zah, "it has taken hold") governs בַּ֭אֲשֻׁרוֹ (ba./'a.shu.r/o, "on His steps/track"), indicating a firm grip on God's path rather than passive following. This verb anchors the declaration of steadfast pursuit before Job shifts to guarding divine instruction.
The thread — The motif of unswerving steps appears in Psalms 44:18 and Psalms 17:5, where the psalmist similarly vows that his steps have not strayed from God's path. The theme of guarding divine instruction extends to Job 23:12's focus on treasuring God's words above daily sustenance.
Why it lands — The text demands a reader to examine whether their actions align with divine instruction rather than personal comfort. It presents obedience as a deliberate, continuous choice to remain on a prescribed path.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.
Cross-references
- Psalms 44:18 Our hearts have not turned back; our steps have not strayed from Your path.
- Psalms 17:5 My steps have held to Your paths; my feet have not slipped.
- 2 Peter 2:20 If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first.
- Job 17:9 Yet a righteous one holds to his way, and the one with clean hands grows stronger.
- Psalms 125:5 But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.
- Romans 2:7 To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life.
- Psalms 18:20 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.
- Luke 8:13 The seeds on rocky ground are those who hear the word and receive it with joy, but they have no root. They believe for a season, but in the time of testing, they fall away.
- Acts 20:18 When they came to him, he said, “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I arrived in the province of Asia.
- 2 Corinthians 1:12 For this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God.