Job 36:9
in Job 36then He tells them their deeds and how arrogantly they have transgressed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then he showeth them their work, And their transgressions, that they have behaved themselves proudly.
KJV
Then he sheweth them their work, and their transgressions that they have exceeded.
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This verse in Job 36
Commentary
11 notes on this verseAnd if they shall be in chains, and bound with the cords of poverty, He will shew them their works, and their wickednesses, because they have been violent. The chains of bondage, are the very detention of their present pilgrimage. Paul had seen, that he was bound by these chains, when he was saying, I have a desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ. [Phil. 1, 23] He perceived that he was bound with the cords of poverty, when, beholding the true riches, he entreated them also for his disciples.
This site's exposition
God is mighty, but He despises no one
on Job 36:5-12
After “He opens their ears to correction” the obedient “end their days in prosperity”. Barnes calls this a chastening theory, correction meant to be heard, set against the friends' retribution. Delitzsch notes one pattern covering the righteous of verse 7 and men “bound with chains” in verse 8.
This site's exposition
how arrogantly they have transgressed
Adam Clarke gives the Hebrew for arrogantly as yithgabbaru, they made themselves strong. Albert Barnes lists the ways God tells men their deeds. He may send a messenger, as at Job 33:23, or turn their own thoughts to review, as at Job 33:27.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Yet to those who have been so constituted in unhappiness, God first confers this benefit of recognizing the past sins for which they have been punished, and so he says, "he will show them their works," for he will make them know what they have …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Work - Their evil works, by these afflictions he brings them to a sight of their sins. Exceeded - That they have greatly sinned by abusing their power and prosperity; which even good men are too prone to do.
He discovers to them the fact of sin: He shows them their work. If there be any good in us, it is God's work; and we are concerned to see what work we have made by sin. He discovers the fault of sin, shows them their transgressions of the law of God, and withal the sinfulness of sin, that they have exceeded, and have been beyond measure sinful.
Then he showeth them their work,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Then he showeth them their work - What their lives have been. This he does either by a messenger sent to them Job 33:23, or by their own reflections Job 33:27, or by the influences of his Spirit leading them to a proper review of their lives. The object of their affliction, Elihu says, is to bring them to see what their conduct has been, and to reform what has been amiss.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
If they be afflicted, it is no proof that they are hypocrites, as the friends maintain, or that God disregards them, and is indifferent whether men are good or bad, as Job asserts: God is thereby "disciplining them," and "showing them their sins," and if they bow in a right spirit under God's visiting hand, the greatest blessings ensue.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
work--transgression. that . . . exceeded--"In that they behaved themselves mightily" (literally, "great"); that is, presumptuously, or, at least, self-confidently.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
He showeth them their work - He shows them the exceeding sinfulness of sin. That they have exceeded - יתגברו yithgabbaru, “that they have strengthened themselves,” and did not trust in the living God; and therefore they would not help themselves when trouble came.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and He says that with sufferings, they will repent of iniquity.
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּגֵּ֣ד | vaiyaged | and he told | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לָהֶ֣ם | lahem | to them | ||
| פָּעֳלָ֑ם | poolam | work their | H6467 → | 37 times |
| וּ֝פִשְׁעֵיהֶ֗ם | ufisheihem | and transgressions their | H6588 → | 93 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יִתְגַּבָּֽרוּ׃ | yitgabaru | they were behaving proudly | H1396 → | 25 times |
וַיַּגֵּ֣דand he told
vaiyagedH5046 →370 times
לָהֶ֣םto them
lahem
פָּעֳלָ֑םwork their
poolamH6467 →37 times
וּ֝פִשְׁעֵיהֶ֗םand transgressions their
ufisheihemH6588 →93 times
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
יִתְגַּבָּֽרוּ׃they were behaving proudly
yitgabaruH1396 →25 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
Psalms 119:71It was good for me to be afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes.
it leads to
- Hebrews 12:10–11
Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness.
- Psalms 119:67
Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I keep Your word.
- 1 Corinthians 11:32
But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
- Psalms 94:12–13
Blessed is the man You discipline, O LORD, and teach from Your law,
- Hebrews 12:10–11
Through
Psalms 119:67Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I keep Your word.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 31:18–19
I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me severely, like an untrained calf. Restore me, that I may return, for You are the LORD my God.
- Psalms 119:71
It was good for me to be afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes.
- Hosea 5:15
Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
- Psalms 119:75
I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
- Jeremiah 31:18–19
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 on the Book of Job; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXVI; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.