If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him:
Parallel translations
- WEB “If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him
- BSB If I have rejoiced in my enemy’s ruin, or exulted when evil befell him—
- NKJV “IfI have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, Or lifted myself up when evil found him
- NASB ¶“Have I rejoiced at the misfortune of my enemy, Or become excited when evil found him?
- NLT “Have I ever rejoiced when disaster struck my enemies, or become excited when harm came their way?
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 rejoiced at the ruin of his enemy or gloated when evil befell him who hated him. He affirms his freedom from vengeful malice.
Overview
Job denies the all-too-human temptation to delight in the downfall of his enemies. Refusing to gloat over a foe's misfortune reflects a heart shaped by genuine love rather than vengeance. This anticipates the teaching of Christ to love one's enemies and pray for persecutors, and it reflects God's own restraint, who takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but desires their repentance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Prov 24:17–18Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
- Prov 17:5Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.
- Ps 35:13–14But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
- Obad 1:12But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.
- Ps 35:25–26Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We have swallowed him up.
- 2 Sam 1:12And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.
- 2 Sam 16:5–8And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came.
- 2 Sam 4:10–11When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings:
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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 31:29 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
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