Job 27:3

3 as long as my breath is in me and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,

Job 27:3 Meaning and Commentary

Job 27:3

All the while my breath [is] in me
So long the oath of God would be upon him, or he bound himself under it:

and the spirit of God [is] in my nostrils;
which signifies the same thing. The breath of a man is his spirit, and this is of God, the Father of spirits; he first breathed into man the breath of life, and he became a living soul or spirit, ( Genesis 2:7 ) ; it is he that gives life and breath to every man, ( Acts 17:25 ) , and continues it as long as he pleases, which is a very precarious thing; for it is in his nostrils, where it is drawn to and fro and soon and easily stopped; nor will it always continue, it will some time not be, it will go forth, and then man dies, and returns to the earth, ( Ecclesiastes 12:7 ) ; but as long as there is breath there is life; so that to say this is the same as to say, as long as I live, or have a being, ( Psalms 104:33 ) ( 116:2 ) ; and while that continued, Job looked upon himself under the oath he had taken by the living God.

Job 27:3 In-Context

1 Job again took up his discourse and said:
2 "As God lives, who has taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,
3 as long as my breath is in me and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,
4 my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit.
5 Far be it from me to say that you are right; until I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.