Job 36:25 — Word Study
WLCכָּל־ אָדָ֥ם חָֽזוּ־ ב֑וֹ אֱ֝נ֗וֹשׁ יַבִּ֥יט מֵרָחֽוֹק׃
BSAAllkôl [every, the whole of] mankindʼâdâm [humanity, people] has seenchâzâh■ [looked upon, beheld] ◂menʼĕnôwsh [people, humanity] behold itnâbaṭ▸ [look, gaze] from afarrâchôwq [at a distance, far away]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| כָּל־ | all | Noun common, masculine singular construct |
| אָדָ֥ם | humankind | Noun common, masculine singular absolute |
| חָֽזוּ־ | they have looked | Verb, Qal, perfect third person common plural |
| ב֑וֹ | on it | Preposition, suffix |
| אֱ֝נ֗וֹשׁ | human[s] | Noun common, masculine singular absolute |
| יַבִּ֥יט | he looks | Verb, Hiphil, imperfect third person masculine singular |
| מֵרָחֽוֹק׃ | from a distance | Preposition |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | All mankind has seen it; men behold it from afar. |
| KJV | Every man may see it; man may behold it afar off. |
| ASV | All men have looked thereon; Man beholdeth it afar off. |
| YLT | All men have looked on it, Man looketh attentively from afar. |
| WEB | All men have looked on it. Man sees it afar off. |
| BBE | All people are looking on it; man sees it from far. |
All translations agree on the essential meaning of the verse.
The sentence has one main clause with supporting phrases that clarify the action of seeing and the perspective from which it is viewed.







8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
subjectאֱנוֹשׁ
verbחָזָה
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Job 36:25
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — Job's Reflection on God's Workgenerated
Job 36:25 highlights the universal acknowledgment of God's work by all mankind, emphasizing that while people recognize His actions, they often do so from a distance. This verse is part of a larger discourse where Job reflects on the greatness of God and the limitations of human understanding, as seen in the surrounding verses, particularly Job 36:24 and Job 36:26.
Cross References
The Key Word — כֹּל, kol-generated
The Hebrew word כֹּל (kol) means 'all' or 'the whole.' It encompasses totality, referring to every person or thing. In this verse, it signifies that every individual has witnessed God's work, suggesting a collective human experience.
This term is often used with a following genitive to specify what is included, indicating a broad sense of everything in existence. Its use here emphasizes that God's work is universally acknowledged among all of humanity.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
In the Berean Standard Bible, the verse uses mankind and behold, which are consistent with the KJV and ASV.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main verb חָזָה (chazah) governs the sentence, indicating that humanity has seen something. The subject is אָדָם (adam), and a prepositional phrase follows, specifying the context of the vision.
The structure emphasizes that all of humanity has witnessed God's work, while the subsequent phrase introduces the action of looking from a distance, highlighting the separation between God's presence and human perception.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates כֹּל as πᾶς (pas), meaning 'all' or 'every.' This choice aligns closely with the Hebrew meaning, maintaining the universality of the statement.
The Greek word used for חָזָה is εἶδεν (eiden), which also conveys the sense of seeing or perceiving, reinforcing the idea of human awareness of divine actions.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Job 36:25 states that all mankind has seen God's work, and people look at it from a distance. This verse emphasizes that while everyone recognizes God's actions, there is a sense of separation in how they perceive them.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
It means that every person is aware of God's work in the world, acknowledging His actions and creations.
This suggests that while people recognize God's work, they may not fully understand or experience it directly.
It reflects God's greatness and the awe He inspires in humanity, as people can see His work but remain distant from His full essence.
To behold indicates a deeper level of observation, suggesting contemplation and recognition of God's majesty.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- In what ways have I personally seen God's work in my life?
- How can I cultivate a deeper understanding of God's actions beyond just seeing them from afar?
- What does it mean to me that all of humanity acknowledges God's work?
- How can I help others recognize and appreciate the work of God in their lives?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
Gregory the Dialogist references this verse to argue that all men see God and should recognize Him as the Creator.
