Job 22:7
in Job 22You gave no water to the weary and withheld food from the famished,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, And thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
KJV
Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
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This verse in Job 22
Commentary
10 notes on this verseAll these things are accusations, and certainly very reproachful ones. But they are not true with regard to Job and are unjustly pronounced against him. These things happen in times of hardship. Sometimes, when one has only a piece of bread, even though he does not have an entire loaf, we take it away from him by saying, "You are in debt."
This site's exposition
needlessly demanded security from your brothers
on Job 22:6-7
Eliphaz's charges begin here: "you needlessly demanded security from your brothers", and "You gave no water to the weary". The word behind "needlessly" is the Hebrew hinnam, the word the accuser used of Job at 1:9. The narrator's account in chapters 1 and 2 gives the charge no support.
This site's exposition
You gave no water to the weary
Barnes explains that to give no water to the weary was to refuse hospitality, one of the gravest charges in the East. Henry adds that the charge includes food withheld from the famished. The list of charges runs through verse 9.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A criminal act not only causes harm but also denies any benefit. Therefore, notice to what point our benevolence must be extended. As there is a certain crime, when those thirsty do not drink, so we have a reward for a glass of cool water, …
The Medieval Church2 voices
He continues then with the omission of the good works saying, "you did not give water to the weary." They needed drink because of the thirst which arises from the toil of the journey, as if to say: You did not bear help and solace …
Thou hast not given water to the weary, thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION It follows; Thou hast not given water to the weary, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. Heretics in proportion as they hold not the solid substance of truth, so sometimes they busy themselves, that they may appear full of discourse, and against the faith of Catholics they are boastful as of the knowledge of learning; all that they see they seek to draw to them by their wicked discoursings, and by the very same act, whereby they are joining others to themselves for destruction, they think themselves doing something conducive to life. Now we call those 'weary' that are worn down under the wearisome load of this world. And hence Truth saith by Himself, Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and will give you rest. And so whereas heretics never cease to preach their own doctrines, they mock at Holy Church as if for ignorance. Thou hast not given water to the weary, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. For themselves they think they 'give water to the weary' when to persons travailing under their earthly load they supply the cup of their own error. And they look upon it that they themselves have not 'withholden bread from the hungry,' in that when questioned even touching things invisible and incomprehensible, they answer with pride and boldness; and they then set themselves down as learned above all men, when they most miserably presume to speak on things unknown. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
) and was ready to perish for want of it, nay, thou hast withholden bread from the hungry in their extremity, hast not only not given it, but hast forbidden the giving of it, which is withholding good from those to whom it is really due, Prov. iii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Thou hast not given water to the weary - That is, thou hast withheld the rites of hospitality - one of the most grievous offences which could be charged on an Arabian; compare the notes at Isa 21:14. In all the Oriental world, hospitality was regarded, and is still, as a duty of the highest obligation.
Thou hast not given water - It was esteemed a great virtue in the East to furnish thirsty travelers with water; especially in the deserts, where scarcely a stream was to be found, and where wells were very rare. Some of the Indian devotees are accustomed to stand with a girbah or skin full of water, on the public roads, to give drink to weary travelers who are parched with thirst.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| מַ֭יִם | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| עָיֵ֣ף | ʾayef | [the] weary | H5889 → | |
| תַּשְׁקֶ֑ה | tashkeh | you have given to drink | H8248 → | |
| וּ֝מֵרָעֵ֗ב | umeraev | and from [the] hungry | H7457 → | 20 times |
| תִּֽמְנַֽע־ | timna'- | you have withheld | H4513 → | 29 times |
| לָֽחֶם׃ | lachem | bread | H3899 → | 298 times |
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
מַ֭יִםwater
mayimH4325 →581 times
עָיֵ֣ף[the] weary
ʾayefH5889 →
תַּשְׁקֶ֑הyou have given to drink
tashkehH8248 →
וּ֝מֵרָעֵ֗בand from [the] hungry
umeraevH7457 →20 times
תִּֽמְנַֽע־you have withheld
timna'-H4513 →29 times
לָֽחֶם׃bread
lachemH3899 →298 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Isaiah 58:7Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 18:7
He does not oppress another, but restores the pledge to the debtor. He does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 25:35–45
For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in,
- Luke 3:11
John replied, “Whoever has two tunics should share with him who has none, and whoever has food should do the same.”
- Proverbs 28:27
Whoever gives to the poor will not be in need, but he who hides his eyes will receive many curses.
- 1 John 3:17–18
If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him?
- Ezekiel 18:7
Through
Ezekiel 18:7He does not oppress another, but restores the pledge to the debtor. He does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 18:16
He does not oppress another, or retain a pledge, or commit robbery. He gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing.
- Ezekiel 18:12
He oppresses the poor and needy; he commits robbery and does not restore a pledge. He lifts his eyes to idols; he commits abominations.
- Exodus 22:26
If you take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him by sunset,
- Ezekiel 18:16
About Job
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XVI; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Olympiodorus of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON JOB 22:7; Origen of Alexandria, FRAGMENTS ON JOB 16.22-23 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.