All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.
Parallel translations
- WEB All darkness is laid up for his treasures. An unfanned fire shall devour him. It shall consume that which is left in his tent.
- BSB Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent.
- NKJV Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. An unfanned fire will consume him; It shall go ill with him who is left in his tent.
- NASB Complete darkness is held in reserve for his treasures, And unfanned fire will devour him; It will consume the survivor in his tent.
- NLT Their treasures will be thrown into deepest darkness. A wildfire will devour their goods, consuming all they have left.
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
Total darkness awaits his treasures; an unfanned fire devours him and consumes what is left in his tent. His wealth and household are destroyed.
Overview
Zophar foretells utter darkness for the wicked man's hoarded riches and a supernatural fire, kindled by no human hand, that devours him and all he has. The 'unfanned fire' suggests judgment sent directly from God. The imagery of consuming fire warns of the destruction reserved for the ungodly, while pointing forward to the refining and judging fire of God's holiness (Hebrews 12:29).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 21:9Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
- Ps 120:4Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
- Isa 14:20–22Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.
- Isa 30:33For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.
- Jude 1:13Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
- Matt 3:12Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
- Job 18:18–19He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.
- Ps 109:9–15Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
- Matt 8:12But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
- Isa 8:22And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.
- Job 18:5–6Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine.
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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 20:26 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.