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Amplified Bible

Job 5:2

"For anger slays the foolish man, And jealousy kills the simple (naive).

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Anger;   Envy;   Sin;   The Topic Concordance - Envy;   Foolishness;   Wrath;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Anger;   Envy;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Jealousy;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Disease;   Envy;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Greatness of God;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Medicine;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Eliphaz (2);   Envy;   Fool;   Grief;   Job, Book of;   Wrath (Anger);   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Anger;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
For anger kills a fool,and jealousy slays the gullible.
Hebrew Names Version
For resentment kills the foolish man, And jealousy kills the simple.
King James Version
For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.
English Standard Version
Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple.
New Century Version
Anger kills the fool, and jealousy slays the stupid.
New English Translation
For wrath kills the foolish person, and anger slays the silly one.
New American Standard Bible
"For irritation kills the fool, And jealousy brings death to the simple.
World English Bible
For resentment kills the foolish man, And jealousy kills the simple.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Doubtlesse anger killeth the foolish, and enuie slayeth the idiote.
Legacy Standard Bible
For vexation kills the ignorant fool,And jealousy puts to death the simple.
Berean Standard Bible
For resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.
Contemporary English Version
Envy and jealousy will kill a stupid fool.
Complete Jewish Bible
For anger kills the fool, and envy slays the silly.
Darby Translation
For vexation killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the simple.
Easy-to-Read Version
A fool's anger will kill him. His jealousy will destroy him.
George Lamsa Translation
For anger kills the foolish man, and enmity slays the silly one.
Good News Translation
To worry yourself to death with resentment would be a foolish, senseless thing to do.
Lexham English Bible
For vexation will slay the fool, and jealousy will kill the simple.
Literal Translation
For vexation kills the fool, and passion causes the simple to die.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
As for the foolish man displeasure kylleth him, and anger slayeth ye ignoraunt.
American Standard Version
For vexation killeth the foolish man, And jealousy slayeth the silly one.
Bible in Basic English
For wrath is the cause of death to the foolish, and he who has no wisdom comes to his end through passion.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
As for the foolish ma, wrathfulnesse killeth him, and enuie slayeth the ignorant.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
For anger killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.
King James Version (1611)
For wrath killeth the foolish man, and enuy slayeth the silly one.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
For wrath destroys the foolish one, and envy slays him that has gone astray.
English Revised Version
For vexation killeth the foolish man, and jealousy slayeth the silly one.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Wrathfulnesse sleeth `a fonned man, and enuye sleeth a litil child.
Update Bible Version
For vexation kills the foolish man, And jealousy slays the silly one.
Webster's Bible Translation
For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.
New King James Version
For wrath kills a foolish man, And envy slays a simple one.
New Living Translation
Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple.
New Life Bible
To be bitter kills the foolish man, and jealousy kills the child-like.
New Revised Standard
Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For, to the foolish man, death is caused by vexation, and, the simple one, is slain by jealousy.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Anger indeed killeth the foolish, and envy slayeth the little one.
Revised Standard Version
Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple.
Young's Literal Translation
For provocation slayeth the perverse, And envy putteth to death the simple,
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"For anger slays the foolish man, And jealousy kills the simple.

Contextual Overview

1"Call now—is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the holy ones (angels) will you turn? 2"For anger slays the foolish man, And jealousy kills the simple (naive).3"I have seen the foolish taking root [and outwardly prospering], But I cursed his dwelling immediately [for his destruction was certain]. 4"His children are far from safety [and included in their father's ruin], They are oppressed and crushed in the [court of justice in the city's] gate, And there is no one to rescue them. 5"The hungry devour his harvest And take it even [when it grows] among the thorns; The trap opens for [his] wealth.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

wrath: Job 18:4, Jonah 4:9

the foolish: Psalms 14:1, Psalms 75:4, Psalms 92:6, Psalms 107:17, Proverbs 1:22, Proverbs 1:23, Proverbs 8:5, Ecclesiastes 7:9

envy: or, indignation, Genesis 30:1, 1 Samuel 18:8, 1 Samuel 18:9, Romans 2:8

one: Hosea 7:11, 2 Timothy 3:6

Reciprocal: Genesis 4:5 - wroth Genesis 4:6 - General Genesis 26:14 - envied Genesis 38:9 - lest that Exodus 1:9 - the people Exodus 1:12 - grieved Judges 8:1 - the men 1 Samuel 20:30 - Saul's 1 Kings 20:43 - went 1 Kings 21:4 - heavy Esther 3:5 - full of wrath Psalms 37:8 - Cease Proverbs 14:30 - envy Proverbs 27:4 - but Daniel 2:12 - General Acts 5:17 - indignation James 3:14 - if

