Job 20:16 Made Simple

KJV ORIGINAL

He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper’s tongue shall slay him.

Close to the original. Clear modern English.

✦ MADE SIMPLE

He will drink the poison of deadly snakes: the viper's bite will kill him.

⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE

The writer is saying that those who do evil will ultimately be destroyed by their own wickedness.

📚 Historical Context

This verse comes from Zophar's second speech to Job, where he's describing what he believes happens to wicked people. In ancient Middle Eastern culture, poisonous snakes were symbols of death and divine judgment. Zophar is arguing that evil people will inevitably face destruction, using vivid imagery that his audience would have understood as representing certain doom.

Explore Similar Verses

Mark 16:18

They'll be able to handle dangerous snakes, and even if they accidentally drink something poisonous, it won't harm them. When they put their hands on sick people and pray, those people will get better.

Psalms 140:3

They have made their tongues as sharp as a snake's; deadly poison flows from their lips. Selah.

Isaiah 14:29

Don't celebrate, all you people of Philistia, just because the king who attacked you is gone. From that defeated enemy will come an even more dangerous ruler, like a deadly snake giving birth to an even more poisonous serpent that can fly and breathe fire.

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