Job 11:20 (KJV)

What does Job 11:20 mean?

Job 11:20 describes how those considered wicked will lose hope and find no escape from their troubles, with their expectations coming to a complete end, like someone dying and giving up their last breath. The verse paints a picture of total despair and the collapse of any hope for deliverance among the wicked.

In this verse, Zophar, one of Job’s friends, is speaking to Job during their debate about suffering and justice. Zophar claims that people who do evil will ultimately face ruin, using strong language to say their “eyes shall fail” and their “hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.” This is meant to warn Job that wickedness leads to hopelessness and destruction, fitting into Zophar’s argument that suffering is always a result of wrongdoing.

The Hebrew behind Job 11:20

• “Wicked” (רָשָׁע, rāshāʿ): This word refers to those who are morally wrong or guilty. Zophar is not just talking about people who make mistakes, but those whose lives are marked by wrongdoing.
• “Fail” (כָּלָה, kālāh): This word often means to be used up or to come to an end. Saying the “eyes of the wicked shall fail” suggests not just blindness, but utter exhaustion and loss of all hope or expectation.
• “Hope” (תִּקְוָה, tiqvāh): This word means expectation or something looked forward to. Here, it is described as vanishing completely, like a person’s last breath leaving their body.
• “Ghost” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh): Literally “soul” or “life,” this word is used here for the act of dying. The verse compares the loss of hope to the soul departing at death, emphasizing finality.

Why Job 11:20 matters

• Job 11:20 clarifies that Zophar sees suffering as a direct result of wickedness, which is a key theme in the arguments of Job’s friends and helps explain the tension in the book.
• The verse uses vivid language to show the total loss of hope, which highlights the harshness of Zophar’s worldview and the comfortless nature of his advice to Job.
• Understanding the original words shows that the verse is not just about physical escape but about the complete collapse of inner hope and expectation, deepening the sense of despair described.