What Does Job 6:28 Mean in the King James?
Now therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident unto you if I lie.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Truth here is face-to-face: the speaker asks for a willing look that can expose whether his claim is false.
THE MEANING
When your honesty is questioned, this verse places your claim in the open before the person who doubts you. It keeps accusation and proof distinct, leaving your words answerable to direct encounter.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie it dissolves is that suspicion itself settles guilt; the speaker makes truth answerable to scrutiny.
THE ROOT
אֲכַזֵּב
ʾakhazev
GROWS FROM
כ־ז־ב
k-z-b
To lie, deceive, fail, or prove false.
The same root can name a falsehood and a stream that fails, so “lie” carries the image of something that cannot be relied on. The speaker asks whether his words are such a failing stream: the accusation is tested against what he actually says.
ALSO GROWS
ʾakhzav: A failing or deceptive brook.
אַכְזָב
Job uses this word for the unreliable brook in 6:15, drawing on the same root to picture something that fails those depending on it.
kāzāb: Falsehood or deceit.
כָּזָב
This branch names the falsehood at issue here; the question is whether the speaker’s words hold or fail.
פְנוּ
penu
GROWS FROM
פ־נ־ה
p-n-h
To turn, face, or direct oneself toward.
The imperative translated “look” carries the sense of turning toward the speaker. The next phrase speaks of “your faces,” binding attention to face-to-face presence in a way English can flatten into ordinary sight.
ALSO GROWS
pānāh: Turn or face toward.
פָּנָה
This is the movement implied by “look upon me”: attention turns toward another person.
pānîm: Face or presence.
פָּנִים
The verse also names the listeners’ faces; the question is put directly between the speaker and those judging him.
הוֹאִילוּ
hôʾîlû
GROWS FROM
י־א־ל
y-ʾ-l
To be willing, consent, or undertake.
“be content” in this verse is hôʾîlû. The underlying appeal is for willingness or consent, not emotional satisfaction. It asks for a willing turn toward another person before a verdict is reached.
ALSO GROWS
wayyōʾel: Was willing or consented.
וַיּוֹאֶל
This form describes consent to dwell, showing that the root concerns willingness rather than being pleased or satisfied.
hoʾaltî: I have undertaken or been willing.
הוֹאַלְתִּי
This form describes undertaking to speak; it shows the root’s sense of consenting to an act, which lies beneath the verse’s opening appeal.
THE PATTERN
Truth can stand exposed to examination by those who assess it.
Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing.But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.THE THREAD
My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away;The word translated “lie” here shares a Hebrew root with the “deceitfully” brook in Job 6:15. There the root pictures water that fails those who come for it; here, the speaker asks whether his own words fail truth in the same way.
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