Job 20:21
in Job 20Nothing is left for him to consume; thus his prosperity will not endure.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
There was nothing left that he devoured not; Therefore his prosperity shall not endure.
KJV
There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.
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This verse in Job 20
Commentary
10 notes on this verseVer. 21. There shall none of his meat be left. 25. 'His meat' is all that he coveted with wrong desire; but when the hypocrite is struck, 'there is none of his meat left,' in that when he is himself carried to eternal punishments, he is parted from all the good things that he had gotten here. And hence it is yet further added; Therefore shall nought remain from his goods. For if 'aught did remain of his goods,' he would take along with him the things that he had possession of.
This site's exposition
his appetite is never satisfied
on Job 20:20-23
Judgment falls: "When he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats". Barnes reads the image as a reversal of verse 12, the sweetness taken into the mouth answered by wrath poured out at the table.
This site's exposition
Nothing is left for him to consume
Coverdale, cited by Clarke, renders it that he devoured so greedily that nothing was left behind. Henry notes that Zophar aims the line at Job, who had lost everything. His prosperity cannot last.
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 Church1 voice
Then he clearly shows the same is true in the sin of ravenous gluttony when he says, "Nothing has remained of his food," because whatever he had he turned to his own uses, leaving nothing for the need of others. He then adds the fitting …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
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
In all this Zophar reflects upon Job, who had lost all and was reduced to the last extremity. 23 When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:28w-of-46
There shall none of his meat be left,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
“There shall none of his meat be left Margin, “or, be none left for his meat.” Noyes renders it, “Because nothing escaped his greatness.” Prof. Lee, “no surviver shall remain for his provision.” But the meaning, probably, is, nothing shall remain of his food, or it shall all be wasted, or dissipated. Therefore, shall no man look for his goods - Or rather, his goods or his property shall not endure. But a great variety of interpretations has been given to the passage.
There shall none of his meat be left - Coverdale translates thus: He devoured so gredily, that he left nothinge behynde, therefore his goodes shal not prospere. He shall be stripped of every thing.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֵין־ | ʾein- | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| שָׂרִ֥יד | sarid | [is] a survivor | H8300 → | 28 times |
| לְאָכְל֑וֹ | leakhelo | to devour he | H398 → | 810 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | there- | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֵּ֝֗ן | ken | -fore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָחִ֥יל | yachil | it will endure | H2342 → | 58 times |
| טוּבֽוֹ׃ | tuvo | prosperity his | H2898 → |
אֵין־there not
ʾein-H369 →789 times
שָׂרִ֥יד[is] a survivor
saridH8300 →28 times
לְאָכְל֑וֹto devour he
leakheloH398 →810 times
עַל־there-
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֵּ֝֗ן-fore
kenH3651 →771 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָחִ֥ילit will endure
yachilH2342 →58 times
טוּבֽוֹ׃prosperity his
tuvoH2898 →
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
Jeremiah 17:11Like a partridge hatching eggs it did not lay is the man who makes a fortune unjustly. In the middle of his days his riches will desert him, and in the end he will…
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:20
A faithful man will abound with blessings, but one eager to be rich will not go unpunished.
- Proverbs 21:6
Making a fortune by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a deadly pursuit.
- Jeremiah 22:17
“But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”
- 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,
- Proverbs 15:27
He who is greedy for unjust gain brings trouble on his household, but he who hates bribes will live.
- Proverbs 28:20
Through
Job 18:19He has no offspring or posterity among his people, no survivor where he once lived.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 22:30
This is what the LORD says: “Enroll this man as childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime. None of his descendants will prosper to sit on the throne of David or…
- Jeremiah 22:30
Through
Job 15:29He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure. His possessions will not overspread the land.
it leads to
- Job 27:16–17
Though he heaps up silver like dust and piles up a wardrobe like clay,
- James 1:11
For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
- Job 27:16–17
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 on the Book of Job; 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 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.