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because I greatly feared the crowds and the contempt of the clans terrified me, so that I kept silent and would not go outside—
Job 31:34 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB because I feared the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and didn’t go out of the door —
  • KJV Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door?
  • NKJV Because I feared the great multitude, And dreaded the contempt of families, So that I kept silence And did not go out of the door—
  • NASB Because I feared the great multitude And the contempt of families terrified me, And I kept silent and did not go out of doors?
  • NLT Have I feared the crowd or the contempt of the masses, so that I kept quiet and stayed indoors?

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 denies that fear of the crowd or the contempt of families ever drove him to silence and hiding. He did not let social pressure silence his integrity.

Overview

Job affirms that he never cowered before public opinion or family scorn in a way that made him hide his conduct or shrink from his duty. His integrity did not bend to the fear of man. This contrasts with the snare of the fear of man that Scripture warns against, and it points to the courage Christ gives his followers to live faithfully regardless of human approval or contempt.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 19

  • Exod 23:2You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.
  • Prov 29:25The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is set securely on high.
  • Esth 4:14For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows if perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
  • Num 25:14–15The name of the Israelite who was slain with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family.
  • Exod 32:27He told them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each of you men is to fasten his sword to his side, go back and forth through the camp from gate to gate, and slay his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’”
  • Esth 4:11“All the royal officials and the people of the king’s provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned—that he be put to death. Only if the king extends the gold scepter may that person live. But I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the past thirty days.”
  • Job 34:19who is not partial to princes and does not favor rich over poor? For they are all the work of His hands.
  • Matt 27:20–26But the chief priests and elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus put to death.
  • Neh 13:28Even one of the sons of Jehoiada son of Eliashib the high priest had become a son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I drove him away from me.
  • 2 Cor 5:16So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
  • Mic 7:3Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.
  • Amos 5:11–13Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact from him a tax of grain, you will never live in the stone houses you have built; you will never drink the wine from the lush vineyards you have planted.
  • Neh 5:7and after serious thought I rebuked the nobles and officials, saying, “You are exacting usury from your own brothers!” So I called a large assembly against them
  • Jer 38:4–5Then the officials said to the king, “This man ought to die, for he is discouraging the warriors who remain in this city, as well as all the people, by speaking such words to them; this man is not seeking the well-being of these people, but their ruin.”
  • Prov 24:11–12Rescue those being led away to death, and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter.
  • Neh 13:4–8Now before this, Eliashib the priest, a relative of Tobiah, had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God
  • Jer 38:19But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have deserted to the Chaldeans, for the Chaldeans may deliver me into their hands to abuse me.”
  • Job 22:8while the land belonged to a mighty man, and a man of honor lived on it.
  • Jer 38:16But King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has given us this life, I will not kill you, nor will I deliver you into the hands of these men who are seeking your life.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Job videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Job 31:34YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JobMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 31:34 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.