In Chapter 27, after Iyov's companions have ceased debating with him, having found no more answers, Iyov returns to vindicate himself and explain why he cannot accept their approach and is unwilling to concede. The obvious question is: why not simply tell them, "You are right," even if in his heart he knows they are not? To this Iyov responds: flattery is thoroughly abhorrent before the Holy One, blessed be He. It might have been pleasant for you had I said, "Yes, I accept your words," keeping silent and flattering you - but Hashem hates flattery. Therefore, it is far better that I tell you directly to your faces that I disagree with you and that your words are futile, rather than flatter you. Truthful words are far more beloved before Hashem than words of flattery.
From here, Iyov protests against his friends: How can you utter things that you yourselves know are untrue? You claim that the wicked man's punishment is that his children die and his possessions are lost after his demise. Iyov says to them: this is an empty argument. What punishment is there here for the wicked man? He is already in a place where he feels nothing. Iyov remains consistent with his position throughout the book, holding that there is no afterlife and that once a person dies, everything ends. If so, how have you punished him by burning his house down after he is gone?
To what may this be compared? A man sold an apartment, handed over the keys, received full payment, and went on his way. Afterwards, the house burned down, and you say, "I wanted to take revenge on the seller." How have you taken revenge on him? He already sold it, took his money, and bought elsewhere - you have done nothing to him. So too, says Iyov: according to your approach, Hashem exacts retribution from the wicked man after his death, and his children and property are destroyed - but he is not here to see it, nor does he know of it. Where is the punishment? The calamities never struck him directly; he lived his days in prosperity and his years in pleasantness, adopting an attitude of "after me, the deluge" - what happens after I am gone does not interest me. Once a person dies, he cares about nothing: not continuity, not possessions, not anything. Why does the Holy One, blessed be He, not punish the wicked man right here in this world, so that he may see with his own eyes that his way is folly?
From this he continues to lament (and this will be the central theme of the next chapter, Chapter 28): Why does Hashem conceal wisdom, such that man cannot find and grasp divine wisdom? Why are we not given the ability to fathom the depths of His ways, to understand the patterns of Providence and the Creator's governance of His world? Why can a person attain this only after passing from the world? Yet Iyov contends that after death man ceases to exist altogether, which would mean that understanding Hashem's governance is permanently unattainable! Would it not be fitting for Hashem to clarify the ways of His Providence to us, so that we would have no questions against Him?
וַיֹּסֶף אִיּוֹב שְׂאֵת מְשָׁלוֹ וַיֹּאמַר׃ חַי־אֵל הֵסִיר מִשְׁפָּטִי וְשַׁדַּי הֵמַר נַפְשִׁי׃ - And Iyov continued to take up his discourse and said: As God lives, Who has turned aside my justice, and Shaddai, Who has embittered my soul.
Iyov takes an oath: As God lives, Who has turned aside my justice, and Shaddai, Who has embittered my soul. It is as if he swears by the name of Shaddai, Who embittered his soul by not judging him with fairness and justice.
כִּי־כׇל־עוֹד נִשְׁמָתִי בִי וְרוּחַ אֱלוֹהַּ בְּאַפִּי׃ אִם־תְּדַבֵּרְנָה שְׂפָתַי עַוְלָה וּלְשׁוֹנִי אִם־יֶהְגֶּה רְמִיָּה׃ - For as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils: My lips shall not speak falsehood, nor my tongue utter deceit.
As long as my soul is within me - I promise that my lips will not speak falsehood. I will not utter words that are insincere, saying one thing with my mouth while feeling another in my heart, but only matters I contemplate, believe in, and know to be true. Even in my intellect I will not entertain false rationalizations merely to justify Hashem the way you do, and certainly I will not utter such things with my tongue - for that would be deceit and fraud.
The Malbim adds that there are two parallel clauses here: "For as long as my breath is in me" refers to bodily life and the breath of life, corresponding to "my lips shall not speak falsehood," which denotes outer speech; whereas "and the spirit of God is in my nostrils" refers to the exalted soul, the divine spirit, corresponding to "nor my tongue utter deceit," which represents the higher faculty of inner thought and contemplation, as distinct from mere verbal speech aligned with the physical body.
חָלִילָה לִּי אִם־אַצְדִּיק אֶתְכֶם עַד־אֶגְוָע לֹא־אָסִיר תֻּמָּתִי מִמֶּנִּי׃ - "Far be it from me that I should justify you; until I die, I will not strip my integrity from me."
