“The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not.”
He lies down rich but will not be gathered again; he opens his eyes but he is not, describing the wicked's death as sudden and total, a termination that allows no continuation or recovery. The image of lying down rich emphasizes that wealth provides no protection against death—the wicked can be utterly prosperous at the moment of death and find it useless. The assertion that he opens his eyes but he is not suggests that consciousness itself is interrupted, that death constitutes complete cessation. The absence of being gathered suggests that the wicked faces isolation even in death, no gathering of family or community to honor the deceased.
Church Fathers on Job 27:19
When the rich man sleepeth, he shall take nothing away with him, he shall open his eyes and shall find nought. In harmony with which same sentence the Psalmist saith, All the foolish in heart are troubled, they have slept their sleep, and all the men of riches have found nothing in their hands. For in order that the rich after death may ‘find something in their hand,’ it is told to them before death, in whose hands they should place their riches. Make to yourselves friends…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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