Bible Strands
Job 20:5
the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Zophar addresses Job during a debate on retributive justice, asserting that the prosperity of the wicked has historically been short-lived. He grounds this assertion in the observed pattern of human history since humanity's placement on earth.
The words — The text explicitly states רִנְנַת (ri.Nat) as "cry of joy" and מִקָּרוֹב (mi.karov) as "from near" or "briefly," paired with שִׂמְחַת (sim.Chat) as "gladness" and עַד־רָגַע (ad-rega) as "until a moment." These lexical choices define the timeframe of wicked triumph as compressed and transient.
The thread — The text's claim runs parallel to Job 18:5, which notes the lamp of the wicked is extinguished, and Job 5:3, where a fool's sudden house is cursed. It also aligns with Psalm 37:35, which records the wicked flourishing like a rooted tree before a sudden downfall.
Why it lands — The verse plainly declares that observed worldly success for the unjust is temporally limited and does not indicate permanent security. It requires the reader to acknowledge the brevity of wicked prosperity without conflating it with divine endorsement or present comfort.
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
That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?
Cross-references
- Psalms 37:35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted native tree,
- Job 18:5 Indeed, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished; the flame of his fire does not glow.
- Job 5:3 I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.
- Job 8:12 While the shoots are still uncut, they dry up more quickly than grass.
- Job 27:8 For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
- Psalms 73:18 Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin.
- Matthew 13:20 The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.
- Acts 12:22 And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!”
- Exodus 15:9 The enemy declared, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.’
- Judges 16:21 Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze shackles and forced to grind grain in the prison.