It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green.
Parallel translations
- WEB It shall be accomplished before his time. His branch shall not be green.
- BSB It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not flourish.
- NKJV It will be accomplished before his time, And his branch will not be green.
- NASB “It will be accomplished before his time, And his palm branch will not be green.
- NLT They will be cut down in the prime of life; their branches will never again be green.
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
The wicked man's end comes prematurely, his branch never flourishing green. His life is cut short before its time.
Overview
Eliphaz declares the godless will be paid off before his days are full, like a tree whose branch withers rather than thriving. The image of a barren branch signals a life that fails to bear lasting fruit. Scripture contrasts this with the blessed man who is like a tree that prospers (Psalm 1:3), a fruitfulness ultimately found in union with Christ the true vine (John 15:5).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Eccl 7:17Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?
- Ps 55:23But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
- Hos 9:16Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb.
- Job 22:16Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:
- Hos 14:5–7I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
- Ezek 17:8–10It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine.
- Ps 52:5–8God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.
- Isa 27:11When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.
- Job 14:7–9For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
- Job 8:16–19He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his garden.
- Job 18:16–17His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off.
- John 15:6If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
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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 15:32 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.