Job 19:4 (DRB)

Passage

For if I have been ignorant, my ignorance shall be with me.

Nearby Context

Job 19:2 How long do you afflict my soul, and break me in pieces with words?

Job 19:3 Behold, these ten times you confound me, and are not ashamed to oppress me.

Job 19:4 For if I have been ignorant, my ignorance shall be with me.

Job 19:5 But you set yourselves up against me, and reprove me with my reproaches.

Job 19:6 At least now understand, that God hath not afflicted me with an equal judgment, and compassed me with his scourges.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "been", "ignorant", "ignorance", and "shall". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "been" and "ignorant", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "Behold these ten times you confound me..." into verse 5's "But you set yourselves up against me...", so "been" and "ignorant" belong inside that flow. In Job context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "been" and "ignorant" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.