The Meaning of Job 34:33 Explained

Job 34:33

KJV: Should it be according to thy mind? he will recompense it, whether thou refuse, or whether thou choose; and not I: therefore speak what thou knowest.

YLT: By thee doth He recompense, That thou hast refused -- That thou dost choose, and not I? And what thou hast known, speak.

Darby: Shall he recompense according to thy mind? for thou hast refused his judgment; for thou so choosest, and not I; speak then what thou knowest.

ASV: Shall his recompense be as thou wilt, that thou refusest it? For thou must choose, and not I: Therefore speak what thou knowest.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

[Should it be] according to thy mind? he will recompense  it, whether thou refuse,  or whether thou choose;  and not I: therefore speak  what thou knowest. 

What does Job 34:33 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 34:33 mean?

Should according to your [terms] He repay [it] [Just] because you disavow it because You must choose and not I therefore what you know speak
הַֽמֵעִמְּךָ֬ יְשַׁלְמֶ֨נָּה כִּֽי־ מָאַ֗סְתָּ כִּי־ אַתָּ֣ה תִבְחַ֣ר וְלֹא־ אָ֑נִי וּֽמַה־ יָדַ֥עְתָּ דַבֵּֽר

הַֽמֵעִמְּךָ֬  Should  according  to  your  [terms] 
Parse: Preposition, Preposition, second person masculine singular
Root: עִם  
Sense: with.
יְשַׁלְמֶ֨נָּה  He  repay  [it] 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: שָׁלֵם  
Sense: .
כִּֽי־  [Just]  because 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
מָאַ֗סְתָּ  you  disavow  it 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: מָאַס 
Sense: to reject, despise, refuse.
כִּי־  because 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
תִבְחַ֣ר  must  choose 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: בָּחוּר 
Sense: to choose, elect, decide for.
וְלֹא־  and  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
וּֽמַה־  therefore  what 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interrogative
Root: לָמָּה 
Sense: what, how, of what kind.
יָדַ֥עְתָּ  you  know 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
דַבֵּֽר  speak 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.