Job 24:20

Verse

The womb forgets them; the worm feeds on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is like a broken tree.

American Standard Version (1901)

The womb shall forget him; The worm shall feed sweetly on him; He shall be no more remembered; And unrighteousness shall be broken as a tree.

Bible in Basic English

The public place of his town has no more knowledge of him, and his name has gone from the memory of men: he is rooted up like a dead tree.

Free Bible Version

Even their mothers forget them, maggots feast on them, they are no longer remembered, and their wickedness becomes like a tree that is broken into pieces.

King James (Authorized) 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.

Translation for Translators

Not even their mothers remember them now; wicked people are destroyed like trees that are cut down, and maggots eat their corpses.

Unlocked Literal Bible

The womb that bore him will forget him; the worm will feed sweetly on him; he will be remembered no more; in this way, wickedness will be broken like a tree.

Noah Webster Bible

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.

World English Bible

The womb will forget him. The worm will feed sweetly on him. He will be no more remembered. Unrighteousness will be broken as a tree.

Young's Literal Translation

Forget him doth the womb, Sweeten [on] him doth the worm, No more is he remembered, And broken as a tree is wickedness.

Context

Job: Judgment for the Wicked

¹⁹As drought and heat consume the melting snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned. ²⁰The womb forgets them; the worm feeds on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is like a broken tree. ²¹They prey on the barren and childless, and show no kindness to the widow.

Summary

In Job 24:20, the wicked are described as being like the swift waters that dry up quickly, with their portion cursed in the land. This imagery portrays the fleeting nature of the prosperity of the wicked, emphasizing that their success is temporary and will ultimately come to an end. Despite their apparent prosperity, their legacy is one of desolation and curse, highlighting the consequences of living a life contrary to God's ways. This verse serves as a reminder that true fulfillment and lasting blessings come from walking in righteousness and obedience to God.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

The womb shall forget him - The mother that bare him shall have no affection for him, nor be afflicted at his death. But the word רחם rechem signifies compassion, mercy. Mercy shall be unmindful of him. How dreadful such a state! When mercy itself forgets the sinner, his perdition slumbereth not. The worm shall feed sweetly on him - The Chaldee has, "The cruel, who have neglected to commiserate the poor, shall be sweet to the worms." He shall be brought into a state of the greatest degradation, and shall be no more remembered. And wickedness shall be broken as a tree - He shall be as a rotten or decayed tree, easily broken to pieces. If it were clear that עולה avlah, here rendered wickedness, has the same sense as עלה aleh, a leaf, sucker, or shoot, then we might translate according to the ingenious version of Mr. Good; viz., But the shoot shall be broken off as a tree; which might, in this case, be supposed to refer to illicit commerce, the fruit of the womb becoming abortive.

John Gill Bible Commentary

The womb shall forget him,.... His mother that bore him; or his wife, by whom he had many children; or his friend, as Gersom, who had a tender and affectionate respect for him; these all, and each of them, either because of his wicked life and infamous death, care not to speak of him, but bury him in oblivion; or because of his quiet and easy death, are not distressed with it, but soon forget him; unless this is to be understood of the womb of the earth, in which being buried, he lies forgotten, to which the next clause agrees; though some interpret it of God himself the word having the signification of mercy (b); who, though mercy itself, is rich and abundant in it, yet has no mercy for, nor shows any favour to, such men; but they lie in the grave among those whom he remembers no more in a way of grace and favour, Psa 85:5; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; for being brought to the grave at once, without any wasting distemper, is a fine repast for worms, his breasts being full of milk, and his bones moistened with marrow, and full of flesh; or "the worm is sweet unto him" (c); he feels no pain by its feeding on him, and so the sense is just the same with that expression, "the clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him", Job 21:33; he shall be no more remembered; with any mark of honour and respect; his memory shall rot with him, while the righteous are had in everlasting remembrance; or rather dying a common death, and not made a public example of: and wickedness shall be broken as a tree; that is, wicked men, who are wickedness itself, extremely wicked, and are like to a tree, sometimes flourishing in external prosperity, having an affluence of the things of this world, and always like barren and unfruitful trees, with respect to grace and good works; these, when the axe of death is laid to the root of them, they are cut down, and their substance comes to nothing, and their families are destroyed, and so they become like trees struck with thunder and lightning, and broken into ten thousand shivers; or as the trees in Egypt were broken to pieces by the plague of hail, Exo 9:25. (b) "misericordia", V. L. "miseratio", Montanus, Bolducius; so Tigurine version, Grotius. (c) "dulcescit ei", Beza, Piscator; "suavis", Cocceius; so Michaelis, Schultens.

Job 24:20

Job: Judgment for the Wicked

Scripture
Sermons
Commentary

Berean Standard Bible

The womb forgets them; the worm feeds on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is like a broken tree.

American Standard Version (1901)

The womb shall forget him; The worm shall feed sweetly on him; He shall be no more remembered; And unrighteousness shall be broken as a tree.

Bible in Basic English

The public place of his town has no more knowledge of him, and his name has gone from the memory of men: he is rooted up like a dead tree.

Free Bible Version

Even their mothers forget them, maggots feast on them, they are no longer remembered, and their wickedness becomes like a tree that is broken into pieces.

King James (Authorized) 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.

Translation for Translators

Not even their mothers remember them now; wicked people are destroyed like trees that are cut down, and maggots eat their corpses.

Unlocked Literal Bible

The womb that bore him will forget him; the worm will feed sweetly on him; he will be remembered no more; in this way, wickedness will be broken like a tree.

Noah Webster Bible

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.

World English Bible

The womb will forget him. The worm will feed sweetly on him. He will be no more remembered. Unrighteousness will be broken as a tree.

Young's Literal Translation

Forget him doth the womb, Sweeten [on] him doth the worm, No more is he remembered, And broken as a tree is wickedness.

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Job 24:20

Verse

Context

Job: Judgment for the Wicked

Summary

Commentary

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Job 24:20

Job: Judgment for the Wicked

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary