The Meaning of Job 34:30 Explained

Job 34:30

KJV: That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared.

YLT: From the reigning of a profane man, From the snares of a people;

Darby: That the ungodly man reign not, that the people be not ensnared.

ASV: That the godless man reign not, That there be none to ensnare the people.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

That the hypocrite  reign  not, lest the people  be ensnared. 

What does Job 34:30 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 34:30 mean?

that should not reign man a hypocritical lest be ensnared the people
מִ֭מְּלֹךְ אָדָ֥ם חָנֵ֗ף מִמֹּ֥קְשֵׁי עָֽם

מִ֭מְּלֹךְ  that  should  not  reign 
Parse: Preposition-m, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: מָלַךְ 
Sense: to be or become king or queen, reign.
אָדָ֥ם  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדָם 
Sense: man, mankind.
חָנֵ֗ף  a  hypocritical 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: חָנֵף 
Sense: hypocritical, godless, profane, hypocrite, irreligious.
מִמֹּ֥קְשֵׁי  lest  be  ensnared 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: מֹוקֵשׁ  
Sense: bait, lure, snare.
עָֽם  the  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.