For His eyes are on the ways of a man, and He sees his every step.
Parallel translations
- WEB “For his eyes are on the ways of a man. He sees all his goings.
- KJV For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.
- NKJV “ForHis eyes are on the ways of man, And He sees all his steps.
- NASB ¶“For His eyes are upon the ways of a person, And He sees all his steps.
- NLT “For God watches how people live; he sees everything they do.
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
God's eyes are on every step a person takes; He sees all our ways. It affirms God's complete knowledge of human conduct.
Overview
Elihu declares that God watches all the ways of a person and observes every step. Because God sees everything, His judgments are perfectly informed and just. This omniscience is both a warning to the unrepentant and a comfort to the faithful, who are fully known yet, in Christ, fully loved and forgiven.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Prov 15:3The eyes of the LORD are in every place, observing the evil and the good.
- Job 31:4Does He not see my ways and count my every step?
- Jer 16:17For My eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from My face, and their guilt is not concealed from My eyes.
- Prov 5:21For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD examines all his paths.
- Jer 32:19the One great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are on all the ways of the sons of men, to reward each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.
- Ps 139:23Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.
- Gen 16:13So Hagar gave this name to the LORD who had spoken to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “Here I have seen the One who sees me!”
- Jer 17:10I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.
- 2 Chr 16:9For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.”
- Ps 34:15The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry.
- Amos 9:8Surely the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth. Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” declares the LORD.
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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 34:21 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.