The Meaning of Job 11:20 Explained

Job 11:20

KJV: But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.

YLT: And the eyes of the wicked are consumed, And refuge hath perished from them, And their hope is a breathing out of soul!

Darby: But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and all refuge shall vanish from them, and their hope shall be the breathing out of life.

ASV: But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, And they shall have no way to flee; And their hope shall be the giving up of the ghost.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But the eyes  of the wicked  shall fail,  and they shall not escape,  and their hope  [shall be as] the giving up  of the ghost. 

What does Job 11:20 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 11:1-20 - "canst Thou By Searching Find Out God?"
Zophar waxes vehement as he censures Job's self-justification and his refusal to acknowledge the guilt which his friends attribute to him. There is some truth in his allegations, though it was cruel to goad Job with them, notwithstanding his repeated protestations.
It is quite true that many of us are filled with self-complacency, because we judge our best by others' worst. It may be also that we have a very poor conception of what God is and asks. It is best for us to strike our breasts with the publican and to confess ourselves the chief of sinners.
What a magnificent challenge is that of Job 11:7-12! Canst thou reach God's depths, or His perfections, or His heights? But, oh my soul, remember that through all His unsearchable depths God is love. For the closing paragraph see r.v. Job had said he could not lift up his face, Job 10:15, but when sin is put away, we may exchange glances with our Father. [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 11

1  Zophar reproves Job for justifying himself
5  God's wisdom is unsearchable
13  The assured blessing of repentance

What do the individual words in Job 11:20 mean?

But the eyes of the wicked will fail and shall not escape they and their hope loss of life -
וְעֵינֵ֥י רְשָׁעִ֗ים תִּ֫כְלֶ֥ינָה וּ֭מָנוֹס אָבַ֣ד מִנְהֶ֑ם וְ֝תִקְוָתָ֗ם מַֽפַּח־ נָֽפֶשׁ פ

וְעֵינֵ֥י  But  the  eyes 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, cdc
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.
רְשָׁעִ֗ים  of  the  wicked 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: רָשָׁע  
Sense: wicked, criminal.
תִּ֫כְלֶ֥ינָה  will  fail 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine plural
Root: כָּלָה  
Sense: to accomplish, cease, consume, determine, end, fail, finish, be complete, be accomplished, be ended, be at an end, be finished, be spent.
אָבַ֣ד  shall  not  escape 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָבַד  
Sense: perish, vanish, go astray, be destroyed.
וְ֝תִקְוָתָ֗ם  and  their  hope 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: תִּקְוָה 
Sense: cord.
מַֽפַּח־  loss 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מַפָּח  
Sense: breathing out, expiring, exhaling (of life).
נָֽפֶשׁ  of  life 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation