Job 20:17

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 hath swallowed down riches, but he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly. 16He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall kill him. He shall not see streams, rivers, brooks of honey and butter. 18That which he laboured for shall he restore, and not swallow down; its restitution shall be according to the value, and he shall not rejoice [therein]. 19For he hath oppressed, hath forsaken the poor; he hath violently taken away a house that he did not build.

Job 20:17 word by word

אַל־יֵ֥רֶא בִפְלַגּ֑וֹת נַהֲרֵ֥י נַ֝חֲלֵ֗י דְּבַ֣שׁ וְחֶמְאָֽה׃Read the interlinear

• seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• riversנָהָרnâhâr · riverH5104
• honeyדְּבַשׁdebash · honeyH1706

Cross-references for Job 20:17

• Numbers 14:23shall in no wise see the land which I did swear unto their fathers: none of them that despised me shall see it.
• 2 Kings 7:2And the captain on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, Behold, if Jehovah should make windows in the heavens, would this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
• Jeremiah 17:6And he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but he shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited.
• Luke 16:24And he crying out said, Father Abraham, have compassion on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering in this flame.
• Psalms 36:8They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou wilt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
• Isaiah 41:17The afflicted and the needy seek water, and there is none; their tongue faileth for thirst: I, Jehovah, will answer them, [I], the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
• Revelation 22:1And he shewed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, going out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
• Deuteronomy 32:13He made him ride on the high places of the earth, And he ate the produce of the field; And he made him suck honey out of the crag, And oil out of the flinty rock;
• 2 Samuel 17:29and honey, and cream, and sheep, and cheese of kine to David, and to the people that were with him, to eat; for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty in the wilderness.
• Psalms 81:16And he would have fed them with the finest of wheat; yea, with honey out of the rock would I have satisfied thee.
• Isaiah 7:15Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and to choose the 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

• Butter
• Hypocrisy
• Wicked (People)
• Worldliness

In the dictionaries

• Butter
• Milk
• Rain
• River
• Short
• Division
• Honey
• Zophar

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