God’s Word Translation
Job 20:18
18He will give back what he earned without enjoying it. He will get no joy from the profits of his business
Job 20:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.
- New International Version (NIV)What he toiled for he must give back uneaten; he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.
- English Standard Version (ESV)He will give back the fruit of his toil and will not swallow it down; from the profit of his trading he will get no enjoyment.
- New King James Version (NKJV)He will restore that for which he labored, And will not swallow it down; From the proceeds of business He will get no enjoyment.
Context of Job 20:18
16The godless person sucks the poison of snakes. A viper’s fang kills him. 17He won’t be able to drink from the streams or from the rivers of honey and buttermilk. He will give back what he earned without enjoying it. He will get no joy from the profits of his business 19because he crushed and abandoned the poor. He has taken by force a house that he didn’t build. 20He will never know peace in his heart. He will never allow anything he desires to escape ⌞his grasp⌟.
Read all of Job 20Job 20:18 word by word
מֵשִׁ֣יב יָ֭גָע וְלֹ֣א יִבְלָ֑ע כְּחֵ֥יל תְּ֝מוּרָת֗וֹ וְלֹ֣א יַעֲלֹֽס׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 20:18
- Job 20:10His children will have to ask the poor for help. His own hands will have to give back his wealth.
- Job 20:5the triumph of the wicked is short-lived, and the joy of the godless person lasts only a moment?
- Proverbs 1:12We’ll swallow them alive like the grave, like those in good health who go into the pit.
- Jeremiah 51:34King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has devoured us. He has thrown us into confusion. He has turned us into empty jars. He has swallowed us like a monster. He has filled his belly with our delicacies. Then he spit us out.
- Lamentations 2:16All your enemies gawk at you. They hiss and grit their teeth. They say, ‘We’ve swallowed it up. Yes, this is the day we’ve been waiting for. At last we have seen it!’
- Hosea 8:7“The people of Israel plant the wind, but they harvest a storm. A field of grain that doesn’t ripen will never produce any grain. Even if it did produce grain, foreigners would eat it all.
- Amos 8:4Listen to this, those who trample on the needy and ruin those who are oppressed in the world.
- Job 31:25If I enjoyed being very rich because my hand had found great ⌞wealth⌟….
- Isaiah 24:7New wine dries up, and grapevines waste away. All happy people groan.
- Jeremiah 11:15“What right do these people I love have to be in my house when they do so many devious things? Can the meat from their sacrifices turn disaster away from them? They rejoice when they do evil.”
- Jeremiah 22:13“How horrible it will be for the person who builds his house dishonestly and his upper rooms through injustice. He makes his neighbors work for nothing and doesn’t pay them for their work.
- Ezekiel 7:12The time is coming. The day is near. Buyers will not rejoice, and sellers will not mourn, because ⌞my⌟ fury will be against the whole crowd.
- Hosea 9:1Israel, don’t rejoice. Don’t celebrate as other nations do. You have been unfaithful to your God. You have sold sex on every threshing floor.
- James 4:8Come close to God, and he will come close to you. Clean up your lives, you sinners, and clear your minds, you doubters.
Commentaries on Job 20:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18That which he laboureth for shall he restore - I prefer here the reading of the Arabic, which is also supported by the Syriac, and is much nearer to the Hebrew text than the common version. He shall return to labor, but he shall not eat; he shall toil, and not be permitted to enjoy the fruit of his labor. The whole of this verse Mr. Good thus translates: - "To labor shall he return, but he shall not eat. A dearth his recompense: yea, nothing shall he…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18That which he laboured for shall he restore - This means that he shall give back the profit of his labor. He shall not be permitted to enjoy it or to consume it. And shall not swallow it down - Shall not enjoy it; shall not eat it. He shall be obliged to give it to others. According to his substance shall the restitution be - literally, according to Gesenius, “As a possession to be restored in which one rejoices not.” The sense is, that all that he has is…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-22Verses 10-22 The miserable condition of the wicked man in this world is fully set forth. The lusts of the flesh are here called the sins of his youth. His hiding it and keeping it under his tongue, denotes concealment of his beloved lust, and delight therein. But He who knows what is in the heart, knows what is under the tongue, and will discover it. The love of the world, and of the wealth of it, also is wickedness, and man sets his heart upon these…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. Image from food which is taken away from one before he can swallow it. restitution--(So Pr 6:31). The parallelism favors the English Version rather than the translation of Gesenius, "As a possession to be restored in which he rejoices not." he shall not rejoice--His enjoyment of his ill-gotten gains shall then be at an end (Job 20:5).Read the comment
Topics related to Job 20:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 20
- 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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