Job 9:31

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Job 9:31 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Yet wilt thou plunge me in the ditch, And mine own clothes shall abhor me.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Yet wilt thou plunge me in the ditch, And mine own clothes shall abhor me.
Job 9:31 — American Standard Version

Context — Job 9

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
31Yet wilt thou plunge me in the ditch, And mine own clothes shall abhor me.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Yet shall thou plunge me in the ditch, etc.] In the filthy ditch of sin, the pit wherein is no water, the horrible pit, the mire and clay, in which all unregenerate men are, and to which hypocrites return, as the swine to its wallowing in the mire; and in which impurity self-righteous persons are, and are sooner or later made to appear, notwithstanding all their outward righteousness, holiness, purity, and perfection they boast of; and though Job was neither of these, not an unregenerate man, nor an hypocrite, nor a self-righteous person; yet he knew that, in comparison of the perfect purity and holiness of God, he should appear exceedingly impure; and that God would treat him as such, and…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch - God would treat me as if he should throw me into the gutter, and as if I were wholly defiled and polluted. The meaning is, God would not admit the proofs which I should adduce of my innocence, but would overwhelm me with the demonstrations of my guilt. I doubt not that Job urged this with some degree of impatience, and with some improper feelings. He felt, evidently, that God was so great and powerful, that it was vain to contend with him. But it is true in a higher and more important sense than he seems to have understood it. After all the efforts which we can make to justify, vindicate, or purify ourselves, it is in the power of God to overwhelm us…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Yet - God would prove him to be a most guilty creature, notwithstanding all his purity before men. Abhor - I shall be so filthy, that my own clothes, if they had any sense in them, would abhor to touch me. Job 9:32”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“9:31 The muddy ditch (literally pit) can refer to the place of the dead (17:14; 33:18), so it might allude to the defilement of death. • The filthy clothing of guilt contrasts with the clean clothes of acquittal (Zech 3:3-5; see Isa 61:10; 64:6; Rev 19:8).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“shalt: Job 9:20, Job 15:6 mine: Isa 59:6, Isa 64:6; Phi 3:8, Phi 3:9 abhor me: or, make me to be abhorred Job 9:32”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification