Job 21:9
in Job 21Their homes are safe from fear; no rod of punishment from God is upon them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Their houses are safe from fear, Neither is the rod of God upon them.
KJV
Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.
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This verse in Job 21
Commentary
10 notes on this verseVer. 9. Their houses are secure and at peace, neither is the rod of God upon them. 47. Their 'houses are secure and at peace,' in that they live on committing sin, they do things to be mourned over, and they never leave their joys. And the 'rod' of discipline from Above 'does not smite them,' and they go on the more unrestrainedly in sin, in proportion as they are punished less for sin. But as we have heard the things, which go prosperously within, what prosperity smiles on them in the field too, let us see.
This site's exposition
Why do the wicked live on
on Job 21:7-9
Job sets plain observation against the doctrine Zophar has just stated at 20:5: "Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power". The line "Their homes are safe from fear; no rod of punishment from God is upon them" answers Zophar's catalogue of ruin point for point.
This site's exposition
Their homes are safe from fear
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown render the line as peace from fear, the wicked man's home being peace itself. The friends had said the wicked man lives in dread, as at Job 15:21 to 24. Barnes notes that Job says the opposite: "no rod of punishment from God is upon them".
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Since you believe to be wise and to know the reason why I suffer these afflictions, now answer my question. Why does it happen that very often many impious persons reach an old age in their wealth?… Their fields produce large crops, and they are …
The Medieval Church1 voice
He then pursues in detail the prosperity of the evil men already treated. First, he does so as to themselves, and he begins with immunity from evil when he says, "Their homes," their families, and the necessities of life, "are safe," from the assault of …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), and so far are they from the killing wounds of God's sword or arrows that they do not feel the smart of so much as the rod of God upon them. [3.] They are rich and thrive in their estates.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Their houses are safe from fear,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Their houses are safe from fear - Margin, “peace from.” The friends of Job had maintained just the contrary; see Job 20:27-28; Job 15:21-24. Their idea was, that the wicked man would never be free from alarms. Job says, that they lived in security and peace, and that their houses are preserved from the intrusions of evil-minded people. Neither is the rod of God upon them - The “rod” is an emblem of punishment. The idea is, that they were free from the chastisements which their sins deserved.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Literally, "peace from fear"; with poetic force. Their house is peace itself, far removed from fear. Opposed to the friends' assertion, as to the bad (Job 15:21-24;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Neither is the rod of God upon them - They are not afflicted as other men.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בָּתֵּיהֶ֣ם | bateihem | houses their | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| שָׁל֣וֹם | shalom | [are] safety | H7965 → | 236 times |
| מִפָּ֑חַד | mipachad | from fear | H6343 → | 49 times |
| וְלֹ֤א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שֵׁ֖בֶט | shevet | [the] rod of | H7626 → | 190 times |
| אֱל֣וֹהַּ | ʾeloah | God | H433 → | 57 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ | ʾaleihem | [is] on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
בָּתֵּיהֶ֣םhouses their
bateihemH1004 →2046 times
שָׁל֣וֹם[are] safety
shalomH7965 →236 times
מִפָּ֑חַדfrom fear
mipachadH6343 →49 times
וְלֹ֤אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
שֵׁ֖בֶט[the] rod of
shevetH7626 →190 times
אֱל֣וֹהַּGod
ʾeloahH433 →57 times
עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃[is] on them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 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
Job 15:21Sounds of terror fill his ears; in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.
it leads to
- Job 18:11
Terrors frighten him on every side and harass his every step.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:3
While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
- Leviticus 26:36
As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to…
- 1 Corinthians 10:10
And do not complain, as some of them did, and were killed by the destroying angel.
- Revelation 9:11
They were ruled by a king, the angel of the Abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek it is Apollyon.
- Job 18:11
Through
Psalms 73:19How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors!
it leads to
- Isaiah 47:11
But disaster will come upon you; you will not know how to charm it away. A calamity will befall you that you will be unable to ward off. Devastation will happen to you suddenly…
- Isaiah 47:11
Through
Job 9:34Let Him remove His rod from me, so that His terror will no longer frighten me.
it leads to
- Psalms 39:10
Remove Your scourge from me; I am perishing by the force of Your hand.
- Psalms 39:10
Through
Psalms 73:5They are free of the burdens others carry; they are not afflicted like other men.
it leads to
- Psalms 73:12
Behold, these are the wicked— always carefree as they increase their wealth.
- Psalms 73:12
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 (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Olympiodorus of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON JOB 21:6-14 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.