Job 34:11
in Job 34For according to a man’s deeds He repays him; according to a man’s ways He brings consequences.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For the work of a man will he render unto him, And cause every man to find according to his ways.
KJV
For the work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways.
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This verse in Job 34
Commentary
8 notes on this verseLet unmercifulness ['impietas'] be far from God, and iniquity from the Almighty: for the work of a man shall He render unto him, and will restore to them according to the ways of every man. He well said, that iniquity or unmercifulness is not in Almighty God. But that which he added is by no means always the case in this life, namely, that He renders to each man according to his work, and according to his own ways. [see Rev. 22,
This site's exposition
Far be it from God to do wrong
on Job 34:10-12
“Far be it from God to do wrong, and from the Almighty to act unjustly” is the thesis of Elihu's second speech. Verse 11 grounds it in recompense. Wesley holds the claim true and reverent in itself, whatever the reader judges of Elihu's use of it against Job.
This site's exposition
according to a man’s deeds
Albert Barnes calls this repaying of each man by his deeds the essence of justice, and nobody in the debate disputed it. Elihu leaves Job's name out. Barnes still reads the verse as aimed at Job, who had said God brought on him woes he never deserved.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
After he rejects divine injustice, he shows the manner of divine justice saying, "For he will render the work of a man to him," because he bestows good and evil on him according to his deeds. Since some of those who do good things do …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
For the work of a man will he render unto him,.... The reward of his work, as Ben Gersom interprets it, whether the work of a wicked man or of a good man: and cause every man to find according to his ways.
Say to the righteous, it shall be well with them; woe to the wicked, it shall be ill with them. If services persevered in now go unrewarded, and sins persisted in now go unpunished, yet there is a day coming when God will fully render to every man according to his works, with interest for the delay. How warmly it is asserted, 1.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For the work of a man shall he render unto him - He shall treat each man as he deserves - and this is the essence of justice. Of the truth of this, also, there could have been no question. Elihu does not, indeed, apply it to the case of Job, but there can be little doubt that he intended that it should have such a reference. He regarded Job as having accused God of injustice, for having inflicted woes on him which he by no means deserved.
For the work of a man shall he render - God ever will do justice; the righteous shall never be forsaken, nor shall the wicked ultimately prosper.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| פֹ֣עַל | foal | [the] work of | H6467 → | 37 times |
| אָ֭דָם | ʾadom | a person | H120 → | 551 times |
| יְשַׁלֶּם־ | yeshalem- | he will repay | H7999 → | 116 times |
| ל֑וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| וּֽכְאֹ֥רַח | ukheorach | and according to [the] way of | H734 → | 58 times |
| אִ֝֗ישׁ | ʾish | a person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| יַמְצִאֶֽנּוּ׃ | yamtzienu | he will make find him | H4672 → | 455 times |
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
פֹ֣עַל[the] work of
foalH6467 →37 times
אָ֭דָםa person
ʾadomH120 →551 times
יְשַׁלֶּם־he will repay
yeshalem-H7999 →116 times
ל֑וֹto him
lo
וּֽכְאֹ֥רַחand according to [the] way of
ukheorachH734 →58 times
אִ֝֗ישׁa person
ʾishH376 →1663 times
יַמְצִאֶֽנּוּ׃he will make find him
yamtzienuH4672 →455 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
Revelation 22:12“Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done.
it leads to
- Matthew 16:27
For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.
Reached by 4 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 62:11
Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the ends of the earth, “Say to Daughter Zion: See, your Savior comes! Look, His reward is with Him, and His recompense goes before Him.”
- Matthew 16:27
Through
2 Corinthians 5:10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.
it leads to
- Psalms 62:12
and loving devotion to You, O Lord. For You will repay each man according to his deeds.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 22:12
“Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done.
- Ecclesiastes 12:14
For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
- Ephesians 6:8
because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
- Psalms 62:12
Through
Matthew 16:27For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 17:10
I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Corinthians 5:10
About Job
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXIV; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.