He strikes them as wicked men in the open sight of others;
Parallel translations
- KJV He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others;
- BSB He strikes them for their wickedness in full view,
- NKJV He strikes them as wicked men In the open sight of others,
- NASB “He strikes them like the wicked In a public place,
- NLT He strikes them down because they are wicked, doing it openly for all to see.
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 strikes down the wicked openly, in plain sight of others. It shows that His judgment is both just and public.
Overview
Elihu states that God punishes the wicked as their guilt deserves, doing so in the open where it can be seen. God's justice is not hidden but ultimately vindicated before all. This public dimension anticipates the final judgment, when God's righteousness will be openly displayed, and reminds believers that their refuge is the public victory of Christ over sin.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ps 58:10–11The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked;
- Rev 18:20“Rejoice over her, O heaven, you saints, apostles, and prophets; for God has judged your judgment on her.”
- Exod 14:30Thus Yahweh saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
- Deut 13:9–11but you shall surely kill him. Your hand shall be first on him to put him to death, and afterwards the hands of all the people.
- 1 Tim 5:24Some men’s sins are evident, preceding them to judgment, and some also follow later.
- 1 Tim 5:20Those who sin, reprove in the sight of all, that the rest also may be in fear.
- Rev 18:9–10The kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived wantonly with her, will weep and wail over her, when they look at the smoke of her burning,
- Deut 21:21All the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall remove the evil from among you. All Israel shall hear, and fear.
- Isa 66:24“They will go out, and look at the dead bodies of the men who have transgressed against me; for their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”
- 2 Sam 12:11–12“This is what Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.
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 34:26 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.