Job 15:16 · Bible study
Job 15:16 Commentary: Drinks Iniquity Like Water
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
What does it mean that man 'drinks iniquity like water'?
Research Summary
- Meaning: Man is inherently corrupt and actively, greedily pursues sin as naturally as drinking water.
- Key words: “abominable” (נִתְעָב, Niphal of תַּעָב), detested; “corrupt” (נֶאֱלָח, Niphal of אָלַח), tainted, sour; “drinks” (שֹׁתֶה, active participle), habitual action; “iniquity” (עַוְלָה), injustice, perversity.
- Main debate: Whether the verse describes innate depravity (a condition we inherit) or willful greed for evil (a choice we make); most commentators see both.
- Theological theme: The depth of human sinfulness and the impossibility of self-justification before a holy God.
- Best use: As a diagnosis of the human condition apart from grace, leading to repentance and reliance on Christ’s cleansing.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water?
WEB World English Bible 2000
how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks iniquity like water!
KJV King James Version 1769
How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?
ASV American Standard Version 1901
How much less one that is abominable and corrupt, A man that drinketh iniquity like water!
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Also--surely abominable and filthy Is man drinking as water perverseness.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
How much less the abominable and corrupt, — man, that drinketh unrighteousness like water!
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
How much more is man abominable, and unprofitable, who drinketh iniquity like water?
Translations in other languages (10 available)
¿ Cuánto menos el hombre abominable y vil, que bebe la iniquidad como agua?
Quanto menos o homem, abominável e corrupto, que bebe a maldade como água?
Combien moins l’ être abominable et pervers,
Wie viel weniger ein Mensch, der ein Greuel und schnöde ist, der Unrecht säuft wie Wasser.
Hoeveel te meer is een man gruwelijk en stinkende, die het onrecht indrinkt als water?
quanto meno quest’essere abominevole e corrotto, l’uomo, che tracanna l’iniquità come l’acqua!
Daleko więcej obrzydły jest, i nieużyteczny człowiek, który pije nieprawość jako wodę.
тем больше нечист и растлен человек, пьющий беззаконие, как воду.
何況 那污穢 可憎、喝 罪孽 如水 的世人呢！
How much less one who is disgusting and unclean, a man who takes in evil like water!
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Job 15:16
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this verse describes mankind as both inherently corrupt and actively greedy for sin. Barnes notes that the word translated “filthy” (אלח) means “sour” in Arabic, like spoiled milk, implying moral corruption. Gill argues that man drinks iniquity “as naturally as a thirsty man drinks water,” and with equal delight. Keil and Delitzsch describe the participles (“abominable,” “corrupt”) as pointing to someone “actualiter and originaliter corrupted”, both in nature and in practice. Clarke connects the image to a thirsty camel taking large draughts: man “hungers and thirsts after Sin.” The rhetorical force is plain: if even the heavens are not clean before God, how much less a human being who gulps down sin like a drink. The verse functions in Eliphaz’s argument to cut down any claim to human righteousness, especially Job’s. But it also stands as a stark biblical picture of the depth of human sinfulness apart from grace.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: It is agreed that the verse asserts the depth of human sinfulness: man is not merely flawed but morally corrupt, and he pursues sin with the natural, urgent desire of a thirsty person drinking water.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Human depravity | All Christian traditions affirm that humans are sinful by nature and by choice, and cannot be righteous on their own. | Some traditions (Reformed, Augustinian) stress total inability and inherited guilt; others (Armenian, Wesleyan) emphasize free will and the universal offer of prevenient grace that enables response. |
| Eliphaz’s argument validity | Eliphaz correctly states that God is pure and humans are not. | Some see Eliphaz’s speech as a faithful application of wisdom theology (retributive justice); others view him as a false comforter who misuses truth to condemn an innocent sufferer. |
| Metaphor “drinks iniquity like water” | It depicts greed, frequency, and naturalness of sin in human life. | Whether it describes all people universally (total depravity) or only the habitual, unrepentant wicked is debated among interpreters. |
| Original sin in the Old Testament | The verse witnesses to a profound corruption that affects all humanity. | Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions see this as a wound to human nature but not total corruption; Reformed traditions see it as total depravity that leaves no spiritual ability apart from grace. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Verse 16 sits near the climax of Eliphaz the Temanite’s second speech (Job 15), a heated response to Job’s earlier claims of wisdom and innocence. Eliphaz picks up a theme he introduced in his first speech: creation itself, even the “holy ones” (angels) and the heavens, is finite and therefore not pure in God’s sight (Job 4:18; Job 15:15). In the ancient Near East, the heavens and the divine council were thought to be the purest realms; to say they are “not clean” is a radical leveling. The comparison “how much more less” (אַף כִּי, af ki) is a standard Hebrew argument from lesser to greater. If heavenly beings are not pure, then a human being, described with the strongest Hebrew words for moral disgust, cannot be either.
