Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur rains down on his dwelling.
Parallel translations
- WEB There shall dwell in his tent that which is none of his. Sulfur shall be scattered on his habitation.
- KJV It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation.
- NKJV They dwell in his tent who are none of his; Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling.
- NASB “Nothing of his dwells in his tent; Brimstone is scattered on his home.
- NLT The homes of the wicked will burn down; burning sulfur rains on their houses.
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 describes the wicked man's tent inhabited by what is not his and scattered with sulfur, signaling utter desolation. It evokes divine judgment like Sodom's.
Overview
The home of the wicked is overrun by strangers or ruin, and brimstone (sulfur) marks it as cursed and uninhabitable, recalling the destruction of Sodom (Genesis 19:24). Bildad presses his case that the godless lose everything they possess. Though wrongly aimed at Job, the picture rightly portrays the seriousness of God's judgment against unrepentant wickedness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ps 11:6On the wicked He will rain down fiery coals and sulfur; a scorching wind will be their portion.
- Deut 29:23All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His fierce anger.
- Isa 34:9–10Edom’s streams will be turned to tar, and her soil to sulfur; her land will become a blazing pitch.
- Hab 2:6–11Will not all of these take up a taunt against him, speaking with mockery and derision: ‘Woe to him who amasses what is not his and makes himself rich with many loans! How long will this go on?’
- Rev 19:20But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
- Job 20:18–21He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he cannot enjoy the profits of his trading.
- Zech 5:4I will send it out, declares the LORD of Hosts, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of him who swears falsely by My name. It will remain inside his house and destroy it, down to its timbers and stones.”
- Rev 21:8But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”
- Job 18:12–13His strength is depleted, and calamity is ready at his side.
- Gen 19:24Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.
- Jer 22:13“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who makes his countrymen serve without pay, and fails to pay their wages,
- Job 31:38–39if my land cries out against me and its furrows weep together,
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 18:15 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.