He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.
Parallel translations
- WEB “They are foam on the surface of the waters. Their portion is cursed in the earth. They don’t turn into the way of the vineyards.
- BSB They are but foam on the surface of the water; their portion of the land is cursed, so that no one turns toward their vineyards.
- NKJV “They should be swift on the face of the waters, Their portion should be cursed in the earth, So that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards.
- NASB ¶“They are insignificant on the surface of the water; Their plot of land on the earth is cursed. They do not turn toward the vineyards.
- NLT “But they disappear like foam down a river. Everything they own is cursed, and they are afraid to enter their own vineyards.
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 says the wicked are fleeting like foam, their land cursed and barren. It matters as a statement that the wicked will not finally endure.
Overview
Here Job seems to affirm that the wicked are swift and unstable as foam on water, their portion under a curse. Some scholars think Job is quoting or anticipating his friends' view to dispute it, while others read it as Job conceding that judgment does come, though delayed. Either way, the ultimate instability of the wicked stands in contrast to the secure inheritance of the righteous in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 69:22Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.
- Job 9:26They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey.
- Job 22:16Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:
- Ps 73:18–20Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.
- Prov 3:33The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.
- Mal 2:2If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
- Deut 28:16–20Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
- Ps 58:7Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.
- Isa 23:10Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength.
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 24:18 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.