Job 20:19
in Job 20For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; he has seized houses he did not build.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For he hath oppressed and forsaken the poor; He hath violently taken away a house, and he shall not build it up.
KJV
Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;
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This verse in Job 20
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Because he hath oppressed - Margin, “crushed.” Such is the Hebrew. And forsaken the poor - He has plundered them, and then forsaken them - as robbers do. The meaning is, that he had done this by his oppressive manner of dealing, and then left them to suffer and pine in want. He hath violently taken away an house which he builded not - That is, by overreaching and harsh dealings he has come in possession of dwellings which he did not build, or purchase in any proper manner.
This site's exposition
He will not enjoy the streams
on Job 20:17-19
Zophar says the wicked man forfeits "the rivers flowing with honey and cream". The reason given is concrete: "he has oppressed and forsaken the poor". Davidson notes that this is the one place in the speech where the doctrine names a specific wrong, beside the general triumph of verse 5.
This site's exposition
he has seized houses
Zophar charges that the man has oppressed and forsaken the poor and seized houses he did not build. Clarke holds that Zophar means Job all the while, and Barnes likens the man to a robber who plunders the poor. Henry counts it a sin that brings God's judgment.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"For he has broken down the houses of many poor men, and he has plundered a dwelling, though he did not build it. His possessions provide no security." He has broken down, that is, has shattered mercilessly [their houses], has carried off all their properties …
The Medieval Church2 voices
First, he clearly demonstrates this in the case of the sin of theft, where he posits two crimes in proper order. The first of these is the violent pillage which he means when he says, "He broke in pieces and stripped the house of the …
Ver. 19, 20. Because he hath broken down and laid bare the house of the poor, because he hath violently taken it away and not builded it, neither is he satisfied in his belly. 23. He 'breaks in pieces and lays bare the house of the poor,' who is not ashamed as well to rob out of avarice him whom he crushes by power. 'He violently taketh it away and doth not build it.' As if it were expressed in plain words; 'He that ought to have builded it, he over and above takes it away.'
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
This was the sin of the giants of the old world, and a sin that, as much as any, brings God's judgments upon nations and families. It is charged upon this wicked man, (1.) That he has forsaken the poor, taken no care of them, shown no kindness to them, nor made any provision for them.
4 Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, 5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? 6 Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds; 7 Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor - Literally, He hath broken in pieces the forsaken of the poor; כי רצץ עזב דלים ki ritstsats azab dallim. The poor have fled from famine, and left their children behind them; and this hard-hearted wretch, meaning Job all the while, has suffered them to perish, when he might have saved them alive. He hath violently taken away a house which he builded not - Or rather, He hath thrown down a house, and hath not rebuilt it. By neglecting or destroying the forsaken orphans of the poor, mentioned above, he has destroyed a house, (a family), while he might, by helping the wretched, have preserved the family from becoming extinct.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| רִ֭צַּץ | ritzatz | he has crushed | H7533 → | |
| עָזַ֣ב | ʾazav | he has neglected | H5800 → | 215 times |
| דַּלִּ֑ים | dalim | poor [people] | H1800 → | 47 times |
| בַּ֥יִת | bayit | a house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| גָּ֝זַ֗ל | gazal | he has seized | H1497 → | 30 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִבֶנֵֽהוּ׃ | yivenehu | he had built it | H1129 → | 376 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
רִ֭צַּץhe has crushed
ritzatzH7533 →
עָזַ֣בhe has neglected
ʾazavH5800 →215 times
דַּלִּ֑יםpoor [people]
dalimH1800 →47 times
בַּ֥יִתa house
bayitH1004 →2046 times
גָּ֝זַ֗לhe has seized
gazalH1497 →30 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יִבֶנֵֽהוּ׃he had built it
yivenehuH1129 →376 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
James 2:13For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
it leads to
- Matthew 5:7
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
- Matthew 6:15
But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.
- Proverbs 21:13
Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too shall cry out and receive no answer.
- Luke 6:37
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
- Ephesians 2:4–7
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
- Matthew 5:7
Through
James 2:6But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?
it leads to
- Proverbs 17:5
He who mocks the poor insults their Maker; whoever gloats over calamity will not go unpunished.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 17:5
Through
James 5:4Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:13
You must not defraud your neighbor or rob him. You must not withhold until morning the wages due a hired hand.
- Jeremiah 22:13
“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who makes his countrymen serve without pay, and fails to pay their wages,
- Leviticus 19:13
About Job
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on A. B. Davidson, The Book of Job, Cambridge Bible; Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XV; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Olympiodorus of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON JOB 20:19-21 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.