Job 18:12
New International Version
Calamity is hungry for him; disaster is ready for him when he falls.

New Living Translation
Hunger depletes their strength, and calamity waits for them to stumble.

English Standard Version
His strength is famished, and calamity is ready for his stumbling.

Berean Standard Bible
His strength is depleted, and calamity is ready at his side.

King James Bible
His strength shall be hungerbitten, and destruction shall be ready at his side.

New King James Version
His strength is starved, And destruction is ready at his side.

New American Standard Bible
“His strength is famished, And disaster is ready at his side.

NASB 1995
“His strength is famished, And calamity is ready at his side.

NASB 1977
“His strength is famished, And calamity is ready at his side.

Legacy Standard Bible
His vigor is famished, And disaster is ready at his side.

Amplified Bible
“The strength [of the wicked] is famished and weakened, And disaster is ready at his side [if he stops].

Christian Standard Bible
His strength is depleted; disaster lies ready for him to stumble.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
His strength is depleted; disaster lies ready for him to stumble.

American Standard Version
His strength shall be hunger-bitten, And calamity shall be ready at his side.

Contemporary English Version
Starving, they run, only to meet disaster,

English Revised Version
His strength shall be hunger-bitten and calamity shall be ready for his halting.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Hunger undermines his strength. Disaster is waiting beside him.

Good News Translation
They used to be rich, but now they go hungry; disaster stands and waits at their side.

International Standard Version
He is starved for strength; and is ripe for a fall.

Majority Standard Bible
His strength is depleted, and calamity is ready at his side.

NET Bible
Calamity is hungry for him, and misfortune is ready at his side.

New Heart English Bible
His strength shall be famished. Calamity shall be ready at his side.

Webster's Bible Translation
His strength shall be hunger-bitten, and destruction shall be ready at his side.

World English Bible
His strength will be famished. Calamity will be ready at his side.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
His sorrow is hungry, "" And calamity is ready at his side.

Young's Literal Translation
Hungry is his sorrow, And calamity is ready at his side.

Smith's Literal Translation
His strength shall be hunger, and destruction being prepared at his side.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Let his strength be wasted with famine, and let hunger invade his ribs.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Let his strength be diminished by famine, and let starvation invade his ribs.

New American Bible
His strength is famished, disaster is ready at his side,

New Revised Standard Version
Their strength is consumed by hunger, and calamity is ready for their stumbling.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Let famine be his grief, let destruction be ready for his posterity.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And his affliction will be a famine, and ruin is prepared for his posterity
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
His trouble shall be ravenous, And calamity shall be ready for his fall.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
vex him with distressing hunger: and a signal destruction has been prepared for him.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Bildad: God Punishes the Wicked
11Terrors frighten him on every side and harass his every step. 12His strength is depleted, and calamity is ready at his side. 13It devours patches of his skin; the firstborn of death devours his limbs.…

Cross References
Psalm 35:8
May ruin befall them by surprise; may the net they hid ensnare them; may they fall into the hazard they created.

Proverbs 11:6
The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the faithless are trapped by their own desires.

Isaiah 47:9
These two things will overtake you in a moment, in a single day: loss of children, and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the potency of your spells.

Ezekiel 7:19
They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will seem unclean. Their silver and gold cannot save them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their appetites or fill their stomachs with wealth, for it became the stumbling block that brought their iniquity.

Jeremiah 48:44
“Whoever flees the panic will fall into the pit, and whoever climbs from the pit will be caught in the snare. For I will bring upon Moab the year of their punishment,” declares the LORD.

Psalm 73:18-19
Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin. / How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors!

Proverbs 13:21
Disaster pursues sinners, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous.

Isaiah 59:7-8
Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake. / The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their tracks. They have turned them into crooked paths; no one who treads on them will know peace.

Ezekiel 18:18
As for his father, he will die for his own iniquity, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what was wrong among his people.

Jeremiah 17:11
Like a partridge hatching eggs it did not lay is the man who makes a fortune unjustly. In the middle of his days his riches will desert him, and in the end he will be the fool.”

