Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; and I would bind it to me as a crown.
Parallel translations
- KJV Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.
- BSB Surely I would carry it on my shoulder and wear it like a crown.
- NKJV Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, And bind it on me like a crown;
- NASB I would certainly carry it on my shoulder, I would tie it to myself like a garland.
- NLT I would face the accusation proudly. I would wear it like a crown.
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 declares he would proudly carry the indictment on his shoulder and wear it like a crown. He is so confident of his innocence that he would display the charges with honor.
Overview
Job imagines bearing the written accusation openly, even binding it to himself as a crown, so sure is he that it would vindicate rather than condemn him. The image conveys his profound confidence in his integrity. While Job's self-assurance must later be humbled before God, his desire to stand vindicated points to the gospel hope, where believers are clothed not in their own righteousness but in the righteousness of Christ as a crown of glory.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Isa 22:22I will lay the key of David’s house on his shoulder. He will open, and no one will shut. He will shut, and no one will open.
- Job 29:14I put on righteousness, and it clothed me. My justice was as a robe and a diadem.
- Exod 28:12You shall put the two stones on the shoulder straps of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before Yahweh on his two shoulders for a memorial.
- Isa 62:3You will also be a crown of beauty in Yahweh‘s hand, and a royal diadem in your God‘s hand.
- Phil 4:1Therefore, my brothers, beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.
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 31:36 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.