Bible Strands
Job 34:31
Suppose someone says to God, ‘I have endured my punishment; I will offend no more.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Elihu addresses Job within his third discourse, posing a hypothetical question about a person who has suffered and now speaks directly to God. The scenario occurs between Elihu’s warning against corrupt rulers and his subsequent request for divine instruction.
The words — The Hebrew phrase נָשָׂ֗אתִי אֶחְבֹּֽל (na.Sa.ti ech.Bol) literally renders "I have borne [it], I will no longer act corruptly." It records the speaker’s claim of having submitted to correction and halting further rebellion.
The thread — The text mirrors Job 33:27, where a sinner acknowledges perverting what was right yet avoids receiving full deserved punishment. It also parallels Micah 7:9, which records a confession of sin endured while waiting for God to argue the case and execute justice.
Why it lands — The verse requires a reader to verify whether claimed repentance actually follows submission to correction or merely seeks to terminate suffering. It demands honest self-examination before accepting any assertion of future obedience.
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
Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more:
Cross-references
- Job 33:27 Then he sings before men with these words: ‘I have sinned and perverted what was right; yet I did not get what I deserved.
- Micah 7:9 Because I have sinned against Him, I must endure the rage of the LORD, until He argues my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me into the light; I will see His righteousness.
- Leviticus 26:41 and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled and they will make amends for their iniquity,
- Ezra 9:13 After all that has come upon us because of our evil deeds and our great guilt (though You, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve and have given us such a remnant as this),
- Nehemiah 9:33 You are just in all that has befallen us, because You have acted faithfully, while we have acted wickedly.
- Job 40:3 Then Job answered the LORD:
- Job 42:6 Therefore I despise myself, and I repent in dust and ashes.”
- Jeremiah 31:18 I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me severely, like an untrained calf. Restore me, that I may return, for You are the LORD my God.
- Daniel 9:7 To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, and all Israel near and far, in all the countries to which You have driven us because of our unfaithfulness to You.