He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not;

JOB 33:27KJV
Know the Bible

Job 33:27 (KJV)

What does Job 33:27 mean?

Job 33:27 describes a person acknowledging wrongdoing before others after God has restored him. The person admits that he twisted what was right and gained nothing from doing so. His words present a public acknowledgment of his own conduct.

Elihu is speaking to Job. After describing the person’s restoration in verse 26, Elihu pictures him speaking among other people. The words “it profited me not” give the person’s own assessment of the outcome.

The Hebrew behind Job 33:27

  • “perverted” — עָוָה (ʿavah): The word carries the sense of bending or twisting. It pictures a departure from a straight course.
  • “right” — יָשָׁר (yashar): The word can describe something straight or upright. Paired with “perverted,” it gives Elihu’s description the image of making something straight crooked.

Why Job 33:27 matters

  • Elihu’s example places the admission after restoration, not as a condition stated beforehand. Verse 26 describes God accepting the person, and verse 27 then gives the person’s words.
  • The admission concerns conduct, not merely a bad result. The speaker says both “I have sinned” and that he distorted “that which was right.”
  • Elihu’s account continues beyond the person’s admission. In verse 28, the speaker says that his life has been kept from going down to the pit and that he will see the light.

Where else these words appear

“looketh” Hebrew H7789 · used in 16 verses

  • Numbers 23:9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.
  • Job 24:15 The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face.
  • Job 35:14 Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him.

“perverted” Hebrew H5753 · used in 17 verses

  • 1 Samuel 20:30 Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness?
  • 2 Chronicles 6:37 Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;
  • Isaiah 21:3 Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it.

“profited” Hebrew H7737 · used in 21 verses

  • 2 Samuel 22:34 He maketh my feet like hinds' feet: and setteth me upon my high places.
  • Psalms 21:5 His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.
  • Proverbs 27:15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.

“right” Hebrew H3477 · used in 119 verses

  • Exodus 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
  • 2 Chronicles 28:1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father:
  • Proverbs 2:7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.