Then he sings before men with these words: ‘I have sinned and perverted what was right; yet I did not get what I deserved.
Parallel translations
- WEB He sings before men, and says, ‘I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it didn’t profit me.
- KJV He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not;
- NKJV Then he looks at men and says, ‘I have sinned, and perverted what was right, And it did not profit me.’
- NASB “He will sing to people and say, ‘I have sinned and perverted what is right, And it is not proper for me.
- NLT He will declare to his friends, ‘I sinned and twisted the truth, but it was not worth it.
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
The delivered man openly confesses that he sinned and that his sin profited him nothing. It models the repentance that accompanies God's grace.
Overview
Elihu describes the rescued man publicly acknowledging his guilt, admitting he perverted what was right and gained nothing by it. Genuine confession is presented as the fruit of God's gracious dealing, not its cause. This honest repentance echoes the gospel pattern in which God's kindness leads sinners to repentance (Romans 2:4) and free confession of sin.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 27
- Rom 6:21What fruit did you reap at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The outcome of those things is death.
- 2 Sam 12:13Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” “The LORD has taken away your sin,” Nathan replied. “You will not die.
- Ps 14:2The LORD looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.
- 1 Jn 1:8–10If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
- Matt 16:26What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
- Jer 31:18–19I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me severely, like an untrained calf. Restore me, that I may return, for You are the LORD my God.
- Rom 7:22For in my inner being I delight in God’s law.
- Luke 15:18–22I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
- Num 12:11and said to Moses, “My lord, please do not hold against us this sin we have so foolishly committed.
- Ps 11:4The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD is on His heavenly throne. His eyes are watching closely; they examine the sons of men.
- Job 7:20If I have sinned, what have I done to You, O watcher of mankind? Why have You made me Your target, so that I am a burden to You?
- Prov 28:13He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
- Jer 3:13Only acknowledge your guilt, that you have rebelled against the LORD your God. You have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every green tree and have not obeyed My voice,’” declares the LORD.
- 2 Chr 16:9For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.”
- Ps 139:1–4For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
- Rom 7:16And if I do what I do not want to do, I admit that the law is good.
- Ps 19:7–8The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.
- Luke 18:13But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’
- Jer 23:24“Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.
- Jer 2:8The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ The experts in the law no longer knew Me, and the leaders rebelled against Me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and followed useless idols.
- Eccl 5:8If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them.
- Prov 5:21For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD examines all his paths.
- Job 34:9For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should delight in God.’
- Ps 119:128Therefore I admire all Your precepts and hate every false way.
- Prov 15:3The eyes of the LORD are in every place, observing the evil and the good.
- Rom 7:12–14So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.
- Gen 16:13So Hagar gave this name to the LORD who had spoken to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “Here I have seen the One who sees me!”
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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.
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Original language
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