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.
Parallel translations
- WEB But the eyes of the wicked shall fail. They shall have no way to flee. Their hope shall be the giving up of the spirit.”
- BSB But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; they will hope for their last breath.”
- NKJV But the eyes of the wicked will fail, And they shall not escape, And their hope—loss of life!”
- NASB “But the eyes of the wicked will fail, And there will be no escape for them; And their hope is to breathe their last.”
- NLT But the wicked will be blinded. They will have no escape. Their only hope is death.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Zophar warns that the wicked will fail, find no escape, and have only death as their hope. He ends with a stern threat aimed at Job.
Overview
Zophar closes by contrasting the doom of the wicked, whose only prospect is despairing death, implicitly warning Job to repent. The fate of the unrepentant wicked is real, but Zophar wrongly numbers Job among them. The verse soberly reminds us that apart from God there is no refuge, and drives us to the only sure hope, found in Christ rather than in ourselves (Proverbs 10:28; Psalm 73:27).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Deut 28:65And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:
- Job 31:16If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;
- Job 17:5He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail.
- Prov 20:20Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.
- Job 18:14His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors.
- Luke 16:23–26And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
- Lev 26:16I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
- Amos 5:19–20As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
- Heb 2:3How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
- Lam 4:17As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us.
- Prov 10:24The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.
- Job 27:22For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.
- Job 8:13–14So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish:
- Job 34:22There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
- Job 27:8For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?
- Amos 2:14Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:
- Amos 9:1–3I saw the LORD standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.
- Ps 69:3I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.
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Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 11:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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