If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;
Parallel translations
- WEB “If I have made gold my hope, and have said to the fine gold, ‘You are my confidence;’
- BSB If I have put my trust in gold or called pure gold my security,
- NKJV “IfI have made gold my hope, Or said to fine gold, ‘You are my confidence’;
- NASB ¶“If I have put my confidence in gold, And called fine gold my trust,
- NLT “Have I put my trust in money or felt secure because of my gold?
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 swears he never made gold his hope or called fine gold his confidence. He affirms that wealth was not his trust.
Overview
Job denies placing his security and hope in riches, refusing to treat gold as the ground of his confidence. This guards against the idolatry of wealth that Scripture repeatedly warns against. Jesus teaches that one cannot serve both God and money, so Job's refusal to trust riches anticipates the gospel call to lay up treasure in heaven and to trust God alone, who supplies all our needs in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Deut 8:12–14Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;
- Prov 11:28He that trusteth in his riches shall fall; but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.
- Ps 49:6–7They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
- Ps 52:7Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
- Ps 49:17For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.
- Prov 10:15The rich man’s wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty.
- Prov 30:9Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
- 1 Tim 6:10For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
- 1 Tim 6:17Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
- Luke 12:15And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
- Ps 62:10Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.
- Gen 31:1And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our father’s hath he gotten all this glory.
- Col 3:5Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
- Mark 10:24–25And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 31:24 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.