Job 34:17
in Job 34Could one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn the just and mighty One,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Shall even one that hateth justice govern? And wilt thou condemn him that is righteous and mighty?—
KJV
Shall even he that hateth right govern? and wilt thou condemn him that is most just?
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This verse in Job 34
Commentary
10 notes on this verseCan he be healed that loveth not judgment? How dost thou so much condemn him that is just? He uttered a proper sentiment, but it ought not to have been uttered to blessed Job. For in every thing which is said we must by all means consider, what is said, to whom it is said, where it is said, how it is said. But Eliu considered only what he was saying, but did not consider to whom he was saying it. For blessed Job loved judgment, since he knew how to weigh his causes carefully with the Lord.
This site's exposition
If you have understanding, hear this
on Job 34:16-18
The question “Could one who hates justice govern” turns the axiom of verse 10 on Job's own complaint. To charge God with injustice is to imagine Him hating the justice He governs by. The next question, “Will you condemn the just and mighty One”, puts that charge to Job himself.
This site's exposition
Could one who hates justice govern
Albert Barnes and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown give the Hebrew behind govern as bind, a ruler binding by law. Gregory the Dialogist calls the question just. He faults Elihu for pressing it on Job, a man who loved justice.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Did you see? He did not dare come to the conclusion that he is [just]; with great discretion he avoided asserting it plainly. Not only by participating in the universe, or in the creation or in his power, we must realize his justice, but also by participating in his own nature and acts. He hates the wicked and loves human beings. He is not like us, who keep away from sin not because of our aversion to vice but because of the fear of punishment. Where does [this fear] come from? From the fact that he "hates injustice and makes the wicked perish." "He, who is eternal," he adds. Elihu is right in introducing the concept of eternity because God is not required every day and for every action to give explanations about what happened; it is usual that God manages a matter whose fulfillment must extend over a long period. Therefore, do not anticipate the conclusion of a fact, and do not try to understand the judgment of God before everything has been completed, because you will get no profit from your hurriedness. That is why he says, eternal and just. All past testifies to him. Is it possible that he has changed now?
The Medieval Church1 voice
He induces him to avoid harming himself or do something to help himself when he says, "Can one who does not love judgment be healed?" as if to say: You who need healing, because you are crushed by many illnesses, cannot be healed unless you …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Shall even he that hateth right govern?.... That hates moral and civil justice; is such an one fit to rule among men or over them? No, surely; for to love righteousness and do it is a qualification of a civil governor; it is his business to administer justice; and if an hater of it, he can never be a proper person to rule: and if God was an hater of that which is right, as he would seem to be if he did not do it, he would not be fit to govern the world as he does.
It was as absurd as it would be to call a most righteous innocent person to the bar, and to give judgment against him, though it appeared ever so plainly, upon the trial, that he was most just: Wilt thou condemn him that is righteous in all his ways, and cannot but be so?
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Shall even he that hateth right govern? - Margin, as in Hebrew “bind.” That is, shall he bind by laws. The argument in this verse seems to be an appeal to what must be the conviction of mankind, that God, the Great Governor of the universe, could not be unjust. This conviction, Elihu appears to have supposed, was so deep in the human mind, that he might appeal even to Job himself for its truth. The question here asked implies that it would be impossible to believe that one who was unjust could govern the universe.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
God must be just, because He governs (2Sa 23:3). govern--literally, "bind," namely, by authority (so "reign," 1Sa 9:17, Margin). UMBREIT translates for "govern, repress wrath, namely, against Job for his accusations. most just--rather, "Him who is at once mighty and just" (in His government of the world).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Shall - he that hateth right govern? - Or, Shall he who hateth judgment, lie under obligation? It is preposterous to suppose that he who lives by no rule, should impose rules upon others. God, who is the fountain of all justice and righteousness, binds man by his laws; and wilt thou, therefore, pretend to condemn him who is the sum of righteousness?
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַאַ֬ף | haaf | ¿ also | H637 → | 134 times |
| שׂוֹנֵ֣א | sone' | [one who] hates | H8130 → | 146 times |
| מִשְׁפָּ֣ט | mishpat | <of> justice | H4941 → | 422 times |
| יַחֲב֑וֹשׁ | yachavoosh | will he govern | H2280 → | 33 times |
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and or? | H518 → | 1069 times |
| צַדִּ֖יק | tzadik | [the] righteous [one] | H6662 → | 206 times |
| כַּבִּ֣יר | kabir | [the] mighty [one] | H3524 → | 10 times |
| תַּרְשִֽׁיעַ׃ | tarshia' | will you condemn as guilty | H7561 → | 34 times |
הַאַ֬ף¿ also
haafH637 →134 times
שׂוֹנֵ֣א[one who] hates
sone'H8130 →146 times
מִשְׁפָּ֣ט<of> justice
mishpatH4941 →422 times
יַחֲב֑וֹשׁwill he govern
yachavooshH2280 →33 times
וְאִם־and or?
veim-H518 →1069 times
צַדִּ֖יק[the] righteous [one]
tzadikH6662 →206 times
כַּבִּ֣יר[the] mighty [one]
kabirH3524 →10 times
תַּרְשִֽׁיעַ׃will you condemn as guilty
tarshia'H7561 →34 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
2 Samuel 23:3The God of Israel spoke; the Rock of Israel said to me, ‘He who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God,
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:4
He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 32:4
Through
Romans 9:14What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Certainly not!
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 19:7
And now, may the fear of the LORD be upon you. Be careful what you do, for with the LORD our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.”
- Psalms 145:17
The LORD is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His deeds.
- Revelation 16:7
And I heard the altar reply: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are Your judgments.”
- