Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?
Parallel translations
- WEB Didn’t he who made me in the womb make him? Didn’t one fashion us in the womb?
- BSB Did not He who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same One form us in the womb?
- NKJV Did not He who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?
- NASB “Did He who made me in the womb not make him, And the same One create us in the womb?
- NLT For God created both me and my servants. He created us both in the womb.
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 grounds the dignity of his servants in their shared creation: the same God formed both master and servant in the womb. It is a profound affirmation of human equality.
Overview
Job appeals to the truth that the Creator who fashioned him in the womb also fashioned his servants, so both share a common origin and worth. This conviction undercuts any claim to superiority based on social rank. The verse anticipates the biblical doctrine that all people bear God's image, a truth fully honored in the gospel, where Christ unites people of every status into one redeemed family.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Prov 14:31He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.
- Job 34:19How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands.
- Prov 22:2The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.
- Mal 2:10Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?
- Job 10:8–12Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.
- Neh 5:5Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards.
- Isa 58:7Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
- Ps 139:14–16I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
- Job 10:3Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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 31:15 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.