Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes.
Parallel translations
- WEB Their child is established with them in their sight, their offspring before their eyes.
- BSB Their descendants are established around them, and their offspring before their eyes.
- NKJV Their descendants are established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes.
- NASB “Their descendants endure with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes,
- NLT They live to see their children grow up and settle down, and they enjoy their grandchildren.
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
Job notes that the wicked often see their children firmly established around them, a sign of blessing in that culture. Their families thrive before their eyes.
Overview
Continuing his argument, Job points to the secure descendants of the ungodly as evidence against the friends' theology. In the ancient world a flourishing line of offspring was treated as proof of divine favor (cf. Ps 127:3-5). Job's point is not that this is right, but that observed life is more complex than his friends allow.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Prov 17:6Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.
- Job 20:28The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.
- Ps 17:14From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
- Job 20:10His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.
- Job 5:3–4I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
- Job 18:19He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings.
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 21:8 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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