Job 25 3

Job 25:3 kjv

Is there any number of his armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise?

Job 25:3 nkjv

Is there any number to His armies? Upon whom does His light not rise?

Job 25:3 niv

Can his forces be numbered? On whom does his light not rise?

Job 25:3 esv

Is there any number to his armies? Upon whom does his light not arise?

Job 25:3 nlt

Who is able to count his heavenly army?
Doesn't his light shine on all the earth?

Job 25 verses

Job 25 3 Meaning

Job 25:3 presents two rhetorical questions that assert God's immeasurable power, infinite dominion, and pervasive presence. The first question, "Is there any number of His armies?" emphasizes that God's celestial and earthly forces are countless and beyond human comprehension, highlighting His limitless authority and ability to act. The second question, "Or does not His light rise upon anyone?" proclaims God's universal reach, indicating that His glory, truth, judgment, or knowledge shines upon all creation without exception, making nothing hidden from Him. Together, these statements magnify God's transcendent majesty and omnipotence.

Job 25 3 Context

Job 25:3 is part of Bildad the Shuhite's third and shortest speech to Job. It appears near the conclusion of the extended dialogues between Job and his three friends. Bildad's argument here is succinct, focusing entirely on God's overwhelming majesty and purity to silence Job's lamentations and implied challenges to divine justice. His previous speeches emphasized God's omnipotence and righteousness to explain human suffering as punishment for sin, an interpretation Job has consistently rejected. In this final brief address, Bildad makes no direct accusation against Job but simply escalates his portrayal of God's incomprehensible greatness and the unworthiness of any human being. The immediate verse is designed to instill awe and fear of God, intending to remind Job of his comparative insignificance before a perfect and all-powerful Creator, thus making any human attempt to declare self-righteousness or question God appear futile.

Job 25 3 Word analysis

• הַיֵשׁ֙ (HaiYesh): "Is there?" This is a rhetorical interrogative particle and verb combination that expects a negative answer, emphatically asserting "there is no." It emphasizes the absolute lack of what follows, conveying immeasurability.
• מִסְפָּ֣ר (Mispar): "Number" or "count." Refers to an ascertainable quantity. When combined with "HaiYesh," it powerfully states "there is no number," meaning it is uncountable, limitless.
• לִגְדוּדָ֔יו (Ligdudaiv): "Of His armies/troops." From the Hebrew noun gedud (גְּדוּד), meaning a troop, band, raiding party, or army, often implying a military host. The suffix '-aiv' signifies "His." These "armies" refer not just to human forces but also to angels, natural phenomena, or celestial bodies, all of which act as instruments of God's sovereign will, demonstrating His ultimate command over all creation. Its usage underscores God's absolute power and control, marshalling countless forces to fulfill His purposes.
• וְעַל־מִ֖י (V'al-Mi): "Or upon whom?" The conjunction "Ve-" means "and" or "or," connecting the two rhetorical questions. "Al-mi" translates to "upon whom," setting up the universal application of what follows.
• לֹא־תָק֣וּם (Lo Takum): "Does not rise/stand up?" "Lo" (לֹא) is a negative particle "not." "Takum" (תָקוּם) is the third person feminine singular imperfect form of the verb qum (קוּם), meaning "to rise," "to stand," or "to arise." When combined as a rhetorical question "upon whom does it not rise?", it signifies "it rises upon all." This double negative emphatically asserts universality and inescapability.
• אוֹרֽוֹ (Oro): "His light." From the Hebrew noun ohr (אוֹר), meaning light. The suffix '-o' denotes "His." This light is symbolic, representing God's omnipresent glory, knowledge, wisdom, truth, or even His discerning judgment. It suggests that nothing can escape His presence or His perfect scrutiny. It underscores God's all-encompassing awareness and inescapable revelation.

• "Is there any number of His armies?": This phrase underscores God's omnipotence and vastness. It communicates that His power is boundless, His command absolute over innumerable entities that serve His will, be they angels, natural forces, or nations. It implicitly questions humanity's ability to even conceive of such might, let alone contend with it.
• "Or does not His light rise upon anyone?": This second rhetorical question, a form of litotes (an affirmative expressed by negating its opposite), asserts that God's light—His knowledge, glory, judgment, or presence—falls upon absolutely everyone and everything. It speaks to God's omniscience and omnipresence, emphasizing that no individual or secret can be hidden from His gaze, and all are exposed to His divine revelation. It highlights the universality of God's dominion.

Job 25 3 Bonus section

While Bildad's theological statement regarding God's power and omnipresence is fundamentally true, its application within the Joban dialogue reveals a significant theological flaw of the friends: misusing divine truth to condemn. They rightly elevate God's attributes but wrongly deduce Job's guilt based on a simplistic cause-and-effect understanding of suffering. The "armies" of God represent His comprehensive control over all creation, whether angels, celestial bodies, or historical events, illustrating that nothing occurs outside His sovereign will. The pervasive "light" underscores that God's knowledge penetrates all hidden motives and actions, ensuring no injustice, perceived or actual, goes unnoticed by Him. However, what the friends, including Bildad, fail to grasp is that God's light also encompasses mercy and wisdom beyond human comprehension, meaning that not all suffering is direct punitive action. This verse serves as a preamble to God's eventual appearance, where He indeed demonstrates His power and wisdom, but not to condemn Job as the friends had.

Job 25 3 Commentary

Bildad’s closing argument in Job 25 serves as a potent reminder of God’s awe-inspiring transcendence and the utter insignificance of humanity in comparison. He rhetorically asks about the countless "armies" at God’s command, which include all cosmic and terrestrial forces, conveying an immeasurable power that orchestrates every element of existence. Furthermore, he declares that God's "light"—symbolizing His perfect knowledge, glory, and penetrating truth—inescapably illuminates everyone and everything, leaving no room for human evasion or hiddenness. While these truths about God's majesty are profoundly scriptural and correct, Bildad applies them to reassert a simplistic divine-human hierarchy, effectively dismissing Job's plight by emphasizing that a mere mortal cannot grasp, let alone question, the Almighty. It highlights that even accurate theology, when rigidly applied without empathy or full understanding of God's multi-faceted nature (like grace and individual dealings), can become an instrument of judgment rather than comfort.