Job 20:16
New International Version
He will suck the poison of serpents; the fangs of an adder will kill him.

New Living Translation
They will suck the poison of cobras. The viper will kill them.

English Standard Version
He will suck the poison of cobras; the tongue of a viper will kill him.

Berean Standard Bible
He will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will kill him.

King James Bible
He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall slay him.

New King James Version
He will suck the poison of cobras; The viper’s tongue will slay him.

New American Standard Bible
“He sucks the poison of cobras; The viper’s tongue kills him.

NASB 1995
“He sucks the poison of cobras; The viper’s tongue slays him.

NASB 1977
“He sucks the poison of cobras; The viper’s tongue slays him.

Legacy Standard Bible
He sucks the poison of cobras; The viper’s tongue kills him.

Amplified Bible
“He sucks the poison of vipers [which ill-gotten wealth contains]; The viper’s tongue slays him.

Christian Standard Bible
He will suck the poison of cobras; a viper’s fangs will kill him.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
He will suck the poison of cobras; a viper’s fangs will kill him.

American Standard Version
He shall suck the poison of asps: The viper's tongue shall slay him.

Contemporary English Version
They will die from the fangs of poisonous snakes

English Revised Version
He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall slay him.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The godless person sucks the poison of snakes. A viper's fang kills him.

Good News Translation
What the evil people swallow is like poison; it kills them like the bite of a deadly snake.

International Standard Version
He will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will slay him.

Majority Standard Bible
He will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will kill him.

NET Bible
He sucks the poison of serpents; the fangs of a viper kill him.

New Heart English Bible
He shall suck cobra venom. The viper's tongue shall kill him.

Webster's Bible Translation
He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall slay him.

World English Bible
He will suck cobra venom. The viper’s tongue will kill him.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
He sucks [the] gall of cobras, the tongue of a viper slays him.

Young's Literal Translation
Gall of asps he sucketh, Slay him doth the tongue of a viper.

Smith's Literal Translation
He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall kill him.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
He shall suck the head of asps, and the viper's tongue shall kill him.

Catholic Public Domain Version
He will suck the head of snakes, and the tongue of the viper will kill him.

New American Bible
The poison of asps he shall drink in; the viper’s fangs shall slay him.

New Revised Standard Version
They will suck the poison of asps; the tongue of a viper will kill them.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
He shall suck the poison of asps; the tongue of an adder shall slay him.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
The venom of the asp he will pour out and the tongue of an asp will kill him
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
He shall suck the poison of asps; The viper's tongue shall slay him.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And let him suck the poison of serpents, and let the serpent's tongue slay him.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Zophar: Destruction Awaits the Wicked
15He swallows wealth but vomits it out; God will force it from his stomach. 16He will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will kill him. 17He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.…

Cross References
Psalm 58:4
Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like a cobra that shuts its ears,

Proverbs 23:32
In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.

Deuteronomy 32:33
Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of cobras.

Isaiah 59:5
They hatch the eggs of vipers and weave a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched.

Revelation 9:19
For the power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; indeed, their tails were like snakes, having heads with which to inflict harm.

Romans 3:13
“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.”

Jeremiah 8:17
“For behold, I will send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,” declares the LORD.

Numbers 21:6
So the LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and many of the Israelites were bitten and died.

Luke 10:19
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.

Mark 16:18
they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”

1 Corinthians 10:9
We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes.

Acts 28:3-6
Paul gathered a bundle of sticks, and as he laid them on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself to his hand. / When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” / But Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. ...

Genesis 3:14-15
So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and every beast of the field! On your belly will you go, and dust you will eat, all the days of your life. / And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Isaiah 11:8
The infant will play by the cobra’s den, and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest.

Amos 5:19
It will be like a man who flees from a lion, only to encounter a bear, or who enters his house and rests his hand against the wall, only to be bitten by a snake.


Treasury of Scripture

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

the poison

Romans 3:13
Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:

the viper's

Isaiah 30:6
The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.

Matthew 3:7
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Acts 28:3-6
And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand…

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Job 20
1. Zophar shows the state and portion of the wicked














He will suck the poison of cobras
The imagery of "sucking the poison" is vivid and powerful, suggesting a self-destructive act. In the Hebrew text, the word for "suck" (יָנַק, yanaq) often implies drawing nourishment, but here it is ironically used to depict the intake of something deadly. The "poison of cobras" symbolizes the consequences of wickedness and deceit. Cobras, known for their lethal venom, represent the hidden dangers and the inevitable judgment that comes from living a life contrary to God's righteousness. This phrase serves as a warning that indulging in sin is akin to willingly ingesting poison, leading to spiritual and moral decay.

the fangs of a viper will kill him
The "fangs of a viper" further intensify the imagery of danger and death. In ancient Near Eastern culture, vipers were feared for their swift and deadly bite. The Hebrew word for "viper" (אֶפְעֶה, eph'eh) is often associated with treachery and sudden destruction. The phrase "will kill him" underscores the certainty of divine justice. It reflects the biblical principle that sin ultimately leads to death, as echoed in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death." This part of the verse serves as a sobering reminder that the consequences of sin are inescapable and that God's justice will prevail. The imagery of the viper's fangs is a call to repentance and a return to the path of righteousness, emphasizing the need for a life aligned with God's will to avoid spiritual demise.

Verse 16. - He shall suck the poison of asps. Probably Zophar does not affix any very distinct meaning to his threats. He is content to utter a series of fierce-sounding but vague menaces, which he knows that Job will regard as launched against himself, and does not care whether they are taken metaphorically or literally. Job will be equally distressed in either ease. The viper's tongue shall slay him. It is really the viper's tooth, and not his tongue, that slays; but Zophar is not, any more than Job (Job 27:18), an accomplished naturalist.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
He will suck
יִינָ֑ק (yî·nāq)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3243: To suck, to give milk

the poison
רֹאשׁ־ (rōš-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7219: A poisonous plant, the poppy, poison

of cobras;
פְּתָנִ֥ים (pə·ṯā·nîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 6620: (a venomous serpent) perhaps cobra

the fangs
לְשׁ֣וֹן (lə·šō·wn)
Noun - common singular construct
Strong's 3956: The tongue

of a viper
אֶפְעֶֽה׃ (’ep̄·‘eh)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 660: An asp, other venomous serpent

will kill him.
תַּֽ֝הַרְגֵ֗הוּ (ta·har·ḡê·hū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 2026: To smite with deadly intent


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OT Poetry: Job 20:16 He shall suck cobra venom (Jb)
Job 20:15
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