Job 5:25

Modern

You will know that your offspring will be many, your descendants like the grass of the earth.

Traditional

Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth.

Literal

And you will know that your seed is numerous, and your offspring like the grass of the earth.

Latin

Scies quoque quoniam multiplex erit semen tuum, et progenies tua quasi herba terræ.

Hebrew

English

You will know that your offspring will be many, your descendants like the grass of the earth.

descendants like the grass of the earth: See Genesis 22:17; Leviticus 26:9; Deuteronomy 28:4, 11–12.

Six calamities … in seven: This formula for wise sayings suggests a condition of completion (compare Proverbs 30:15–31).
This list reflects the blessings and curses of the covenant God gave to Moses (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28).
Eliphaz believed that people in a right relationship with God would avoid:

Famine, meaning starving. (Job 5:20, 22; see Leviticus 26:4–5, 10; Deuteronomy 28:4–6, 8, 11–12).
Battle and its destruction (Job 5:20; 5:21, 22; see Leviticus 26:6–8; Deuteronomy 28:7, 48).
Scourge of the tongue, or words spoken against them (slander).
They would even be at peace with wild animals and the stones of the field (Job 5:23; see Leviticus 26:6). This peace might mean productive fields instead of rocky ones (2 Kings 3:19, 25; Matthew 13:5). Or it might symbolize broader harmony with creation (see Psalm 91:11–12).

Theme notes and profiles

Psalm 112:2
His descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Psalm 72:16
May there be an abundance of grain in the land; may it sway atop the hills. May its fruit trees flourish like the forests of Lebanon, the people of its cities like the grass of the field.
Deuteronomy 28:4
The fruit of your womb will be blessed, as well as the produce of your land and the offspring of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
Genesis 15:5
And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Job 42:13–16
And he also had seven sons and three daughters.
Psalm 128:3–6
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table.
Psalm 127:3–5
Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.
Leviticus 26:9
I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will establish My covenant with you.
Isaiah 44:3–4
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.