Job 15:16

"Behold, he puts no trust in his holy ones. Yes, the heavens are not clean in his sight;"

Key Reflection

In Job 15:16, the speaker asserts that even those deemed "holy" by God are not trusted by Him, emphasizing a profound sense of divine judgment and moral scrutiny. This verse challenges the notion of inherent sanctity or righteousness among humans, suggesting instead that true holiness is beyond human capacity and subject to divine evaluation. The statement that "the heavens are not clean in his sight" underscores the severity of sin and the incomprehensible purity required by God, highlighting the gap between human morality and God's standard of perfection.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

How much more abominable and filthy is man -How much more than the angels, and than the heavens. InJob 4:19, the image is somewhat different. There it is, how can man be the object of the divine confidence since he lives in a house of clay, and is so frail? Here the image is more striking and forcible. The word rendered filthy (אלח'âlach) means, in Arabic, to be sour, as milk, and then to be corrupt, in a moral sense;Psalms 14:3;Psalms 53:4. Here it means that man is defiled and polluted, and this declaration is a remarkable illustration of the ancient belief of the depravity of man. Which drinketh iniquity like water- This is still a true, though a melancholy account of man.

Related Verses

Job 34:7

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