New International Version
Job 20:12
12“Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue,
Job 20:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Though evil is sweet in his mouth, though he hides it under his tongue,
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Though evil is sweet in his mouth, And he hides it under his tongue,
- New Living Translation (NLT)“They enjoyed the sweet taste of wickedness, letting it melt under their tongue.
Context of Job 20:12
10His children must make amends to the poor; his own hands must give back his wealth. 11The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie with him in the dust. “Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue, 13though he cannot bear to let it go and lets it linger in his mouth, 14yet his food will turn sour in his stomach; it will become the venom of serpents within him.
Read all of Job 20Job 20:12 word by word
אִם־תַּמְתִּ֣יק בְּפִ֣יו רָעָ֑ה יַ֝כְחִידֶ֗נָּה תַּ֣חַת לְשׁוֹנֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 20:12
- Job 15:16how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt, who drink up evil like water!
- Genesis 3:6When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
- Proverbs 9:17“Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!”
- Proverbs 20:17Food gained by fraud tastes sweet, but one ends up with a mouth full of gravel.
- Ecclesiastes 11:9You who are young, be happy while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
- Psalms 10:7His mouth is full of lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue.
- Psalms 109:17He loved to pronounce a curse— may it come back on him. He found no pleasure in blessing— may it be far from him.
Commentaries on Job 20:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth - This seems to refer to the secret sins mentioned above. Hide it under his tongue - This and the four following verses contain an allegory; and the reference is to a man who, instead of taking wholesome food, takes what is poisonous, and is so delighted with it because it is sweet, that he rolls it under his tongue, and will scarcely let it down into his stomach, he is so delighted with the taste; "he spares it…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth - Though he has pleasure in committing it, as he has in pleasant food. The sense of this and the following verses is, that though a man may have pleasure in indulgence in sin, and may find happiness of a certain kind in it, yet that the consequences will be bitter - as if the food which he ate should become like gall, and he should cast it up with loathing. There are many sins which, from the laws of our nature, are…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. 1212. be--"taste sweet." Sin's fascination is like poison sweet to the taste, but at last deadly to the vital organs (Pr 20:17; Job 9:17, 18). hide ... tongue--seek to prolong the enjoyment by keeping the sweet morsel long in the mouth (so Job 20:13).Read the comment
Topics related to Job 20:12
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
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