For he doesn’t need to consider a man further, that he should go before God in judgment.
Parallel Translations
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For he doesn’t need to consider a man further, that he should go before God in judgment.
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For he will not lay upon man more than right; that he should enter into judgment with God.
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For He doth not appoint a time unto any man, when he should go before God in judgment.
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to Job 34:23 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ezra 9:13 “After all that has come on us for our evil deeds, and for our great guilt, since you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such a remnant,
- Psalms 119:137 You are righteous, Yahweh. Your judgments are upright.
- Daniel 9:7-9 “Lord, righteousness belongs to you, but to us confusion of face, as it is today; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, who are near, and who are far off, through all the countries where you have driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against you. Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness; for we have rebelled against him.
- Romans 9:20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed ask him who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?”
- Job 9:32-33 For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, that we should come together in judgment. There is no umpire between us, that might lay his hand on us both.
- Job 11:6 that he would show you the secrets of wisdom! For true wisdom has two sides. Know therefore that God exacts of you less than your iniquity deserves.
- Job 11:11 For he knows false men. He sees iniquity also, even though he doesn’t consider it.
- Job 16:21 that he would maintain the right of a man with God, of a son of man with his neighbor!
- Job 23:7 There the upright might reason with him, so I should be delivered forever from my judge.
- Job 34:10-12 “Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness, from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity. For the work of a man he will render to him, and cause every man to find according to his ways. Yes surely, God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert justice.
- Isaiah 42:3 He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t quench a dimly burning wick. He will faithfully bring justice.
- Jeremiah 2:5 Yahweh says, “What unrighteousness have your fathers found in me, that they have gone far from me, and have walked after worthless vanity, and have become worthless?
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain God doth not afflict man above measure, so that…
God doth not afflict man above measure, so that he should have occasion to contend with him.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Job 34:23 For he will not lay upon man…
Job 34:23 For he will not lay upon man more [than right]; that he should enter into judgment with God.
Ver. 23. For he will not lay upon men more than right] Plus quam par est. He cannot over do likely, Nam non super virum ponet ultra; no, though he should inflict upon him all the torments here, and tortures in hell, since death, in the utmost extent of it, is the just hire of the least sin, Rom 6:23. See Ezr 9:13. {See Trapp on "Ezr 9:13"}
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That he should enter into judgment with God] Commence a suit against him, or challenge him into the schools to argue it out with him, as thou Job hast offered to do, but unadvisedly; since God hath justice on his side; as the very heathens also saw, when they set Themis, their goddess of justice, τω διι παρεδρον, next of all to Jupiter, their chief god.
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 More than right; more or heavier punishments than they…
More than right; more or heavier punishments than they deserve, or than are proportionable to their sins, which he accurately observes, as was now said, and therefore can suit punishments to them.
That he should enter into judgment with God; thereby to give him any pretence or occasion of entering into judgment with him, or condemning his proceedings; for which there might seem to be some colour, if God did lay upon man more than right. And therefore thou, O Job, hadst no cause for thy complaints against God.
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 Therefore he knoweth their works,.... Being God omniscient, or…
Therefore he knoweth their works,.... Being God omniscient, or rather takes notice of them, weighs and considers them, and gives to man according to them; or rather makes them known, for of his omniscience Elihu had spoken before; he makes them known to themselves, fastens convictions of their evil ways and works on their consciences, and obliges them to confess them, as the instances of Cain, Pharaoh, and others, show; and he makes them known to others by the judgment he executes, as on the old world, Sodom and Gomorrah; and the works of all will be made manifest at the day of judgment;
and he overturneth them in the night; literally taken, as the firstborn of the Egyptians were slain in the night, Exo 12:30; and Pharaoh and his host were drowned in the Red sea in the night, Exo 15:4; and the Assyrian army were destroyed by an angel in one night, Kg2 19:35; and Belshazzar was killed in the night, and the Babylonian empire translated to the Medes and Persians at the same time, Dan 5:30, or figuratively, that is, suddenly, at unawares, and by surprise, and as quickly and easily as the night is turned into day; and such a revolution is made, as when he turns the night into day, and discovers and makes known all their secret actions committed in the dark; or he turns the night of calamity upon them, and puts an end to their light of temporal happiness and prosperity; or turns the night of death and everlasting wrath and justice on them, the blackness of darkness upon them:
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so that they are destroyed; both in a temporal sense, on every side, with an utter destruction; and in a spiritual sense, with an everlasting one.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 23. For he will not lay upon man]…
Verse 23. For he will not lay upon man] The meaning appears to be this: He will not call man a second time into judgment; he does not try a cause twice; his decisions are just, and his sentence without appeal.
Mr. Good translates: -
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"Behold, not to man hath he intrusted the time
Of coming into judgment with God."
Man's time is not in his own hand; nor is his lot cast or ruled by his own wisdom and power. When God thinks best, he will judge for him; and, if oppressed or calumniated, he will bring forth his righteousness as the light, and do him justice on his adversaries.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For he will not lay upon man more than…
For he will not lay upon man more than right - Very various translations have been given of this verse. According to our common version, it means that God will not deal with man in such a manner as to give him just reason for calling in question the rectitude of the divine dealings. He shall in no case receive more than his sins deserve, so as to give him cause for complaint. This is undoubtedly a correct sentiment; but it may be doubted whether it is the sense conveyed by the original. Umbreit renders it:
Denn er braucht auf einem Mann nicht lang zu achten
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Um ihm vor Gott in das Gericht zn ziehen.
“For he needs not long to regard a man in order to bring him before God in judgment” - meaning that he has all power; that he can at once see all his character; and that he can bring him at once to his bar. This translation undoubtedly accords with the general scope of the argument. Noyes renders it:
He needeth not attend long to a man,
To bring him into judgment before God.
Wemyss renders it in a similar way:
He has no need of laborious inquiry,
In order to convict men at his tribunal.
Rosenmuller gives a similar sense to the passage. According to this, the meaning is, that there is no need that God should give long attention to a man, or go into a protracted investigation, in order that he may bring him to judgment. He knows him at a glance. He can at once convict him, and can decide the case in a moment without danger of error. Human tribunals are under a necessity of long and patient investigation, and then are often deceived; but no such necessity, and no such danger, pertains to God. This interpretation agrees with the scope of the passage (compare the notes at Job 34:24), and seems to me to be correct. The Hebrew literally is, “For not upon man will he place (scil. his mind or attention) long that he should go before God in judgment;” that is, there is no need of long and anxious investigation on his part, in order that he may prove that it is right for him to cut man off. He may do it at once, and no one has a right to complain.
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 Man. Hebrew, "He will not lay upon man (Calmet)…
Man. Hebrew, "He will not lay upon man (Calmet) more than right (Protestants; Haydock) to," &c. After once passing sentence, all is over. (Calmet) --- When man has fallen into sin, he cannot with a god grace contend with God. (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 (Co1 10:13; Lam 3:32; Isa 27:8). Better, as UMBREIT,…
(Co1 10:13; Lam 3:32; Isa 27:8). Better, as UMBREIT, "He does not (needs not to) regard (as in Job 34:14; Isa 41:20) man long (so Hebrew, Gen 46:29) in order that he may go (be brought by God) into judgment." Literally, "lest his (attention) upon men" (Job 11:10-11). So Job 34:24, "without number" ought to be translated, "without [needing any] searching out," such as has to be made in human judgments.
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 23. For he will not lay upon man more…
23. For he will not lay upon man more — Literally, For not again (or repeatedly) doth he set thought upon man, (or, he doth not long regard man; same meaning of עוד, as in Gen_46:29,) that he may go to God in judgment. “A single thought of God, without the uttering of a word, is enough to summon the whole world to judgment.” — Wordsworth. Elihu has possibly in mind the complaints of Job that God refused to enter into judgment with him, and reminds him of another phase of the painful subject, to wit, that before he is aware God may bring him into judgment.
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 23. The verse reads probably,
23. The verse reads probably,
For he needeth not to consider a man further,
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That he should come before God in judgment.
The meaning is that no inquisition on God’s part is needed of a man, beyond his evil deed, with the view of bringing him before God in judgment. God beholds all, and His insight and judgment operate simultaneously.
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (23) For he will not lay upon man more…
(23) For he will not lay upon man more than right—i.e., so much that he should enter into judgment with God. This is probably the meaning, as the Authorised Version; but some render, “He needeth not yet again to consider a man that he should go before God in judgment.” He hath no need to consider any man’s case twice or to rectify His first decision. He is infallible, and cannot do otherwise than right, whatever He does.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain For he will not lay upon man more than…
For he will not lay upon man more than right; rather, for he needeth not further to consider a man (see the Revised Version). He has no need to consider any man"s case twice; he sees it at the first glance, and judges it infallibly. That he should enter into judgment with God, Were it not so, a man might perhaps claim to have a second trial, and, pleading in his own defence, might "enter into judgment with God," or (according to others) "go before God in judgment;" but God"s absolute omniscience precludes this.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 34:23 We don’t set the time: Elihu rejected Job’s…
34:23 We don’t set the time: Elihu rejected Job’s wish for a quick (21:19), published time of judgment (24:1).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.