Job 20:22
in Job 20In the midst of his plenty, he will be distressed; the full force of misery will come upon him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: The hand of every one that is in misery shall come upon him.
KJV
In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.
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This verse in Job 20
Commentary
11 notes on this verseIn the fullness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits - This is a fine saying, and few of the menders of Job’s text have been able to improve the version. It is literally true of every great, rich, wicked man; he has no God, and anxieties and perplexities torment him, notwithstanding he has his portion in this life. Every hand of the wicked shall come upon him - All kinds of misery shall be his portion.
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
In the midst of his plenty, he will be distressed
Henry compares the man in Christ's parable whose ground brought forth plenty and who grew anxious. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the full force of misery as the power of the poor he oppressed, now turned against him. Clarke calls it true of every great and wicked man.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Perhaps not even his goods will flourish, but they will become corrupted while still in bloom. In fact, if he appears to be full and abundant in all goods, then every need and affliction will assault him, so that he fills his belly, that is, …
The Medieval Church1 voice
As to the fact that he consumed superfluous things for his own uses he then adds another fitting punishment saying, "When he is satisfied he will be bloated." Here he uses the comparison of a man who eats too much and whose bowels become bloated …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
In the fulness of his sufficiency, when he thinks himself most happy, and most sure of the continuance of his happiness, he shall be in straits, that is, he shall think himself so, through the anxieties and perplexities of his own mind, as that rich man who, when his ground brought forth plentifully, cried out, What shall I do?
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 the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
On the wicked God shall rain fire and brimstone. There is no fence against this, but in Christ, who is the only covert from the storm and tempest, Isa. xxxii. This wrath shall be cast upon him when he is about to fill his belly, just going to glut himself with what he has gotten and promising himself abundant satisfaction in it.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
shall be--rather, "he is (feeleth) straitened." The next clause explains in what respect. wicked--Rather, "the whole hand of the miserable (whom he had oppressed) cometh upon him"; namely, the sense of his having oppressed the poor, now in turn comes with all its power (hand) on him.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
In the fulness of his sufficiency - When he seems to have an abundance. He shall be in straits - Either by the dread of calamity, or because calamity shall come suddenly upon him, and his property shall be swept away. When everything seemed to be abundant he should be reduced to want. Every hand of the wicked shall come upon him - Margin, “or, troublesome” The meaning is, that all that the wretched or miserable endure should come suddenly upon him. Rosenmuller suggests, however, that it means that all the poor, and all who had been oppressed and robbed by him, would suddenly come upon him to recover their own property, and would scatter all that he had. The general meaning is clear, that he would be involved in misery from every quarter, or on every hand.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בִּמְלֹ֣אות | bimlot | when is full | H4390 → | 249 times |
| שִׂ֭פְקוֹ | sifkov | sufficiency his | H5607 → | |
| יֵ֣צֶר | yetzer | it will be distress | H3334 → | |
| ל֑וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יַ֖ד | yad | hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| עָמֵ֣ל | ʾamel | a sufferer | H6001 → | |
| תְּבוֹאֶֽנּוּ׃ | tevoenu | it will come to him | H935 → | 2568 times |
בִּמְלֹ֣אותwhen is full
bimlotH4390 →249 times
שִׂ֭פְקוֹsufficiency his
sifkovH5607 →
יֵ֣צֶרit will be distress
yetzerH3334 →
ל֑וֹto him
lo
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
יַ֖דhand of
yadH3027 →1618 times
עָמֵ֣לa sufferer
ʾamelH6001 →
תְּבוֹאֶֽנּוּ׃it will come to him
tevoenuH935 →2568 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
Revelation 18:7As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow…
it leads to
- Isaiah 47:7–9
You said, ‘I will be queen forever.’ You did not take these things to heart or consider their outcome.
- Zephaniah 2:15
This carefree city that dwells securely, that thinks to herself: “I am it, and there is none besides me,” what a ruin she has become, a resting place for beasts. Everyone who passes by…
- Ezekiel 28:2–10
“Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of…
- Lamentations 1:1
How lonely lies the city, once so full of people! She who was great among the nations has become a widow. The princess of the provinces has become a slave.
- Isaiah 47:7–9
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,
- Job 27:16–17
Through
Job 1:15the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
it leads to
- Genesis 10:7
The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. And the sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.
- Genesis 10:7
Through
Job 16:11God has delivered me to unjust men; He has thrown me to the clutches of the wicked.
it leads to
- Psalms 27:12
Do not hand me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.
- Psalms 31:8
You have not delivered me to the enemy; You have set my feet in the open.
- Psalms 27:12
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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Olympiodorus of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON JOB 20:21-23 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.