It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation.
Parallel translations
- WEB There shall dwell in his tent that which is none of his. Sulfur shall be scattered on his habitation.
- BSB Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur rains down on his dwelling.
- 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 11:6Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
- Deut 29:23And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:
- Isa 34:9–10And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.
- Hab 2:6–11Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!
- Rev 19:20And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
- Job 20:18–21That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.
- Zech 5:4I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.
- Rev 21:8But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
- Job 18:12–13His strength shall be hungerbitten, and destruction shall be ready at his side.
- Gen 19:24Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
- Jer 22:13Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;
- Job 31:38–39If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain;
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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
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