Job 20:29
in Job 20This is the wicked man’s portion from God, the inheritance God has appointed him.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
This is the portion of a wicked man from God, And the heritage appointed unto him by God.
KJV
This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.
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This verse in Job 20
Commentary
12 notes on this verseVer. 29. This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage of his words from the Lord. 39. For if, while placed in this life, he had been minded to act rightly, he would have had for his 'portion' with the Lord fellowship in the kingdom of heaven; but because he chose to be subjected to bad desires, his 'portion from the Lord' he found in torment, because he did not seek to obtain a share in the grace of that Lord. But it is well said, And the heritage of his words from the Lord.
This site's exposition
Total darkness is reserved for his treasures
on Job 20:26-29
The speech closes with "A fire unfanned". The last line, "This is the wicked man’s portion from God", presents the catalogue as one doctrine, and Job is never named in it. Watson notes that this is Zophar's last speech, since he takes no turn in the friends' third round.
This site's exposition
the inheritance God has appointed him
Zophar ends where he began at verse 5, on the fate of the wicked. Wesley explains the inheritance as settled and sure, the opposite of wealth gained by fraud and violence. Henry calls the verse fair warning that the portion will come.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
[The wrath of God strikes] both the circumcised, who act impiously against Christ, and the heretic and indeed any who are ungodly. The retribution of each is according to what has been shown above. Do you understand who is the overseer mentioned here? God is called "overseer," and his bishops must endeavor in every way to put into practice his model, if they are good.
"Let a day of wrath come upon him. This is the portion for the ungodly man from the Lord, and the possession of his goods appointed him by the all-seeing God." Since he did not recognize the benevolence of God while he possessed his goods, …
The Medieval Church1 voice
Then in epilogue he says, "This is the lot of the evil man given by God," which he acquired for himself by evil works, "and the heritage of his words from God," which he acquired for himself by his evil words. Note that in the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Heritage - Hebrew. the heritage; so called, to denote the stability and assurance of it, that it is as firm as an inheritance to the right heir; and in opposition to that inheritance which he had gotten by fraud and violence.
): This is the portion of a wicked man from God; it is allotted him, it is designed him, as his portion. He will have it at last, as a child has his portion, and he will have it for a perpetuity; it is what he must abide by: This is the heritage of his decree from God; it is the settled rule of his judgment, and fair warning is given of it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 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
This is the portion of a wicked man from God,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
This is the portion of a wicked man - This conclusion is similar to that which Bildad drew at the close of his speech, Job 18:21. Zophar intended, undoubtedly, that Job should apply it to himself, and that he should draw the inference, that one who had been treated in this manner, must be a wicked man. And the heritage appointed - Margin, “of his decree from.” The Hebrew is,” Of his word” (אמרוּ 'êmerô ) - that is, of his “purpose.” The idea is, that this is the divine rule, or arrangement. It is not a matter of chance.
This is the portion - As God has dealt with the murmuring Israelites, and with the rebellious sons of Korah, so will he deal with those who murmur against the dispensations of his providence, and rebel against his authority. Instead of an earthly portion, and an ecclesiastical heritage, such as Korah, Dathan, and Abiram sought; they shall have fire from God to scorch them, and the earth to swallow them up. Dr. Stock, bishop of Killala, who has noticed the allusion to the quails, and for which he has been most unmeritedly ridiculed, gives us the following note on the passage: - “Here I apprehend is a fresh example of the known usage of Hebrew poets, in adorning their compositions by allusions to facts in the history of their own people. It has escaped all the interpreters; and it is the more important, because it fixes the date of this poem, so far as to prove its having been composed subsequently to the transgression of Israel, at Kibroth Hattaavah, recorded in Num 11:33, Num 11:34. […]
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זֶ֤ה׀ | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| חֵֽלֶק־ | chelek- | [is the] portion of | H2506 → | 67 times |
| אָדָ֣ם | ʾadam | a person | H120 → | 551 times |
| רָ֭שָׁע | rasho' | wicked | H7563 → | 263 times |
| מֵאֱלֹהִ֑ים | meelohim | from God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וְנַחֲלַ֖ת | venachalat | and [the] inheritance of | H5159 → | 222 times |
| אִמְר֣וֹ | ʾimro | decree his | H561 → | 49 times |
| מֵאֵֽל׃ פ | meel | from God | H410 → | 241 times |
זֶ֤ה׀this
zehH2088 →1180 times
חֵֽלֶק־[is the] portion of
chelek-H2506 →67 times
אָדָ֣םa person
ʾadamH120 →551 times
רָ֭שָׁעwicked
rasho'H7563 →263 times
מֵאֱלֹהִ֑יםfrom God
meelohimH430 →2601 times
וְנַחֲלַ֖תand [the] inheritance of
venachalatH5159 →222 times
אִמְר֣וֹdecree his
ʾimroH561 →49 times
מֵאֵֽל׃ פfrom God
meelH410 →241 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
Lamentations 3:38Do not both adversity and good come from the mouth of the Most High?
it leads to
- Isaiah 45:7
I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things.
- Amos 3:6
If a ram’s horn sounds in a city, do the people not tremble? If calamity comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?
- Jeremiah 32:42
For this is what the LORD says: Just as I have brought all this great disaster on this people, so I will bring on them all the good I have promised them.
- Job 2:10
“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
- Psalms 75:7
but it is God who judges; He brings down one and exalts another.
- Isaiah 45:7
Through
Job 18:21Surely such is the dwelling of the wicked and the place of one who does not know God.”
it leads to
- Titus 1:16
They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
- Jeremiah 9:3
“They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:5
not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God;
- Titus 1:16
About Job
This page draws on 10 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); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XV; 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 20:28-29; Origen of Alexandria, FRAGMENTS ON JOB 14.106, 110; R. A. Watson, The Book of Job, Expositor's Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.