Amplified Bible
Job 20:17
17He does not look at the rivers, The flowing streams of honey and butter [to enjoy his wealth].
Job 20:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.
- New International Version (NIV)He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.
- English Standard Version (ESV)He will not look upon the rivers, the streams flowing with honey and curds.
- New King James Version (NKJV)He will not see the streams, The rivers flowing with honey and cream.
Context of Job 20:17
15He swallows [his ill-gotten] riches, But will vomit them up; God will drive them out of his belly. 16He sucks the poison of vipers [which ill-gotten wealth contains]; The viper’s tongue slays him. He does not look at the rivers, The flowing streams of honey and butter [to enjoy his wealth]. 18He gives back what he has labored for and attained And cannot swallow it [down to enjoy it]; As to the riches of his labor, He cannot even enjoy them. 19For he has oppressed and neglected the poor; He has violently taken away houses which he did not build.
Read all of Job 20Job 20:17 word by word
אַל־יֵ֥רֶא בִפְלַגּ֑וֹת נַהֲרֵ֥י נַ֝חֲלֵ֗י דְּבַ֣שׁ וְחֶמְאָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 20:17
- Numbers 14:23will by no means see the land which I swore to [give to] their fathers; nor will any who treated me disrespectfully and rejected Me see it.
- 2 Kings 7:2Then the royal officer on whose arm the king leaned answered the man of God and said, “If the Lord should make windows in heaven [for the rain], could this thing take place?” Elisha said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but [because you doubt] you will not eat of it.”
- Jeremiah 17:6For he will be like a shrub in the [parched] desert; And shall not see prosperity when it comes, But shall live in the rocky places of the wilderness, In an uninhabited salt land.
- Luke 16:24And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in severe agony in this flame.’
- Psalms 36:8They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; And You allow them to drink from the river of Your delights.
- Isaiah 41:17“The poor and needy are seeking water, but there is none; Their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the Lord, will answer them Myself; I, the God of Israel, will not neglect them.
- Revelation 22:1Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Christ),
- Deuteronomy 32:13He made him (Israel) ride on the high places of the earth, And he ate the produce of the field; And He made him suck honey from the rock, And [olive] oil from the flinty rock,
- 2 Samuel 17:29honey, cream, sheep, and cheese of the herd, for David and the people who were with him, to eat; for they said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”
- Psalms 81:16But I would feed Israel with the finest of the wheat; And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
- Isaiah 7:15He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to refuse evil and choose good.
Commentaries on Job 20:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17He shall not see the rivers - Mr. Good has the following judicious note on this passage: "Honey and butter are the common results of a rich, well-watered pasturage, offering a perpetual banquet of grass to kine, and of nectar to bees; and thus loading the possessor with the most luscious luxuries of pastoral life, peculiarly so before the discovery of the means of obtaining sugar. The expression appears to have been proverbial; and is certainly used here…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17He shall not see the rivers - That is, he shall not be permitted to enjoy plenty and prosperity. Rivers or rills of honey and butter are emblems of prosperity; compare Exodus 3:17; Job 29:6. A land flowing with milk, honey, and butter, is, in the Scripture, the highest image of prosperity and happiness. The word rendered “rivers” (פלגה pelaggâh ), means rather “rivulets small streams - or brooks,” such as were made by “dividing” a large stream (from פלג…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-22Verses 10-22 The miserable condition of the wicked man in this world is fully set forth. The lusts of the flesh are here called the sins of his youth. His hiding it and keeping it under his tongue, denotes concealment of his beloved lust, and delight therein. But He who knows what is in the heart, knows what is under the tongue, and will discover it. The love of the world, and of the wealth of it, also is wickedness, and man sets his heart upon these…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17The streams of olive oil and rivers flowing with honey and cream represent great blessings (Exodus 5:19; Deuteronomy 27:3; Joel 3:18).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. floods--literally, "stream of floods," plentiful streams flowing with milk, &c. (Job 29:6; Ex 3:17). Honey and butter are more fluid in the East than with us and are poured out from jars. These "rivers" or water brooks are in the sultry East emblems of prosperity.Read the comment
Topics related to Job 20:17
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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