They dwell in his tent who are none of his; Brimstone is scattered 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.
- BSB Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur rains down 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 blazing coals; fire, sulfur, and scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
- Deut 29:23and that all of its land is sulfur, salt, and burning, that it is not sown, doesn’t produce, nor does any grass grow in it, like the overthrow of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which Yahweh overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath;
- Isa 34:9–10Its streams will be turned into pitch, its dust into sulfur, And its land will become burning pitch.
- Hab 2:6–11Won’t all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases that which is not his, and who enriches himself by extortion! How long?’
- Rev 19:20The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who worked the signs in his sight, with which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
- Job 20:18–21That for which he labored he shall restore, and shall not swallow it down. According to the substance that he has gotten, he shall not rejoice.
- Zech 5:4I will cause it to go out,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and it will enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him who swears falsely by my name; and it will remain in the middle of his house, and will destroy it with its timber and its stones.”
- Rev 21:8But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
- Job 18:12–13His strength shall be famished. Calamity shall be ready at his side.
- Gen 19:24Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire from Yahweh out of the sky.
- Jer 22:13“Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his rooms by injustice; who uses his neighbor’s service without wages, and doesn’t give him his hire;
- Job 31:38–39If my land cries out against me, and its furrows weep together;
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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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