To dwell in the cliffs of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks.
Parallel translations
- WEB So that they dwell in frightful valleys, and in holes of the earth and of the rocks.
- BSB so that they lived on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground.
- NKJV They had to live in the clefts of the valleys, In caves of the earth and the rocks.
- NASB So that they live on the slopes of ravines, In holes in the ground and among the rocks.
- NLT So now they live in frightening ravines, in caves and among the rocks.
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
They were forced to live in dreadful ravines, holes in the ground, and rocky caves.
Overview
Job pictures these outcasts dwelling in the most forbidding places, gullies and caves far from human dwellings. Their habitation matches their rejected status. By dwelling on their wretched circumstances, Job emphasizes the depth of his own degradation in being scorned by such men.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Judg 6:2And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.
- 1 Sam 22:1–2David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him.
- Rev 6:15And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
- Isa 2:19And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 30:6 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.