Job 27:3

3 as long as my breath is still in me and the breath from God remains in my nostrils,^[a]

Job 27:3 Meaning and Commentary

Job 27:3

All the while my breath [is] in me
So long the oath of God would be upon him, or he bound himself under it:

and the spirit of God [is] in my nostrils;
which signifies the same thing. The breath of a man is his spirit, and this is of God, the Father of spirits; he first breathed into man the breath of life, and he became a living soul or spirit, ( Genesis 2:7 ) ; it is he that gives life and breath to every man, ( Acts 17:25 ) , and continues it as long as he pleases, which is a very precarious thing; for it is in his nostrils, where it is drawn to and fro and soon and easily stopped; nor will it always continue, it will some time not be, it will go forth, and then man dies, and returns to the earth, ( Ecclesiastes 12:7 ) ; but as long as there is breath there is life; so that to say this is the same as to say, as long as I live, or have a being, ( Psalms 104:33 ) ( 116:2 ) ; and while that continued, Job looked upon himself under the oath he had taken by the living God.

Job 27:3 In-Context

1 Job continued his discourse, saying:

2 As God lives, who has deprived me of justice, and the Almighty who has made me bitter,

3 as long as my breath is still in me and the breath from God remains in my nostrils,

4 my lips will not speak unjustly, and my tongue will not utter deceit.

5 I will never affirm that you are right. I will maintain my integrity until I die.

Footnotes

• [a] Gn 2:7; Isa 2:22