Job 20:13
in Job 20though he cannot bear to let it go and keeps it in his mouth,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Though he spare it, and will not let it go, But keep it still within his mouth;
KJV
Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth:
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This verse in Job 20
Commentary
8 notes on this verseVer. 13. He will spare it, and forsake it not, but keep it still within his throat. [LITERAL INTERPRETATION] 14. For the evil that he delights in he 'spares,' because he does not, by practising penance, hunt it down in himself. Whence too it is added; and forsake it not. For if he had the mind to 'forsake,' he would not 'spare' it, but would pursue it closely. Now he 'keeps it within his throat;' because he so retains it in thought, that he never utters it in speech.
This site's exposition
evil is sweet in his mouth
on Job 20:12-16
The central figure runs in one line: "evil is sweet in his mouth and he conceals it under his tongue". The same food is sweet in the mouth at verse 12 and venom in the stomach at verse 14, one substance seen at two moments.
This site's exposition
though he cannot bear to let it go
The figure from verse 12 continues: the man holds evil in his mouth like a sweet morsel, keeping it as long as he can. Barnes reads it as a lingering enjoyment. Henry adds that God, who knows the heart, knows what lies under the tongue.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
To develop this comparison he then says, "he will spare it," the evil or sin which is sweet to him, and does not want to destroy it. He would destroy it, of course, by letting it go, and so the text continues, "he does not …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Or his hiding it and keeping it under his tongue denotes his industrious concealment of his beloved lust. Being a hypocrite, his haunts of sin are secret, that he may save the credit of his profession; but he who knows what is in the heart knows what is under the tongue too, and will discover it shortly.
4 Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, 5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? 6 Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds; 7 Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Though he spare it,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Though he spare it - That is, though he retains it long in his mouth, that he may enjoy it the more. And forsake it not - Retains it as long as he can. But keep it still within his mouth - Margin, as in Hebrew “in the midst of his palate.” He seeks to enjoy it as long as possible.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
be sweet So is the custom of a wicked man: if evil is sweet in his mouth and he does not see now the moment for it to take effect. though he hide it under his tongue until the time comes when it will prosper.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
His food..within him on the day of his misfortune will turn into the venom of cobras.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יַחְמֹ֣ל | yachmol | he spares | H2550 → | 41 times |
| עָ֭לֶיהָ | ʾaleiha | <on> it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַֽעַזְבֶ֑נָּה | yaazvenah | he lets loose it | H5800 → | 215 times |
| וְ֝יִמְנָעֶ֗נָּה | veyimnaenah | and he withholds it | H4513 → | 29 times |
| בְּת֣וֹךְ | betokh | in [the] midst of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| חִכּֽוֹ׃ | chiko | mouth his | H2441 → | 18 times |
יַחְמֹ֣לhe spares
yachmolH2550 →41 times
עָ֭לֶיהָ<on> it
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יַֽעַזְבֶ֑נָּהhe lets loose it
yaazvenahH5800 →215 times
וְ֝יִמְנָעֶ֗נָּהand he withholds it
veyimnaenahH4513 →29 times
בְּת֣וֹךְin [the] midst of
betokhH8432 →418 times
חִכּֽוֹ׃mouth his
chikoH2441 →18 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 8:13For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
it leads to
- Galatians 6:8
The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
- 1 Peter 2:11
Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.
- Colossians 3:5–8
Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.
- 1 Corinthians 9:27
No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
- Titus 2:12
It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
- Galatians 6:8
About Job
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XV; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.