If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad face, and cheer up;’
Parallel translations
- KJV If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself:
- BSB If I were to say, ‘I will forget my complaint and change my expression and smile,’
- NKJV If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad face and wear a smile,’
- NASB “Though I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will put my face in order and be cheerful,’
- NLT If I decided to forget my complaints, to put away my sad face and be cheerful,
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 considers trying to forget his complaint, put on a cheerful face, and brighten up. But the resolve cannot hold against his pain.
Overview
Job contemplates simply choosing to set aside his grief and act cheerful. Yet, as the next verse shows, his dread returns; he cannot pretend his suffering away. The verse honestly portrays the limits of self-effort in the face of deep affliction, where genuine comfort must come from beyond oneself.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Job 7:13When I say, ‘My bed shall comfort me. My couch shall ease my complaint;’
- Ps 77:2–3In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord. My hand was stretched out in the night, and didn’t get tired. My soul refused to be comforted.
- Jer 8:18Oh that I could comfort myself against sorrow! My heart is faint within me.
- Job 7:11“Therefore I will not keep silent. I will speak in the anguish of my spirit. I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
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 9:27 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.