Who will declare his way to his face? Who will repay him what he has done?
Parallel Translations
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Who will declare his way to his face? Who will repay him what he has done?
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Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done?
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But who shall declare his way to his face? And who shall repay him what he hath done?
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to Job 21:31 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Deuteronomy 7:10 and repays those who hate him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack to him who hates him. He will repay him to his face.
- Galatians 2:11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I resisted him to his face, because he stood condemned.
- Romans 12:19 Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.”
- 2 Samuel 12:7-12 Nathan said to David, “You are the man. This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that would have been too little, I would have added to you many more such things. Why have you despised Yahweh’s word, to do that which is evil in his sight? You have struck Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised me, and have taken Uriah the Hittite’s wife to be your wife.’ “This is what Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did this secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’ ”
- 1 Kings 21:19-24 You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh says, “Have you killed and also taken possession?” ’ You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh says, “In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs will lick your blood, even yours.” ’ ” Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do that which is evil in Yahweh’s sight. Behold, I will bring evil on you, and will utterly sweep you away and will cut off from Ahab everyone who urinates against a wall, and him who is shut up and him who is left at large in Israel. I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah for the provocation with which you have provoked me to anger, and have made Israel to sin.” Yahweh also spoke of Jezebel, saying, “The dogs will eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel. The dogs will eat he who dies of Ahab in the city; and the birds of the sky will eat he who dies in the field.”
- Job 21:19 You say, ‘God lays up his iniquity for his children.’ Let him recompense it to himself, that he may know it.
- Job 41:11 Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Everything under the heavens is mine.
- Psalms 50:21 You have done these things, and I kept silent. You thought that I was just like you. I will rebuke you, and accuse you in front of your eyes.
- Isaiah 59:13 transgressing and denying Yahweh, and turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
- Jeremiah 2:33-35 How well you prepare your way to seek love! Therefore you have even taught the wicked women your ways. Also the blood of the souls of the innocent poor is found in your skirts. You didn’t find them breaking in, but it is because of all these things. “Yet you said, ‘I am innocent. Surely his anger has turned away from me.’ “Behold, I will judge you, because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
- Mark 6:18 For John said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
- Acts 24:25 As he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was terrified, and answered, “Go your way for this time, and when it is convenient for me, I will summon you.”
- James 2:13 For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Though men do flatter him, and none dare reprove…
Though men do flatter him, and none dare reprove him in this world, yet death is a token that he will bring him to an account.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Job 21:31 Who shall declare his way to his…
Job 21:31 Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him [what] he hath done?
Ver. 31. Who shall declare his way to his face? &c.] Who shall be so bold as to deal plainly with this rich wretch, and tell him his own? Divitibus ideo deest amicus, quia nihil deest. Great men have many flatterers, and not a few mutterers against them, but very few that will faithfully show them their sin, and forewarn them of their danger, lest they meet with the same hard measure that the hares in the fable did, who, taking upon them to reprove the lion, were torn in pieces by him for the same. Truth breedeth hatred; and although she be a good mistress, yet they that follow her too close at the heels may hap to have their teeth struck out. But truth, downright truth, must be spoken, however it be taken. Elias dealt roundly and impartially with wicked Ahab, Jeremiah with Josiah’s sons and successors, the Baptist with Herod, Christ with the elders and Pharisees, that noble General Trajan with Valens, the Arian emperor, telling him, That by his persecuting the orthodox he had lost the day, abandoning the victory, and sending it away to the enemy.
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And who shall repay him what he hath done?] q.d. Men dare not, for who will take a lion by the beard or a bear by the tooth? God will not punish him here, therefore he must needs escape unpunished, This is by Gregory fitly referred to Antichrist, who may not be admonished, and will not be punished; but thinks to bear out his most malapert misdemeanour, because it is - facinus maioris abollae, the fact of a great one.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain His way, i.e. his wicked course and actions, and…
His way, i.e. his wicked course and actions, and whither they lead him. His power and splendour is so great, that scarce any man dare reprove him for his sin, or show him his danger.
To his face, i.e. plainly, and whilst he lives, as the same phrase is used, Deu 7:10.
