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For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.
Job 15:25 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Because he has stretched out his hand against God, and behaves himself proudly against the Almighty;
  • BSB For he has stretched out his hand against God and has vaunted himself against the Almighty,
  • NKJV For he stretches out his hand against God, And acts defiantly against the Almighty,
  • NASB Because he has reached out with his hand against God, And is arrogant toward the Almighty.
  • NLT For they shake their fists at God, defying the Almighty.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The wicked man's ruin is traced to his proud defiance of God and the Almighty. His suffering follows from rebellion against his Maker.

Overview

Eliphaz now names the root cause: the wicked stretches out his hand against God in arrogant resistance. This rightly identifies pride and rebellion as the heart of sin. The error is in implying Job has done this; in truth Job, though he questions God, never abandons his fear of him, and the gospel answers such rebellion not with mere doom but with a Savior who bore proud sinners' judgment.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 20

  • Dan 5:23But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
  • Ps 52:7Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
  • Ps 73:9They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.
  • Job 9:4He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?
  • Job 36:9Then he sheweth them their work, and their transgressions that they have exceeded.
  • Ps 73:11And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?
  • 1 Sam 6:6Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?
  • Mal 3:13Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?
  • 1 Sam 4:7–9And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore.
  • Isa 8:9–10Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.
  • Exod 5:2–3And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
  • Lev 26:23And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;
  • Acts 9:5And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
  • Isa 10:12–14Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.
  • Acts 12:23And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
  • Acts 12:1Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
  • Exod 9:17As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?
  • Isa 27:4Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together.
  • Isa 41:4–7Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.
  • Job 40:9–11Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Job videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Job 15:25YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JobMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.

How Job 15:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.