Yet the righteous holds to his way, and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger.
Job speaks these words in ruin, his body wasting and his three friends treating him as a proven hypocrite. In the middle of that darkness he states a principle about all righteous people — and the puzzle is why a man who feels no stronger at all says that clean hands grow stronger.
A Gleam in the Darkest Chapter
The verse comes right after Job's complaint that he has become a public byword. One writer marks the place where the mood turns.
Job mourns his condition very solemnly, and compares it with what he once was. Now he is a byword — not just of the three friends, but "of the people!" But then: "The righteous also" — you see, it turns for good — "shall hold on his way." That is what he looked forward to. His record was on high; his witness was in heaven; he clung to God. "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." That was Job's language; that was his spirit. He had far more faith than any one of the three.
William Kelly (this writer quotes an older translation; the ESV of Job 13:15 reads, "Though he slay me, I will hope in him.")
What the Words Say
The verse does not promise better circumstances. Job stays a byword and a shadow, yet the righteous keep to the same road and grow stronger.
William KellyHe himself might now be a byword and an open target of insult, his eye dim through grief and his whole frame a shadow. Even so, upright men should be amazed at this, and the guiltless stirred up against the ungodly. But the righteous should hold fast on their way, and the man of clean hands increase in strength.
Clean Hands
Another writer takes "clean hands" back to Psalm 24, where hands and heart are named together.
George DavisonIn Psalm 24 we read, "Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in His holy place?" He must have "clean hands" — that implies righteousness. He must also have "a pure heart" — which shows holiness. The pure heart governs the movements of the clean hands.
Aimed Back at the Accusers
Job's critics treated him as the hypocrite. One writer reads this verse as Job's answer to them.
F. B. HoleThis, however, would astonish upright men. Job seems to turn the tables on his critics by suggesting that they might prove to be the hypocrites. The righteous would hold on his way, and the one who had clean hands would increase in strength. As for these "friends," there was not one wise man among them.
Said Before It Was Felt
Job stated the principle before he felt it. One writer asks the awkward question.
Leslie M. GrantIn fact Job knew himself innocent of the charges against him. He was stirred up against the hypocrisy of his friends, and he would hold to his way despite the opposition. As he says, "he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger" (v.9). This is true, but at the time did Job feel stronger and stronger? Thank God, his experience would end with him strengthened.
A Caution Inside the Confidence
Commentators differ on how to hear Job's tone. One writer hears a note in these verses that does not fit a humble man.
Samuel RidoutAgain he damages his testimony. He blames God as well as man for his misery, and says that his sufferings stumble upright people. Yet despite it all, Job keeps on his steadfast way. But in the way he meets the attack of the friends, there is a tone of self-satisfaction which does not quite suit a truly lowly man.
Summary
- Setting. The verse stands in Job's darkest chapter. Job speaks as a man reduced to a byword, his eye dim with grief and his whole frame a shadow.
- Turn. Job turns from lamenting himself to what lies ahead. His record was on high, his witness in heaven, and he clung to God.
- Grip. To hold on his way is to keep to the same road, not to have the road made easy. Clean hands imply righteousness, and a pure heart governs what the hands do.
- Reversal. Job hands the charge of hypocrisy back. The accusers may prove to be the hypocrites, while the righteous keeps walking and grows stronger.
- Outcome. Job did not feel stronger when he said this, and his tone was not flawless. Still the statement was true, and his experience ended with him strengthened.