In the dark they dig through houses. They shut themselves up in the daytime. They don’t know the light.
Parallel Translations
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In the dark they dig through houses. They shut themselves up in the daytime. They don’t know the light.
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In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.
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In the dark they dig through houses; they shut themselves up in the day-time; they know not the light.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Job 24:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- John 3:20 For everyone who does evil hates the light, and doesn’t come to the light, lest his works would be exposed.
- Ephesians 5:11-13 Have no fellowship with the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather even reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things, when they are reproved, are revealed by the light, for everything that reveals is light.
- Exodus 22:2-3 If the thief is found breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt of bloodshed for him. If the sun has risen on him, he is guilty of bloodshed. He shall make restitution. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
- Job 24:13 “These are of those who rebel against the light. They don’t know its ways, nor stay in its paths.
- Job 38:12-13 “Have you commanded the morning in your days, and caused the dawn to know its place, that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and shake the wicked out of it?
- Ezekiel 12:5-7 Dig through the wall in their sight, and carry your stuff out that way. In their sight you shall bear it on your shoulder, and carry it out in the dark. You shall cover your face, so that you don’t see the land, for I have set you for a sign to the house of Israel.” I did so as I was commanded. I brought out my stuff by day, as stuff for moving, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my hand. I brought it out in the dark, and bore it on my shoulder in their sight.
- Ezekiel 12:12 “ ‘The prince who is among them will bear on his shoulder in the dark, and will go out. They will dig through the wall to carry things out that way. He will cover his face, because he will not see the land with his eyes.
- Matthew 6:19 “Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal;
- Matthew 24:43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Job 24:16 In the dark they dig through houses,…
Job 24:16 In the dark they dig through houses, [which] they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.
Ver. 16. In the dark they dig through the earth, &c.] Heb. He digs through houses; i.e. the adulterer doth, to come at his strumpet, with whom he had agreed upon a place of meeting for that evil purpose, and in whose bosom by night (the dark and black night, as Solomon calleth it, Pro 7:9) he spareth not to bury his name, substance, soul, and carcass, while they glut their unclean desires by the favour of the darkness. This is a bitterness beyond that of death, Ecc 7:26. But the devil presenteth his butter in so lordly a dish, that the soul spies not the hammer and nail in his hand till he have driven it into the temples. Roger Mortimer, who dug that hole at Nottingham castle, and was afterwards hanged at Tyburn (a just reward of his ambition and uncleanness), had the experience of this.
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They know not the light] i.e. They brook it not, but run full butt against it, because it discovereth and disquieteth them. See Job 24:13.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain They dig; either,
They dig; either,
1. The adulterer last mentioned; although such persons do not use nor need these violent courses to get into the house of the adulteress, but are commonly admitted upon milder and easier terms. Or,
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2. The thief or robber, whose common practice this is, of whom he spoke Job 24:14; and having on that occasion inserted the mention of the adulterer as one who acted his sin in the same manner as the night-thief did, he now returns to him again.
Which they had marked for themselves; the thief and his accomplices, designing by some secret mark the house of some rich man which they intended to rob, and the part of the house where they resolved to enter into it.
They know not the light, i.e. do not love nor like it, as Job 24:13; but abhor it, as it follows.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain In the dark they dig through houses, which they…
In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime,.... Which some understand of adulterers last mentioned, who, having observed where beautiful women dwell, mark their houses, and the way to them, and the best way into them, and in the dark get in at windows, or by breaking open doors get to the persons they lust after; but as such steps would be neither safe nor prudent, so they are not necessary; such sort of persons get admittance in an easier way, either by bribing servants, or by a previous agreement with the adulteress herself: rather this is to be understood of the thief and his companions, before spoken of; or designs another sort of thieves, such as are guilty of burglary, housebreakers, who in the daytime go about and observe such houses as are full of money, plate, and rich goods, see Job 3:15; and take diligent notice of the way to them, and which is the best and easiest part to get into them, and, perhaps, set on them a private mark that they may know them; these they break up, the walls, or doors, or windows, and get in at them, and rob, and plunder, and carry off all they can; the same sins were committed, and the same methods of committing them were used, formerly as now; there was a law in Israel concerning housebreaking, Exo 22:2; and our Lord alludes to it, Mat 24:43. Some render the words, "they seal up" or "shut up themselves in the day" (u); in their caves, and dens, and lurking places, and do not appear, and scarce ever see the light, and therefore it follows:
they know not the light; it is seldom or ever seen by them, or they do not approve it, like it, and love it, being not for their purpose; while it is light they can do nothing, that manifestly discovers and betrays them, and therefore they hate it; and in a figurative sense they know not, or do not approve of the light of nature, which checks and controls such evil actions, and accuses them of them; nor the light of God's word, or holy law, which forbids them, and therefore they despise it, and cast it away from them, and will not be subject to it; nor God himself, who is light, and against whom their carnal minds are enmity; and whatever knowledge they have of him, or profess to have, in works they deny him, and live without him, as atheists in the world.
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(u) , Sept. "includunt sese", some in Mercerus; so Drusius; "semet sigillant", Schultens.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain They - The robber: having on that occasion inserted…
They - The robber: having on that occasion inserted the mention of the adulterer as one who acted his sin in the same manner as the night-thief did, he now returns to him again.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 16. In the dark they dig through houses]…
Verse 16. In the dark they dig through houses] Thieves in Bengal very frequently dig through the mud wall and under the clay floors of houses, and, entering unperceived, plunder them while the inhabitants are asleep.
Mr. Good's version of this paragraph I shall lay before the reader: -
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Ver. 15. For the dark too watcheth the eye of the adulterer;
Exclaiming, No eye shall behold me.
