Job 20:23
in Job 20When he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
When he is about to fill his belly, God will cast the fierceness of his wrath upon him, And will rain it upon him while he is eating.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Job 20
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
When he is about to fill his belly - Or rather, “there shall be enough to fill his belly.” But what “kind” of food it should be, is indicated in the following part of the verse. “God” would fill him with the food of his displeasure. It is spoken sarcastically, as of a gormandizer, or a man who lived to enjoy eating, and the meaning is, that he should for once have enough. So Rosenmuller interprets it. God shall cast the fury - This is the kind of food that he shall have.
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
God will vent His fury upon him
Barnes hears sarcasm: the glutton gets his fill, and the food is God's displeasure. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take the rain as lightning and see an allusion to the fire that fell on flocks and servants in Job 1:16. Wesley reads it as fury falling beyond escape.
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 Church2 voices
Ver. 23. Would that his belly might be filled, that God might cast the fury of His wrath upon him, and rain His war upon him. 29. The Lord 'rains His war' upon this hypocrite, when he smites his deeds with the swords of His judgments. Thus for God to 'rain war,' is His pressing hard to destruction the life of the wicked man by His strict sentences from on high.
Sophar considered then that the abundance of the evil man is harmful to him. As if from zeal for justice, he desires the greatest abundance of temporal goods for Job so that he suffers punishment. So the text continues, "Would that his belly be filled," …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Rain - This phrase denotes both the author of his plagues, God, and the nature and quality of them, that they shall come upon him like rain; with great vehemency, so that he cannot prevent or avoid it.
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
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
When he is about to fill his belly,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Rather, "God shall cast (may God send) [UMBREIT] upon him the fury of His wrath to fill his belly!" while . . . eating--rather, "shall rain it upon him for his food!" Fiery rain, that is, lightning (Ps 11:6; alluding to Job's misfortune, Job 1:16). The force of the image is felt by picturing to one's self the opposite nature of a refreshing rain in the desert (Ex 16:4;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
When he is about to fill his belly - Here seems a plain allusion to the lustings of the children of Israel in the desert. God showered down quails upon them, and showered down his wrath while the flesh was in their mouth. The allusion is too plain to be mistaken; and this gives some countenance to the bishop of Killala’s version of Job 20:20 - “Because he acknowledged not the quail in his stomach, In the midst of his delight he shall not escape.” That שלו, which we translate quietness, means a quail, also the history of the Hebrews’ lustings, Exo 16:2-11, and Num 11:31-35, sufficiently proves. Let the reader mark all the expressions here, Job 20:20-23, and compare them with Num 11:31-35, and he will probably be of opinion that Zophar has that history immediately in view, which speaks of the Hebrews’ murmurings for bread and flesh, and the miraculous showers of manna and quails, and the judgments that fell on them for their murmurings. Let us compare a few passages: - Job 20:20. He shall not feel quietness - שלו selav, the quail. “He shall not save of that which he desired.” Job 20:21: “There shall none of his meat be left.” Exo 16:19: “Let no man leave of it till the morning.” Job 20:22. In the fullness of his sufficiency, he shall be in straits - Exo 16:20: “But some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms and stank.” Job 20:23. 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 - Num 11:33: “And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague.” Psa 78:26-30: “He rained flesh upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea: so they did eat and were filled-but, while the meat was in their mouth, the wrath of God came upon them,” etc. […]
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יְהִ֤י׀ | yehi | may he be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְמַלֵּ֬א | lemale' | [about] to fill | H4390 → | 249 times |
| בִטְנ֗וֹ | vitno | belly his | H990 → | 72 times |
| יְֽשַׁלַּח־ | yeshalach- | he will send | H7971 → | 845 times |
| בּ֭וֹ | bo | on him | ||
| חֲר֣וֹן | charon | [the] burning of | H2740 → | |
| אַפּ֑וֹ | ʾapo | anger his | H639 → | 276 times |
| וְיַמְטֵ֥ר | veyamter | and he will send rain | H4305 → | |
| עָ֝לֵ֗ימוֹ | ʾaleimov | on him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בִּלְחוּמֽוֹ׃ | bilchumo | in bowel[s] his | H3894 → |
יְהִ֤י׀may he be
yehiH1961 →3559 times
לְמַלֵּ֬א[about] to fill
lemale'H4390 →249 times
בִטְנ֗וֹbelly his
vitnoH990 →72 times
יְֽשַׁלַּח־he will send
yeshalach-H7971 →845 times
בּ֭וֹon him
bo
חֲר֣וֹן[the] burning of
charonH2740 →
אַפּ֑וֹanger his
ʾapoH639 →276 times
וְיַמְטֵ֥רand he will send rain
veyamterH4305 →
עָ֝לֵ֗ימוֹon him
ʾaleimovH5921 →5755 times
בִּלְחוּמֽוֹ׃in bowel[s] his
bilchumoH3894 →
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
Genesis 19:24Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 29:23
All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the…
- Isaiah 13:19
And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Jude 1:7
In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal…
- 2 Peter 2:6
if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes as an example of what is coming on the ungodly;
- Amos 4:11
“Some of you I overthrew as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 29:23
Through
Numbers 11:33But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and the LORD struck them with a severe plague.
it leads to
- Psalms 78:30–31
Yet before they had filled their desire, with the food still in their mouths,
- Psalms 78:30–31
Through
Exodus 9:23So Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the earth. So the LORD rained down hail upon the land of Egypt.
it leads to
- Joshua 10:11
As they fled before Israel along the descent from Beth-horon to Azekah, the LORD cast down on them large hailstones from the sky, and more of them were killed by the hailstones than by…
- Psalms 18:13
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded— hailstones and coals of fire.
- Joshua 10:11
About Job
This page draws on 12 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); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Job; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XV; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Olympiodorus of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON JOB 20:21-23 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.