Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing.
Parallel translations
- WEB He will still fill your mouth with laughter, your lips with shouting.
- BSB He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with a shout of joy.
- NKJV He will yet fill your mouth with laughing, And your lips with rejoicing.
- NASB “He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, And your lips with joyful shouting.
- NLT He will once again fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.
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 assures Job that God will yet fill his mouth with laughter and his lips with shouts of joy. He holds out hope of restored gladness.
Overview
Bildad's tone softens into promise: if Job repents, joy will return. Strikingly, Job's life does end in restored joy (Job 42), though through God's grace and vindication rather than Bildad's prescribed repentance. The verse points to the truth that God can turn mourning into gladness, fully realized in the gospel's joy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 126:2Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.
- Gen 21:6And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
- Ps 126:6He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
- Ps 32:11Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.
- Luke 6:21Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
- Ezra 3:11–13And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.
- Isa 65:13–14Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:
- Ps 100:1Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
- Job 5:22At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
- Neh 12:43Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.
- Ps 98:4Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
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 8:21 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.