Bible Strands
Job 18:16
The roots beneath him dry up, and the branches above him wither away.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — A speaker in the Job 18 poetic discourse describes the complete ruin of a wicked man, positioned between the imagery of consuming fire in his tent and the erasure of his name from the earth.
The words — שָֽׁרָשָׁ֣י/ו (sha.ra.shav) = his roots and קְצִירֽוֹ (ke.tzi.ro) = his branches.
The thread — The motif of withered roots and dead branches appears in Hosea 9:16, Isaiah 5:24, and Job 15:30 to depict divine judgment and the failure of wickedness to produce lasting fruit.
Why it lands — The text asserts that the wicked face total, inescapable ruin from both foundation to canopy, demanding the reader recognize that human schemes cannot survive divine judgment.
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
His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off.
Cross-references
- Hosea 9:16 Ephraim is struck down; their root is withered; they cannot bear fruit. Even if they bear children, I will slay the darlings of their wombs.
- Isaiah 5:24 Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes the straw, and as dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will decay and their blossoms will blow away like dust; for they have rejected the instruction of the LORD of Hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
- Job 15:30 He will not escape from the darkness; the flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.
- Amos 2:9 Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, though his height was like that of the cedars, and he was as strong as the oaks. Yet I destroyed his fruit above and his roots below.
- Malachi 4:1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”
- Job 5:3 I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.
- Job 29:19 My roots will spread out to the waters, and the dew will rest nightly on my branches.