The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie down with him in the dust.
Parallel translations
- WEB His bones are full of his youth, but youth shall lie down with him in the dust.
- KJV His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.
- NKJV His bones are full of his youthful vigor, But it will lie down with him in the dust.
- NASB “His bones are full of his youthful strength, But it lies down with him in the dust.
- NLT Though they are young, their bones will lie in the dust.
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 bones, full of youthful vigor, will lie down with him in the dust. His strength cannot save him from death.
Overview
Even the vitality of the wicked man's youth offers no escape; his strength is buried with him in the grave. The verse stresses that bodily vigor is no defense against the judgment that overtakes the godless. It sounds the universal note that strength and life itself are fleeting, urging all to seek a hope that outlasts the dust (Psalm 90:10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Job 13:26For You record bitter accusations against me and bequeath to me the iniquities of my youth.
- Ps 25:7Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my rebellious acts; remember me according to Your loving devotion, because of Your goodness, O LORD.
- Job 21:26But together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover them both.
- Ezek 24:13Because of the indecency of your uncleanness I tried to cleanse you, but you would not be purified from your filthiness. You will not be pure again until My wrath against you has subsided.
- John 8:24That is why I told you that you would die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
- Ezek 32:27They do not lie down with the fallen warriors of old, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were placed under their heads, whose shields rested on their bones, although the terror of the mighty was once in the land of the living.
- Prov 5:11–13At the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are spent,
- Prov 5:22–23The iniquities of a wicked man entrap him; the cords of his sin entangle him.
- Acts 1:25to take up this ministry and apostleship, which Judas abandoned to go to his rightful place.”
- Job 19:20My skin and flesh cling to my bones; I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
- Prov 14:32The wicked man is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous man has a refuge even in death.
- John 8:21Again He said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for Me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 20:11 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.