Job 18 · a question people ask

Proverbs also says the lamp of the wicked is put out. So is Bildad right?

In the text

Bildad's words and Proverbs' are close. Bildad says, "Yes, the light of the wicked will be put out" (18:5), and "His lamp above him will be put out" (18:6). Proverbs says, "The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out" (Proverbs 13:9), and "The lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out" (Proverbs 24:20); in Hebrew lamp, wicked and snuffed out are Bildad's words. Bildad's "His memory will perish from the earth. He will have no name in the street" (18:17) is close to "The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot" (Proverbs 10:7), with the same Hebrew words for memory and name. So much of what Bildad says, other Scripture says too. But the book also lets his words be answered. Job asks, "How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out, that their calamity comes on them" (21:17), with the same Hebrew words for lamp, wicked and put out, and with 18:12's calamity. The book had said Job "was blameless and upright" (1:1), and the LORD had said to Satan, "you incited me against him, to ruin him without cause" (2:3). What the book says of the three friends' words is 42:7, and it doesn't say which words it means. These notes set the verses side by side and give no verdict of their own on Bildad.

The verses

““Yes, the light of the wicked will be put out. The spark of his fire won’t shine. The light will be dark in his tent. His lamp above him will be put out.”
Job 18:5-6 · World English Bible
“The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out.”
Proverbs 13:9 · World English Bible
“for there will be no reward to the evil man. The lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.”
Proverbs 24:20 · World English Bible
“His memory will perish from the earth. He will have no name in the street.”
Job 18:17 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Job 18

Job 18: The lamp of the wicked

Bildad's "the light of the wicked will be put out" (18:5) and "His lamp above him will be put out" (18:6) use the Hebrew words of Proverbs' "the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out" (Proverbs 13:9). In chapter 21 Job uses them again: "How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out" (21:17).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions