Job 25:4 Meaning and Explanation
“How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Given God's holiness, Bildad asks how any mortal could be counted righteous or pure before him.
What Does Job 25:4 Mean?
Here is the heart of Bildad's argument. If God is so high and holy, how could a mere human ever stand before him as righteous, or be reckoned 'clean'? The phrase 'born of a woman' underscores human frailty and lowliness. Bildad poses the question as if it had no answer, meaning to silence Job's appeals.
Yet the question he asks is the deepest question of all, and Scripture does answer it. No one can make himself clean before God by his own effort, but God himself provides the way to be made right with him. The very cry that Bildad uses to crush hope becomes, in the fullness of time, the door to grace, for what mortals cannot do, God graciously accomplishes for them.
Job 25:4 in the Original Language
tsadaq (צָדַק), 'justified' -- to be declared righteous or set right, here asking how a person can stand righteous before God.
Frequently Asked Questions About Job 25:4
What does Job 25:4 mean?
Given God's holiness, Bildad asks how any mortal could be counted righteous or pure before him.