Job 4:9

9 One breath from God and they fall apart, one blast of his anger and there's nothing left of them.

Job 4:9 Meaning and Commentary

Job 4:9

By the blast of God they perish
They and their works, the ploughers, sowers, and reapers of iniquity; the allusion is to the blasting of corn by the east wind, or by mildew having used the figures of ploughing and sowing before; and which is as soon and as easily done as corn, or anything else, is blasted in the above manner; and denotes the sudden and easy destruction of wicked men by the power of God, stirred up by his wrath and indignation, because of their sins; who when he blows a blast on their persons, substance, and families, they perish at once:

and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed;
meaning his wrath and anger, which is like a stream of brimstone, and kindles a fire on the wicked, which are as fuel to it, and are soon consumed by it; the allusion is to breath in a man's nostrils, and the heat of his wrath and fury discovered thereby: some think this refers to Job's children being destroyed by the wind, see ( Isaiah 11:4 ) .

Job 4:9 In-Context

7 "Think! Has a truly innocent person ever ended up on the scrap heap? Do genuinely upright people ever lose out in the end?
8 It's my observation that those who plow evil and sow trouble reap evil and trouble.
9 One breath from God and they fall apart, one blast of his anger and there's nothing left of them.
10 The mighty lion, king of the beasts, roars mightily, but when he's toothless he's useless -
11 No teeth, no prey - and the cubs wander off to fend for themselves.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.