Then putteth he the muffler on his face;
Ver. 16. He wormeth into houses amidst the darkness.
In the daytime they seal themselves up,
They know not the light:
Ver. 17. For, the dawn they reckon to themselves as the
death-shade;
The horrors of the death-shade as it returneth.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Job 24:16-17. In the dark they dig through houses…
Job 24:16-17. In the dark they dig through houses — Either the adulterer last mentioned, or rather the thief or robber, whose common practice this is, of whom he spake, Job 24:14; and having, on that occasion, inserted the mention of the adulterer, as one who acted his sin in the same manner as the night thief did, he now returns to the latter again: which they had marked for themselves — Distinguishing, by some secret mark, the house of some rich man which they intended to rob, and the part of the house where they resolved to enter it. They know not the light — Do not love nor make use of it, but abhor and shun it. For the morning is as the shadow of death — Terrible and hateful, because it both discovers them and hinders their practices. If one know them, &c. — If they are brought to light, or discovered, they are overwhelmed with deadly horrors and terrors.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain In the dark they dig through houses - This…
In the dark they dig through houses - This refers, probably, to another class of wicked persons. The adulterer steals forth in the night, but it is not his way to “dig” into houses. But the persons here referred to are robbers, who conceal themselves by day, and who at night secretly enter houses for plunder. The phrase “dig through” probably has reference to the fact that houses were made of clay, or of bricks dried in the sun - a species of mud cottages, and whose walls, therefore, could be easily penetrated. In the East, nearly all the houses are made of unburned brick, and there is little difficulty in making a hole in the wall large enough to admit the human body; compare Eze 12:7. In Bengal, says Mr. Ward, it is common for thieves to dig through the walls of houses made of mud, or under the house floors, which are made merely of earth, and enter thus into the dwellings while the inmates are asleep. Rosenmuller’s Alte u. neue Morgenland “in loc.”
Which they had marked for themselves in the day-time - According to this translation the idea would be, that in the day-time they carefully observed houses, and saw where an entrance might be effected. But this interpretation seems contrary to the general sense of the passage. It is said that they avoid the light, and that the night is the time for accomplishing their purposes. Probably, therefore, the meaning of this passage is, “in the day time they shut themselves up.” So it is rendered by Gesenius, Rosenmuller, Noyes, and others. The word here used, and rendered “marked” (חתם châtham), means to seal, to seal up; and hence, the idea of shutting up, or making fast; see Job 9:7, note; Isa 8:17, note. Hence, it may mean to shut up close as if one was locked in; and the idea here is, that in the day-time they shut themselves up close in their places of concealment, and went forth to their depredations in the night.
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They know not the light - They do not see the light. They do all their work in the dark.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Themselves. The band of robbers had marked out their…
Themselves. The band of robbers had marked out their prey. (Haydock) --- Hebrew, "In the day time they lie concealed, and know not the light." (Calmet) --- Septuagint, or rather Theodotion, from whom ver. 15 to 17., is taken, "They have sealed themselves up during the day." If we should read Greek: eautois, Hebrew lamo, we might translate as well "they marked them out for themselves." (Haydock) --- The adulterer had made is his arrangement with the faithless woman, when he should break into the house. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain dig through--Houses in the East are generally built of…
dig through--Houses in the East are generally built of sun-dried mud bricks (so Mat 6:19). "Thieves break through," literally, "dig through" (Eze 12:7).
had marked--Rather, as in Job 9:7, "They shut themselves up" (in their houses); literally, "they seal up."
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for themselves--for their own ends, namely, to escape detection.
know not--shun.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 16. They — Literally, he, used collectively for house-breakers.
16. They — Literally, he, used collectively for house-breakers.
Dig through houses — In the East, the houses of the poorer classes are, according to Kitto, of three kinds: either of wicker hurdles daubed over with mud; or of mud, each layer being left to dry before another is laid on; or of sun-dried bricks with which straw has been mixed in order to strengthen them. — See KITTO, Daily Bib. Illus., in loc. The Greek called a burglar τοιχωρυχος, “one who digs through the wall.” Which they had marked, etc. — Rather, They who by day shut themselves up. Hesiod calls thieves “men who sleep by day.” Apostasy from spiritual light manifests itself in aversion to natural light.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 16. which they had marked] Rather, they shut (lit.…
16. which they had marked] Rather, they shut (lit. seal) themselves up in the daytime. In the dark the housebreaker digs through the wall, which in many Eastern houses is of clay or soft brick; in the daytime he abides close in his own retreat; he is unacquainted with the light.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (16) Which they had marked for themselves in the…
(16) Which they had marked for themselves in the daytime.—Or, as some understand, they seal (i.e., shut) themselves up in the daytime. It is said that it is still the custom in Eastern cities for such persons to endeavour to obtain access to the harem in female attire.
They know not the light.—Compared with Job_24:13, shows strongly the different usage of the expression in the two cases.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain In the dark they dig through houses. In ancient…
In the dark they dig through houses. In ancient times, burglary commonly took this form. Windows were few, and high up in the walls; doors were strongly fastened with bolts and bars. But the walls, being of clay, or rubble, or sun-dried brick, were weak and easily penetrable. This was especially the ease with party walls; and if burglars entered an unoccupied house, nothing was easier than to break through the slight partition which separated it from the house next door. The Greek word for "burglar" is toicwrucov "he who digs through a wall." Which they had marked for themselves in the daytime; rather, they shut themselves up in the daytime; literally, they seal themselves up; the meaning being that they carefully keep themselves close. Professor Lee, however, defends the Authorized Version. They know not the light; i.e. they avoid it, keep away from it, will have nothing to do with it.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.