Bible Strands
Job 24:20
The womb forgets them; the worm feeds on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is broken like a tree.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Job addresses his listeners while cataloging the fate of the wicked, immediately following his observation that Sheol steals sinners (Job 24:19) and preceding his complaint that the powerful prey on the vulnerable (Job 24:21).
The words — The Hebrew רֶ֨חֶם (Re.chem) literally means "womb," and רִמָּ֗ה (ri.Mah) means "maggot," depicting total physical dissolution. The verb יִזָּכֵ֑ר (yi.za.Kher) denotes being remembered, while וַ/תִּשָּבֵ֖ר (va./ti.sha.Ver) means "and it was broken."
The thread — This theme of erased memory and shattered legacy runs through Proverbs 10:7, where the wicked's name rots, and Job 18:16, where the roots and branches of the wicked wither. The tree-breaking imagery also echoes Daniel 4:14, where a divine decree commands the destruction of a proud tree.
Why it lands — The text states that biological decay and complete oblivion follow injustice, then explicitly compares that brokenness to a shattered tree. It demands recognition that earthly power and cruelty yield to absolute erasure rather than enduring legacy.
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
The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 10:7 The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.
- Daniel 4:14 He called out in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and chop off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it, and the birds from its branches.
- Job 18:16 The roots beneath him dry up, and the branches above him wither away.
- Job 14:7 For there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender shoots will not fail.
- Job 17:14 and say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’
- Job 19:26 Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.
- Ecclesiastes 8:10 Then too, I saw the burial of the wicked who used to go in and out of the holy place, and they were praised in the city where they had done so. This too is futile.
- Isaiah 26:14 The dead will not live; the departed spirits will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them; You have wiped out all memory of them.
- Matthew 3:10 The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.