Amplified Bible
Job 31:34
34Because I feared the great multitude, And the contempt of families terrified me, So that I kept silence and did not acknowledge my sin and did not go out of the door?
Job 31:34 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door?
- New International Version (NIV)because I so feared the crowd and so dreaded the contempt of the clans that I kept silent and would not go outside—
- English Standard Version (ESV)because I stood in great fear of the multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—
- New King James Version (NKJV)Because I feared the great multitude, And dreaded the contempt of families, So that I kept silence And did not go out of the door—
Context of Job 31:34
32The stranger has not lodged in the street, Because I have opened my door to the traveler. 33Have I concealed my transgressions like Adam or like other men, By hiding my wickedness in my bosom, Because I feared the great multitude, And the contempt of families terrified me, So that I kept silence and did not acknowledge my sin and did not go out of the door? 35Oh, that I had one to listen to me! Look, here is my signature (mark); Let the Almighty answer me! Let my adversary write out His indictment [and put His vague accusations in tangible form]. 36Surely I would [proudly] bear it on my shoulder, And bind the scroll around my head like a crown.
Read all of Job 31Job 31:34 word by word
כִּ֤י אֶֽעֱר֨וֹץ׀ הָ֘מ֤וֹן רַבָּ֗ה וּבוּז־מִשְׁפָּח֥וֹת יְחִתֵּ֑נִי וָ֝אֶדֹּ֗ם לֹא־אֵ֥צֵא פָֽתַח׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Did I fearעָרַץ‛ârats · to trembleH6206
- a greatרַבrab · manyH7227
- multitudeהָמוֹןhâmôn hâmôn · crowdH1995
- or did the contemptבּוּזbûz · contemptH937
- of familiesמִשְׁפָּחָהmishpâchâh · familyH4940
- terrifyחָתַתchâthath · to to be dismayedH2865
- me, that I kept silenceדָּמַםdâmam · to silence: silentH1826
- went not outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
- of the doorפֶּ֫תַחpethach · entranceH6607
Cross-references for Job 31:34
- Exodus 23:2You shall not follow a crowd to do [something] evil, nor shall you testify at a trial or in a dispute so as to side with a crowd in order to pervert justice;
- Proverbs 29:25The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in and puts his confidence in the Lord will be exalted and safe.
- Jeremiah 38:4Therefore the princes (court officials) said to the king, “Please [we implore you] let this man [Jeremiah] be put to death; for [speaking] in this way he discourages and weakens [the will of] the soldiers who remain in this city and he discourages and weakens [the will of] all the people by speaking such words to them; for this man is not seeking the well-being of these people, but rather their harm.”
- Matthew 27:20But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death.
- Job 22:8But the land is possessed by the man with power, And the favored and honorable man dwells in it.
- Job 34:19Who is not partial to princes, Nor does He regard the rich above the poor, For they all are the work of His hands.
- Exodus 32:27He said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Every man strap his sword on his thigh and go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and every man kill his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor [all who continue pagan worship].’ ”
- Numbers 25:14Now the name of the man of Israel who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s household among the Simeonites.
- Nehemiah 5:7I thought it over and then challenged the nobles and the rulers. I said to them, “You are exacting usury (excessive interest) from your own brother (relative).” So I held a great assembly to confront them.
- Nehemiah 13:4Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and was related to Tobiah [our adversary],
- 2 Corinthians 5:16So from now on we regard no one from a human point of view [according to worldly standards and values]. Though we have known Christ from a human point of view, now we no longer know Him in this way.
- Esther 4:11“All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that for any man or woman who comes to the king to the inner court without being summoned, he has but one law, that he is to be put to death, unless the king holds out to him the golden scepter so that he may live. And as for me, I have not been summoned to come to the king for these [last] thirty days.”
- Proverbs 24:11Rescue those who are being taken away to death, And those who stagger to the slaughter, Oh hold them back [from their doom]!
- Amos 5:11Therefore, because you impose heavy rent on the poor And demand a tribute (food-tax) of grain from them, Though you have built [luxurious] houses of square stone, You will not live in them; You have planted beautiful vineyards, but you will not drink their wine.
- Micah 7:3Concerning evil, both of their hands pursue it and do it diligently and thoroughly; The prince asks, also the judge, for a bribe, And a great man speaks the [evil] desire of his soul. So they twist the course of justice between them.
Commentaries on Job 31:34
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 34Did I fear a great multitude - Was I ever prevented by the voice of the many from decreeing and executing what was right? When many families or tribes espoused a particular cause, which I found, on examination, to be wrong, did they put me in fear, so as to prevent me from doing justice to the weak and friendless? Or, in any of these cases, was I ever, through fear, self-seeking, or favor, prevented from declaring my mind, or constrained to keep my house…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 34Did I fear a great multitude - Our translators have rendered this as if Job meant to say that he had not been deterred from doing what he supposed was right by the fear of others; as if he had been independent, and had done what he knew to be right, undeterred by the fear of popular fury, or the loss of the favor of the great. This version is adopted also by the Vulgate, by Herder, and substantially by Coverdale and Luther. Another interpretation has…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 33-40Verses 33-40 Job clears himself from the charge of hypocrisy. We are loth to confess our faults, willing to excuse them, and to lay the blame upon others. But he that thus covers his sins, shall not prosper, Pr 28:13. He speaks of his courage in what is good, as an evidence of his sincerity in it. When men get estates unjustly, they are justly deprived of comfort from them; it was sown wheat, but shall come up thistles. What men do not come honestly by…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-40Job called down wrong against himself (curses) if he was guilty of the accusations against him. Apart from mentioning idolatry (worship of false gods), Job spoke about how loyal he was to God by focusing on the second half of the Ten Commandments (31:26–27). The summary of these is: “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18; Romans 13:9).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3434. Rather, the apodosis to Job 31:33, "Then let me be fear-stricken before a great multitude, let the contempt, &c., let me keep silence (the greatest disgrace to a patriot, heretofore so prominent in assemblies), and not go out," &c. A just retribution that he who hides his sin from God, should have it exposed before man (2Sa 12:12). But Job had not been so exposed, but on the contrary was esteemed in the assemblies of the "tribes"--("families"); a…Read the comment
Topics related to Job 31:34
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 31
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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