Job 21:27

27 "Look, I know your thoughts and [the] schemes you devise against me.

Job 21:27 Meaning and Commentary

Job 21:27

Behold, I know your thoughts
God only truly, really, and in fact, knows the thoughts of men; this is his peculiar prerogative, he only is the searcher of the hearts and the trier of the reins of the children of men. Christ, the eternal Logos, or Word, by his being a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, appears to be truly God. No man knows the things of a than, or the thoughts of his heart, but himself, and such to whomsoever he reveals them; but a wise and understanding man, a careful observer of men and things, may make some shrewd guesses at the thoughts of others, by hints and half words, or sentences expressed by them; by the show of their countenance, which is the index of the mind, and by the gestures and motions of their bodies; by these they may in a good measure judge whether they like or dislike, approve or, disapprove, of what is said to them: and thus Job knew the thoughts of his friends, that they were different from his, that the sentiments of their minds did not agree with his; and though he had so clearly proved his point, yet he saw by their looks and gestures that what he had said was not satisfactory to them; that they did not think it a sufficient confutation of their arguments, and a full answer to their objections:

and the devices [which] ye wrongfully imagine against me;
that he was an hypocrite, a wicked man, guilty of crimes, and which they were devising to produce against him, and charge and load him with, as Eliphaz does in the following chapter; he knew they meant him in all that they had said concerning wicked men, and their afflictions, and what would be their portion at death, and after it; and though they did not name his name, they might as well have done it, since he was the man they struck at in all, particularly it, ( Job 20:5 Job 20:29 ) .

Job 21:27 In-Context

25 Yet another dies with a bitter inner self and has not tasted prosperity.
26 They lie down together in [the] dust, and maggots cover them.
27 "Look, I know your thoughts and [the] schemes you devise against me.
28 For you say, 'Where is the nobleman's house, and where [are] {the tents in which the wicked dwell}?'
29 Do you not ask [those] traveling [the] roads, and do you not take notice of their accounts?

Footnotes 1

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.