“Therefore, I would be terrified at His presence; When I consider this, I am frightened of Him.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore I am terrified at his presence. When I consider, I am afraid of him.
- KJV Therefore am I troubled at his presence: when I consider, I am afraid of him.
- BSB Therefore I am terrified in His presence; when I consider this, I fear Him.
- NKJV Therefore I am terrified at His presence; When I consider this, I am afraid of Him.
- NLT No wonder I am so terrified in his presence. When I think of it, terror grips me.
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
Because God is so sovereign and inscrutable, Job is terrified before Him. It matters as an honest expression of holy dread before an awesome God.
Overview
Reflecting on God's unstoppable will, Job is filled with terror at His presence. This is not the fear of a guilty conscience but the dread of a finite creature before the infinite and incomprehensible God. Such fear is answered in Christ, who grants believers bold access to the Father's throne of grace (Heb. 4:16).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Ps 119:120My flesh trembles for fear of you. I am afraid of your judgments. AYIN
- Ps 77:3I remember God, and I groan. I complain, and my spirit is overwhelmed. Selah.
- Job 31:23For calamity from God is a terror to me. Because his majesty, I can do nothing.
- Job 23:3Oh that I knew where I might find him! That I might come even to his seat!
- Hab 3:16I heard, and my body trembled. My lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness enters into my bones, and I tremble in my place, because I must wait quietly for the day of trouble, for the coming up of the people who invade us.
- Job 10:15If I am wicked, woe to me. If I am righteous, I still shall not lift up my head, being filled with disgrace, and conscious of my affliction.
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 23:15 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.