Job 34 · Verse 31

Job 34:31

Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more:
Job 34:31, King James Version

Job 34:31 in other translations

BSBSuppose someone says to God, ‘I have endured my punishment; I will offend no more.
WEB“For has any said to God, ‘I am guilty, but I will not offend any more.
ASVFor hath any said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more:
YLTFor unto God hath any said: ‘I have taken away, I do not corruptly,
DARBYFor hath he said unto God, I bear chastisement, I will not offend;
BBE...
WebsterSurely it is meet to be said to God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more:

What does Job 34:31 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
31. Job accordingly says so (Job 40:3-5; Mi 7:9; Le 26:41). It was to lead him to this that Elihu was sent. Though no hypocrite, Job, like all, had sin; therefore through affliction he was to be brought to humble himself under God. All sorrow is a proof of the common heritage of sin, in which the godly shares; and therefore he ought to regard it as a merciful correction. Umbreit and Maurer lose this by translating, as the Hebrew will bear, "Has any a right to say to God, I have borne chastisement and yet have not sinned?" (so Job 34:6). borne--namely, the penalty of sin, as in Le 5:1, 17. offend--literally, "to deal destructively or corruptly" (Ne 1:7).

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 31 Surely it is meet to be said unto God - This is Elihu's exhortation to Job: Humble thyself before God, and say, "I have suffered - I will not offend."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 34:31-37
When we reprove for what is amiss, we must direct to what is good. Job's friends would have had him own himself a wicked man. Let will only oblige him to own that he spoke unadvisedly with his lips. Let us, in giving reproof, not make a matter worse than it is. Elihu directs Job to humble himself before God for his sins, and to accept the punishment. Also to pray to God to discover his sins to him. A good man is willing to know the worst of himself; particularly, under affliction, he desires to be told wherefore God contends with him. It is not enough to be sorry for our sins, but we must go and sin no more. And if we are affectionate children, we shall love to speak with our Father, and to tell him all our mind. Elihu reasons with Job concerning his discontent under affliction. We are ready to think every thing that concerns us should be just as we would have it; but it is not reasonable to expect this. Elihu asks whether there was not sin and folly in what Job said. God is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works, Psa 145:17. The believer saith, Let my Saviour, my wise and loving Lord, choose every thing for me. I am sure that will be wisest, and the best for his glory and my good.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Job 34:31 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.

כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588
אֶל\־'el-toH413
אֵ֭ל'elGodH410
הֶאָמַ֥רhe.'a.Mar¿ has anyone saidH559
נָשָׂ֗אתִיna.Sa.tiI have borneH5375
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
אֶחְבֹּֽל\׃'ech.BolI will act corruptlyH2254

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

Cross references for Job 34:31

  • Job 33:27

    He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not;

  • Micah 7:9

    I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.

  • Ezra 9:13-14

    And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this; Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?

  • Nehemiah 9:33-38

    Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly: Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them. For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works. Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it: …

  • Leviticus 26:41

    And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:

  • Daniel 9:7-14

    O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. …

  • Job 40:3-5

    Then Job answered the Lord, and said, Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.

  • Job 42:6

    Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

  • Jeremiah 31:18-19

    I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
33:27; 40:3-5; 42:6; Le 26:41; Ezr 9:13,14; Ne 9:33-38
Jer 31:18,19; Da 9:7-14; Mic 7:9

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

Context

  • Job 34:30

    That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared.

  • Job 34:31

    Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more:

  • Job 34:32

    That which I see not teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, I will do no more.

Read all of Job 34

Job 34:31 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
De seguro conviene se diga á Dios: Llevado he ya castigo, no más ofenderé:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Car a-t-il jamais dit à ✶Dieu: Je porte ma peine, je ne ferai plus de mal;
German
Elberfelder 1871
Denn hat er wohl zu Gott gesagt: Ich trage meine Strafe, ich will nicht mehr verderbt handeln;
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Quia ergo ego locutus sum ad Deum, te quoque non prohibebo.