The phrase “drinks iniquity like water” draws on widespread ancient imagery. In a dry climate, water is a daily, urgent need; a thirsty traveler or a camel (as Dr. Good suggested, cited by Barnes) gulps it greedily and in large amounts. Proverbs 19:28 uses a similar phrase: “the mouth of the wicked gulps down iniquity.” The Hebrew participle shoteh (שֹׁתֶה) is active and continuous, not a single drink but an habitual, characteristic action. The noun “iniquity” (עַוְלָה) often means perversion or injustice, the opposite of what is straight. So the verse depicts a person who is not merely weak but has made evil his second nature, as natural and necessary as drinking water. In Eliphaz’s hands, this is a devastating accusation against Job: you cannot be innocent, because no human is, and you are defending yourself as if you were pure. The speech then pivots to a long description of the fate of the wicked (vv. 17, 35), suggesting that Job’s suffering fits that pattern.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant manuscript variants for Job 15:16. The Hebrew text is stable across the Masoretic tradition. The main textual issue is the rendering of the opening phrase אַף כִּי (af ki), which some translators read as “how much more” (KJV, Douay) and others as “how much less” (WEB, ASV, BSB, YLT). The difference arises from whether the comparison is viewed as increasing the magnitude (man is more abominable than the heavens) or decreasing it (man is less clean than even the heavens). The context of vv. 14, 15, which states that even holy ones are not pure, strongly favors the “how much less” reading: if the heavens are not clean, then surely man, who is corrupt, is even less so.
Reception History
Job 15:16 has been a key text in Christian teaching on human depravity. Early church writers such as Augustine drew on it to argue for the corruption of human nature after the Fall. In the medieval period, it was cited in discussions of original sin and the need for baptismal regeneration. The Protestant Reformers, especially John Calvin, used it to support the doctrine of total inability (man cannot save himself). Matthew Henry, Gill, and Wesley all read it as a description of both the state and the appetite of fallen humanity. In modern times, the verse is often cited in sermons on human sinfulness and the necessity of grace. It has also been a sobering reminder that correct doctrine, even the doctrine of sin, can be wielded harshly, as Eliphaz does. Job’s own later repentance (Job 42:6) does not contradict the verse’s diagnosis; it fulfills the proper response to it.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Our condition before God. Eliphaz insists that even the heavens and angels are not pure in God’s sight (Job 15:15). Human beings are not just slightly tarnished; we are “abominable and corrupt”, words used elsewhere for ritual filth and moral rot.
- Our craving for sin. To “drink iniquity like water” means sin is not an occasional slip but a thirst. We pursue it with the same urgency and pleasure as a parched man reaching for a drink.
- God’s standard, not our comparison. The problem is not that we are worse than others but that we are measured against a holy God. Eliphaz misapplies this truth as a weapon against Job; the right response is humility that turns to mercy.
Five-point outline
- Context: Eliphaz accuses Job of pride and false wisdom (Job 15:1, 13).
- Argument: Creation itself is not pure before God (v. 15).
- Conclusion: Therefore man, who is “abominable” (Niphal participle of תַּעָב, “to be detested”) and “corrupt” (Niphal of אָלַח, “to be tainted”), cannot be righteous.
- Metaphor: “Drinks iniquity like water”, active, habitual, greedy sinning.
- Pastoral caution: True as this doctrine may be, Eliphaz uses it to condemn rather than to comfort. The gospel offers a cleansing that this verse only implies by its dark diagnosis.
Illustration hooks
- The image of a runner on a hot day who cannot stop drinking, sin can feel that urgent, that necessary.
- A wine taster who develops a taste for what is bitter; the more he drinks, the more he wants. Sin works the same way, desensitising the palate.
