“Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand; The advice of the wicked is far from me.
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand. The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
- KJV Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
- BSB Still, their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.
- NKJV Indeed their prosperity is not in their hand; The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
- NLT (They think their prosperity is of their own doing, but I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.)
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
Job acknowledges that the wicked's prosperity is not truly in their own control, and he firmly distances himself from their godless counsel. He rejects their way even while noting their success.
Overview
Job clarifies that he does not envy or endorse the wicked; their good fortune is ultimately in God's hand, not theirs. He repudiates 'the counsel of the wicked' (cf. Ps 1:1). The verse is somewhat debated in tone, but most read it as Job affirming that despite appearances, the ungodly are not masters of their own destiny and their path is not his.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ps 1:1Blessed is the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand on the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers;
- Job 22:18Yet he filled their houses with good things, but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
- Ps 52:5–7God will likewise destroy you forever. He will take you up, and pluck you out of your tent, and root you out of the land of the living. Selah.
- Gen 49:6My soul, don’t come into their council. My glory, don’t be united to their assembly; for in their anger they killed men. In their self-will they hamstrung cattle.
- Ps 49:6–7Those who trust in their wealth, and boast in the multitude of their riches —
- Prov 1:10My son, if sinners entice you, don’t consent.
- Job 1:21He said, “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be Yahweh’s name.”
- Prov 5:8Remove your way far from her. Don’t come near the door of her house,
- Luke 16:25“But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and Lazarus, in the same way, bad things. But now here he is comforted and you are in anguish.
- Eccl 8:8There is no man who has power over the spirit to contain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death. There is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver those who practice it.
- Job 12:9–10Who doesn’t know that in all these, Yahweh’s hand has done this,
- Luke 16:2He called him, and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 21:16 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.