Job 5:25
in Job 5You will know that your offspring will be many, your descendants like the grass of the earth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, And thine offspring as the grass of the earth.
KJV
Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth.
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This verse in Job 5
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great - Margin, “much.” That is, thy posterity shall be numerous. This was one of the blessings supposed to be connected with the favor of God; see the notes at Isa 53:10. And thine offspring as the grass of the earth - On the meaning of the word here rendered offspring, see the notes at Isa 48:19. Nothing is more common in the Scriptures, than to compare a prosperous and a happy man to a green and flourishing tree; see Psa 1:3; Psa 92:12-
This site's exposition
You will know that your tent is secure
on Job 5:24-26
Eliphaz promises that "your tent is secure," and a grave reached "like a sheaf of grain gathered in season". He offers it as the reward of repentance for a hidden sin. It comes true almost word for word at 42:12 to 17, after God rebukes his speech as wrong.
This site's exposition
your descendants like the grass of the earth
Barnes notes that many descendants were counted a sign of God's favour. John Chrysostom calls the promise a severe blow, applied to Job as if he stood outside it. Job 42:13 gives Job seven sons and three daughters again.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Notice how Eliphaz … has inflicted a severe blow. How and in what manner? By showing that Job is not among those who receive a warning or among those who keep faith. Indeed, Eliphaz has applied his words to the person of Job, but his speech has a general meaning. For he says: Here is what we have seen and understood; but if this did not occur in your case, and if you remain in your misfortunes, it is up to you to recognize your own perversity.
The Medieval Church2 voices
Fifth, as to his children, "Your children will be like the grass of the earth," i.e. you will have many children and grandchildren.
Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be manifold, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth. For after the 'peace of his tabernacle,' after 'the visiting of our likeness,' the manifold seed of the righteous man ariseth, in that after the macerating of the members and the fulness of the moral virtues, the word of preaching is bestowed upon him so much the more productive, in proportion as it is anticipated in his breast by the tillage of perfect practice.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one. 3 I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation. 4 His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
), and thou shalt know it." God has blessings in store for the seed of the faithful, which they shall have if they do not stand in their own light and forfeit them by their folly. It is a comfort to parents to see the prosperity, especially the spiritual prosperity, of their children; if they are truly good, they are truly great, how small a figure soever they may make in the world.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Thine offspring as the grass - Thou shalt have a numerous and permanent issue.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְֽ֭יָדַעְתָּ | veyada'ta | and you will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| רַ֣ב | rav | [will be] many | H7227 → | 454 times |
| זַרְעֶ֑ךָ | zarekha | offspring your | H2233 → | 229 times |
| וְ֝צֶאֱצָאֶ֗יךָ | vetzeetzaeikha | and descendants your | H6631 → | 11 times |
| כְּעֵ֣שֶׂב | keesev | [will be] like [the] vegetation of | H6212 → | |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
וְֽ֭יָדַעְתָּand you will know
veyada'taH3045 →945 times
כִּי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
רַ֣ב[will be] many
ravH7227 →454 times
זַרְעֶ֑ךָoffspring your
zarekhaH2233 →229 times
וְ֝צֶאֱצָאֶ֗יךָand descendants your
vetzeetzaeikhaH6631 →11 times
כְּעֵ֣שֶׂב[will be] like [the] vegetation of
keesevH6212 →
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the earth
haaretzH776 →2504 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 112:2His descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
it leads to
- Genesis 17:7
I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
- Psalms 37:26
They are ever generous and quick to lend, and their children are a blessing.
- Proverbs 20:7
The righteous man walks with integrity; blessed are his children after him.
- Acts 2:39
This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
- Psalms 25:13
His soul will dwell in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land.
- Genesis 17:7
Through
Deuteronomy 28:4The fruit of your womb will be blessed, as well as the produce of your land and the offspring of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
it leads to
- Proverbs 10:22
The blessing of the LORD enriches, and He adds no sorrow to it.
- Genesis 49:25
by the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you, with blessings of the heavens above, with blessings of the depths below, with blessings of the breasts and…
- Proverbs 10:22
Through
Genesis 15:5And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
it leads to
- Hebrews 11:12
And so from one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
- Hebrews 11:12
Where this verse is studied
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, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Job; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book VI; John Chrysostom, Commentary on Job; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON JOB 5:25-27; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.