Job 20 · Verse 16

Job 20:16

He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper’s tongue shall slay him.
Job 20:16, King James Version

Job 20:16 in other translations

BSBHe will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will kill him.
WEBHe will suck cobra venom. The viper’s tongue will kill him.
ASVHe shall suck the poison of asps: The viper’s tongue shall slay him.
YLTGall of asps he sucketh, Slay him doth the tongue of a viper.
DARBYHe shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall kill him.
BBEHe takes the poison of snakes into his mouth, the tongue of the snake is the cause of his death.
WebsterHe shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall slay him.

What does Job 20:16 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
16. shall suck--It shall turn out that he has sucked the poison, &c.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 16 He shall suck the poison of asps - That delicious morsel, that secret, easily-besetting sin, so palatable, and so pleasurable, shall act on the life of his soul, as the poison of asps would do on the life of his body. The poison is called the gall of asps, it being anciently supposed that the poison of serpents consists in their gall, which is thought to be copiously exuded when those animals are enraged; as it has been often seen that their bite is not poisonous when they are not angry. Pliny, in speaking of the various parts of animals, Hist. Nat. lib. xi., c. 37, states, from this circumstance, that in the gall, the poison of serpents consists; ne quis miretur id (fel) venenum esse serpentum. And in lib. xxviii., c. 9, he ranks the gall of horses among the poisons: Damnatur (fel) equinum tantum inter venena. We see, therefore, that the gall was considered to be the source whence the poison of serpents was generated, not only in Arabia, but also in Italy.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 20:10-22

The miserable condition of the wicked man in this world is fully set forth. The lusts of the flesh are here called the sins of his youth. His hiding it and keeping it under his tongue, denotes concealment of his beloved lust, and delight therein. But He who knows what is in the heart, knows what is under the tongue, and will discover it. The love of the world, and of the wealth of it, also is wickedness, and man…

Read the full comment on Job 20:10-22 →

Job 20:16 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.

רֹאשׁ\־rosh-[the] poison ofH7219
פְּתָנִ֥יםpe.ta.NimcobrasH6620
יִינָ֑קyi.Nakhe sucksH3243
תַּֽ֝הַרְגֵ֗הוּta.har.Ge.huit slays himH2026
לְשׁ֣וֹןle.Shon[the] tongue ofH3956
אֶפְעֶֽה\׃'ef.'Eha viperH660

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

Cross references for Job 20:16

  • Acts 28:3-6

    And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.

  • Romans 3:13

    Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:

  • Matthew 3:7

    But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

  • Isaiah 30:6

    The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.

  • Deuteronomy 32:24

    They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the poison.
Ro 3:13
the viper's.
Isa 30:6; Mt 3:7; Ac 28:3-6

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

Context

  • Job 20:15

    He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.

  • Job 20:16

    He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper’s tongue shall slay him.

  • Job 20:17

    He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.

Read all of Job 20

Job 20:16 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Veneno de áspides chupará; matarálo lengua de víbora.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Il sucera le venin des aspics, la langue de la vipère le tuera.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Natterngift sog er ein: es tötet ihn die Zunge der Otter.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Caput aspidum suget, et occidet eum lingua viperæ.