What is the meaning of Job 11:14?

if you put away the iniquity in your hand

In Job 11:14 the first call is personal and immediate: remove whatever sin you are actively gripping.

• Picture clenching a harmful object; freedom begins the moment you drop it. Isaiah 1:16 urges, “Wash yourselves, cleanse yourselves; remove your evil deeds from My sight.”

• God always connects confession with cleansing. 1 John 1:9 promises, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

• Notice the verb “put away.” It is decisive—like Joshua’s charge, “Now then, put away the foreign gods that are among you and incline your hearts to the LORD” (Joshua 24:23).

• Repentance is not passive regret but active removal. Proverbs 28:13 warns that hiding sin blocks mercy, while forsaking sin invites mercy.

When the hands are emptied of iniquity, they are free to be lifted in prayer (Job 11:13) and service (Psalm 24:3-4).

---

and allow no injustice to dwell in your tents

The second clause moves from the individual’s hand to the household’s tent. Righteousness must govern every sphere we influence.

• “Injustice” covers all forms of exploitation, deceit, or unfairness. Micah 6:8 summarizes God’s requirement: “to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

• “Dwell” pictures injustice setting up house. Ephesians 4:27 echoes the thought: “do not give the devil a foothold.” Even tolerated wrongs become entrenched.

• Job was already known for defending the oppressed (Job 29:12-17). The counsel here reminds us that leadership begins at home; 1 Timothy 3:4-5 links household order and spiritual credibility.

• Psalm 101:7 sets the standard Zophar is pressing: “No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence.”

Refusing injustice in the tent means shaping family, business, and community life by God’s standards, not culture’s compromises.

---

summary

Job 11:14 presents a two-step picture of genuine repentance: first, personally abandon every known sin; second, guard your sphere from any form of injustice. Empty hands and a cleansed household invite God’s favor and make room for His blessing (Job 11:15-19).