Job 35 · Verse 8

Job 35:8

Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; and thy righteousness may profit the son of man.
Job 35:8, King James Version

Job 35:8 in other translations

BSBYour wickedness affects only a man like yourself, and your righteousness only a son of man.
WEBYour wickedness may hurt a man as you are, and your righteousness may profit a son of man.
ASVThy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; And thy righteousness may profit a son of man.
YLTFor a man like thyself is thy wickedness, And for a son of man thy righteousness.
DARBYThy wickedness may affect a man as thou art, and thy righteousness a son of man.
BBEYour evil-doing may have an effect on a man like yourself, or your righteousness on a son of man.
WebsterThy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art: and thy righteousness may profit the son of man.

What does Job 35:8 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Job 35:5-8

5-8. Elihu like Eliphaz (Job 22:2, 3, 12) shows that God is too exalted in nature to be susceptible of benefit or hurt from the righteousness or sin of men respectively; it is themselves that they benefit by righteousness, or hurt by sin. behold the clouds, which are higher than thou--spoken with irony. Not only are they higher than thou, but thou canst not even reach them clearly with the eye. Yet these are not as…

Read the full comment on Job 35:5-8 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 8 Thy wickedness may hurt - It is better to translate this literally: To a man like thyself is thy wickedness: And to the son of man, thy righteousness: That is: - Thou mayest injure thyself and others by thy wickedness, And thou mayest benefit both by thy righteousness; But God thou canst neither hurt nor profit.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 35:1-8

Elihu reproves Job for justifying himself more than God, and called his attention to the heavens. They are far above us, and God is far above them; how much then is he out of the reach, either of our sins or of our services! We have no reason to complain if we have not what we expect, but should be thankful that we have better than we deserve.

Read the full comment on Job 35:1-8 →

Job 35:8 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.

לְאִישׁ\־le.'ish-[is] for a personH376
כָּמ֥וֹךָka.Mo.khalike yourselfH3644
רִשְׁעֶ֑ךָrish.'E.khawickedness yourH7562
וּלְבֶן\־u.le.ven-and [is] for a child ofH1121
אָ֝דָ֗ם'a.DamhumankindH120
צִדְקָתֶֽךָ\׃tzid.ka.Te.charighteousness yourH6666

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

Cross references for Job 35:8

  • Jonah 1:12

    And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.

  • Psalms 106:30

    Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed.

  • Hebrews 11:7

    By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

  • Job 42:8

    Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.

  • Genesis 12:2

    And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

  • Genesis 19:29

    And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

  • Acts 27:24

    Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Cesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.

  • Psalms 106:23

    Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.

  • Joshua 22:20

    Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his iniquity.

  • Ecclesiastes 9:18

    Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.

  • Genesis 18:24-33

    Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: …

  • Joshua 7:1-5

    But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel. And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth–aven, on the east side of Beth–el, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few. So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. …

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
may hurt.
Jos 7:1-5; 22:20; Ec 9:18; Jon 1:12
may profit.
42:8; Ge 12:2; 18:24-33; 19:29; Ps 106:23,30; Eze 22:30; Ac 27:24
Heb 11:7

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

Context

  • Job 35:7

    If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?

  • Job 35:8

    Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; and thy righteousness may profit the son of man.

  • Job 35:9

    By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry: they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty.

Read all of Job 35

Job 35:8 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Al hombre como tú dañará tu impiedad, y al hijo del hombre aprovechará tu justicia.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Pour un homme comme toi ta méchanceté peut être quelque chose, et pour un fils d’homme, ta justice.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Für einen Mann wie du gilt deine Gesetzlosigkeit etwas, und für ein Menschenkind deine Gerechtigkeit.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Homini qui similis tui est, nocebit impietas tua: et filium hominis adjuvabit justitia tua.