TRV
Translation
Berean Standard Bible
He is driven from light into darkness and is chased from the inhabited world.
American Standard Version
He shall be driven from light into darkness, And chased out of the world.
World English Bible Messianic
He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.
Geneva Bible (1599)
They shall driue him out of the light vnto darkenesse, and chase him out of the world.
Young's Literal Translation
They thrust him from light unto darkness, And from the habitable earth cast him out.
See on the biblical-era map
In the KJVVerse 13,295 of 31,102
Study This Verse
Commentary on Job 18 verses 11–21
11 ¶ Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet.
12 His strength shall be hungerbitten, and destruction shall be ready at his side.
13 It shall devour the strength of his skin: even the firstborn of death shall devour his strength.
14 His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors.
15 It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation.
16 His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off.
17 His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street.
18 He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.
19 He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings.
20 They that come after him shall be astonied at his day, as they that went before were affrighted.
21 Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God.
Bildad here describes the destruction itself which wicked people are reserved for in the other world, and which, in some degree, often seizes them in this world. Come, and see what a miserable condition the sinner is in when his day comes to fall.
I. See him disheartened and weakened by continual terrors arising from the sense of his own guilt and the dread of God's wrath (Job 18:11, Job 18:12): Terror shall make him afraid on every side. The terrors of his own conscience shall haunt him, so that he shall never be easy. Wherever he goes, these shall follow him; which way soever he looks, these shall stare him in the face. It will make him tremble to see himself fought against by the whole creation, to see Heaven frowning on him, hell gaping for him, and earth sick of him. He that carries his own accuser, and his own tormentor, always in his bosom, cannot but be afraid on every side. This will drive him to his feet, like the malefactor, who, being conscious of his own guilt, takes to his heels and flees when none pursues, Pro 28:1. But his feet will do him no service; they are fast in the snare, Job 18:9. The sinner may as soon overpower the divine omnipotence as flee from the divine omniscience, Amo 9:2, Amo 9:3. No marvel that the sinner is dispirited and distracted with fear, for, 1. He sees his ruin approaching: Destruction shall be ready at his side, to seize him whenever justice gives the word, so that he is brought into desolation in a moment, Psa 73:19. 2. He feels himself utterly unable to grapple with it, either to escape it or to bear up under it. That which he relied upon as his strength (his wealth, power, pomp, friends, and the hardiness of his own spirit) shall fail him in the time of need, and be hunger-bitten, that is, it shall do him no more service than a famished man, pining away for hunger, would do in work or war. The case being thus with him, no marvel that he is a terror to himself. Note, The way of sin is a way of fear, and leads to everlasting confusion, of which the present terrors of an impure and unpacified conscience are earnests, as they were to Cain and Judas.
II. See him devoured and swallowed up by a miserable death; and miserable indeed a wicked man's death is, how secure and jovial soever his life was. 1. See him dying, arrested by the first-born of death (some disease, or some stroke that has in it a more than ordinary resemblance of death itself; so great a death, as it is called, Co2 1:10, a messenger of death that has in it an uncommon strength and terror), weakened by the harbingers of death, which devour the strength of his skin, that is, it shall bring rottenness into his bones and consume them. His confidence shall then be rooted out of his tabernacle (Job 18:14), that is, all that he trusted to for his support shall be taken from him, and he shall have nothing to rely upon, no, not his own tabernacle. His own soul was his confidence, but that shall be rooted out of the tabernacle of the body, as a tree that cumbered the ground. "Thy soul shall be required of thee." 2. See him dead, and see his case then with an eye of faith. (1.) He is then brought to the king of terrors. He was surrounded with terrors while he lived (Job 18:11), and death was the king of all those terrors; they fought against the sinner in death's name, for it is by reason of death that sinners are all their lifetime subject to bondage (Heb 2:15), and at length they will be brought to that which they so long feared, as a captive to the conqueror. Death is terrible to nature; our Saviour himself prayed, Father, save me from this hour. But to the wicked it is in a special manner the king of terrors, both as it is a period to that life in which they placed their happiness and a passage to that life where they will find their endless misery. How happy then are the saints, and how much indebted to the Lord Jesus, by whom death is so far abolished, and the property of it altered, that this king of terrors becomes a friend and servant! (2.) He is then driven from the light into darkness (Job 18:18), from the light of this world, and his prosperous condition in it, into darkness, the darkness of the grave, the darkness of hell, into utter darkness, never to see light (Psa 49:19), not the least gleam, nor any hopes of it. (3.) He is then chased out of the world, hurried and dragged away by the messengers of death, sorely against his will, chased as Adam out of paradise, for the world is his paradise. It intimates that he would fain stay here; he is loth to depart, but go he must; all the world is weary of him, and therefore chases him out, as glad to get rid of him. This is death to a wicked man.