All men see Him, every one beholdeth afar off. Every man from the fact that he is created rational, ought to conclude from reason that He Who made him is God.Early Church Fathers on Job 36 →
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Job 36:25 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleEvery man may see it,.... Not only was to be seen by the wise and learned, the just and good, but by the common people; whether it is to be understood of the works of creation, or of the afflictive
Read John Gill on Job 36 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryBehold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him? God is not to be impiously arraigned, but to be praised for His might, shown in His works.
Read Robert Jamieson on Job 36 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleMay see it, to wit, his work, last mentioned. The power, and wisdom, and greatness of God is so manifest in all his works, that all who are not blind or stupid must needs see and acknowledge it. Man may behold it afar off; the works of God are so great and conspicuous, that they may be seen at a great distance; whereas little things cannot be seen, unless we be near them. This translation and interpretation seems better to agree with the context than that which is more common, man doth behold it (i.e. God’ s work or works) afar off, i.e. they see them darkly and imperfectly, as things at a great distance, but not clearly and plainly, as things near at hand; and therefore they are so apt to…
Read Matthew Poole on Job 36 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsJob 36:25 Every man may see it; man may behold [it] afar off.Ver. 25. Every man may see it] sc. In quo est vel mica bonae mentis; for a brutish man knoweth it not, Psalms 92:6-7. But stupidus est, et dignus cui oculi eruantur, saith Plato, He is a very blockhead, and worthy to have his eyes pulled out of his head, who looketh not above him and about him, that he may magnify and admire the wisdom of the creator of all, and preserver of mankind, Id quod et prudentes viri olim veluti gnoma quadam et communi sententia iactarunt, dicentes, Omnis homo aspicit, &c. (Brent.). Man may behold it afar off] For heaven is far above earth, and it is a wonder that we can look to so admirable a height, and…
Read John Trapp on Job 36 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 25. Every man may see it] He who says he can examine the earth with a philosophic eye, and the heavens with the eye of an astronomer, and yet says he cannot see in them a system of infinite skill and contrivance, must be ignorant of science, or lie against his conscience, and be utterly unworthy of confidence or respect.
Read AdamClarke on Job 36 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges25. The verse is better without the “may” of the A. V. All men look thereon, Man beholdeth it afar off. Men look on God’s work, His operations, with wonder and awe.
Read Cambridge on Job 36 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the BibleEvery man may see it - That is, every man may look on the visible creation, and see proofs there of the wisdom and greatness of God.
Read Albert Barnes on Job 36 →
Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible25. Every man may see it — The language of Adam in “Paradise Lost” (book xi) embodies the blended wonder and adoration implied in this spiritual word, hhazah: to see.I now Gladly behold though but
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Job 36 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
All mankind has seen it; men behold it from afar.
All men have looked on it. Man sees it afar off.
All mankind has seen it; men behold it from afar.
All humanity has seen it; people gaze on it from afar.
Tyndale line
Every man may see it; man may behold it afar off.
All men have looked thereon; Man beholdeth it afar off.
All men have looked thereon; man beholdeth it afar off.
Every man may see it; man may behold it afar off.
All men see it, and men beholde it afarre off.
Strictly literal
All men look at it; man beholdeth [it] afar off.
All men have looked on it, Man looketh attentively from afar.
All men have looked on it, || Man looks attentively from afar.
All men have looked at it [with astonishment]; the mortal gazeth at it from afar.
All people have looked on those deeds, but they see those deeds only from far away.
From the Latin
All men see him, every one beholdeth afar off.
Simplified
Everyone has seen God's creation, though only from a distance.
All people are looking on it; man sees it from far.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text reads כָּל־ אָדָ֥ם חָֽזוּ־ ב֑וֹ אֱ֝נ֗וֹשׁ יַבִּ֥יט מֵרָחֽוֹק׃, while the Septuagint matches five of the seven words, indicating a close alignment in meaning. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain three words intact, with the rest supplied by an editor, showing some textual consistency.
