Job 19:27

Whom I shall see for myself These words might mean merely, whom I myself shall see; or, for myselfmay mean, favourable to me, on my side and to my joy.

and not another i. e. I and not another (shall see). Job heaps up phrases to express his assurance that heshall see God, "I shall see for myself," "mine eyes shall behold," "I and not another." The whole of his misery might be expressed in saying that God hid Himself from him, and the whole of his redemption and joy will consist in seeing God. Others take the words "not another," lit. not a stranger, to refer to God whom I shall see not as a stranger, i. e. no more estranged or hostile. The position of the words, however, close beside the phrase "mine eyes," is rather in favour of the other view.

though my reins be consumed Rather, my reins consume within me, lit. in my bosom(marg.). The words are an exclamation, meaning I faint, cf. Psalms 73:26; Psalms 84:2; Psalms 119:81; Psalms 119:123. The reins are the seat of the deepest feelings and experiences, especially of those toward God. Job began with expressing his assurance that he should see God, but as he proceeds so vivid is his hope that it becomes almost reality, the intensity of his thought creates an ecstatic condition of mind in which the vision of God seems almost realized, and he faints in the presence of it. See Additional Note on ch. Job 19:23-27 at the end of the Volume.