KJV ORIGINAL
He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away.
Close to the original. Clear modern English.
✦ MADE SIMPLE
He will never escape from darkness; flames will wither his branches, and God's breath will sweep him away.
⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE
This verse is describing how a wicked person will face inevitable judgment and destruction that they cannot escape.
📚 Historical Context
This is part of Eliphaz's second speech to Job, where he's arguing that wicked people always face divine punishment. Eliphaz, one of Job's three friends, believed that Job's suffering must be due to hidden sin. He uses agricultural imagery of withered branches and flames, which would be familiar to people in the ancient Middle East where drought and fire were constant threats to crops and livelihood.
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