Job 19:26-27

19:26 And after my skin has been destroyed, ¹ 

yet in my flesh ²  I will see God, ³ 

19:27 whom I will see for myself, ⁴ 

and whom my own eyes will behold,

and not another. ⁵ 

My heart ⁶  grows faint within me. ⁷ 

Psalms 49:15

49:15 But ⁸  God will rescue ⁹  my life ¹⁰  from the power ¹¹  of Sheol;

certainly ¹²  he will pull me to safety. ¹³  (Selah)

Luke 8:38

8:38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go ¹⁴  with him, but Jesus ¹⁵  sent him away, saying,

Luke 23:43

23:43 And Jesus ¹⁶  said to him, “I tell you the truth, ¹⁷  today ¹⁸  you will be with me in paradise.” ¹⁹ 

John 14:3

14:3 And if I go and make ready ²⁰  a place for you, I will come again and take you ²¹  to be with me, ²²  so that where I am you may be too.

John 17:24

17:24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, ²³  so that they can see my glory that you gave me because you loved me before the creation of the world ²⁴ .

Acts 7:59

7:59 They ²⁵  continued to stone Stephen while he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”

Acts 7:2

7:2 So he replied, ²⁶  “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our forefather ²⁷  Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran,

Colossians 1:8

1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ²⁸  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 4:17

4:17 And tell Archippus, “See to it that you complete the ministry you received in the Lord.”

Revelation 14:13

14:13 Then ²⁹  I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this:

‘Blessed are the dead,

those who die in the Lord from this moment on!’”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they can rest from their hard work, ³⁰  because their deeds will follow them.” ³¹ 

[19:26]  ¹ tn This verse on the whole has some serious interpretation problems that have allowed commentators to go in several directions. The verbal clause is “they strike off this,” which is then to be taken as a passive in view of the fact that there is no expressed subject. Some have thought that Job was referring to this life, and that after his disease had done its worst he would see his vindication (see T. J. Meek, “Job 19:25-27,” VT 6 [1956]: 100-103; E. F. Sutcliffe, “Further notes on Job, textual and exegetical,” Bib 31 [1950]: 377; and others). But Job has been clear – he does not expect to live and see his vindication in this life. There are a host of other interpretations that differ greatly from the sense expressed in the MT. Duhm, for example, has “and another shall arise as my witness.” E. Dhorme (Job, 284-85) argues that the vindication comes after death; he emends the verb to get a translation: “and that, behind my skin, I shall stand up.” He explains this to mean that it will be Job in person who will be present at the ultimate drama. But the interpretation is forced, and really unnecessary.

[19:26]  ² tn The Hebrew phrase is “and from my flesh.” This could mean “without my flesh,” i.e., separated from my flesh, or “from my flesh,” i.e., in or with my flesh. The former view is taken by those who think Job’s vindication will come in this life, and who find the idea of a resurrection unlikely to be in Job’s mind. The latter view is taken by those who interpret the preceding line as meaning death and the next verse underscoring that it will be his eye that will see. This would indicate that Job’s faith rises to an unparalleled level at this point.

[19:26]  ³ tn H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 140) says, “The text of this verse is so difficult, and any convincing reconstruction is so unlikely, that it seems best not to attempt it.” His words have gone unheeded, even by himself, and rightly so. There seem to be two general interpretations, the details of some words notwithstanding. An honest assessment of the evidence would have to provide both interpretations, albeit still arguing for one. Here Job says he will see God. This at the least means that he will witness his vindication, which it seems clear from the other complaints of Job will occur after his death (it is his blood that must be vindicated). But in what way, exactly, Job will see God is not clarified. In this verse the verb that is used is often used of prophetic visions; but in the next verse the plain word for seeing – with his eye – is used. The fulfillment will be more precise than Job may have understood. Rowley does conclude: “Though there is no full grasping of a belief in a worthwhile Afterlife with God, this passage is a notable landmark in the program toward such a belief.” The difficulty is that Job expects to die – he would like to be vindicated in this life, but is resolved that he will die. (1) Some commentators think that vv. 25 and 26 follow the wish for vindication now; (2) others (traditionally) see it as in the next life. Some of the other interpretations that take a different line are less impressive, such as Kissane’s, “did I but see God…were I to behold God”; or L. Waterman’s translation in the English present, making it a mystic vision in which Job already sees that God is his vindicator (“Note on Job 19:23-27: Job’s Triumph of Faith,” JBL 69 [1950]: 379-80).

[19:27]  ⁴ tn The emphasis is on “I” and “for myself.” No other will be seeing this vindication, but Job himself will see it. Of that he is confident. Some take לִי (li, “for myself”) to mean favorable to me, or on my side (see A. B. Davidson, Job, 143). But Job is expecting (not just wishing for) a face-to-face encounter in the vindication.

[19:27]  ⁵ tn Hitzig offered another interpretation that is somewhat forced. The “other” (זָר, zar) or “stranger” would refer to Job. He would see God, not as an enemy, but in peace.

[19:27]  ⁶ tn Heb “kidneys,” a poetic expression for the seat of emotions.

[19:27]  ⁷ tn Heb “fail/grow faint in my breast.” Job is saying that he has expended all his energy with his longing for vindication.

[49:15]  ⁸ tn Or “certainly.”

[49:15]  ⁹ tn Or “redeem.”

[49:15]  ¹⁰ tn Or “me.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

[49:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “hand.”

[49:15]  ¹² tn Or “for.”

[49:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “he will take me.” To improve the poetic balance of the verse, some move the words “from the power of Sheol” to the following line. The verse would then read: “But God will rescue my life; / from the power of Sheol he will certainly deliver me” (cf. NEB).

[8:38]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “be,” that is, “remain.” In this context that would involve accompanying Jesus as he went on his way.

[8:38]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:43]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “he.”

[23:43]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[23:43]  ¹⁸ sn Jesus gives more than the criminal asked for, because the blessing will come today, not in the future. He will be among the righteous. See the note on today in 2:11.

[23:43]  ¹⁹ sn In the NT, paradise is mentioned three times. Here it refers to the abode of the righteous dead. In Rev 2:7 it refers to the restoration of Edenic paradise predicted in Isa 51:3 and Ezek 36:35. In 2 Cor 12:4 it probably refers to the “third heaven” (2 Cor 12:2) as the place where God dwells.

[14:3]  ²⁰ tn Or “prepare.”

[14:3]  ²¹ tn Or “bring you.”

[14:3]  ²² tn Grk “to myself.”

[17:24]  ²³ tn Grk “the ones you have given me, I want these to be where I am with me.”

[17:24]  ²⁴ tn Grk “before the foundation of the world.”

[7:59]  ²⁵ tn Grk “And they.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here; a new sentence is begun instead.

[7:2]  ²⁶ tn Grk “said.”

[7:2]  ²⁷ tn Or “ancestor”; Grk “father.”

[1:1]  ²⁸ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[14:13]  ²⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[14:13]  ³⁰ tn Or “from their trouble” (L&N 22.7).

[14:13]  ³¹ tn Grk “their deeds will follow with them.”