CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Job 20:17 He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/job/20-17.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/new9.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><meta property="og:image" content="https://biblehub.com/visuals/7/18_Job_20_17.jpg" /><meta property="og:title" content="Job 20:17 - Zophar: Destruction Awaits the Wicked" /><meta property="og:site_name" content="Bible Hub" /><meta property="og:description" content="He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream." /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="/vmenus/job/20-17.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="/bmc/job/20-17.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="/">Bible</a> > <a href="/job/">Job</a> > <a href="/job/20.htm">Chapter 20</a> > Verse 17</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div><div id="ad1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/ad17.htm" width="100%" height="48" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="/job/20-16.htm" title="Job 20:16">◄</a> Job 20:17 <a href="/job/20-18.htm" title="Job 20:18">►</a></div></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="topverse"> <a href="#audio" class="clickchap2" title="Context and Audio Bible"> Audio </a> <a href="#crossref" class="clickchap2" title="Cross References"> Cross </a> <a href="#study" class="clickchap2" title="Study Bible"> Study </a> <a href="#commentary" class="clickchap2" title="Commentary"> Comm </a> <a href="#lexicon" class="clickchap2" title="Lexicon"> Heb </a> </div><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheadingv"><b>Verse</b><a href="/bsb/job/20.htm" class="clickchap" style="color:#001320" title="Click any translation name for full chapter">  (Click for Chapter)</a></div><div id="par"><span class="versiontext"><a href="/niv/job/20.htm">New International Version</a></span><br />He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nlt/job/20.htm">New Living Translation</a></span><br />They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil or rivers of milk and honey.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/esv/job/20.htm">English Standard Version</a></span><br />He will not look upon the rivers, the streams flowing with honey and curds.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/bsb/job/20.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a></span><br />He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/kjv/job/20.htm">King James Bible</a></span><br />He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/job/20.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />He will not see the streams, The rivers flowing with honey and cream.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/job/20.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />“He does not look at the streams, The rivers flowing with honey and curds.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/job/20.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />&#8220He does not look at the streams, The rivers flowing with honey and curds.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/job/20.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />“He does not look at the streams, The rivers flowing with honey and curds.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/job/20.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />He does not look at the streams, The rivers flowing with honey and curds.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/job/20.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />“He does not look at the rivers, The flowing streams of honey and butter [to enjoy his wealth].<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/job/20.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and curds.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/job/20.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/job/20.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />He shall not look upon the rivers, The flowing streams of honey and butter.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/job/20.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />and never enjoy rivers flowing with milk and honey. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/job/20.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />He shall not look upon the rivers, the flowing streams of honey and butter.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/job/20.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />He won't be able to drink from the streams or from the rivers of honey and buttermilk.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/job/20.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />They will not live to see rivers of olive oil or streams that flow with milk and honey. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/job/20.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />He won't look at the rivers— the torrents of honey and curd. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/job/20.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/job/20.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />He will not look on the streams, the rivers, which are the torrents of honey and butter. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/job/20.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />He shall not look at the rivers, the flowing streams of honey and butter.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/job/20.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />He shall not see the river, the floods, the brooks of honey and buttermilk.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/job/20.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />He will not look at the rivers, the flowing streams of honey and butter. <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/job/20.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />He does not look on streams, "" Flowing of brooks of honey and butter.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/job/20.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> He looketh not on rivulets, Flowing of brooks of honey and butter.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/job/20.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />He shall not look upon the streams, the rivers, the torrents of honey and curdled milk.