The roots beneath him dry up, and the branches above him wither away.
Parallel translations
- WEB His roots shall be dried up beneath. Above shall his branch be cut off.
- KJV His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off.
- NKJV His roots are dried out below, And his branch withers above.
- NASB “His roots are dried below, And his branch withers above.
- NLT Their roots will dry up, and their branches will wither.
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 like a tree with dried roots and severed branches, destroyed at every level. It pictures total, generational ruin.
Overview
Using a tree as a metaphor, Bildad portrays the wicked man cut off both below (roots) and above (branches), leaving no life or future. The image of a withered tree recurs in Scripture for the fate of the godless, in contrast to the flourishing tree of the righteous in Psalm 1. The lasting hope, fulfilled in Christ, is that those rooted in him bear fruit that endures (John 15:5-6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Hos 9:16Ephraim is struck down; their root is withered; they cannot bear fruit. Even if they bear children, I will slay the darlings of their wombs.
- Isa 5:24Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes the straw, and as dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will decay and their blossoms will blow away like dust; for they have rejected the instruction of the LORD of Hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
- Job 15:30He will not escape from the darkness; the flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.
- Amos 2:9Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, though his height was like that of the cedars, and he was as strong as the oaks. Yet I destroyed his fruit above and his roots below.
- Mal 4:1“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”
- Job 29:19My roots will spread out to the waters, and the dew will rest nightly on my branches.
- Job 5:3–4I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.
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 18:16 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.