They die in their youth, among the male shrine prostitutes.
Parallel translations
- WEB They die in youth. Their life perishes among the unclean.
- KJV They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean.
- NKJV They die in youth, And their life ends among the perverted persons.
- NASB “They die in youth, And their life perishes among the cult prostitutes.
- NLT They die when they are young, after wasting their lives in immoral living.
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
They die in their youth, their life ending in shame among the unclean. Persistent godlessness leads to an early and disgraceful end.
Overview
Elihu portrays the godless perishing prematurely and in dishonor. The reference to dying 'among the unclean' suggests a shameful, defiled end. While such outcomes are not invariable in this life, the verse warns of the destructive trajectory of unrepentant sin. It heightens the longing for the deliverance from sin and death that comes only through Christ's resurrection victory.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Job 15:32It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not flourish.
- Job 22:16They were snatched away before their time, and their foundations were swept away by a flood.
- Deut 23:17No daughter or son of Israel is to be a shrine prostitute.
- Ps 55:23But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.
- Gen 38:7–10But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; so the LORD put him to death.
- Job 21:23–25One man dies full of vigor, completely secure and at ease.
- Lev 10:1–2Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense, and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to His command.
- Gen 19:5They called out to Lot, saying, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have relations with them!”
- Gen 19:24–25Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.
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 36:14 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.