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Selected Verse: Job 34:20 - Strong Concordance
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| Job 34:20 |
Strong Concordance |
In a moment [07281] shall they die [04191], and the people [05971] shall be troubled [01607] at midnight [02676] [03915], and pass away [05674]: and the mighty [047] shall be taken away [05493] without hand [03027]. |
| |
King James |
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. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
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 (Exo 12:29-30).
without hand--without visible agency, by the mere word of God (so Job 20:26; Zac 4:6; Dan 2:34). |
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
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. Nothing can resist him, and as he has this absolute control over people, and deals with all alike, there is great impropriety in complaining of his government.
And the mighty - Margin, "They shall take away the mighty." The idea is, that the great shall be removed - to wit, by sudden death or by overwhelming calamiiy. The argueat of Elihu in this passage Job 34:18-20 is, that it would be esteemed great presumption to arraign the conduct of a prince or king, and it must be much more so to call in question the doings of him who is so superior to princes and kings that he shows them no partiality on account of their rank, but sweeps them away by sudden calamity as he does the most humble of mankind.
Without hand - That is, without any human instrumentality, or without the use of any visible means. It is by a word - by an expression of his will - by power where the agency is not seen. The design is, to show that God can do it with infinite ease. |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
| 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. |
34 Thou sawest [02370] [01934] till [05705] that a stone [069] was cut out [01505] without [03809] hands [03028], which smote [04223] the image [06755] upon [05922] his feet [07271] that were of iron [06523] and clay [02635], and brake [01855] them [01994] to pieces [01855].
6 Then he answered [06030] and spake [0559] unto me, saying [0559], This is the word [01697] of the LORD [03068] unto Zerubbabel [02216], saying [0559], Not by might [02428], nor by power [03581], but by my spirit [07307], saith [0559] the LORD [03068] of hosts [06635].
26 All darkness [02822] shall be hid [02934] in his secret places [06845]: a fire [0784] not blown [05301] shall consume [0398] him; it shall go ill [03415] with him that is left [08300] in his tabernacle [0168].
29 And it came to pass, that at midnight [02677] [03915] the LORD [03068] smote [05221] all the firstborn [01060] in the land [0776] of Egypt [04714], from the firstborn [01060] of Pharaoh [06547] that sat [03427] on his throne [03678] unto the firstborn [01060] of the captive [07628] that was in the dungeon [01004] [0953]; and all the firstborn [01060] of cattle [0929].
30 And Pharaoh [06547] rose up [06965] in the night [03915], he, and all his servants [05650], and all the Egyptians [04714]; and there was a great [01419] cry [06818] in Egypt [04714]; for there was not a house [01004] where there was not one dead [04191].
18 Is it fit to say [0559] to a king [04428], Thou art wicked [01100]? and to princes [05081], Ye are ungodly [07563]?
19 How much less to him that accepteth [05375] not the persons [06440] of princes [08269], nor regardeth [05234] the rich [07771] more than [06440] the poor [01800]? for they all are the work [04639] of his hands [03027].
20 In a moment [07281] shall they die [04191], and the people [05971] shall be troubled [01607] at midnight [02676] [03915], and pass away [05674]: and the mighty [047] shall be taken away [05493] without hand [03027].