◄ Job 31:6 ►
let God weigh me with honest scales, that He may know my integrity.
Study Bible
let God weigh me
The phrase "let God weigh me" is a profound expression of Job's desire for divine judgment and vindication. The Hebrew word for "weigh" is "שָׁקַל" (shakal), which implies a careful and precise measurement. In ancient times, scales were used to determine the value and authenticity of goods, and here, Job is metaphorically placing himself on God's scales. This reflects his confidence in his own righteousness and his belief that only God can truly assess the moral weight of his actions. Job's appeal to God as the ultimate judge underscores his faith in divine justice and his yearning for truth to prevail.

with honest scales
The term "honest scales" is derived from the Hebrew "מֹאזְנֵי צֶדֶק" (moznei tsedeq), which literally means "scales of justice." In the ancient Near East, scales were a symbol of fairness and equity, often used in legal and commercial contexts to ensure that transactions were just. By invoking "honest scales," Job is appealing to God's perfect justice, contrasting it with the flawed and biased judgments of his friends. This phrase highlights the biblical principle that God is a God of justice, who weighs the hearts and deeds of individuals with absolute fairness.

and He will know
The phrase "and He will know" emphasizes God's omniscience. The Hebrew word "יָדַע" (yada) means to know intimately and completely. Job is asserting that God has full knowledge of his heart and actions. This reflects a deep theological truth that God is all-knowing, aware of every thought and intention. Job's confidence that God "will know" his integrity is a testament to his unwavering faith in God's ability to discern truth from falsehood, and his hope that God's knowledge will lead to his vindication.

my integrity
The word "integrity" is translated from the Hebrew "תֻּמָּה" (tummah), which conveys a sense of completeness, innocence, and moral uprightness. Throughout the book of Job, integrity is a central theme, representing Job's steadfastness and adherence to righteousness despite his suffering. By claiming his "integrity," Job is not asserting sinlessness but rather a consistent and sincere commitment to living according to God's standards. This highlights the biblical ideal of integrity as a holistic and unwavering dedication to God's ways, even in the face of trials and accusations.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Job
A man described as blameless and upright, who feared God and shunned evil. He is the central figure in the Book of Job, known for his immense suffering and unwavering faith.

2. God
The Almighty Creator, whom Job appeals to for justice and validation of his integrity.

3. Job's Friends
Although not directly mentioned in this verse, they are significant in the context of Job 31. They accuse Job of hidden sins, prompting Job's defense of his integrity.

4. The Heavenly Court
An implied setting where God weighs the deeds of individuals, reflecting the divine justice system.

5. The Scales
Symbolic of divine justice and truth, representing God's ability to measure human integrity accurately.
Teaching Points
Integrity Before God
Job's plea for God to weigh him with honest scales underscores the importance of living with integrity. Believers are encouraged to maintain integrity, knowing that God sees and knows all.

Divine Justice
The concept of God weighing actions with honest scales reassures believers of divine justice. God is fair and just, and His assessments are true and righteous.

Self-Examination
Job's confidence in his integrity invites believers to self-examine their lives. Are we living in a way that would stand up to God's honest scales?

Trust in God's Knowledge
Job's appeal to God’s knowledge of his integrity teaches believers to trust that God knows their hearts and intentions, even when others misunderstand or accuse them falsely.

Responding to Accusations
Job's response to his friends' accusations serves as a model for handling false accusations with grace and confidence in one's integrity before God.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Job's request for God to weigh him with honest scales challenge us to reflect on our own integrity?

2. In what ways can we ensure that our actions align with God's standards, as depicted in Job 31:6?

3. How does understanding God's ability to weigh our hearts and intentions provide comfort in times of false accusation or misunderstanding?

4. What practical steps can we take to cultivate a life of integrity that would stand up to God's honest scales?

5. How do other scriptures, such as Proverbs 16:2 and 1 Samuel 16:7, enhance our understanding of God's perspective on human integrity?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Proverbs 16:2
This verse speaks about the Lord weighing the spirits, emphasizing that God knows the true intentions and integrity of a person.

