Job 34 7

Job 34:7 kjv

What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water?

Job 34:7 nkjv

What man is like Job, Who drinks scorn like water,

Job 34:7 niv

Is there anyone like Job, who drinks scorn like water?

Job 34:7 esv

What man is like Job, who drinks up scoffing like water,

Job 34:7 nlt

"Tell me, has there ever been a man like Job,
with his thirst for irreverent talk?

Job 34 verses

Job 34 7 Meaning

Job 34:7 is a sharp rhetorical question posed by Elihu, suggesting that Job's unique behavior marks him as one who habitually and thoroughly ingests or expresses contempt, derision, or scoffing, as easily and naturally as drinking water. Elihu here characterizes Job as deeply imbued with an attitude of scorn or defiance, particularly against God's justice or his own predicament.

Job 34 7 Context

Job 34:7 falls within Elihu's third discourse, beginning in chapter 34. Elihu, a younger man, has patiently listened to Job and his three friends but now takes the floor, asserting his wisdom (Job 32). His speech here is a direct confrontation of Job's increasingly vehement accusations against God's justice. Elihu perceives Job's prolonged lamentations and insistent declarations of innocence as tantamount to impious railing against the Almighty. Verse 7 immediately follows Elihu's assertion that Job "associates with evildoers" (v. 8) and has declared that there is no profit in pleasing God (v. 9). Elihu views Job's despairing words not as expressions of intense suffering from a righteous man, but as the deep-seated contempt or scoffing of one who has turned from true piety, resembling those who challenge divine order. This historical context reveals a heated debate on suffering, divine justice, and human speech, characteristic of wisdom literature, challenging the simplistic retribution theology of Job's friends while also confronting Job's near-blasphemous questioning.

Job 34 7 Word analysis

• What man: This is a rhetorical question implying an extreme or unique character. Elihu highlights Job as an exceptionally negative example.
• is like Job: Emphasizes Job's distinctiveness. Elihu sets Job apart, not for his exemplary righteousness (as in Job 1), but for what Elihu perceives as an unusually scornful disposition.
• who drinks up: Hebrew šātāh (שָׁתָה), meaning "to drink, to imbibe." Used metaphorically, it denotes an activity that is deep, habitual, or complete. It implies internalization, absorbing something thoroughly and frequently, almost as if for sustenance or enjoyment. It's not a superficial contact but a deep, pervasive assimilation.
• scorn: Hebrew la'ag (לַעַג), meaning "derision, mockery, scoffing, contempt." It often carries a negative connotation of rebellious or impious ridicule. Elihu accuses Job not merely of lamenting his suffering, but of manifesting an attitude of scorn or cynical contempt in his complaints against God and His ways. This can mean:
  • Job himself engages in scoffing against divine justice.
  • Job readily absorbs the attitude of a scoffer from those who reject God.
  • Job has become a perpetual source or recipient of contempt, which he now internalizes as his mode of operation. Most interpret it as Elihu's accusation that Job exhibits or embodies this scoffing attitude himself.
• like water: This simile underscores the nature of the "drinking." It suggests:
  • Ease and Naturalness: Like drinking water is effortless and fundamental for survival.
  • Abundance and Quantity: People drink copious amounts of water, implying this "scorn" is a profound, pervasive, and habitual part of Job's being or his expression.
  • Willful Consumption: The act of drinking is usually voluntary, suggesting Job willingly takes in or embodies this scoffing, rather than it being forced upon him.

Words-group by words-group analysis

• "What man is like Job": This phrase establishes Elihu's belief that Job's current behavior is extraordinary and exceptionally problematic, separating him from other men in a negative light.
• "who drinks up scorn like water": This vivid imagery paints Job as someone completely immersed in or addicted to an attitude of contempt or derision. It's not incidental or forced, but rather a characteristic, deep-seated, and frequent behavior or disposition, as essential to him as water is to life.

Job 34 7 Bonus section

• Elihu's role: Elihu presents himself as a spokesperson for God's wisdom, but his interpretation of Job’s suffering and his characterization in this verse reveal a significant human bias. While his arguments occasionally touch on deeper truths than the friends' (e.g., God's sovereignty and transformative purposes of suffering), his accusatory tone towards Job's core character often aligns with the flawed assumptions of the other friends.
• Ironic parallelism: It's ironic that Job, the true recipient of immense "scorn" and calamity (from Satan, and perceived divine abandonment), is here accused by Elihu of being the source or habitual consumer of "scorn." This points to the tragic misinterpretations that abound when God's hidden ways are inscrutable to human minds.
• Wisdom literature's view on scoffers: Throughout the Proverbs and Psalms, scoffers (Hebrew: lēsīm, though here la'ag is used) are portrayed negatively—those who despise wisdom, resist instruction, and ultimately face ruin (Ps 1:1, Prov 1:22, 19:29). Elihu’s application of this imagery to Job is a severe rhetorical blow, intended to categorize Job with the wicked rather than the righteous.
• Spiritual implications: For the believer, this verse, though an inaccurate diagnosis of Job's heart, provides a mirror: Do we, in our struggles, inadvertently begin to "drink up scorn"—either by habitually indulging in cynical bitterness, by mocking divine providence, or by absorbing a critical spirit from the world? It cautions against allowing hardship to corrupt one's spiritual disposition into a fixed state of contempt.

Job 34 7 Commentary

Elihu’s accusation in Job 34:7 is a harsh and profound critique of Job's spiritual state. He asserts that Job has become deeply ingrained with, or readily accepts, a scornful and derisive attitude, applying it either to the suffering itself, to God's justice, or to Elihu's (and his friends') counsel. The simile "like water" elevates the accusation beyond a mere occasional outburst, suggesting a habitual, fundamental, and even willing embrace of contempt. Elihu's perception is a flawed but understandable human judgment; from his limited perspective, Job's persistent complaints about divine injustice sounded like blasphemous scorn rather than the desperate cries of a bewildered righteous man. This verse highlights the profound misunderstanding and misjudgment that often arise among human beings when interpreting another's suffering and their verbal responses to it, particularly when those words challenge conventional theological understanding. While Job's lamentations were indeed sometimes imprudent, Elihu’s diagnosis of “drinking up scorn” ultimately contrasts with God's final assessment of Job's righteousness (Job 42:7), yet it serves as a stark warning about the dangers of bitter speech in distress.