Job 11 20

Job 11:20 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.

Job 11:20 nkjv

But the eyes of the wicked will fail, And they shall not escape, And their hope?loss of life!"

Job 11:20 niv

But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; their hope will become a dying gasp."

Job 11:20 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."

Job 11:20 nlt

But the wicked will be blinded.
They will have no escape.
Their only hope is death."

Job 11 verses

Job 11 20 Meaning

Job 11:20 presents Zophar's dire prediction for the wicked. He asserts that their perception and aspirations will inevitably fail, and any possibility of escape or refuge will utterly vanish from them. Their future outlook, their very expectation of life and prosperity, will be reduced to a final, terminal gasp, signifying a complete loss of vitality, purpose, and existence. It portrays the absolute desolation and doom that await those who persist in unrighteousness.

Job 11 20 Context

Job 11:20 marks the concluding verse of Zophar the Naamathite's first speech to Job. Coming after Bildad and Eliphaz, Zophar presents an even more rigid and unyielding argument regarding God's justice and Job's implied sinfulness. In this chapter, Zophar challenges Job's claim of innocence (vv. 3-4), emphasizing God's unsearchable wisdom and absolute knowledge (vv. 5-11). He asserts that only a fool cannot grasp God's justice (v. 12) and urges Job to repent and confess his iniquity to God (vv. 13-19), promising blessing and security if Job humbles himself. Verse 20 serves as the severe counterpoint: if Job refuses to acknowledge his sin and return to God, then the dire fate of the wicked, which Zophar vividly describes, awaits him. Historically, Zophar’s views reflect a common ANE (Ancient Near Eastern) wisdom tradition and a form of Deuteronomic theology that links immediate prosperity directly to righteousness and suffering directly to wickedness. His perspective, while containing elements of truth about God's justice, becomes a polemic against Job's lived experience, simplistically applying this theology without acknowledging the complexities of suffering or God's sovereign purposes. He presumes Job's hidden sin as the direct cause of his plight.

Job 11 20 Word analysis

• But the eyes of the wicked:
  • וְעֵינֵי (ve'einei): "And the eyes of". From עַיִן ('ayin), meaning "eye". In Hebrew thought, the "eye" can signify more than just physical sight; it often represents understanding, perception, desire, the focal point of a person's life or will. Here, it conveys their outlook, their way of seeing life, or their perceived prospects.
  • רְשָׁעִים (resha'im): "The wicked". From רָשָׁע (rasha'), meaning "guilty, unrighteous, wicked". This term refers to one who violates divine or moral law, acting unjustly or impiously. It stands in direct opposition to the "righteous" (צדיק, tzaddiq) and carries strong ethical and spiritual condemnation in the biblical worldview. It denotes those fundamentally opposed to God and His ways.
• will fail:
  • כָּלוּ (kalu): "Will be consumed, completed, finished, fail". From the root כָּלָה (kalah), meaning "to complete, finish, cease, fail, perish, waste away, consumed". Here, it emphasizes the cessation and complete consumption of their faculties, desires, and ability to achieve their objectives or perceive hope. It signifies total exhaustion or ruin.
• and escape will perish from them:
  • וּמָנוֹס (u'manos): "And escape, refuge". From מָנוֹס (manos), meaning "flight, place of escape, refuge". This speaks of any means of evading danger or finding safety.
  • אָבַד (avad): "Perished, was lost, destroyed". From the root אָבַד ('abad), meaning "to perish, be lost, vanish, destroy". This verb signifies utter destruction, being lost without recovery. It means the complete absence or vanishing of any hope for safety or way out.
  • מֵהֶם (me'hem): "From them". Emphasizing that this loss is experienced directly by and falls upon the wicked themselves.
• and their hope:
  • וְתִקְוָתָם (vetikvatam): "And their hope, expectation". From תִּקְוָה (tikvah), meaning "hope, expectation, cord". The concept of tikvah in the Old Testament is often linked to the future, to security, or to God as the source of true expectation. For the wicked, their "hope" is rooted in earthly things or self-sufficiency, which is inherently fragile and ephemeral.
• will be a expiring of soul/breath/life.:
  • וְהוֹצִיא נֶפֶשׁ (vehotzi nefesh): Literal translation: "and he/it will bring forth/cause to go out a soul/life/breath".
    • וְהוֹצִיא (vehotzi): "And will cause to go out, bring forth, yield up". From יָצָא (yatza'), meaning "to go out, come forth". In this context, it often refers to the yielding of life or breath.
    • נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh): "Soul, breath, life, person". This fundamental Hebrew term encompasses a person's entire being, including their vitality, emotions, and essence. Here, it refers to the very life or vital breath. The phrase implies a "giving up of the ghost," a final exhalation, a total cessation of life or vital energy. It vividly describes the ultimate end, the death or complete and final extinguishing of their life and all their expectations tied to it.

Job 11 20 Bonus section

The phrase "expiring of soul" (hotzi nefesh) goes beyond mere physical death. It implies a spiritual and existential defeat. While the righteous can have a tikvah (hope) rooted in God that transcends physical death (e.g., Ps 16:9-11; 49:15; 73:24), the hope of the wicked, being grounded in worldly success or self-reliance, perishes utterly. This contrast highlights the fundamental difference between faith-based hope and carnal expectation. Zophar, in his limited human wisdom, believes he perfectly understands God's retribution, setting him (and his friends) in theological opposition to God's own assessment of Job's integrity. Their views demonstrate a prevalent ancient belief in immediate, discernible divine punishment for all sin, which the Book of Job dramatically challenges, asserting God's sovereignty over even seemingly inexplicable suffering.

Job 11 20 Commentary

Job 11:20 encapsulates Zophar's stark and unflinching perspective on divine justice, concluding his initial discourse. It functions as a direct warning to Job, though framed generally about the "wicked." Zophar paints a picture of complete and utter despair for the unrighteous: their very outlook on life and their internal strength will be spent ("eyes... will fail"). Crucially, any means of escape or refuge they might conceive will completely disappear ("escape will perish from them"). Ultimately, their last glimmer of expectation or a future, which Zophar calls "hope," will be nothing but a dying gasp, a giving up of life itself ("will be an expiring of soul"). This demonstrates the finality and inescapability of God's judgment against those who persist in wickedness, depriving them of both present respite and future prospect. While the ultimate fate of the wicked is indeed hopelessness and spiritual death, Zophar's error lies in his rigid application of this principle directly to Job's innocent suffering, showcasing the limitations of human wisdom when trying to explain divine dealings. True hope, the passage implicitly suggests, rests not in avoiding punishment or finding human refuge, but solely in God himself, a hope that the righteous possess even in the face of calamity.