III. See his family sunk and cut off, Job 18:15. The wrath and curse of God light and lie, not only upon his head and heart, but upon his house too, to consume it with the timber and stones thereof, Zac 5:4. Death itself shall dwell in his tabernacle, and, having expelled him, shall take possession of his house, to the terror and destruction of all that he leaves behind. Even the dwelling shall be ruined for the sake of its owner: Brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation, rained upon it as upon Sodom, to the destruction of which this seems to have reference. Some think he here upbraids Job with the burning of his sheep and servants with fire from heaven. The reason is here given why his tabernacle is thus marked for ruin: Because it is none of his; that is, it was unjustly got, and kept, from the rightful owner, and therefore let him not expect either the comfort or the continuance of it. His children shall perish, either with him or after him, Job 18:16. So that, his roots being in his own person dried up beneath, above his branch (every child of his family) shall be cut off. Thus the houses of Jeroboam, Baasha, and Ahab, were cut off; none that descended from them were left alive. Those who take root in the earth may expect it will thus be dried up; but, if we be rooted in Christ, even our leaf shall not wither, much less shall our branch be cut off. Those who consult the true honour of their family, and the welfare of its branches, will be afraid of withering it by sin. The extirpation of the sinner's family is mentioned again (Job 18:19): He shall neither have son nor nephew, child nor grandchild, to enjoy his estate and bear up his name, nor shall there be any remaining in his dwelling akin to him. Sin entails a curse upon posterity, and the iniquity of the fathers is often visited upon the children. Herein, also, it is probable that Bildad reflects upon the death of Job's children and servants, as a further proof of his being a wicked man; whereas all that are written childless are not thereby written graceless; there is a name better than that of sons and daughters.
IV. See his memory buried with him, or made odious; he shall either be forgotten or spoken of with dishonour (Job 18:17): His remembrance shall perish from the earth; and, if it perish thence, it perishes wholly, for it was never written in heaven, as the names of the saints are, Luk 10:20. All his honour shall be laid and lost in the dust, or stained with perpetual infamy, so that he shall have no name in the street, departing without being desired. Thus the judgments of God follow him, after death, in this world, as an indication of the misery his soul is in after death, and an earnest of that everlasting shame and contempt to which he shall rise in the great day. The memory of the just is blessed, but the name of the wicked shall rot, Pro 10:7.
V. See a universal amazement at his fall, Job 18:20. Those that see it are affrighted, so sudden is the change, so dreadful the execution, so threatening to all about him: and those that come after, and hear the report of it, are astonished at it; their ears are made to tingle, and their hearts to tremble, and they cry out, Lord, how terrible art thou in thy judgments! A place or person utterly ruined is said to be made an astonishment, Deu 28:37; Ch2 7:21; Jer 25:9, Jer 25:18. Horrible sins bring strange punishments.