כָּל־ אָדָ֥ם חָֽזוּ־ ב֑וֹ אֱ֝נ֗וֹשׁ יַבִּ֥יט מֵרָחֽוֹק׃
5 of the 7 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
[כל] [אדם] חזו ב׳ו אנוש [יביט] [מרחוק]
3 words on the leather — 4 supplied entire by an editor.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Job 36:25
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
כֹּל (kol) means 'all' or 'the whole.' It can refer to totality, including every person or thing, and is often used with a following genitive to specify what is included. The term can also denote a broader sense of everything in existence or all circumstances of life. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its meanings.
כֹּל once כּוֹל n.m. the whole, all
with foll. gen. (as usually) the whole of, to be rendered, however, often in our idiom, to avoid stiffness, any or every
Absolutely:
without the art., all things, all
with the art. הַכֹּל
where the sense is limited by the context to things (or persons) just mentioned
in a wider sense, all, whether of all mankind or of all living things, the universe, or of all the circumstances of life (chiefly late)
base
H3605 כֹּל once כּוֹל the whole, all . with foll. gen. (as usually) the whole of, to be rendered, however, often in our idiom, to avoid stiffness, any or every
. Absolutely: . without the art., all things, all
. with the art. הַכֹּל . where the sense is limited by the context to things (or persons) just mentioned
. in a wider sense, all, whether of all mankind or of all living things, the universe, or of all the circumstances of life (chiefly late)
3605 kol kole
or (Jer. 33:8) kowl {kole}; from 3634; properly, the whole;
hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a
plural sense):--(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any
(manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as
many as, (no-)thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole,
whoso(-ever).
see HEBREW for 03634
כֹּל (kol) — all.
1) all, the whole
1a) all, the whole of
1b) any, each, every, anything
1c) totality, everything
Aramaic equivalent: kol (כֹּל "all" H3606)
N-ms — Noun common · masculine singular constructHNcmsc
ol: Used in various combinations, and with different meanings.
(1) All along, "Weeping all along as he went" (Jer 41:6), i.e. throughout the whole way he went, feigning equal concern with the men from Shiloh, etc., for the destruction of the Temple, so as to put them off their guard.
(2) All in all, "That God may be all in all" (1Co 15:28, Greek: panta en pasin, "all things in all (persons and) things"). "The universe, with all it comprises, will wholly answer to God's will and reflect His mind" (Dummelow).
אָדָם (adam) refers to 'man' or 'mankind,' encompassing both individual humans and the species as a whole. It is also the name of the first man in the Bible, Adam, who is mentioned in various verses, including Genesis 2:19. The term can denote a city in the Jordan valley as well. The entries indicate a range of meanings, but there is no significant disagreement among them.
אָדָם 560 n.m. Gn 1:27 man, mankind
a man = human being
coll. man, mankind
n.pr.m. Adam, first man (without art.)
n.pr.loc. city in Jordan valley (as built?)
base
H120 אָדָם man, mankind . a man = human being
. coll. man, mankind
120 'adam aw-dawm'
from 119; ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the
species, mankind, etc.):--X another, + hypocrite, + common
sort, X low, man (mean, of low degree), person.
see HEBREW for 0119
אָדָם (a.dam) — man.
1) man, mankind
1a) man, human being
1b) man, mankind (much more frequently intended sense in OT)
1c) Adam, first man
1d) city in Jordan valley
אָדָם (a.dam) — the man (Adam).
The first named man living at the time before the Flood, first mentioned at Gen.2.19;
married to Eve (H2332);
father of: Cain (H7014B), Abel (H1893) and Seth (H8352); also translated "man" at Gen.2.19,21,23; 3.8,9,20; 5.2; "mankind" at Deu.32.8; "others" at Job.31.33;
Another spelling of a.dam (אָדָם "Adam" H0121)
man, human being
N-ms — Noun common · masculine singular absoluteHNcmsa
חָזָה (chazah) is a Hebrew verb primarily used in poetic contexts, meaning to see or behold. It encompasses a range of meanings including perceiving, contemplating, and having visions, often in an ecstatic state. The entries highlight its use in prophesying and providing insight, with an Aramaic equivalent also noted.
