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 did not lodge in the street; but I opened my doors to the traveller; 33If like Adam I covered my transgressions, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom; Because I feared the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and went not out of the door— 35Oh that I had one to hear me! (lo, here is my signature, let the Almighty answer me;) and that I had the indictment which mine adversary hath written! 36Surely I would carry it upon my shoulder; I would bind it unto me as a crown.

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
• greatרַבrab · manyH7227
• multitudeהָמוֹןhâmôn hâmôn · crowdH1995
• contemptבּוּזbûz · contemptH937
• familiesמִשְׁפָּחָהmishpâchâh · familyH4940
• terrifiedחָתַתchâthath · to to be dismayedH2865
• meיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• soלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• doorפֶּ֫תַחpethach · entranceH6607

Cross-references for Job 31:34

• Exodus 23:2Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to turn aside after a multitude to wrest judgment:
• Proverbs 29:25The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.
• Jeremiah 38:4Then the princes said unto the king, Let this man, we pray thee, be put to death; forasmuch as he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.
• Matthew 27:20Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.
• Job 22:8But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man, he dwelt in it.
• Job 34:19How much less to him that respecteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands.
• Exodus 32:27And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Put ye every man his sword upon his thigh, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.
• Numbers 25:14Now the name of the man of Israel that was slain, who was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a fathers’ house among the Simeonites.
• Nehemiah 5:7Then I consulted with myself, and contended with the nobles and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother. And I held a great assembly against them.
• Nehemiah 13:4Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, being allied unto Tobiah,
• 2 Corinthians 5:16Wherefore we henceforth know no man after the flesh: even though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now we know him so no more.
• Esther 4:11All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law for him, that he be put to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.
• Proverbs 24:11Deliver them that are carried away unto death, and those that are ready to be slain see that thou hold back.
• Amos 5:11Forasmuch therefore as ye trample upon the poor, and take exactions from him of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink the wine thereof.
• Micah 7:3Their hands are upon that which is evil to do it diligently; the prince asketh, and the judge is ready for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth the mischief of his soul: thus they weave 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