Job 18:17

17 [All] memory of him perishes from the earth; he has no name abroad.[a][b]

Job 18:17 Meaning and Commentary

Job 18:17

His remembrance shall perish from the earth
Not only are the wicked forgotten of God in heaven, and are as the slain he remembers no more, unless it be to pour out his wrath upon them, and punish them for their sins, for which great Babylon will come up in remembrance before him; but of men on earth, and in the very places where they were born, and lived all their days, ( Ecclesiastes 8:10 ) ( 9:5 ) ; yea, those places, houses and palaces, towns and cities, which they have built to perpetuate their memory among men, perish and come to nought, and their memorial with them, ( Psalms 9:5 Psalms 9:6 ) ( 49:11 ) ;

and he shall have no name in the street;
much less in the house of God, still less in heaven, in the Lamb's book of life; so far from it, that he shall have none on earth, no good name among men; if ever his name is mentioned after his death, it is with some brand of infamy upon him; he is not spoken of in public, in a court of judicature, nor in any place of commerce and trade, nor in any concourse of people, or public assembly of any note, especially with any credit or commendation; such is the difference between a good man and a wicked man, see ( Proverbs 11:7 ) .

Job 18:17 In-Context

15 Nothing he owned remains in his tent. Burning sulfur is scattered over his home.
16 His roots below dry up, and his branches above wither away.
17 [All] memory of him perishes from the earth; he has no name abroad.
18 He is driven from light to darkness and chased from the inhabited world.
19 He has no children or descendants among his people, no survivor where he used to live.

Footnotes 2

Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.