<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/job/20.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />(Let him not see the streams of the river, the brooks of honey and of butter.) <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/job/20.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br />(May he never see the streams of the river, the torrents of honey and butter.)<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/job/20.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />He shall see no streams of oil, no torrents of honey or milk. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/job/20.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />They will not look on the rivers, the streams flowing with honey and curds.<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/job/20.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/job/20.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />He will not see the tributaries of rivers, and of torrents of honey and of butter<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/job/20.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />He shall not look upon the rivers, The flowing streams of honey and curd.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/sep/job/20.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a></span><br />Let him not see the milk of the pastures, nor the supplies of honey and butter.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/job/20-17.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XAwuD5NuZq0?start=3090" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/job/20.htm">Zophar: Destruction Awaits the Wicked</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">16</span>He will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will kill him. <span class="reftext">17</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/408.htm" title="408: ’al- (Adv) -- Not (a subjective neg.). A negative particle; not; once as a noun, nothing.">He will not</a> <a href="/hebrew/7200.htm" title="7200: yê·re (V-Qal-Imperf.Jus-3ms) -- To see. A primitive root; to see, literally or figuratively.">enjoy</a> <a href="/hebrew/6390.htm" title="6390: ḇip̄·lag·gō·wṯ (Prep-b:: N-fp) -- A stream, division. From palag; a runlet, i.e. Gully.">the streams,</a> <a href="/hebrew/5104.htm" title="5104: na·hă·rê (N-mpc) -- A stream, river. From nahar; a stream; figuratively, prosperity.">the rivers</a> <a href="/hebrew/5158.htm" title="5158: na·ḥă·lê (N-mpc) -- Or nachlah; or nachalah; from nachal in its original sense; a stream, especially a winter torrent; a valley; also a shaft.">flowing with</a> <a href="/hebrew/1706.htm" title="1706: də·ḇaš (N-ms) -- Honey. From an unused root meaning to be gummy; honey; by analogy, syrup.">honey</a> <a href="/hebrew/2529.htm" title="2529: wə·ḥem·’āh (Conj-w:: N-fs) -- Curd. Or chemah; from the same root as chowmah; curdled milk or cheese.">and cream.</a> </span><span class="reftext">18</span>He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he cannot enjoy the profits of his trading.…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/proverbs/5-15.htm">Proverbs 5:15-18</a></span><br />Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well. / Why should your springs flow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? / Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/31-12.htm">Jeremiah 31:12</a></span><br />They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD—the grain, new wine, and oil, and the young of the flocks and herds. Their life will be like a well-watered garden, and never again will they languish.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/55-1.htm">Isaiah 55:1-2</a></span><br />“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost! / Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/36-8.htm">Psalm 36:8</a></span><br />They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from Your river of delights.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/63-5.htm">Psalm 63:5</a></span><br />My soul is satisfied as with the richest of foods; with joyful lips my mouth will praise You.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/12-3.htm">Isaiah 12:3</a></span><br />With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation,<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/44-3.htm">Isaiah 44:3</a></span><br />For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/joel/3-18.htm">Joel 3:18</a></span><br />And in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the streams of Judah will run with water, and a spring will flow from the house of the LORD to water the Valley of Acacias.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/amos/9-13.htm">Amos 9:13</a></span><br />“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes, the sower of seed. The mountains will drip with sweet wine, with which all the hills will flow.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/john/4-13.htm">John 4:13-14</a></span><br />Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. / But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/john/7-37.htm">John 7:37-38</a></span><br />On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. / Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/revelation/7-17.htm">Revelation 7:17</a></span><br />For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/revelation/21-6.htm">Revelation 21:6</a></span><br />And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/revelation/22-1.htm">Revelation 22:1</a></span><br />Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/revelation/22-17.htm">Revelation 22:17</a></span><br />The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.</p><p class="hdg">shall not see</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/numbers/14-23.htm">Numbers 14:23</a></b></br> Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/2_kings/7-2.htm">2 Kings 7:2</a></b></br> Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, <i>if</i> the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see <i>it</i> with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/jeremiah/17-6.htm">Jeremiah 17:6-8</a></b></br> For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, <i>in</i> a salt land and not inhabited… </p><p class="hdg">the rivers</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/psalms/36-8.htm">Psalm 36:8,9</a></b></br> They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures… </p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/isaiah/41-17.htm">Isaiah 41:17</a></b></br> <i>When</i> the poor and needy seek water, and <i>there is</i> none, <i>and</i> their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, <i>I</i> the God of Israel will not forsake them.