Job 13:11
in Job 13Would His majesty not terrify you? Would the dread of Him not fall upon you?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Shall not his majesty make you afraid, And his dread fall upon you?
KJV
Shall not his excellency make you afraid? and his dread fall upon you?
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This verse in Job 13
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Shall not his excellency - His exaltation שׂאת śe'êth from נשׂא nâśâ' to exalt, to lift up), or his majesty, Gen 49:3. Make you afraid - Fill you with awe and reverence. Shall it not restrain you from fallacy, from sophisms, and from all presumptuous and unfounded reasoning?
This site's exposition
Surely He would rebuke you
on Job 13:10-12
"Surely He would rebuke you if you secretly showed partiality" presses the charge, since even a private partiality for God's side will meet His rebuke. "Your maxims are proverbs of ashes" reduces their sayings to what a fire leaves, maxims that crumble under the weight they are made to bear.
This site's exposition
Would His majesty not terrify you?
Barnes traces the word for majesty to a root meaning to lift up. He reads the dread as the awe that should fall on the friends and silence their argument. Aquinas notes that they argue about God at ease, far from the terror Job knows.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church3 voices
He now shows how God will blame them saying, "He will rouse himself immediately and he will throw you into confusion," as if to say: Merely because you are not suffering adversity, dispute about the justice of God with a tranquil mind. But if tribulation …
The author seems to say that Job's friends will abstain from pronouncing reproaches, because of the fear of God and the terror that he inspires.
He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly take His face. Presently when He ariseth He shall make you afraid; and His dread shall fall upon you. This part, wherein He declares that 'the face of God is taken in secret,' may be understood in two ways. For there be some, who at one and the same time perceive truth in their hearts, and yet utter outwardly concerning God things that are false. For lest they should appear to be subdued, they both know the truth within, and yet assail it without.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Shall not his excellency make you afraid,....
His excellencies in themselves are amiable and lovely. He is the most beautiful Being; but considering man's distance from God by nature, and his defection and degeneracy by sin, his excellencies are dreadful. His power, holiness, justice, yea, and his goodness too, are dreadful excellencies.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
His dread fall upon you? - The very apprehension of his wrath is sufficient to crush you to nothing.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
He will surely reprove you Will He not let you know your speech?
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
your memorials are compared to ashes Your memorials are compared to ashes. You expect to be compared to Abraham, who said (Genesis:27), “I am only dust and ashes.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֲלֹ֣א | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שְׂ֭אֵתוֹ | seetov | majesty his | H7613 → | 14 times |
| תְּבַעֵ֣ת | tevaet | will it terrify | H1204 → | 16 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֑ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וּ֝פַחְדּ֗וֹ | ufachdo | and dread his | H6343 → | 49 times |
| יִפֹּ֥ל | yipol | will it fall? | H5307 → | 435 times |
| עֲלֵיכֶֽם׃ | ʾaleikhem | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
הֲלֹ֣א¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
שְׂ֭אֵתוֹmajesty his
seetovH7613 →14 times
תְּבַעֵ֣תwill it terrify
tevaetH1204 →16 times
אֶתְכֶ֑ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
וּ֝פַחְדּ֗וֹand dread his
ufachdoH6343 →49 times
יִפֹּ֥לwill it fall?
yipolH5307 →435 times
עֲלֵיכֶֽם׃on you
ʾaleikhemH5921 →5755 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 8:13The LORD of Hosts is the One you shall regard as holy. Only He should be feared; only He should be dreaded.
it leads to
- Psalms 76:7
You alone are to be feared. When You are angry, who can stand before You?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 12:5
But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear the One who, after you have been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him!
- Isaiah 26:3–4
You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.
- Psalms 76:7
Through
Psalms 119:120My flesh trembles in awe of You; I stand in fear of Your judgments.
it leads to
- Habakkuk 3:16
I heard and trembled within; my lips quivered at the sound. Decay entered my bones; I trembled where I stood. Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distress to come upon the…
- Daniel 10:8–11
So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision. No strength remained in me; my face grew deathly pale, and I was powerless.
- Hebrews 12:28–29
Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.
- Hebrews 12:21
The sight was so terrifying that even Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”
- Philippians 2:12
Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
- Habakkuk 3:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Job
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Job; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XI; Ishodad of Merv, COMMENTARY ON JOB 13:11; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.