The Meaning of Job 34:18 Explained

Job 34:18

KJV: Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly?

YLT: Who hath said to a king -- 'Worthless,' Unto princes -- 'Wicked?'

Darby: Shall one say to a king, Belial? to nobles, Wicked?

ASV: Him that saith to a king, Thou art vile, Or to nobles, Ye are wicked;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

[Is it fit] to say  to a king,  [Thou art] wicked?  [and] to princes,  [Ye are] ungodly? 

What does Job 34:18 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 34:18 mean?

[is [it fitting] to say to a king [You are] worthless [You are] wicked [And] to nobles
הַאֲמֹ֣ר לְמֶ֣לֶךְ ؟ בְּלִיָּ֑עַל ؟ רָ֝שָׁ֗ע אֶל־ נְדִיבִֽים

הַאֲמֹ֣ר  [is  [it  fitting]  to  say 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
לְמֶ֣לֶךְ  to  a  king 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
؟ בְּלִיָּ֑עַל  [You  are]  worthless 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בְּלִיַּעַל  
Sense: worthlessness.
؟ רָ֝שָׁ֗ע  [You  are]  wicked 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רָשָׁע  
Sense: wicked, criminal.
אֶל־  [And]  to 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
נְדִיבִֽים  nobles 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: נָדִיב  
Sense: inclined, willing, noble, generous.