The Meaning of Job 34:11 Explained

Job 34:11

KJV: For the work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways.

YLT: For the work of man he repayeth to him, And according to the path of each He doth cause him to find.

Darby: For a man's work will he render to him, and cause every one to find according to his way.

ASV: For the work of a man will he render unto him, And cause every man to find according to his ways.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For the work  of a man  shall he render  unto him, and cause every man  to find  according to [his] ways. 

What does Job 34:11 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 34:11 mean?

For [according to] work man He repays his and according to [his] way man makes to find a reward
כִּ֤י פֹ֣עַל אָ֭דָם יְשַׁלֶּם־ ל֑וֹ וּֽכְאֹ֥רַח אִ֝֗ישׁ יַמְצִאֶֽנּוּ

כִּ֤י  For  [according  to] 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
פֹ֣עַל  work 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: פֹּעַל  
Sense: work, deed, doing.
אָ֭דָם  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדָם 
Sense: man, mankind.
יְשַׁלֶּם־  He  repays 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁלֵם  
Sense: .
ל֑וֹ  his 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
וּֽכְאֹ֥רַח  and  according  to  [his]  way 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k, Noun, common singular construct
Root: אֹרַח  
Sense: way, path.
אִ֝֗ישׁ  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
יַמְצִאֶֽנּוּ  makes  to  find  a  reward 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: מָצָא  
Sense: to find, attain to.