Job 25:4
New International Version
How then can a mortal be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure?

New Living Translation
How can a mortal be innocent before God? Can anyone born of a woman be pure?

English Standard Version
How then can man be in the right before God? How can he who is born of woman be pure?

Berean Standard Bible
How then can a man be just before God? How can one born of woman be pure?

King James Bible
How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?

New King James Version
How then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman?

New American Standard Bible
“How then can mankind be righteous with God? Or how can anyone who is born of woman be pure?

NASB 1995
“How then can a man be just with God? Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?

NASB 1977
“How then can a man be just with God? Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?

Legacy Standard Bible
How then can mortal man be right with God? Or how can he be pure who is born of woman?

Amplified Bible
“How then can man be justified and righteous with God? Or how can he who is born of a woman be pure and clean?

Christian Standard Bible
How can a human be justified before God? How can one born of woman be pure?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
How can a person be justified before God? How can one born of woman be pure?

American Standard Version
How then can man be just with God? Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?

Contemporary English Version
How can anyone be innocent in the sight of God?

English Revised Version
How then can man be just with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
How can a person be righteous to God? How can anyone born of a woman be pure?

Good News Translation
Can anyone be righteous or pure in God's sight?

International Standard Version
How can a human being become right with God? How can a human being be pure?

Majority Standard Bible
How then can a man be just before God? How can one born of woman be pure?

NET Bible
How then can a human being be righteous before God? How can one born of a woman be pure?

New Heart English Bible
How then can man be just with God? Or how can he who is born of a woman be clean?

Webster's Bible Translation
How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?

World English Bible
How then can man be just with God? Or how can he who is born of a woman be clean?
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And what? Is man righteous with God? And what? Is he pure—born of a woman?

Young's Literal Translation
And what? is man righteous with God? And what? is he pure -- born of a woman?

Smith's Literal Translation
And how shall man be justified with God? and how shall he born of woman be clean?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Can man be justified compared with God, or he that is born of a woman appear clean?

Catholic Public Domain Version
Is it right for man to compare himself to God, or to appear pure though he is born of woman?

New American Bible
How can anyone be in the right against God, or how can any born of woman be innocent?

New Revised Standard Version
How then can a mortal be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure?
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
How then can man be justified with God? Or how can he be declared blameless, he who is born of a woman?

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And how can a son of man be justified by God, or how is one born of a woman righteous?
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
How then can man be just with God? Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
For how shall a mortal be just before the Lord? or who that is born of a woman shall purify himself?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Bildad: Man Cannot Be Righteous
3Can His troops be numbered? On whom does His light not rise? 4How then can a man be just before God? How can one born of woman be pure? 5If even the moon does not shine, and the stars are not pure in His sight,…

Cross References
Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Psalm 51:5
Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.

Isaiah 64:6
Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.

Romans 3:10-12
As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one. / There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. / All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

Ecclesiastes 7:20
Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.

1 John 1:8
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Psalm 143:2
Do not bring Your servant into judgment, for no one alive is righteous before You.

Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.

Genesis 6:5
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.

Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

Matthew 19:25-26
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” / Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Romans 7:18
I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.

Galatians 3:22
But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.

Ephesians 2:3
All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath.

1 Kings 8:46
When they sin against You—for there is no one who does not sin—and You become angry with them and deliver them to an enemy who takes them as captives to his own land, whether far or near,


Treasury of Scripture

How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?

How then

Job 4:17-19
Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker? …

Job 9:2
I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God?

Job 15:14-16
What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? …

how can

Job 14:3,4
And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? …

Psalm 51:5
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Zechariah 13:1
In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.

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Job 25
1. Bildad shows that man cannot be justified before God














How then
This phrase introduces a rhetorical question, emphasizing the logical progression from Bildad's previous statements about God's majesty and the insignificance of man. In Hebrew, the word "אֵיךְ" (eik) is used, which often introduces a question of possibility or capability. It sets the stage for a profound inquiry into human nature and divine justice, inviting readers to ponder the vast chasm between God's holiness and human frailty.

can a man
The term "man" here is translated from the Hebrew word "אֱנוֹשׁ" (enosh), which often denotes human beings in their frailty and mortality. This choice of word underscores the inherent weakness and limitations of humanity when compared to the divine. It serves as a reminder of the biblical theme that humans, in their natural state, are incapable of achieving righteousness on their own.

be just
The concept of being "just" is derived from the Hebrew root "צָדַק" (tsadaq), meaning to be righteous or justified. In the context of the Old Testament, righteousness is often associated with adherence to God's laws and commands. This phrase challenges the reader to consider the impossibility of achieving true justice or righteousness before a perfect and holy God through human effort alone.

before God
This phrase highlights the ultimate standard of judgment and righteousness. The Hebrew word for God here is "אֱלֹהִים" (Elohim), a term that conveys God's power, authority, and sovereignty. It reminds us that God's perspective is the ultimate measure of justice, and human standards fall short in His presence. The phrase calls believers to recognize their need for divine grace and mercy.

How can one born of woman
This expression emphasizes the natural human condition, originating from the Hebrew "יְלוּד אִשָּׁה" (yelud ishah). It points to the universal experience of being born into a fallen world, inheriting a sinful nature. The phrase serves as a reminder of the doctrine of original sin, which asserts that all humans are born with a propensity to sin, necessitating divine intervention for redemption.

be pure?
The word "pure" is translated from the Hebrew "זַךְ" (zak), meaning clean or innocent. In biblical terms, purity often refers to moral and spiritual cleanliness, free from sin and defilement. This rhetorical question underscores the impossibility of achieving such purity through human means alone. It points to the need for a savior, foreshadowing the New Testament revelation of Jesus Christ, who provides the means for true purification and righteousness before God.

Verse 4. - How then can man be justified with God? If God's creatures have no brightness of their own, and, when they shine, shine only with a reflected radiance, then certainly can no man be justified by his own merits. "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman! (comp. Job 14:4, "Who shall bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one;" and the comment ad loc.).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
How
וּמַה־ (ū·mah-)
Conjunctive waw | Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

then can a man
אֱנ֣וֹשׁ (’ĕ·nō·wōš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 582: Man, mankind

be just
יִּצְדַּ֣ק (yiṣ·daq)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6663: To be just or righteous

before
עִם־ (‘im-)
Preposition
Strong's 5973: With, equally with

God?
אֵ֑ל (’êl)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 410: Strength -- as adjective, mighty, the Almighty

How
וּמַה־ (ū·mah-)
Conjunctive waw | Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

can one born
יְל֣וּד (yə·lūḏ)
Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3205: To bear young, to beget, medically, to act as midwife, to show lineage

of woman
אִשָּֽׁה׃ (’iš·šāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female

be pure?
יִּ֝זְכֶּ֗ה (yiz·keh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2135: To be translucent, to be innocent


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OT Poetry: Job 25:4 How then can man be just (Jb)
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