Job 4:9

9 By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they come to an end.

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} now, who has perished [who is] innocent? Or where [are] the upright destroyed?
8 [Just] as I have seen, plowers of mischief and sowers of trouble will reap it.
9 By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they come to an end.
10 [The] roar of [the] lion and [the] voice of a lion in its prime, and [the] teeth of [the] young lions are broken.
11 [The] lion is perishing without prey, and [the] lion's whelps are scattered.

Footnotes 2

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.