Job 31:12
New International Version
It is a fire that burns to Destruction; it would have uprooted my harvest.

New Living Translation
It is a fire that burns all the way to hell. It would wipe out everything I own.

English Standard Version
for that would be a fire that consumes as far as Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my increase.

Berean Standard Bible
For it is a fire that burns down to Abaddon; it would root out my entire harvest.

King James Bible
For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all mine increase.

New King James Version
For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction, And would root out all my increase.

New American Standard Bible
“For it would be fire that consumes to Abaddon, And would uproot all my increase.

NASB 1995
“For it would be fire that consumes to Abaddon, And would uproot all my increase.

NASB 1977
“For it would be fire that consumes to Abaddon, And would uproot all my increase.

Legacy Standard Bible
For it would be fire that consumes to Abaddon, And would uproot all my produce.

Amplified Bible
“For it is a fire which consumes to Abaddon (destruction, ruin, final torment); And [illicit passion] would burn and rage and uproot all my [life’s] increase [destroying everything].

Christian Standard Bible
For it is a fire that consumes down to Abaddon; it would destroy my entire harvest.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
For it is a fire that consumes down to Abaddon; it would destroy my entire harvest.

American Standard Version
For it is a fire that consumeth unto Destruction, And would root out all mine increase.

Contemporary English Version
sending me to destruction and my crops to the flames.

English Revised Version
For it is a fire that consumeth unto Destruction, and would root out all mine increase.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
It would be a fire that burns even in Abaddon. It would uproot my entire harvest.

Good News Translation
It would be like a destructive, hellish fire, consuming everything I have.

International Standard Version
The fires of Abaddon will burn, disrupting every part of my eternal reward."

Majority Standard Bible
For it is a fire that burns down to Abaddon; it would root out my entire harvest.

NET Bible
For it is a fire that devours even to Destruction, and it would uproot all my harvest.

New Heart English Bible
For it is a fire that consumes to destruction, and would root out all my increase.

Webster's Bible Translation
For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all my increase.

World English Bible
for it is a fire that consumes to destruction, and would root out all my increase.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
For it [is] a fire, it consumes to destruction, "" And takes root among all my increase,

Young's Literal Translation
For a fire it is, to destruction it consumeth, And among all mine increase doth take root,

Smith's Literal Translation
For it is a fire; it will devour even to destruction, and will root out upon all mine increase.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
It is a fire that devoureth even to destruction, and rooteth up all things that spring.

Catholic Public Domain Version
It is a fire devouring all the way to perdition, and it roots out all that springs forth.

New American Bible
A fire that would consume down to Abaddon till it uprooted all my crops.

New Revised Standard Version
for that would be a fire consuming down to Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my harvest.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
For passion is a fire that consumes to destruction, and it would root out all my increase.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And it is fire that consumes unto destruction, and all my crops would be uprooted
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
For it is a fire that consumeth unto destruction, And would root out all mine increase.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
For it is a fire burning on every side, and whomsoever it attacks, it utterly destroys.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job's Final Appeal
11For that would be a heinous crime, an iniquity to be judged. 12For it is a fire that burns down to Abaddon; it would root out my entire harvest. 13If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant when they made a complaint against me,…

Cross References
Proverbs 6:27-29
Can a man embrace fire and his clothes not be burned? / Can a man walk on hot coals without scorching his feet? / So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.

Proverbs 6:32-35
He who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself. / Wounds and dishonor will befall him, and his reproach will never be wiped away. / For jealousy enrages a husband, and he will show no mercy in the day of vengeance. ...

James 1:14-15
But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed. / Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Matthew 5:28-30
But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. / If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. / And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to depart into hell.

1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

Proverbs 7:6-27
For at the window of my house I looked through the lattice. / I saw among the simple, I noticed among the youths, a young man lacking judgment, / crossing the street near her corner, strolling down the road to her house, ...

