Bible Strands
Job 8:13
Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so the hope of the godless will perish.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Bildan addresses Job in a poetic rebuttal concerning the inevitable fate of those who abandon reverence for God. The speech immediately follows a comparison of the godless to withered vegetation that dries up before it can be harvested.
The words — The term שֹׁכְחֵי (Sho.khe.chei) literally means “those who forget,” identifying the group whose destiny is described. The verb תֹּאבֵֽד (to.Ved) translates as “it will perish,” stating the concrete outcome for the hope of the godless.
The thread — The linkage between forgetting God and the collapse of the wicked appears in Psalms 9:17. Job 11:20 and Job 13:16 extend this pattern by describing the failure of escape and the impossibility of the godless appearing before God.
Why it lands — The text states that human confidence built on anything other than God will inevitably decay, just as unharvested shoots dry up. It requires the reader to evaluate the durability of their own hope and reject reliance on fragile security.
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
So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish:
Cross-references
- Psalms 9:17 The wicked will return to Sheol—all the nations who forget God.
- Job 11:20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; they will hope for their last breath.”
- Job 13:16 Moreover, this will be my salvation, for no godless man can appear before Him.
- Job 15:34 For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of bribery.
- Proverbs 10:28 The hope of the righteous is joy, but the expectations of the wicked will perish.
- Deuteronomy 8:11 Be careful not to forget the LORD your God by failing to keep His commandments and ordinances and statutes, which I am giving you this day.
- Deuteronomy 8:19 If you ever forget the LORD your God and go after other gods to worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish.
- Job 20:5 the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?
- Psalms 50:22 Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
- Proverbs 12:7 The wicked are overthrown and perish, but the house of the righteous will stand.