He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.
Parallel translations
- WEB He shall not look at the rivers, the flowing streams of honey and butter.
- KJV He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.
- NKJV He will not see the streams, The rivers flowing with honey and cream.
- NASB “He does not look at the streams, The rivers flowing with honey and curds.
- NLT They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil or rivers of milk and honey.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The wicked man will never enjoy the rivers of honey and butter, the symbols of abundant blessing. He is shut out from prosperity and delight.
Overview
Zophar declares that the wicked man will be denied the flowing streams of plenty, honey and curds being emblems of rich, covenant blessing. The good things others enjoy are forfeited by his wickedness. The verse contrasts the barren end of the godless with the abundant 'land flowing with milk and honey' promised to God's people, whose fullness is found in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Deut 32:13–14He made him ride on the heights of the land and fed him the produce of the field. He nourished him with honey from the rock and oil from the flinty crag,
- Luke 16:24So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’
- Job 29:6when my steps were bathed in cream and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
- Ps 81:16But I would feed you the finest wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
- Num 14:23not one will ever see the land that I swore to give their fathers. None of those who have treated Me with contempt will see it.
- 2 Kgs 7:2But the officer on whose arm the king leaned answered the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?” “You will see it with your own eyes,” replied Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it.”
- Ps 36:8–9They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from Your river of delights.
- Isa 41:17The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
- Rev 22:1Then 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
- Isa 7:15By the time He knows enough to reject evil and choose good, He will be eating curds and honey.
- Jer 17:6–8He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.
- 2 Sam 17:29honey, curds, sheep, and cheese from the herd for David and his people to eat. For they said, “The people have become hungry, exhausted, and thirsty in the wilderness.”
- Isa 7:22and from the abundance of milk they give, he will eat curds; for all who remain in the land will eat curds and honey.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 20:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.