Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce him.
Parallel translations
- WEB He shall flee from the iron weapon. The bronze arrow shall strike him through.
- KJV He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through.
- NKJV He will flee from the iron weapon; A bronze bow will pierce him through.
- NASB “He may flee from the iron weapon, But the bronze bow will pierce him.
- NLT When they try to escape an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce 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
Fleeing one weapon, the wicked man is struck by another; the bronze arrow pierces him. There is no escape from the judgment pursuing him.
Overview
Zophar pictures the wicked man dodging an iron weapon only to be impaled by a bronze-tipped arrow, showing the inescapability of his doom. Every avenue of escape closes against him. The verse dramatizes the certainty of God's judgment overtaking the unrepentant, however he may try to flee, underscoring the urgency of seeking mercy while it may be found.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Amos 5:19It will be like a man who flees from a lion, only to encounter a bear, or who enters his house and rests his hand against the wall, only to be bitten by a snake.
- Isa 24:18Whoever flees the sound of panic will fall into the pit, and whoever climbs from the pit will be caught in the snare. For the windows of heaven are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaken.
- 2 Sam 22:35He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
- 1 Kgs 20:30The rest of them fled into the city of Aphek, where the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the remaining men. Ben-hadad also fled to the city and hid in an inner room.
- Jer 48:43–44Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of Moab,” declares the LORD.
- Prov 7:23until an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare—not knowing it will cost him his life.
- Amos 9:1–3I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Topple them on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the rest with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape.
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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 20:24 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
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