“In the fullness of his excess he will be cramped; The hand of everyone who suffers will come against him.
Parallel translations
- WEB In the fullness of his sufficiency, distress shall overtake him. The hand of everyone who is in misery shall come on him.
- KJV In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.
- BSB In the midst of his plenty, he will be distressed; the full force of misery will come upon him.
- NKJV In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress; Every hand of misery will come against him.
- NLT “In the midst of plenty, they will run into trouble and be overcome by misery.
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
At the peak of his abundance, distress overtakes him, and the hand of every sufferer comes against him. His fullness suddenly turns to misery.
Overview
Zophar describes calamity striking the wicked man precisely when he seems most secure, with the troubles of all the wretched descending on him. The sudden reversal at the height of plenty underscores the precariousness of godless prosperity. It warns that worldly security is no safeguard against judgment, and that true security is found only in God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Job 15:29He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall their possessions be extended on the earth.
- Rev 18:7However much she glorified herself, and grew wanton, so much give her of torment and mourning. For she says in her heart, ‘I sit a queen, and am no widow, and will in no way see mourning.’
- Job 16:11God delivers me to the ungodly, and casts me into the hands of the wicked.
- Job 18:7The steps of his strength shall be shortened. His own counsel shall cast him down.
- Ps 39:5Behold, you have made my days hand widths. My lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely every man stands as a breath.” Selah.
- Job 1:17While he was still speaking, there came also another, and said, “The Chaldeans made three bands, and swept down on the camels, and have taken them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
- 2 Kgs 24:2Yahweh sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to Yahweh’s word, which he spoke by his servants the prophets.
- Job 3:17There the wicked cease from troubling. There the weary are at rest.
- Isa 10:6I will send him against a profane nation, and against the people who anger me will I give him a command to take the plunder and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
- Job 1:15and the Sabeans attacked, and took them away. Yes, they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
- Eccl 2:18–20I hated all my labor in which I labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me.
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 20:22 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.