Job 21 17

Job 21:17 kjv

How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger.

Job 21:17 nkjv

"How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does their destruction come upon them, The sorrows God distributes in His anger?

Job 21:17 niv

"Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out? How often does calamity come upon them, the fate God allots in his anger?

Job 21:17 esv

"How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity comes upon them? That God distributes pains in his anger?

Job 21:17 nlt

"Yet the light of the wicked never seems to be extinguished.
Do they ever have trouble?
Does God distribute sorrows to them in anger?

Job 21 verses

Job 21 17 Meaning

Job 21:17 presents a rhetorical question from Job, challenging the simplistic theology of his friends who argue that the wicked are always swiftly punished and the righteous prosper. Job observes that, contrary to this rigid view, the "lamp" (representing prosperity, life, and legacy) of the wicked is not put out as often as claimed, nor does immediate destruction come upon them frequently. While affirming God's ultimate power to distribute sorrows in His anger, Job questions the observable, consistent manifestation of this judgment in the immediate, earthly realm, pointing out the seeming prosperity and peaceful end of many wicked individuals.

Job 21 17 Context

Job 21:17 forms a crucial part of Job’s rebuttal to Zophar’s rigid pronouncements in Job 20. Zophar had emphatically restated the traditional belief that the wicked quickly perish, their prosperity is fleeting, and their lineage cut off. Job directly challenges this simplistic doctrine by drawing on his own observations of life. Throughout chapter 21, Job presents empirical evidence that often the wicked live long, thrive in wealth and power, see their children flourish, and die peacefully without experiencing significant suffering. Verse 17 is a rhetorical question designed to highlight the infrequency of the very events (the quick extinguishing of the wicked's "lamp" and sudden destruction) that his friends assert are inevitable and immediate consequences of wickedness. Job does not deny God's ultimate power to judge but questions the consistent and immediate application of such judgment in the visible world, thus undermining the core of his friends' "retribution theology" that tied all suffering directly to sin.

Job 21 17 Word analysis

• אֵיךְ (ʾēyḵ): Translated as "How oft?" or "How seldom?" This is not a simple interrogative "how" but a rhetorical question conveying a sense of disbelief or incredulity. Job uses it to express the rarity of the events his friends claim are commonplace. It's akin to saying, "How rare is it that...!" given the previous arguments in Job 21:7ff.
• נֵר (nēr): "Lamp" or "candle." A prevalent biblical metaphor symbolizing life, prosperity, vitality, hope, a continuous family line (e.g., of a king), and joy. The extinguishment of a lamp signifies death, the end of prosperity, the cessation of a family line, or complete ruin. Its common use underscores the magnitude of its extinction.
• רְשָׁעִים (rəšāʿîm): "The wicked." Refers to those who are habitually godless, impious, and engage in unrighteous actions, specifically in opposition to God's will and moral order.
• יִדְעַךְ (yiḏəʿaḵ): "Is extinguished" or "put out." This verb denotes the act of extinguishing a fire or light, signifying termination, perishing, or fading into non-existence.
• וְיָבֹא (wəyāḇōʾ) עֲלֵיהֶם (ʿǎlêhem) אֵידָם (ʾêḏām): "And comes upon them their destruction/calamity."
  • אֵידָם (ʾêḏām): "Their destruction," "their calamity," or "their disaster." This word often implies sudden, overwhelming, and inescapable ruin or misfortune that originates from divine judgment or a predetermined fate.
• חֲבָלִים (ḥăḇālîm): "Sorrows," "pangs," "destructions," "birth pangs." This strong term can refer to severe pain, specifically labor pains, which are intense, unavoidable, and often come suddenly. In this context, it speaks of acute, consuming suffering or destructive forces that are distributed by God. It conveys the idea of distress, anguish, or the binding cords of death/calamity.
• יְחַלֵּק (yəḥalleq): "He divides" or "distributes." This verb emphasizes an active, deliberate, and sovereign act. It points to God's purposeful and equitable (from His perspective) apportionment of consequences.
• בְּאַפּוֹ (bəʾappōw): "In His anger" or "in His wrath." The "anger" of God signifies His just displeasure and righteous indignation against sin. It underscores the divine origin and the judicial nature of the sorrows distributed.

• "How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft doth their destruction come upon them!": This coupled rhetorical question forms the crux of Job's counter-argument. He observes that, despite his friends' confident assertions, it is not common to see the wicked swiftly stripped of their life/prosperity ("candle put out") or have immediate disaster strike them down. Instead, he points out (in preceding verses of Job 21) that they often live full, successful lives, confounding the strict retributive theology.
• "God distributeth sorrows in his anger.": Job's affirmation. Despite his observations about the apparent lack of immediate earthly judgment on the wicked, Job does not deny God's sovereignty, justice, or His role in bringing sorrow as a consequence of His anger. He acknowledges divine judgment, but distinguishes it from the simplistic and immediate correlation his friends propose between sin and visible suffering in this life. The implication is that God's ways of distributing judgment are more complex and inscrutable than humans typically understand or expect.

Job 21 17 Bonus section

• The metaphor of the "lamp" (נֵר, nēr) is profoundly significant in ancient Israel, as it was essential for life in a dwelling. Its extinction meant not only darkness but often a total end to the household, its occupants, and its future. The contrast here implies the ongoing vitality and unmarred state of many wicked individuals.
• Job's question underscores a pervasive theological problem throughout Scripture and human experience: why do the wicked often prosper while the righteous suffer? This verse is part of a larger biblical dialogue on deferred justice, leading to texts like Psalm 73 or Ecclesiastes, which similarly wrestle with this enigma.
• The phrase "how oft" (אֵיךְ, ʾēyḵ) implies incredulity rather than mere inquiry about frequency. Job is expressing that what his friends say should happen rarely does happen according to their immediate cause-and-effect understanding.
• Job 21:17 contributes to the Book of Job's profound dismantling of a simplistic, cause-and-effect theology that wrongly attempts to box God's complex dealings with humanity into easily digestible rules based purely on observation of current circumstances.
• While the wicked might not face immediate judgment in this life, the consistent biblical testimony, including Job's eventual understanding, is that divine judgment is assured. The delay is often a sign of God's patience, allowing for repentance, or part of a greater, incomprehensible plan.

Job 21 17 Commentary

Job 21:17 is a direct rhetorical challenge by Job to his friends' dogmatic assertion that divine retribution is always swift and apparent on Earth. Far from denying God's power or ultimate justice, Job uses this verse to question the observable frequency of immediate judgment against the wicked. He essentially asks, "How often, in reality, do we actually witness the wicked's prosperity (their 'lamp') suddenly extinguished, and immediate ruin befall them?" His point, supported by empirical observation detailed in Job 21:7-16, is that this seldom occurs. The wicked often prosper, die in peace, and leave legacies. The final clause, "God distributeth sorrows in his anger," confirms Job's belief in God's sovereign hand and ultimate justice, but crucially separates this ultimate truth from the simplistic, one-to-one, instant retribution his friends champion. Job confronts the limitations of human understanding of divine timing and methodology in dispensing justice in this present age. It is a powerful statement against reducing God's complex governance to a predictable formula based solely on visible temporal circumstances.