The Meaning of Job 17:5 Explained

Job 17:5

KJV: He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail.

YLT: For a portion he sheweth friendship, And the eyes of his sons are consumed.

Darby: He that betrayeth friends for a prey even the eyes of his children shall fail.

ASV: He that denounceth his friends for a prey, Even the eyes of his children shall fail.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He that speaketh  flattery  to [his] friends,  even the eyes  of his children  shall fail. 

What does Job 17:5 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 17:1-16 - "the Bars Of Sheol"
Job's continued complaint of his friends, Job 17:1-9
He avows that he could bear his awful calamities if only he were delivered from their mockery; and asks that God would arbitrate between him and them. God is the supreme Judge, and Job asks Him to become his surety against the recriminations of those who so shamefully misjudged him. There is no other course for hunted souls than appeal from man to God in the person of Jesus. At the close of this paragraph he insists that amid a whirlwind of trouble the righteous must hold on his way and keep his hands clean. If any should read these words whose path has dipped down into the valley of the shadow, let them hold on their way. Go on doing the will of God, so far as you know it, and it will bring you out under His heaven of love.
Job's gloomy anticipations of the future, Job 17:10-16
For him there was a grave of darkness and gloom. Men had not as yet been begotten again unto a living hope by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The soul must descend to the bars of Sheol, Job 17:16, r.v. What a contrast to our Christian hope! There is no need for us to claim the pit for father and the worm for sister! In the Father's house are many mansions. The sufferings of the present are not worthy to be compared with the glory to be revealed! Our kin are not in the dust. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 17

1  Job appeals from men to God
6  The unmerciful dealing of men with the afflicted may astonish,
9  but not discourage the righteous
11  His hope is not in life, but in death

What do the individual words in Job 17:5 mean?

Flattery He who speaks to [his] friends and Even the eyes of his children will fail
לְ֭חֵלֶק יַגִּ֣יד רֵעִ֑ים וְעֵינֵ֖י בָנָ֣יו תִּכְלֶֽנָה

לְ֭חֵלֶק  Flattery 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֵלֶק 
Sense: portion, share, part, territory.
יַגִּ֣יד  He  who  speaks  to 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָגַד  
Sense: to be conspicuous, tell, make known.
רֵעִ֑ים  [his]  friends 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: רֵעַ  
Sense: friend, companion, fellow, another person.
וְעֵינֵ֖י  and  Even  the  eyes 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, cdc
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.
בָנָ֣יו  of  his  children 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
תִּכְלֶֽנָה  will  fail 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine plural
Root: כָּלָה  
Sense: to accomplish, cease, consume, determine, end, fail, finish, be complete, be accomplished, be ended, be at an end, be finished, be spent.