Though the pride of the godless reaches to the heavens and their heads touch 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;
- BSB Though his arrogance reaches the heavens, and his head touches 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,
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, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, who says in his heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’
- Isa 14:13–14You said in your heart, “I will ascend into heaven! I will exalt my throne above the stars of God! I will sit on the mountain of assembly, in the far north!
- Gen 11:4They said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let’s make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth.”
- Amos 9:2Though they dig into Sheol, there my hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, there I will bring them down.
- Dan 4:22it is you, O king, that are grown and become strong; for your greatness is grown, and reaches to the sky, and your dominion to the end of the earth.
- Matt 11:23You, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to Hades. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until today.
- Dan 4:11The tree grew, and was strong, and its height reached to the sky, and its sight to the end of all the earth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 20:6 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.