Job 18:6-16

6 "The light in his tent is 1darkened, And his lamp goes out above him.
7 "His vigorous stride is shortened, And his 2own scheme brings him down.
8 "For he is 3thrown into the net by his own feet, And he steps on the webbing.
9 "A snare seizes him by the heel, And a trap snaps shut on him.
10 "A noose for him is hidden in the ground, And a trap for him on the path.
11 "All around 4terrors frighten him, And 5harry him at every step.
12 "His strength is 6famished, And calamity is ready at his side.
13 "His skin is devoured by disease, The firstborn of death 7devours his limbs.
14 "He is 8torn from the security of his tent, And they march him before the king of 9terrors.
15 "There dwells in his tent nothing of his; 10Brimstone is scattered on his habitation.
16 "His 11roots are dried below *, And his 12branch is cut off above *.

Job 18:6-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 18

In this chapter is Bildad's second reply to Job, in which he falls with great fury upon him, very sharply inveighs against him, and very highly charges him; the charges he brings against him are talkativeness and inattention to what was said to him, Job 18:1,2; contempt of his friends, impatience under his affliction, and pride and arrogance, as if the whole world, the course of nature and providence, and God himself all must give way to him, Job 18:3,4; nevertheless, he is assured of the miserable state of a wicked man, sooner or later, which is described by the extinction of his light of prosperity, Job 18:5,6; by the defeat of his counsels, being ensnared in a net laid for him, Job 18:7-10; by the terrible judgments of the sword, famine, and pestilence, by one or the other of which he is brought to death, the king of terrors, Job 18:11-14; by the destruction of his habitation and of his posterity, so that he has none to hear his name, or perpetuate his memory, Job 18:15-17; by his being driven out of the world, leaving no issue behind him, to the astonishment of all that knew him, Job 18:18-20; and the chapter is closed with this observation, that this is the common case of wicked and irreligious persons, Job 18:21.

Cross References 12

  • 1. Job 12:25
  • 2. Job 15:6
  • 3. Job 22:10; Psalms 9:15; Psalms 35:8; Isaiah 24:17, 18
  • 4. Job 15:21
  • 5. Job 18:18; Job 20:8
  • 6. Isaiah 8:21
  • 7. Zechariah 14:12
  • 8. Job 8:22; Job 18:6
  • 9. Job 15:21
  • 10. Psalms 11:6
  • 11. Isaiah 5:24; Hosea 9:16; Amos 2:9; Malachi 4:1
  • 12. Job 15:30, 32

Footnotes 6

  • [a]. Lit "steps of his strength"
  • [b]. Heb "It eats parts of his skin"
  • [c]. Or "parts"
  • [d]. Lit "his tent his trust"
  • [e]. Or "you or she shall march"
  • [f]. A suggested reading is "Fire dwells in his tent"
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