Bible Strands
Job 40:12
Look on every proud man and humble him; trample the wicked where they stand.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God speaks to Job in the whirlwind discourse, issuing a direct command between verses 11 and 13 of Job 40.
The words — The Hebrew גֵּ֭אֶה (Ge.'eh) identifies a proud person, while הַכְנִיעֵ֑/הוּ (hakh.ni.'E./hu) commands the subduing or humbling of that individual.
The thread — This pattern of divine judgment on arrogance appears in Isaiah 63:3, Malachi 4:3, and 1 Samuel 2:7, where God alone executes wrath and controls human elevation or humiliation.
Why it lands — The text first commands God to look upon and trample the proud and wicked, then requires the reader to abandon self-exaltation and submit to God's sole authority to judge and humble.
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
Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 63:3 “I have trodden the winepress alone, and no one from the nations was with Me. I trampled them in My anger and trod them down in My fury; their blood spattered My garments, and all My clothes were stained.
- Malachi 4:3 Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- 1 Samuel 2:7 The LORD sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts.
- Job 36:20 Do not long for the night, when people vanish from their homes.
- Psalms 60:12 With God we will perform with valor, and He will trample our enemies.
- Proverbs 15:25 The LORD tears down the house of the proud, but He protects the boundaries of the widow.
- Ecclesiastes 11:3 If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain upon the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie.
- Isaiah 10:6 I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets.
- Isaiah 13:11 I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will end the haughtiness of the arrogant and lay low the pride of the ruthless.
- Zechariah 10:5 They will be like mighty men in battle, trampling the enemy in the mire of the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and they will put the horsemen to shame.