Until the day I die I will not justify you, and even if I expire because of this - I am willing to suffer, as long as I do not justify you. Furthermore, he tells them: If I were to justify you, would my integrity not be stripped from me? After all, if I validate something I do not believe in, which in my view is false, it would show that I lack wholeness, being hypocritical, saying one thing with my mouth while feeling another in my heart. Therefore, I am not willing to strip my integrity from myself merely to find favor in your eyes, flatter you, and say "you are right," while knowing that your words are fundamentally false.
בְּצִדְקָתִי הֶחֱזַקְתִּי וְלֹא אַרְפֶּהָ לֹא־יֶחֱרַף לְבָבִי מִיָּמָי׃ - "I have held fast to my righteousness and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach any of my days."
This is what I gain: my heart will never reproach me. When a person does something improper, he feels pangs of conscience - and what are pangs of conscience? His heart reproaches him: Shame on you, how could you do such a thing? Why did you hurt them? Why did you cause harm? A person castigates himself from within. Iyov says: Since I held fast to my righteousness and will not let it go, my heart will never smite me by saying that I acted improperly, for I have always done what is right. And by the way, there are people who never suffer from pangs of conscience - their conscience is entirely clean simply because they have never used it; it remains brand new, still in its original packaging.
יְהִי כְרָשָׁע אֹיְבִי וּמִתְקוֹמְמִי כְעַוָּל׃ - "Let my enemy be like the wicked, and he who rises up against me like the unjust."
Such a thing - to speak falsehood, injustice, and deceit to the point of becoming wicked - my enemy may do, but not I.
כִּי מַה־תִּקְוַת חָנֵף כִּי יִבְצָע כִּי יֵשֶׁל אֱלוֹהַּ נַפְשׁוֹ׃ הֲצַעֲקָתוֹ יִשְׁמַע אֵל כִּי־תָבוֹא עָלָיו צָרָה׃ אִם־עַל־שַׁדַּי יִתְעַנָּג יִקְרָא אֱלוֹהַּ בְּכׇל־עֵת׃ - "For what is the hope of the flatterer when he seeks gain, when God demands his soul? Will God hear his cry when distress comes upon him? Will he delight in the Almighty, calling upon God at all times?"
Here Iyov argues that God, as it were, says to man: What is your hope when you come and flatter Me, when you say things that are untrue merely to flatter the Creator of the world? And this is precisely his complaint against his companions: they come to vindicate the Creator of the world with falsehoods, even though they know that justice is on his side and that he is suffering unjustly - yet they still resort to flattery.
"For what is the hope of the flatterer when he seeks gain" - what do you gain from this? "Yivtza" relates to monetary gain (betza kesef), as in "What profit is there if we slay our brother?": Do you gain financial profit? Do you receive a reward for it? "When God demands [or deludes] his soul" - "yeshel" can be understood from the root of illusion (ashlaya): Can you mislead God just as you mislead people with your flattery? Do you imagine you can deceive the Creator of the world, speaking favorably of Him while not believing it in your heart? "Will God hear his cry when distress comes upon him?" - this is your calculation: if I flatter the Creator of the world, when I cry out to Him in a time of trouble He will answer me. "Will he delight in the Almighty, calling upon God at all times?" - that he would take pleasure in being among the servants of Hashem, declaring: "Look, I am righteous, I serve Hashem."
Thus we find that flattery serves one of three purposes: either you think you can deceive Hashem Himself; or you believe that your prayer will be heard because you flattered Him; or it is nothing more than psychological self-gratification, thinking that you are righteous for having praised the Creator of the world. And regarding all three, Iyov tells them: you will gain nothing from flattery.
אוֹרֶה אֶתְכֶם בְּיַד־אֵל אֲשֶׁר עִם־שַׁדַּי לֹא אֲכַחֵד׃ - I will teach you through the hand of God; that which is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
I am instructing and teaching you so that you hear my words, for these matters are, as it were, through the hand of God - it is not merely I speaking to you, but God speaking to you. "That which is with the Almighty I will not conceal" - the words I am telling you now reflect the mind and will of the Creator of the world, and how could I conceal that this is the truth? And what am I teaching you? That Hashem does not want flattery. He would rather hear my harsh cries and grievances than your flattery, for my cries are my truth, which I believe and know to be so, whereas from your flattery you will gain nothing: neither a good name, nor honor, nor that your prayer will be answered. Hashem does not want flatterers, nor does He want those who explain His ways with falsehoods merely to curry favor in His eyes.
