Job 27:14
New International Version
However many his children, their fate is the sword; his offspring will never have enough to eat.

New Living Translation
They may have many children, but the children will die in war or starve to death.

English Standard Version
If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword, and his descendants have not enough bread.

Berean Standard Bible
Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword; and his offspring will never have enough food.

King James Bible
If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

New King James Version
If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword; And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

New American Standard Bible
Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword; And his descendants will not be satisfied with bread.

NASB 1995
“Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword; And his descendants will not be satisfied with bread.

NASB 1977
“Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword; And his descendants will not be satisfied with bread.

Legacy Standard Bible
Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword; And his offspring will not be satisfied with bread.

Amplified Bible
Though his children are many, they are destined for the sword; And his descendants will not have sufficient bread.

Christian Standard Bible
Even if his children increase, they are destined for the sword; his descendants will never have enough food.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Even if his children increase, they are destined for the sword; his descendants will never have enough food.

American Standard Version
If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword; And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

Contemporary English Version
They may have many children, but most of them will go hungry or suffer a violent death.

English Revised Version
If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword; and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
If he has many children, swords will kill them, and his descendants won't have enough food.

Good News Translation
They may have many sons, but all will be killed in war; their children never have enough to eat.

International Standard Version
If he has many children, their destiny is to die by the sword, and his descendants won't have enough food.

Majority Standard Bible
Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword; and his offspring will never have enough food.

NET Bible
If his children increase--it is for the sword! His offspring never have enough to eat.

New Heart English Bible
If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword. His offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

Webster's Bible Translation
If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

World English Bible
If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword. His offspring will not be satisfied with bread.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
If his sons multiply—a sword [is] for them. And his offspring [are] not satisfied [with] bread.

Young's Literal Translation
If his sons multiply -- for them is a sword. And his offspring are not satisfied with bread.

Smith's Literal Translation
If his sons shall be multiplied, for then the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
If his sons be multiplied, they shall be for the sword, and his grandsons shall not be filled with bread.

Catholic Public Domain Version
If his sons should happen to increase, they will be for the sword, and his grandsons will not be satisfied with bread.

New American Bible
Though his children be many, the sword awaits them. His descendants shall want for bread.

New Revised Standard Version
If their children are multiplied, it is for the sword; and their offspring have not enough to eat.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
If their children are multiplied, it is for the sword; and their offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
If their children will be multiplied for the sword and their offspring, they will not be filled with bread
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword; And his offspring shall not have bread enough.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And if their children be many, they shall be for slaughter: and if they grow up, they shall beg.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Wicked Man's Portion
13This is the wicked man’s portion from God—the heritage the ruthless receive from the Almighty. 14Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword; and his offspring will never have enough food. 15His survivors will be buried by the plague, and their widows will not weep for them.…

Cross References
Psalm 109:13
May his descendants be cut off; may their name be blotted out from the next generation.

Isaiah 14:21
Prepare a place to slaughter his sons for the iniquities of their forefathers. They will never rise up to possess a land or cover the earth with their cities.

Exodus 20:5
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

Deuteronomy 28:41
You will father sons and daughters, but they will not remain yours, because they will go into captivity.

Jeremiah 18:21
Therefore, hand their children over to famine; pour out the power of the sword upon them. Let their wives become childless and widowed; let their husbands be slain by disease, their young men struck down by the sword in battle.

Hosea 9:12-14
Even if they raise their children, I will bereave them of each one. Yes, woe be to them when I turn away from them! / I have seen Ephraim, like Tyre, planted in a meadow. But Ephraim will bring out his children for slaughter. / Give them, O LORD—what will You give? Give them wombs that miscarry and breasts that dry up!

Malachi 4:1
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”

Proverbs 11:21
Be assured that the wicked will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will escape.

Psalm 37:28
For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.

Isaiah 13:16
Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes, their houses will be looted, and their wives will be ravished.

Matthew 23:35-36
And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. / Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Luke 11:50-51
As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world, / from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, all of it will be charged to this generation.

