Job 24:19
in Job 24As drought and heat consume the melting snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Drought and heat consume the snow waters: So doth Sheol those that have sinned.
KJV
Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.
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This verse in Job 24
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Drought and heat consume the snow-waters - Margin, “violently take;” see the notes at Job 6:17. The word rendered “consume,” and in the margin “violently take” (יגזלו yı̂gâzelû), means properly to strip off, as skin from the flesh; and then to pluck or tear away by force; to strip, to spoil, to rob. The meaning here is, that the heat seems to seize and carry away the snow waters - to bear them off, as a plunderer does spoil. There is much poetic beauty in this image.
This site's exposition
They are but foam on the surface of the water
on Job 24:18-21
"As drought and heat consume the melting snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned", the swift retribution the friends have preached. Readers divide over whether Job speaks this as his own concession that judgment is only delayed, or sets the friends' creed inside his speech.
This site's exposition
so Sheol steals those who have sinned
Drought and heat consume melting snow without a trace, and Sheol takes the sinful as quickly. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown compare the streams of Job 6:16-18. Barnes notes that the verb for steals means to seize by force.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Let him pass to excessive heat from the snow waters. And his sin even to hell. Iniquity is on this account likened to cold, because the mind that sins it binds up with insensibility. Hence it is written; As a fountain has made her waters cold, so she has made her wickedness cold. Contrariwise charity is 'heat,' in this respect that it fires the soul it fills. Of which 'heat' is written, Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
And to express this he then says, "let him pass over to great heat from freezing waters," as though changing from one vice to a contrary vice because he does not remain in the mean of virtue. All wicked men suffer this punishment because, "the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
, and 23-25 ), so that, upon the whole matter, we cannot say that all who are in trouble are wicked; for it is certain that all who are in prosperity are not righteous.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Drought and heat consume the snow waters,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Arabian image; melted snow, as contrasted with the living fountain, quickly dries up in the sunburnt sand, not leaving a trace behind (Job 6:16-18). The Hebrew is terse and elliptical to express the swift and utter destruction of the godless; (so) "the grave--they have sinned!"
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
In Job 24:22-24, he states his own observation as the opposite. You say, "The sinner is swift, that is, swiftly passes away (as a thing floating) on the surface of the waters" (Ec 11:1; Ho 10:7). is cursed--by those who witness their "swift" destruction. beholdeth not--"turneth not to"; figuratively, for He cannot enjoy his pleasant possessions (Job 20:17;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Drought and heat consume the snow-waters - The public cisterns or large tanks which had been filled with water by the melting of the snow on the mountains, and which water was stored for the irrigation of their lands, had been entirely exhausted by the intensity of the heat, and the long continuance of drought. So doth the grave those which have sinned - For this whole paragraph we have only two words in the original; viz., שאול חטאו sheol chatau, “the pit, they have sinned;” which Mr. Good translates: - “They fall to their lowest depth.” I believe the meaning to be, - even the deepest tanks, which held most water, and retained it longest, had become exhausted; so that expectation and succor were cut off from this as well as from every other quarter. I have elsewhere shown that שאול sheol signifies, not only hell and the grave, but any deep pit; and, also, that חטא chata signifies to miss the mark. Mr. Good, properly aware of these acceptations of the original words, has translated as above; and it is the only ground on which any consistent meaning can be given to the original.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| צִיָּ֤ה | tziyah | drought | H6723 → | |
| גַם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| חֹ֗ם | chom | heat | H2527 → | |
| יִגְזְל֥וּ | yigzelu | they snatch away | H1497 → | 30 times |
| מֵֽימֵי־ | meimei- | [the] waters of | H4325 → | 581 times |
| שֶׁ֗לֶג | sheleg | snow | H7950 → | 20 times |
| שְׁא֣וֹל | sheol | Sheol | H7585 → | 66 times |
| חָטָֽאוּ׃ | chatau | [those who] they have sinned | H2398 → | 238 times |
צִיָּ֤הdrought
tziyahH6723 →
גַם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
חֹ֗םheat
chomH2527 →
יִגְזְל֥וּthey snatch away
yigzeluH1497 →30 times
מֵֽימֵי־[the] waters of
meimei-H4325 →581 times
שֶׁ֗לֶגsnow
shelegH7950 →20 times
שְׁא֣וֹלSheol
sheolH7585 →66 times
חָטָֽאוּ׃[those who] they have sinned
chatauH2398 →238 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
Luke 16:22One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:24
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
- Psalms 49:16–19
Do not be amazed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases.
- Revelation 14:13
And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors,…
- James 1:11
For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
- 1 Peter 2:24
Through
Proverbs 14:32The wicked man is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous man has a refuge even in death.
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 4:18
And the Lord will rescue me from every evil action and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
- Psalms 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
- 2 Timothy 4:18
Through
Psalms 49:14Like sheep they are destined for Sheol. Death will be their shepherd. The upright will rule them in the morning, and their form will decay in Sheol, far from their lofty abode.
it leads to
- Malachi 4:3
Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- 1 Corinthians 6:2
Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?
- Malachi 4:3
About Job
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on A. B. Davidson, The Book of Job, Cambridge Bible; Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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 XVI; 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 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.