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Easy-to-Read Version

Job 9:22

So I say, ‘Does it make any difference? God destroys the innocent as well as the guilty.'

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Afflictions and Adversities;   Doubting;   God;  

Dictionaries:

- Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Greatness of God;   Hypocrisy;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Job, Book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - All;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Pahlavi Literature, Jews in;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for January 21;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
It is all the same. Therefore I say,“He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.”
Hebrew Names Version
"It is all the same. Therefore I say, He destroys the blameless and the wicked.
King James Version
This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.
English Standard Version
It is all one; therefore I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.'
New Century Version
It is all the same. That is why I say, ‘God destroys both the innocent and the guilty.'
New English Translation
"It is all one! That is why I say, ‘He destroys the blameless and the guilty.'
Amplified Bible
"It is all one; therefore I say, 'He destroys [both] the blameless and the wicked.'
New American Standard Bible
"It is all one; therefore I say, 'He destroys the guiltless and the wicked.'
World English Bible
"It is all the same. Therefore I say, He destroys the blameless and the wicked.
Geneva Bible (1587)
This is one point: therefore I said, Hee destroyeth the perfite and the wicked.
Legacy Standard Bible
It is all one; therefore I say,‘He consumes the blameless and the wicked.'
Berean Standard Bible
It is all the same, and so I say, 'He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.'
Contemporary English Version
What difference does it make? God destroys the innocent along with the guilty.
Complete Jewish Bible
So I say it's all the same — he destroys innocent and wicked alike.
Darby Translation
It is all one; therefore I said, he destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.
George Lamsa Translation
It is all the same; therefore I say, He destroys both the righteous and the wicked.
Lexham English Bible
It is all one; therefore I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.'
Literal Translation
It is One; so then I said, He is consuming the perfect and the wicked.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
This one thige wil I saye: He destroyeth both the rightuous & vngodly.
American Standard Version
It is all one; therefore I say, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.
Bible in Basic English
It is all the same to me; so I say, He puts an end to the sinner and to him who has done no wrong together.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
It is all one--therefore I say: He destroyeth the innocent and the wicked.
King James Version (1611)
This is one thing, therefore I said it; he destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
This is one poynt, and therefore I sayd, He destroyeth both the perfect and vngodly.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Wherefore I said, Wrath slays the great and mighty man.
English Revised Version
It is all one; therefore I say, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
O thing is, which Y spak, he schal waste `bi deth also the innocent and wickid man.
Update Bible Version
It is all one; therefore I say, He destroys the perfect and the wicked.
Webster's Bible Translation
This [is] one [thing], therefore I said [it], he destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.
New King James Version
It is all one thing; Therefore I say, "He destroys the blameless and the wicked.'
New Living Translation
Innocent or wicked, it is all the same to God. That's why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.'
New Life Bible
It is all the same, so I say, ‘He destroys both those who are without blame and the sinful.'
New Revised Standard
It is all one; therefore I say, he destroys both the blameless and the wicked.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
One thing, there is, for which cause, I have said it, The blameless and the lawless, he bringeth to an end.
Douay-Rheims Bible
One thing there is that I have spoken, both the innocent and the wicked he consumeth.
Revised Standard Version
It is all one; therefore I say, he destroys both the blameless and the wicked.
Young's Literal Translation
It is the same thing, therefore I said, `The perfect and the wicked He is consuming.'
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"It is all one; therefore I say, 'He destroys the guiltless and the wicked.'

Contextual Overview

22 So I say, ‘Does it make any difference? God destroys the innocent as well as the guilty.' 23 Is it God who laughs when a disaster kills innocent people? 24 Is it God who keeps the leaders from seeing when an evil person takes control? If it is not God, then who is it?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

He destroyeth: Ecclesiastes 9:1-3, Ezekiel 21:3, Ezekiel 21:4, Luke 13:2-4

Reciprocal: Genesis 18:25 - that the Job 1:8 - a perfect Job 4:7 - who ever Job 8:20 - God Job 9:29 - General Job 15:5 - uttereth Job 34:9 - It Job 35:3 - what advantage Ecclesiastes 7:15 - there is a just Ecclesiastes 8:14 - there be just

Cross-References

Genesis 9:12
And God said, "I will give you something to prove that I made this promise to you. It will continue forever to show that I have made an agreement with you and every living thing on earth.
Genesis 9:13
I am putting a rainbow in the clouds as proof of the agreement between me and the earth.
Genesis 9:15
When I see this rainbow, I will remember the agreement between me and you and every living thing on the earth. This agreement says that a flood will never again destroy all life on the earth.
Genesis 9:16
When I look and see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the agreement that continues forever. I will remember the agreement between me and every living thing on the earth."
Genesis 9:19
These three men were Noah's sons. And all the people on earth came from these three sons.
Genesis 9:20
Noah became a farmer and planted a vineyard.
Genesis 9:21
One day Noah made some wine. He got drunk, went into his tent, and took off all his clothes.
Genesis 9:25
he said, "May there be a curse on Canaan! May he be a slave to his brothers."
Genesis 10:6
Ham's sons were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
1 Chronicles 1:8
The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

This [is] one [thing],.... Or "one thing [there] is" x in the world, as Jarchi adds; or "one measure", as the Targum, to good and bad men; one event alike to the righteous, and to the wicked, Ecclesiastes 9:2; so that, as others render it, "it is all one" y, whether a man righteous and perfect, or whether he is not, he is equally liable to be afflicted and distressed: and "this is one thing, [very] singular" z, amazing and astonishing, and very unaccountable; but so it is, and which he differed from his three friends about; as to the justice of God, he agreed with them in that; yea, he believed he was righteous in whatever he did, and even in this, which was so strange and surprising, though he could not account for it: and "this is uniform", as Mr. Broughton translates it; either God acts uniformly in what he does, treating all men alike, good and bad men; or Job was uniform in his sentiments, he was all of a piece, steady and constant, retaining the same sense of things, from which he had not departed, nor could he depart:

therefore I said [it]; with the greatest confidence and assurance, because he believed it, and would say it again, seeing no reason at all to alter his judgment; the thing was quite clear to him, of which he had, at least as he thought, unquestionable evidence; and the thing he has respect to is as follows:

he destroyeth the perfect and the wicked; this is thought by some to be a very bad expression, bordering on blasphemy, and contrary to the nature and perfections of God, and to the methods of his providence,

Genesis 18:23; and that Job speaks in the person of one destitute of the grace of God: but nothing is more certain than that this was the real sentiment of his mind, his firm belief, nor could he be persuaded to the contrary; indeed it may be understood in a good sense: by a "perfect" man we are to understand a truly good man, one that has received the grace of God in truth, and is perfectly justified and pardoned through the blood and righteousness of Christ; and by a "wicked" man one that is under the influence of his lusts, is abandoned to them, and never easy but while he is serving them, which he is continually doing. Now the destruction of these is not to be interpreted of everlasting destruction; this indeed will be the case of wicked men, but not of perfect and good men: God by his grace has made a difference between them in this world, and so he will in the next; the one will go into everlasting punishment, the other into everlasting life, and will never come together in the same place or state; nor will the perfect man be destroyed at all in such sense; the grace of God within him, and the righteousness of Christ upon him, will eternally secure him from everlasting wrath and ruin: but it is meant of temporal destruction; sometimes indeed a remarkable distinction is made between the one and the other in a time of general calamity, as Noah, a perfect man, was saved, when the world of the ungodly were destroyed by water, Genesis 7:23; and Lot, a righteous man, when Sodom and Gomorrah were consumed by fire, Genesis 19:29; but frequently they fall together in the same common distress; good and bad men, among the Jews were alike carried captive into Babylon, signified by Jeremiah's good and bad figs, Jeremiah 24:2; of good men, Ezekiel, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego, are instances; though indeed it is on different accounts, and with different views, that the one and the other are destroyed with a temporal destruction, in their persons, their health, their families, or in their estates; such calamities upon good men are not as punishments for their sins, as on the wicked; but as fatherly chastisements, and for the trial of their graces, for their spiritual and eternal good, and that they might not be condemned with the world. Job's view in saying this is to observe, that a man's state God-ward is not to be judged of by his outward circumstances, whether he is a good man or a bad man, since they may both be in the same afflictions and distress, and which he opposes to the sentiments and sayings of Eliphaz and Bildad, Job 4:7.

x אחת היא "unum est", Munster, Mercerus, Schmidt. y "Perinde est", Cocceius. z "Singulare enimvero id!", Schultens.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

This is one thing, therefore I said it - This may mean, “it is all the same thing. It makes no difference whether a man be righteous or wicked. God treats them substantially alike; he has one and the same rule on the subject. Nothing can be argued certainly about the character of a man from the divine dealings with him here.” This was the point in dispute, this the position that Job maintained - that God did not deal with people here in strict accordance with their character, but that the righteous and the wicked in this world were afflicted alike.

He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked - He makes no distinction among them. That Job was right in this his main position there can be no doubt; and the wonder is, that his friends did not all see it. But it required a long time in the course of events, and much observation and discussion, before this important point was made clear. With our full views of the state of retribution in the future world, we can have no doubt on the subject. Heavy and sudden judgments do not necessarily prove that they who are cut off are especially guilty, and long prosperity is no evidence that a man is holy. Calamity, by fire and flood, on a steamboat, or in the pestilence, does not demonstrate the unusual and eminent wickedness of those who suffer (compare Luke 13:1-5), nor should those who escape from such calamities infer that of necessity they are the objects of the divine favor.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 9:22. This is one thing] My own observation shows, that in the course of providence the righteous and the wicked have an equal lot; for when any sudden calamity comes, the innocent and the guilty fall alike. There may be a few exceptions, but they are very extraordinary, and very rare.


 
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