Job 21:34

How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood?

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
comfort	תְּנַחֲמ֣וּנִי te.na.cha.Mu.ni	H5162	properly · verb, piel imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural + pronominal suffix
vain	הָ֑בֶל Ha.vel	H1892	emptiness or vanity · noun, common masculine singular absolute
answers	וּ֝תְשֽׁוּבֹתֵיכֶ֗ם u.te.shu.vo.tei.Khem	H8666	a recurrence (of time or place) · conjunction + noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural
remaineth	נִשְׁאַר nish.'ar-	H7604	properly · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
falsehood	מָֽעַל Ma.'al	H4604	treachery · noun, common masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Job 16:2 I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all.
Job 13:4 But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.
Job 32:3 Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.
Job 42:7 And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee,…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Job 21:27–end

In these verses, I. Job opposes the opinion of his friends, which he saw they still adhered to, that the wicked are sure to fall into such visible and remarkable ruin as Job had now fallen into, and none but the wicked, upon which principle they condemned Job as a wicked man. "I know your thoughts," says Job (Job 21:27); "I know you will not agree with me; for your judgments are tinctured and biassed by your piques and prejudices against me, and the devices which you wrongfully imagine against my comfort and honour: and how can such men be convinced?" Job's friends were ready to say, in answer to his discourse concerning the prosperity of the wicked, "Where is the house of the prince? Job 21…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Job 21:34

falsehood--literally, "transgression." Your boasted "consolations" (Job 15:11) are contradicted by facts ("vain"); they therefore only betray your evil intent ("wickedness") against me. Next: Job Chapter 22

John Gill on Job 21:34

How then comfort ye me in vain,.... This is the conclusion Job draws from the above observations: his friends came to comfort him, and they took methods for it, as they thought, but miserable comforters were they all; what they administered for comfort was in vain, and to no purpose; nor could any be expected from them, on the plan upon which they proceeded; they suggested he was a bad man, because of his afflictions, and they exhorted him to repentance and reformation, and then promised him happiness and prosperity upon it; which could not be expected, as appeared from the face of things in Providence; since, according to the above instances and proofs, wicked men enjoy prosperity, and good…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Job 21:32–end

32 And he is brought to the grave, And over the tomb he still keepeth watch. 33 The clods of the valley are sweet to him, And all men draw after him, As they preceded him without number. . . . . . . 34 And how will ye comfort me so vainly! Your replies are and remain perfidy. During life removed at the time of dire calamity, this unapproachable evil-doer is after his death carried to the grave with all honour (יוּבל, comp. Job 10:19), and indeed to a splendid tomb; for, like משׁכנות above, קברות is also an amplificative plural. It is certainly the most natural to refer ישׁקד, like יוּבל, to the deceased. The explanation: and over the tomb one keeps watch (Bttch., Hahn, Rd., Olsh.), is indeed…

The Church Fathers

"How then do you give me such vain consolations? By directing my thoughts on the goods or the evils present.
— Augustine of Hippo, ANNOTATIONS ON THE BOOK OF JOB (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

"There is nothing left of your answers but emptiness," that is, you, he says, have brought me suffering and torments instead of consolation; and what I gain from speaking a great deal is only emptiness. Your answers, he says, are vanity to me.
— Ishodad of Merv, COMMENTARY ON JOB 21:34

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Falsehood · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Job 21:34

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Job 21:27–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Job 21:34

John Gill on Job 21:34

Keil & Delitzsch on Job 21:32–end

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Job 21:34

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Job 21:27–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Job 21:34

John Gill on Job 21:34

Keil & Delitzsch on Job 21:32–end

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Job 21:34

Rashi on Job 21:34