His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.
Parallel translations
- WEB His children shall seek the favor of the poor. His hands shall give back his wealth.
- BSB His sons will seek the favor of the poor, for his own hands must return his wealth.
- NKJV His children will seek the favor of the poor, And his hands will restore his wealth.
- NASB “His sons favor the poor, And his hands give back his wealth.
- NLT Their children will beg from the poor, for they must give back their stolen riches.
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
Zophar says the wicked man's children must beg from the poor and his own hands give back his wealth. His ill-gotten gain is reversed.
Overview
The descendants of the wicked, far from inheriting riches, are reduced to seeking favor from the poor, while the man himself must restore what he plundered. The verse reflects the principle that unjust gain does not endure and must be repaid. It anticipates the biblical theme of restitution and the eventual undoing of every injustice under God's righteous rule.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Job 20:18That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.
- Luke 19:8And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.
- Job 27:16–17Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;
- Prov 6:31But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
- Exod 12:36And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.
- Exod 22:3If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
- Ps 109:10Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.
- 2 Sam 12:6And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
- Prov 28:3A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.
- Job 5:4His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.
- Exod 9:2For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,
- Exod 22:1If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.
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 20:10 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.