- A person who returns to a toxic relationship or habit, knowing it is wrong but feeling it is as basic as thirst.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does this verse mean that all people are as bad as they could possibly be? Or does it describe a universal tendency?
- If even “holy ones” and the heavens are not clean, how can anyone be saved?
- Is there a difference between struggling with sin and “drinking iniquity like water”? Where is the line?
Leading a Discussion
In Job 15, Eliphaz delivers a sharp theological argument: because God is so pure, no human can claim righteousness. Verse 16 uses shocking language, “abominable,” “corrupt,” “drinks iniquity like water.” This passage challenges us to consider both the depth of human sin and the danger of using a correct doctrine as a weapon.
Discussion questions
- Read Job 15:14, 16. What does Eliphaz mean when he says even “the heavens are not clean in his sight”? How does that set up the statement about man?
- Look at the two Hebrew words in verse 16: “abominable” (Niphal of תַּעָב) and “corrupt” (Niphal of אָלַח). What nuance do these passive forms add, is it about what man is, or what man does?
- The metaphor “drinks iniquity like water” appears also in Proverbs 19:28 and Job 34:7. What does this comparison suggest about the frequency and desire involved in sin?
- In your own words, why does Eliphaz use this argument against Job? Is the doctrine itself true? And does Eliphaz apply it wisely or harshly?
- How does this verse make you feel about human nature? Does it lead you to despair, or does it heighten your awareness of the need for grace?
- Compare Job 15:16 with Psalm 14:3 (“they have together become corrupt”). What do both passages affirm about the universal human condition?
- How can a Christian hold to this sobering assessment of sin without becoming cynical or judgmental toward others?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Job 4:19 | How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth! |
| Job 20:12 | “Though wickedness is sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue, |
| Job 34:7 | What man is like Job, who drinks scorn like water, |
| Job 42:6 | Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” |
| Psalms 14:1 | For the Chief Musician. By David. The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt. They have done abominable deeds. There is no one who does good. |
| Psalms 14:3 | They have all gone aside. They have together become corrupt. There is no one who does good, no, not one. |
| Psalms 53:3 | Every one of them has gone back. They have become filthy together. There is no one who does good, no, not one. |
| Proverbs 19:28 | A corrupt witness mocks justice, and the mouth of the wicked gulps down iniquity. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
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What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that the original Hebrew word means how much less not how much more. He says a person is filthy abominable and drinks iniquity like water. He adds such a person hungers and thirsts after sin.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes contrasts this verse with an earlier passage in Job, noting the stronger image here. He unpacks the Hebrew word for "filthy" as meaning morally sour or corrupt, and argues the whole phrase reveals an ancient belief in human depravity. The comparison to drinking water pictures people as greedily consuming sin, as natural as thirst.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges notes that Job’s claim to greater wisdom than his friends was not based on actual knowledge but on arrogance. His angry words showed he had no true devotion and was filled with deep evil.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note draws a stark contrast between God's purity and human corruption. Man does not merely commit sin but consumes it as naturally as drinking water, making his condition far worse than the creatures already deemed unclean before God.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses that unregenerate humanity is not merely sinful but utterly corrupt, like a putrid corpse. This corruption is innate and universal, so natural that sinners crave iniquity like a thirsty man drinks water. The point proves man's total inability to be righteous before God on his own.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
Jamieson Fausset Brown notes the soul is described as sour in Arabic meaning it has turned away from its original purity. This state follows drinking from a source linked to wisdom’s opposite.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch notes that Eliphaz argues even the holy angels and the heavens themselves are not absolutely pure in God's sight. Man is far worse: corrupt by nature and actively choosing sin as naturally as a thirsty person drinks water, making his condition both inherited and willful.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange observes that Eliphaz's second discourse, though longer and more heated, introduces nothing new. Its first section builds to a single point: repeating and intensifying the earlier doctrine that all humans are impure before God, now applied directly to Job in this verse.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that Eliphaz accuses Job of speaking foolish nonsense instead of agreeing with his advice. He sees Job’s refusal to accept their judgment as pride causing him to speak worthless words.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley stresses that sin is not only a natural tendency but also a hardened habit. The sinner indulges in it as freely, greedily, and delightfully as people in hot climates drink water, without hesitation or restraint.