Job 34:21
in Job 34For His eyes are on the ways of a man, and He sees his every step.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For his eyes are upon the ways of a man, And he seeth all his goings.
KJV
For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.
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This verse in Job 34
Commentary
6 notes on this verseFor His eyes are over the ways of men, and He considers all their steps. For He was then believed not to observe them, while this man of violence was committing, unpunished, all the wickedness he could. God was supposed not to behold the deeds of the ungodly, because He was delaying to condemn them justly; and His great forbearance was regarded as a kind of carelessness. The wicked also himself believed that he was not observed by God in the commission of sin, as often as he sinned without being punished.
This site's exposition
His eyes are on the ways of a man
on Job 34:21-25
“For His eyes are on the ways of a man” answers Job's complaint of a hidden God. Elihu shows justice in history, where “He shatters the mighty without inquiry and sets up others in their place”. “He recognizes their deeds”, and so “He overthrows them in the night”.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
He shows that punishments like this are caused by divine judgment when he says, "For his eye," which is the foresight of divine providence, "is on the ways of men," on their works. He then expresses the idea that God knows each and every one …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He sees us all, and sees all our goings; go where we will, we are under his eye; all our actions, good and evil, are regarded and recorded and reserved to be brought into judgment when the books shall be opened. (2.) Nothing is or can be concealed from him (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
For his eyes are upon the ways of man,.... Which denotes the omniscience of God, which reaches to every man, to every individual, and to all men in general; and to their ways, to every step taken by them, to the whole of their lives and conversations, and every action of them; to all their internal and external ways and goings; perhaps the former may be meant in this, and the latter in the following clause.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For his eyes are upon the ways of man - None can escape from his notice; compare Psa 139:2-3.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עֵ֭ינָיו | ʾeinav | eyes his | H5869 → | 887 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [are] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| דַּרְכֵי־ | darkhei- | [the] ways of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| אִ֑ישׁ | ʾish | everyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וְֽכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| צְעָדָ֥יו | tzeadav | steps his | H6806 → | 14 times |
| יִרְאֶֽה׃ | yireh | he sees | H7200 → | 1300 times |
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
עֵ֭ינָיוeyes his
ʾeinavH5869 →887 times
עַל־[are] on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
דַּרְכֵי־[the] ways of
darkhei-H1870 →707 times
אִ֑ישׁeveryone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וְֽכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
צְעָדָ֥יוsteps his
tzeadavH6806 →14 times
יִרְאֶֽה׃he sees
yirehH7200 →1300 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
Proverbs 15:3The eyes of the LORD are in every place, observing the evil and the good.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 23:24
“Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 4:13
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 5:21
For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD examines all his paths.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 16:17
For My eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from My face, and their guilt is not concealed from My eyes.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 16:9
For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 23:24
Through
Jeremiah 16:17For My eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from My face, and their guilt is not concealed from My eyes.
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:3
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, observing the evil and the good.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 15:3
Through
Jeremiah 32:19the One great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are on all the ways of the sons of men, to reward each one according to his ways and according to the fruit…
it leads to
- 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.
- Jeremiah 17:10
Through
Proverbs 5:21For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD examines all his paths.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 32:19
the One great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are on all the ways of the sons of men, to reward each one according to his ways and according to the fruit…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 32:19
About Job
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Job; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXV; 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.