Bible Strands
Job 31:12
For it is a fire that burns down to Abaddon; it would root out my entire harvest.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Job speaks these words as part of a self-imprecation oath, addressing God directly while defending his integrity against charges of hidden sin. He declares the consequences of his alleged moral failure to demonstrate that his conduct leaves nothing to be judged.
The words — The Hebrew אֵשׁ ('esh) denotes a consuming fire, and אֲבַדּוֹן ('a.va.Don) names the place of destruction. The verb תֹּאכֵל (to.Khel) describes that fire devouring everything in its path.
The thread — This destructive fire imagery appears in Job 15:30 where it withers a person's shoots, and aligns with the warning in Proverbs 6:27 about embracing fire without being burned. Jeremiah 5:7 similarly questions divine patience amid persistent rebellion.
Why it lands — The text states that moral failure acts as an uncontrollable force that destroys a person's entire livelihood and standing. It requires the reader to confront the total ruin that hidden sin produces before seeking divine 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
For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all mine increase.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 6:27 Can a man embrace fire and his clothes not be burned?
- Jeremiah 5:7 “Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken Me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery and assembled at the houses of prostitutes.
- Job 15:30 He will not escape from the darkness; the flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.
- Job 20:28 The possessions of his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God’s wrath.
- Job 26:6 Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering.
- Proverbs 3:33 The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the home of the righteous.
- Malachi 3:5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Hebrews 13:4 Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.