Job 27:4

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Job 27:4 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Surely my lips shall not speak unrighteousness, Neither shall my tongue utter deceit.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Surely my lips shall not speak unrighteousness, Neither shall my tongue utter deceit.
Job 27:4 — American Standard Version

Context — Job 27

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
4Surely my lips shall not speak unrighteousness, Neither shall my tongue utter deceit.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“My lips shall not speak wickedness, etc.] This is the thing he swears to, this the matter of his oath, not only that he would not speak a wicked word not anything corrupt, unsavoury, unchaste, profane, and idle nor speak evil of his neighbours and friends or of any man; but that he would not speak wickedly of himself, as he must do, if he owned himself to be a wicked man and an hypocrite as his friends charged him, and they would have had him confessed; but he swears he would not utter such wickedness as long as he had any breath in him: nor my tongue utter deceit; which respects the same thing; not merely any fallacy or lie, or what might impose upon and deceive another, which yet he was…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“(Job 6:28, Job 6:30). The "deceit" would be if he were to admit guilt against the witness of his conscience.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“My lips shall not speak wickedness - This solemn profession made on oath might have done something to allay the suspicions of his friends in regard to him, and to show that they had been mistaken in his character. It is a solemn assurance that he did not mean to vindicate the cause of wickedness, or to say one word in its favor; and that as long as he lived he would never be found advocating it. Nor my tongue utter deceit - I will never make any use of sophistry; I will not attempt to make “the worse appear the better reason;” I will not be the advocate of error. This had always been the aim of Job, and he now says that no circumstance should ever induce him to pursue a different course as…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Job 13:7, Job 34:6; Joh 8:55; Co2 11:10 Job 27:5”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification