Job 21:26

Job 21:26 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them.
• New International Version (NIV)Side by side they lie in the dust, and worms cover them both.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They lie down alike in the dust, and the worms cover them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)They lie down alike in the dust, And worms cover them.

Context of Job 21:26

24He eats good food and his body is strong. 25But another person is sad all his life, until he dies. No good things ever happen to him. But they all die one day and their bodies lie under the ground. Worms cover their bodies, whoever they are. 27I know what you are thinking. You want to show that I am guilty. 28You say, “You see that the rich person no longer has a house. Wicked people no longer have homes to live in.”

Job 21:26 word by word

יַ֭חַד עַל־עָפָ֣ר יִשְׁכָּ֑בוּ וְ֝רִמָּ֗ה תְּכַסֶּ֥ה עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• They shall lie downשָׁכַבshâkab · to lie down: lay downH7901
• alikeיַ֫חַדyachad · unitednessH3162
• in the dustעָפָר‛âphâr · dustH6083
• and the wormsרִמָּהrimmâh · wormH7415
• shall coverכָּסָהkâsâh · to coverH3680

Cross-references for Job 21:26

• Job 3:18Even prisoners can enjoy a time of peace. No guards are there to shout at them.
• Job 20:11He still had the strength of a young man. But his strength will die with him when he lies in his grave.
• Ecclesiastes 9:2But there is something which happens to everyone. It happens to righteous people and it happens to wicked people. It happens to good people and it happens to bad people. It happens to people who are clean in front of God and it happens to people who are unclean. It happens to people who offer sacrifices to God and it happens to people who do not do that. It happens to good people and to people who turn away from God. It happens to people who make promises to God. It also happens to people who are afraid to do that.
• Job 17:14I will say to the grave, “You are my father.” I will say to the worms that eat me, “Hello, my mother. Hello, my sister.”
• Job 19:26Illness may completely destroy my skin. But after that happens, I know that in this body I will see God.
• Psalms 49:14They will follow one another like sheep. Death will be their shepherd that leads them into their graves. But when the day arrives, righteous people will rule over them. They will no longer live in their great houses, but death will destroy their bodies in their graves.
• Isaiah 14:11Your great power has now come down low, into the deep hole of death. People no longer praise you with their harps. Now you will lie on a bed of maggots. A blanket of worms will cover you.

Commentaries on Job 21:26

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 26They shall lie down alike in the dust - Death levels all distinctions, and the grave makes all equal. There may be a difference in the grave itself; but the human corpse is the same in all. Splendid monuments enshrine corruption; but the sod must lie close and heavy upon the putrefying carcass, to prevent it from becoming the bane of the living.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 26They shall lie down alike in the dust - The emphasis here is on the word “alike” - יחד yachad The idea is, that they should die “in a similar manner.” There would be no such difference in the mode of their death as to determine anything about their character or to show that one was the friend of God, and that the other was not. The friends of Job had maintained, that that could be certainly known by the divine dealings with people, either in their life…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-26Verses 17-26 Job had described the prosperity of wicked people; in these verses he opposes this to what his friends had maintained about their certain ruin in this life. He reconciles this to the holiness and justice of God. Even while they prosper thus, they are light and worthless, of no account with God, or with wise men. In the height of their pomp and power, there is but a step between them and ruin. Job refers the difference Providence makes between…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 26worms cover them both: Compare 17:14; Isaiah 14:11; see Job 19:26.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2626. (Ec 9:2).Read the comment

Topics related to Job 21:26

• Corruption
• Death
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Worm

Commentaries on Job 21

• 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
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings