The Meaning of Job 24:13 Explained

Job 24:13

KJV: They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.

YLT: They have been among rebellious ones of light, They have not discerned His ways, Nor abode in His paths.

Darby: There are those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.

ASV: These are of them that rebel against the light; They know not the ways thereof, Nor abide in the paths thereof.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

They are of those that rebel  against the light;  they know  not the ways  thereof, nor abide  in the paths  thereof. 

What does Job 24:13 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 24:1-25 - Not Here, But Hereafter
Job laments that the times of punishment are not so explained by God, that those who know Him may see and understand His reasons. He then turns to describe the life of the ungodly, who do dark deeds with apparent impunity. A very sad catalogue of crimes follows. The oppression of the needy, the driving away of the ass of the fatherless, the taking of the widow's ox for a pledge, the frequenting of the wilderness, the plunder of caravans regardless of the claims of pity, the stealing of oil and wine from those who had labored to produce them, the murdering of the poor laboring man at the dawn, the commission of crimes at night-such are the iniquities which are described. And these crimes are still committed in so-called Christian lands. Wonderful that God should bear with us, but His long-suffering would fain lead men to repent. It is only after long forbearing and trial that He cuts down.
In his closing words, Job 24:18-21, Job quotes the opinion of his friends as to the condition of the ungodly, that they pass away swiftly as the waters, and are snapped as a branch of a tree. And, in opposition, he states his own view, Job 24:23-25, that they die in exalted positions, not by a painful and lingering death, but as corn in the maturity of the ear. This also is true. Wicked men do not always meet their deserts in this world. In the next world penalty is inevitable. [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 24

1  Wickedness often goes unpunished
17  There is a secret judgment for the wicked

What do the individual words in Job 24:13 mean?

They are those who rebel against the light not they do know its ways nor abide in its paths
הֵ֤מָּה ׀ הָיוּ֮ בְּֽמֹרְדֵ֫י־ א֥וֹר לֹֽא־ הִכִּ֥ירוּ דְרָכָ֑יו וְלֹ֥א יָ֝שְׁב֗וּ בִּנְתִיבֹתָֽיו

בְּֽמֹרְדֵ֫י־  those  who  rebel  against 
Parse: Preposition-b, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: מָרַד  
Sense: to rebel, revolt, be rebellious.
א֥וֹר  the  light 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: אֹור  
Sense: light.
הִכִּ֥ירוּ  they  do  know 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: נָכַר 
Sense: to recognise, acknowledge, know, respect, discern, regard.
דְרָכָ֑יו  its  ways 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: דֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: way, road, distance, journey, manner.
וְלֹ֥א  nor 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יָ֝שְׁב֗וּ  abide 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
בִּנְתִיבֹתָֽיו  in  its  paths 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: נָתִיב 
Sense: trodden with the feet, path, pathway.