Job 20:17 Meaning: Why the Wicked Miss the Streams of Honey
He will not look at the rivers, the flowing streams of honey and butter.
He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.
He shall not look upon the rivers, The flowing streams of honey and butter.
He looketh not on rivulets, Flowing of brooks of honey and butter.
He shall not see streams, rivers, brooks of honey and butter.
Meaning in one sentence
Understand the 'rivers of honey and butter' in Job 20:17 as a symbol of prosperity that the wicked, who gained by oppression, will never enjoy.
Context
Zophar is the one speaking here, and he is not offering comfort. This is his second speech to Job, and his point remains the same as the other friends: the wicked may flourish for a season, but their end is ruin. In chapter 20, Zophar paints a vivid picture of a man who swallows up riches through violence and greed, only to have them turn sour in his stomach. Verse 17 belongs to a string of images describing what this man will never have. The rivers of honey and butter stand for the sweet, abundant life he thought he had secured. But he will not even set eyes on it. The whole speech is a warning that ill-gotten prosperity does not last.
Key Words
The Hebrew word for look here is ra'ah, which means far more than glance. It carries the sense of seeing with enjoyment, of taking in and savoring what you behold. When Zophar says the wicked man will not look at the rivers, he means he will never taste the pleasure of what they represent.
The rivers and streams come from two words: pe.lag.gah, a divided channel or canal, and nahar, a flowing river. These are not wild floods; they are gentle, life-giving waters that irrigate the land. The honey (devash) and butter or curds (chem'ah) were the finest products of a rich pasture, a land so fertile that sweetness and richness flow like water. To an ancient reader, this was the image of perfect prosperity, the kind God promised Israel: a land flowing with milk and honey. So the denial is total: the wicked man reaches for the very best life can offer, but his hands close on nothing.
How Christians Read This Verse
Christians have read this verse as part of Zophar's larger argument about divine retribution in this life. Matthew Henry (Reformed) took it as describing the misery of the wicked even in this world: they are denied the satisfaction that good men enjoy. John Gill (Baptist) went further, linking the denied streams to the rich man in hell who could not get a drop of water, seeing here a glimpse of eternal judgment. Adam Clarke (Methodist) stressed the proverbial nature of the imagery; honey and butter were the standard symbols of abundance in the ancient Near East. The Cambridge Bible (Anglican) simply notes the figure as common for fulness of blessings. Whatever the emphasis, temporal or eternal, all agree that the verse uses the land's richest gifts to show what the wicked can never keep.
A common misunderstanding
A common mistake is to read verse 17 as a general promise that God will pour out material abundance on His people. But the verse is not a promise at all. It is a warning. Zophar is describing what the wicked will not enjoy. In fact, the honey and butter rivers represent the height of prosperity that the greedy man thought he had seized, but God cuts him off from it completely. The point is not that believers should expect rivers of honey, but that ill-gotten gain never leads to lasting satisfaction.
Living This Out
Every day we reach for something sweet: a promotion, a bigger home, a comfortable retirement. There is nothing wrong with wanting good things. But this verse asks us to check how we are reaching. If we cut corners, oppress others, or let greed drive us, the sweetness will turn to poison before we ever taste it. Zophar's warning is not a curse; it is a guardrail. It invites you this week to examine one ambition that is pulling at you. Are you chasing it with honest hands? Or are you building a house on sand that will never let you rest?
Main takeaway: Prosperity gained through oppression will never satisfy, because God withholds the enjoyment of it from the one who seized it by wrong means.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
Zophar said a bad man will not get to enjoy the good things he wanted. It is like wanting a big bowl of ice cream but never getting to eat it. God wants us to be kind and honest, so the good things we get can really make us happy.
For ages 9, 12
Zophar uses the picture of rivers flowing with honey and butter to describe the best possible life, like a land of endless treats. But he says the wicked person, who got rich by hurting others, will not even get to see those rivers. This is a warning that shortcuts and selfishness ruin the happiness we are after. Real blessing comes when we live with integrity, not when we grab what we can.
Questions People Ask
What does 'rivers of honey and butter' mean in Job 20:17?
It is a poetic picture of extreme prosperity and abundance. In the ancient world, honey and butter (or curds) were luxury foods from rich pastures. Flowing like rivers means endless plenty. Zophar uses this image to describe the kind of wealth the wicked man craves but will never enjoy.
Is Job 20:17 promising material blessings to believers?
No. In context, Zophar is not making a promise. He is warning that the wicked person who gains wealth through oppression will not get to enjoy it. The verse is part of a speech about judgment, not an invitation to expect literal rivers of honey.
Who is speaking in Job 20:17?
Zophar the Naamathite, one of Job's three friends. He is giving his second speech, insisting that the wicked are punished in this life. He does not realize that Job is not wicked; his words are a general statement about how God deals with evil people.
What does the Hebrew word for 'look' mean in this verse?
The word is ra'ah, which often means to see with enjoyment or to experience something fully. When Zophar says the wicked man 'will not look' at the rivers, he means the man will never taste the pleasure or satisfaction those rivers represent.
Does this verse teach that the wicked suffer only in the afterlife?
Not exclusively. Some Christians, like John Gill, saw a reference to the rich man in hell longing for water. Others take Zophar's meaning as strictly earthly: the wicked lose their prosperity here and now. Both views appear in the commentaries, and the verse can support either reading depending on the larger context.
For pastors & researchers
Hebrew interlinear, 8 commentaries & word study