They send forth their little ones like a flock, And their children dance.
Parallel translations
- WEB They send out their little ones like a flock. Their children dance.
- KJV They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.
- BSB They send forth their little ones like a flock; their children skip about,
- NASB “They send out their boys like the flock, And their children dance.
- NLT They let their children frisk about like lambs. Their little ones skip and dance.
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 children of the wicked are sent out numerous and carefree like a flock, dancing in joy. Their family life looks happy and untroubled.
Overview
Job paints a picture of the wicked surrounded by lively, joyful children. The imagery of a flock conveys both number and contentment. Job marshals this to dismantle the friends' claim that calamity always overtakes the ungodly's offspring, showing that present appearances cannot be the final measure of God's verdict.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Ps 127:3–5Behold, children are a heritage of Yahweh. The fruit of the womb is his reward.
- Ps 107:41Yet he lifts the needy out of their affliction, and increases their families like a flock.
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 21:11 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
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