The Meaning of Job 20:16 Explained

Job 20:16

KJV: He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall slay him.

YLT: Gall of asps he sucketh, Slay him doth the tongue of a viper.

Darby: He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall kill him.

ASV: He shall suck the poison of asps: The viper's tongue shall slay him.

Discover Job 20:16

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Job 20:16?

MEANING: What does Job 20:16 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Job 20:16 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Job 20:16?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He shall suck  the poison  of asps:  the viper's  tongue  shall slay  him. 

What does Job 20:16 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 20:1-29 - "the Triumphing Of The Wicked"
Zophar is the man who least of all understood Job. The rebuke which Job had just administered, Job 19:28-29, has vexed him, so that he speaks with impatience.
The theme of Zophar's speech is the brevity of the prosperity of the wicked. He claims that this is an acknowledged principle, Job 20:4; then proceeds to show it by many striking metaphors.
Hypocrite, Job 20:5, is "godless" in the r.v.; and in describing the prosperity and speedy destruction of such, Job 20:5-11, he manifestly applies his words to Job. He refuses to pay any heed to Job's protestations of innocence. His theology was: God is righteous; he blesses and prospers the good, and destroys the wicked. Job was being destroyed; therefore Job was wicked. Thus often do we in our ignorance misunderstand God and cruelly misjudge man.
Zophar descends to more particulars. He describes the pleasure which the ungodly has in sin, Job 20:12-13; how his sin becomes his punishment, Job 20:14-22; and how terrible destruction at last visits him, Job 20:23-28, as his portion from God, Job 20:29. Though in all this Zophar was wrong in applying it to Job's case, and equally wrong in supposing that this life is the place of judgment for the wicked, yet it is important to remember that he was right in seeing a very real connection between sin and punishment. However sweet sin may be to the taste, it is sure to become bitter as the gall of asps ere long. The "pleasures of sin" are but for a season. [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 20

1  Zophar shows the state and portion of the wicked

What do the individual words in Job 20:16 mean?

The poison of cobras He will suck will slay him the tongue of viper
רֹאשׁ־ פְּתָנִ֥ים יִינָ֑ק תַּֽ֝הַרְגֵ֗הוּ לְשׁ֣וֹן אֶפְעֶֽה

רֹאשׁ־  The  poison 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: רֹאשׁ  
Sense: gall, venom, bitter, poisonous.
פְּתָנִ֥ים  of  cobras 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: פֶּתֶן  
Sense: a snake, venomous serpent.
יִינָ֑ק  He  will  suck 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָנַק 
Sense: to suckle, nurse, suck.
תַּֽ֝הַרְגֵ֗הוּ  will  slay  him 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: הָרַג  
Sense: to kill, slay, murder, destroy, murderer, slayer, out of hand.
לְשׁ֣וֹן  the  tongue 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: לָשֹׁון  
Sense: tongue.
אֶפְעֶֽה  of  viper 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֶפְעֶה  
Sense: a viper, snake.

What are the major concepts related to Job 20:16?

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Similar Scriptures for Job 20:16

Matthew 3:7 [2]
Deuteronomy 32:24 [2]
Acts 28:3-6 [2]
Isaiah 30:6 [2]
Romans 3:13 [2]