Those in the west are appalled at his fate, while those in the east tremble in horror.
Parallel translations
- WEB Those who come after shall be astonished at his day, as those who went before were frightened.
- KJV They that come after him shall be astonied at his day, as they that went before were affrighted.
- NKJV Those in the west are astonished at his day, As those in the east are frightened.
- NASB “Those in the west are appalled at his fate, And those in the east are seized with horror.
- NLT People in the west are appalled at their fate; people in the east are horrified.
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 people everywhere, both later and earlier generations, are appalled and horrified at the wicked man's fate. His ruin becomes a byword.
Overview
The downfall of the wicked man strikes dread into all who hear of it, west and east, or those after and before. Bildad portrays his judgment as a public spectacle of horror. The verse reflects the biblical theme that God's judgments are meant to instill the fear of the Lord, even as the gospel calls sinners to flee that judgment by trusting Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ps 37:13but the Lord laughs, seeing that their day is coming.
- Jer 50:27Kill all her young bulls; let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them, for their day has come—the time of their punishment.
- Ezek 21:25And you, O profane and wicked prince of Israel, the day has come for your final punishment.’
- Luke 19:44They will level you to the ground—you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”
- Job 2:12–13When they lifted up their eyes from afar, they could barely recognize Job. They began to weep aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust in the air over his head.
- Ps 137:7Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!”
- Luke 19:42and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes.
- Deut 29:23–24All 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.
- 1 Kgs 9:8And when this temple has become a heap of rubble, all who pass by it will be appalled and will hiss and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’
- Job 19:13–19He has removed my brothers from me; my acquaintances have abandoned me.
- Jer 18:16They have made their land a desolation, a perpetual object of scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and shake their heads.
- Obad 1:11–15On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them.
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 18:20 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.