Job 20:9 kjv
The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him.
Job 20:9 nkjv
The eye that saw him will see him no more, Nor will his place behold him anymore.
Job 20:9 niv
The eye that saw him will not see him again; his place will look on him no more.
Job 20:9 esv
The eye that saw him will see him no more, nor will his place any more behold him.
Job 20:9 nlt
Those who once saw them will see them no more.
Their families will never see them again.
Job 20 9 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Fleeting Nature/Disappearance of the Wicked | ||
| Job 7:10 | "He will not return to his house... nor will his place know him anymore." | Similar imagery of permanent absence. |
| Job 8:18 | "If he is destroyed from his place, then the place denies him..." | The place itself disowns the wicked. |
| Job 18:17-18 | "His memory perishes... He is driven from light into darkness..." | Eradication of memory and presence. |
| Ps 37:10 | "In a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found." | Directly echoes the theme of non-existence. |
| Ps 103:16 | "the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more." | Impermanence; the place forgets. |
| Ps 49:10-12 | "...they must die and leave their wealth to others... man, despite his riches, does not endure." | Death ends human endeavors. |
| Prov 10:7 | "The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot." | Contrast of legacies. |
| Isa 26:14 | "They are dead... their memory has perished." | Lord removes their memory. |
| Isa 65:20 | "...one who does not live out his days... his days will not be complete." | Judgment ensures short lives. |
| Zech 1:3-6 | "Your fathers... did they live forever?... So my words... overtook them." | Transience of generations; divine word endures. |
| James 1:10-11 | "...the rich man in his humiliation will pass away like the flower of the grass." | Fleeting nature of worldly status. |
| 1 Pet 1:24 | "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass; the grass withers..." | Humanity's transient nature. |
| God's Judgment/Fate of the Unrighteous | ||
| Ps 73:17-19 | "...their end. Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to destruction." | Ultimate end of the prosperous wicked. |
| Matt 7:22-23 | "...depart from me, you evildoers..." | Final separation from Christ. |
| Luke 16:19-31 | Parable of Rich Man and Lazarus. | Reversal of fortune; no return. |
| 2 Thess 1:8-9 | "...inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God... they will suffer eternal destruction..." | Punishment for disobeying the Gospel. |
| Rev 20:11 | "And I saw a great white throne... and from his presence earth and sky fled away..." | Absence of any earthly "place" in final judgment. |
| Contrast with the Righteous/Eternal Aspects | ||
| Ps 37:29 | "The righteous will inherit the land and dwell upon it forever." | Righteous have permanence. |
| Matt 25:34 | "...inherit the kingdom prepared for you..." | Inheritance and permanence for the blessed. |
| Jn 14:3 | "I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." | Believers find a lasting "place" with Christ. |
| 1 Jn 2:17 | "The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever." | Contrast between perishable world and enduring will of God. |
Job 20 verses
Job 20 9 Meaning
Job 20:9 is a pronouncement by Zophar, one of Job's friends, declaring the swift and complete disappearance of the wicked. It asserts that those who witnessed such a person's life will no longer see them, and the very place they occupied will cease to acknowledge their existence, as if they never were there. This speaks to the absolute eradication of their presence and memory.
Job 20 9 Context
This verse is spoken by Zophar the Naamathite, in his second speech to Job. Throughout the book of Job, Job's friends maintain the conventional theological view of their time: God directly rewards the righteous with prosperity and punishes the wicked with suffering. In chapter 20, Zophar argues vehemently for this principle, presenting a vivid, graphic description of the wicked man's brief triumph and ultimate destruction. He believes Job's severe suffering is clear proof of hidden wickedness, despite Job's protests of innocence. Verse 9 specifically highlights the complete obliteration of the wicked from human memory and even from the physical place they occupied, reinforcing Zophar's dogmatic assertion that the wicked's existence is entirely transient and ends in utter forgetfulness.
Job 20 9 Word analysis
- The eye (
עַיִן- ayin) that saw him (רָאַתּוּ- ra'athu):- Ayin (eye) represents the organ of perception, sight, and direct observation.
- Ra'athu (saw him) denotes personal, visual experience. This phrase emphasizes that living witnesses who knew and observed the wicked person will lose sight of them permanently. It points to a direct personal relationship or knowledge.
- will see him no more (
וְלֹא־תְשׁוּרֶנּוּ- wəlo'-ṯəšūrennu):- Lo' (no/not) provides a strong negation.
- Təšūrennu (shall behold him/look at him) signifies continuous observation or seeking.
- This phrase unequivocally declares a permanent disappearance; the former observer will search in vain. The emphasis is on the finality and thoroughness of the removal.
- nor will his place (
וּמְקֹמוֹ- ūmәqōmō):- Umәqōmō (and his place) refers to the physical locale, the abode, the accustomed position, or even the sphere of influence of the wicked person. It gives the imagery of a vacated space.
- any longer behold him (
עוֹד יְשׁוּרֶנּוּ- ōd yəšūrennu`)*:- Od (still/yet/anymore) reinforces the duration of the non-existence.
- Yəšūrennu (shall behold him) repeats the verb for "seeing" or "beholding." This parallelism intensifies the statement. Even inanimate things, by personification, are described as not beholding him. It highlights that the very surroundings and context of the wicked will bear no trace of their ever having been there.
Words-group analysis:
- "The eye that saw him will see him no more": This initial clause focuses on the perspective of living witnesses. It emphasizes the complete removal of the wicked from the sphere of human perception and memory. There will be no trace in the minds of those who once knew them. This signifies that their earthly legacy or presence will vanish without a lasting impression.
- "nor will his place any longer behold him": This second clause, parallel to the first, extends the obliteration beyond human perception to the very physical environment. It is a powerful personification: the ground or house they inhabited, or their societal standing, will utterly disavow them. It is as if the space itself denies their prior existence, implying a total erasure from the world. The combination of these two phrases creates a forceful statement of complete annihilation and forgottenness.
Job 20 9 Bonus section
Zophar's words are characteristic of a prevailing "retribution theology" common in the ancient Near East, which presumed a direct, mechanistic correlation between moral behavior and temporal prosperity or suffering. This belief system formed the core of the friends' arguments against Job. Zophar’s stark imagery in Job 20:9 is therefore polemical against any notion that a wicked person might build a lasting dynasty, leave a significant memorial, or maintain influence post-mortem. It's a forceful declaration that God's justice ensures that evil deeds prevent any form of earthly immortality or legacy. However, the irony within the Book of Job is that Job's eventual restoration contradicts this rigid formula, proving that God's dealings are more profound than human assumptions about simple cause-and-effect.
Job 20 9 Commentary
Job 20:9 captures the essence of Zophar's unyielding belief in immediate and complete divine retribution. For him, the wicked's flourishing is nothing more than a momentary flash before their inevitable and thorough disappearance. The verse employs strong poetic parallelism to emphasize this point: not only do human witnesses cease to see the wicked, but the very place where they existed will lose all remembrance of them. This goes beyond physical death; it implies an erasure from historical consciousness and even the very fabric of the physical world. Zophar’s intent is to underscore that the wicked leave no enduring legacy, unlike the righteous. This stark view, however, is challenged by the book of Job itself, as Job's suffering as a righteous man defies such simplistic categorization of justice. Zophar, like his friends, fails to comprehend the complexity of God's ways or the potential for suffering outside of sin. The verse highlights a human attempt to impose absolute logical structures on divine justice, which the broader biblical narrative often refines or even subverts.