הֵן־אַתֶּם כֻּלְּכֶם חֲזִיתֶם וְלָמָּה־זֶּה הֶבֶל תֶּהְבָּלוּ׃ זֶה חֵלֶק־אָדָם רָשָׁע עִם־אֵל וְנַחֲלַת עָרִיצִים מִשַּׁדַּי יִקָּחוּ׃ - Behold, all of you have seen it, so why then do you speak utter vanity? This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage that oppressors receive from the Almighty.
In fact, you do not even need me to instruct you, for you yourselves have seen and perceived these matters. Your entire argument was that Iyov is punished because his inside does not match his outside: outwardly righteous and God-fearing, but not in his inner being. If so, you admit that Hashem does not desire someone whose inside does not match his outside. And one whose inside does not match his outside is a flatterer: he proclaims, "Hashem is righteous, Hashem is just," while in his heart he harbors bitter thoughts against Him.
And if so - "why then do you speak utter vanity?" If you concede that one who speaks with flattery and whose inside does not match his outside is punished for it, and according to your logic this is the cause of my suffering, why do you yourselves utter empty words and flatter the Creator of the world to find favor in His eyes, offering explanations that are untrue for why the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper? In plain terms: the very flaw you accuse me of - that my divine service was flattery and my inside did not match my outside - is the very sin you are committing. You justify the Creator of the world while your inside does not match your outside; you know you are not right, yet you stubbornly persist in justifying Him.
אִם־יִרְבּוּ בָנָיו לְמוֹ־חָרֶב וְצֶאֱצָאָיו לֹא יִשְׂבְּעוּ־לָחֶם׃ - If his children multiply, it is for the sword, and his offspring will not have enough bread.
This is your claim: even when you see the wicked man prospering now and his children numerous, do not be shaken; their end is destined for the sword, their end is death, and his young descendants will not have enough bread. Do not be awed by his success, for calamity will yet strike them. Iyov answers them: this response is sheer vanity.
שְׂרִידָו בַּמָּוֶת יִקָּבֵרוּ וְאַלְמְנֹתָיו לֹא תִבְכֶּינָה׃ - Those who survive him will be buried in death, and his widows will not weep.
I see that the wicked man dies in serenity. The remnant that endures of a person is his bones, and when the time of death arrives, he is laid peacefully in his grave. And his widows do not weep - why? Because he left them enough wealth to begin a new life. They possess great fortune, living good, tranquil, and prosperous lives, and no evil comes near them. If so, what are you talking about when you claim that evil will ultimately befall the wicked man?
אִם־יִצְבֹּר כֶּעָפָר כָּסֶף וְכַחֹמֶר יָכִין מַלְבּוּשׁ׃ יָכִין וְצַדִּיק יִלְבָּשׁ וְכֶסֶף נָקִי יַחֲלֹק׃ - Though he heap up silver like dust, and prepare garments like clay; he may prepare it, but the righteous will wear it, and the innocent will divide the silver.
Come, let me show you how many wicked people enjoy good fortune and live in peace. You claim that wealth will not endure in the hands of his sons: true, he left the widow immense riches, but the sons will squander everything in short order. "Though he heap up silver like dust" and "prepare garments like clay" - garments in vast abundance. And you tell me: do not be impressed, for whatever he prepared, the righteous will wear, and the silver he amassed, the innocent will divide. After his death, strangers will inherit the fruit of his toil, and his wealth will be lost in misfortune. Therefore, according to your words, one should not be impressed by his success, for its ruin is already built into it and the collapse will inevitably follow in the end.
בָּנָה כָעָשׁ בֵּיתוֹ וּכְסֻכָּה עָשָׂה נֹצֵר׃ - He builds his house like a moth, and like a booth made by a watchman.
The parable: the moth - like a silkworm - wraps itself in a cocoon that is its house, and when it emerges from it, what is that casing worth? Nothing, and the wind carries it away. Similarly, the booth made by the watchman in the vineyard: a few willow branches and some boards piled together; once they finish harvesting the grapes, a light breeze is enough to knock the booth down. So you argue: if the wicked man built a mansion - the moth also built itself a mansion, and when it left, the wind carried it off; the watchman also built himself a "mansion," and when he left it, it fell apart. Therefore, according to your approach, do not be impressed.
עָשִׁיר יִשְׁכַּב וְלֹא יֵאָסֵף עֵינָיו פָּקַח וְאֵינֶנּוּ׃ - The rich man lies down and shall not be gathered; he opens his eyes, and he is no more.
Iyov says to them: But even at the time of his passing he was rich! And even if his house and possessions are lost immediately after his death, he is not troubled by that. Even if he is not gathered for burial, he does not care. After his death, if you destroy all his wealth, it does not affect him at all. "He opens his eyes, and he is no more" - will he open his eyes again to see what is done to him? It is over, he is dead, and Iyov does not believe in the resurrection of the dead. If so, what kind of claim is it that the wicked receives his punishment through the loss of his possessions after his death? It does not affect him, nor does it bother him in the least. These are nothing more than words of flattery toward the Creator of the world, and from within their very logic it is proven that they are utter vanity.
תַּשִּׂיגֵהוּ כַמַּיִם בַּלָּהוֹת לַיְלָה גְּנָבַתּוּ סוּפָה׃ יִשָּׂאֵהוּ קָדִים וְיֵלַךְ וִישָׂעֲרֵהוּ מִמְּקֹמוֹ׃ - Terrors overtake him like water; a tempest steals him away in the night. An east wind carries him away, and he departs; it sweeps him out of his place with a whirlwind.
Everything you describe - that his wealth will perish, his children will perish, and everything will be lost in a terrible way after his death - cannot be considered a punishment at all! It would have been far more fitting for terrors to overtake him himself like rushing waters, that the Holy One, blessed be He, would not wait until after his death, but exact retribution from him immediately during his lifetime. "A tempest steals him away in the night" - that a tempest, a fierce east wind, some hurricane would snatch him and blow him away to the four winds; "an east wind carries him away, and he departs; it sweeps him out of his place with a whirlwind" - that a raging gale would come and dislodge him from his place. That would have been far more fitting. What does he feel after his passing?
וְיַשְׁלֵךְ עָלָיו וְלֹא יַחְמֹל מִיָּדוֹ בָּרוֹחַ יִבְרָח׃ - It casts upon him and does not spare; he flees swiftly from its hand.
In addition, the wind casts stones, dirt, and trees at him in its path without sparing, and all of this falls upon him and kills him mercilessly. As an example of what a storm wind can do: once in France, it rained frogs. How does such a thing happen? Extremely powerful winds, like the eye of a storm over a river, lift the river's water along with everything in it and send it flying; when the rain falls, frogs fall from the sky with it. Such a tremendous wind uproots houses.
But that is not reality. That is how it should have been, but it is not so. "He flees swiftly from its hand" - the wicked escapes all these troubles: he faces no wind, no stones, no suffering, no agonizing death, nothing at all. He sees none of it, for he has already departed, he has already died.
יִשְׂפֹּק עָלֵימוֹ כַפֵּימוֹ וְיִשְׁרֹק עָלָיו מִמְּקֹמוֹ׃ - He claps his hands at them, and hisses at it from his place.
He claps his hands against the storm and the east wind, laughing at them: "They have no effect on me at all, I feel nothing of them." The wind cannot do anything to him, and he stands in his place and hisses at them in scorn, as if saying: "What do I care? Destroy everything - I am no longer there." He is already in the grave.
With this, Iyov contends to his friends: I have proven to you that your arguments are utter futility, and you state them only to flatter Hashem - and flattery is evil and bitter in Hashem's eyes. Therefore, understand me when I say, "Far be it from me to justify you; until I perish, I will not discard my integrity": under no circumstances will I vindicate you with claims that are unconvincing and devoid of truth. I will stand my ground until I prove to you that Hashem afflicts me unjustly and unfairly, and that the wicked flourish in this world and enjoy life even though they deserve to suffer, while the righteous like me suffer even though they deserve only good.
In Chapter 27, Iyov once again takes up his discourse and swears that as long as his breath remains within him, he will not speak wickedness nor utter deceit, nor will he justify his companions even at the cost of his life. For flattery - including flattery directed toward Heaven - is detestable before the Holy One, blessed be He, and the flatterer gains nothing from it: he cannot deceive Hashem, his prayer will not be heard, and he achieves no true delight for his soul. On the contrary, he turns his companions' very accusation back upon them: you accused me of insincerity, that my inner self does not match my outer appearance, yet you yourselves justify the Creator with claims that you know are not true. And regarding the crux of the matter, he proves that their entire philosophy - that the retribution of the wicked comes through the loss of his children and his wealth after his death - contains no punishment whatsoever, since the wicked man dies in peace and feels nothing of what happens after he is gone. Were this a genuine punishment, the tempest should have overtaken him in his lifetime. From this he concludes that their words are futile, and he holds firmly to his position that he is being afflicted unjustly.