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When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness;
Job 29:3 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB when his lamp shone on my head, and by his light I walked through darkness,
  • BSB when His lamp shone above my head, and by His light I walked through the darkness,
  • NKJV When His lamp shone upon my head, And when by His light I walked through darkness;
  • NASB When His lamp shone over my head, And by His light I walked through darkness;
  • NLT when he lit up the way before me and I walked safely through the darkness.

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 recalls how God's lamp shone on him so that he walked safely even through darkness.

Overview

The image of God's lamp upon his head pictures divine favor, guidance, and protection in former days. Even in dark times, God's light enabled Job to walk securely. This anticipates the truth that God is the light who guides His people (Psalm 119:105), fully revealed in Christ, the light of the world (John 8:12).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 17

  • Ps 18:28For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
  • John 8:12Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
  • John 12:46I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
  • Eph 5:8For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
  • Job 18:6The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him.
  • Job 11:17And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday: thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.
  • Job 22:28Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.
  • Ps 84:11For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
  • Prov 24:20For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.
  • Ps 27:1The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
  • Ps 23:4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
  • Eph 5:14Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
  • Prov 13:9The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
  • Isa 2:4And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
  • Prov 20:20Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.
  • Ps 4:6There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
  • Job 21:17How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Job videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Job 29:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JobMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 29:3 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.