Bible Strands
Job 8:19
Surely this is the joy of his way; yet others will spring from the dust.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Bildad the Shuhite addresses Job, arguing that the wicked man's prosperity is inherently temporary. He states this to counter Job's complaint by asserting that arrogant success inevitably ends and gives way to new generations.
The words — הֶן־הוּא מְשׂוֹשׂ דַּרְכּוֹ (hen-hu meśôś dārkehō) literally means "there! that [is] the joy of its way," while אַחֵר יִצְמָח מֵעָפָר ('aḥer yitṣmaḥ me'āpār) translates to "another will spring from the dust."
The thread — The text explicitly notes the brief joy of the wicked's path before replacement, a pattern Job 20:5 frames as momentary triumph. The imagery of displacement and rising from dust parallels the divine reversals described in 1 Samuel 2:8 and Psalms 113:7.
Why it lands — The verse plainly states that human success is transient and will be succeeded by others. It requires the reader to abandon reliance on personal legacy and accept that earthly standing is temporary.
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
Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow.
Cross-references
- Job 20:5 the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?
- 1 Samuel 2:8 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s, and upon them He has set the world.
- Psalms 113:7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the dump
- Psalms 75:7 but it is God who judges; He brings down one and exalts another.
- Ezekiel 17:24 Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree and make the withered tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it.’”
- Matthew 3:9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
- Matthew 13:20 The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.