Job 15:6

6. But in truth such utterances of his mouth clearly suggested the source which inspired them, other proof of his guilt than they was not needed. Thus in Job_15:5 Job’s language and sentiments are explained by his guilt, and in Job_15:6 his guilt is proved by his language; and both verses support the charge in Job_15:4 that he was doing away, breaking with, the fear of God.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Job 15:6 Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee.

Ver. 6. Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I] Yes, you, and none but you. Job’s heart condemneth him not (and thence his confidence toward God, 1Jn 3:21), much less his mouth, had not his words been misconstrued. But as charity maketh a good sense of doubtful speeches and passages, so prejudice and displeasure takes all things (though well meant) at the worst, and as logicians do, Sequitur partem deteriorem. Eliphaz diggeth up evil, Pro 16:27, and is like Achilles, of whom Homer saith, that he was a great fault finder (Iliad, xi. 653).

Dεινος ανηρ, ταχα κεν και αναιτιον αιτιοωτο.

Yea, thine own lips testify against thee] Heb. Answer against thee. For witnesses ordinarily answer to interrogatories. So the pride of Israel (breaking forth as a great master pockmark in his forehead) testified to his face, Hos 5:5, and the heretic is contemned of himself, Tit 3:11. Virtually he doth so, though not formally. But Job did neither, good Eliphaz.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15:6 Your own mouth condemns you: Job feared that this would happen (9:20; see Matt 26:65).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

No pious man would utter such sentiments.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I,.... Or shows thee to be a wicked person, guilty of things charged upon thee; out of thine own mouth thou art convicted, there needs no other evidence to be brought against thee, that is sufficient: and thou savest me, and any other, the trouble of passing the sentence of condemnation upon thee; thou hast done it thyself, thine own mouth is judge and jury, and brings in the verdict, and pronounces it, as well as is the witness, as follows, and is instead of a thousand witnesses, Job 9:20;

yea, thine own lips testify against thee; and therefore there were no need of producing any other testimony; what he had said showed that his talk was vain and unprofitable, unbecoming a wise man, and tending to make null and void the fear of God among men, to discourage all religious exercises, and particularly prayer before God.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Thine own mouth condemneth thee - That is, the sentiments which you have uttered show that you cannot be a pious man.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

My condemnation of thee is grounded upon thine own words.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Thine own mouth condemneth thee. So of a greater than Job it was said, "He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death". (Mat_26:65, Mat_26:66) Malevolence delights in misunderstanding and misinterpreting the utterances of the righteous. And not I. A weak disclaimer! As if Job"s supposed guilt did not depend on the construction put upon his words. Yea, thine own lips testify against thee. Therefore, "what further need of witnesses?

A man condemned by his own mouth.

These words have a singular and quite unintentional application as they proceed from one of Job"s comforters. Eliphaz means them for his victim, but they rebound on their author. The three friends afford striking instances of men condemned by their own mouths. As we read their pretentious and unsympathetic sentences, we cannot but also read between the lines the self-condemnation of the speakers. The only safe way to use so dangerous a weapon as that which Eliphaz here employs is to turn it against ourselves. Let us each inquire how we may be condemned by our own mouths.

I BY CONFESSION.

1. The duty. This is the most obvious and direct method of self-condemnation, and it is the most honourable. It is shameful to sin, but it is more shameful to deny our guilt and try to hush up our evil-doing. There is something manly in daring to own one"s own wrong deeds. It would be better if we could do it more among men, confessing our faults one to another. (Jam_5:16) It is absolutely necessary that we should do it to God. Confession is the first condition of forgiveness.

2. The difficulty. Now, this confession is by no means so easy as it appears before we have attempted it for ourselves. Not only is there pride to be overcome and the fear of obloquy to be mastered, but the subtle self-deceit of the heart must be conquered. For we are always tempted to plead excuses and extenuating circumstances. Yet no confession is worth anything that keeps hack part of the guilt. Confession must be frank, unreserved, whole-hearted, or it will run into hypocrisy. It is better not to confess our sins at all than to try to make them appear in a good light. The true attitude of penitence is one of utter self-abandonment, one of profound self-abasement.

II BY ACCUSING OTHERS. Thus Eliphaz thought Job condemned himself by trying to bring a charge against God, and at the same time Eliphaz succeeded m condemning himself by accusing Job. The beam is never so visible in our own eye as when we are attempting to remove the mote from our brother"s eye. A censorious spirit brings a person into odious notoriety and invites criticism. He should be well able to stand a searching cross-examination who enters the witness-box against his neighbour. But further, the very spirit of censoriousness is evil, and the exhibition of such a spirit is self-condemnatory. While we condemn our brother for unorthodoxy, our very spirit and action condemn us for want of charity a much greater fault.

III BY ALL OUR SPEAKING. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." We cannot be long with a person without some of his true character revealing itself. Men are not such inscrutable enigmas as they flatter themselves with being. The general conversation must reflect the normal tone of the life. Particular deeds of wickedness may be hidden in impenetrable silence, but the evil heart from which they spring cannot be thus hidden. Therefore we are to be judged by every idle word (Mat_12:36) not because careless speech is a great sin, but because our unreflecting language reveals our true selves. It is the straw that shows the set of the current. W.F.A.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Let your own mouth condemn you and not I That is to say: Give me an answer to my question; the result will be that your own mouth will condemn you, for it better for me that your mouth should condemn you and not I. Now this is my question:

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.