Will you frighten a driven leaf and pursue dry chaff?
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job isn't just saying he's weak; he's comparing himself to things so insubstantial they're already lost – a leaf tossed by the wind, dry stubble – asking if God’s might is truly needed to crush something already utterly at the mercy of every force. He's highlighting that his current suffering makes him feel not just weak, but essentially insignificant and powerless, to the point where God’s action against him feels like an overkill against something already defeated.
Will you frighten a driven leaf and pursue dry chaff?
English Standard Version (ESV)
Job is desperately trying to understand why God is afflicting him so severely, convinced he hasn't done anything to deserve such wrath. He’s been questioning God’s justice and even asking God to reveal his specific charges. In this passage, Job continues his plea, using vivid imagery to express his own perceived insignificance and vulnerability in the face of God's immense power.
Job feels utterly insignificant, like something the wind can easily toss around. What does this imagery reveal about our human condition?
A Leaf in the Wind
Job uses vivid imagery to describe his state: a 'driven leaf' and 'dry stubble.' These aren't just random comparisons; they paint a picture of extreme vulnerability.
Light and Unsubstantial
A driven leaf is no longer attached to its source of life. It has no power to direct itself and is completely at the mercy of every gust of wind. Similarly, dry stubble is brittle, easily scattered, and offers no resistance.
Job is saying, 'God, look at me. I'm so weak and helpless right now. I'm just being tossed about by circumstances, unable to stand firm.' He's contrasting his own fragile existence with God's immense power.
Job challenges God: Is it fitting for the Almighty to target someone so weak? What does this question reveal about Job's view of God's character?
The Dignity of the Divine
Job's question isn't just a complaint; it's an appeal to God's character and dignity. He's essentially asking if it aligns with God's infinite majesty to exert His full power against something so incredibly weak and defenseless.
A Question of Proportion
Think about it: would a mighty king wage war against a single fallen leaf or a tiny pile of dust? Job suggests it would be beneath the king's dignity. He implies that for God, the Creator of the universe, to crush him—a mere mortal, frail and insignificant in comparison—is disproportionate and unbecoming of His greatness.
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This shows Job's deep understanding that God should be mighty and powerful, but he struggles with how that power is being used against him.
Understand the original words
radaph · Hebrew Verb
The state of being pursued or hunted by God. While God is the sovereign judge, this term highlights the human perspective of feeling overwhelmed and persecuted by divine discipline or testing.
This passage vividly contrasts the righteous, who are like a fruitful tree, with the wicked, who are like chaff driven by the wind, echoing Job's self-description of being as insubstantial as dry stubble when facing God's judgment.
Isaiah 42:3The prophet describes God's tender mercy, stating He will not 'break the bruised reed or the faintly burning wick,' which directly parallels Job's plea for God not to crush someone as fragile as a driven leaf.
Jeremiah 23:29God likens His word to a hammer that shatters rock and a fire that consumes, powerfully illustrating the destructive force Job fears, but in a context where God's powerful actions are aimed at judgment, not unjustly afflicting the fragile.
Matthew 11:7When John the Baptist's disciples asked if Jesus was the coming one, Jesus pointed to His works and then spoke of John, asking if they went out to see a 'reed shaken by the wind,' a striking parallel to Job's self-image as a flimsy, easily tossed thing.
bensonJob 13:25: "Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?"
Job 13:25 . Wilt thou break a leaf? &c. — Doth it become thy infinite and excellent majesty to use thy might to crush such a poor, impotent, and frail creature as I am, that can no more resist thy power than a leaf or a little dry straw can resist the fury of the wind or fire? Thus, whatever was irreverent or unbecoming in Job’s expressions, as recorded in Job 13:22 , is greatly alleviated, as Dr. Dodd…
pooleJob 13:25: "Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?"
Doth it become thy infinite and excellent majesty to use all thy might to crush such a poor, impotent, frail creature as I am, that can no more resist thy power than a leaf, or a little loose and dry straw can resist the fury of the wind or fire.
Job isn't just saying he's weak; he's comparing himself to things so insubstantial they're already lost – a leaf tossed by the wind, dry stubble – asking if God’s might is truly needed to crush something already utterly at the mercy of every force. He's highlighting that his current suffering makes him feel not just weak, but essentially insignificant and powerless, to the point where God’s action against him feels like an overkill against something already defeated.
Job is desperately trying to understand why God is afflicting him so severely, convinced he hasn't done anything to deserve such wrath. He’s been questioning God’s justice and even asking God to reveal his specific charges. In this passage, Job continues his plea, using vivid imagery to express his own perceived insignificance and vulnerability in the face of God's immense power.
Job is desperately trying to understand why God is afflicting him so severely, convinced he hasn't done anything to deserve such wrath. He’s been questioning God’s justice and even asking God to reveal his specific charges. In this passage, Job continues his plea, using vivid imagery to express his own perceived insignificance and vulnerability in the face of God's immense power.
"Will you frighten a driven leaf and pursue dry chaff?" — Job isn't just saying he's weak; he's comparing himself to things so insubstantial they're already lost – a leaf tossed by the wind, dry stubble – asking if God’s might is truly needed to crush som…
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Last reviewed October 2026