This verse magnifies how idolatry resides first in the hidden intentions of the heart.
Job 31:27 version reads: and my heart became secretly enticed, And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth, (Job 31:27). In this verse, Job continues a solemn self-examination of his own behavior. It appears in the context of Job’s lengthy defense of his purity and uprightness before God. By using the phrase my heart became secretly enticed, Job suggests the spiritual and internal nature of idolatry. Even a momentary, hidden desire to worship something other than the LORD—be it the heavenly bodies or any created thing—would violate the supreme devotion owed to God alone. In Job’s day, throwing a “kiss” toward the sun or moon was a symbolic way of paying them homage, denoting a shift in worship that Scripture consistently condemns as idolatry (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 4:19). Here, Job adamantly declares he has not committed such an act.
First, the verse underscores Job’s recognition that sin does not always begin as an outward, visible action. It can start subtly, in the heart (James 1:14-15). By acknowledging that my heart became secretly enticed, Job illustrates how idolatrous or unfaithful thoughts might tempt someone to turn God’s praise onto other objects or beings. This highlights the seriousness of guarding one’s affections and desires, because even a hidden longing in the heart for which we “throw a kiss” in homage is a breach of faithfulness to the LORD.
Second, Job uses this example to show his deep integrity. He maintains that he has scrupulously refused any behavior that would constitute worship of anything besides God. Despite his suffering and confusion over why calamity has befallen him, Job affirms his allegiance to the One he believes is the true and only God (Job 1:21, 2:10). The rhetorical forcefulness of this oath-like statement places Job among the faithful throughout Scripture who refuse to confound God’s glory with created things.
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Job 31:27 meaning
Job 31:27 version reads: and my heart became secretly enticed, And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth, (Job 31:27). In this verse, Job continues a solemn self-examination of his own behavior. It appears in the context of Job’s lengthy defense of his purity and uprightness before God. By using the phrase my heart became secretly enticed, Job suggests the spiritual and internal nature of idolatry. Even a momentary, hidden desire to worship something other than the LORD—be it the heavenly bodies or any created thing—would violate the supreme devotion owed to God alone. In Job’s day, throwing a “kiss” toward the sun or moon was a symbolic way of paying them homage, denoting a shift in worship that Scripture consistently condemns as idolatry (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 4:19). Here, Job adamantly declares he has not committed such an act.
First, the verse underscores Job’s recognition that sin does not always begin as an outward, visible action. It can start subtly, in the heart (James 1:14-15). By acknowledging that my heart became secretly enticed, Job illustrates how idolatrous or unfaithful thoughts might tempt someone to turn God’s praise onto other objects or beings. This highlights the seriousness of guarding one’s affections and desires, because even a hidden longing in the heart for which we “throw a kiss” in homage is a breach of faithfulness to the LORD.
Second, Job uses this example to show his deep integrity. He maintains that he has scrupulously refused any behavior that would constitute worship of anything besides God. Despite his suffering and confusion over why calamity has befallen him, Job affirms his allegiance to the One he believes is the true and only God (Job 1:21, 2:10). The rhetorical forcefulness of this oath-like statement places Job among the faithful throughout Scripture who refuse to confound God’s glory with created things.