For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.
Parallel translations
- WEB For calamity from God is a terror to me. Because his majesty, I can do nothing.
- BSB For calamity from God terrifies me, and His splendor I cannot overpower.
- NKJV For destruction from God is a terror to me, And because of His magnificence I cannot endure.
- NASB “For disaster from God is a terror to me, And because of His majesty I can do nothing.
- NLT That would be better than facing God’s judgment. For if the majesty of God opposes me, what hope is there?
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 explains that calamity from God was a terror to him and he could do nothing against God's majesty. The fear of God restrained him from sin.
Overview
Job reveals the deepest motive behind his righteousness: a reverent dread of God's judgment and an awareness that he is powerless before God's majesty. This holy fear, not mere social pressure, kept him from wickedness. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and it finds its fullest expression in the gospel, where reverence for God is joined to love through the saving work of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Job 13:11Shall not his excellency make you afraid? and his dread fall upon you?
- Ps 119:120My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments.
- 2 Cor 5:11Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
- Ps 76:7Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?
- Isa 13:6Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
- Job 21:20His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
- Joel 1:15Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
- Job 20:23When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.
- Gen 39:9There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
- Job 40:9Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?
- Job 42:5–6I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
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 31:23 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.