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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)In a moment they die. In the middle of the night they pass away; the mighty are removed without human hand.

Context of Job 34:20

18Is he not the One who says to kings, ‘You are worthless,’ and to nobles, ‘You are wicked,’ 19who shows no partiality to princes and does not favor the rich over the poor, for they are all the work of his hands? 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. 21“His eyes are on the ways of mortals; he sees their every step. 22There is no deep shadow, no utter 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 are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!
• Isaiah 30:13this sin will become for you like a high wall, cracked and bulging, that collapses suddenly, in an instant.
• Isaiah 37:38One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.
• Daniel 5:30That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain,
• Luke 12:20“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
• Acts 12:23Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:2for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
• 2 Peter 2:3In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
• Exodus 12:29At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well.
• Isaiah 37:36Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!
• Matthew 25:6“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
• Luke 17:26“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.
• 1 Samuel 25:37Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone.
• 1 Samuel 26:10As surely as the Lord lives,” he said, “the Lord himself will strike him, or his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish.
• Isaiah 10:16Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors; under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame.
• Isaiah 30:30The Lord will cause people to hear his majestic voice and will make them see his arm coming down with raging anger and consuming fire, with cloudburst, thunderstorm and hail.

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