Job 40:13
in Job 40Bury them together in the dust; imprison them in the grave.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Hide them in the dust together; Bind their faces in the hidden place.
KJV
Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret.
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This verse in Job 40
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Hide them in the dust together; - compare Isa 2:10. The meaning seems to be, that God had power to prostrate the wicked in the dust of the earth, and he calls upon Job to show his power by doing the same thing. And bind their faces in secret - The word “faces” here is probably used (like the Greek πρίσωπα prisōpa to denote “persons.” The phrase” to bind them,” is expressive of having them under control or subjection; and the phrase “in secret” may refer to some secret or safe place - as a dungeon or prison.
This site's exposition
adorn yourself with majesty and splendor
on Job 40:10-14
God bids Job take His office for a moment. Delitzsch reads the offer as irony, since no creature could survive wielding such power even briefly. God would confess “that your own right hand can save you” only if Job could do what he asks God to answer for.
This site's exposition
imprison them in the grave
Older versions read binding their faces for imprison them in the grave. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown see the cloth bound over a condemned man's face, and Clarke the wrapped dead of Egypt. Henry sees the proud buried together in the dust and forgotten.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistMorals on the Book of Job, Book XXXII · Written before 604.
proposed
Hide them in the dust, and at the same time plunge their faces into the pit. 12. As if He said, As I. For God by a just judgment hides the proud and impious in the dust, because He permits their hearts to be overwhelmed with those earthly employments, which they choose, having scorned the love of their Creator.
The third punishment is that after they are reduced to the lowest place, the brightness of their renown ends. For it is just that those who sought the ostentation of glory should be erased from the memories of men, as Proverbs says, "The name of …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
. here the cause is put upon this short issue: if Job can humble and abase proud tyrants and oppressors as easily and effectually as God can, it shall be acknowledged that he has some colour to compete with God. The justice Job is here challenged to do, and that is to bring the proud low with a look.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
12 ), that is, they shall be brought not only to death, but to the grave, that pit out of which there is no return. They were proud of the figure they made, but they shall be buried in oblivion and be no more remembered than those that are hidden in the dust, out of sight and out of mind.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
Hide them in the dust together,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Abase and remove them out of the sight of men. bind . . . faces--that is, shut up their persons [MAURER]. But it refers rather to the custom of binding a cloth over the faces of persons about to be executed (Job 9:24;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Hide them in the dust together - Blend the high and the low, the rich and the poor, in one common ruin. Show them that thou art supreme, and canst do whatsoever thou pleasest. Bind their faces in secret - This seems to refer to the custom of preserving mummies: the whole body is wrapped round with strong swathings of linen or cotton cloth. Not only the limbs, but the very head, face, and all, are rolled round with strong filleting, so that not one feature can be seen, not even the protuberance of the nose. On the outside of these involutions a human face is ordinarily painted; but as to the real face itself, it is emphatically bound in secret, for those rollers are never intended to be removed.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| טָמְנֵ֣ם | tamenem | hide them | H2934 → | 31 times |
| בֶּעָפָ֣ר | beafar | in the dust | H6083 → | 110 times |
| יָ֑חַד | yachad | together | H3162 → | 141 times |
| פְּ֝נֵיהֶ֗ם | peneihem | faces their | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| חֲבֹ֣שׁ | chavosh | bind up | H2280 → | 33 times |
| בַּטָּמֽוּן׃ | batamun | in the hidden [place] | H2934 → | 31 times |
טָמְנֵ֣םhide them
tamenemH2934 →31 times
בֶּעָפָ֣רin the dust
beafarH6083 →110 times
יָ֑חַדtogether
yachadH3162 →141 times
פְּ֝נֵיהֶ֗םfaces their
peneihemH6440 →2123 times
חֲבֹ֣שׁbind up
chavoshH2280 →33 times
בַּטָּמֽוּן׃in the hidden [place]
batamunH2934 →31 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 2:10Go into the rocks and hide in the dust from the terror of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty.
it leads to
- Revelation 6:15–16
Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.
- Isaiah 2:19–21
Men will flee to caves in the rocks and holes in the ground, away from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to shake the earth.
- Hosea 10:8
The high places of Aven will be destroyed—it is the sin of Israel; thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall…
- Luke 23:30
At that time ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’
- Revelation 6:15–16
Through
Psalms 49:14Like sheep they are destined for Sheol. Death will be their shepherd. The upright will rule them in the morning, and their form will decay in Sheol, far from their lofty abode.
it leads to
- Malachi 4:3
Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- 1 Corinthians 6:2
Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?
- Job 30:23
Yes, I know that You will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living.
- Daniel 7:22
until the Ancient of Days arrived and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for them to possess the kingdom.
- Malachi 4:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXXII; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.