Job 19:25

The context

Job 19 answers Bildad's second speech. Job complains that God has fenced him in, that his relatives have failed him, and that his words are his only remaining appeal. Verses 25 to 27 form the chapter's climax, and the Hebrew there is among the most contested in the book.

What it establishes

The verse establishes a confidence that does not depend on the present evidence: a redeemer who lives, and who will at last take a stand. The word is the one used for a near relative with the duty to vindicate, and Job applies it to God.

What it does not establish

The details are uncertain. Whether the redeemer is God himself, an advocate in heaven, or a future vindicator is disputed, and the line about the skin being destroyed is textually difficult. The verse affirms vindication without specifying when or how it comes.

Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.

Cited in these answers

• Job is described as “righteous” and “blameless.” Can these descriptions be taken seriously if the Bible is said to teach the universal sinfulness of mankind?

Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.