Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow.
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, this is the joy of his way: out of the earth, others shall spring.
- BSB Surely this is the joy of his way; yet others will spring from the dust.
- NKJV “Behold, this is the joy of His way, And out of the earth others will grow.
- NASB “Behold, this is the joy of His way; And out of the dust others will spring.
- NLT That’s the end of its life, and others spring up from the earth to replace it.
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
Bildad ironically calls this destruction 'the joy of his way,' for from the same soil others spring up to replace him. The godless are easily supplanted.
Overview
With bitter irony, Bildad says the end of the wicked's path is its only 'joy': he is uprooted and others grow in his place. The fallen are replaced and forgotten. The verse completes the plant parable, stressing that life without God yields no enduring legacy, though Bildad misjudges Job's standing.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Job 20:5That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?
- Ps 113:7He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;
- 1 Sam 2:8He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and he hath set the world upon them.
- Matt 13:20–21But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
- Ps 75:7But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.
- Ezek 17:24And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.
- Matt 3:9And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
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 8:19 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.