There is no darkness or deep shadow where the workers of iniquity can hide.
Parallel translations
- WEB There is no darkness, nor thick gloom, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
- KJV There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
- NKJV There is no darkness nor shadow of death Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
- NASB “There is no darkness or deep shadow Where the workers of injustice can hide themselves.
- NLT No darkness is thick enough to hide the wicked from his eyes.
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
No darkness is dark enough for evildoers to hide from God. It teaches that no one can escape God's all-seeing justice.
Overview
Elihu insists there is no shadow or gloom where workers of iniquity can conceal themselves from God. God's knowledge penetrates every hidden place, so no sin escapes His notice. This drives home the need for grace, for the only true refuge from God's searching gaze is the forgiveness found in Christ, who covers sin rather than hiding from it.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Heb 4:13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
- Amos 9:2–3Though they dig down to Sheol, from there My hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, from there I will pull them down.
- Prov 10:29The way of the LORD is a refuge to the upright, but destruction awaits those who do evil.
- Ps 139:11–12If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me”—
- Jer 23:24“Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.
- Job 3:5May darkness and gloom reclaim it, and a cloud settle over it; may the blackness of the day overwhelm it.
- Job 31:3Does not disaster come to the unjust and calamity to the workers of iniquity?
- Luke 13:27And he will answer, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers.’
- Isa 9:2The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.
- 1 Cor 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
- Ps 5:5The boastful cannot stand in Your presence; You hate all workers of iniquity.
- Isa 29:15Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD. In darkness they do their works and say, “Who sees us, and who will know?”
- Rev 6:15–16Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.
- Job 24:17For to them, deep darkness is their morning; surely they are friends with the terrors of darkness!
- Matt 7:23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 34:22 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.