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/jeremiah/17-6.htm">Jeremiah 17:6</a></b></br> For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, <i>in</i> a salt land and not inhabited.</p><p class="hdg">floods.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/deuteronomy/32-13.htm">Deuteronomy 32:13,14</a></b></br> He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock; … </p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/2_samuel/17-29.htm">2 Samuel 17:29</a></b></br> And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that <i>were</i> with him, to eat: for they said, The people <i>is</i> hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/psalms/81-16.htm">Psalm 81:16</a></b></br> He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.</p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/job/6-15.htm">Brooks</a> <a href="/2_samuel/17-29.htm">Butter</a> <a href="/2_samuel/17-29.htm">Cream</a> <a href="/2_samuel/17-29.htm">Curd</a> <a href="/2_samuel/17-29.htm">Curds</a> <a href="/job/14-6.htm">Enjoy</a> <a href="/job/14-19.htm">Floods</a> <a href="/job/11-16.htm">Flowing</a> <a href="/2_chronicles/31-5.htm">Honey</a> <a href="/job/10-10.htm">Milk</a> <a href="/esther/2-12.htm">Oil</a> <a href="/job/14-11.htm">River</a> <a href="/2_kings/19-24.htm">Rivers</a> <a href="/ezekiel/31-4.htm">Rivulets</a> <a href="/job/6-15.htm">Streams</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/job/22-24.htm">Brooks</a> <a href="/job/29-6.htm">Butter</a> <a href="/job/29-6.htm">Cream</a> <a href="/proverbs/30-33.htm">Curd</a> <a href="/proverbs/30-33.htm">Curds</a> <a href="/job/20-18.htm">Enjoy</a> <a href="/job/22-11.htm">Floods</a> <a href="/job/20-28.htm">Flowing</a> <a href="/psalms/19-10.htm">Honey</a> <a href="/job/21-24.htm">Milk</a> <a href="/job/24-11.htm">Oil</a> <a href="/job/22-16.htm">River</a> <a href="/job/28-10.htm">Rivers</a> <a href="/job/29-6.htm">Rivulets</a> <a href="/job/28-11.htm">Streams</a><div class="vheading2">Job 20</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/job/20-1.htm">Zophar shows the state and portion of the wicked</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <br /><br /> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/job/20.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/job/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/job/20.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div><b>He will not enjoy the streams</b><br>This phrase suggests a deprivation of blessings and abundance. In biblical times, streams were vital for life, agriculture, and prosperity. The imagery of streams often symbolizes God's provision and sustenance (<a href="/psalms/1-3.htm">Psalm 1:3</a>). The absence of enjoyment indicates a loss of divine favor and the consequences of wickedness, aligning with the retributive justice theme in the Book of Job.<p><b>the rivers flowing with honey and cream</b><br>Rivers symbolize abundance and prosperity, and the mention of honey and cream further emphasizes richness and luxury. Honey and cream were considered delicacies in ancient Near Eastern culture, representing the best of the land's produce (<a href="/deuteronomy/32-13.htm">Deuteronomy 32:13-14</a>). This imagery contrasts with the promised land "flowing with milk and honey" (<a href="/exodus/3-8.htm">Exodus 3:8</a>), highlighting the loss of blessings due to unrighteousness. The absence of these elements signifies a life devoid of God's blessings, reinforcing the moral and spiritual consequences of sin.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <b><a href="/topical/z/zophar_the_naamathite.htm">Zophar the Naamathite</a></b><br>One of Job's three friends who comes to comfort him. In this chapter, Zophar is speaking, offering his perspective on the fate of the wicked.<br><br>2. <b><a href="/topical/j/job.htm">Job</a></b><br>The central figure of the book, a man of great faith and integrity who undergoes severe trials and suffering.<br><br>3. <b><a href="/topical/s/streams_and_rivers.htm">Streams and Rivers</a></b><br>Symbolic imagery used by Zophar to describe abundance and prosperity, which he claims the wicked will not enjoy.<br><br>4. <b><a href="/topical/h/honey_and_cream.htm">Honey and Cream</a></b><br>Metaphors for richness and delight, representing the blessings and pleasures of life that Zophar argues will be denied to the wicked.<br><br>5. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_wicked.htm">The Wicked</a></b><br>A general term used throughout the book to describe those who live in opposition to God's ways, often contrasted with the righteous.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><b><a href="/topical/t/the_illusion_of_earthly_pleasures.htm">The Illusion of Earthly Pleasures</a></b><br>Earthly pleasures, symbolized by honey and cream, are temporary and can be deceptive. True satisfaction comes from a relationship with God.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_consequences_of_wickedness.htm">The Consequences of Wickedness</a></b><br>Zophar's speech serves as a reminder that living in opposition to God's ways leads to a lack of true fulfillment and joy.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_importance_of_righteous_living.htm">The Importance of Righteous Living</a></b><br>While Zophar's understanding is limited, his words highlight the biblical principle that righteousness leads to lasting joy and peace.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_need_for_discernment.htm">The Need for Discernment</a></b><br>Believers must discern between temporary pleasures and eternal joy, seeking God's wisdom to navigate life's choices.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/trusting_god's_justice.htm">Trusting God's Justice</a></b><br>Even when the wicked seem to prosper, trust that God's justice will ultimately prevail, and true blessings come from Him.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_job_20.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Job 20</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/is_job's_story_historically_accurate.htm">Is Job's story historically accurate?