Job 34:20
in Job 34They die in an instant, in the middle of the night. The people convulse and pass away; the mighty are removed without human hand.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In a moment they die, even at midnight; The people are shaken and pass away, And the mighty are taken away without hand.
KJV
In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand.
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This verse in Job 34
Commentary
9 notes on this verseSuddenly shall they die, and the people shall bow down at midnight, and pass away. However long it be before the ungodly are taken out of this life, they are taken away suddenly, and at an instant, since they know not how to foresee their end by thinking on it. That is sudden to any one, which he has not been able to think of beforehand. That rich man was taken away suddenly, who left the barns which he was preparing, and found the place of hell, which he was not looking for.
This site's exposition
who is not partial to princes
on Job 34:19-20
Elihu carries the argument from earthly kings to the Creator, “who is not partial to princes and does not favor rich over poor”. Barnes reads “without human hand” as a claim that God's justice needs no human agent, a point Elihu presses in the verses that follow.
This site's exposition
in the middle of the night
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown picture the night as an attack on a camp, citing Exodus 12:29. Matthew Henry recalls the night the firstborn of Egypt died. The mighty and the people pass away in the same instant, while they feel secure.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
To answer the possible objection that God only accuses the powerful and does not punish them further, he continues with their twofold punishment. First, death overcomes them unexpectedly, and so he says, "They will die suddenly," as Isaiah says, "Suddenly, when it is not expected, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
In a moment shall they die,.... Princes as well as the common people, rich men as well as poor; all must and do die, great and small, high and low, kings and peasants, rich and poor men, and sometimes suddenly; are struck dead at once, and without any previous notice, that night, that hour, that moment their souls are required of them. The Targum interprets this of the men of Sodom.
This night thy soul shall be required. Observe the season of it: They shall be troubled at midnight, when they are secure and careless, and unable to help themselves; as the Egyptians when their first-born were slain. This is the immediate work of God: they are taken away, without hand, insensibly, by secret judgments.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
In a moment shall they die - Both are equally dependent on the Almighty for their breath and being; the mighty as well as the poor. If the great men of the earth have abused their power, he sometimes cuts them off by the most sudden and unexpected death; and even at midnight, when in security, and least capable of defense, they are cut off by the people whom they have oppressed, or by the invisible hand of the angel of death. This appears to be spoken in reference to Eastern tyrants, who seldom die a natural death.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
they--"the rich" and "princes" who offend God. the people--namely, of the guilty princes: guilty also themselves. at midnight--image from a night attack of an enemy on a camp, which becomes an easy prey (Ex 12:29, 30). without hand--without visible agency, by the mere word of God (so Job 20:26;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
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
In a moment shall they die - That is, the rich and the great. They pass suddenly off the stage of action. They have no power to compel God to favor them, and they have no permanency of existence here which can constitute a claim on his special favor. Soon they will lie undistinguished in the dust. All are in his hand; and when he wills it, they must lie down in the dust together. He exempts none from death; spares none on account of beauty, rank, wealth, talent, or learning, but consigns all indiscriminately to the grave-showing that he is disposed to treat them all alike. This is urged by Elihu as a proof that God has no partiality, but treats all people as being on the same level - and there is no more striking illustration of this than is furnished by death. All die. None are spared on account of title, wealth, rank, beauty, age, or wisdom. All die in a manner that shows that he has no favoritism. The rich man may die with a malady as painful and protracted as the poor man; the beautiful and accomplished with a disease as foul and loathsome as the beggar. The sad change that the body undergoes in the tomb is as repulsive in the one case as in the other; and amidst all the splendor of rank, and the magnificence of dress and equipage, God intends to keep the great truth before the minds of people, that they are really on a level, and that all must share at his hand alike. And the people shall be troubled - They shall be shaken, agitated, alarmed. They dread impending danger, or the prospect of sudden destruction. At midnight - The image here is probably taken from an earthquake, or from a sudden onset made by a band of robbers on a village at night. The essential thought is that of the suddenness with which God can take away the mighty and the mean together. […]
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| רֶ֤גַע׀ | rega' | a moment | H7281 → | 22 times |
| יָמֻתוּ֮ | yamutu | they die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| וַחֲצ֪וֹת | vachatzot | and [the] middle of | H2676 → | |
| לָ֥יְלָה | layelah | [the] night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| יְגֹעֲשׁ֣וּ | yegoashu | they are shaken | H1607 → | |
| עָ֣ם | ʾam | a people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וְיַעֲבֹ֑רוּ | veyaavoru | so they may pass away | H5674 → | 556 times |
| וְיָסִ֥ירוּ | ve·ya·si·ru | and people may remove | H5493 → | 299 times |
| אַ֝בִּ֗יר | ʾabir | [the] mighty | H47 → | |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בְיָֽד׃ | veyad | by a hand | H3027 → | 1618 times |
רֶ֤גַע׀a moment
rega'H7281 →22 times
יָמֻתוּ֮they die
yamutuH4191 →839 times
וַחֲצ֪וֹתand [the] middle of
vachatzotH2676 →
לָ֥יְלָה[the] night
layelahH3915 →233 times
יְגֹעֲשׁ֣וּthey are shaken
yegoashuH1607 →
עָ֣םa people
ʾamH5971 →1873 times
וְיַעֲבֹ֑רוּso they may pass away
veyaavoruH5674 →556 times
וְיָסִ֥ירוּand people may remove
ve·ya·si·ruH5493 →299 times
אַ֝בִּ֗יר[the] mighty
ʾabirH47 →
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
בְיָֽד׃by a hand
veyadH3027 →1618 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
1 Samuel 26:10David added, “As surely as the LORD lives, the LORD Himself will strike him down; either his day will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 31:14
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, the time of your death is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, so that I may commission him.” So Moses and Joshua…
- Genesis 47:29
When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise…
- Romans 12:19
Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
- Psalms 37:13
but the Lord laughs, seeing that their day is coming.
- 1 Samuel 31:6
So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day.
- Deuteronomy 31:14
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
Isaiah 30:13this iniquity of yours is like a breach about to fail, a bulge in a high wall, whose collapse will come suddenly—in an instant!
it leads to
- Isaiah 29:5
But your many foes will be like fine dust, the multitude of the ruthless like blowing chaff. Then suddenly, in an instant,
- Ezekiel 13:10–15
Because they have led My people astray, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and whitewashing any flimsy wall that is built,
- Isaiah 29:5
About Job
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Job; 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 XXV; 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.