Job 13 25

Job 13:25 kjv

Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?

Job 13:25 nkjv

Will You frighten a leaf driven to and fro? And will You pursue dry stubble?

Job 13:25 niv

Will you torment a windblown leaf? Will you chase after dry chaff?

Job 13:25 esv

Will you frighten a driven leaf and pursue dry chaff?

Job 13:25 nlt

Would you terrify a leaf blown by the wind?
Would you chase dry straw?

Job 13 verses

Job 13 25 Meaning

Job 13:25 is a rhetorical question posed by Job to God, expressing his deep lament and sense of profound injustice. He questions why an all-powerful God would choose to "frighten a scattered leaf" or "pursue dry stubble"—metaphors for something utterly weak, insignificant, and defenceless. Job perceives God's actions against him as overwhelmingly excessive, unnecessary, and unbefitting His majesty when directed at someone as frail and vulnerable as Job himself believes he has become. It underscores Job's feeling that he is being treated with the same severity as a formidable enemy, despite his blamelessness and utter helplessness in his suffering.

Job 13 25 Context

Job 13:25 occurs in a pivotal section of the Book of Job, specifically during Job's third discourse where he finally turns from arguing with his friends to directly addressing God (Job 13:3). Having challenged the wisdom and effectiveness of his friends' counsel, Job demands an audience with the Almighty, asserting his innocence and seeking to present his case. In the verses immediately preceding 13:25 (Job 13:20-24), Job sets out conditions for his interaction with God, asking God to remove His hand of terror and stop making Job afraid, and also to reveal his sin if there is one, or else explain why God considers him an enemy. Job 13:25 is his lamentation and a rhetorical protest that follows, emphasizing the absurdity and apparent overkill of God's overwhelming power being directed at someone so weak and broken. Historically and culturally, ancient Near Eastern societies, including Israel, held a strong belief in divine retribution, where suffering was generally seen as a direct consequence of sin. Job, through this verse and others, directly challenges this prevailing theological framework, asserting his righteousness even amidst overwhelming calamity. He implies that God's actions, from his human perspective, appear to contravene divine justice, as such immense power should not be required to subdue something as insignificant as a suffering, dying man.

Job 13 25 Word analysis

• Will you frighten (הֲתַרְגִּיץ - ha-tar-giyṣ): This is a rhetorical question, characteristic of Job's passionate appeal. The Hebrew root רגז (ragaz) implies agitation, trembling, disturbance, or making afraid. In this context, it speaks of God exercising His immense power in a terrifying and overwhelming manner. The Hiphil causative stem suggests active causing of terror. It highlights the vast disproportion between the one causing fear (God) and the object of fear (Job, personified by weak imagery).
• a scattered leaf (עָלֶה נִדָּף - ʻa-leh ni-dāp̄): This is a powerful metaphor for extreme vulnerability and insignificance.
  • עָלֶה (ʻa-leh): "leaf," common, ordinary, suggesting fragility and detachment.
  • נִדָּף (ni-dāp̄): "scattered" or "driven away." This Pual participle (passive intensive) from נדף (nādaf) denotes being driven, tossed about, or dispersed, often by wind or force. It conveys utter powerlessness, lacking inherent stability or direction, easily swept away by the slightest external force. This image directly evokes humanity's fleeting nature and susceptibility to external powers.
• Or pursue (וְאִם תִּרְדֹּף - wə-ʼim tir-dōp̄): "Or" presents an alternative, parallel rhetorical question. The Hebrew root רדף (rādaf) means "to chase," "to pursue," or "to persecute." It suggests a deliberate, sustained, and focused effort to run down or apprehend something. Job implies that God is actively and relentlessly tracking him down. This verb is often used for hunting or for pursuing an enemy, highlighting Job's perception that God is treating him as a dangerous foe.
• dry stubble (קַשׁ יָבֵשׁ - qaš yā-vēš): Another vivid metaphor reinforcing the theme of insignificance, worthlessness, and fragility.
  • קַשׁ (qaš): "stubble" or "chaff." These are the dried remnants of crops after harvesting, of little value and easily scattered or burned. They symbolize that which is without substance, easily perishable, and completely defenseless.
  • יָבֵשׁ (yā-vēš): "dry" or "withered." Emphasizes the lack of vitality, substance, and moisture, making it even more prone to being blown away or consumed.

• "Will you frighten a scattered leaf, Or pursue dry stubble?": This entire phrase functions as a striking rhetorical question designed to highlight the profound disproportionality between God's power and Job's perceived weakness. It's a protest against an unnecessary use of immense power against something so utterly frail. Job feels that God is treating him not as a suffering servant, but as a formidable opponent, akin to one pursuing a major threat. This hyperbole expresses the extremity of Job's anguish and his plea for God to relent. The pairing of "scattered leaf" and "dry stubble" serves as parallel imagery, intensifying the portrayal of helplessness and transient existence.

Job 13 25 Bonus section

The imagery of a "scattered leaf" and "dry stubble" is prevalent in biblical literature, often associated with the wicked or the judged, highlighting their transience, weakness, and vulnerability to divine judgment (e.g., Ps 1:4, Isa 17:13). Job's appropriation of this imagery for himself is highly significant. It reveals his deeply felt conviction that he is being treated like the wicked, even though he firmly maintains his own righteousness and blamelessness. This implicit polemic against the "retribution theology" espoused by his friends—that suffering equals sin—is central to the Book of Job's narrative. Job presents himself not as a defiant sinner deserving of such treatment, but as a righteous man caught in an unfathomable and disproportionate divine assault. His plea is thus multifaceted: a cry of pain, an appeal for fairness, and a theological challenge.

Job 13 25 Commentary

Job 13:25 encapsulates Job's anguished protest against God's seemingly unwarranted severity. Through powerful rhetorical questions and evocative agricultural imagery, Job likens himself to the most insignificant and powerless elements—a scattered leaf and dry stubble—objects easily dispersed by the slightest force. His point is not to deny God's immense power, but to question the justice and appropriateness of directing such terrifying omnipotence against one so utterly vulnerable. It's an expression of feeling relentlessly hunted and made to tremble by a Creator who, Job believes, is exerting overkill. This verse speaks to the common human experience of feeling overwhelmed and unfairly targeted by circumstances far beyond one's control, questioning divine purpose when suffering appears to exceed any discernible cause. For example, a child feeling that a parent is using excessive force for a minor infraction, or an overwhelmed individual seeing the sheer weight of life's burdens crushing them. Job demands understanding for the extremity of his situation.