Bible Strands
Job 20:15
He swallows wealth but vomits it out; God will force it from his stomach.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Zophar speaks to Job in a discourse detailing the collapse of the wicked. He describes a rich oppressor whose accumulated possessions are violently rejected by God.
The words — בָּלַע (Ba.la') means he swallows, and יוֹרִשׁ (yo.ri.sh) means he drives out. These verbs frame the physical expulsion of stolen wealth from the belly.
The thread — The imagery parallels Proverbs 23:8 and Matthew 27:3, where consumed goods are forcibly expelled. It extends Job 20:14 and Job 20:16, which continue the metaphor with souring food and viper venom.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that hoarded wealth will be violently removed by God. It calls the reader to abandon trust in material accumulation and recognize divine sovereignty over 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
He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 23:8 You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.
- Matthew 27:3 When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was filled with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders.