When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.
Parallel translations
- WEB When he is about to fill his belly, God will cast the fierceness of his wrath on him. It will rain on him while he is eating.
- BSB When he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats.
- NKJV When he is about to fill his stomach, God will cast on him the fury of His wrath, And will rain it on him while he is eating.
- NASB “When he fills his belly, God will send His fierce anger on him And rain it on him while he is eating.
- NLT May God give them a bellyful of trouble. May God rain down his anger upon them.
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
When the wicked man is about to satisfy himself, God rains down the fierceness of his wrath upon him. Divine judgment falls in the midst of his indulgence.
Overview
Zophar portrays God pouring out burning wrath on the wicked man just as he reaches to fill his appetite, the judgment 'raining' down upon him. The image attributes the downfall directly to God's righteous anger against evil. It affirms the seriousness of divine wrath against sin, a wrath from which the gospel offers refuge through the One who bore it for sinners.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Ps 78:30–31They were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was yet in their mouths,
- Num 11:33And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague.
- Isa 21:4My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.
- Ps 11:6Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
- Exod 9:23And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
- Gen 19:24Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
- Luke 12:17–20And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
- Mal 2:2If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
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 20:23 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.