Job 20 · Verse 18

Job 20:18

That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.
Job 20:18, King James Version

Job 20:18 in other translations

BSBHe must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he cannot enjoy the profits of his trading.
WEBHe will restore that for which he labored, and will not swallow it down. He will not rejoice according to the substance that he has gotten.
ASVThat which he labored for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down; According to the substance that he hath gotten, he shall not rejoice.
YLTHe is giving back what he laboured for, And doth not consume it; As a bulwark is his exchange, and he exults not.
DARBYThat which he laboured for shall he restore, and not swallow down; its restitution shall be according to the value, and he shall not rejoice therein.
BBEHe is forced to give back the fruit of his work, and may not take it for food; he has no joy in the profit of his trading.
WebsterThat which he labored for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice in it.

What does Job 20:18 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
18. Image from food which is taken away from one before he can swallow it. restitution--(So Pr 6:31). The parallelism favors the English Version rather than the translation of Gesenius, "As a possession to be restored in which he rejoices not." he shall not rejoice--His enjoyment of his ill-gotten gains shall then be at an end (Job 20:5).

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 18 That which he laboureth for shall he restore - I prefer here the reading of the Arabic, which is also supported by the Syriac, and is much nearer to the Hebrew text than the common version. He shall return to labor, but he shall not eat; he shall toil, and not be permitted to enjoy the fruit of his labor. The whole of this verse Mr. Good thus translates: - "To labor shall he return, but he shall not eat. A dearth his recompense: yea, nothing shall he taste." It may be inquired how Mr. Good arrives at this meaning. It is by considering the word יעלס yaalos, which we translate he shall rejoice, as the Arabic (Arabic) alasa, "he ate, drank, tasted;" and the word כהיל kehil, which we make a compound word, keeheyl, "according to substance," to be the pure Arabic word (Arabic) kahala, "it was fruitless," applied to a year of dearth: hence kahlan, "a barren year." Conceiving these two to be pure Arabic words, for which he seems to have sufficient authority, he renders תמורתו temuratho, his recompense, as in Job 15:31, and not restitution, as here. The general meaning is, He shall labor and toil, but shall not reap, for God shall send on his land blasting and mildew. Houbigant translates the verse thus: Reddet labore partum; neque id absumet; copiosae fuerunt mercaturae ejus, sed illis non fruetur. "He shall restore what he gained by labor, nor shall he consume it; his merchandises were abundant, but he shall not enjoy them." O, how doctors disagree! Old Coverdale gives a good sense, which is no unfrequent thing with this venerable translator: - But laboure shal he, and yet have nothinge to eate; great travayle shal he make for riches, but he shal not enjoye them.

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 20:18 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.

מֵשִׁ֣יבme.Shiv[he is] restoringH7725
יָ֭גָעYa.go'[the] gainH3022
וְלֹ֣אve.Lo'and notH3808
יִבְלָ֑עyiv.La'he swallows [it]H1104
כְּחֵ֥ילke.Cheilaccording to [the] wealth ofH2428
תְּ֝מוּרָת֗וֹte.mu.ra.Totrading hisH8545
וְלֹ֣אve.Lo'<and> notH3808
יַעֲלֹֽס\׃ya.'a.Loshe will rejoiceH5965

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

Cross references for Job 20:18

  • Job 20:10

    His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.

  • Job 20:15

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

  • Jeremiah 22:13

    Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;

  • Proverbs 1:12

    Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:

  • Jeremiah 51:44

    And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.

  • Jeremiah 11:15-16

    What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest. The Lord called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.

  • Job 31:29

    If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him:

  • Job 20:5

    That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?

  • Isaiah 24:7-11

    The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh. The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in. …

  • Matthew 23:24

    Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

  • Job 31:25

    If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much;

  • Jeremiah 51:34

    Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
shall he restore.
10,15
swallow.
5; Pr 1:12; Jer 51:34,44; La 2:16; Ho 8:7,8; Am 8:4; Mt 23:14,24
his substance. Heb. the substance of his exchange. and heshall.
31:25,29; Isa 24:7-11; Jer 11:15,16; 22:13,17; Eze 7:12; Ho 9:1
Jas 4:8,9

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

Context

  • Job 20:17

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

  • Job 20:18

    That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.

  • Job 20:19

    Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;

Read all of Job 20

Job 20:18 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Restituirá el trabajo conforme á la hacienda que tomó; y no tragará, ni gozará.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Il rendra le fruit de son travail, et ne l’avalera pas; il le restituera selon sa valeur, et ne s’en réjouira pas.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Das Errungene gibt er zurück, und er darf es nicht verschlingen; gemäß dem Vermögen, das er erworben, darf er sich nicht freuen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Luet quæ fecit omnia, nec tamen consumetur: juxta multitudinem adinventionum suarum, sic et sustinebit.