Job 31:34

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 spent the night outside, For I have opened my doors to the traveler. 33Have I covered my wrongdoings like a man, By hiding my guilt in my shirt pocket, Because I feared the great multitude And the contempt of families terrified me, And I kept silent and did not go out of doors? 35Oh that I had one to hear me! Here is my signature; Let the Almighty answer me! And the indictment which my adversary has written, 36I would certainly carry it on my shoulder, I would tie it to myself like a garland.

Job 31:34 word by word

כִּ֤י אֶֽעֱר֨וֹץ׀ הָ֘מ֤וֹן רַבָּ֗ה וּבוּז־מִשְׁפָּח֥וֹת יְחִתֵּ֑נִי וָ֝אֶדֹּ֗ם לֹא־אֵ֥צֵא פָֽתַח׃Read the interlinear

• Becauseכִּיkîy · forH3588
• fearedעָרַץ‛ârats · to trembleH6206
• the greatרַבrab · manyH7227
• multitudeהָמוֹןhâmôn hâmôn · crowdH1995
• And the contemptבּוּזbûz · contemptH937
• of familiesמִשְׁפָּחָהmishpâchâh · familyH4940
• terrifiedחָתַתchâthath · to to be dismayedH2865
• And I keptדָּמַםdâmam · to silence: stationaryH1826
• silentדָּמַםdâmam · to silence: silentH1826
• and did not goיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• of doorsפֶּ֫תַחpethach · entranceH6607

Cross-references for Job 31:34

• Exodus 23:2You shall not follow the crowd in doing evil, nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to join together with a crowd in order to pervert justice;
• Proverbs 29:25The fear of man brings a snare, But one who trusts in the Lord will be protected.
• Jeremiah 38:4Then the officials said to the king, “Please have this man put to death, since he is discouraging the men of war who are left in this city and all the people, by speaking words like these to them; for this man is not seeking the well-being of this 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 earth belongs to the powerful man, And the one who is honorable dwells on it.
• Job 34:19Who shows no partiality to the prominent, Nor regards the rich as above the poor, Since they are all the work of His hands?
• Exodus 32:27And he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Every man of you put his sword on his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.’”
• Numbers 25:14Now the name of the dead 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 5:7So I thought it over and contended with the nobles and the leading people, and said to them, “You are lending at interest, each to his brother!” Therefore, I held a great assembly against them.
• Nehemiah 13:4Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, being related to Tobiah,
• 2 Corinthians 5:16Therefore from now on we recognize no one by the flesh; even though we have known Christ by the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.
• 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 in the inner courtyard, who is not summoned, he has only one law, that he be put to death, unless the king holds out to him the golden scepter so that he may live. And I have not been summoned to come to the king for these thirty days.”
• Proverbs 24:11Rescue those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to the slaughter, Oh hold them back!
• Amos 5:11Therefore because you impose heavy rent on the poor And take a tribute of grain from them, Though you have built houses of cut stone, Yet you will not live in them; You have planted beautiful vineyards, yet you will not drink their wine.
• Micah 7:3As for evil, both hands do it well. The leader asks for a bribe, also the judge, And the great one speaks the capricious desire of his soul; So they plot it together.

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

• Hypocrisy
• Integrity
• Temptation

In the dictionaries

• Bosom
• Instead
• Lift
• Root
• 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