Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;
Parallel translations
- WEB Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare clothing as the clay;
- BSB Though he heaps up silver like dust and piles up a wardrobe like clay,
- NKJV Though he heaps up silver like dust, And piles up clothing like clay—
- NASB “Though he piles up silver like dust, And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,
- NLT “Evil people may have piles of money and may store away mounds of clothing.
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
Though the wicked pile up silver and clothing like dust and clay, it will not last. It matters because hoarded wealth cannot secure the godless.
Overview
Job acknowledges that the wicked man may amass silver as plentiful as dust and garments as abundant as clay. Yet such accumulation, however vast, is fleeting and will not benefit him. The verse echoes the warning that one cannot take riches beyond the grave, a theme Christ pressed in the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:20-21).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Zech 9:3And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.
- Matt 6:19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
- 1 Kgs 10:27And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.
- Job 22:24Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.
- Hab 2:6Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!
- Jas 5:2Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
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 27:16 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.