Bible Strands
Job 31:37
I would give account of all my steps; I would approach Him like a prince.)—
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Job speaks these words in the final chapter of his speech, addressing God directly as he concludes his oath of moral innocence. He makes this declaration while demanding a divine audience to defend his conduct.
The words — The Hebrew מִסְפַּר (mispar) means "number" or "account," paired with צְעָדָיו (tze'adav) for "his steps." Job uses אַגִּידֶנּוּ ('aggidenno) to state he will "tell" or "give account" of them, and נָגִיד (nagid) for "chief" or "prince" to describe how he would approach God.
The thread — This theme of bold accountability appears in Job 13:15, where he vows to defend his ways to God's face, and echoes the New Testament promise of confident access to God in Ephesians 3:12. The concept of approaching God without condemnation also aligns with Hebrews 4:15.
Why it lands — The text demands a reader to examine their own conduct before God with the same unflinching honesty Job claims. It frames divine encounter not as a fearful submission but as a responsible accounting of one's life.
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
I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near unto him.
Cross-references
- Job 13:15 Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. I will still defend my ways to His face.
- Ephesians 3:12 In Him and through faith in Him we may enter God’s presence with boldness and confidence.
- Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin.
- Genesis 32:28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”
- Job 1:3 and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East.
- Job 9:3 If one wished to contend with God, he could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.
- Job 14:16 For then You would count my steps, but would not keep track of my sin.
- Job 29:25 I chose their course and presided as chief. So I dwelt as a king among his troops, as a comforter of the mourners.
- Job 42:3 You asked, ‘Who is this who conceals My counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.
- Psalms 19:12 Who can discern his own errors? Cleanse me from my hidden faults.