Job 34:20

Job 34:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand.
• New International Version (NIV)They die in an instant, in the middle of the night; the people are shaken and they pass away; the mighty are removed without human hand.
• English Standard Version (ESV)In a moment they die; at midnight the people are shaken and pass away, and the mighty are taken away by no human hand.
• New King James Version (NKJV)In a moment they die, in the middle of the night; The people are shaken and pass away; The mighty are taken away without a hand.

Context of Job 34:20

18God who says to a king, ‘You are worthless and vile,’ Or to princes and nobles, ‘You are wicked and evil’? 19Who is not partial to princes, Nor does He regard the rich above the poor, For they all are the work of His hands. In a moment they die, even at midnight The people are shaken and pass away, And the powerful are taken away without a [human] hand. 21“For God’s eyes are on the ways of a man, And He sees all his steps. 22There is no darkness nor deep shadow Where the evildoers may hide themselves.

Job 34:20 word by word

רֶ֤גַע׀ יָמֻתוּ֮ וַחֲצ֪וֹת לָ֥יְלָה יְגֹעֲשׁ֣וּ עָ֣ם וְיַעֲבֹ֑רוּ וְיָסִ֥ירוּ אַ֝בִּ֗יר לֹ֣א בְיָֽד׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• In a momentרֶ֫גַעrega‛ · momentH7281
• shall they dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• and the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• shall be troubledגָּעַשׁgâ‛ash · to shakeH1607
• at midnightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
• at midnightחָצוֹתchâtsôth · middleH2676
• and pass awayעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674
• and the mightyאַבִּיר'abbîyr · mighty: strongH47
• shall be taken awayסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: removeH5493
• without handיָדyâd · handH3027

Cross-references for Job 34:20

• Psalms 73:19How they are destroyed in a moment! They are completely swept away by sudden terrors!
• Isaiah 30:13Therefore this wickedness [this sin, this injustice, this wrongdoing] will be to you Like a crack [in a wall] about to fall, A bulge in a high wall, Whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant,
• Isaiah 37:38It came to pass as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons killed him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat [in Armenia]. And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.
• Daniel 5:30During that same night Belshazzar the [last] Chaldean king was slain [by troops of the invading army].
• Luke 12:20But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own all the things you have prepared?’
• Acts 12:23And at once an angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give God the glory [and instead permitted himself to be worshiped], and he was eaten by worms and died [five days later].
• 1 Thessalonians 5:2For you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the [return of the] Lord is coming just as a thief [comes unexpectedly and suddenly] in the night.
• 2 Peter 2:3And in their greed they will exploit you with false arguments and twisted doctrine. Their sentence [of condemnation which God has decreed] from a time long ago is not idle [but is still in force], and their destruction and deepening misery is not asleep [but is on its way].
• Exodus 12:29Now it happened at midnight that the Lord struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the cattle.
• Isaiah 37:36And the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when the [surviving] men got up early the next morning, they saw all the dead.
• Matthew 25:6But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! The bridegroom [is coming]! Go out to meet him.’
• Luke 17:26And just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the time of [the second coming of] the Son of Man:
• 1 Samuel 25:37But in the morning, when Nabal was sober, and his wife told him these things, his heart died within him and he became [paralyzed and helpless] like a stone.
• 1 Samuel 26:10David also said, “As the Lord lives, most certainly the Lord will strike him [in His own time and way], or his day will come and he will die, or he will go down into battle and be carried off [dead].
• Isaiah 10:16Therefore the Lord, the God of hosts, will send a wasting disease among the stout warriors of Assyria; And under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.
• Isaiah 30:30And the Lord will make His majestic voice heard, And show the descending of His arm [striking] in [His] fierce anger, And in the flame of a devouring fire, In the crashing sound of heavy rain, cloudburst, and hailstones.

Commentaries on Job 34:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20In a moment shall they die - Both are equally dependent on the Almighty for their breath and being; the mighty as well as the poor. If the great men of the earth have abused their power, he sometimes cuts them off by the most sudden and unexpected death; and even at midnight, when in security, and least capable of defense, they are cut off by the people whom they have oppressed, or by the invisible hand of the angel of death. This appears to be spoken in…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20In a moment shall they die - That is, the rich and the great. They pass suddenly off the stage of action. They have no power to compel God to favor them, and they have no permanency of existence here which can constitute a claim on his special favor. Soon they will lie undistinguished in the dust. All are in his hand; and when he wills it, they must lie down in the dust together. He exempts none from death; spares none on account of beauty, rank, wealth…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-30Verses 16-30 Elihu appeals directly to Job himself. Could he suppose that God was like those earthly princes, who hate right, who are unfit to rule, and prove the scourges of mankind? It is daring presumption to condemn God's proceedings, as Job had done by his discontents. Elihu suggests divers considerations to Job, to produce in him high thoughts of God, and so to persuade him to submit. Job had often wished to plead his cause before God. Elihu asks…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. they--"the rich" and "princes" who offend God. the people--namely, of the guilty princes: guilty also themselves. at midnight--image from a night attack of an enemy on a camp, which becomes an easy prey (Ex 12:29, 30). without hand--without visible agency, by the mere word of God (so Job 20:26; Zec 4:6; Da 2:34).Read the comment

Topics related to Job 34:20

• Death
• God

In the dictionaries

• Chastisement
• Choose
• Dust
• Elihu
• Fit
• Midnight

Commentaries on Job 34

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings