Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
Parallel translations
- WEB “Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects. Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.
- BSB Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
- NKJV “Behold,happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.
- NASB ¶“Behold, happy is the person whom God disciplines, So do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.
- NLT “But consider the joy of those corrected by God! Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin.
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
Eliphaz says happy is the one God corrects, so Job should not despise the Almighty's discipline. He frames Job's suffering as fatherly chastening to be welcomed.
Overview
Here Eliphaz offers a genuinely precious truth: God's discipline is a blessing, not to be resented. Hebrews later echoes this, that the Lord disciplines those he loves as sons. The flaw is in the application, for Job's ordeal is not corrective punishment for sin; yet the verse rightly teaches that, in Christ, hardship can be received as loving formation rather than mere wrath.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Jas 1:12Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
- Ps 94:12Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law;
- Prov 3:11–12My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:
- Rev 3:19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
- Jas 5:11Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
- Heb 12:5–11And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
- Jer 31:18I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God.
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 5:17 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.