The heavens will expose his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him.
Parallel translations
- WEB The heavens shall reveal his iniquity. The earth shall rise up against him.
- KJV The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.
- NKJV The heavens will reveal his iniquity, And the earth will rise up against him.
- NASB “The heavens will reveal his guilt, And the earth will rise up against him.
- NLT The heavens will reveal their guilt, and the earth will testify against them.
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 heavens reveal his guilt and the earth rises against him. All creation testifies to the wicked man's iniquity.
Overview
Zophar declares that the entire created order, heaven above and earth below, bears witness against the wicked man's sin, leaving him no hiding place. The cosmic testimony underscores that sin cannot be concealed from God or escape exposure. It anticipates the day when all hidden things are brought to light before the throne of God (Luke 12:2-3).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Job 16:18O earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry for help never be laid to rest.
- Isa 26:21For behold, the LORD is coming out of His dwelling to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer conceal her slain.
- Luke 12:2–3There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known.
- Job 18:18He is driven from light into darkness and is chased from the inhabited world.
- Rom 2:16on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Christ Jesus, as proclaimed by my gospel.
- Ps 44:20–21If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
- 1 Cor 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
- Jer 29:23For they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with the wives of their neighbors and speaking lies in My name, which I did not command them to do. I am He who knows, and I am a witness, declares the LORD.”
- Deut 31:28Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officers so that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them.
- Mal 3:5“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 20:27 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.