if I have beheld the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,
Parallel translations
- WEB if I have seen the sun when it shined, or the moon moving in splendor,
- KJV If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness;
- NKJV If I have observed the sun when it shines, Or the moon moving in brightness,
- NASB If I have looked at the sun when it shone, Or the moon going in splendor,
- NLT “Have I looked at the sun shining in the skies, or the moon walking down its silver pathway,
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 swears he never looked at the shining sun or the moon in splendor with idolatrous longing. He guarded against worshiping the heavenly bodies.
Overview
Job denies being drawn to worship the sun and moon, a common form of idolatry in the ancient world. By refusing to revere created lights, he honored the Creator alone. This anticipates the first commandment's demand for exclusive worship of God, fulfilled in the gospel where worship is directed to the Father through Christ, the true Light by whom the sun and moon themselves were made.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ezek 8:16So He brought me to the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east; and they were bowing to the east in worship of the sun.
- Deut 4:19When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.
- Deut 17:3and going to worship other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven—which I have forbidden—
- 2 Kgs 23:5Josiah also did away with the idolatrous priests ordained by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem—those who had burned incense to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.
- Jer 8:2They will be exposed to the sun and moon, and to all the host of heaven which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up or buried, but will become like dung lying on the ground.
- 2 Kgs 23:11And he removed from the entrance to the house of the LORD the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They were in the court near the chamber of an official named Nathan-melech. And Josiah burned up the chariots of the sun.
- Jer 44:17Instead, we will do everything we vowed to do: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and offer drink offerings to her, just as we, our fathers, our kings, and our officials did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and good things, and we saw no disaster.
- Gen 1:16–18God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. And He made the stars as well.
- Deut 11:16But be careful that you are not enticed to turn aside to worship and bow down to other gods,
- Ps 8:3–4When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place—
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 31:26 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.