ⓘHow long until you end these speeches?: Bildad...
How long until you end these speeches?: Bildad spoke to Job as if addressing a group, possibly meaning "people like you."
2“How long until you end these speeches?Show some sense, and then we can talk.3Why are we regarded as cattle,as stupid in your sight?4You who tear yourself in anger—should the earth be forsaken on your account,or the rocks be moved from their place?5Indeed, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished;the flame of his fire does not glow.6The light in his tent grows dark,and the lamp beside him goes out.7His vigorous stride is shortened,and his own schemes trip him up.ⓘA series of devices for hunting shows the...
A series of devices for hunting shows the biblical principle of revenge (see study note on 34:11).
8For his own feet lead him into a net,and he wanders into its mesh.9A trap seizes his heel;a snare grips him.10A noose is hidden in the ground,and a trap lies in his path.ⓘBildad uses the biblical idea of revenge (consequences...
Bildad uses the biblical idea of revenge (consequences for doing wrong) in Job's case, as do Eliphaz and Zophar.
11Terrors frighten him on every sideand harass his every step.12His strength is depleted,and calamity is ready at his side.13It devours patches of his skin;the firstborn of death devours his limbs.14He is torn from the shelter of his tentand is marched off to the king of terrors.15Fire resides in his tent;burning sulfur rains down on his dwelling.16The roots beneath him dry up,and the branches above him wither away.17The memory of him perishes from the earth,and he has no name in the land.18He is driven from light into darknessand is chased from the inhabited world.19He has no offspring or posterity among his people,no survivor where he once lived.20Those in the west are appalled at his fate,while those in the east tremble in horror.21Surely such is the dwelling of the wickedand the place of one who does not know God.”
Commentary
Job 18:5
The phrase, "the lamp of the wicked is extinguished," might symbolize a life filled with confusion and darkness (Proverbs 4:19). More likely, it suggests an early death (Proverbs 13:9; 24:20).
Commentary
Job 18:7
A shortenedstride is the opposite of walking and running in a life of blessings (Proverbs 4:12).
Commentary
Job 18:13
death devours: The prophet Isaiah later changed this image. He pictured the Lord as defeating death (Isaiah 25:8; see 1 Corinthians 15:54).
Commentary
Job 18:15
The image of burning sulfur reminds the reader of what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24). It suggests what will happen to all evil people (Psalm 11:6; Revelation 19:20; 21:8).
Commentary
Job 18:17
People often speak against (curse) evil people by saying that future generations will forget their memory (see 18:19; Psalms 34:16; 109:13; Proverbs 10:7).
Commentary
Job 18:19
This bad fortune (curse) of Job no longer having children and Bildad’s earlier cruel acts show that he believed Job's suffering was a fair punishment because he did wrong (see 18:16; Psalms 109:13; Isaiah 14:21–22; Job 8:4; 1:18–19).
Commentary
Job 18:20
in the west … in the east: These phrases might refer to people from the past and future or from different places.
Commentary
Job 18:21
Bildad kept implying that Job had rejected God (15:4, 13, 25).