1 Samuel 16:7
This passage highlights that while humans look at outward appearances, God looks at the heart, aligning with Job's plea for God to weigh his integrity.

Psalm 26:2
David asks God to test and try him, similar to Job's request for God to weigh him, showing a desire for divine validation of one's integrity.
Sermons
An Even BalanceW.F. Adeney Job 31:6
Guard the SensesGurnall, WilliamJob 31:1-32
Methods of Moral LifeJoseph Parker, D. D.Job 31:1-32
Solemn Assurances of InnocenceE. Johnson Job 31:1-40
The Consciousness of IntegrityR. Green Job 31:1-40
People
Abaddon, Adam, Job
Places
Uz
Topics
Accurate, Balance, Balances, Blameless, Blamelessness, Honest, Integrity, Measured, Righteous, Righteousness, Scales, Upright, Weigh, Weighed
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Job 31:5-8

     4430   crops

Library
Thou Shalt not Steal.
This Commandment also has a work, which embraces very many good works, and is opposed to many vices, and is called in German Mildigkeit, "benevolence;" which is a work ready to help and serve every one with one's goods. And it fights not only against theft and robbery, but against all stinting in temporal goods which men may practise toward one another: such as greed, usury, overcharging and plating wares that sell as solid, counterfeit wares, short measures and weights, and who could tell all the …
Dr. Martin Luther—A Treatise on Good Works

Question of the Active Life
I. Do all Acts of the Moral Virtues come under the Active Life? II. Does Prudence pertain to the Active Life? III. Does Teaching belong to the Active or to the Contemplative Life? IV. Does the Active Life continue after this Life? I Do all Acts of the Moral Virtues come under the Active Life? S. Isidore says[407]: "In the active life all the vices are first of all to be removed by the practice of good works, so that in the contemplative life a man may, with now purified mental gaze, pass to the …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

Whether virtue is in us by Nature?
Objection 1: It would seem that virtue is in us by nature. For Damascene says (De Fide Orth. iii, 14): "Virtues are natural to us and are equally in all of us." And Antony says in his sermon to the monks: "If the will contradicts nature it is perverse, if it follow nature it is virtuous." Moreover, a gloss on Mat. 4:23, "Jesus went about," etc., says: "He taught them natural virtues, i.e. chastity, justice, humility, which man possesses naturally." Objection 2: Further, the virtuous good consists …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether after Christ, it was Proper to the Blessed virgin to be Sanctified in the Womb?
Objection 1: It would seem that it was proper for the Blessed Virgin, after Christ, to be sanctified in the womb. For it has been said [4131](A[4]) that the Blessed Virgin was sanctified in the womb, in order that she might be worthy to be the mother of God. But this is proper to her. Therefore she alone was sanctified in the womb. Objection 2: Further, some men seem to have been more closely connected with Christ than Jeremias and John the Baptist, who are said to have been sanctified in the womb. …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether Corporal Alms are of More Account than Spiritual Alms?
Objection 1: It would seem that corporal alms are of more account than spiritual alms. For it is more praiseworthy to give an alms to one who is in greater want, since an almsdeed is to be praised because it relieves one who is in need. Now the body which is relieved by corporal alms, is by nature more needy than the spirit which is relieved by spiritual alms. Therefore corporal alms are of more account. Objection 2: Further, an alms is less praiseworthy and meritorious if the kindness is compensated, …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether Confession is According to the Natural Law?
Objection 1: It would seem that confession is according to the natural law. For Adam and Cain were bound to none but the precepts of the natural law, and yet they are reproached for not confessing their sin. Therefore confession of sin is according to the natural law. Objection 2: Further, those precepts which are common to the Old and New Law are according to the natural law. But confession was prescribed in the Old Law, as may be gathered from Is. 43:26: "Tell, if thou hast anything to justify …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether one Can, Without a Mortal Sin, Deny the Truth which Would Lead to One's Condemnation?
Objection 1: It would seem one can, without a mortal sin, deny the truth which would lead to one's condemnation. For Chrysostom says (Hom. xxxi super Ep. ad Heb.): "I do not say that you should lay bare your guilt publicly, nor accuse yourself before others." Now if the accused were to confess the truth in court, he would lay bare his guilt and be his own accuser. Therefore he is not bound to tell the truth: and so he does not sin mortally if he tell a lie in court. Objection 2: Further, just as …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

The Advanced Christian Reminded of the Mercies of God, and Exhorted to the Exercise of Habitual Love to Him, and Joy in Him.
1. A holy joy in God, our privilege as well as our duty.--2. The Christian invited to the exercise of it.--3. By the consideration of temporal mercies.--4. And of spiritual favors.--5. By the views of eternal happiness.--6. And of the mercies of God to others, the living and the dead.--7. The chapter closes with an exhortation to this heavenly exercise. And with an example of the genuine workings of this grateful joy in God. 1. I WOULD now suppose my reader to find, on an examination of his spiritual …
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul

Trials of the Christian
AFFLICTION--ITS NATURE AND BENEFITS. The school of the cross is the school of light; it discovers the world's vanity, baseness, and wickedness, and lets us see more of God's mind. Out of dark afflictions comes a spiritual light. In times of affliction, we commonly meet with the sweetest experiences of the love of God. The end of affliction is the discovery of sin; and of that, to bring us to a Saviour. Doth not God ofttimes even take occasion, by the hardest of things that come upon us, to visit …
John Bunyan—The Riches of Bunyan

The Christian Business World
Scripture references: Proverbs 22:29; Romans 12:11; Psalms 24:1; 50:10-12; Haggai 2:8; Psalm 49:6,10,16,17; 62:10; Matthew 13:22; Mark 10:23,24; Job 31:24-26; Proverbs 3:9; Matthew 25:14-30; 24:45-51; 6:19-21; Luke 12:16-21. THE IDEAL IN THE BUSINESS WORLD There is often a wide difference between the methods actually employed in doing business and when they should be. Good men who are in the thick of the battle of competition and rivalry with other firms in the same line of trade, are the quickest …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

The Seventh Commandment
Thou shalt not commit adultery.' Exod 20: 14. God is a pure, holy spirit, and has an infinite antipathy against all uncleanness. In this commandment he has entered his caution against it; non moechaberis, Thou shalt not commit adultery.' The sum of this commandment is, The preservations of corporal purity. We must take heed of running on the rock of uncleanness, and so making shipwreck of our chastity. In this commandment there is something tacitly implied, and something expressly forbidden. 1. The …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Tit. 2:06 Thoughts for Young Men
WHEN St. Paul wrote his Epistle to Titus about his duty as a minister, he mentioned young men as a class requiring peculiar attention. After speaking of aged men and aged women, and young women, he adds this pithy advice, "Young men likewise exhort to be sober-minded" (Tit. 2:6). I am going to follow the Apostle's advice. I propose to offer a few words of friendly exhortation to young men. I am growing old myself, but there are few things I remember so well as the days of my youth. I have a most …
John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times

Thoughts Upon Worldly-Riches. Sect. Ii.
TIMOTHY after his Conversion to the Christian Faith, being found to be a Man of great Parts, Learning, and Piety, and so every way qualified for the work of the Ministry, St. Paul who had planted a Church at Ephesus the Metropolis or chief City of all Asia, left him to dress and propagate it, after his departure from it, giving him Power to ordain Elders or Priests, and to visit and exercise Jurisdiction over them, to see they did not teach false Doctrines, 1 Tim. i. 3. That they be unblameable in …
William Beveridge—Private Thoughts Upon a Christian Life

Job
The book of Job is one of the great masterpieces of the world's literature, if not indeed the greatest. The author was a man of superb literary genius, and of rich, daring, and original mind. The problem with which he deals is one of inexhaustible interest, and his treatment of it is everywhere characterized by a psychological insight, an intellectual courage, and a fertility and brilliance of resource which are nothing less than astonishing. Opinion has been divided as to how the book should be …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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