If I have observed the sun when it shines, Or the moon moving in brightness,
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;
- BSB if I have beheld the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,
- 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 8:16He brought me into the inner court of Yahweh’s house; and I saw at the door of Yahweh’s temple, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs toward Yahweh’s temple, and their faces toward the east; and they were worshiping the sun toward the east.
- Deut 4:19and lest you lift up your eyes to the sky, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the army of the sky, you are drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which Yahweh your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole sky.
- Deut 17:3and has gone and served other gods, and worshiped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the stars of the sky, which I have not commanded;
- 2 Kgs 23:5He got rid of the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the army of the sky.
- Jer 8:2and they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the army of the sky, which they have loved, and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and which they have sought, and which they have worshiped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried, they shall be for dung on the surface of the earth.
- 2 Kgs 23:11He took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of Yahweh’s house, by the room of Nathan Melech the officer, who was in the court; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
- Jer 44:17But we will certainly perform every word that has gone out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then had we plenty of food, and were well, and saw no evil.
- Gen 1:16–18God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars.
- Deut 11:16Be careful, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
- Ps 8:3–4When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained;
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 31:26 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.