It hurls itself against him without mercy as he flees headlong from its power.
Parallel translations
- WEB For it hurls at him, and does not spare, as he flees away from his hand.
- KJV For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.
- NKJV It hurls against him and does not spare; He flees desperately from its power.
- NASB “For it will hurl at him without mercy; He will certainly try to flee from its power.
- NLT It whirls down on them without mercy. They struggle to flee from its power.
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
Judgment hurls itself against the wicked without mercy as he desperately tries to flee its grasp.
Overview
Job personifies the calamity as a relentless force that 'does not spare' even as the wicked man tries to escape. There is no fleeing from the hand of God's justice. The verse soberly reminds us of the certainty of divine reckoning, from which the only true refuge is the mercy God provides (Hebrews 2:3).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- 2 Pet 2:4–5For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into hell, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;
- Job 11:20But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; they will hope for their last breath.”
- Ezek 5:11Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and abominations, I Myself will withdraw My favor; I will not look upon you with pity, nor will I spare you.
- Ezek 24:14I, the LORD, have spoken; the time is coming, and I will act. I will not refrain or show pity, nor will I relent. I will judge you according to your ways and deeds,’ declares the Lord GOD.”
- Judg 4:17–21Meanwhile, Sisera had fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
- Deut 32:23I will heap disasters upon them; I will spend My arrows against them.
- Josh 10:11As they fled before Israel along the descent from Beth-horon to Azekah, the LORD cast down on them large hailstones from the sky, and more of them were killed by the hailstones than by the swords of the Israelites.
- Isa 10:3What will you do on the day of reckoning when devastation comes from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth?
- Exod 14:25–28He caused their chariot wheels to wobble, so that they had difficulty driving. “Let us flee from the Israelites,” said the Egyptians, “for the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt!”
- Job 20:24Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce him.
- Amos 2:14Escape will fail the swift, the strong will not prevail by his strength, and the mighty will not save his life.
- Amos 9:1–3I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Topple them on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the rest with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape.
- Rom 8:32He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?
- Ezek 9:5–6And as I listened, He said to the others, “Follow him through the city and start killing; do not show pity or spare anyone!
- Exod 9:14Otherwise, I will send all My plagues against you and your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth.
- Jer 13:14I will smash them against one another, fathers and sons alike, declares the LORD. I will allow no mercy or pity or compassion to keep Me from destroying them.’”
- Deut 29:20The LORD will never be willing to forgive him. Instead, His anger and jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse written in this book will fall upon him. The LORD will blot out his name from under heaven
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 27:22 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.