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Who shall repay him what he hath done? no man can bring him to an account or punishment.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Yet shall he be brought to the grave,.... Or…
Yet shall he be brought to the grave,.... Or "and", "or yea he shall be brought", &c. (a); for the meaning is not, that though he is great in life he shall be brought low enough at death; for Job is still describing the grand figure wicked men make, even at death, as well as in life; for he is not only brought to the grave, as all men are, it being the house appointed for all living, and every man's long home; but the wicked rich man is brought thither in great funeral pomp, in great state, as the rich sinner was buried, Ecc 8:10; or "to the graves" (b), the place where many graves are, the place of the sepulchres of his ancestors; and in the chiefest and choicest of them he is interred, and has an honourable burial; not cast into a ditch, or buried with the burial of an ass, as Jehoiakim was, being cast forth beyond the gates of the city, Jer 22:19; and shall remain in the tomb; quiet and undisturbed, when it has been the lot of others to have their bones taken out of their grave, and spread before the sun, see Jer 8:1; and even some good men, who have had their graves dug up, their bones taken out and burnt, and their ashes scattered about, as was the case of that eminent man, John Wickliff, here in England. The word for "tomb" signifies an "heap" (c), and is sometimes used for an heap of the fruits of the earth; which has led some to think of the place of this man's interment being in the midst of a corn field; but the reason why a grave or tomb is so called is, because a grave, through a body or bodies being laid in it, rises up higher than the common ground; and if it has a tomb erected over it, that is no other than an heap of stones artificially put together; or it may be so called from the heaps of bodies one upon another in a grave, or vault, over which the tomb is, or where every part of the body is gathered and heaped (d); from this sense of the word some have given this interpretation of the passage, that the wicked man shall be brought to his grave, and abide there, after he has heaped up a great deal of wealth and riches in this world; which, though a truth, seems not to be intended here, any more than others taken from the different signification of the word translated "remain". It is observed by some to signify to "hasten" (e), from whence the almond tree, which hastens to put forth its bloom, has its name, Jer 1:10; and so give this as the sense, that such a man, being of full age, is ripe for death, and, comes to his grave, or heap, like a shock of corn in its season. Others observe, that it signifies to "watch"; and so in the margin of our Bibles the clause is put, "he shall watch in the heap" (f), which is differently interpreted; by some, that he early and carefully provides himself a tomb, as Absalom in his lifetime set up a sepulchral pillar for himself, Sa2 18:18; and Shebna the scribe, and Joseph of Arimathea, hewed themselves sepulchres out of the rock, Isa 22:15; and others think the allusion is either to statues upon tombs, as are still in use in our days, where they are placed as if they were watching over the tombs; or to bodies embalmed, according to the custom of the eastern countries, especially the Egyptians, which were set up erect in their vaults, and seemed as if they were alive, and there set to watch the places they were in, rather than as if buried there; or, according to others, "he shall be watched", or "the keeper shall watch at", or "over the tomb" (g), that the body is not disturbed or taken away; but the sense our version gives is best, and most agrees with the context, and the scope of it, and with what follows.
(a) "et ipse", Pagninus, Montanus, &c. (b) "ad sepulchra", V. L. Montamus, Vatablus, Drusius, Beza, Mercerus, Michaelis, Schultens; "in sepulchra", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. (c) "super acervo", Montanus, Codurcus; so Bolducius, Mercerus. (d) Vid. David de Pomis Lexic. fol. 14. 3. (e) "festinabit", Pagninus; so some in Vatablus, and Ben Melech. (f) "Vigilabit", V. L. Tigurine version, Montanus; "vigilat", Michaelis, Schultens; "erit tanquam vigil", Bolducius. (g) "Vigilabitur", Beza; "vigilatur", Cocceius; so Calovius.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Declare - His power and splendour are so great,…
Declare - His power and splendour are so great, that scarce any man dare reprove him.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 31. Who shall declare his way to his…
Verse 31. Who shall declare his way to his face?] But while the wicked is in power, who shall dare to tell him to his face what his true character is? or, who shall dare to repay him the evil he has done? As such a person cannot have his punishment in this life, he must have it in another; and for this the day of wrath - the day of judgment, is prepared.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Job 21:31. Who shall declare his way? — That…
Job 21:31. Who shall declare his way? — That is, his wicked course and actions, and whither they lead him; to his face — That is, plainly, and while he lives, as the same phrase is used Deu 7:10. His power and splendour are so great that scarcely any man dare reprove him for his sin, or show him his danger. And who shall repay him what he hath done? — No man can bring him to an account or punishment. Job is here pursuing the same way of reasoning which he did before, and showing that the wicked mighty man is so far from being always punished in this world, that he often does what he pleases without any to control him, or so much as open their lips against him. And that such a one shall at last go down to the grave in peace, and be buried with great pomp.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Who shall declare his way to his face? -…
Who shall declare his way to his face? - That is, the face of the wicked. Who shall dare to rise up and openly charge him with his guilt? The idea is, that none would dare to do it, and that, therefore, the wicked man was not punished according to his character here, and was reserved to a day of future wrath.
