Job 6:20 kjv
They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed.
Job 6:20 nkjv
They are disappointed because they were confident; They come there and are confused.
Job 6:20 niv
They are distressed, because they had been confident; they arrive there, only to be disappointed.
Job 6:20 esv
They are ashamed because they were confident; they come there and are disappointed.
Job 6:20 nlt
They count on it but are disappointed.
When they arrive, their hopes are dashed.
Job 6 20 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ps 22:5 | To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. | Trust in God brings no shame |
| Ps 25:3 | Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame... | Hope in God prevents shame |
| Ps 62:5 | For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. | God as the sole true source of hope |
| Ps 115:8 | Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them. | Shame from trusting idols/false things |
| Ps 146:3 | Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. | Unreliability of human trust |
| Prov 11:28 | Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf. | Shame from trusting in material wealth |
| Prov 25:19 | Like a bad tooth or a foot that slips is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble. | Unreliability of faithless people |
| Isa 1:29 | For you shall be ashamed of the oaks... | Idolatry leads to shame |
| Isa 28:15-17 | Your covenant with death will be annulled... the hail will sweep away the refuge of lies. | Deceptive alliances lead to ruin/shame |
| Isa 30:3 | Therefore the strength of Pharaoh shall be your shame, and in the shadow of Egypt, your confusion. | Reliance on nations brings shame |
| Isa 44:20 | He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside... | Deception leads to vain hope and ruin |
| Isa 45:17 | But Israel is saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; you will not be put to shame... | God's salvation prevents shame |
| Isa 49:23 | ...then you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame. | Waiting on God brings no shame |
| Jer 2:36 | Why do you go about so much, changing your way? You shall be put to shame by Egypt... | Relying on human strength leads to shame |
| Jer 15:18 | ...why has my pain been perpetual, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you be to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail? | God being a reliable source, unlike deceptive brooks. |
| Jer 17:5 | Thus says the Lord: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man... | Cursing on those who trust in humans |
| Jer 17:7 | "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord." | Blessing on those who trust in God |
| Jer 17:13 | O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame... | Forsaking God brings shame |
| Mic 3:11 | Her heads give judgment for a bribe; her priests teach for money... yet they lean on the Lord and say, "Is not the Lord among us?" | False trust in God while living in sin |
| Rom 5:5 | And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts... | Christian hope in God never disappoints |
| Rom 9:33 | As it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." | Belief in Christ prevents shame |
| Rom 10:11 | For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." | Universal promise of no shame for believers |
| Heb 10:23 | Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. | Steadfastness in hope, God's faithfulness |
| 1 Pet 2:6 | For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a cornerstone, chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." | Christ as the secure foundation of hope |
Job 6 verses
Job 6 20 Meaning
Job 6:20 means that just as travelers place their confidence in the deceptive, ephemeral streams of the desert only to be bitterly disappointed and shamed when they find them dry, so too Job’s friends, upon whom he had hoped for comfort and understanding, have failed him, bringing him deep disillusionment and disgrace. Their confident expectation of water (or Job’s confident expectation of compassion from his friends) led only to confusion and profound humiliation because the object of their hope proved to be utterly unreliable.
Job 6 20 Context
Job 6:20 concludes a vivid illustration (Job 6:15-19) Job uses to describe his profound disappointment with his friends. Following their initial silence and subsequent unhelpful speeches, Job likens their behavior to a wadi (a seasonal stream bed) in the desert: in winter, these streams are swollen with melting snow and rain, promising abundant water; but by summer, they become dry, deceptive beds. Travelers hoping for water, especially during their intense thirst, would follow these streams only to find them barren, leading to utter dismay. Job’s complaint here underscores that his friends, like these wadis, offered the initial promise of solace but delivered only emptiness and pain, betraying his trust in their comfort and understanding.
Job 6 20 Word analysis
- They: This pronoun implicitly refers to the travelers or caravans previously mentioned (Job 6:18-19), who journey through the desert expecting to find water in the wadis. Metaphorically, it reflects Job's own experience with his friends, casting them in the role of the disillusioned travelers whose hope was betrayed.
- were confounded (בֹּשׁוּ - boshu): From the Hebrew verb בּוּשׁ (boosh), meaning "to be ashamed," "disappointed," "confused," or "disgraced." It signifies a failure of expectation leading to inner dismay and humiliation. Here, it conveys the crushing disappointment experienced by those who confidently anticipated a source of life but found only barrenness.
- because (כִּי - ki): This causal conjunction establishes the direct reason for their confusion and shame. Their misguided trust (hope) is the precise cause of their distress.
- they had hoped (בָּטְחוּ - batḥu): From the Hebrew verb בָּטַח (bataḥ), meaning "to trust," "to rely upon," "to feel secure," or "to have confidence." It denotes a confident reliance or a misplaced security. This term highlights the act of placing trust or hopeful expectation, which then tragically proved unfounded.
- they came there (בָּאוּ עָדֶ֑יהָ - ba'u adeyha): "They came" (from בּוֹא - bo 'to come') indicates a physical journey to the specific location. "There" (עָדֶ֑יהָ - adeyha) points back to the wadis/brooks (implied from verses 15-19). This emphasizes the active seeking of their hope and the eventual face-to-face encounter with its emptiness, making the disappointment palpable.
- and were put to shame (וַיֵּחָֽפְרֽוּ - vayyeḥafru): From the Hebrew verb חָפַר (ḥafar), here in the Niphal (passive) stem, meaning "to be humiliated," "to be confounded," or "to be utterly disgraced." It often appears in parallel with בּוּשׁ (boosh) (confounded), intensifying the sense of shame and utter disappointment. This reiteration underscores the complete and overwhelming nature of the disillusionment upon realizing the emptiness of their trusted source.
Words-group analysis
- "They were confounded because they had hoped": This phrase clearly articulates the painful outcome of misplaced hope. It conveys a cause-and-effect relationship, highlighting that the disappointment and shame were a direct consequence of putting trust in an unreliable source. The failure lies not in the hope itself, but in the object of that hope.
- "They came there and were put to shame": This second phrase elaborates on the experience of disillusionment. It describes the active pursuit of the hoped-for relief (coming to the wadis) culminating in a stark encounter with its absence. The humiliation (put to shame) is the profound result of finding nothing after so much expectation and effort, symbolizing the deep wound of betrayal Job felt from his friends.
Job 6 20 Bonus section
- Job's Rhetorical Skill: This verse is a testament to Job's sophisticated use of metaphor to convey deep emotional pain. The vivid image of a caravan perishing due to a deceptive water source underscores the gravity of his friends' failure, placing their emotional abandonment on par with a physical threat to life in the desert.
- The Nuance of Shame (בּוּשׁ vs. חָפַר): While both terms refer to shame, their use here, possibly in a climactic sense, deepens the emotion. Boosh can be about disappointment, whereas ḥafar often suggests a more profound disgrace, even being made to dig or scrape futilely. The pairing accentuates the utter barrenness and hopelessness Job experienced.
- Forecasting Themes: While focusing on human unreliability, this verse implicitly sets the stage for a critical theological distinction. Later in Job and throughout the Bible, the reliability of God and the solid hope found in Him are contrasted with the instability of human beings and worldly systems. The failure of Job's friends here foreshadows the need for a truer, unwavering source of hope and wisdom.
Job 6 20 Commentary
Job 6:20 powerfully summarizes Job's despair, echoing his perception of his friends as "deceitful brooks." It uses a relatable desert analogy to convey the agony of betrayed trust. The travelers' initial "hope" (based on winter observations of the wadi) transforms into profound "shame" upon finding the streams dry in summer. Job applies this to his friends: he had placed his "hope" in them for genuine comfort and empathy, yet they, like the deceptive wadis, yielded nothing but harsh judgment and dry condemnation, leaving him "confounded" and "put to shame." This verse highlights the vulnerability of human hope when placed in anything other than a truly reliable source, emphasizing the pain of finding betrayal where one expected solace.