Bible Strands
Job 21:31
Who denounces his behavior to his face? Who repays him for what he has done?
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Job speaks these rhetorical questions to his three friends, directly countering their claim that divine retribution always follows immediate earthly prosperity. He poses them during his argument that the wicked frequently escape visible punishment in this life.
The words — The Hebrew מִי־ (mi-) asks "who?" and יַגִּיד (yaggid) means "will he tell," framing the challenge as a demand for visible accountability. The phrase עַל־פָּנָיו ('al-panav), "to his face," emphasizes direct confrontation rather than hidden judgment.
The thread — This challenge to visible retribution echoes Deuteronomy 7:10, where God repays haters to their faces, and Galatians 2:11, where Paul opposes Peter to his face. It also anticipates Romans 12:19, which reserves vengeance for God rather than human observation.
Why it lands — The text asks who will confront the wicked man directly or repay him for his deeds. This question demands that readers examine whether earthly outcomes reliably reflect moral desert.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done?
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 7:10 But those who hate Him He repays to their faces with destruction; He will not hesitate to repay to his face the one who hates Him.
- Galatians 2:11 When Cephas came to Antioch, however, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
- Romans 12:19 Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
- 2 Samuel 12:7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
- 1 Kings 21:19 Tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Have you not murdered a man and seized his land?’ Then tell him that this is also what the LORD says: ‘In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, there also the dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”
- Job 21:19 It is said that God lays up one’s punishment for his children. Let God repay the man himself, so he will know it.
- Job 41:11 Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.
- Psalms 50:21 You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But now I rebuke you and accuse you to your face.
- Isaiah 59:13 rebelling and denying the LORD, turning away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering lies from the heart.
- Jeremiah 2:33 How skillfully you pursue love! Even the most immoral of women could learn from your ways.