Though his arrogance reaches the heavens, and his head touches the clouds,
Parallel translations
- WEB Though his height mount up to the heavens, and his head reach to the clouds,
- KJV Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;
- NKJV Though his haughtiness mounts up to the heavens, And his head reaches to the clouds,
- NASB “Though his arrogance reaches the heavens, And his head touches the clouds,
- NLT Though the pride of the godless reaches to the heavens and their heads touch the clouds,
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 though the wicked man's pride rises to the heavens, he will still fall. No height of arrogance secures him.
Overview
Zophar pictures the wicked man exalting himself sky-high, his head touching the clouds in lofty pride. The image recalls the hubris of Babel and the king of Babylon, whose pride preceded a fall. Scripture consistently teaches that God brings down the proud and exalts the humble, a truth fulfilled supremely in Christ's exaltation of the lowly (Isaiah 14:13-15; James 4:6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Obad 1:3–4The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’
- Isa 14:13–14You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north.
- Gen 11:4“Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”
- Amos 9:2Though they dig down to Sheol, from there My hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, from there I will pull them down.
- Dan 4:22you, O king, are that tree! For you have become great and strong; your greatness has grown to reach the sky, and your dominion extends to the ends of the earth.
- Matt 11:23And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.
- Dan 4:11The tree grew large and strong; its top reached the sky, and it was visible to the ends of the earth.
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 20:6 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.