Job 4:20
New International Version
Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces; unnoticed, they perish forever.

New Living Translation
They are alive in the morning but dead by evening, gone forever without a trace.

English Standard Version
Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces; they perish forever without anyone regarding it.

Berean Standard Bible
They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk; unnoticed, they perish forever.

King James Bible
They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.

New King James Version
They are broken in pieces from morning till evening; They perish forever, with no one regarding.

New American Standard Bible
‘Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces; Unregarded, they perish forever.

NASB 1995
‘Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces; Unobserved, they perish forever.

NASB 1977
‘Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces; Unobserved, they perish forever.

Legacy Standard Bible
Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces; Unobserved, they perish forever.

Amplified Bible
‘Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces and destroyed; Unobserved and unnoticed, they perish forever.

Christian Standard Bible
They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk; they perish forever while no one notices.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk; they perish forever while no one notices.

American Standard Version
Betwixt morning and evening they are destroyed: They perish for ever without any regarding it.

Contemporary English Version
Born after daybreak, you die before nightfall and disappear forever.

English Revised Version
Betwixt morning and evening they are destroyed: they perish for ever without any regarding it.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
From morning to evening, they are shattered. They will disappear forever without anyone paying attention.

Good News Translation
We may be alive in the morning, but die unnoticed before evening comes.

International Standard Version
They are defeated between morning and evening; they perish forever—and no one notices!

Majority Standard Bible
They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk; unnoticed, they perish forever.

NET Bible
They are destroyed between morning and evening; they perish forever without anyone regarding it.

New Heart English Bible
Between morning and evening they are destroyed. They perish forever without any regarding it.

Webster's Bible Translation
They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.

World English Bible
Between morning and evening they are destroyed. They perish forever without any regarding it.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
From morning to evening are beaten down, "" Without any regarding, they perish forever.

Young's Literal Translation
From morning to evening are beaten down, Without any regarding, for ever they perish.

Smith's Literal Translation
From morning to evening they will be struck; from not setting to superintend they will perish.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
From morning till evening they shall be cut down: and because no one understandeth, they shall perish for ever.

Catholic Public Domain Version
From morning all the way to evening, they will be cut down, and because no one understands, they will be destroyed without ceasing.

New American Bible
Morning or evening they may be shattered; unnoticed, they perish forever.

New Revised Standard Version
Between morning and evening they are destroyed; they perish forever without any regarding it.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
They shall be afflicted from morning to evening, that they may not dwell for ever; yea, they shall perish.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
From dawn to evening they will be laid low, that they will not be established inhabitants to eternity, and they will be destroyed
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Betwixt morning and evening they are shattered; They perish for ever without any regarding it.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And from the morning to evening they no longer exist: they have perished, because they cannot help themselves.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Eliphaz: The Innocent Prosper
19how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who can be crushed like a moth! 20They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk; unnoticed, they perish forever. 21Are not their tent cords pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?’…

Cross References
Psalm 90:5-6
You sweep them away in their sleep; they are like the new grass of the morning— / in the morning it springs up new, but by evening it fades and withers.

Psalm 103:15-16
As for man, his days are like grass—he blooms like a flower of the field; / when the wind passes over, it vanishes, and its place remembers it no more.

Isaiah 40:6-8
A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field. / The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. / The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

James 4:14
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

1 Peter 1:24
For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,

Psalm 39:4-5
“Show me, O LORD, my end and the measure of my days. Let me know how fleeting my life is. / You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah

Ecclesiastes 6:12
For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?

Psalm 144:4
Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

Isaiah 64:6
Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead: What is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable. / It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. / It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. / For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison. / So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Matthew 6:30
If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Luke 12:28
If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith!

2 Peter 3:8-9
Beloved, do not let this one thing escape your notice: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. / The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.

Genesis 3:19
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”


Treasury of Scripture

They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.

destroyed.

2 Chronicles 15:6
And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity.

from morning.

Isaiah 38:12,13
Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me…

they perish.

Job 14:14
If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.

Job 16:22
When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.

Psalm 39:13
O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.

without.

Job 18:17
His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street.

