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The young stepped aside when they saw me, and even the aged rose in respect at my coming.
Job 29:8 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB The young men saw me and hid themselves. The aged rose up and stood.
  • KJV The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up.
  • BSB the young men saw me and withdrew, and the old men rose to their feet.
  • NKJV The young men saw me and hid, And the aged arose and stood;
  • NASB The young men saw me and hid themselves, And the old men arose and stood.

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

Young men stepped aside and the aged stood in respect when Job appeared.

Overview

Job describes the deference he once received: the young withdrew shyly and even the elderly rose to honor him. Such gestures reflect the high esteem in which his community held him. The memory deepens the pathos of his fall, for the one once universally honored is now mocked even by the lowest (Job 30:1).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Lev 19:32“‘You shall rise up before the gray head, and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God. I am Yahweh.
  • Titus 3:1Remind them to be in subjection to rulers and to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,
  • Rom 13:7Therefore give everyone what you owe: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if customs, then customs; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
  • Prov 16:31Gray hair is a crown of glory. It is attained by a life of righteousness.
  • 1 Pet 5:5Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility, to subject yourselves to one another; for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
  • Prov 20:8A king who sits on the throne of judgment scatters away all evil with his eyes.
  • Rom 13:3–4For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the same,
  • 1 Pet 2:17Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

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 29:8YouTube · 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 29:8 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.