He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.
He shall be driven {H1920} from light {H216} into darkness {H2822}, and chased {H5074} out of the world {H8398}.
He will be pushed from light into darkness and driven out of the world.
He is driven from light into darkness and is chased from the inhabited world.
He shall be driven from light into darkness, And chased out of the world.
Note: Commentary was generated by an advanced AI, utilizing a prompt that emphasized Biblical fidelity over bias. We've found these insights to be consistently reliable, yet we always encourage prayerful discernment through the Holy Spirit. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.
-
Job 20:8
He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night. -
Job 10:22
A land of darkness, as darkness [itself; and] of the shadow of death, without any order, and [where] the light [is] as darkness. -
Isaiah 17:13
The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but [God] shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. -
Isaiah 17:14
And behold at eveningtide trouble; [and] before the morning he [is] not. This [is] the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us. -
Daniel 4:33
The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' [feathers], and his nails like birds' [claws]. -
Isaiah 8:21
And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward. -
Isaiah 8:22
And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and [they shall be] driven to darkness.
Context
This verse is part of Bildad the Shuhite's second speech to Job (Job 18:1-21). Throughout the book of Job, Job's three friends operate under the traditional retribution theology prevalent in their time: they believe that God's justice dictates the righteous prosper and the wicked suffer. Therefore, Bildad interprets Job's immense suffering as irrefutable proof of his wickedness. In this chapter, Bildad vividly describes the inevitable and severe downfall of the wicked, detailing their loss of prosperity, family, and reputation, culminating in their ultimate destruction. Verse 18 is a powerful culmination of this grim prognosis, serving as an implicit accusation against Job.
Key Themes
Linguistic Insights
The Hebrew terms used here emphasize the severity of the described fate. "Light" (אֹור, 'or) is a common biblical metaphor for life, blessing, and God's presence, while "darkness" (חֹשֶׁךְ, choshek) consistently represents death, chaos, and judgment. The verbs "driven" (טָרַד, tarad) and "chased out" (הָדַף, hadaf) both convey a sense of forceful, violent expulsion, suggesting an irresistible power behind this judgment. The phrase "out of the world" (מִתֵּבֵל, mit-tevel) refers to expulsion from the inhabited earth, emphasizing a complete and total removal.
Related Scriptures
While Bildad's rigid theology is ultimately corrected by God later in the book of Job, the imagery of light and darkness as metaphors for good and evil, or blessing and judgment, is common throughout Scripture. For instance, John 3:19 speaks of men loving darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. The concept of the wicked being cut off or destroyed from the earth is also found in other wisdom literature, such as Proverbs 2:22, which states, "But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it."
Practical Application
Although the book of Job ultimately challenges the simplistic cause-and-effect understanding of suffering presented by Bildad and his friends, this verse still serves as a powerful reminder of the consequences of choosing a path of wickedness. It highlights the biblical truth that actions have repercussions and that a life lived apart from God's ways often leads to spiritual and existential "darkness." For believers, it underscores the importance of walking in the light of God's truth, as opposed to the shadows of sin, and trusting in God's ultimate justice, even when His ways are mysterious, as illustrated in Isaiah 55:9. It encourages reflection on the long-term outcomes of our choices, both spiritually and practically.