◄ Job 31:23 ►
For calamity from God terrifies me, and His splendor I cannot overpower.
Study Bible
For calamity from God terrifies me
The word "calamity" in Hebrew is "אֵיד" (eid), which conveys a sense of disaster or ruin. In the context of Job, this reflects the deep-seated fear of divine judgment or misfortune that can befall a person. Job acknowledges that such calamity is not random but is perceived as coming from God, indicating a belief in God's sovereignty over all events. This fear is not merely about physical destruction but encompasses a spiritual and existential dread of being in disfavor with God. Historically, this reflects the ancient Near Eastern understanding of divine retribution, where gods were seen as the ultimate arbiters of human fate.

terrifies me
The Hebrew word for "terrifies" is "פָּחַד" (pachad), which means to tremble or be in dread. This term suggests an overwhelming fear that grips the heart, a fear that is both reverential and paralyzing. Job's use of this word indicates his profound respect for God's power and justice. It is a fear that acknowledges human limitations in the face of divine omnipotence. In a conservative Christian perspective, this fear is akin to the "fear of the Lord," which is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10), emphasizing a deep respect and awe for God's authority and righteousness.

and His splendor I cannot overpower
The word "splendor" in Hebrew is "שְׁאֵת" (she'eth), which can also be translated as majesty or glory. This term is often used to describe the overwhelming and awe-inspiring presence of God. Job recognizes that God's splendor is beyond human comprehension and control. The phrase "I cannot overpower" suggests human inability to resist or challenge God's majestic presence. It speaks to the futility of human pride and the necessity of humility before God. In the scriptural context, this reflects the theme of God's transcendence and the proper human response of submission and reverence. Historically, this aligns with the biblical narrative of God's interactions with humanity, where His glory is both a source of comfort and a cause for trembling.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Job
A man described as blameless and upright, who feared God and shunned evil. He is the central figure in the Book of Job, known for his immense suffering and unwavering faith.

2. God
The Almighty Creator, whose justice and majesty are central themes in the Book of Job. Job acknowledges God's power and the fear of divine judgment.

3. Calamity
Refers to the potential disasters or judgments that could come from God, which Job fears due to God's overwhelming power and justice.

4. Splendor of God
Represents God's majestic and awe-inspiring presence, which is beyond human comprehension and control.

5. The Book of Job
A poetic and philosophical text in the Old Testament that explores themes of suffering, justice, and the nature of God.
Teaching Points
The Fear of the Lord
Job's fear of calamity from God reflects a deep reverence and respect for God's power and justice. As believers, we are called to cultivate a healthy fear of the Lord, recognizing His authority and righteousness.

Acknowledging God's Majesty
Job's inability to overpower God's splendor reminds us of our human limitations. We should approach God with humility, acknowledging His greatness and our dependence on Him.

Trust in God's Justice
Despite his suffering, Job trusts in God's ultimate justice. We are encouraged to trust in God's righteous judgment, even when we do not understand our circumstances.

Living with Integrity
Job's fear of divine judgment motivates him to live a life of integrity. We should strive to live righteously, knowing that our actions are accountable to God.

The Role of Suffering
Job's experience teaches us that suffering can deepen our understanding of God's character. We should seek to grow in faith and character through trials, trusting in God's purposes.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Job's fear of calamity from God influence his behavior and decisions throughout the book?

2. In what ways can the fear of the Lord be a positive force in a believer's life today?

3. How does acknowledging God's splendor and majesty impact our daily worship and prayer life?

4. What can we learn from Job about maintaining integrity and faithfulness in the face of suffering?

5. How do other scriptures about the fear of the Lord enhance our understanding of Job 31:23?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Proverbs 1:7
This verse speaks about the fear of the Lord as the beginning of knowledge, connecting to Job's reverence and fear of God's power and judgment.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
These verses emphasize fearing God and keeping His commandments, aligning with Job's acknowledgment of God's authority and the consequences of divine judgment.

Isaiah 6:1-5
Isaiah's vision of God's splendor and his reaction of fear and awe parallels Job's recognition of God's overwhelming majesty.

