Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.
Parallel translations
- WEB Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; and I would bind it to me as a crown.
- 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 22:22And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
- Job 29:14I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.
- Exod 28:12And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.
- Isa 62:3Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
- Phil 4:1Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly 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.