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/is_job_6_15-17's_stream_imagery_factual.htm">In Job 6:15-17, is the depiction of streams that vanish into heat historically or archaeologically supported in the relevant region?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/is_psalm_114_8_consistent_with_moses'_rock.htm">Does the miraculous water from rock in Psalm 114:8 align with other biblical accounts of Moses striking a rock, or are there inconsistencies?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/job_32_16-22__later_insertion_clues.htm">Job 32:16-22 - Are there any textual or historical clues suggesting this chapter might be a later insertion, potentially creating inconsistencies within the book?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/job/20.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(17) <span class= "bld">The brooks of honey and butter.</span>--He uses language which might lead one to suppose he was familiar with the promise of Canaan, except that, as the phrase is not precisely identical it may perhaps rather show a community of proverbial language, and that the <span class= "ital">land flowing with milk and honey </span>may have been an expression in use, and not one original with the Pentateuch.<p><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/job/20.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 17.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks</span>. The wicked man shall suffer, not only positive pains, but what casuists call the peens <span class="accented">damni</span>, or "penalty of loss" - deprivation, in other words, of blessings which he would naturally have enjoyed but for his wickedness. Zophar here threatens him with the Joss of those paradisiacal delights which the Orientals associated with water in all its forms, whether as <span class="hebrew">פּלגות</span>, or "rills derived from larger streams," or as <span class="hebrew">כהרי</span>, "rivers," or as <span class="hebrew">כחלי</span>, "brooks" or "torrents," now strong and impetuous, now reduced to a mere thread These are said poetically to flow with honey and butter, not, of course, in any literal sense, such as Ovid may have meant, when, in describing the golden age, he said - <p><span class="foreign">"Flumina jam lactis, jam fiumina nectaris ibant;"</span><br /><br />(<span class="note_acc">Metaph.,' 1:111.</span>) but as fertilizing the land through which they ran, and so causing it to abound with bees and cattle, whence would be derived butter and honey. Compare the terms in which Canaan was described to the Israelites (<a href="/exodus/3-8.htm">Exodus 3:8, 17</a>; <a href="/exodus/13-5.htm">Exodus 13:5</a>; <a href="/deuteronomy/26-9.htm">Deuteronomy 26:9, 15</a>, etc.). <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/job/20-17.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">He will not</span><br /><span class="heb">אַל־</span> <span class="translit">(’al-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Adverb<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_408.htm">Strong's 408: </a> </span><span class="str2">Not</span><br /><br /><span class="word">enjoy</span><br /><span class="heb">יֵ֥רֶא</span> <span class="translit">(yê·re)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - Imperfect Jussive - third person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_7200.htm">Strong's 7200: </a> </span><span class="str2">To see</span><br /><br /><span class="word">the streams,</span><br /><span class="heb">בִפְלַגּ֑וֹת</span> <span class="translit">(ḇip̄·lag·gō·wṯ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition-b | Noun - feminine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_6390.htm">Strong's 6390: </a> </span><span class="str2">A stream, division</span><br /><br /><span class="word">the rivers</span><br /><span class="heb">נַהֲרֵ֥י</span> <span class="translit">(na·hă·rê)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine plural construct<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5104.htm">Strong's 5104: </a> </span><span class="str2">A stream, prosperity</span><br /><br /><span class="word">flowing with</span><br /><span class="heb">נַ֝חֲלֵ֗י</span> <span class="translit">(na·ḥă·lê)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine plural construct<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5158.htm">Strong's 5158: </a> </span><span class="str2">A stream, a winter torrent, a, valley, a shaft</span><br /><br /><span class="word">honey</span><br /><span class="heb">דְּבַ֣שׁ</span> <span class="translit">(də·ḇaš)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1706.htm">Strong's 1706: </a> </span><span class="str2">Honey, syrup</span><br /><br /><span class="word">and cream.</span><br /><span class="heb">וְחֶמְאָֽה׃</span> <span class="translit">(wə·ḥem·’āh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_2529.htm">Strong's 2529: </a> </span><span class="str2">Curdled milk, cheese</span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/job/20-17.htm">Job 20:17 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/job/20-17.htm">Job 20:17 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/job/20-17.htm">Job 20:17 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/job/20-17.htm">Job 20:17 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/job/20-17.htm">Job 20:17 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/job/20-17.htm">Job 20:17 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/job/20-17.htm">Job 20:17 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/job/20-17.htm">Job 20:17 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/job/20-17.htm">Job 20:17 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/job/20-17.htm">Job 20:17 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/job/20-17.htm">OT Poetry: Job 20:17 He shall not look at the rivers (Jb) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/job/20-16.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Job 20:16"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Job 20:16" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/job/20-18.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Job 20:18"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Job 20:18" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>