The Meaning of Job 34:20 Explained

Job 34:20

KJV: In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand.

YLT: In a moment they die, and at midnight Shake do people, and they pass away, And they remove the mighty without hand.

Darby: In a moment they die, even at midnight the people are convulsed and pass away; and the strong are taken away without hand.

ASV: In a moment they die, even at midnight; The people are shaken and pass away, And the mighty are taken away without hand.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

In a moment  shall they die,  and the people  shall be troubled  at midnight,  and pass away:  and the mighty  shall be taken away  without hand. 

What does Job 34:20 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 34:1-37 - The Almighty Must Be Just
Elihu stands in Job 34:10 as God's apologist. God's absolute and impartial justice is at all times a matter of untold comfort. There will be no cause of ultimate complaint, but from the lips of the holiest beings in the universe, most able to pass an opinion, the cry will ascend, "Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God the Almighty. Righteous and true are thy ways, thou King of the ages"¦. Thy righteous acts have been made manifest," Revelation 15:3-4, r.v.
Ponder those last words. God's righteous acts have not yet been made manifest; it is therefore foolish and wrong to pass judgment upon an unfinished program. Wait, mortal man, until, at the great white throne, God shall unfold His inner reasons. If it is not fit to say to a king, "Thou art vile," how much less to Him who lives through the ages, while the people are shaken and pass away, and the mighty are taken away without hand! [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 34

1  Elihu accuses Job for charging God with injustice
10  God omnipotent cannot be unjust
31  Man must humble himself unto God
34  Elihu reproves Job

What do the individual words in Job 34:20 mean?

In a moment they die and in the middle of the night are shaken the people and pass away and are taken away the mighty without a hand
רֶ֤גַע ׀ יָמֻתוּ֮ וַחֲצ֪וֹת לָ֥יְלָה יְגֹעֲשׁ֣וּ עָ֣ם וְיַעֲבֹ֑רוּ וְיָסִ֥ירוּ אַ֝בִּ֗יר לֹ֣א בְיָֽד

רֶ֤גַע ׀  In  a  moment 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: רֶגַע  
Sense: a moment adv.
יָמֻתוּ֮  they  die 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
וַחֲצ֪וֹת  and  in  the  middle 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: חֲצֹות  
Sense: middle, mid-, half, division.
לָ֥יְלָה  of  the  night 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לַיִל 
Sense: night.
יְגֹעֲשׁ֣וּ  are  shaken 
Parse: Verb, Pual, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: גָּעַשׁ  
Sense: to shake, quake.
עָ֣ם  the  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
וְיַעֲבֹ֑רוּ  and  pass  away 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: עָבַר 
Sense: to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.
וְיָסִ֥ירוּ  and  are  taken  away 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: סוּר 
Sense: to turn aside, depart.
אַ֝בִּ֗יר  the  mighty 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular construct
Root: אַבִּיר  
Sense: mighty, valiant.
לֹ֣א  without 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
בְיָֽד  a  hand 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.