Job 31:26

Job 31:26 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness;
• New International Version (NIV)if I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,
• English Standard Version (ESV)if I have looked at the sun when it shone, or the moon moving in splendor,
• New King James Version (NKJV)If I have observed the sun when it shines, Or the moon moving in brightness,

Context of Job 31:26

24I have not trusted in money or in gold. I have never thought that they would make me strong. 25When I was very rich, I was not proud about it. I did not think that I had worked hard to deserve it. I have looked at the sun when it shines brightly. And I have seen the moon when it is very beautiful. 27But I have never wanted to worship them or to give them honour. 28If I had done that, I would not have been faithful to God in heaven. I would have deserved punishment for that sin.

Job 31:26 word by word

אִם־אֶרְאֶ֣ה א֖וֹר כִּ֣י יָהֵ֑ל וְ֝יָרֵ֗חַ יָקָ֥ר הֹלֵֽךְ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• If I beheldרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• the sunאוֹר'ôr · lightH216
• when it shinedהָלַלhâlal · to shineH1984
• or the moonיָרֵחַyârêach · moonH3394
• walkingהָלַךְhâlak · to go: walkH1980
• brightnessיָקָרyâqâr · preciousH3368

Cross-references for Job 31:26

• Genesis 1:16God made two great lights. The brighter light ruled over the day. The less bright light ruled over the night. God also made the stars.
• Deuteronomy 4:19When you look up at the sky, you see the sun, the moon and the stars. They all shine up in the sky. But do not bend down low to them or worship them. They are there because the Lord your God has made them. He has given them to people everywhere in the world.
• Deuteronomy 11:16But be careful! Do not turn away from the Lord so that you worship other gods. Do not let those things deceive you.
• Deuteronomy 17:3He may have started to worship false gods that I have commanded you not to worship. Perhaps he worships the sun, the moon or the stars.
• 2 Kings 23:5He removed the priests who served false gods. The kings of Judah had chosen those priests to make offerings at the altars on the hills. They were on the hills in Judah's cities and all around Jerusalem. These priests offered sacrifices to Baal, to the sun, to the moon and to all the stars in the sky.
• Jeremiah 8:2They will leave the bones all over the ground, under the sun, the moon and the stars. Those were the gods that my people loved. They served them and they worshipped them. Nobody will take their bones and bury them again. They will lie on the ground, like dung.
• Ezekiel 8:16Then the Lord took me to the inside yard of his temple. I could see about 25 men who were standing between the altar and the front of the temple. Their backs were turned towards the Lord's temple. Their faces looked towards the east. They were bending down low to worship the sun that was rising in the east!
• Psalms 8:3You made the skies with your own hands. When I look up, I see the moon and the stars. You have put them all in their right place.
• Jeremiah 44:17So we will continue to do what we have promised to do. We will make sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven. We will pour out drink offerings to her. That is what our ancestors, our kings and our leaders did when we lived in Jerusalem and in the other towns of Judah. When we did that, we had plenty of food to eat. We enjoyed a good life and we had no troubles.

Commentaries on Job 31:26

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 26If I beheld the sun when it shined - In this verse Job clears himself of that idolatrous worship which was the most ancient and most consistent with reason of any species of idolatry; viz., Sabaeism, the worship of the heavenly bodies; particularly the sun and moon, Jupiter and Venus, the two latter being the morning and evening stars, and the most resplendent of all the heavenly bodies, the sun and moon excepted. "Job," says Calmet, "points out three…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 26If I beheld the sun when it shined - Margin, light. The Hebrew word (אור 'ôr ) properly means light, but that it here means the sun is manifest from the connection, since the moon occurs in the parallel member of the sentence. Why the word light is used here rather than sun, can be only a matter of conjecture. It may be because the worship to which Job refers was not primarily and originally that of the sun, the moon, or the stars, but of light as such…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 24-32Verses 24-32 Job protests, 1. That he never set his heart upon the wealth of this world. How few prosperous professors can appeal to the Lord, that they have not rejoiced because their gains were great! Through the determination to be rich, numbers ruin their souls, or pierce themselves with many sorrows. 2. He never was guilty of idolatry. The source of idolatry is in the heart, and it corrupts men, and provokes God to send judgments upon a nation. 3. He…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 26if I have beheld the sun … or the moon: This vow denies violating the first commandment (compare Jeremiah 8:2; 44:17; Ezekiel 8:16; Acts 7:43; Deuteronomy 5:7; see Deuteronomy 4:19; 17:2–7).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2626. If I looked unto the sun (as an object of worship) because he shined; or to the moon because she walked, &c. Sabaism (from tsaba, "the heavenly hosts") was the earliest form of false worship. God is hence called in contradistinction, "Lord of Sabaoth." The sun, moon, and stars, the brightest objects in nature, and seen everywhere, were supposed to be visible representatives of the invisible God. They had no temples, but were worshipped on high places…Read the comment

Topics related to Job 31:26

• Idolatry
• Integrity
• Moon
• Sun
• Temptation

In the dictionaries

• Bosom
• Instead
• Lift
• Moon
• Root
• Sun
• Adoration
• Astronomy
• Charm
• Job, Book of

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