They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean.
Parallel translations
- WEB They die in youth. Their life perishes among the unclean.
- BSB They die in their youth, among the male shrine prostitutes.
- 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 shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green.
- Job 22:16Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:
- Deut 23:17There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
- Ps 55:23But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
- Gen 38:7–10And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.
- Job 21:23–25One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet.
- Lev 10:1–2And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.
- Gen 19:5And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
- Gen 19:24–25Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
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.