Job 19:28 (LSB)

Passage

If you say, ‘How shall we persecute him?’ ‘And the root of the matter is found in him?’

Nearby Context

Job 19:26 Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall behold God,

Job 19:27 Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!

Job 19:28 If you say, ‘How shall we persecute him?’ ‘And the root of the matter is found in him?’

Job 19:29 Then be afraid of the sword for yourselves, For wrath brings the punishment of the sword, So that you may know there is judgment.”

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 27's "Whom I myself shall behold And whom..." into verse 29's "Then be afraid of the sword for...", so "shall" and "persecute" 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 "shall" and "persecute" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.