“He flies away like a dream, and they cannot find him; Like a vision of the night he is chased away.
Parallel translations
- WEB He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found. Yes, he shall be chased away like a vision of the night.
- KJV He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.
- BSB He will fly away like a dream, never to be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night.
- NKJV He will fly away like a dream, and not be found; Yes, he will be chased away like a vision of the night.
- NLT They will fade like a dream and not be found. They will vanish like a vision in the night.
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 the wicked man will vanish like a dream and be chased away like a night vision. His prosperity proves unreal and fleeting.
Overview
The wicked man's life and success evaporate like a dream that cannot be found on waking, gone without trace. The imagery stresses how insubstantial and temporary ungodly gain truly is. It echoes Scripture's warning that those who forget God fade like a fleeting vision, while only what is built on the Lord endures (Psalm 73:20).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Ps 90:5You sweep them away as they sleep. In the morning they sprout like new grass.
- Ps 73:20As a dream when one wakes up, so, Lord, when you awake, you will despise their fantasies.
- Job 18:18He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.
- Isa 29:7–8The multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all who fight against her and her stronghold, and who distress her, will be like a dream, a vision of the night.
- Job 27:21–23The east wind carries him away, and he departs. It sweeps him out of his place.
- Ps 18:10He rode on a cherub, and flew. Yes, he soared on the wings of the wind.
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 20:8 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.