“If even the moon has no brightness And the stars are not pure in His sight,
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, even the moon has no brightness, and the stars are not pure in his sight;
- KJV Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight.
- BSB If even the moon does not shine, and the stars are not pure in His sight,
- NKJV If even the moon does not shine, And the stars are not pure in His sight,
- NLT God is more glorious than the moon; he shines brighter than the stars.
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
Even the moon and stars are not bright or pure in God's eyes. It matters because it shows nothing in creation compares to God's holiness.
Overview
Bildad argues that the moon lacks brightness and the stars lack purity when measured against God. The greatest lights of the heavens are dim before His glory. This exaltation of God's transcendent holiness rightly humbles all creation, and it heightens the wonder that this holy God would clothe sinners in righteousness through His Son.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Isa 60:19–20The sun will be no more your light by day; nor will the brightness of the moon give light to you, but Yahweh will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.
- Job 15:15Behold, he puts no trust in his holy ones. Yes, the heavens are not clean in his sight;
- 2 Cor 3:10For most certainly that which has been made glorious has not been made glorious in this respect, by reason of the glory that surpasses.
- Isa 24:23Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed; for Yahweh of Armies will reign on Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem; and before his elders will be glory.
- Job 31:26if I have seen the sun when it shined, or the moon moving in splendor,
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 25:5 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.