Bible Strands
Job 15:20
A wicked man writhes in pain all his days; only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Eliphaz addresses Job in a wisdom discourse to describe the inevitable fate of the wicked.
The words — מִתְחֹלֵל (mitḥōlēl) means writhing in pain, and נִצְפְּנוּ (niṣpəḇnū) means stored up or reserved.
The thread — The pattern of concealed judgment and sudden ruin recurs in Job 27:13, James 5:1, and Job 24:1.
Why it lands — The text states that a wicked person suffers constant agony while their remaining years are held in reserve, requiring a sober acknowledgment that divine justice is delayed but certain.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor.
Cross-references
- Job 27:13 This is the wicked man’s portion from God—the heritage the ruthless receive from the Almighty.
- James 5:1 Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you.
- Job 24:1 “Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment? Why may those who know Him never see His days?
- Luke 12:19 Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
- Psalms 90:3 You return man to dust, saying, “Return, O sons of mortals.”
- Psalms 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may present a heart of wisdom.
- Ecclesiastes 9:3 This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.
- Romans 8:22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time.