Hebrews 12:28-29
This passage speaks of worshiping God with reverence and awe, for He is a consuming fire, echoing Job's fear of God's splendor.

Revelation 15:4
This verse highlights the fear of the Lord and His righteous acts, resonating with Job's understanding of God's justice and power.
Sermons
Guard the SensesGurnall, WilliamJob 31:1-32
Methods of Moral LifeJoseph Parker, D. D.Job 31:1-32
Solemn Assurances of InnocenceE. Johnson Job 31:1-40
The Consciousness of IntegrityR. Green Job 31:1-40
People
Abaddon, Adam, Job
Places
Uz
Topics
Able, Calamity, Destruction, Dread, Endure, Excellency, Faced, Fear, Highness, Kept, Majesty, Nothing, Power, Powerless, Reason, Splendor, Terror
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Job 31:16-23

     8410   decision-making, examples

Library
Thou Shalt not Steal.
This Commandment also has a work, which embraces very many good works, and is opposed to many vices, and is called in German Mildigkeit, "benevolence;" which is a work ready to help and serve every one with one's goods. And it fights not only against theft and robbery, but against all stinting in temporal goods which men may practise toward one another: such as greed, usury, overcharging and plating wares that sell as solid, counterfeit wares, short measures and weights, and who could tell all the …
Dr. Martin Luther—A Treatise on Good Works

Question of the Active Life
I. Do all Acts of the Moral Virtues come under the Active Life? II. Does Prudence pertain to the Active Life? III. Does Teaching belong to the Active or to the Contemplative Life? IV. Does the Active Life continue after this Life? I Do all Acts of the Moral Virtues come under the Active Life? S. Isidore says[407]: "In the active life all the vices are first of all to be removed by the practice of good works, so that in the contemplative life a man may, with now purified mental gaze, pass to the …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

Whether virtue is in us by Nature?
Objection 1: It would seem that virtue is in us by nature. For Damascene says (De Fide Orth. iii, 14): "Virtues are natural to us and are equally in all of us." And Antony says in his sermon to the monks: "If the will contradicts nature it is perverse, if it follow nature it is virtuous." Moreover, a gloss on Mat. 4:23, "Jesus went about," etc., says: "He taught them natural virtues, i.e. chastity, justice, humility, which man possesses naturally." Objection 2: Further, the virtuous good consists …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether after Christ, it was Proper to the Blessed virgin to be Sanctified in the Womb?
Objection 1: It would seem that it was proper for the Blessed Virgin, after Christ, to be sanctified in the womb. For it has been said [4131](A[4]) that the Blessed Virgin was sanctified in the womb, in order that she might be worthy to be the mother of God. But this is proper to her. Therefore she alone was sanctified in the womb. Objection 2: Further, some men seem to have been more closely connected with Christ than Jeremias and John the Baptist, who are said to have been sanctified in the womb. …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether Corporal Alms are of More Account than Spiritual Alms?
Objection 1: It would seem that corporal alms are of more account than spiritual alms. For it is more praiseworthy to give an alms to one who is in greater want, since an almsdeed is to be praised because it relieves one who is in need. Now the body which is relieved by corporal alms, is by nature more needy than the spirit which is relieved by spiritual alms. Therefore corporal alms are of more account. Objection 2: Further, an alms is less praiseworthy and meritorious if the kindness is compensated, …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether Confession is According to the Natural Law?
Objection 1: It would seem that confession is according to the natural law. For Adam and Cain were bound to none but the precepts of the natural law, and yet they are reproached for not confessing their sin. Therefore confession of sin is according to the natural law. Objection 2: Further, those precepts which are common to the Old and New Law are according to the natural law. But confession was prescribed in the Old Law, as may be gathered from Is. 43:26: "Tell, if thou hast anything to justify …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether one Can, Without a Mortal Sin, Deny the Truth which Would Lead to One's Condemnation?
Objection 1: It would seem one can, without a mortal sin, deny the truth which would lead to one's condemnation. For Chrysostom says (Hom. xxxi super Ep. ad Heb.): "I do not say that you should lay bare your guilt publicly, nor accuse yourself before others." Now if the accused were to confess the truth in court, he would lay bare his guilt and be his own accuser. Therefore he is not bound to tell the truth: and so he does not sin mortally if he tell a lie in court. Objection 2: Further, just as …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

The Advanced Christian Reminded of the Mercies of God, and Exhorted to the Exercise of Habitual Love to Him, and Joy in Him.
1. A holy joy in God, our privilege as well as our duty.--2. The Christian invited to the exercise of it.--3. By the consideration of temporal mercies.--4. And of spiritual favors.--5. By the views of eternal happiness.--6. And of the mercies of God to others, the living and the dead.--7. The chapter closes with an exhortation to this heavenly exercise. And with an example of the genuine workings of this grateful joy in God. 1. I WOULD now suppose my reader to find, on an examination of his spiritual …
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul

Trials of the Christian
AFFLICTION--ITS NATURE AND BENEFITS. The school of the cross is the school of light; it discovers the world's vanity, baseness, and wickedness, and lets us see more of God's mind. Out of dark afflictions comes a spiritual light. In times of affliction, we commonly meet with the sweetest experiences of the love of God. The end of affliction is the discovery of sin; and of that, to bring us to a Saviour. Doth not God ofttimes even take occasion, by the hardest of things that come upon us, to visit …
John Bunyan—The Riches of Bunyan

The Christian Business World
Scripture references: Proverbs 22:29; Romans 12:11; Psalms 24:1; 50:10-12; Haggai 2:8; Psalm 49:6,10,16,17; 62:10; Matthew 13:22; Mark 10:23,24; Job 31:24-26; Proverbs 3:9; Matthew 25:14-30; 24:45-51; 6:19-21; Luke 12:16-21. THE IDEAL IN THE BUSINESS WORLD There is often a wide difference between the methods actually employed in doing business and when they should be. Good men who are in the thick of the battle of competition and rivalry with other firms in the same line of trade, are the quickest …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

The Seventh Commandment
Thou shalt not commit adultery.' Exod 20: 14. God is a pure, holy spirit, and has an infinite antipathy against all uncleanness. In this commandment he has entered his caution against it; non moechaberis, Thou shalt not commit adultery.' The sum of this commandment is, The preservations of corporal purity. We must take heed of running on the rock of uncleanness, and so making shipwreck of our chastity. In this commandment there is something tacitly implied, and something expressly forbidden. 1. The …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Tit. 2:06 Thoughts for Young Men
WHEN St. Paul wrote his Epistle to Titus about his duty as a minister, he mentioned young men as a class requiring peculiar attention. After speaking of aged men and aged women, and young women, he adds this pithy advice, "Young men likewise exhort to be sober-minded" (Tit. 2:6). I am going to follow the Apostle's advice. I propose to offer a few words of friendly exhortation to young men. I am growing old myself, but there are few things I remember so well as the days of my youth. I have a most …
John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times

Thoughts Upon Worldly-Riches. Sect. Ii.
TIMOTHY after his Conversion to the Christian Faith, being found to be a Man of great Parts, Learning, and Piety, and so every way qualified for the work of the Ministry, St. Paul who had planted a Church at Ephesus the Metropolis or chief City of all Asia, left him to dress and propagate it, after his departure from it, giving him Power to ordain Elders or Priests, and to visit and exercise Jurisdiction over them, to see they did not teach false Doctrines, 1 Tim. i. 3. That they be unblameable in …
William Beveridge—Private Thoughts Upon a Christian Life

Job
The book of Job is one of the great masterpieces of the world's literature, if not indeed the greatest. The author was a man of superb literary genius, and of rich, daring, and original mind. The problem with which he deals is one of inexhaustible interest, and his treatment of it is everywhere characterized by a psychological insight, an intellectual courage, and a fertility and brilliance of resource which are nothing less than astonishing. Opinion has been divided as to how the book should be …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links
Job 31:23 NIV
Job 31:23 NLT
Job 31:23 ESV
Job 31:23 NASB
Job 31:23 KJV

Job 31:23 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Job 31:22
Top of Page
Top of Page