Job 21:16
in Job 21Still, their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Lo, their prosperity is not in their hand: The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
KJV
Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
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This verse in Job 21
Commentary
9 notes on this verseVer. 16. But because their good things are not in their hand, may their counsel be far from me. 54. He 'holds his good things in his hand,' who in despising temporal things, forces them under the dominion of the mind. For whoever loves them over much, subjects himself more to them, than them to himself.
This site's exposition
Leave us alone
on Job 21:14-16
Job reports the wicked saying to God, "Leave us alone", the words Eliphaz will use of wicked men at 22:17. Job reports it and refuses it, "so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked". Delitzsch notes that the line keeps his observation apart from his conviction.
This site's exposition
their prosperity is not in their own hands
Wesley and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read it plainly: the prosperity of the wicked rests in God's hand, and Job keeps far from their counsel. Barnes, following Schultens and Rosenmuller, takes the line as irony quoting the friends. The reading is disputed.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Thus he most clearly refuted their opinion, showing that temporal prosperity is not always the reward of virtue nor temporal adversity the punishment of sin, because evil men frequently prosper in this life although they merit nothing good from God, and with this they suffer …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Lo - But wicked men have no reason to reject God, because of their prosperity, for their wealth, is not in their hand; neither obtained, nor kept by their own might, but only by God's power and favour.
Lo, their good is not in their hand,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Their good is not in their hand - With all their boasting and self-dependence, God only lends them his bounty; and though it appears to be their own, yet it is at his disposal. Some of the wicked he permits to live and die in affluence, provided it be acquired in the ordinary way of his providence, by trade, commerce, etc. Others he permits to possess it for a while only, and then strips them of their illegally procured property.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
not in their hand--but in the hand of God. This is Job's difficulty, that God who has sinners prosperity (good) in His hand should allow them to have it. is--rather, "may the counsel of the wicked be far from me!" [UMBREIT].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Lo, their good is not in their hand - Schultens, Rosenmuller, and Noyes, suppose, I think, correctly, that this is to be understood ironically, or as referring to what “they” had maintained. “Lo! you say, that their good is not in their hand! They do not enjoy prosperity, do they? They are soon overwhelmed with calamity, are they? How often have I seen it otherwise! How often is it a fact that they continue to enjoy prosperity, and live and die in peace!” The common interpretation, which Prof. Lee has adopted, seems to me to be much less probable. According to that it means that “their prosperity was not brought about or preserved by their own power. It was by the power of God, and was under his control. An inscrutable Providence governs all things.” But the true sense is, that Job is replying to the arguments which they had advanced, and one of those was, that whatever prosperity they had was not at all secure, but that in a moment it might be, and often was, wrested from them. Job maintains the contrary, and affirms that it was a somewhat unusual occurrence Job 21:17, that the wicked were plunged into sudden calamity. The phrase “in their hand” means “in their power,” or under their control, and at their disposal. The counsel of the wicked is far from me - Or, rather, “far be it from me!” Perhaps the meaning is this, “Do not misunderstand me. I maintain that the wicked are often prospered, and that God does not in this life deal with them according to their deserts. They have life, and health, and property. But do not suppose that I am their advocate. Far be it from me to defend them. Far from me be their counsels and their plans. I have no sympathy with them. […]
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֵ֤ן | hen | there! | H2005 → | 316 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בְיָדָ֣ם | veyadam | [is] in own hand their | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| טוּבָ֑ם | tuvam | prosperity their | H2898 → | |
| עֲצַ֥ת | ʾatzat | [the] counsel of | H6098 → | 89 times |
| רְ֝שָׁעִ֗ים | reshaim | wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| רָ֣חֲקָה | rachakah | it is far | H7368 → | 57 times |
| מֶֽנִּי׃ | meni | from me | H4480 → | 1188 times |
הֵ֤ןthere!
henH2005 →316 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
בְיָדָ֣ם[is] in own hand their
veyadamH3027 →1618 times
טוּבָ֑םprosperity their
tuvamH2898 →
עֲצַ֥ת[the] counsel of
ʾatzatH6098 →89 times
רְ֝שָׁעִ֗יםwicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
רָ֣חֲקָהit is far
rachakahH7368 →57 times
מֶֽנִּי׃from me
meniH4480 →1188 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
Psalms 1:1Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.
it leads to
- Psalms 26:4–5
I do not sit with deceitful men, nor keep company with hypocrites.
- Jeremiah 15:17
I never sat with the band of revelers, nor did I celebrate with them. Because Your hand was on me, I sat alone, for You have filled me with indignation.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 4:14–15
Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers.
- Proverbs 13:20
He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.
- Psalms 119:1–2
Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the Law of the LORD.
- Psalms 26:4–5
Through
Genesis 49:6May I never enter their council; may I never join their assembly. For they kill men in their anger, and hamstring oxen on a whim.
it leads to
- Genesis 34:30
Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble upon me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people of this land. We are few in number; if…
- Psalms 26:9
Do not take my soul away with sinners, or my life with men of bloodshed,
- Genesis 34:30
Through
Job 22:18But it was He who filled their houses with good things; so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.
it leads to
- Job 12:6
The tents of robbers are safe, and those who provoke God are secure—those who carry their god in their hands.
- Job 12:6
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; 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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.