Job 31 · Verse 26

Job 31:26

If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness;
Job 31:26, King James Version

Job 31:26 in other translations

BSBif I have beheld the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,
WEBif I have seen the sun when it shined, or the moon moving in splendor,
ASVIf I have beheld the sun when it shined, Or the moon walking in brightness,
YLTIf I see the light when it shineth, And the precious moon walking,
DARBYIf I beheld the sun when it shone, or the moon walking in brightness,
BBEIf, when I saw the sun shining, and the moon moving on its bright way,
WebsterIf I have beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness;

What does Job 31:26 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
26. If I looked unto the sun (as an object of worship) because he shined; or to the moon because she walked, &c. Sabaism (from tsaba, "the heavenly hosts") was the earliest form of false worship. God is hence called in contradistinction, "Lord of Sabaoth." The sun, moon, and stars, the brightest objects in nature, and seen everywhere, were supposed to be visible representatives of the invisible God. They had no temples, but were worshipped on high places and roofs of houses (Eze 8:16; De 4:19; 2Ki 23:5, 11). The Hebrew here for "sun" is light. Probably light was worshipped as the emanation from God, before its embodiments, the sun, &c. This worship prevailed in Chaldea; wherefore Job's exemption from the idolatry of his neighbors was the more exemplary. Our "Sun-day," "Mon-day," or Moon-day, bear traces of Sabaism.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 26 If I beheld the sun when it shined - In this verse Job clears himself of that idolatrous worship which was the most ancient and most consistent with reason of any species of idolatry; viz., Sabaeism, the worship of the heavenly bodies; particularly the sun and moon, Jupiter and Venus, the two latter being the morning and evening stars, and the most resplendent of all the heavenly bodies, the sun and moon excepted. "Job," says Calmet, "points out three things here: 1. The worship of the sun and moon; much used in his time, and very anciently used in every part of the East; and in all probability that from which idolatry took its rise. 2. The custom of adoring the sun at its rising, and the moon at her change; a superstition which is mentioned in Eze 8:16, and in every part of profane antiquity. 3. The custom of kissing the hand; the form of adoration, and token of sovereign respect."Adoration, or the religious act of kissing the hand, comes to us from the Latin; ad, to, and os, oris, the mouth. The hand lifted to the mouth, and there saluted by the lips.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 31:24-32

Job protests, 1. That he never set his heart upon the wealth of this world. How few prosperous professors can appeal to the Lord, that they have not rejoiced because their gains were great! Through the determination to be rich, numbers ruin their souls, or pierce themselves with many sorrows. 2. He never was guilty of idolatry. The source of idolatry is in the heart, and it corrupts men, and provokes God to send…

Read the full comment on Job 31:24-32 →

Job 31:26 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.

אִם\־'im-ifH518
אֶרְאֶ֣ה'er.'EhI sawH7200
א֖וֹר'ora lightH216
כִּ֣יkithatH3588
יָהֵ֑לya.Helit shoneH1984
וְ֝יָרֵ֗חַve.ya.Re.achand [the] moonH3394
יָקָ֥רya.KarsplendidH3368
הֹלֵֽךְ\׃ho.Lekh[was] goingH1980

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

Cross references for Job 31:26

  • Ezekiel 8:16

    And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

  • Deuteronomy 4:19

    And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.

  • Deuteronomy 17:3

    And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;

  • 2 Kings 23:11

    And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan–melech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire.

  • Jeremiah 8:2

    And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.

  • 2 Kings 23:5

    And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.

  • Jeremiah 44:17

    But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.

  • Psalms 8:3-4

    When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

  • Deuteronomy 11:16

    Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;

  • Genesis 1:16-18

    And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
beheld.
Ge 1:16-18; De 4:19; 11:16; 17:3; 2Ki 23:5,11; Jer 8:2; Eze 8:16
sun. Heb. light. the moon.
Ps 8:3,4; Jer 44:17
in brightness. Heb. bright.

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

Context

  • Job 31:25

    If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much;

  • Job 31:26

    If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness;

  • Job 31:27

    And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand:

Read all of Job 31

Job 31:26 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Si he mirado al sol cuando resplandecía, y á la luna cuando iba hermosa,
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Si j’ai vu le soleil quand il brillait, et la lune quand elle marchait dans sa splendeur,
German
Elberfelder 1871
wenn ich die Sonne sah, wie sie glänzte, und den Mond in Pracht dahinwandeln,
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
si vidi solem cum fulgeret, et lunam incedentem clare,