Job 34:25
in Job 34Therefore, He recognizes their deeds; He overthrows them in the night and they are crushed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Therefore he taketh knowledge of their works; And he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed.
KJV
Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed.
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This verse in Job 34
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Therefore he knoweth their works - Or, “Because he knoweth their works.” The word (לכן lākên) here rendered “therefore” is evidently used as denoting that since or because he was intimately acquainted with all which they did, he could justly bring vengeance upon them without long investigation. And he overturneth them in the night - literally, “he turneth night;” meaning, probably, he turns night upon them; that is, he brings calamity upon them. The word “night” is often used to denote calamity, or ruin.
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”.
This site's exposition
He overthrows them in the night
The Hebrew word for therefore can mean because, says Albert Barnes, so God strikes since He already knows the deeds. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown tie the night here to verse 20 and to verse 22, where the wicked hoped to hide in darkness. They are overthrown in the same dark.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Usually when many must be punished the judges cannot examine the cases of each one with great care. Lest this be believed about God, he says, "for he knows their works," what each one deserves. Therefore, he gives to each one according to his works, …
For He knoweth their works, and therefore will He bring night on them, and they shall be crushed. It is specially to be understood, that every sinner is, in two ways, crushed in the night; either when he is struck by the suffering of punishment from without, or when he is blinded by a secret sentence within. He falls at night, when he loses for ever the light of life, by the last judgment.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), both what they do and what they design. God is righteous, and, in all his proceedings, goes according to the rules of equity. Even when he is overturning mighty men, and breaking them in pieces, yet he will not lay upon man more than right,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Therefore he knoweth their works,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
He knows their works, without a formal investigation (Job 34:24). in the night--suddenly, unexpectedly (Job 34:20). Fitly in the night, as it was in it that the godless hid themselves (Job 34:22). UMBREIT, less simply, for "overturneth," translates, "walketh"; that is, God is ever on the alert, discovering all wickedness.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He knoweth their works - He knows what they have done, and what they are plotting to do. He overturneth them in the night - In the revolution of a single night the plenitude of power on which the day closed is annihilated. See the cases of Belshazzar and Babylon.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לָכֵ֗ן | lakhen | <to> therefore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| יַ֭כִּיר | yakir | he is acquainted with | H5234 → | 49 times |
| מַעְבָּֽדֵיהֶ֑ם | ma'badeihem | deeds their | H4566 → | |
| וְהָ֥פַךְ | vehafakh | and he overthrows [them] | H2015 → | 94 times |
| לַ֝֗יְלָה | laylah | night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| וְיִדַּכָּֽאוּ׃ | veyiddakau | so they may be crushed | H1792 → | 18 times |
לָכֵ֗ן<to> therefore
lakhenH3651 →771 times
יַ֭כִּירhe is acquainted with
yakirH5234 →49 times
מַעְבָּֽדֵיהֶ֑םdeeds their
ma'badeihemH4566 →
וְהָ֥פַךְand he overthrows [them]
vehafakhH2015 →94 times
לַ֝֗יְלָהnight
laylahH3915 →233 times
וְיִדַּכָּֽאוּ׃so they may be crushed
veyiddakauH1792 →18 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 20:12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their…
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.
- 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.
- Daniel 7:10
A river of fire was flowing, coming out from His presence. Thousands upon thousands attended Him, and myriads upon myriads stood before Him. The court was convened, and the books were opened.
- Ecclesiastes 12:14
For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
- Revelation 2:23
Then I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
- 2 Corinthians 5:10
Through
1 Thessalonians 5:2For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
it leads to
- Revelation 16:15
“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who remains awake and clothed, so that he will not go naked and let his shame be exposed.”
- 2 Peter 3:10
But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid…
- Revelation 3:3
Remember, then, what you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know the hour when I will…
- Revelation 16:15
About Job
This page draws on 9 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; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXV; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.