The Meaning of Job 34:25 Explained

Job 34:25

KJV: Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed.

YLT: Therefore He knoweth their works, And He hath overturned by night, And they are bruised.

Darby: Since he knoweth their actions; and he overthroweth them in the night, and they are crushed.

ASV: Therefore he taketh knowledge of their works; And he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore he knoweth  their works,  and he overturneth  [them] in the night,  so that they are destroyed. 

What does Job 34:25 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 34:25 mean?

Therefore he knows their works and He overthrows [them] in the night and they are crushed
לָכֵ֗ן יַ֭כִּיר מַעְבָּֽדֵיהֶ֑ם וְהָ֥פַךְ לַ֝֗יְלָה וְיִדַּכָּֽאוּ

יַ֭כִּיר  he  knows 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָכַר 
Sense: to recognise, acknowledge, know, respect, discern, regard.
מַעְבָּֽדֵיהֶ֑ם  their  works 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: מַעֲבָד  
Sense: work.
וְהָ֥פַךְ  and  He  overthrows  [them] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: הָפַךְ  
Sense: to turn, overthrow, overturn.
לַ֝֗יְלָה  in  the  night 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לַיִל 
Sense: night.
וְיִדַּכָּֽאוּ  and  they  are  crushed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hitpael, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: דָּכָא  
Sense: to crush, be crushed, be contrite, be broken.