Job 24:20

Job 24:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree.
• New International Version (NIV)The womb forgets them, the worm feasts on them; the wicked are no longer remembered but are broken like a tree.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The womb forgets them; the worm finds them sweet; they are no longer remembered, so wickedness is broken like a tree.'
• New King James Version (NKJV)The womb should forget him, The worm should feed sweetly on him; He should be remembered no more, And wickedness should be broken like a tree.

Context of Job 24:20

18You may say, “Floods of water carry away wicked people. God curses the land that belongs to them. Nobody goes to work in their vineyards. 19Snow soon disappears when the weather is very hot or very dry. In the same way, death quickly takes away people who do bad things. Their mothers soon forget them. Worms eat their bodies. No one remembers those wicked people. They are like dead trees that people have cut down. 21Those wicked people are cruel to women who have no children. They are not kind to widows. 22But God uses his strength to remove powerful people. When he attacks wicked people, their lives are in his hands.

Job 24:20 word by word

יִשְׁכָּ֘חֵ֤הוּ רֶ֨חֶם׀ מְתָ֘ק֤וֹ רִמָּ֗ה ע֥וֹד לֹֽא־יִזָּכֵ֑ר וַתִּשָּׁבֵ֖ר כָּעֵ֣ץ עַוְלָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The wombרֶ֫חֶםrechem · wombH7358
• shall forgetשָׁכַחshâkach shâkêach · to forgetH7911
• him; the wormרִמָּהrimmâh · wormH7415
• shall feed sweetlyמָתָקmâthâq · become sweetH4988
• on him; he shall be no more rememberedזָכַרzâkar · to rememberH2142
• and wickednessעַוְלָה‛evel ‛âvel ‛avlâh ‛ôlâh ‛ôlâh · injusticeH5766
• shall be brokenשָׁבַרshâbar · to breakH7665
• as a treeעֵץ‛êts · treeH6086

Cross-references for Job 24:20

• 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.
• Proverbs 10:7It is a pleasure to remember righteous people. But when wicked people die, people soon forget their name.
• Ecclesiastes 8:10I also saw that some wicked people receive honour after their death. Those wicked people had gone in and out of the holy place. People praised them in the city where they had done evil things. This also is difficult to understand.
• Isaiah 26:14Those other lords are dead. They will not live again. Their spirits will not rise up again. You punished them and you destroyed them. Nobody remembers them any more.
• Job 14:7If someone cuts down a tree, the tree may not die. New branches may grow from it.
• Job 18:16He is like a tree whose roots have become dry, and its branches have fallen off.
• Daniel 4:14The angel shouted aloud, “Cut down the tree. Cut off its branches. Tear off its leaves. Let its fruits go away to other places. The animals that are under the tree must run away. The birds that are in its branches must fly away.
• Matthew 3:10You are like trees that have bad fruit. God has an axe ready to use. He will cut down every tree that does not make good fruit. He will throw those trees into the fire.

Commentaries on Job 24:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20The womb shall forget him - The mother that bare him shall have no affection for him, nor be afflicted at his death. But the word רחם rechem signifies compassion, mercy. Mercy shall be unmindful of him. How dreadful such a state! When mercy itself forgets the sinner, his perdition slumbereth not. The worm shall feed sweetly on him - The Chaldee has, "The cruel, who have neglected to commiserate the poor, shall be sweet to the worms." He shall be brought…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20The womb shall forget him - His mother who bare him shall forget him. The idea here seems to be, that he shall fade out of the memory, just as other persons do. He shall not be overtaken with any disgraceful punishment, thus giving occasion to remember him by a death of ignominy. At first view it would seem to be a calamity to be soon forgotten by a mother; but if the above interpretation be correct, then it means that the condition of his death would be…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-25Verses 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…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-24These ideas seem to go against Job's observations. Some scholars think Bildad or Zophar might have said them. However, Job might have been speaking against evil people, making fun of his friends' opinions by quoting them. Or he might have meant that the fate of evil people also affects those in a right relationship with God. His friends described this earlier (5:2–7; 15:17–25; 8:8–19; 18:5–21; 20:4–29; 21:23–26).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-242-24. 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 comment

Topics related to Job 24:20

• Death
• Homicide
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Covering
• Light
• Pluck
• Tread
• Worm
• Forget; Forgetful
• Job, Book of

Commentaries on Job 24

• 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