Job 20 · Verse 23

Job 20:23

When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.
Job 20:23, King James Version

Job 20:23 in other translations

BSBWhen he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats.
WEBWhen he is about to fill his belly, God will cast the fierceness of his wrath on him. It will rain on him while he is eating.
ASVWhen he is about to fill his belly, God will cast the fierceness of his wrath upon him, And will rain it upon him while he is eating.
YLTIt cometh to pass, at the filling of his belly, He sendeth forth against him The fierceness of His anger, Yea, He raineth on him in his eating.
DARBYIt shall be that, to fill his belly, he will cast his fierce anger upon him, and will rain it upon him into his flesh.
BBEGod gives him his desire, and sends the heat of his wrath on him, making it come down on him like rain.
WebsterWhen he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.

What does Job 20:23 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
23. Rather, "God shall cast (may God send) [Umbreit] upon him the fury of His wrath to fill his belly!" while ... eating--rather, "shall rain it upon him for his food!" Fiery rain, that is, lightning (Psa 11:6; alluding to Job's misfortune, Job 1:16). The force of the image is felt by picturing to one's self the opposite nature of a refreshing rain in the desert (Ex 16:4; Psa 68:9).

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 23 When he is about to fill his belly - Here seems a plain allusion to the lustings of the children of Israel in the desert. God showered down quails upon them, and showered down his wrath while the flesh was in their mouth. The allusion is too plain to be mistaken; and this gives some countenance to the bishop of Killala's version of Job 20:20 - "Because he acknowledged not the quail in his stomach, In the midst of his delight he shall not escape." That שלו, which we translate quietness, means a quail, also the history of the Hebrews' lustings, Exo 16:2-11, and Num 11:31-35, sufficiently proves. Let the reader mark all the expressions here, Job 20:20-23, and compare them with Num 11:31-35, and he will probably be of opinion that Zophar has that history immediately in view, which speaks of the Hebrews' murmurings for bread and flesh, and the miraculous showers of manna and quails, and the judgments that fell on them for their murmurings. Let us compare a few passages: - Job 20:20. He shall not feel quietness - שלו selav, the quail. "He shall not save of that which he desired." Job 20:21 : "There shall none of his meat be left." Exo 16:19 : "Let no man leave of it till the morning." Job 20:22. In the fullness of his sufficiency, he shall be in straits - Exo 16:20 : "But some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms and stank." Job 20:23. When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating - Num 11:33 : "And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague." Psa 78:26-30 : "He rained flesh upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea: so they did eat and were filled-but, while the meat was in their mouth, the wrath of God came upon them," etc. These show to what Zophar refers.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 20:23-29
Zophar, having described the vexations which attend wicked practices, shows their ruin from God's wrath. There is no fence against this, but in Christ, who is the only Covert from the storm and tempest, Is 32:2. Zophar concludes, "This is the portion of a wicked man from God;" it is allotted him. Never was any doctrine better explained, or worse applied, than this by Zophar, who intended to prove Job a hypocrite. Let us receive the good explanation, and make a better application, for warning to ourselves, to stand in awe and sin not. One view of Jesus, directed by the Holy Spirit, and by him suitably impressed upon our souls, will quell a thousand carnal reasonings about the suffering of the faithful.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Job 20:23 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.

יְהִ֤י\׀ye.Himay he beH1961
לְמַלֵּ֬אle.ma.Le'[about] to fillH4390
בִטְנ֗וֹvit.Nobelly hisH990
יְֽשַׁלַּח\־ye.sha.lach-he will sendH7971
בּ֭וֹboon him
חֲר֣וֹןcha.Ron[the] burning ofH2740
אַפּ֑וֹ'a.Poanger hisH639
וְיַמְטֵ֥רve.yam.Terand he will send rainH4305
עָ֝לֵ֗ימוֹ'a.Lei.movon himH5921
בִּלְחוּמֽוֹ\׃bil.chu.Moin bowel[s] hisH3894

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

Cross references for Job 20:23

  • Psalms 78:30-31

    They were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was yet in their mouths, The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.

  • Numbers 11:33

    And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague.

  • Malachi 2:2

    If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.

  • Psalms 11:6

    Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.

  • Isaiah 21:4

    My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.

  • Luke 12:17-20

    And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

  • Exodus 9:23

    And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt.

  • Genesis 19:24

    Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
he is about.
Nu 11:33; Ps 78:30,31; Mal 2:2; Lu 12:17-20
rain it.
Ge 19:24; Ex 9:23; Ps 11:6; 78:30,31; Isa 21:4

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

Context

  • Job 20:22

    In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.

  • Job 20:23

    When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.

  • Job 20:24

    He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through.

Read all of Job 20

Job 20:23 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Cuando se pusiere á henchir su vientre, Dios enviará sobre él el furor de su ira, y harála llover sobre él y sobre su comida.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Il arrivera que, pour remplir son ventre, Dieu enverra sur lui l’ardeur de sa colère, et la fera pleuvoir sur lui dans sa chair.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Es wird geschehen: um seinen Bauch zu füllen, wird Gott die Glut seines Zornes in ihn entsenden, und sie auf ihn regnen lassen in sein Fleisch hinein.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Utinam impleatur venter ejus, ut emittat in eum iram furoris sui, et pluat super illum bellum suum.