Logos Bible Study

Job 24:18–24

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24:1832 “You say,33 ‘He is foam34 on the face of the waters;35

their portion of the land is cursed

so that no one goes to their vineyard.36

24:19The drought as well as the heat carry away

the melted snow;37

so the grave38 takes away those who have sinned.39

24:20The womb40 forgets him,

the worm feasts on him,

no longer will he be remembered.

Like a tree, wickedness will be broken down.

24:21He preys on41 the barren and childless woman,42

and does not treat the widow well.

24:22But God43 drags off the mighty by his power;

when God44 rises up against him, he has no faith in his life.45

24:23God46 may let them rest in a feeling of security,47

but he is constantly watching48 all their ways.49

24:24They are exalted for a little while,

and then they are gone,50

they are brought low51 like all others,

and gathered in,52

and like a head of grain they are cut off.’53

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Footnotes

  1. 32 Many commentators find vv. 18–24 difficult on the lips of Job, and so identify this unit as a misplaced part of the speech of Zophar. They describe the enormities of the wicked. But a case can also be made for retaining it in this section. Gordis thinks it could be taken as a quotation by Job of his friends’ ideas.
  2. 33 The verb “say” is not in the text; it is supplied here to indicate that this is a different section.
  3. 34 Or “is swift.”
  4. 35 The wicked person is described here as a spray or foam upon the waters, built up in the agitation of the waters but dying away swiftly.
  5. 36 The text reads, “he does not turn by the way of the vineyards.” This means that since the land is cursed, he/one does not go there. Bickell emended “the way of the vineyards” to “the treader of the vineyard” (see , ). This would mean that “no wine-presser would turn towards” their vineyards.
  6. 37 Heb “the waters of the snow.”
  7. 38 Or “so Sheol.”
  8. 39 This is the meaning of the verse, which in Hebrew only has “The grave / they have sinned.”
  9. 40 Here “womb” is synecdoche, representing one’s mother.
  10. 41 The form in the text is the active participle, “feed; graze; shepherd.” The idea of “prey” is not natural to it. R. Gordis (Job, 270) argues that third he (ה) verbs are often by-forms of geminate verbs, and so the meaning here is more akin to רָעַע (ra’a’, “to crush”). The seems to have read something like הֵרַע (hera’, “oppressed”).
  11. 42 Heb “the childless [woman], she does not give birth.” The verbal clause is intended to serve as a modifier here for the woman. See on subordinate verbal clauses §156.d, f.
  12. 43 God has to be the subject of this clause. None is stated in the Hebrew text, but “God” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  13. 44 Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity. See the note on the word “life” at the end of the line.
  14. 45 This line has been given a number of interpretations due to its cryptic form. The verb יָקוּם (yaqum) means “he rises up.” It probably is meant to have God as the subject, and be subordinated as a temporal clause to what follows. The words “against him” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation to specify the object and indicate that “rise up” is meant in a hostile sense. The following verb וְלֹא־יַאֲמִין (vélo’-ya’amin), by its very meaning of “and he does not believe,” cannot have God as the subject, but must refer to the wicked.
  15. 46 Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  16. 47 The expression לָבֶטַח (lavetakh, “in security”) precedes the verb that it qualifies—God “allows him to take root in security.” For the meaning of the verb, see Job 8:15.
  17. 48 Heb “his eyes are on.”
  18. 49 The meaning of the verse is that God may allow the wicked to rest in comfort and security, but all the time he is watching them closely with the idea of bringing judgment on them.
  19. 50 The Hebrew throughout this section (vv. 18–24) interchanges the singular and the plural. Here again we have “they are exalted … but he is not.” The verse is clear nonetheless: the wicked rise high, and then suddenly they are gone.
  20. 51 The verb is the Hophal of the rare verb מָכַךְ (makhakh), which seems to mean “to bend; to collapse.” The text would read “they are made to collapse like all others.” There is no reason here to change “like others” just because the is banal. But many do, following the with “like mallows.” The was making a translation according to sense. R. Gordis (Job, 271) prefers “like grass.”
  21. 52 The verb קָפַץ (qafats) actually means “to shut in,” which does not provide exactly the idea of being gathered, not directly at least. But a change to קָטַף (qataf, “pluck”) while attractive, is not necessary.
  22. 53 This marks the end of the disputed section, taken here to be a quotation by Job of their sentiments.

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“You say, ‘Swift are they on the face of the waters;

their portion is cursed in the land;

no treader turns toward their vineyards.

Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters;

so does Sheol those who have sinned.

The womb forgets them;

the worm finds them sweet;

they are no longer remembered,

so wickedness is broken like a tree.’

“They wrong the barren, childless woman,

and do no good to the widow.

Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by his power;

they rise up when they despair of life.

He gives them security, and they are supported,

and his eyes are upon their ways.

They are exalted a little while, and then are gone;

they are brought low and gathered up like all others;

they are cut off like the heads of grain.

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“Yet they are foam on the surface of the water;

their portion of the land is cursed,

so that no one goes to the vineyards.

As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,

so the grave snatches away those who have sinned.

The womb forgets them,

the worm feasts on them;

the wicked are no longer remembered

but are broken like a tree.

They prey on the barren and childless woman,

and to the widow they show no kindness.

But God drags away the mighty by his power;

though they become established, they have no assurance of life.

He may let them rest in a feeling of security,

but his eyes are on their ways.

For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;

they are brought low and gathered up like all others;

they are cut off like heads of grain.

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

They float on the surface of the water.

Their section of the land is cursed,

so that they never go to their vineyards.

As dry ground and heat snatch away the melted snow,

so Sheol steals those who have sinned.

The womb forgets them;

worms feed on them;

they are remembered no more.

So injustice is broken like a tree.

They prey on the childless woman who is unable to conceive,

and do not deal kindly with the widow.

Yet God drags away the mighty by his power;

when he rises up, they have no assurance of life.

He gives them a sense of security, so they can rely on it,

but his eyes watch over their ways.

They are exalted for a moment, then gone;

they are brought low and shrivel up like everything else.

They wither like heads of grain.

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

“But they disappear like foam down a river.

Everything they own is cursed,

and they are afraid to enter their own vineyards.

The grave consumes sinners

just as drought and heat consume snow.

Their own mothers will forget them.

Maggots will find them sweet to eat.

No one will remember them.

Wicked people are broken like a tree in the storm.

They cheat the woman who has no son to help her.

They refuse to help the needy widow.

“God, in his power, drags away the rich.

They may rise high, but they have no assurance of life.

They may be allowed to live in security,

but God is always watching them.

And though they are great now,

in a moment they will be gone like all others,

cut off like heads of grain.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“He himself is swift on the water’s surface;

their portion is cursed in the land.

No one turns toward the path of their vineyards.

Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters,

like Sheol snatches away those who have sinned.

The womb forgets him.

The maggot feasts on him until he is no longer remembered,

and wickedness is broken like a tree.

He feeds on the barren, who does not have a child,

and does no good to the widow.

Yet he carries off the tyrants by his strength;

if he rises up, then he cannot be certain of life.

He gives security to him, and he is supported,

but his eyes are upon their ways.

They are exalted a little while, then they are gone.

And they are brought low; they are cut off like all others,

and like the heads of grain they wither away.

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

He is swift as the waters;

Their portion is cursed in the earth:

He beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.

Drought and heat consume the snow waters:

So doth the grave those which have sinned.

The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him;

He shall be no more remembered;

And wickedness shall be broken as a tree.

He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not:

And doeth not good to the widow.

He draweth also the mighty with his power:

He riseth up, and no man is sure of life.

Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth;

Yet his eyes are upon their ways.

They are exalted for a little while, but are gone

And brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other,

And cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.

Public Domain