The Meaning of Job 4:18 Explained

Job 4:18

KJV: Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:

YLT: Lo, in His servants He putteth no credence, Nor in His messengers setteth praise.'

Darby: Lo, he trusteth not his servants, and his angels he chargeth with folly:

ASV: Behold, he putteth no trust in his servants; And his angels he chargeth with folly:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Behold, he put no trust  in his servants;  and his angels  he charged  with folly: 

What does Job 4:18 Mean?

Study Notes

trust (See Scofield " Psalms 2:12 ") .
fear .
fear of the Lord
The "fear of the Lord," a phrase of the O.T. piety, meaning reverential trust, with hatred of evil.

Context Summary

Job 4:1-21 - "shall Mortal Man Be More Just Than God?"
The first cycle of speeches is opened by Eliphaz. It must be remembered that he and the two others believed that special suffering resulted from and was the sign of special sin. Job's calamities, in the light of that thought, seemed to prove that he who had been considered a paragon of perfection was not what they had supposed. According to their philosophy, if only he would confess his sin, all would be well and the sun would shine again upon his path.
Eliphaz recounts a visitation, in a night vision, from the unseen world, which is described with marvelous power. Emphasis is laid on the infinite distance between God and man, and on the impossibility of a mortal being accounted just in the presence of divine purity. Of course the suggestion is that Job was suffering the penalty of sin which, though it had eluded human eyes, was naked and open before God. An angel seems dark against God's pure light, and if an angel is deficient, how much more man! [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 4

1  Eliphaz reproves Job that the innocent do not suffer
7  He teaches God's judgments to be not for the righteous, but for the wicked
12  His fearful vision to humble the excellency of creatures before God

What do the individual words in Job 4:18 mean?

Behold in His servants no if He puts trust and His angels [If] He charges with error
הֵ֣ן בַּ֭עֲבָדָיו לֹ֣א יַאֲמִ֑ין וּ֝בְמַלְאָכָ֗יו יָשִׂ֥ים תָּהֳלָֽה

הֵ֣ן  Behold 
Parse: Interjection
Root: הֵן  
Sense: behold, lo, though hypothetical part.
בַּ֭עֲבָדָיו  in  His  servants 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: עֶבֶד  
Sense: slave, servant.
לֹ֣א  no 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יַאֲמִ֑ין  if  He  puts  trust 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַן 
Sense: to support, confirm, be faithful.
וּ֝בְמַלְאָכָ֗יו  and  His  angels 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: מַלְאָךְ  
Sense: messenger, representative.
יָשִׂ֥ים  [If]  He  charges 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
תָּהֳלָֽה  with  error 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: תָּהֳלָה  
Sense: error.