And be it indeed that I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself.
Parallel translations
- WEB If it is true that I have erred, my error remains with myself.
- BSB Even if I have truly gone astray, my error concerns me alone.
- NKJV And if indeed I have erred, My error remains with me.
- NASB “Even if I have truly done wrong, My error stays with me.
- NLT Even if I have sinned, that is my concern, not yours.
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 grants that even if he has erred, the matter is his own concern, not grounds for their attack. He denies they have a right to condemn him.
Overview
Job argues that any fault of his is a private matter between him and God, not something his friends are entitled to seize upon. He rejects their assumption that his suffering exposes hidden sin they must expose. The exchange highlights how only God truly searches the heart, and how presuming to judge another's standing oversteps human authority (Romans 14:4).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Ezek 18:4Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
- 2 Cor 5:10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
- Prov 9:12If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
- 2 Sam 24:17And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father’s house.
- Gal 6:5For every man shall bear his own burden.
- Job 11:3–6Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?
Resources, by level
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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 19:4 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.