Matthew 7:13
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

Luke 12:20
But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’

1 Thessalonians 5:3
While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

James 1:11
For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

1 Timothy 6:9
Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.


Treasury of Scripture

His strength shall be extremely hungry, and destruction shall be ready at his side.

hunger-bitten

Job 15:23,24
He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand…

1 Samuel 2:5,36
They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble…

Psalm 34:10
The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.

destruction

Psalm 7:12-14
If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready…

1 Thessalonians 5:3
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

2 Peter 2:3
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

Jump to Previous
Calamity Destruction Disaster Fall Falling Falls Famished Feeble Food Footstep Hungry Need Ravenous Ready Side Sorrow Strength Stumbling Trouble Waiting
Jump to Next
Calamity Destruction Disaster Fall Falling Falls Famished Feeble Food Footstep Hungry Need Ravenous Ready Side Sorrow Strength Stumbling Trouble Waiting
Job 18
1. Bildad reproves Job for presumption and impatience
5. The calamities of the wicked














His strength is depleted
This phrase reflects the condition of a person who has lost their vitality and power. In the context of the Book of Job, Bildad is describing the fate of the wicked, suggesting that their strength will inevitably fail. This can be seen as a reflection of the broader biblical theme that human strength is ultimately insufficient without reliance on God (Isaiah 40:30-31). The depletion of strength can also be seen as a metaphor for spiritual weakness or moral failure, which is a recurring theme in the wisdom literature of the Bible.

and calamity is ready at his side
Calamity here refers to impending disaster or misfortune, which is portrayed as being ever-present and ready to strike. This aligns with the biblical understanding that those who live in opposition to God's ways are often on the brink of ruin (Proverbs 24:16). The imagery of calamity being "at his side" suggests an unavoidable and intimate threat, emphasizing the immediacy and certainty of divine justice. This can be connected to the broader biblical narrative of God's judgment against sin, as seen in the prophetic books where calamity is often depicted as a consequence of turning away from God (Jeremiah 18:11).

Persons / Places / Events
1. Bildad the Shuhite
One of Job's three friends who comes to comfort him. In this chapter, Bildad is speaking, offering his perspective on the fate of the wicked.

2. Job
The central figure of the book, a man of great faith and patience who endures severe trials and suffering.

3. Calamity
Represents the inevitable disaster or misfortune that Bildad claims will befall the wicked.

4. Strength
In this context, it refers to the physical and perhaps moral or spiritual vigor that is said to be depleted in the wicked.

5. The Land of Uz
The setting of the Book of Job, traditionally considered to be in the region of Edom or northern Arabia.
Teaching Points
The Misinterpretation of Suffering
Bildad's speech reflects a common misunderstanding that suffering is always a direct result of personal sin. This perspective can lead to judgmental attitudes and a lack of compassion.

The Reality of Calamity
Calamity is a part of the human experience, but it is not always indicative of one's moral or spiritual state. Christians are called to trust in God's sovereignty and goodness, even in the face of adversity.

Strength in Weakness
While Bildad speaks of depleted strength, the New Testament teaches that God's power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Believers can find strength in Christ, even when their own resources are exhausted.

The Importance of Compassionate Counsel
Bildad's harsh words serve as a reminder of the importance of offering compassionate and empathetic support to those who are suffering, rather than quick judgments or simplistic explanations.(12) His strength.--By "strength" some understand his firstborn son, as Genesis 49:3, but it is not necessary to take it otherwise than literally.

Destruction shall be ready at his side.--Or, according to some, for his halting; shall lie in wait for his tripping in order to overthrow him.

Verse 12. - His strength shall be hunger-bitten. (So Dillmann, Cook, and the Revised Version.) To the other sufferings of the wicked man shall be added the pangs of hunger. His bodily strength shall disappear, as destitution and famine come upon him. And destruction shall be ready at his side. Ready to seize on him at any moment. Some translate, "ready for his halting" i.e. ready to seize on him in ease of his tripping or halting (so the Revised Version).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
His strength
אֹנ֑וֹ (’ō·nōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 202: Ability, power, wealth

is
יְהִי־ (yə·hî-)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect Jussive - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

depleted,
רָעֵ֥ב (rā·‘êḇ)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 7457: Hungry

and calamity
וְ֝אֵ֗יד (wə·’êḏ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 343: Oppression, misfortune, ruin

[is] ready
נָכ֥וֹן (nā·ḵō·wn)
Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 3559: To be erect

at his side.
לְצַלְעֽוֹ׃ (lə·ṣal·‘ōw)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6763: A rib, a side, a, timber, plank


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OT Poetry: Job 18:12 His strength shall be famished (Jb)
Job 18:11
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