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.
• New International Version (NIV)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.
• 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.

Context of Job 34:20

18Who says to a king, ‘Worthless man’ and to nobles, ‘Wicked men’! 19Who shows no partiality before princes, and does not favor the rich over the poor, for they are all the work of His hands. They die in a moment, at midnight, people are shaken and they pass away. The mighty are removed without a hand. 21“For His eyes are on the ways of man; He sees all his steps. 22There is no gloom and no deep darkness, where evildoers can hide themselves.

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 they became a ruin— terminated, consumed by terrors.
• Isaiah 30:13therefore this sin will be to you like a crack bulging in a high wall, about to fall— its collapse comes suddenly, in an instant!
• Isaiah 37:38It also came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of his god Nisroch, that his sons Adrammelech and Sarezer struck him down with the sword, and escaped into the land of Ararat. Then his son Esarhaddon became king in his place.
• Daniel 5:30On that very night King Belshazzar of the Chaldeans was slain.
• Luke 12:20But God said to him, ‘You fool! Tonight your soul is being demanded back from you! And what you have prepared, whose will that be?’
• Acts 12:23Immediately, an angel of the Lord struck him down—because he did not give God the glory. And he was eaten by worms and died.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:2For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night.
• 2 Peter 2:3In their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction does not slumber.
• Exodus 12:29So it came about at midnight that Adonai struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn cattle.
• Isaiah 37:36Then the angel of Adonai went out and struck down 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. When the men arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
• Matthew 25:6But in the middle of the night there was a shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
• Luke 17:26As it was in the days of Noah, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man.
• 1 Samuel 25:37It came to pass in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, and his wife told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he was paralyzed like a stone.
• 1 Samuel 26:10David added, “As Adonai lives, either Adonai will strike him down, or his day will come to die, or he will go down to battle and be swept away.
• Isaiah 10:16Therefore will the Lord Adonai-Tzva’ot, send leanness among his fat ones. Under its glory He will kindle a burning like a blazing fire.
• Isaiah 30:30Adonai will make His glorious voice heard, and reveal His arm descending with fierce fury in a consuming fire, in cloudburst, rainstorm and hailstones.

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