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Young's Literal Translation

Job 21:17

How oft is the lamp of the wicked extinguished, And come on them doth their calamity? Pangs He apportioneth in His anger.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Afflictions and Adversities;   Death;   Sin;   Wicked (People);   Thompson Chain Reference - Candle;   The Topic Concordance - Wickedness;   Wrath;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Afflictions of the Wicked, the;   Anger of God, the;   Lamps;  

Dictionaries:

- Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Greatness of God;   Hypocrisy;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Candle;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Bands;   Candle;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Job, the Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Wealth;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Lamp;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Candle;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Lamp;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Candle;   Inspiration;   Lamp;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?Does disaster come on them?Does he apportion destruction in his anger?
Hebrew Names Version
"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?
King James Version
How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger.
English Standard Version
"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?
New Century Version
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?
New English Translation
"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?
Amplified Bible
"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?
New American Standard Bible
"How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, Or does their disaster fall on them? Does God apportion destruction in His anger?
World English Bible
"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?
Geneva Bible (1587)
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.
Legacy Standard Bible
"How often is the lamp of the wicked put out,Or does their disaster fall on them?Does God apportion destruction in His anger?
Berean Standard Bible
How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come upon them? Does God, in His anger, apportion destruction?
Contemporary English Version
How often does God become angry and send disaster and darkness to punish sinners?
Complete Jewish Bible
"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,
Darby Translation
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?
Easy-to-Read Version
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?
George Lamsa Translation
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.
Good News Translation
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
Lexham English Bible
"How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, and their disaster comes upon them? He distributes pains in his anger.
Literal Translation
How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, and their calamity comes on them! He shares out pangs in His anger;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
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?
American Standard Version
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?
Bible in Basic English
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?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
How oft is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? that their calamity cometh upon them?
King James Version (1611)
How oft is the candle of the wicked put out? and how oft commeth their destruction vpon them? God distributeth sorrowes in his anger.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
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?
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Nevertheless, the lamp of the ungodly also shall be put out, and destruction shall come upon them, and pangs of vengeance shall seize them.
English Revised Version
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?
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
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?
Update Bible Version
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?
Webster's Bible Translation
How oft is the candle of the wicked put out? and [how oft] cometh their destruction upon them? [God] distributeth sorrows in his anger.
New King James Version
"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?
New Living Translation
"Yet the light of the wicked never seems to be extinguished. Do they ever have trouble? Does God distribute sorrows to them in anger?
New Life Bible
"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?
New Revised Standard
"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?
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
How oft, the lamp of the lawless, goeth out, and their calamity, cometh upon them, Sorrows, apportioneth he in his anger;
Douay-Rheims Bible
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?
Revised Standard Version
"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?
THE MESSAGE
"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?
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"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

17 How oft is the lamp of the wicked extinguished, And come on them doth their calamity? Pangs He apportioneth in His anger. 18 They are as straw before wind, And as chaff a hurricane hath stolen away, 19 God layeth up for his sons his sorrow, He giveth recompense unto him -- and he knoweth. 20 His own eyes see his destruction, And of the wrath of the Mighty he drinketh. 21 For what [is] his delight in his house after him, And the number of his months cut off? 22 To God doth [one] teach knowledge, And He the high doth judge? 23 This [one] dieth in his perfect strength, Wholly at ease and quiet. 24 His breasts have been full of milk, And marrow his bones doth moisten. 25 And this [one] dieth with a bitter soul, And have not eaten with gladness. 26 Together -- on the dust they lie down, And the worm doth cover them over.

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

Genesis 15:1
After these things hath the word of Jehovah been unto Abram in a vision, saying, `Fear not, Abram, I [am] a shield to thee, thy reward [is] exceeding great.'
Genesis 16:9
And the messenger of Jehovah saith to her, `Turn back unto thy mistress, and humble thyself under her hands;'
Genesis 16:11
and the messenger of Jehovah saith to her, `Behold thou [art] conceiving, and bearing a son, and hast called his name Ishmael, for Jehovah hath hearkened unto thine affliction;
Genesis 21:1
And Jehovah hath looked after Sarah as He hath said, and Jehovah doth to Sarah as He hath spoken;
Genesis 21:2
and Sarah conceiveth, and beareth a son to Abraham, to his old age, at the appointed time that God hath spoken of with him;
Genesis 21:4
and Abraham circumciseth Isaac his son, [being] a son of eight days, as God hath commanded him.
Genesis 21:6
and Sarah saith, `God hath made laughter for me; every one who is hearing laugheth for me.'
Genesis 21:13
As to the son of the handmaid also, for a nation I set him, because he [is] thy seed.'
Genesis 21:14
And Abraham riseth early in the morning, and taketh bread, and a bottle of water, and giveth unto Hagar (placing [it] on her shoulder), also the lad, and sendeth her out; and she goeth on, and goeth astray in the wilderness of Beer-Sheba;
Genesis 46:3
And He saith, `I [am] God, God of thy father, be not afraid of going down to Egypt, for for a great nation I set thee there;

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.


 
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