Job 18:21
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knows not God.
American King James Version (AKJV)
Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knows not God.
American Standard Version (ASV)
Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous, And this is the place of him that knoweth not God.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
Truly, these are the houses of the sinner, and this is the place of him who has no knowledge of God.
Webster's Revision
Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God.
World English Bible
Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous. This is the place of him who doesn't know God."
English Revised Version (ERV)
Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God.
Clarke's Job 18:21 Bible Commentary
Such are the dwellings - This is the common lot of the wicked; and it shall be particularly the case with him who knoweth not God, that is Job, for it is evident he alludes to him. Poor Job! hard was thy lot, severe were thy sufferings. On the elephant hunt to which I have referred, Job 18:13, I shall borrow the following account extracted from Mr. Cordiner's History of Ceylon, by Mr. Good: -
"We have a curious description of the elephant hunt, which is pursued in a manner not essentially different from the preceding, except that the snares are pallisadoed with the strongest possible stakes, instead of being netted, and still farther fortified by interlacings. They are numerous, but connected together; every snare or inclosure growing gradually narrower, and opening into each other by a gate or two that will only admit the entrance of a single animal at a time.
"The wood in which elephants are known to abound is first surrounded, excepting at the end where the foremost and widest inclosure is situated, with fires placed on moveable pedestals, which in every direction are drawn closer and closer, and, aided by loud and perpetual shouts, drive the animals forward till they enter into the outer snare. After which the same process is continued, and they are driven by fear into a second, into a third, and into a fourth; till at length the elephants become so much sub-divided, that by the aid of cordage fastened carefully round their limbs, and the management of decoy elephants, they are easily capable of being led away one by one, and tamed. A single hunt thus conducted will sometimes occupy not less than two months of unremitting labor; and the entrance of the elephants into the snares is regarded as an amusement or sport of the highest character, and as such is attended by all the principal families of the country." Account of Ceylon, p. 218-226.
Barnes's Job 18:21 Bible Commentary
Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked - The conclusion or sum of the whole matter. The meaning is, that the habitations of all that knew not God would be desolate - a declaration which Job could not but regard as aimed at himself; compare Job 20:29. This is the close of this harsh and severe speech. It is no wonder that Job should feel it keenly, and that he "did" feel it is apparent from the following chapter. A string of proverbs has been presented, having the appearance of proof, and as the result of the long observation of the course of events, evidently bearing on his circumstances, and so much in point that he could not well deny their pertinency to his condition. He was stung to the quick, and and gave vent to his agonized feelings in the following chapter.
Wesley's Job 18:21 Bible Commentary
18:21 The place - The condition.