Job 20:7
Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?

2 Chronicles 21:20
Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, and departed without being desired. Howbeit they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.

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Betwixt Broken Completely Dawn Destroyed Dusk End Evening Forever Heeding Morning Note Perish Pieces Regarding Shattered Smitten Unnoticed Unobserved
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Job 4
1. Eliphaz reproves Job that the innocent do not suffer
7. He teaches God's judgments to be not for the righteous, but for the wicked.
12. His fearful vision to humble the excellency of creatures before God.














They are smashed to pieces
This phrase captures the fragility and transience of human life. The Hebrew root word here is "דַּכָּא" (dakka), which conveys the idea of being crushed or broken. In the context of Job, this reflects the human condition under the weight of suffering and divine judgment. Historically, this imagery would resonate with an agrarian society familiar with the process of threshing grain, where the chaff is separated and destroyed. Spiritually, it serves as a humbling reminder of human mortality and the need for reliance on God.

from dawn to dusk
This phrase emphasizes the relentless and continuous nature of human suffering and mortality. The Hebrew words "בֹּקֶר" (boqer) for dawn and "עֶרֶב" (ereb) for dusk frame the entirety of a day, symbolizing the full span of human life. In the ancient Near Eastern context, this would be understood as the totality of one's existence, from beginning to end. Theologically, it underscores the idea that life is fleeting and that each day is an opportunity to seek God's wisdom and grace.

unnoticed
The Hebrew word "לֹא" (lo) suggests a lack of recognition or remembrance. This reflects the existential fear of being forgotten or insignificant in the grand scheme of life. In the biblical narrative, this can be seen as a call to humility, recognizing that human achievements and struggles may go unnoticed by others but are always seen by God. It challenges believers to find their worth and identity not in human accolades but in their relationship with the Creator.

they perish forever
The finality of this phrase is striking, with "אָבַד" (abad) meaning to perish or be destroyed. This serves as a sobering reminder of the eternal consequences of life choices. In the conservative Christian perspective, it points to the reality of eternal separation from God for those who do not seek His salvation. Historically, this would resonate with the ancient understanding of Sheol, the abode of the dead, emphasizing the importance of living a righteous life in accordance with God's will.

(20) From morning to evening.--The process is continual and unceasing, and when we consider the ravages of time on history, we may well say, as in Job 4:20, that "none regardeth it."

The next verse, however, may seem to imply that they themselves are unmindful of their decay, it is so insidious and so complete.

Verse 20. - They are destroyed from morning to evening. Human bodies undergo a continuous destruction. From the moment that we are born we begin to die. Decay of powers is coeval with their first exercise. Our insidious foe, Death, marks us as his own from the very first breath that we draw. Our bodies are machines wound up to go for a certain time. The moment that we begin to use them we begin to wear them out. They perish for ever. The final result is that Our" houses of clay "perish, crumble to dust, disappear, and come to nothing. They "perish for ever," says Eliphaz, repeating what he believed the spirit of ver. 15 to have said to him; but it is not clear that he understood more by this than that they perish and disappear for ever, so far as this life and this world are concerned. Without any regarding it. No one is surprised or thinks it hard. It is the lot of man, and every one's mind is prepared for it.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
They are smashed to pieces
יֻכַּ֑תּוּ (yuk·kat·tū)
Verb - Hofal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 3807: To bruise, violently strike

from dawn
מִבֹּ֣קֶר (mib·bō·qer)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1242: Dawn, morning

to dusk;
לָעֶ֣רֶב (lā·‘e·reḇ)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6153: Evening

unnoticed,
מִבְּלִ֥י (mib·bə·lî)
Preposition-m | Adverb
Strong's 1097: Failure, nothing, destruction, without, not yet, because not, as long as

they perish
יֹאבֵֽדוּ׃ (yō·ḇê·ḏū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 6: To wander away, lose oneself, to perish

forever.
לָנֶ֥צַח (lā·ne·ṣaḥ)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5331: Eminence, enduring, everlastingness, perpetuity


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OT Poetry: Job 4:20 Between morning and evening they are destroyed (Jb)
Job 4:19
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