Job 24:13
in Job 24Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
These are of them that rebel against the light; They know not the ways thereof, Nor abide in the paths thereof.
KJV
They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.
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This verse in Job 24
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThey are rebellious against the light. They know not the ways thereof, nor have returned by the paths thereof. LITERAL INTERPRETATION Very often wicked people at once know the right things that they ought to follow, and yet neglect to follow what they know; and so they are 'rebellious against the light,' in that following their desires, they contemn the good that they know. They then that do wrong not from ignorance, but pride, present the shield of their exaltation against the darts of truth, that they may not be stricken in heart to their good.
This site's exposition
those who rebel against the light
on Job 24:13-17
A second group joins the list, "those who rebel against the light". The murderer rises when "daylight is gone", and housebreakers "dig through houses" and "shut themselves in" by day. Clarke notes the reversal these men live by, since for them "deep darkness is their morning" and daylight threatens exposure.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
He says this again to his friends with a bit of hesitation, If afflictions entirely derive from sins, why did he who observes all that happens on earth allow them to go without being visited by him? "And they took no notice," that is, the …
The Medieval Church1 voice
He now shows the reason why God does not suffer this to go unpunished from the fact that they did not sin from ignorance, but from malice. As a result of this malice they hate wisdom, because it censures their sins, and so he says, …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Light - As well the light of reason and conscience, as the light of Divine Revelation, which was then in good measure imparted to the people of God, and shortly after committed to writing.
They are of those that rebel against the light,....
Others understand it literally: they have the day-light and choose the night as the most advantageous season for their wickedness. Sinful works are therefore called works of darkness, because he that does evil hates the light ( John iii. 20 ), knows not the ways thereof, that is, keeps out of the way of it, or, if he happen to be seen, abides not where he thinks he is known.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
They are of those that rebel against the light - That is, they hate the light: compare Joh 3:20. It is unpleasant to them, and they perform their deeds in the night. Job here commences a reference to another class of wicked persons - those who perform their deeds in the darkness of the night; and he shows that the same thing is true of them as of those who commit crimes in open day, that God does not interpose directly to punish them. They are suffered to live in prosperity.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
So far as to openly committed sins; now, those done in the dark. Translate: "There are those among them (the wicked) who rebel," &c. light--both literal and figurative (Joh 3:19, 20;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
They - rebel against the light - Speaking of wicked men. They rebel against the light of God in their consciences, and his light in his word. They are tyrants in grain, and care neither for God nor the poor. They know not the ways thereof - they will not learn their duty to God or man. Nor abide in the paths thereof - if brought at any time to a better mind, they speedily relapse; and are steady only in cruelty and mischief. This is the character of the oppressors of suffering humanity, and of sinners audacious and hardened. This whole verse Mr. Good translates in the following manner: - They are indignant of the light; They respect not its progress; And will not return to its paths. They hate good; they regard not its operation; they go out of the way of righteousness, and refuse to return.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
They These wicked people are the generation of the Flood, who rebelled because of אור, because of the rain; because it would ascend from the earth, they needed nothing.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
From the city people groan The people and the dignitaries of the city groan because of those robbers.
Should one rise in daylight If they would rise by day, they would slay the wayfarers.
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. 3 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
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֵ֤מָּה׀ | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| הָיוּ֮ | hayu | they are | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְּֽמֹרְדֵ֫י־ | bemoredei- | among [those who] rebel against | H4775 → | |
| א֥וֹר | ʾor | <of> [the] light | H216 → | 121 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הִכִּ֥ירוּ | hikiru | they pay regard to | H5234 → | 49 times |
| דְרָכָ֑יו | derakhav | ways its | H1870 → | 707 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָ֝שְׁב֗וּ | yashevu | they dwell | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בִּנְתִיבֹתָֽיו׃ | bintivotav | in paths its | H5410 → | 26 times |
הֵ֤מָּה׀they
hemahH1992 →553 times
הָיוּ֮they are
hayuH1961 →3559 times
בְּֽמֹרְדֵ֫י־among [those who] rebel against
bemoredei-H4775 →
א֥וֹר<of> [the] light
ʾorH216 →121 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
הִכִּ֥ירוּthey pay regard to
hikiruH5234 →49 times
דְרָכָ֑יוways its
derakhavH1870 →707 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יָ֝שְׁב֗וּthey dwell
yashevuH3427 →1079 times
בִּנְתִיבֹתָֽיו׃in paths its
bintivotavH5410 →26 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
Jude 1:6And the angels who did not stay within their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling—these He has kept in eternal chains under darkness, bound for judgment on that great day.
it leads to
- 2 Peter 2:4
For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into hell, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;
- Matthew 25:41
Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
- Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
- Matthew 8:29
“What do You want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have You come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
- 2 Peter 2:9
if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
- 2 Peter 2:4
Through
Proverbs 4:19But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.
it leads to
- John 12:35
Then Jesus told them, “For a little while longer, the Light will be among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you. The one who walks in the…
- Isaiah 59:9–10
Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We hope for light, but there is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
- Jeremiah 23:12
“Therefore their path will become slick; they will be driven away into the darkness and fall into it. For I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment,” declares the LORD.
- John 12:35
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 (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XVI; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Olympiodorus of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON JOB 24:12-13 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.