Job 24 19

Job 24:19 kjv

Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.

Job 24:19 nkjv

As drought and heat consume the snow waters, So the grave consumes those who have sinned.

Job 24:19 niv

As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow, so the grave snatches away those who have sinned.

Job 24:19 esv

Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters; so does Sheol those who have sinned.

Job 24:19 nlt

The grave consumes sinners
just as drought and heat consume snow.

Job 24 verses

Job 24 19 Meaning

Job 24:19 illustrates an unavoidable end through a vivid natural metaphor. It states that just as the finite waters from melted snow inevitably vanish under the relentless forces of drought and heat, so too do those who have committed sin ultimately vanish into Sheol, the realm of the dead. The verse underscores the certainty and destructiveness of this final end for sinners, connecting it to a common observation in nature regarding the ephemeral quality of snowmelt in harsh conditions. Job observes that earthly life for the wicked is ultimately consumed by death, similar to how fleeting snow waters are consumed by nature's elements.

Job 24 19 Context

Job 24:19 is part of Job's continued discourse in response to his friends' rigid doctrine of divine retribution. In chapter 24, Job shifts from defending his own integrity to articulating his bewilderment regarding God's justice as observed in the world. He catalogs numerous acts of oppression and wickedness—the wicked moving boundaries, stealing flocks, oppressing the poor and vulnerable—that appear to go unpunished. Job observes that these perpetrators often seem to live out their lives in peace, even to a full age, and their bodies, like others, simply descend to Sheol.

This verse serves as a concluding point in a list of grievances. Job's core argument in this chapter is that contrary to his friends' simple equation of suffering with sin and prosperity with righteousness, the wicked often thrive and appear to escape immediate, distinctive judgment in their lifetime. However, even if they escape earthly punishment, their ultimate destination is the same realm of the dead, Sheol, shared by all humanity. The verse, therefore, highlights an observed truth: though the wicked may avoid overt justice on earth, they are still subject to the inescapable universal fate of death, just as certainly as transient natural elements disappear under intense natural forces. It reflects Job's profound struggle with understanding the ways of divine justice in the face of observable realities, rather than necessarily articulating the definitive eternal judgment for sin which becomes clearer in later biblical revelation.

Job 24 19 Word analysis

• Drought (צִמָּה - tsimmah): From a root meaning "to be thirsty." This refers to intense thirst or parching dryness. It signifies a powerful, destructive force that eradicates water and life. Its presence here emphasizes a condition of utter lack and consumption.
• and heat (וְחֹרֶב - wêchōrevh): Refers to intense dry heat, often associated with devastation or desolation. This pairing with "drought" creates a strong, compounding image of forces that are relentlessly effective in destroying moisture. It evokes the image of nature's formidable and unavoidable destructive power.
• consume (גָּרְעוּ - gaar'u): The root (גרע) means "to subtract, diminish, lessen, restrain, withdraw." Here, in the context of drought and heat, it suggests that the elements progressively and effectively "draw off" or "diminish" the water until it is entirely gone. It implies a slow but certain wearing away leading to complete disappearance.
• the snow waters (מֵי שֶׁלֶג - mêy shéleğ): "Snow waters" refer to water derived from melted snow, typically a temporary source of refreshment. This detail emphasizes the ephemeral, fragile, and temporary nature of this water. It is easily subject to being absorbed or evaporated. Its presence highlights something delicate and ultimately impermanent.
• so does Sheol (כֵן שְׁאוֹל - kên Sh'ôl):
  • so (כֵן - kên): This word functions as a comparative adverb, drawing a direct parallel between the preceding natural phenomenon and the fate of sinners. It signals that what applies to snow water under drought and heat applies in an analogous, equally certain way to sinners facing Sheol.
  • Sheol (שְׁאוֹל - Sh'ôl): In the Old Testament, Sheol is consistently depicted as the realm of the dead, a subterranean world where all humanity descends after death. It is typically characterized by silence, inactivity, and darkness (e.g., Ps 88:10-12, Isa 38:18-19). While sometimes linked to destruction or punishment for the wicked, it is also the destination of the righteous. Here, Job's use emphasizes its role as the inescapable ultimate end for all life, without necessarily elaborating on conscious torment for sinners in distinction to the righteous, as is later developed in the New Testament concept of Gehenna. Its action here parallels "consume," indicating that it "takes away" or "swallows" them.
• those who have sinned (חָטָאוּ - châṭâ'u): From the root חטא (ḥāṭāʾ), meaning "to miss the mark," "to go astray," "to err," or "to sin." This term directly identifies the subject of Sheol's "consumption"—it is specifically "those who have sinned," indicating that sin has a definite and inevitable consequence: descent into Sheol. The perfect tense indicates an ongoing state or completed action that characterizes these individuals.
• Words-Group Analysis:
  • "Drought and heat consume the snow waters": This phrase functions as a natural analogy. It portrays a universally observable phenomenon where natural, potent forces inevitably lead to the disappearance of a temporary, fragile resource (melted snow). This immediate, earthly process illustrates certainty, irreversibility, and the power of consuming forces.
  • "so does Sheol those who have sinned": This draws the direct spiritual/moral parallel. The certainty, irreversibility, and consuming nature observed in the physical world are applied to the spiritual consequence of sin. Sinners are destined for Sheol, just as inevitably and completely as snowmelt vanishes in the desert. It reinforces Job's struggle to see an immediate, distinct judgment for the wicked in life, but acknowledges an ultimate, universal end for them.

Job 24 19 Bonus Section

This verse subtly showcases the Old Testament's developing understanding of life after death. While Sheol is presented as the universal realm of the dead for both the righteous and the wicked, passages like this begin to implicitly connect a life of sin with the inevitable end in Sheol, hinting at it as a consequence, even if the precise nature of that consequence is not yet fully differentiated. It contrasts with Job's friends' view that suffering in this life is always the direct punitive consequence of sin. Job, seeing the wicked escape earthly suffering, nevertheless affirms their ultimate disappearance into Sheol, placing a certainty on that fate. This also highlights the challenge of reconciling divine justice with observed earthly realities—a core theme throughout the book of Job, which lays foundational questions about God's ways that subsequent revelation (especially the New Testament's clearer teachings on resurrection and eternal judgment) begins to answer.

Job 24 19 Commentary

Job 24:19 reflects Job's struggle with the perceived injustices of the world and the seeming prosperity of the wicked. In this verse, Job makes a crucial observation that serves as a concession, but also underscores his theological dilemma: while the wicked may escape immediate or observable earthly judgment (as elaborated in earlier verses of this chapter), they are ultimately subject to the same end as all humanity—death and descent into Sheol. The powerful natural metaphor of "drought and heat consuming snow waters" vividly portrays this inevitable end, emphasizing its certainty and completeness. Just as the transient meltwater disappears without a trace under relentless conditions, so too do those characterized by sin eventually perish and are "consumed" by Sheol.

This is not a detailed eschatological statement on eternal damnation as understood in the New Testament; rather, it articulates an Old Testament understanding of Sheol as the universal destiny, yet highlights that sin is definitively connected to this ultimate, inevitable demise. Job, in this moment, is grappling with why God allows the wicked to thrive and appear unpunished in life, acknowledging only their shared fate of death as a universally applied "justice." The verse concisely captures Job's theological tension: the reality of present injustice coupled with the certainty of a shared final end in Sheol. It highlights a common human observation of how death equalizes, regardless of life's perceived successes or failures, even as Job yearns for a clearer divine intervention or retribution in the temporal realm.