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Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, delivered from the day of wrath.
Job 21:30 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB that the evil man is reserved to the day of calamity, That they are led out to the day of wrath?
  • KJV That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.
  • NKJV For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom; They shall be brought out on the day of wrath.
  • NASB “For the wicked person is spared a day of disaster; They are led away from a day of fury.
  • NLT Evil people are spared in times of calamity and are allowed to escape disaster.

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

Travelers would attest that the wicked man is often spared in the day of calamity and led safely through times of wrath. He frequently escapes the disasters that befall others.

Overview

Job's witnesses confirm that the wicked are sometimes 'reserved' from destruction rather than overtaken by it. This is the opposite of the friends' claim. The verse underscores that God's final judgment, not present circumstance, is what will set all things right, a hope brought to full clarity in the New Testament's day of the Lord.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 11

  • Prov 16:4The LORD has made everything for His purpose—even the wicked for the day of disaster.
  • 2 Pet 2:9–17if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
  • Rom 2:5But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
  • 2 Pet 3:7And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
  • Job 20:28The possessions of his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God’s wrath.
  • Jude 1:13They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
  • Rev 6:17For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”
  • Prov 11:4Riches are worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness brings deliverance from death.
  • Nah 1:2The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and full of wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on His foes and reserves wrath for His enemies.
  • Zeph 1:15That day will be a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness,
  • Ps 110:5The Lord is at Your right hand; He will crush kings in the day of His wrath.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Job videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Job 21:30YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JobMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 21:30 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.