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality; / each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, / not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God;

2 Peter 2:14
Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed.

Proverbs 5:3-5
Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil, / in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword. / Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to Sheol.

Romans 6:12-13
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires. / Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.

Galatians 5:19-21
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; / idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, / and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 10:8
We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.

Proverbs 9:13-18
The woman named Folly is loud; she is naive and knows nothing. / She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the heights of the city, / calling out to those who pass by, who make their paths straight. ...

Ephesians 5:3-5
But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed. / Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or crude joking, which are out of character, but rather thanksgiving. / For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.


Treasury of Scripture

For it is a fire that consumes to destruction, and would root out all my increase.

Proverbs 3:33
The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.

Proverbs 6:27
Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?

Jeremiah 5:7-9
How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses…

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Job 31
1. Job makes a solemn protestation of his integrity in several duties














For it is a fire
The imagery of "fire" in this context is powerful and evocative. In the Hebrew Bible, fire often symbolizes God's judgment or consuming wrath (e.g., Deuteronomy 4:24). Here, Job uses it metaphorically to describe the destructive nature of sin, particularly the sin of lust or adultery, which he discusses in the preceding verses. The Hebrew word for fire, "אֵשׁ" (esh), conveys both physical destruction and moral corruption. Job acknowledges that such sin is not just a personal failing but a consuming force that can devastate one's life and soul.

that burns down to Abaddon
"Abaddon" is a term that appears in the Hebrew Bible to denote a place of destruction or the realm of the dead, akin to Sheol. The Hebrew word "אֲבַדּוֹן" (Abaddon) is derived from a root meaning "to perish" or "to destroy." In this verse, Job emphasizes the ultimate consequence of unchecked sin—it leads to spiritual death and separation from God. The use of "Abaddon" underscores the seriousness with which Job views the moral and spiritual implications of his actions, reflecting a deep awareness of the eternal consequences of sin.

it would root out my entire harvest
The phrase "root out my entire harvest" uses agricultural imagery to convey the totality of loss that sin can bring. In ancient agrarian societies, a harvest represented not only sustenance but also prosperity and blessing. The Hebrew verb "עָקַר" (akar), meaning "to uproot" or "to destroy," suggests a complete eradication of one's labor and blessings. Job is acutely aware that sin can obliterate the fruits of one's life, both materially and spiritually. This reflects a broader biblical principle found in passages like Galatians 6:7-8, where sowing to the flesh results in corruption, while sowing to the Spirit yields eternal life. Job's lament is a cautionary reminder of the far-reaching consequences of sin, urging believers to pursue righteousness and integrity.

Verse 12. - For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction; i.e. it is a thing which brings down the wrath of God upon a man, so that "a fire is kindled in his anger, which shall burn unto the lowest hell" (Deuteronomy 32:22). Compare the sentence on David for his great transgression (2 Samuel 12:9-12). And would root out all mine increase; i.e. "would destroy all my estate;" either by leading me to waste my substance upon my companion in sin, or by bringing down God's judgments upon me to my temporal ruin.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
For
כִּ֤י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

it
הִ֭יא (hî)
Pronoun - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

is a fire
אֵ֣שׁ (’êš)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 784: A fire

that burns
תֹּאכֵ֑ל (tō·ḵêl)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 398: To eat

down to
עַד־ (‘aḏ-)
Preposition
Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while

Abaddon;
אֲבַדּ֣וֹן (’ă·ḇad·dō·wn)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 11: Abaddon -- (place of) destruction or ruin, Abaddon

it would root out
תְשָׁרֵֽשׁ׃ (ṯə·šā·rêš)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 8327: To root, strike into the soil, to pluck from it

my entire
וּֽבְכָל־ (ū·ḇə·ḵāl)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

harvest.
תְּב֖וּאָתִ֣י (tə·ḇū·’ā·ṯî)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 8393: Product, revenue


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OT Poetry: Job 31:12 For it is a fire that consumes (Jb)
Job 31:11
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