Bible Strands
Job 18:20
Those in the west are appalled at his fate, while those in the east tremble in horror.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Bildad addresses Job in his second speech, describing the sudden ruin of a wicked man who leaves no offspring or survivors in his homeland.
The words — נָשְׁמָמוּ (nashmamu) means "they are appalled" or "devastated," and שְׂעָר (sa'ar) translates literally to "a shudder" or "trembling."
The thread — The concept of a fixed day of divine reckoning appears in Psalms 37:13, Jeremiah 50:27, and Ezekiel 21:25, where the appointed time of punishment is highlighted.
Why it lands — The text states that people from all directions react with shock and fear to the wicked man’s downfall, requiring the reader to acknowledge that divine judgment is inescapable and universally witnessed.
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
They that come after him shall be astonied at his day, as they that went before were affrighted.
Cross-references
- Psalms 37:13 but the Lord laughs, seeing that their day is coming.
- Jeremiah 50:27 Kill all her young bulls; let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them, for their day has come—the time of their punishment.
- Ezekiel 21:25 And you, O profane and wicked prince of Israel, the day has come for your final punishment.’
- Deuteronomy 29:23 All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His fierce anger.
- 1 Kings 9:8 And when this temple has become a heap of rubble, all who pass by it will be appalled and will hiss and say, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’
- Job 2:12 When they lifted up their eyes from afar, they could barely recognize Job. They began to weep aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust in the air over his head.
- Job 19:13 He has removed my brothers from me; my acquaintances have abandoned me.
- Psalms 137:7 Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!”
- Jeremiah 18:16 They have made their land a desolation, a perpetual object of scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and shake their heads.
- Obadiah 1:11 On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them.