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King James Version
Job 21:17
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
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- InternationalParallel Translations
How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?Does disaster come on them?Does he apportion destruction in his anger?
"How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity comes on them? That God distributes sorrows in his anger?
"How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity comes upon them? That God distributes pains in his anger?
Yet how often are the lamps of evil people turned off? How often does trouble come to them? How often do they suffer God's angry punishment?
"How often is the lamp of the wicked extinguished? How often does their misfortune come upon them? How often does God apportion pain to them in his anger?
"How often [then] is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out, And that their disaster falls on them? Does God distribute pain and destruction and sorrow [to them] in His anger?
"How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, Or does their disaster fall on them? Does God apportion destruction in His anger?
"How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity comes on them? That God distributes sorrows in his anger?
How oft shal the candle of the wicked be put out? and their destruction come vpon them? he wil deuide their liues in his wrath.
"How often is the lamp of the wicked put out,Or does their disaster fall on them?Does God apportion destruction in His anger?
How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come upon them? Does God, in His anger, apportion destruction?
How often does God become angry and send disaster and darkness to punish sinners?
"How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does their calamity come upon them? How often does [God] deal out pain in his anger,
How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, and cometh their calamity upon them? Doth he distribute sorrows [to them] in his anger?
But how often does God blow out their light? How often does trouble come to them? How often does God get angry with them and punish them?
How often is it that the wicked are left without an heir! how often their destruction comes upon them! God distributes sorrows in his anger.
Was a wicked person's light ever put out? Did one of them ever meet with disaster? Did God ever punish the wicked in anger
"How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, and their disaster comes upon them? He distributes pains in his anger.
How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, and their calamity comes on them! He shares out pangs in His anger;
How oft shal the candle of ye wicked be put out? how oft commeth their destruccion vpon them? O what sorowe shall God geue them for their parte in his wrath?
How oft is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity cometh upon them? That God distributeth sorrows in his anger?
How frequently is the light of the evil-doers put out, or does trouble come on them? how frequently does his wrath take them with cords?
How oft is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? that their calamity cometh upon them?
How oft is the candle of the wicked put out? and how oft commeth their destruction vpon them? God distributeth sorrowes in his anger.
How oft shall the candell of the wicked be put out, and their destruction come vpon them? O what sorowe shall God geue them for their part in his wrath?
Nevertheless, the lamp of the ungodly also shall be put out, and destruction shall come upon them, and pangs of vengeance shall seize them.
How oft is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? that their calamity cometh upon them? that God distributeth sorrows in his anger?
Hou ofte schal the lanterne of wickid men be quenchid, and flowing schal come on hem, and God schal departe the sorewis of his stronge veniaunce?
How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity comes on them? That [God] distributes sorrows in his anger?
How oft is the candle of the wicked put out? and [how oft] cometh their destruction upon them? [God] distributeth sorrows in his anger.
"How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does their destruction come upon them, The sorrows God distributes in His anger?
"Yet the light of the wicked never seems to be extinguished. Do they ever have trouble? Does God distribute sorrows to them in anger?
"How many times is the lamp of the sinful put out, that their trouble comes upon them? How often does God send trouble to them in His anger?
"How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does calamity come upon them? How often does God distribute pains in his anger?
How oft, the lamp of the lawless, goeth out, and their calamity, cometh upon them, Sorrows, apportioneth he in his anger;
How often shall the lamp of the wicked be put out, and a deluge come upon them, and he shall distribute the sorrows of his wrath?
"How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity comes upon them? That God distributes pains in his anger?
How oft is the lamp of the wicked extinguished, And come on them doth their calamity? Pangs He apportioneth in His anger.
"Still, how often does it happen that the wicked fail, or disaster strikes, or they get their just deserts? How often are they blown away by bad luck? Not very often. You might say, ‘God is saving up the punishment for their children.' I say, ‘Give it to them right now so they'll know what they've done!' They deserve to experience the effects of their evil, feel the full force of God's wrath firsthand. What do they care what happens to their families after they're safely tucked away in the grave?
"How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, Or does their calamity fall on them? Does God apportion destruction in His anger?
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
oft: Job 18:5, Job 18:6, Job 18:18, Proverbs 13:9, Proverbs 20:20, Proverbs 24:20, Matthew 25:8
candle: or, lamp
distributeth: Psalms 32:10, Psalms 90:7-9, Luke 12:46, Romans 2:8, Romans 2:9
Reciprocal: Genesis 3:17 - in sorrow Job 9:29 - General Job 29:3 - candle Ecclesiastes 8:14 - there be just Revelation 18:23 - the light
Cross-References
After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction.
And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.
And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.
And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:
Gill's Notes on the Bible
How oft is the candle of the wicked put out?.... Job here returns, as Jarchi observes, to his former account of the constant and continued prosperity of wicked men; and puts questions tending to prove the same. Bildad had said, that the light and candle of the wicked would be put out, Job 18:5. Job, referring to this, asks how often this is the case; meaning, by the candle of the wicked, not his soul or spirit, which cannot be put out, or become extinct, as to be no more; nor the light of nature in his soul, though that may be put out in a great measure, and he be given up to judicial blindness and hardness of heart; but either his natural life, which, like a candle, burns for a while, and then becomes extinct, or rather his outward prosperity and happiness: if the question relates to the former, to the natural life of wicked men, it is not whether they die, that is no question; all die, good and bad; but whether they die in common sooner than others, or whether the instances of the brevity of the life of wicked men were frequent, or but seldom; or, is this always the case? it is not, it is rare, and not common; they live as long as other men, and oftentimes longer; they live and become old, as Job before observes; they prolong their days in their wickedness; or, if this refers to the latter, the prosperity of the wicked, the question is, is that for the most part a short lived prosperity? it is not, it is but rarely so; wicked men generally spend all their days in wealth, as before observed; so Ramban interprets "how oft", that is, how seldom; and to the same sense Mr. Broughton,
"not so often is the candle of the wicked put out;''
and [how oft] cometh their destruction upon them? not eternal, but temporal destruction, calamities and distresses; these are threatened them, but they are not executed on them immediately; and therefore their hearts are set in them to do evil: generally speaking, they have their good things here; they are filled with hidden treasure, which they enjoy while they live, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes; they are not destroyed on every side, as Job was; their substance, their cattle, their servants, their children, and their own health. Job asks how often this is their case, as had been his; and his sense is, and what experience testifies, it is but rarely the, case of wicked men; he seems to refer to what is said, Job 18:12.
[God] distributeth sorrows in his anger; or rather, "how oft doth he distribute sorrows in his anger?" but seldom; he is angry with the wicked every day, and reserves wrath for them, and many sorrows shall be to them, but not for the present; those are future, and even such as of a woman in travail, as the word used signifies, and which shall come upon them suddenly and certainly, and there will be no avoiding them; see Psalms 32:10; but does God frequently distribute or portion out sorrows to them now? he does not; they have their portion of good things in this life; does he usually give them sorrow of heart, his curse unto them? he does not; it is very seldom he does; they are not in trouble, nor plagued as other men; they are not men of sorrows and acquainted with griefs; they are generally strangers to them, and live merrily all their days, Job 21:12; respect seems to be had to the conclusion of Zophar's speech, Job 20:29.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
How oft is the candle of the wicked put out? - Margin, “lamp.” A light, or a lamp, was an image of prosperity. There is, probably, an allusion here to what had been maintained by Bildad, Job 18:5-6, that the light of the wicked would be extinguished, and their dwellings made dark; see the notes at those verses. Job replies to this by asking how often it occurred. He inquires whether it was a frequent thing. By this, he implies that it was not universal; that it was a less frequent occurrence than they supposed. The meaning is, “How often does it, in fact, happen that the light of the wicked is extinguished, and that God distributes sorrows among them in his anger? Much less frequently than you suppose, for he bestows upon many of them tokens of abundant prosperity.” In this manner, by an appeal to “fact” and “observation,” Job aims to convince them that their position was wrong, and that it was not true that the wicked were invariably overwhelmed with calamity, as they had maintained.
God distributeth sorrows - The word “God” here, is understood, but there can be no doubt that it is correct. Job means to ask, how often it was true in fact that God “apportioned” the sorrows which he sent on men in accordance with their character. How often, in fact, did he treat the wicked as they deserved, and overwhelm them with calamity. It was not true that he did it, by any means, as often as they maintained, or so as to make it a certain rule in judging of character.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Job 21:17. How oft is the candle of the wicked put out? — The candle or lamp is often used, both as the emblem of prosperity and of posterity. Oftentimes the rejoicing of the wicked is short; and, not unfrequently, his seed is cut off from the earth. The root is dried up, and the branch is withered.
God distributeth sorrows in his anger. — He must be incensed against those who refuse to know, serve, and pray unto him. In his anger, therefore, he portions out to each his due share of misery, vexation, and wo.
