Job 11 · Verse 20

Job 11:20

But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.
Job 11:20, King James Version

Job 11:20 in other translations

BSBBut the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; they will hope for their last breath.”
WEBBut the eyes of the wicked will fail. They will have no way to flee. Their hope will be the giving up of the spirit.”
ASVBut the eyes of the wicked shall fail, And they shall have no way to flee; And their hope shall be the giving up of the ghost.
YLTAnd the eyes of the wicked are consumed, And refuge hath perished from them, And their hope is a breathing out of soul!
DARBYBut the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and all refuge shall vanish from them, and their hope shall be the breathing out of life.
BBEBut the eyes of the evil-doers will be wasting away; their way of flight is gone, and their only hope is the taking of their last breath.
WebsterBut the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the expiration of the breath.

What does Job 11:20 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
20. A warning to Job, if he would not turn to God. The wicked--that is, obdurate sinners. eyes ... fail--that is, in vain look for relief (De 28:65). Zophar implies Job's only hope of relief is in a change of heart. they shall not escape--literally, "every refuge shall vanish from them." giving up of the ghost--Their hope shall leave them as the breath does the body (Pr 11:7).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 20 The eyes of the wicked shall fail - They shall be continually looking out for help and deliverance; but their expectation shall be cut off. And they shall not escape - They shall receive the punishment due to their deserts; for God has his eye continually upon them. מנהם ומנוס אבד umanos abad minnehem, literally, "And escape perishes from them." Flight from impending destruction is impossible. And their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost - ותקותם מפח נפש vethikratham mappach naphesh, "And their hope an exhalation of breath," or a mere wish of the mind. They retain their hope to the last; and the last breath they breathe is the final and eternal termination of their hope. They give up their hope and their ghost together; for a vain hope cannot enter into that place where shadow and representation exist not; all being substance and reality. And thus endeth Zophar the Naamathite; whose premises were in general good, his conclusions legitimate, but his application of them to Job's case totally erroneous; because he still proceeded on the ground that Job was a wicked man, if not ostensibly, yet secretly; and that the sufferings he was undergoing were the means by which God was unmasking him to the view of men. But, allowing that Job had been a bad man, the exhortations of Zophar were well calculated to enforce repentance and excite confidence in the Divine mercy. Zophar seems to have had a full conviction of the all-governing providence of God; and that those who served him with an honest and upright heart would be ever distinguished in the distribution of temporal good. He seems however to think that rewards and punishments were distributed in this life, and does not refer, at least very evidently, to a future state. Probably his information on subjects of divinity did not extend much beyond the grave; and we have much cause to thank God for a clearer dispensation. Deus nobis haec otia fecit. God grant that we may make a good use of it!

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 11:13-20

Zophar exhorts Job to repentance, and gives him encouragement, yet mixed with hard thoughts of him. He thought that worldly prosperity was always the lot of the righteous, and that Job was to be deemed a hypocrite unless his prosperity was restored. Then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; that is, thou mayst come boldly to the throne of grace, and not with the terror and amazement expressed in ch. 9:34. If we…

Read the full comment on Job 11:13-20 →

Job 11:20 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְעֵינֵ֥יve.'ei.Neiand [the] eyes ofH5869
רְשָׁעִ֗יםre.sha.'Imwicked [people]H7563
תִּ֫כְלֶ֥ינָהtikh.Lei.nahthey will failH3615
וּ֭מָנוֹסU.ma.nosand a place of escapeH4498
אָבַ֣ד'a.Vadit will be lostH6
מִנְהֶ֑םmin.Hemfrom themH4480
וְ֝תִקְוָתָ֗םve.tik.va.Tamand hope theirH8615
מַֽפַּח\־ma.pach-[will be] a gasp ofH4646
נָֽפֶשׁ\׃\ \פNa.feshlifeH5315

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Job 11:20

  • Deuteronomy 28:65

    And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:

  • Job 31:16

    If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;

  • Job 17:5

    He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail.

  • Job 8:13-14

    So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish: Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider’s web.

  • Luke 16:23-26

    And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

  • Job 18:14

    His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors.

  • Proverbs 20:20

    Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.

  • Amos 5:19-20

    As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

  • Amos 9:1-3

    I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered. Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down: And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:

  • Leviticus 26:16

    I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

  • Psalms 69:3

    I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.

  • Job 27:22

    For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the eyes.
31:16; Le 26:16; De 28:65; Ps 69:3; La 4:17
they shall not escape. Heb. flight shall perish from them.
Am 2:14; 5:19,20; 9:1-3; Heb 2:3
their hope.
8:13,14; 18:14; 27:8; Pr 10:24; 20:20; Lu 16:23-26
the giving up of the ghost. or, a puff of breath.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Job 11:19

    Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee.

  • Job 11:20

    But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.

Read all of Job 11

Job 11:20 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Mas los ojos de los malos se consumirán, y no tendrán refugio; y su esperanza será agonía del alma.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Mais les yeux des méchants seront consumés, et tout refuge périra pour eux, et leur espoir sera d’expirer.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Aber die Augen der Gesetzlosen werden verschmachten; und jede Zuflucht ist ihnen verloren, und ihre Hoffnung ist das Aushauchen der Seele.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Oculi autem impiorum deficient, et effugium peribit ab eis: et spes illorum abominatio animæ.