New King James Version
Job 20:17
17He will not see the streams, The rivers flowing with honey and cream.
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 Living Translation (NLT)They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil or rivers of milk and honey.
Context of Job 20:17
15He swallows down riches And vomits them up again; God casts them out of his belly. 16He will suck the poison of cobras; The viper’s tongue will slay him. He will not see the streams, The rivers flowing with honey and cream. 18He will restore that for which he labored, And will not swallow it down; From the proceeds of business He will get no enjoyment. 19For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor, He has violently seized a house 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 14:23they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.
- 2 Kings 7:2So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, “Look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” And he said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”
- Jeremiah 17:6For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.
- Luke 16:24“Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’
- Psalms 36:8They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
- Isaiah 41:17“The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the Lord, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
- Revelation 22:1And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
- Deuteronomy 32:13“He made him ride in the heights of the earth, That he might eat the produce of the fields; He made him draw honey from the rock, And oil from the flinty rock;
- 2 Samuel 17:29honey and curds, 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 81:16He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; And with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.”
- Isaiah 7:15Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and 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
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries