Job 30 · Verse 8

Job 30:8

They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth.
Job 30:8, King James Version

Job 30:8 in other translations

BSBA senseless and nameless brood, they were driven off the land.
WEBThey are children of fools, yes, children of wicked men. They were flogged out of the land.
ASVThey are children of fools, yea, children of base men; They were scourged out of the land.
YLTSons of folly--even sons without name, They have been smitten from the land.
DARBYSons of fools, and sons of nameless sires, they are driven out of the land.
BBEThey are sons of shame, and of men without a name, who have been forced out of the land.
WebsterThey were children of fools, yes, children of base men: they were viler than the earth.

What does Job 30:8 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
8. fools--that is, the impious and abandoned (1Sa 25:25). base--nameless, low-born rabble. viler than, &c.--rather, they were driven or beaten out of the land. The Horites in Mount Seir (Ge 14:6 with which compare Ge 36:20, 21; De 2:12, 22) were probably the aborigines, driven out by the tribe to which Job's ancestors belonged; their name means troglodytæ, or "dwellers in caves." To these Job alludes here (Job 30:1-8, and Ge 24:4-8, which compare together).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 8 Children of fools - Children of nabal; children without a name; persons of no consideration, and descendants of such. Viler than the earth - Rather, driven out of the land; persons not fit for civil society.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 30:1-14

Job contrasts his present condition with his former honour and authority. What little cause have men to be ambitious or proud of that which may be so easily lost, and what little confidence is to be put in it! We should not be cast down if we are despised, reviled, and hated by wicked men. We should look to Jesus, who endured the contradiction of sinners.

Read the full comment on Job 30:1-14 →

Job 30:8 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

בְּֽנֵי\־be.nei-sons ofH1121
נָ֭בָלNa.vola foolH5036
גַּם\־gam-alsoH1571
בְּנֵ֣יbe.Neisons ofH1121
בְלִי\־ve.li-notH1097
שֵׁ֑םShema nameH8034
נִ֝כְּא֗וּni.ke.'Uthey have been scourgedH5217
מִן\־min-fromH4480
הָאָֽרֶץ\׃ha.'A.retzthe landH776

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Job 30:8

  • Proverbs 16:22

    Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.

  • Isaiah 32:6

    For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

  • Mark 6:24

    And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.

  • Proverbs 1:22

    How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

  • Job 40:4

    Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.

  • Jeremiah 7:18

    The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.

  • Proverbs 1:7

    The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

  • 2 Kings 8:18

    And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.

  • 2 Kings 8:27

    And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, as did the house of Ahab: for he was the son in law of the house of Ahab.

  • Psalms 49:10-13

    For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish. This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.

  • 2 Chronicles 22:3

    He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly.

  • Psalms 15:4

    In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
children.
2Ki 8:18,27; 2Ch 22:3; Ps 49:10-13; Jer 7:18; Mr 6:24
fools.
Pr 1:7,22; 16:22
base men. Heb. men of no name. viler.
40:4; Ps 15:4; Isa 32:6

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Job 30:7

    Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together.

  • Job 30:8

    They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth.

  • Job 30:9

    And now am I their song, yea, I am their byword.

Read all of Job 30

Job 30:8 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Hijos de viles, y hombres sin nombre, más bajos que la misma tierra.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Fils d’insensés, et fils de gens sans nom, ils sont chassés du pays.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Kinder von Verworfenen, ja, Kinder von Ehrlosen, sind sie hinausgepeitscht aus dem Lande!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		filii stultorum et ignobilium, et in terra penitus non parentes.