Cross-References

Genesis 1:27
So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 2:15
So the LORD God took the man [He had made] and settled him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.
Genesis 2:23
Then Adam said, "This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man."
Malachi 2:15
But not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And what did that one do while seeking a godly offspring? Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth.
Matthew 19:4
He replied, "Have you never read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE,
Mark 10:6
"But from the beginning of creation God MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE.
Acts 17:26
"And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands and territories.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For wrath killeth the foolish man,.... Not one that is an idiot, and destitute of common sense, and has no understanding in things natural and civil; but a wicked man, who has no knowledge of things divine and spiritual, and so foolish; which is the character of every natural man, and of God's people before conversion; and even of some professors, who are foolish virgins, and carry the lamp of a religious profession without the oil of grace; and such an one Eliphaz took Job to be, whom sooner or later the wrath of the Lord, as the Targum interprets it, which is revealed from heaven, and comes down upon the children of disobedience, would consume like devouring fire: or this may be understood of the wrath and passion of such men themselves, which sometimes rises in them to such an height, as that they die in a fit of it; or do those things which bring them to death, either by the hand of God, or by the civil magistrate:

and envy slayeth the silly one; one that is simple and void of understanding, and is easily persuaded and drawn into sin, either by his own heart, or by evil men, or by the temptations of Satan; and in whose heart envy at the prosperity of others dwells, and which insensibly preys upon him, eats up his own spirits, and is rottenness to his bones, and crumbles them into dust, Proverbs 14:30; or the word may be rendered "jealousy", or "zeal" q, as it sometimes is, and may signify the jealousy of the Lord, zeal for his own glory, which he sometimes stirs up as a man of war, and which smokes against wicked men, and consumes them as fire, see Isaiah 42:13; Eliphaz by all this would represent and insinuate that Job was such a man, hot, passionate, and angry with God and his providence, and envious at the prosperity of others, particularly his friends; and so was a foolish and silly man, in whose breast wrath and envy rested, and would be his ruin and destruction, as he was already under slaying and killing providences.

q קנאה "zelus", Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Schmidt, Michaelis, Schultens.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For wrath killeth the foolish man - That is, the wrath of God. The word foolish here is used as synonymous with wicked, because wickedness is supreme folly. The general proposition here is, that the wicked are cut off, and that they are overtaken with heavy calamities in this life. In proof of this, Eliphaz appeals in the following verses to his own observation: The implied inference is, that Job, having had all his possessions taken away, and having been overwhelmed with unspeakably great personal calamities, was to be regarded as having been a great sinner. Some suppose, however, that the word “wrath” here relates to the indignation or the repining of the individual himself, and that the reference is to the fact that such wrath or repining preys upon the spirit, and draws down the divine vengeance. This is the view of Schultens, and of Noyes. But it seems more probable that Eliphaz means to state the proposition, that the wrath of God burns against the wicked, and that the following verses are an illustration of this sentiment, derived from his own observation.

And envy - Margin, “indignation.” Jerome, invidia, envy. Septuagint ζῆλος zēlos. Castellio, severitas ac vehementia. The Hebrew word קנאה qı̂n'âh means jealousy, envy, ardor, zeal. It may be applied to any strong affection of the mind; any fervent, glowing, and burning emotion. Gesenius supposes it means here envy, as excited by the prosperity of others. To me it seems that the connection requires us to understand it of wrath, or indignation, as in Deuteronomy 29:20; Psalms 79:5. As applied to God, it often means his jealousy, or his anger, when the affections of people are placed on other objects than himself; Numbers 25:11; Zephaniah 1:18, et al.

Slayeth the silly one - Good and Noyes render this, “the weak man.” Jerome, parvulum, the little one. The Septuagint, πεπλανημένον peplanēmenon, the erring. Walton, ardelionem, the busy-body. The Hebrew word פתה poteh is from פתה pâthâh, to open, go expand; and hence, the participleis applied to one who opens his lips, or whose mouth is open; that is, a garrulous person, Proverbs 20:19; and also to one who is open-hearted, frank, ingenuous, unsuspicious; and hence, one who is easily influenced by others, or whose heart may be easily enticed. Thus, it comes to mean one who is simple and foolish. In this sense it is used here, to denote one who is so simple and foolish as to be drawn aside by weak arguments and unfounded opinions. I have no doubt that Eliphaz meant, by insinuation, to apply this to Job, as being a weak-minded man, for having allowed the views which he entertained to make such an impression on his mind, and for having expressed himself as he had done. The proposition is general; but it would be easy to undertand how he intended it to be applied.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 5:2. For wrath killeth the foolish manFoolish, silly, and simple, are epithets given by Solomon to sinners and transgressors of all kinds. Such parallelisms have afforded a presumptive argument that Solomon was the author of this book. See the preface. Job 1:1 The words of Eliphaz may be considered as a sort of maxim, which the wisdom and experience of ages had served to establish; viz., The wrath of God is manifested only against the wicked and impious; and if thou wert not such, God would not thus contend with thee.


 
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