New Living Translation
Job 11:20
20But the wicked will be blinded. They will have no escape. Their only hope is death.”
Job 11:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.
- New International Version (NIV)But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; their hope will become a dying gasp.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)But the eyes of the wicked will fail; all way of escape will be lost to them, and their hope is to breathe their last."
- New King James Version (NKJV)But the eyes of the wicked will fail, And they shall not escape, And their hope—loss of life!”
Context of Job 11:20
18Having hope will give you courage. You will be protected and will rest in safety. 19You will lie down unafraid, and many will look to you for help. But the wicked will be blinded. They will have no escape. Their only hope is death.”
Read all of Job 11Job 11:20 word by word
וְעֵינֵ֥י רְשָׁעִ֗ים תִּ֫כְלֶ֥ינָה וּ֭מָנוֹס אָבַ֣ד מִנְהֶ֑ם וְ֝תִקְוָתָ֗ם מַֽפַּח־נָֽפֶשׁ׃ פRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- But the eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
- of the wickedרָשָׁעrâshâ‛ · wickedH7563
- shall failכָּלָהkâlâh · to end: expendH3615
- and they shall not escapeמָנוֹסmânôs · refugeH4498
- and they shall not escapeאָבַד'âbad · to perishH6
- and their hopeתִּקְוָהtiqvâh · hopeH8615
- the giving upמַפָּחmappâch · exhalationH4646
- of the ghostנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315
Cross-references for Job 11:20
- Job 31:16“Have I refused to help the poor, or crushed the hopes of widows?
- Leviticus 26:16I will punish you. I will bring sudden terrors upon you—wasting diseases and burning fevers that will cause your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away. You will plant your crops in vain because your enemies will eat them.
- Deuteronomy 28:65There among those nations you will find no peace or place to rest. And the Lord will cause your heart to tremble, your eyesight to fail, and your soul to despair.
- Psalms 69:3I am exhausted from crying for help; my throat is parched. My eyes are swollen with weeping, waiting for my God to help me.
- Lamentations 4:17We looked in vain for our allies to come and save us, but we were looking to nations that could not help us.
- Amos 2:14Your fastest runners will not get away. The strongest among you will become weak. Even mighty warriors will be unable to save themselves.
- Amos 5:19In that day you will be like a man who runs from a lion— only to meet a bear. Escaping from the bear, he leans his hand against a wall in his house— and he’s bitten by a snake.
- Amos 9:1Then I saw a vision of the Lord standing beside the altar. He said, “Strike the tops of the Temple columns, so that the foundation will shake. Bring down the roof on the heads of the people below. I will kill with the sword those who survive. No one will escape!
- Hebrews 2:3So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak?
- Job 8:13The same happens to all who forget God. The hopes of the godless evaporate.
- Job 18:14They are torn from the security of their homes and are brought down to the king of terrors.
- Job 27:8For what hope do the godless have when God cuts them off and takes away their life?
- Proverbs 10:24The fears of the wicked will be fulfilled; the hopes of the godly will be granted.
- Proverbs 20:20If you insult your father or mother, your light will be snuffed out in total darkness.
- Luke 16:23and he went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
Commentaries on Job 11:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20The eyes of the wicked shall fail - They shall be continually looking out for help and deliverance; but their expectation shall be cut off. And they shall not escape - They shall receive the punishment due to their deserts; for God has his eye continually upon them. אבד ומנוס מנהם umanos abad minnehem, literally, "And escape perishes from them." Flight from impending destruction is impossible. And their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost - נפש…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20But the eyes of the wicked shall fail - That is, they shall be wearied out by anxiously looking for relief from their miseries. “Noyes.” Their expectation shall be vain, and they shall find no relief. Perhaps Zophar here means to apply this to Job, and to say to him that with his present views and character, his hope of relief would fail. His only hope of relief was in a change - in turning to God - since it was a settled maxim that the wicked would look…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-20Verses 13-20 Zophar exhorts Job to repentance, and gives him encouragement, yet mixed with hard thoughts of him. He thought that worldly prosperity was always the lot of the righteous, and that Job was to be deemed a hypocrite unless his prosperity was restored. Then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; that is, thou mayst come boldly to the throne of grace, and not with the terror and amazement expressed in ch. 9:34. If we are looked upon in the…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. A warning to Job, if he would not turn to God. The wicked--that is, obdurate sinners. eyes ... fail--that is, in vain look for relief (De 28:65). Zophar implies Job's only hope of relief is in a change of heart. they shall not escape--literally, "every refuge shall vanish from them." giving up of the ghost--Their hope shall leave them as the breath does the body (Pr 11:7).Read the comment
Topics related to Job 11:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 11
- 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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries