I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.
Parallel translations
- WEB I haven’t gone back from the commandment of his lips. I have treasured up the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
- KJV Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
- NKJV I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food.
- NASB “I have not failed the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.
- NLT I have not departed from his commands, but have treasured his words more than daily food.
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 has prized God's commands more than his daily food. It matters as a portrait of someone who treasures God's word above bodily need.
Overview
Job claims he has never turned from God's commandments but valued His words above necessary nourishment. This echoes the conviction that man does not live by bread alone but by every word from God's mouth (Deut. 8:3). Jesus quoted that very truth in His temptation, embodying perfectly the love for the Father's word that Job here professes.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Jer 15:16Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight. For I bear Your name, O LORD God of Hosts.
- Ps 119:11I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.
- Ps 119:103How sweet are Your words to my taste—sweeter than honey in my mouth!
- John 4:34Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.
- Ps 19:9–10The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true, being altogether righteous.
- Job 22:22Receive instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart.
- John 8:31So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples.
- John 4:32But He told them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
- Ps 119:127Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, even the purest gold.
- John 6:66–69From that time on many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him.
- Job 6:10It still brings me comfort, and joy through unrelenting pain, that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
- Acts 14:22strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
- 1 Pet 2:2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
- Luke 12:42And the Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their portion at the proper time?
- Luke 12:46The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate. Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
- Heb 10:38–39But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.”
- 1 Jn 2:19They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 23:12 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.