Job 36:20
New International Version
Do not long for the night, to drag people away from their homes.

New Living Translation
Do not long for the cover of night, for that is when people will be destroyed.

English Standard Version
Do not long for the night, when peoples vanish in their place.

Berean Standard Bible
Do not long for the night, when people vanish from their homes.

King James Bible
Desire not the night, when people are cut off in their place.

New King James Version
Do not desire the night, When people are cut off in their place.

New American Standard Bible
“Do not long for the night, When people vanish in their places.

NASB 1995
“Do not long for the night, When people vanish in their place.

NASB 1977
“Do not long for the night, When people vanish in their place.

Legacy Standard Bible
Do not long for the night, When people vanish in their place.

Amplified Bible
“Do not long for the night, When people vanish from their places.

Christian Standard Bible
Do not long for the night when nations will disappear from their places.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Do not long for the night when nations will disappear from their places.

American Standard Version
Desire not the night, When peoples are cut off in their place.

Contemporary English Version
nor can you find safety in the dark world below.

English Revised Version
Desire not the night, when peoples are cut off in their place.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Don't look forward to the night, when people disappear from their places.

Good News Translation
Don't wish for night to come, the time when nations will perish.

International Standard Version
Don't long for night, when people vanish in their place.

Majority Standard Bible
Do not long for the night, when people vanish from their homes.

NET Bible
Do not long for the cover of night to drag people away from their homes.

New Heart English Bible
Do not desire the night, when people are cut off in their place.

Webster's Bible Translation
Desire not the night, when people are cut off in their place.

World English Bible
Don’t desire the night, when people are cut off in their place.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Do not desire the night, "" For the going up of peoples in their stead.

Young's Literal Translation
Desire not the night, For the going up of peoples in their stead.

Smith's Literal Translation
Thou shalt not pant after the night, for taking up peoples in their place.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Prolong not the night that people may come up for them.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Do not prolong the night, even if people rise on their behalf.

New American Bible
Do not long for the night, when peoples vanish in their place.

New Revised Standard Version
Do not long for the night, when peoples are cut off in their place.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
He shall deliver you from those who drive you away in the night, and give peoples for your sake, and the nations for your life.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And he who removes one in the night also will give nations for your sake and peoples for the sake of your soul
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Desire not the night, When peoples are cut off in their place.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And draw not forth all the mighty men by night, so that the people should go up instead of them.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Elihu Declares God's Justice and Power
19Can your wealth or all your mighty effort keep you from distress? 20Do not long for the night, when people vanish from their homes. 21Be careful not to turn to iniquity, for this you have preferred to affliction.…

Cross References
Psalm 37:1-2
Of David. Do not fret over those who do evil; do not envy those who do wrong. / For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender plants.

Proverbs 24:19-20
Do not fret over evildoers, and do not be envious of the wicked. / For the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.

James 5:7-8
Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains. / You, too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.

1 Thessalonians 5:2-3
For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. / While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

Matthew 24:42-44
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come. / But understand this: If the homeowner had known in which watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. / For this reason, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.

2 Peter 3:10
But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.

Isaiah 57:1-2
The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one considers that the righteous are taken away from the presence of evil. / Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest, lying down in death.

Ecclesiastes 7:17
Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time?

Luke 12:19-20
Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ / But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’

1 Corinthians 15:52
in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

1 Peter 4:7
The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and sober, so that you can pray.

Revelation 16:15
“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who remains awake and clothed, so that he will not go naked and let his shame be exposed.”

Psalm 73:18-19
Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin. / How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors!

Proverbs 11:7
When the wicked man dies, his hope perishes, and the hope of his strength vanishes.

Matthew 25:13
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.


Treasury of Scripture

Desire not the night, when people are cut off in their place.

Desire

Job 3:20,21
Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul; …

Job 6:9
Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!

Job 7:15
So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life.

cut

Exodus 12:29
And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.

2 Kings 19:35
And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

Proverbs 14:32
The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.

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Job 36
1. Elihu shows how God is just in his ways
16. How Job's sins hinder God's blessings
24. God's works are to be magnified














Do not long for the night
This phrase begins with a cautionary directive. The Hebrew word for "long" is "שָׁאַף" (sha'af), which can mean to desire or to pant after something. In the context of Job, this longing is not a mere wish but a deep-seated yearning. The "night" in ancient Near Eastern culture often symbolized danger, uncertainty, and the unknown. It was a time when people were vulnerable to attacks and natural threats. In the spiritual sense, longing for the night could imply a desire to escape from the trials of the day, but it also suggests a retreat into darkness, away from the light of God's presence and truth. Elihu, the speaker in this passage, is urging Job to resist the temptation to seek solace in the darkness, which can be seen as a metaphor for despair or death.

when people vanish from their places
The phrase "when people vanish" uses the Hebrew word "עָלַם" (alam), which means to hide or conceal. This can be interpreted as a reference to death or the disappearance of individuals from the land of the living. In the historical context of Job, life was fragile, and death was a common occurrence due to disease, war, and other calamities. The "places" refer to the positions or roles people occupy in life, whether in their families, communities, or vocations. The transience of human life is a recurring theme in the Book of Job, highlighting the temporary nature of earthly existence. Elihu's message is a reminder of the importance of focusing on the eternal rather than the temporal, encouraging Job to trust in God's sovereignty and justice rather than succumbing to the despair that comes with the loss and the seeming randomness of life and death.

(20) Desire not the night--i.e., of death, as Job had done (Job 16:22; Job 17:13, &c., Job 19:27), or as, at all events, his words might be understood. For "people," read peoples: i.e., nations.

Verse 20. - Desire not the night, when people (rather, peoples) are cut off in their place. This is an allusion to Job's repeatedly expressed desire to be cut off at once, and laid in the grave (Job 6:9; Job 7:15; Job 14:13, etc.). Elihu holds that such a desire is wrongful. It certainly implies a want of complete resignation to the Divine will.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Do not
אַל־ (’al-)
Adverb
Strong's 408: Not

long for
תִּשְׁאַ֥ף (tiš·’ap̄)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 7602: To inhale eagerly, to cover, to be angry, to hasten

the night,
הַלָּ֑יְלָה (hal·lā·yə·lāh)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3915: A twist, night, adversity

when people
עַמִּ֣ים (‘am·mîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

vanish
לַעֲל֖וֹת (la·‘ă·lō·wṯ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 5927: To ascend, in, actively

from their homes.
תַּחְתָּֽם׃ (taḥ·tām)
Preposition | third person masculine plural
Strong's 8478: The bottom, below, in lieu of


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OT Poetry: Job 36:20 Don't desire the night when people (Jb)
Job 36:19
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