“He is torn from the security of his tent, And they march him before the king of terrors.
Parallel translations
- WEB He shall be rooted out of the security of his tent. He shall be brought to the king of terrors.
- KJV His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors.
- BSB He is torn from the shelter of his tent and is marched off to the king of terrors.
- NKJV He is uprooted from the shelter of his tent, And they parade him before the king of terrors.
- NLT They are torn from the security of their homes and are brought down to the king of terrors.
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
Bildad says the wicked man is torn from the false security of his home and dragged to death, the 'king of terrors.' It warns that ill-gotten safety cannot withstand judgment.
Overview
Continuing his speech, Bildad pictures the wicked man uprooted from the tent he trusted in and led away to death personified as a dreaded king. The imagery underscores the ancient retribution view that calamity proves guilt, which the book ultimately corrects. Yet the New Testament shows that Christ has conquered this 'king of terrors,' disarming death for all who trust him (Hebrews 2:14-15).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Prov 10:28The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hope of the wicked will perish.
- Job 24:17For the morning is to all of them like thick darkness, for they know the terrors of the thick darkness.
- Job 8:22Those who hate you shall be clothed with shame. The tent of the wicked shall be no more.”
- Job 41:34He sees everything that is high. He is king over all the sons of pride.”
- Heb 2:15and might deliver all of them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
- Ps 112:10The wicked will see it, and be grieved. He shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away. The desire of the wicked will perish.
- Ps 55:4My heart is severely pained within me. The terrors of death have fallen on me.
- Matt 7:26–27Everyone who hears these words of mine, and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house on the sand.
- Job 11:20But the eyes of the wicked shall fail. They shall have no way to flee. Their hope shall be the giving up of the spirit.”
- Job 8:14Whose confidence shall break apart, Whose trust is a spider’s web.
- 1 Cor 15:55–56“Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?”
- Prov 14:32The wicked is brought down in his calamity, but in death, the righteous has a refuge.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 18:14 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.