VI. See all this averred as the unanimous sense of the patriarchal age, grounded upon their knowledge of God and their many observations of his providence (Job 18:21): Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place (this the condition) of him that knows not God! See here what is the beginning, and what is the end, of the wickedness of this wicked world. 1. The beginning of it is ignorance of God, and it is a wilful ignorance, for there is that to be known of him which is sufficient to leave them for ever inexcusable. They know not God, and then they commit all iniquity. Pharaoh knows not the Lord, and therefore will not obey his voice. 2. The end of it, and that is utter destruction. Such, so miserable, are the dwellings of the wicked. Vengeance will be taken of those that know not God, Th2 1:8. For those whom he has not honour from he will get himself honour upon. Let us therefore stand in awe and not sin, for it will certainly be bitterness in the latter end.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 11–21. Public domain.
Copy as
Julian of EclanumAD 455
EXPOSITION ON THE BOOK OF JOB 18:17
“Their memory perishes from the earth.” In order that Bildad may not appear to speak inconsistently after saying, “Their roots dry up beneath,” he had added, “Their crops are ruined above.” He then concludes with what he wanted to convey through such a sequel of expressions, that is, “Their memory perishes from the earth.” In fact, it could happen that the ripening of the fruits occurred before the drying up of the roots, which takes place over a long period of time. “Their memory perishes from the earth.” All the things that happen to the impious are described in general but also obliquely referred to Job, because he suffers these same things under the scourge of God.
Gregory the DialogistAD 604
26. He is led ‘from light to darkness,’ when for honour in the present life, he is condemned to eternal punishments. And hence it is more plainly added,
And translate him out of the world.
For he is ‘translated out of the world,’ when upon the Judge above appearing, he is taken away from this world, in which he wickedly glories; and for this, that when the end of the world breaks in upon him, he is condemned with all his followers.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
Copy as
Continue studying Job 18:18 across the web’s major study libraries — every link below opens this exact verse, chapter, or book on the destination site.
Read & Compare
BibleGatewayThis verse in more than 200 translations and 70 languages.
Bible.comThe YouVersion reader — hundreds of translations, reading plans, and highlights.
ESV.orgCrossway's official English Standard Version reader.
NET BibleThe NET translation with 60,000+ translators' notes on every rendering decision.
STEP BibleTyndale House's free study tool — original text, vocabulary, and scholarly resources.
BibliaLogos Bible Software's free web reader.
USCCBThe New American Bible (Revised Edition) with the U.S. bishops' study notes.
Commentaries
BibleHub CommentariesDozens of classic commentaries on this verse, gathered on one page.
StudyLightMore than 100 commentary sets — the largest collection on the web.
BibleRefPlain-English commentary on what this verse means, verse by verse.
Enduring WordDavid Guzik's free commentary on this chapter, widely used by Bible teachers.
Bible Study ToolsVerse commentary alongside Greek and Hebrew study aids.
Original Language & Research
- BibleHub InterlinearThe verse word by word — original language, transliteration, and English.
- BibleHub LexiconEvery word's original-language definition and Strong's entry.
Blue Letter BibleDeep-study tools — Strong's numbers, concordance, and word studies.
SefariaThe Hebrew text with Rashi and centuries of Jewish commentary.
Sermons, Hymns & Audio
TrulyRandomVerse is not affiliated with these sites and doesn’t control their content. They’re linked because they’re genuinely useful.
