Job 16:20 New International Version (NIV) My intercessor is my friend^[a] as my eyes pour out tears to God;

Footnotes a Or My friends treat me with scorn

As the word intercessor is only used once in the KJV and not at all in the ESV, NASB, or a long list of the standard versions (not including the amplified) it was interesting to find the NIV quote here is not Isaiah 59:16 as with the KVJ.

The implication is that a human friend can act as an intercessor but is that translation accurate?

Job 16:20 English Standard Version (ESV) My friends scorn me; my eye pours out tears to God,

If scholars do not agree on the use of this word, it is small wonder that it is not often taught.

Why is it important now to speak on this issue if no one else does?

Isaiah 59:16 English Standard Version (ESV) He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him.

God is saying that since no one would bring mankind to Him in righteousness, He would do it Himself. It isn’t like God did not give mankind every opportunity to satisfy His sense of justice, and for all God’s efforts on man’s behalf, every effort on man’s part was at best just a temporary fix.

Hebrews 8:9 English Standard Version (ESV) not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.

Hebrews 8:6 English Standard Version (ESV) But as it is, Christhas obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.

God replaced “if you will I will” with “since you can’t I will”. That is intercession, ill defined.

Isaiah 59:1-4 English Standard Version

Evil and Oppression

¹ Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
² but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
³ For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies; your tongue mutters wickedness.
⁴ No one enters suit justly; no one goes to law honestly; they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies, they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.

Enough, we get the idea. If you want more read Isaiah 59 for yourselves. Considering the long list of evil doings, it is undesirable to associate ourselves with such evil. Rather than beat ourselves up or even try to rationalize our behavior, let us accept that none of us are perfect and that even the least of our sins, by error or omission has alienated us from God.

Sin is sin and there is no scale to weigh sin against. Just one sin, call it unbelief, is enough to tip the scales of justice to the guilty verdict. Yesterday’s blog was about advocates. In that blog was one word that should stand out but has no biblical dictionary definition in sources such as BlueLetterBible.org.

That word is intercessor. The Hebrew word is paga; to fall upon. The Hebrew and Chaldean Lexicon makes it sound even worse as it infers to set upon with violence. That is true in its purest sense but is used in the Old Testament as an action taken upon someone who gets in between the victim of wrath and the executioner. The intercessor takes the hit for the sinner.

Since the word intercessor is only used once in the KJV, Isaiah 59:16, and is ill defined, not that many studies or teachings have been done on the subject.