Bible Strands
Job 27:17
what he lays up, the righteous will wear, and his silver will be divided by the innocent.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Job speaks to his three friends in a final oath defending his own integrity and God's impartial justice. He addresses them while they insist his suffering proves hidden sin.
The words — The Hebrew verb יָכִין (Ya.khin) means "he will prepare," and צַדִּיק (tza.Dik) translates literally to "righteous." These terms anchor the verse's claim that accumulated wealth is ultimately secured for another.
The thread — This motif of displaced wealth appears in Proverbs 13:22, Proverbs 28:8, and Ecclesiastes 2:26. Each passage records the same pattern: the wicked accumulate, but the righteous or God-directed recipients receive the inheritance.
Why it lands — The text states that the righteous will wear what the wicked prepares and that the innocent will divide his silver. It demands recognition that human accumulation is temporary and subject to divine redistribution.
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
He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 13:22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is passed to the righteous.
- Proverbs 28:8 He who increases his wealth by interest and usury lays it up for one who is kind to the poor.
- Ecclesiastes 2:26 To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.