SUMMARY
Job 18:18, delivered by Bildad the Shuhite, starkly articulates his conviction regarding the inevitable and absolute destruction awaiting the wicked. Within his second discourse, Bildad vehemently asserts that Job's profound suffering serves as irrefutable evidence of his sinfulness, aligning with the prevailing retribution theology of the era, which posited a direct correlation between righteousness and prosperity, and wickedness and calamity. This verse powerfully depicts the wicked person's forceful expulsion from all that is good—symbolized by "light"—into a state of utter despair, oblivion, and ultimate demise, being "chased out of the world." It functions as a severe, though ultimately misapplied, indictment against Job, underscoring the dire consequences Bildad believes are reserved for those who defy God.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: Job 18:18 is strategically placed within Bildad's second of three speeches to Job, specifically found in Job 18. This chapter follows Job's lament in Job 17, where Job expresses his profound despair and sense of abandonment. Bildad responds with a harsh and unyielding rebuke, accusing Job of arrogance and impatience, and asserting that Job's suffering is a direct consequence of his wickedness. Bildad's entire speech (Job 18:1-21) is a sustained and vivid exposition on the terrifying fate of the wicked, employing graphic imagery to describe their downfall. He systematically details the loss of their prosperity, their family, their reputation, and ultimately, their very existence. This particular verse, therefore, acts as a powerful crescendo in Bildad's argument, serving as a thinly veiled, yet devastating, accusation against Job, implying that Job's current state is precisely the "darkness" and "expulsion" reserved for the unrighteous. The preceding verses (Job 18:5-17) describe the wicked's lamp being extinguished, their strength failing, and their roots drying up, making verse 18 the climactic culmination of this trajectory of destruction.
Historical & Cultural Context: Bildad, like Job and his other companions, lived in a patriarchal society deeply rooted in ancient Near Eastern wisdom traditions. A central tenet of their worldview was the concept of divine justice, often expressed through what is known as retribution theology. This theological framework held that God directly rewarded the righteous with blessings such as wealth, health, and numerous offspring, while punishing the wicked with suffering, calamity, and destruction. This belief system was prevalent in the ancient Near East and is reflected in various wisdom texts, including certain sections of the Old Testament (e.g., Proverbs). For Bildad, Job's immense suffering—the loss of his children, possessions, and health—could only be explained by his secret wickedness. The imagery of "light" and "darkness" was universally understood in ancient cultures as representing life, prosperity, divine favor, and knowledge versus death, misfortune, divine judgment, and ignorance, respectively. To be "chased out of the world" would have evoked the ultimate social and existential ostracism, a fate often considered worse than death, signifying a complete erasure from memory, community, and the land of the living.
Key Themes: Job 18:18 powerfully contributes to several foundational themes within the book of Job and broader biblical theology. The most prominent theme is the Consequences of Wickedness, which Bildad presents as an inescapable and dire judgment awaiting those who live apart from God's ways. His argument, while ultimately challenged and corrected by God, reflects a common ancient Near Eastern understanding of divine justice where sin inevitably leads to ruin and demise. Secondly, the verse highlights the Loss of Light and Life, using the potent imagery of transition from "light" to "darkness." This symbolizes a complete reversal of fortune, moving from prosperity, joy, and divine favor to misery, despair, and spiritual death. This theme resonates with other biblical passages where light represents God's presence and blessing (e.g., Psalm 36:9) and darkness signifies judgment and separation from God (e.g., Isaiah 5:20). Finally, the phrase "chased out of the world" emphasizes Utter Expulsion and Destruction, signifying a forceful removal from human society, from the land of the living, and ultimately, from memory and influence, a theme also seen in texts like Psalm 37:9-10.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Bildad employs several potent Literary Devices in Job 18:18 to underscore his message of the wicked's inevitable doom. The most prominent is Symbolism, where "light" universally symbolizes life, prosperity, knowledge, and divine favor, while "darkness" symbolizes death, misery, ignorance, and divine judgment. This stark contrast creates a powerful Antithesis, highlighting the absolute and devastating reversal of fortune for the wicked. Furthermore, the verse utilizes Parallelism in its two clauses ("He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world"), where the second clause reinforces and intensifies the meaning of the first, emphasizing the complete and forceful nature of the wicked's expulsion. The verbs "driven" and "chased" also contribute to Vivid Imagery, painting a picture of an irresistible, violent ejection, evoking a sense of terror, inevitability, and utter helplessness for the one condemned.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
