Job 18:5
in Job 18Indeed, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished; the flame of his fire does not glow.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, And the spark of his fire shall not shine.
KJV
Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine.
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This verse in Job 18
Commentary
9 notes on this verseShall not the light of the wicked be put out, and the flame of his fire cease to shine? If he says this in describing the present life, he is mistaken; in that very often both the light of prosperity is seen in the ungodly, and the darkness of ignominy and poverty envelopes the godly. But if his discourse points to this, viz. to shew what the ungodly meet with in their end, it is said with truth, Shall not the light of the wicked be put out, and the flame of his fire cease to shine?
This site's exposition
the lamp of the wicked is extinguished
on Job 18:5-7
The poem opens with light: "the lamp of the wicked is extinguished", and "The light in his tent grows dark" repeats the figure. Then "His vigorous stride is shortened, and his own schemes trip him up" turns to motion. Delitzsch reads the doubled light as Bildad's opening move.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
He then expands his idea more fully, relating one by one the evils which happen to sinners. Among these he places first the end of their prosperous successes which he compares to the light because "He who walks in the light do not stumble." (John …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
In this he seems, all along, to have an eye to Job's complaints of the miserable condition he was in, that he was in the dark, bewildered, ensnared, terrified, and hastening out of the world. "This," says Bildad, "is the condition of a wicked man; and therefore thou art one." Second Address of Eliphaz.
Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out,....
Or the yea may refer to Job's complaints of the great distress he was in and the darkness he should shortly make his bed in. "Yea," says Bildad, "So it is; thou art clouded, and straitened, and made miserable, and no better could be expected; for the light of the wicked shall be put out, and therefore thine shall." Observe here, 1.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Yea - Truly; or, behold. Bildad here commences his remarks on the certain destiny of the wicked, and strings together a number of apparently proverbial sayings, showing that calamity in various forms would certainly overtake the wicked. There is nothing particularly new in his argument, though the use of the various images which he employs shows how deep was the conviction of this doctrine at that time, and how extensively it prevailed. The light of the wicked shall be put out - Light here is an emblem of prosperity.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
That (Job 18:4) cannot be. The decree of God is unalterable, the light (prosperity) of the wicked shall at length be put out. his fire--alluding to Arabian hospitality, which prided itself on welcoming the stranger to the fire in the tent, and even lit fires to direct him to it. The ungodly shall be deprived of the means to show hospitality.
The light of the wicked shall be put out - Some think it would be better to translate the original, “Let the light of the wicked be extinguished!” Thou art a bad man, and thou hast perverted the understanding which God hath given thee. Let that understanding, that abused gift, be taken away. From this verse to the end of the chapter is a continual invective against Job.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| גַּ֤ם | gam | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| א֣וֹר | ʾor | [the] light of | H216 → | 121 times |
| רְשָׁעִ֣ים | reshaim | wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| יִדְעָ֑ךְ | yidakh | it is extinguished | H1846 → | 9 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִ֝גַּ֗הּ | yigah | it shines | H5050 → | |
| שְׁבִ֣יב | sheviv | [the] flame of | H7632 → | |
| אִשּֽׁוֹ׃ | ʾisho | fire his | H784 → | 378 times |
גַּ֤םalso
gamH1571 →769 times
א֣וֹר[the] light of
ʾorH216 →121 times
רְשָׁעִ֣יםwicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
יִדְעָ֑ךְit is extinguished
yidakhH1846 →9 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִ֝גַּ֗הּit shines
yigahH5050 →
שְׁבִ֣יב[the] flame of
shevivH7632 →
אִשּֽׁוֹ׃fire his
ʾishoH784 →378 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 13:9The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
it leads to
- Proverbs 24:20
For the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 20:20
Whoever curses his father or mother, his lamp will be extinguished in deepest darkness.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 4:18
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
- Proverbs 24:20
Through
Proverbs 20:20Whoever curses his father or mother, his lamp will be extinguished in deepest darkness.
it leads to
- Exodus 21:17
Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death.
- Proverbs 30:11
There is a generation of those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.
- Exodus 21:17
Through
Job 21:17How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come upon them? Does God, in His anger, apportion destruction?
it leads to
- Job 18:5–6
Indeed, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished; the flame of his fire does not glow.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 18:5–6
Through
Proverbs 24:20For the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.
it leads to
- Proverbs 13:9
The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 13:9
Through
Isaiah 50:11Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who array yourselves with firebrands, walk in the light of your fire and of the firebrands you have lit! This is what you will receive from My…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 17:5–7
This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
- Jeremiah 17:5–7
About Job
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XIV; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.