Job 19:28

28 If ye say, How we will persecute him! And that the root of the matter is found in me;

Job 19:28 Meaning and Commentary

Job 19:28

But ye should say
Here Job directs his friends what use they should make of this confession of his faith; they should upon this say within themselves, and to one another,

why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me?
Why should we pursue him with hard words, and load him with censures and reproaches, as if he was an hypocrite, when it appears, by what he says, that he has truth in the inward parts, the true grace of God is in him; that he is rooted in the love of God, and in the person of the Redeemer; that he has the Spirit of God in him, and the divine seed which has taken root in him, and brings forth fruit: or that "the root of the word" F11 is in him; the word of God has a place in him, and is become the ingrafted word; the root doctrines, the principal and fundamental truths of religion, are believed and professed by him, such as respect the incarnation of the Messiah, his resurrection from the dead, and coming to judgment, the resurrection of all the dead in the same body, a future state of happiness, in which saints will enjoy the beatific vision; since these things are firmly believed by him, though he may differ from us in some points about the methods of divine Providence, let us cease from persecuting him any further; see ( Romans 10:8-10 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F11 (rbd vrv) "radix verbi", Montanus, Mercerus, Schmidt, Michaelis; "radix sermonis", Cocceius; "fundamenta negotii salutis", Tigurine version.

Job 19:28 In-Context

26 And after my skin, [even] this [body], is destroyed, Then without my flesh shall I see God;
27 Whom I, even I, shall see, on my side, And mine eyes shall behold, and not as a stranger. My heart is consumed within me.
28 If ye say, How we will persecute him! And that the root of the matter is found in me;
29 Be ye afraid of the sword: For wrath [bringeth] the punishments of the sword, That ye may know there is a judgment.
The American Standard Version is in the public domain.