John 8:44
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.

Romans 1:18
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, / nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.


Treasury of Scripture

If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

children

Job 21:11,12
They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance…

Deuteronomy 28:32,41
Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand…

2 Kings 9:7,8
And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel…

his offspring

1 Samuel 2:5
They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.

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Job 27
1. Job protests his sincerity
8. The hypocrite is without hope
11. The blessings which the wicked have are turned into curses














If his sons are multiplied
The phrase begins with a conditional "if," suggesting a hypothetical situation. The Hebrew root for "sons" is "בָּנִים" (banim), which often signifies not just male children but descendants or progeny in general. In the ancient Near Eastern context, having many sons was considered a blessing and a sign of divine favor. However, Job is highlighting a paradox where what is typically seen as a blessing becomes a potential curse. This reflects the broader theme of the book of Job, where conventional wisdom about prosperity and divine favor is challenged.

it is for the sword
The Hebrew word for "sword" is "חֶרֶב" (chereb), a symbol of violence, war, and destruction. In the ancient world, the sword was a common instrument of warfare and judgment. Job's assertion that the multiplication of sons is "for the sword" suggests a future filled with conflict and loss. This stark imagery serves as a warning about the fleeting nature of human prosperity and the potential for divine judgment. It underscores the theme of divine sovereignty and the inscrutability of God's ways, which is central to the book of Job.

and his offspring
The term "offspring" in Hebrew is "צֶאֱצָאִים" (tse'etsa'im), which refers to one's descendants or progeny. This word emphasizes the continuation of a family line, a significant concern in the patriarchal society of the Bible. The mention of offspring here ties back to the earlier mention of sons, reinforcing the idea of generational impact and legacy. In the context of Job's discourse, it highlights the futility of relying on human lineage for security or blessing.

will never have enough food
The phrase "never have enough food" speaks to a state of perpetual lack and insufficiency. The Hebrew root for "food" is "לֶחֶם" (lechem), which can mean bread or sustenance in general. In the agrarian society of the ancient Near East, having enough food was a primary concern and a sign of God's provision. Job's statement here is a grim prediction of famine or divine withholding, suggesting that material abundance is not guaranteed even for the wicked's descendants. This reflects the broader biblical theme that true security and provision come from God alone, not from human efforts or wealth.

Verse 14. - If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword. Among the items of prosperity which Job had assigned to the wicked man in one of his previous discourses (Job 21:8, 11) was a numerous and flourishing offspring. Now he feels forced to admit that, frequently at any rate, this flourishing offspring is overtaken by calamity (Job 21:19) - it falls by the sword, either in predatory warfare, to which it was bred up, or as the consequence of a blood-feud inherited from its progenitor. They who "take the sword," either in their own persons or in their posterity, "perish with the sword." And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. If they escape this fate, then, mostly, they fall into poverty, and suffer want, no one caring to relieve them, since they have an ill reputation, the memory of their parent's wickedness clinging to them long after his decease.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Though
אִם־ (’im-)
Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

his sons
בָנָ֣יו (ḇā·nāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1121: A son

are many,
יִרְבּ֣וּ (yir·bū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 7235: To be or become much, many or great

they are destined for
לְמוֹ־ (lə·mōw-)
Preposition
Strong's 3926: To or foreign

the sword;
חָ֑רֶב (ḥā·reḇ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2719: Drought, a cutting instrument, as a, knife, sword

and his offspring
וְ֝צֶאֱצָאָ֗יו (wə·ṣe·’ĕ·ṣā·’āw)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6631: Issue, offspring, produce

will never
לֹ֣א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

have enough
יִשְׂבְּעוּ־ (yiś·bə·‘ū-)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 7646: To be sated, satisfied or surfeited

food.
לָֽחֶם׃ (lā·ḥem)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3899: Food, bread, grain


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OT Poetry: Job 27:14 If his children are multiplied it (Jb)
Job 27:13
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