The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him.

JOB 18:6KJV
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Job 18:6 (KJV)

What does Job 18:6 mean?

Job 18:6 describes how the light in a wicked person’s home will be darkened, and their lamp will be extinguished along with them. The verse uses the image of darkness and a snuffed-out candle to show the loss of hope, security, and life for someone facing judgment.

In this chapter, Bildad is speaking to Job, warning him about the fate of the wicked. Bildad uses strong imagery to say that those who do evil will lose all sources of guidance and comfort—their “light” will go out. The verse is part of a speech meant to pressure Job, suggesting that suffering is always a sign of personal wrongdoing.

The Hebrew behind Job 18:6

  • light (אוֹר, 'or): This word often means not just physical light, but also well-being or prosperity. Bildad is saying that all sense of blessing or safety will disappear from the wicked person’s life.
  • tabernacle (אֹהֶל, ohel): This word means “tent” or “dwelling.” The focus is on the person’s home or household, showing that the darkness affects every part of their life.
  • candle (נֵר, ner): This is a small lamp or light, often a symbol of life or hope. The extinguishing of the “ner” is a vivid picture of a person’s life or legacy being cut off.

Why Job 18:6 matters

  • Job 18:6 helps clarify that Bildad is not just speaking about physical darkness, but about the total loss of hope and blessing for the wicked, using “light” and “candle” as symbols.
  • The verse shows how Bildad’s argument is meant to pressure Job, connecting suffering directly to personal sin, which is a key theme in the book’s debates.
  • Understanding the strong imagery here helps readers see how the friends’ speeches can be both poetic and harsh, shaping the emotional tone of Job’s story.

Where else these words appear

“out” Hebrew H1846 · used in 9 verses

  • Job 6:17 What time they wax warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.
  • Job 21:17 How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger.
  • Proverbs 20:20 Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.

“dark” Hebrew H2821 · used in 18 verses

  • Exodus 10:15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.
  • Psalms 139:12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
  • Lamentations 4:8 Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick.

“candle” Hebrew H5216 · used in 42 verses

  • Exodus 25:37 And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it.
  • Numbers 8:3 And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the LORD commanded Moses.
  • Job 21:17 How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger.

“light” Hebrew H216 · used in 112 verses

  • Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
  • Job 36:32 With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it not to shine by the cloud that cometh betwixt.
  • Isaiah 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.