“Let my enemy be as the wicked, and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
Job has reached the end of a long argument with his three friends, and he begins again under oath. In verse 7 he turns their charge back on them — and readers ask whether this is a curse, a wish for revenge, or something else.
The Charge Sent Back
His friends had spent chapter after chapter describing the wicked man and fitting Job into the picture. Here he refuses the label and hands it back:
William KellyHe still stands by it that everything they imagined was false. He said it now more solemnly than ever — it was a kind of swearing to it — as God lives, this is true. "Far be it from me to say that you are right." Now he turns on them; he says, "You are the culprits, not I." … "Let my enemy be as the wicked, and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous." That is what he says. "It is you who are acting the part of wicked men without knowing it. It is you who are the unrighteous, not I."
A Conclusion, Not a Curse
The wish can sound vindictive. But it follows from what Job has just sworn about himself: if his conscience does not accuse him, someone else in this dispute must be in the wrong:
William KellyHis conscience really was good; his heart did not reproach him for anything he had done. He knew of nothing that could account for his trials; yet in saying that, he had already admitted he was not justified. But what could he think of those who used the trials that were crushing him? He could reach only one conclusion: if he was innocent, then those who took the place of his enemy must count as the wicked party, and those who attacked him as the unrighteous.
Who the "Enemy" Is
The "enemy" is defined by the dispute itself, and the definition lands on the friends:
Leslie M. GrantJob ends this section by expressing a desire. He wants his enemy — the one who opposed his claim of righteousness — to be like the wicked, not worth considering. He wants the one who rose against him in his claim to be like the unrighteous, a contrast to Job himself (v.7). If this applied to his friends, let them consider it!
The Level Job Is Arguing On
Notice where Job puts the wrong: outside himself. His conscience is clear, yet something is missing:
Samuel RidoutHe will not allow himself to bear false witness; until he dies he will hold fast his integrity. His heart does not condemn him… But there is a sound of self-righteousness in it that does not fit with knowing yourself in the presence of God. Job is not there yet. It is the cry of an honest soul that does not yet fully see the light. Is there any unrighteousness? — it is in his enemy, not in himself. We see, then, that Job was speaking as between man and man.
What Job's "Righteousness" Meant
Job was right about the facts. But his own words earlier in this chapter give him away:
F. B. HoleHe held fast to his righteousness with complete determination. This "righteousness," as Job 29 will show us, was about his outward conduct, because the searching light of God had not yet entered his soul. He had been charged with being a deceiver and a hypocrite. He knew he was not this, and he was not going to plead guilty to it for a moment. We too know that he was not, but outward correctness does not in itself count for righteousness in the presence of God. Job's own words here prove it, for the way he complains of God in verse 2 shows that his heart was not right in His sight.
Where the Argument Finally Ends
Job here wants his accuser judged as wicked. By the end of the book he judges himself instead — and not because anyone won the debate:
Leslie M. GrantHis friends had no proof at all against what Job said, for his actions had been good. But at the end of this book Job's attitude is wonderfully changed. The one who had such confidence in his own righteousness, when face to face with God, said, "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (ch. 42:5-6). The question of his good conduct was set aside entirely when he saw, not merely his past life, but himself in the light of God's presence. He abhorred himself, rather than defending himself.
Summary
- Accusation — his friends had fitted Job into their picture of the wicked man. Verse 7 sends the label back: it is you who are the unrighteous, not I.
- Logic — the wish is a conclusion, not spite. If Job is innocent, then those attacking him must be the wrong party.
- Enemy — the "enemy" is whoever opposes his claim of righteousness. That points straight at his three friends.
- Level — he finds all the unrighteousness outside himself. That shows he is still pleading his case between man and man, not before God.
- Outcome — his conduct was blameless, but outward correctness is not righteousness before God. The argument ends only when Job sees God, stops defending himself, and repents.