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

18who says to a king, “Worthless man!” and to nobles, “Wicked men!”? 19God is not partial to princes and does not favor the rich over the poor, for they are all the work of his hands. They die suddenly in the middle of the night; people shudder, then pass away. Even the mighty are removed without effort. 21For his eyes watch over a man’s ways, and he observes all his steps. 22There is no darkness, no deep darkness, where evildoers can hide.

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 suddenly they become a desolation! They come to an end, swept away by terrors.
• Isaiah 30:13this iniquity of yours will be like a crumbling gap, a bulge in a high wall whose collapse will come in an instant — suddenly!
• Isaiah 37:38One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. Then his son Esar-haddon became king in his place.
• Daniel 5:30That very night Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans was killed,
• Luke 12:20“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared — whose will they be?’
• Acts 12:23At once an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:2For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.
• 2 Peter 2:3They will exploit you in their greed with made-up stories. Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep.
• Exodus 12:29Now at midnight the Lord struck every firstborn male 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 every firstborn of the livestock.
• Isaiah 37:36Then the angel of the Lord went out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!
• Matthew 25:6“In the middle of the night there was a shout: ‘Here’s the groom! Come out to meet him.’
• Luke 17:26“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man:
• 1 Samuel 25:37In the morning when Nabal sobered up, his wife told him about these events. His heart died and he became a stone.
• 1 Samuel 26:10David added, “As the Lord lives, the Lord will certainly strike him down: either his day will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish.
• Isaiah 10:16Therefore the Lord God of Armies will inflict an emaciating disease on the well-fed of Assyria, and he will kindle a burning fire under its glory.
• Isaiah 30:30And the Lord will make the splendor of his voice heard and reveal his arm striking in angry wrath and a flame of consuming fire, in driving rain, a torrent, 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