Job 24:19

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Job 24:19 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Drought and heat consume the snow waters: [So doth] Sheol [those that] have sinned.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Drought and heat consume the snow waters: [So doth] Sheol [those that] have sinned.
Job 24:19 — American Standard Version

Context — Job 24

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
19Drought and heat consume the snow waters: [So doth] Sheol [those that] have sinned.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Drought and heat consume the snow waters, etc.] Melt the snow into water, and dry up that, which is done easily, quickly, and suddenly: [so doth] the grave [those which] have sinned; all have sinned, but some are more notorious sinners than others, as those here meant; and all die and are laid in the grave, and are consumed; hence the grave is called the pit of corruption and destruction, because bodies are corrupted and destroyed in it, and which is the case of all, both good and bad men; but the metaphor here used to express it by, of the consumption of snow water by drought and heat, denotes either that the death of these persons is sudden and violent, and in such a manner are brought to…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Arabian image; melted snow, as contrasted with the living fountain, quickly dries up in the sunburnt sand, not leaving a trace behind (Job 6:16-18). The Hebrew is terse and elliptical to express the swift and utter destruction of the godless; (so) "the grave--they have sinned!"”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Drought and heat consume the snow-waters - Margin, “violently take;” see the notes at Job 6:17. The word rendered “consume,” and in the margin “violently take” (יגזלו yı̂gâzelû), means properly to strip off, as skin from the flesh; and then to pluck or tear away by force; to strip, to spoil, to rob. The meaning here is, that the heat seems to seize and carry away the snow waters - to bear them off, as a plunderer does spoil. There is much poetic beauty in this image. The “snow-waters” here mean the waters that are produced by the melting of the snow on the hills, and which swell the rivulets in the valleys below. Those waters, Job says, are borne along in rivulets over the burning sands,…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Drought: Job 6:15-17 consume: Heb. violently take so doth: Job 21:23, Job 21:32-34; Psa 49:14, Psa 58:8, Psa 58:9, Psa 68:2; Pro 14:32; Ecc 9:4-6; Luk 12:20; Luk 16:22 Job 24:20”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification