while the land belonged to a mighty man, and a man of honor lived on it.
Parallel translations
- WEB But as for the mighty man, he had the earth. The honorable man, he lived in it.
- KJV But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it.
- NKJV But the mighty man possessed the land, And the honorable man dwelt in it.
- NASB “But the earth belongs to the powerful man, And the one who is honorable dwells on it.
- NLT You probably think the land belongs to the powerful and only the privileged have a right to it!
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
Eliphaz implies Job used his power and status to take land and live as a privileged man at others' expense. He casts Job as an oppressive strongman.
Overview
Eliphaz suggests Job leveraged might and honor to dominate, possessing the land while others went without. The charge fits the stereotype of the wealthy oppressor. Yet it contradicts Job's actual character as defender of the poor (Job 29:12-16). Eliphaz's slander shows how easily power is presumed to be corrupt, even when the powerful person is righteous.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Isa 9:15The head is the elder and honorable man, and the tail is the prophet who teaches lies.
- Job 29:7–17When I went out to the city gate and took my seat in the public square,
- Ps 12:8The wicked wander freely, and vileness is exalted among men.
- Job 31:34because I greatly feared the crowds and the contempt of the clans terrified me, so that I kept silent and would not go outside—
- Job 13:8Would you show Him partiality or argue in His defense?
- 1 Kgs 21:11–15So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel had instructed in the letters she had written to them.
- Isa 3:3the commander of fifty and the dignitary, the counselor, the cunning magician, and the clever enchanter.
- Mic 7:3Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.
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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 22:8 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
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.