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Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God.
Job 18:21 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous. This is the place of him who doesn’t know God.”
  • BSB Surely such is the dwelling of the wicked and the place of one who does not know God.”
  • NKJV Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, And this is the place of him who does not know God.”
  • NASB “Certainly these are the dwellings of the wicked, And this is the place of him who does not know God.”
  • NLT They will say, ‘This was the home of a wicked person, the place of one who rejected God.’”

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 concludes that such ruin is the dwelling of the unrighteous, the one who does not know God. He implies Job belongs in this category.

Overview

Bildad ends his speech by summarizing: this destruction marks the place of the godless who has no knowledge of God. The accusation indirectly targets Job, wrongly numbering him among those ignorant of the Lord. Ironically, Job knows God truly and will yet declare 'I know that my Redeemer lives'; saving knowledge of God comes fully through Jesus Christ (John 17:3).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

  • Jer 9:3And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.
  • Titus 1:16They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
  • Judg 2:10And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.
  • Jer 10:25Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.
  • 2 Th 1:8In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
  • 1 Th 4:5Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:
  • 1 Sam 2:12Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.
  • Exod 5:2And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
  • Job 21:28For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked?
  • Ps 79:6Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.
  • Job 21:14Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
  • Rom 1:28And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
  • 1 Chr 28:9And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Job videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Job 18:21YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JobMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 18:21 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.