And who shall repay him what he hath done? - The meaning is, that many wicked people lived without being punished for their sins. No one was able to recompense them for the evil which they had done, and consequently they lived in security and prosperity. Such were the tyrants and conquerors, who had made the world desolate.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Done. Man is afraid, and God defers to take…
Done. Man is afraid, and God defers to take cognizance. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain That is, who dares to charge him openly with…
That is, who dares to charge him openly with his bad ways? namely, in this present life. He shall, I grant (Job 21:30), be "repaid" hereafter.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain Strophe b — The doom of the wicked is…
Strophe b — The doom of the wicked is sure, notwithstanding that in his life he was above accountability to man, and in his death honoured with a grand funereal cortege, and with undying fame among men, Job_21:31-34.
31. His way to his face — No one dares to declare to the face of the powerful wicked the way (of destruction, איד) they pursue. Nor does any one dare confront them with their evil deeds. Yet though above all responsibility to man, they are not above responsibility to God.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 31. The person spoken of in this verse seems…
31. The person spoken of in this verse seems most naturally the wicked man. It is doubtful however whether the testimony of the travellers is here still carried on, or whether the present words are not those of Job himself. The history of the evil man is proceeded with: his power makes him irresponsible and extorts the homage of men, who do him honour in death (Job_21:32). Others suppose the verse to be spoken of God, in which case the words are almost parenthetical, the history of the sinner being resumed in Job_21:32. If said of God the verse refers to the inscrutable dealings of His omnipotent power (Job_21:30), dealings against which the moral sense of mankind reclaims indeed, but of what avail are the reclamations of the moral sense against omnipotence? cf. ch. Job_9:12, Job_23:13. The language, however, seems less appropriate if spoken of God.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Who shall declare his way to his face? rather,…
Who shall declare his way to his face? rather, Who shall denounce? i.e. Who will be bold enough to tell the rich and powerful man that he is wicked? that his "way," or course of life, is altogether wrong? And who shall repay him what he hath done? Still less will any one be found who will take upon him to attack such a one, to prosecute him in courts or otherwise bring him to condign punishment. Thus, being castigated neither by God nor man, he enjoys complete impunity.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Job continues speaking to his friends.
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Who will condemn the wicked man's way to his face?
Job uses this question to contradict his friends' belief that the wicked are always judged. AT: "No one condemns the wicked man to his face." (See: Rhetorical Question)
to his face
This means no one will go directly to the wicked person and condemn him personally. (See: Idiom)
Who will repay him for what he has done?
Job uses this question to contradict his friends' belief that the wicked are always judged. AT: "No one repays him for the bad things that he has done." (See: Rhetorical Question)
he will be borne
This can be stated in active form. AT: "people will carry him" (See: Active or Passive)
The clods of the valley will be sweet to him
Job imagines that the dead person will even enjoy the dirt that is put on him. This means the wicked person will even have a good death and a nice burial after a fulfilling life. "Clods" refer to the earth that covers the grave. AT: "He will enjoy being covered with the dirt of the valley" or "He will enjoy being buried in the dirt of the valley" (See: Synecdoche)
all people will follow after him, as there were innumerable people before him
Job emphasizes that a large crowd of people will be in the funeral procession of this imaginary wicked man to honor him. AT: "a huge number of people go to the grave site; some go in front of the procession and some come behind" (See: Hypothetical Situations)
translationWords
condemn
face
grave
people group
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.