חָזָה vb. (almost wholly poet.) see, behold
Qal
see, behold
see as a seer in the ecstatic state
see, perceive
base
H2372 חָזָה (almost wholly poet.) see, behold
2372 chazah khaw-zaw'
a primitive root; to gaze at; mentally, to perceive,
contemplate (with pleasure); specifically, to have a vision
of:--behold, look, prophesy, provide, see.
חָזָה (cha.zah) — to see.
1) to see, perceive, look, behold, prophesy, provide
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to see, behold
1a2) to see as a seer in the ecstatic state
1a3) to see, perceive
1a3a) with the intelligence
1a3b) to see (by experience)
1a3c) to provide
Aramaic equivalent: cha.zah (חֲזָה "to see" H2370)
V-Qal-Perf-3cp — Verb · Qal · perfect third person common pluralHVqp3cp
וֹ (o) — him.
Personal object pronoun - suffix for propositions and verbs without an object: 3rd person masculine singular
HR/Sp3ms — Preposition · suffixHR/Sp3ms
אֱנוֹשׁ (enowsh) refers to man or mankind, often used in a poetic context. It denotes a mortal individual, distinguishing humans from more dignified terms for man. The word encompasses both singular and collective meanings, indicating people or persons in general. Its Aramaic equivalent is אֱנָשׁ (e.nash), also meaning 'man'.
אֱנוֹשׁ n.m. man, mankind, mostly poet.
of individ.
coll. men
man, mankind
base
H582 אֱנוֹשׁ man, mankind, mostly poet.
582 'enowsh en-oshe'
from 605; properly, a mortal (and thus differing from the
more dignified 120); hence, a man in general (singly or
collectively):--another, X (blood-)thirsty, certain,
chap(-man); divers, fellow, X in the flower of their age,
husband, (certain, mortal) man, people, person, servant, some
( X of them), + stranger, those, + their trade. It is often
unexpressed in the English versions, especially when used in
apposition with another word . Compare 376.
see HEBREW for 0605
see HEBREW for 0120
see HEBREW for 0376
אֱנוֹשׁ (e.nosh) — human.
1) man, mortal man, person, mankind
1a) of an individual
1b) men (collective)
1c) man, mankind
Aramaic equivalent: e.nash (אֱנָשׁ "man" H0606)
N-ms — Noun common · masculine singular absoluteHNcmsa
נָבַט (nabat) is a Hebrew verb meaning to look or regard. It encompasses various nuances, such as looking intently, considering, and showing favor or care. The entries indicate its use in different grammatical forms, specifically the Piel and Hiphil stems, which emphasize the act of looking or regarding. No significant disagreements among lexicons are noted.
[נָבַט] vb. Pi., Hiph. look
Pi. look
Hiph. look
base
H5027 נָבַט look
5027 nabat naw-bat'
a primitive root; to scan, i.e. look intently at; by
implication, to regard with pleasure, favor or care:--(cause
to) behold, consider, look (down), regard, have respect, see.
נָבַט (na.vat) — to look.
1) to look, regard
1a) (Piel) to look
1b) (Hiphil)
1b1) tolook
1b2) to regard, show regard to, pay attention to, consider
1b3) to look upon, regard, show regard to
V-Hiphil-Imperf-3ms — Verb · Hiphil · imperfect third person masculine singularHVhi3ms
רָחֹק (rachowq) means distant or far, and can refer to both physical distance and time. It can also denote a sense of remoteness or preciousness. The word can be used adverbially and is associated with the concept of distance in various contexts, including distant lands or times.
רָחֹק, רָחוֹק adj. distant, far, et n.m. distance
base
H7350 רָחֹק, רָחוֹק distant, far, distance
7350 rachowq raw-khoke'
or rachoq {raw-khoke'}; from 7368; remote, literally or
figuratively, of place or time; specifically, precious; often
used adverbially (with preposition):--(a-)far (abroad, off),
long ago, of old, space, great while to come.
see HEBREW for 07368
רָחֹק (ra.choq) — distant.
adj
1) remote, far, distant, distant lands, distant ones
1a) of distance, time
n m
2) distance
2a) from a distance (with prep)
Aramaic equivalent: ra.chiq (רְחִיק "far" H7352)
Prep | Adj — PrepositionHR/Aamsa
