He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure.
Parallel translations
- WEB He shall lean on his house, but it shall not stand. He shall cling to it, but it shall not endure.
- BSB He leans on his web, but it gives way; he holds fast, but it does not endure.
- NKJV He leans on his house, but it does not stand. He holds it fast, but it does not endure.
- NASB “He depends on his house, but it does not stand; He holds on to it, but it does not endure.
- NLT They cling to their home for security, but it won’t last. They try to hold it tight, but it will not endure.
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
Bildad says the godless man leans on his house, but it collapses; he clings to it, but it does not last. His supports give way.
Overview
Continuing the web image, Bildad describes the false security of the wicked as a house that cannot stand under pressure. Whatever the godless lean on fails them in the test. The teaching aligns with Jesus' parable of the house built on sand (Matthew 7:24-27), though Bildad wrongly applies it to Job.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Job 27:18He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh.
- Luke 6:47–49Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
- Matt 7:24–27Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
- Ps 112:10The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.
- Ps 52:5–7God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.
- Ps 49:11Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.
- Job 18:14His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors.
- Prov 10:28The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.
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 8:15 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.