Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. I will still defend my ways to His face.
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, he will kill me. I have no hope. Nevertheless, I will maintain my ways before him.
- KJV Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
- NKJV Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.
- NASB “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him.
- NLT God might kill me, but I have no other hope. I am going to argue my case with him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Job will trust God and defend his integrity even if God slays him. It is a high point of faith amid anguish.
Overview
Job's famous words, 'Behold, he will kill me; I have no hope. Nevertheless, I will maintain my ways before him,' express clinging trust even in the face of death. Translators differ, with some rendering 'though he slay me, yet will I trust in him,' but either way Job resolves to hold fast his integrity before God. His persevering faith points to the steadfast trust believers are called to in Christ even through suffering.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Ps 23:4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
- Job 23:10Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
- Job 19:25–28But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end He will stand upon the earth.
- Rom 8:38–39For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
- 1 Jn 3:20Even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and He knows all things.
- Job 27:5I will never say that you are right; I will maintain my integrity until I die.
- Job 23:4–7I would plead my case before Him and fill my mouth with arguments.
- Prov 14:32The wicked man is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous man has a refuge even in death.
- Job 40:8Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?
- Job 13:18Behold, now that I have prepared my case, I know that I will be vindicated.
- Job 40:2“Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who argues with God give an answer.”
- Job 16:21Oh, that a man might plead with God as he pleads with his neighbor!
- Job 7:6My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope.
- Job 16:17yet my hands are free of violence and my prayer is pure.
- Job 40:4–5“Behold, I am insignificant. How can I reply to You? I place my hand over my mouth.
- Job 10:7though You know that I am not guilty, and there is no deliverance from Your hand?
- Job 31:31–37if the men of my house have not said, ‘Who is there who has not had his fill?’—
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 13:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.