Job 18:12

“His strength shall be hungerbitten, etc.] Or “shall be famine” f698, or hunger, that is, shall be weakened by it; famine is a sore evil, and greatly weakens thee natural strength of men; want of food will soon bring down the strength of the strongest man, when the stay and the staff, the sustenance and support of man’s nature is taken from him: many of the Jewish writers, by “his strength”, understand his children, who are, as Jacob said of Reuben, his might, and the beginning of his strength, (<014903>Genesis 49:3); and when grown up are his protection and defence; and for these to be distressed with hunger, or destroyed by famine, is a sore judgment; so the Targum paraphrases it, his…”

“The Hebrew is brief and bold, "his strength is hungry." destruction--that is, a great calamity (Pro 1:27). ready at his side--close at hand to destroy him (Pro 19:29).”

“His strength shall be hungerbitten - Shall be exhausted by hunger or famine. And destruction shall be ready at his side - Hebrew “Shall be fitted” נכוּן nākûn “to his side.” Some have supposed that this refers to some disease, like the pleurisy, that would adhere closely to his side. So Jerome understands it. Schultens has quoted some passages from Arabic poets, in which calamities are represented as “breaking the side.” Bildad refers probably, to some heavy judgments that would crush a man; such that the ribs, or the human frame, could not bear; and the meaning is, that a wicked man would be certainly crushed by misfortune. return to 'Top of Page'”

“hungerbitten: Job 15:23, Job 15:24; Sa1 2:5, Sa1 2:36; Psa 34:10, Psa 109:10 destruction: Psa 7:12-14; Th1 5:3; Pe2 2:3 Job 18:13”

“12 His calamity looketh hunger-bitten, And misfortune is ready for his fall. 13 It devoureth the members of his skin; The first-born of death devoureth his members. 14 That in which he trusted is torn away out of his tent, And he must march on to the king of terrors. 15 Beings strange to him dwell in his tent; Brimstone is strewn over his habitation. The description of the actual and total destruction of the evil-doer now begins with יהי (as Job 24:14, after the manner of the voluntative forms already used in Job 24:9). Step by step it traces his course to the total destruction, which leaves no trace of him, but still bears evident marks of being the fulfilment of the curse pronounced upon…”