For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up.
Parallel translations
- WEB For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas, therefore have my words been rash.
- BSB For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas—no wonder my words have been rash.
- NKJV For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea— Therefore my words have been rash.
- NASB “For then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas; For that reason my words have been rash.
- NLT they would outweigh all the sands of the sea. That is why I spoke impulsively.
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
His grief would outweigh the sand of the seas, which is why his words have been rash. Job admits his speech is impetuous but explains it springs from crushing pain.
Overview
Job declares his calamity heavier than ocean sand, accounting for the wildness of his words. He does not claim his speech is measured, but pleads that immense suffering provoked it. This honest acknowledgment guards against both denying pain and excusing sin, and it points to the need for a compassion that bears with the grieving, as Christ bears with our frailty rather than condemning every desperate word.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Prov 27:3A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.
- Matt 11:28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
- Job 23:2Even to day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning.
- Ps 77:4Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
- Job 37:19–20Teach us what we shall say unto him; for we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness.
- Ps 40:5Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 6:3 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.