Job 20:17
He will not look upon the rivers, the streams flowing with honey and curds.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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This isn't just about wishing for a luxurious life; it's about the loss of what represents abundance itself. Zophar uses vivid imagery of rivers and streams flowing with honey and cream – not literally, but as the ultimate symbol of God's blessing on the land and its people. For the wicked man, Zophar declares, even these divinely-provided riches and comforts will be forever out of reach.
Zophar continues his harsh judgment of Job, arguing that the wicked, despite their outward appearances of prosperity, will ultimately be deprived of all that is good. He paints a picture of Job's future desolation, contrasting it with the abundant blessings that true righteousness would entail. This speech is part of an intense debate where each friend tries to convince Job of his sin and God's justice.
Imagine a land so rich, streams literally flow with honey and butter! This wasn't just poetry; it was a common way to describe ultimate prosperity in the ancient world.
The imagery of "rivers, the streams flowing with honey and curds" in Job 20:17 paints a vivid picture of extreme temporal blessing.
A Land of Plenty
This wasn't meant to be taken literally, but rather as a powerful metaphor. The ancient Near East often used the concepts of milk and honey to symbolize God's abundant provision and the fertility of the land. Think of the promise of the land of Canaan, famously described as "a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:8). This phrase represented a land rich in pasture for cattle (producing milk and butter) and full of wildflowers for bees (producing honey).
Beyond Literal Wealth
So, when Zophar speaks of "rivers" and "streams" of these delicacies, he's escalating the imagery. It suggests not just prosperity, but an almost unbelievable, overwhelming abundance. It was the ultimate expression of temporal well-being and security.
What's worse than having nothing? It's having had everything, and then losing it all. Zophar declares the wicked man faces a profound 'penalty of loss'.
Zophar’s words to Job in chapter 20 are not just about what the wicked have, but what they will not have. This concept is often called the "penalty of loss" or "deprivation."
More Than Just Absence
It’s not merely that the wicked person won't gain these blessings. It's a reversal. Their wickedness will ultimately strip them of the very abundance they might have enjoyed or desperately craved. They are barred from experiencing the deep satisfaction and security that true prosperity, often seen as a blessing from God, brings.
A Fading Illusion
While the wicked might have briefly tasted or pursued such overflowing blessings, Zophar insists they will ultimately be denied the sustained enjoyment and comfort these represent. The "rivers of honey and butter" become an illusion – a mirage they can never truly reach or possess.
Understand the original words
debhash · Hebrew Noun
In biblical imagery, abundance, prosperity, and the blessings of the Promised Land are often described as flowing with honey and curds, signifying divine favor, sustenance, and the goodness of God’s provision.
This passage uses the iconic phrase 'a land flowing with milk and honey,' directly paralleling the imagery of abundance in Job, but framing it as a divine promise of blessing.
Job 29:6Here, Job himself uses similar language ('When I washed my steps with butter, And the rock poured out to me rivers of oil') to describe his past prosperity, creating a poignant contrast with the desolation Zophar predicts.
Isaiah 7:22This verse also employs the 'butter and honey' idiom to signify agricultural abundance and a good harvest, reinforcing the idea that Job's predicted loss is a complete reversal of such earthly blessings.
Proverbs 10:3This proverb speaks to the LORD's discipline, stating He 'will not allow the righteous to hunger, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked,' which echoes the theme of the wicked being denied the 'rivers of honey and curds' that righteous enjoyment would bring.
Luke 16:24The rich man in hell crying out for a drop of water highlights the ultimate deprivation and thirst that the wicked will face, a stark spiritual fulfillment of Zophar's description of Job being denied even the 'brooks of honey and curds'.
clarkeJob 20:17: "He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter."
Job 20:17He 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 appea…
bensonJob 20:17: "He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter."
Job 20:17 . He shall not see the rivers, the floods, &c. — “He shall not see them with any pleasure. The most delightful things of this world, and the greatest affluence and plenty of them, shall afford him no enjoyment.” — Dodd. Or, rather, he speaks metaphorically, and means, he shall not enjoy that abundant satisfaction and comfort, which he promised himself from his great riches, or which good men, through…
This isn't just about wishing for a luxurious life; it's about the loss of what represents abundance itself. Zophar uses vivid imagery of rivers and streams flowing with honey and cream – not literally, but as the ultimate symbol of God's blessing on the land and its people. For the wicked man, Zophar declares, even these divinely-provided riches and comforts will be forever out of reach.
Zophar continues his harsh judgment of Job, arguing that the wicked, despite their outward appearances of prosperity, will ultimately be deprived of all that is good. He paints a picture of Job's future desolation, contrasting it with the abundant blessings that true righteousness would entail. This speech is part of an intense debate where each friend tries to convince Job of his sin and God's justice.
Zophar continues his harsh judgment of Job, arguing that the wicked, despite their outward appearances of prosperity, will ultimately be deprived of all that is good. He paints a picture of Job's future desolation, contrasting it with the abundant blessings that true righteousness would entail. This speech is part of an intense debate where each friend tries to convince Job of his sin and God's justice.
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"He will not look upon the rivers, the streams flowing with honey and curds." — This isn't just about wishing for a luxurious life; it's about the loss of what represents abundance itself. Zophar uses vivid imagery of rivers and streams flowing with honey and cream – not liter…
