Job 21:18
New International Version
How often are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a gale?

New Living Translation
Are they driven before the wind like straw? Are they carried away by the storm like chaff? Not at all!

English Standard Version
That they are like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away?

Berean Standard Bible
Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a storm?

King James Bible
They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away.

New King James Version
They are like straw before the wind, And like chaff that a storm carries away.

New American Standard Bible
“Are they as straw before the wind, And like chaff which the storm carries away?

NASB 1995
“Are they as straw before the wind, And like chaff which the storm carries away?

NASB 1977
“Are they as straw before the wind, And like chaff which the storm carries away?

Legacy Standard Bible
Are they as straw before the wind, And like chaff which the storm steals away?

Amplified Bible
“Are they like straw before the wind, And like chaff that the storm steals and carries away?

Christian Standard Bible
Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff a storm sweeps away?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff a storm sweeps away?

American Standard Version
That they are as stubble before the wind, And as chaff that the storm carrieth away?

Contemporary English Version
How often does he strike them like a windstorm that scatters straw?

English Revised Version
That they are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
How often are they like straw in the wind or like husks that the storm sweeps away?

Good News Translation
and blow them away like straw in the wind, or like dust carried away in a storm?

International Standard Version
May they become like a straw, blown away before the wind; like a chaff that's swept off by a storm.

Majority Standard Bible
Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a storm?

NET Bible
How often are they like straw before the wind, and like chaff swept away by a whirlwind?

New Heart English Bible
How often is it that they are as stubble before the wind, as chaff that the storm carries away?

Webster's Bible Translation
They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away.

World English Bible
How often is it that they are as stubble before the wind, as chaff that the storm carries away?
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
They are as straw before wind, "" And as chaff a windstorm has stolen away,

Young's Literal Translation
They are as straw before wind, And as chaff a hurricane hath stolen away,

Smith's Literal Translation
They shall be as straw before the wind, and as chaff the storm stole it away.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
They shall be as chaff before the face of the wind, and as ashes which the whirlwind scattereth.

Catholic Public Domain Version
They will be like chaff before the face of the wind, and like ashes that the whirlwind scatters.

New American Bible
Let them be like straw before the wind, like chaff the storm carries away!

New Revised Standard Version
How often are they like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away?
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
They are like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And they shall be as straw before the wind and like chaff that a tornado picks up!
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
That they are as stubble before the wind, And as chaff that the storm stealeth away?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And they shall be as chaff before the wind, or as dust which the storm has taken up.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job: God will Punish the Wicked
17How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come upon them? Does God, in His anger, apportion destruction? 18Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a storm? 19It is said that God lays up one’s punishment for his children. Let God repay the man himself, so he will know it.…

Cross References
Psalm 1:4
Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind.

Isaiah 17:13
The nations rage like the rush of many waters. He rebukes them, and they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweeds before a gale.

Hosea 13:3
Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes, like chaff blown from a threshing floor, like smoke through an open window.

Psalm 35:5
May they be like chaff in the wind, as the angel of the LORD drives them away.

Psalm 83:13
Make them like tumbleweed, O my God, like chaff before the wind.

Isaiah 29:5
But your many foes will be like fine dust, the multitude of the ruthless like blowing chaff. Then suddenly, in an instant,

Isaiah 41:2
Who has aroused one from the east and called him to his feet in righteousness? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow.

Isaiah 40:24
No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner have their stems taken root in the ground, than He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like stubble.

Jeremiah 13:24
“I will scatter you like chaff driven by the desert wind.

Matthew 3:12
His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Luke 3:17
His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Matthew 13:30
Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’”

Matthew 13:40
As the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

Luke 12:28
If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith!

1 Corinthians 3:12-13
If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, / his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work.


Treasury of Scripture

They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carries away.

as stubble

Job 13:25
Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?

Exodus 15:7
And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.

Psalm 1:4
The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

carrieth.

Jump to Previous
Carries Carrieth Chaff Dry Frequently Gale Grass Hurricane Often Stealeth Stems Stolen Storm Storm-Wind Straw Stubble Swept Wind
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Carries Carrieth Chaff Dry Frequently Gale Grass Hurricane Often Stealeth Stems Stolen Storm Storm-Wind Straw Stubble Swept Wind
Job 21
1. Job shows that even in the judgment of man he has reason to be grieved
7. Sometimes the wicked prosper, though they despise God
16. Sometimes their destruction is manifest
21. The happy and unhappy are alike in death
27. The judgment of the wicked is in another world














Are they like straw before the wind
In this phrase, Job is questioning the fate of the wicked, challenging the simplistic view that they are easily swept away like straw. The Hebrew word for "straw" is "teben," which refers to the dry stalks left after the grain has been harvested. Straw is lightweight and easily carried by the wind, symbolizing something that lacks substance or permanence. In the ancient Near Eastern context, straw was often used as fodder or fuel, indicating its low value. Job's rhetorical question suggests that the wicked are not as easily disposed of as straw, challenging the notion that they face immediate judgment. This reflects Job's struggle with the apparent prosperity of the wicked, despite their moral failings.

like chaff swept away by a storm
The term "chaff" in Hebrew is "mots," referring to the husks and other light debris separated from the grain during threshing. Chaff is even less substantial than straw, emphasizing the idea of worthlessness and impermanence. In biblical times, chaff was separated from the grain by winnowing, where the wind would blow away the lighter chaff, leaving the heavier grain behind. The imagery of chaff being "swept away by a storm" intensifies the idea of sudden and complete removal. However, Job's use of this imagery questions the assumption that the wicked are inevitably and swiftly removed by divine judgment. Historically, storms in the ancient Near East were seen as acts of divine intervention, yet Job observes that the wicked often seem untouched by such divine acts. This challenges the retributive justice theology of his friends, who argue that suffering is always a direct result of personal sin. Job's lament highlights the complexity of divine justice and the mystery of God's ways, encouraging believers to trust in God's ultimate wisdom and timing, even when immediate circumstances seem unjust.

Verse 18. - They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away; rather, How oft is it that they are as stubble before the wind and as chaff etc.? The construction begun in the first clause of ver. 17 is carried on to the end of ver. 18. "Stubble" and "chaff" are ordinary figures for foolish and ungodly men, whom the blast of God's anger swoops away to destruction (comp. Exodus 15:7; Psalm 1:4; Psalm 35:5; Psalm 83:13; Isaiah 27:13; Isaiah 29:5; Isaiah 41:2, etc.).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Are
יִהְי֗וּ (yih·yū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

they like straw
כְּתֶ֥בֶן (kə·ṯe·ḇen)
Preposition-k | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 8401: Material, refuse haum, stalks of grain

before
לִפְנֵי־ (lip̄·nê-)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 6440: The face

the wind,
ר֑וּחַ (rū·aḥ)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 7307: Wind, breath, exhalation, life, anger, unsubstantiality, a region of the sky, spirit

like chaff
וּ֝כְמֹ֗ץ (ū·ḵə·mōṣ)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4671: Chaff, threshed loose)

swept away
גְּנָבַ֥תּוּ (gə·nā·ḇat·tū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1589: To thieve, to deceive

by a storm?
סוּפָֽה׃ (sū·p̄āh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5492: A storm wind


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OT Poetry: Job 21:18 How often is it that they (Jb)
Job 21:17
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