Job 18:11

11 Terrors startle him on every side and dog his every step.

Job 18:11 in Other Translations

KJV
11 Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet.
ESV
11 Terrors frighten him on every side, and chase him at his heels.
NLT
11 “Terrors surround the wicked and trouble them at every step.
MSG
11 Terrors come at them from all sides. They run helter-skelter.
CSB
11 Terrors frighten him on every side and harass him at every step.

Job 18:11 Meaning and Commentary

Job 18:11

Terrors shall make him afraid on every side
Make him a "Magormissabib", or "terror on every side", as Pashur was a terror to himself, ( Jeremiah 20:3 ) , and all his friends about him; these terrors may be either the terrors of the judges of the earth upon wicked men, who are, or should be, a terror to evildoers, and of whom wicked men are afraid, lest they should be taken and punished by them; to this sense is the note of Sephorno: or else the terrors of a guilty conscience, which drive a man to his wits' end, that he knows not what to do, nor whither to go; these terrify him night and day, and make an hell upon earth unto him; or the terrors of the righteous law of God broken by him, its menaces and curses threatening him with death and everlasting damnation; or the terrors of the judgments of God on earth, which by their forerunners appear to be coming on it, by reason of which men's hearts fail for fear of them; or terrible apprehensions of the wrath of God for sin, here and hereafter, together with the terrors of death, which fall upon them, and of an awful judgment yet to come. Now Bildad had observed, that Job had said some things concerning the terrors he was sometimes possessed of, ( Job 6:4 ) ( 7:14 ) ( 9:28 ) ; and therefore would suggest from hence that he must be a wicked man, since this is the case of such; but it is easy to observe that good men are sometimes surrounded with terrors as well as others, so that this is no proof of a man's character and state, see ( Psalms 88:15 Psalms 88:16 ) ( Lamentations 2:22 ) ;

and shall drive him to his feet;
to take to his feet and run, in order to get rid of his terrors if possible, but in vain; these cause him not to run to God, to his feet, to the throne and footstool of his grace, but from him, to the rocks and mountains to hide him from his wrath, though there is no going from his spirit, nor fleeing from his presence; and terrors will also have such an effect upon wielded men as to cause them to flee from men, as in Cain, who not only went, from the presence of the Lord, but from the society of men, and became a fugitive and vagabond, and afraid of everyone he met with, lest he should kill him; and sometimes wicked men flee when none pursue, and even at the sound of shaking leaf, ( Proverbs 28:1 ) ( Leviticus 26:36 ) ; or "shall scatter him at his feet" F20, either at the feet of the robber, or cause him to fall to the ground, in the place where his feet stood. Mr. Broughton renders it, "shall press him at his feet", shall follow at his heels, and keep close to him wherever he goes, and overtake and seize him.


FOOTNOTES:

F20 (whuph) "dispergent eum", Pagninus, Montanus, Beza, Mercerus, Piscator, Schmidt.

Job 18:11 In-Context

9 A trap seizes him by the heel; a snare holds him fast.
10 A noose is hidden for him on the ground; a trap lies in his path.
11 Terrors startle him on every side and dog his every step.
12 Calamity is hungry for him; disaster is ready for him when he falls.
13 It eats away parts of his skin; death’s firstborn devours his limbs.

Cross References 3

  • 1. ver 14; S Job 6:4; Job 20:25; Job 24:17; Psalms 55:4; Psalms 88:15; Isaiah 28:19; Jeremiah 15:8; Lamentations 2:22
  • 2. S Job 15:21; Psalms 31:13; Jeremiah 6:25; Jeremiah 20:3
  • 3. ver 18; Job 20:8; Isaiah 22:18
Scripture quoted by permission.  Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.  NIV®.  Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica.  All rights reserved worldwide.