While Bildad's rigid application of retribution theology to Job's suffering is ultimately shown to be flawed and incomplete by God's own words in Job 38-41, the core imagery and underlying principle of consequences for wickedness hold profound theological weight within the broader biblical narrative. The Bible consistently affirms that there are indeed dire outcomes for those who persistently reject God's ways and embrace evil. This verse, therefore, serves as a stark reminder of the ultimate futility and destructive end of a life lived in rebellion against the Creator. It highlights the biblical truth that true flourishing and life are found in walking in God's light, and deviation from that path inevitably leads to spiritual and existential darkness, even if the timing and specific manifestation of judgment are not always as simplistic as Bildad suggests. The pervasive biblical imagery of light and darkness as moral and spiritual states points to the fundamental choice between life in God's presence and separation from Him, a choice with eternal implications.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Job 18:18, though spoken from a flawed theological premise regarding Job's specific situation, still compels us to reflect on the profound consequences of our choices and the ultimate trajectory of a life lived apart from God. While we must guard against the simplistic "cause-and-effect" theology espoused by Job's friends, the verse powerfully reminds us that persistent sin does lead to a form of "darkness"—a separation from God's light, truth, and life-giving presence. It challenges us to examine our own lives: are we actively walking in the light of Christ, embracing truth, righteousness, and love, or are we gravitating towards the shadows of self-interest, deceit, and rebellion? The "expulsion from the world" can be understood not merely as physical death, but as a loss of true purpose, meaning, and connection, a spiritual oblivion even in this life, where one's influence and legacy are extinguished. This verse calls us to profound repentance, to turn from any path that leads to spiritual darkness, and to wholeheartedly embrace the transformative light of God's grace. It encourages us to trust that His justice is perfectly righteous, even when His ways are beyond our full comprehension, as Isaiah 55:9 reminds us, and to live lives that reflect His character, knowing that true flourishing and eternal life are found in Him alone.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does Bildad's description of the wicked's fate in Job 18:18 accurately represent God's justice according to the rest of the Bible?
Answer: While the imagery of "light" and "darkness" and the concept of consequences for wickedness are consistent biblical themes, Bildad's application of this principle to Job is ultimately shown to be incomplete and flawed. The book of Job's primary purpose is to challenge the simplistic retribution theology held by Job's friends, which asserts a direct, immediate, and always discernible correlation between sin and suffering. God Himself, in Job 38-41, never affirms that Job's suffering was due to his sin, but rather reveals His own sovereignty, the limits of human understanding, and the multifaceted nature of suffering. While the wicked will indeed face judgment (e.g., Psalm 9:17), the righteous may also suffer (e.g., 1 Peter 4:12-19), and God's justice is far more complex and mysterious than Bildad's rigid framework allows. Therefore, while the description of the wicked's end has biblical echoes, Bildad's reasoning for Job's suffering is incorrect, highlighting the danger of presuming to know God's specific reasons for every trial.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Job 18:18, though spoken in the context of a flawed human theology, finds its ultimate Christ-centered fulfillment not in the condemnation of an innocent man, but in the triumph of the true Light over all darkness. Bildad's grim prophecy of the wicked being "driven from light into darkness" stands in stark contrast to the glorious destiny of those who follow Christ. Jesus declared Himself to be the "light of the world" and promised that "whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life". He, the sinless Son of God, endured the ultimate "darkness" on the cross, experiencing profound spiritual separation from God and physical death, so that humanity might be "delivered... from the domain of darkness and transferred... to the kingdom of his beloved Son". Furthermore, the "chased out of the world" imagery, intended by Bildad as a curse of utter obliteration, is ironically fulfilled and inverted in Christ's victory over death and the grave. While He was indeed "chased out" of this world through crucifixion, He rose again, conquering death and darkness, ensuring that those who believe in Him will never truly be "chased out" into eternal oblivion but will have "eternal life" and dwell in His glorious light forever. Thus, Job 18:18, by vividly depicting the dire fate of those without the true light, implicitly points to the absolute necessity and ultimate triumph of Jesus Christ, the one who brings us from darkness into "His marvelous light" and secures our eternal dwelling in His presence.