His vigorous stride is shortened, and his own schemes trip him up.
Parallel translations
- WEB The steps of his strength shall be shortened. His own counsel shall cast him down.
- KJV The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down.
- NKJV The steps of his strength are shortened, And his own counsel casts him down.
- NASB “His vigorous stride is shortened, And his own plan brings him down.
- NLT The confident stride of the wicked will be shortened. Their own schemes will be their downfall.
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
The wicked man's confident strides are cut short, and his own schemes bring him down. His self-reliance leads to his fall.
Overview
Bildad pictures the godless man's vigorous steps suddenly shortened and his own counsel casting him headlong. The point is that the wicked is undone by his own devices. This reflects the biblical truth that those who plot evil fall into their own pit (Psalm 7:15), for sin carries within it the seeds of its own ruin.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Prov 4:12When you walk, your steps will not be impeded; when you run, you will not stumble.
- Ps 18:36You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not give way.
- Ps 33:10The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations; He thwarts the devices of the peoples.
- Job 5:12–13He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.
- Job 20:22In the midst of his plenty, he will be distressed; the full force of misery will come upon him.
- 1 Cor 3:19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”
- Job 36:16Indeed, He drew you from the jaws of distress to a spacious and broad place, to a table full of richness.
- 2 Sam 17:14Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had purposed to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.
- Job 15:6Your own mouth, not mine, condemns you; your own lips testify against you.
- 2 Sam 15:31Now someone told David: “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David pleaded, “O LORD, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”
- Prov 1:30–32They accepted none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof.
- Hos 10:6Yes, it will be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim will be seized with shame; Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols.
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 18:7 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.