But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.
Parallel translations
- WEB But if they don’t listen, they shall perish by the sword; they shall die without knowledge.
- BSB But if they do not obey, then they perish by the sword and die without knowledge.
- NKJV But if they do not obey, They shall perish by the sword, And they shall die without knowledge.
- NASB “But if they do not listen, they will perish by the sword, And die without knowledge.
- NLT But if they refuse to listen to him, they will cross over the river of death, dying from lack of understanding.
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
But if they refuse to listen, they perish by the sword and die without knowledge. Persistent rebellion leads to ruin.
Overview
Elihu sets the alternative before the hearer: those who reject God's correction face destruction and die in ignorance of Him. This sober warning underscores the high stakes of responding to God's discipline. It echoes the broad biblical contrast between the way of life and the way of death (Deut. 30:19), a choice resolved for believers in the life freely given in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Job 4:21Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.
- Rom 2:8–9But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
- Isa 3:11Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
- Deut 29:15–20But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day:
- Deut 18:15–22The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
- John 8:21–24Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.
- Isa 1:20But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
- Job 15:22He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 36:12 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.