The rich man will lie down, But not be gathered up; He opens his eyes, And he is no more.
Parallel translations
- WEB He lies down rich, but he shall not do so again. He opens his eyes, and he is not.
- KJV The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not.
- BSB He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more; when he opens his eyes, all is gone.
- NASB “He lies down rich, but never again; He opens his eyes, and it no longer exists.
- NLT The wicked go to bed rich but wake to find that all their wealth is gone.
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 describes the sudden ruin of the wicked: a rich man lies down secure but wakes to find everything, even his life, gone.
Overview
Continuing his reply to his friends, Job concedes that judgment does fall on the wicked, often suddenly and finally. The rich man's wealth gives no lasting security; in a moment 'he is not.' The verse warns against trusting in riches and points ahead to Christ's teaching that a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:16-21).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Job 24:24They are exalted; yet a little while, and they are gone. Yes, they are brought low, they are taken out of the way as all others, and are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain.
- Ps 58:9Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns, he will sweep away the green and the burning alike.
- Ps 73:19–20How they are suddenly destroyed! They are completely swept away with terrors.
- Jer 8:2and they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the army of the sky, which they have loved, and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and which they have sought, and which they have worshiped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried, they shall be for dung on the surface of the earth.
- Gen 49:10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. To him will the obedience of the peoples be.
- Job 14:10But man dies, and is laid low. Yes, man gives up the spirit, and where is he?
- Job 30:23For I know that you will bring me to death, To the house appointed for all living.
- Job 7:8The eye of him who sees me shall see me no more. Your eyes shall be on me, but I shall not be.
- Job 21:23–26One dies in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet.
- Matt 23:37“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her! How often I would have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not!
- Job 14:12–15so man lies down and doesn’t rise. Until the heavens are no more, they shall not awake, nor be roused out of their sleep.
- Job 8:22Those who hate you shall be clothed with shame. The tent of the wicked shall be no more.”
- Job 21:30that the evil man is reserved to the day of calamity, That they are led out to the day of wrath?
- Job 20:7–9yet he shall perish forever like his own dung. Those who have seen him shall say, ‘Where is he?’
- Matt 3:12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.”
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 27:19 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.