KJV ORIGINAL
The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor.
Close to the original. Clear modern English.
✦ MADE SIMPLE
The wicked person suffers and struggles in pain throughout their entire life, and the oppressor never knows how many years they have left to live.
⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE
This verse is saying that those who do evil live in constant inner turmoil and uncertainty about their future.
📚 Historical Context
This verse is part of Eliphaz's second speech to Job, where he argues that suffering is always the result of wickedness. Eliphaz was one of Job's three friends who came to comfort him but ended up accusing him of hidden sins. In ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature, there was a common belief that righteousness led to prosperity and wickedness led to suffering.
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