Bible Strands
Job 20:19
For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; he has seized houses he did not build.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Bildad addresses Job, describing the inevitable collapse of the wicked who accumulate wealth through exploitation.
The words — רִ֭צַּץ (Ri.tzatz) means he has crushed, and גָּ֝זַ֗ל (ga.Zal) means he has seized, describing violent dispossession.
The thread — This pattern of exploiting the vulnerable recurs in Job 35:9, Proverbs 14:31, and Proverbs 22:22.
Why it lands — The text states that unjust acquisition yields no lasting security and that the wicked will return what they took without enjoying it, demanding readers reject exploitation of the poor.
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
Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;
Cross-references
- Job 35:9 Men cry out under great oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the mighty.
- Proverbs 14:31 Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.
- Proverbs 22:22 Do not rob a poor man because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate,
- Ezekiel 22:29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy and have exploited the foreign resident without justice.
- James 2:6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?
- James 2:13 For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- James 5:4 Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
- Deuteronomy 28:33 A people you do not know will eat the produce of your land and of all your toil. All your days you will be oppressed and crushed.
- 1 Samuel 12:3 Here I am. Bear witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated or oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe and closed my eyes? Tell me, and I will restore it to you.”
- 1 Kings 21:19 Tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Have you not murdered a man and seized his land?’ Then tell him that this is also what the LORD says: ‘In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, there also the dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”