Job 24 · Verse 18

Job 24:18

He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.
Job 24:18, King James Version

Job 24:18 in other translations

BSBThey are but foam on the surface of the water; their portion of the land is cursed, so that no one turns toward their vineyards.
WEB“They are foam on the surface of the waters. Their portion is cursed on the earth. They don’t turn into the way of the vineyards.
ASVSwiftly they pass away upon the face of the waters; Their portion is cursed in the earth: They turn not into the way of the vineyards.
YLTLight he is on the face of the waters, Vilified is their portion in the earth, He turneth not the way of vineyards.
DARBYHe is swift on the face of the waters; their portion is cursed on the earth: he turneth not unto the way of the vineyards.
BBEThey go quickly on the face of the waters; their heritage is cursed in the earth; the steps of the crusher of grapes are not turned to their vine-garden.
WebsterHe is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.

What does Job 24:18 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Job 24:2-25

2-24. Instances of the wicked doing the worst deeds with seeming impunity (Job 24:2-24). Some--the wicked. landmarks--boundaries between different pastures (De 19:14; Pr 22:28).

Read the full comment on Job 24:2-25 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 18 He is swift as the waters - Literally, Light is he on the face of the waters: and cursed shall be their portion on the earth, which Mr. Good translates: - Miserable is this man on the waters: Deeply miserable the lot of those on dry land. He beholdeth not the way of the vineyards - These no longer flourish or bring forth fruit. The labor of the vintage fails.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 24:18-25
Sometimes how gradual is the decay, how quiet the departure of a wicked person, how is he honoured, and how soon are all his cruelties and oppressions forgotten! They are taken off with other men, as the harvestman gathers the ears of corn as they come to hand. There will often appear much to resemble the wrong view of Providence Job takes in this chapter. But we are taught by the word of inspiration, that these notions are formed in ignorance, from partial views. The providence of God, in the affairs of men, is in every thing a just and wise providence. Let us apply this whenever the Lord may try us. He cannot do wrong. The unequalled sorrows of the Son of God when on earth, unless looked at in this view, perplex the mind. But when we behold him, as the sinner's Surety, bearing the curse, we can explain why he should endure that wrath which was due to sin, that Divine justice might be satisfied, and his people saved.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Job 24:18 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.

קַֽל\־kal-[is] swiftH7031
ה֤וּא\׀hu'heH1931
עַל\־'al-onH5921
פְּנֵי\־pe.nei-[the] surface ofH6440
מַ֗יִםMa.yim[the] watersH4325
תְּקֻלַּ֣לte.ku.Lalit is cursedH7043
חֶלְקָתָ֣םchel.ka.Tamportion theirH2513
בָּאָ֑רֶץba.'A.retzin the landH776
לֹֽא\־lo'-notH3808
יִ֝פְנֶהYif.nehanyone turnsH6437
דֶּ֣רֶךְDe.rekh[the] direction ofH1870
כְּרָמִֽים\׃ke.ra.MimvineyardsH3754

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

Cross references for Job 24:18

  • Deuteronomy 28:16-20

    Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. …

  • 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.

  • Isaiah 23:10

    Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength.

  • Psalms 73:18-20

    Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.

  • Psalms 69:22

    Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.

  • Job 9:26

    They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey.

  • Proverbs 3:33

    The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.

  • Job 22:16

    Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:

  • Psalms 58:7

    Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
swift.
Ps 58:7; 73:18-20; Isa 23:10
their portion.
De 28:16-20; Ps 69:22; Pr 3:33; Mal 2:2

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

Context

  • Job 24:17

    For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.

  • Job 24:18

    He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.

  • Job 24:19

    Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.

Read all of Job 24

Job 24:18 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Son instables más que la superficie de las aguas; su porción es maldita en la tierra; no andarán por el camino de las viñas.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Ils sont rapides sur la face des eaux, leur part est maudite sur la terre; ils ne se tournent pas vers les vignes.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Er ist schnell auf der Wasserfläche, verflucht wird ihr Grundbesitz auf Erden; nicht mehr schlägt er den Weg zu den Weinbergen ein.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Levis est super faciem aquæ: maledicta sit pars ejus in terra, nec ambulet per viam vinearum.