God’s Word Translation
Job 20:17
17He won’t be able to drink from the streams or from the rivers of honey and buttermilk.
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 vomits up the riches that he swallowed. God forces them out of his stomach. 16The godless person sucks the poison of snakes. A viper’s fang kills him. He won’t be able to drink from the streams or from the rivers of honey and buttermilk. 18He will give back what he earned without enjoying it. He will get no joy from the profits of his business 19because he crushed and abandoned the poor. He has taken by force a house that he didn’t 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 14:23None of those who treat me with contempt will see it!
- 2 Kings 7:2The servant on whose arm the king was leaning answered the man of God, “Could this happen even if the Lord poured rain through windows in the sky?” Elisha replied, “You will see it with your own eyes, but you won’t eat any of it.”
- Jeremiah 17:6He will be like a bush in the wilderness. He will not see when something good comes. He will live in the dry places in the desert, in a salty land where no one can live.
- Luke 16:24He yelled, ‘Father Abraham! Have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool off my tongue. I am suffering in this fire.’
- Psalms 36:8They are refreshed with the rich foods in your house, and you make them drink from the river of your pleasure.
- Isaiah 41:17“The poor and needy are looking for water, but there is none. Their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the Lord, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
- Revelation 22:1The angel showed me a river filled with the water of life, as clear as crystal. It was flowing from the throne of God and the lamb.
- Deuteronomy 32:13He made them ride on the heights of the earth and fed them with the produce of the fields. He gave them honey from rocks and olive oil from solid rock.
- 2 Samuel 17:29honey, buttermilk, sheep, and calves. They brought these things because they thought, “The troops in the desert are hungry, exhausted, and thirsty.”
- Psalms 81:16But I would feed Israel with the finest wheat and satisfy them with honey from a rock.”
- Isaiah 7:15He will eat cheese and honey until he knows how to reject 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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