The Meaning of Job 34:24 Explained

Job 34:24

KJV: He shall break in pieces mighty men without number, and set others in their stead.

YLT: He breaketh the mighty -- no searching! And He appointeth others in their stead.

Darby: He breaketh in pieces mighty men without inquiry, and setteth others in their stead;

ASV: He breaketh in pieces mighty men in ways past finding out, And setteth others in their stead.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He shall break in pieces  mighty men  without number,  and set  others  in their stead. 

What does Job 34:24 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 34:24 mean?

He breaks in pieces mighty men without inquiry and sets others in their place
יָרֹ֣עַ כַּבִּירִ֣ים לֹא־ חֵ֑קֶר וַיַּעֲמֵ֖ד אֲחֵרִ֣ים תַּחְתָּֽם

יָרֹ֣עַ  He  breaks  in  pieces 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מֵרֵעַ 
Sense: to be bad, be evil.
כַּבִּירִ֣ים  mighty  men 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: כַּבִּיר  
Sense: mighty, great, powerful, many, much.
לֹא־  without 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
חֵ֑קֶר  inquiry 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֵקֶר  
Sense: a search, investigation, searching, enquiry, thing to be searched out.
וַיַּעֲמֵ֖ד  and  sets 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָמַד  
Sense: to stand, remain, endure, take one’s stand.
אֲחֵרִ֣ים  others 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: אַחֵר  
Sense: another, other, following.
תַּחְתָּֽם  in  their  place 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: מִתְחָה 
Sense: the under part, beneath, instead of, as, for, for the sake of, flat, unto, where, whereas.