Log inSign up

Job 25 · a question people ask

Is Bildad right that man is a worm?

In the text

These are Bildad's words (25:1): "How much less man, who is a worm, and the son of man, who is a worm!" (25:6). Other Scripture uses his second word for worm of people too. In a psalm the speaker says of himself, "But I am a worm, and no man" (Psalm 22:6), and the LORD says to his people, "Don’t be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help you" (Isaiah 41:14); in Hebrew worm in both is 25:6's second worm (tap worm). Job had used Bildad's first word of himself and of the dead: "My flesh is clothed with worms" (7:5), and "They lie down alike in the dust. The worm covers them" (21:26). What the book says of the three friends' words is 42:7, and it doesn't say which words it means. Readers weigh Bildad's line in more than one way. These notes set the verses side by side and give no verdict of their own on Bildad.

The verses

“Then Bildad the Shuhite answered,”
Job 25:1 · World English Bible
“How much less man, who is a worm, and the son of man, who is a worm!””
Job 25:6 · World English Bible
“But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people.”
Psalm 22:6 · World English Bible
“Don’t be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help you,” says the LORD. “Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.”
Isaiah 41:14 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Job 25

Job 25: How can man be just with God?

Bildad's "How then can man be just with God?" (25:4) is Job's own question from chapter 9 in the same five Hebrew words (9:2). And his "man, who is a worm" (25:6) uses two different Hebrew words for worm, which stand together in only one other verse of the Hebrew Bible, Isaiah 14:11.

In Favor, questions like this come up right where they arise as you read, with the Hebrew and Greek behind the words and how the chapter leads to Jesus.

Start your free weekJob 25 Bible study

First week free, then $10 a month per person

More questions about Job 25

All questions about Job →

The best way to learn the Bible

Favor opens up every chapter as you read.

Favor is a Bible study app for your phone or computer. It takes you through the Bible one chapter at a time, a few minutes a day, and shows you what's really there: the words behind the words, the moments most people miss, and how the whole story fits together. For you. For everyone.

  • Every chapter explains itself

    As you read, short notes open up what's really going on, the details most readers walk past, and the honest questions people ask.

  • The Hebrew and Greek behind it

    Tap a highlighted word to see the original, how to say it, and what it means, checked against the original-language texts.

  • Every page leads to Jesus

    Watch promises made in Genesis kept in Jesus. Each line lights up on your map as you read.

  • Better together

    Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together.

  1. 1

    Start your free week

    Sign up in a minute with your email.

  2. 2

    Read a few minutes a day

    Each chapter opens itself up as you go. Tap what you're curious about.

  3. 3

    Bring your people, if you like

    Send one link. Everyone reads the same chapter, then meets to talk.

Start your free week

First week free, then $10 a month per person

Questions like this, in every chapter

The best way to learn the Bible. For you. For everyone.

There's a seat for you at the table.

Start your free week

First week free, then $10 a month per person · Log in

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions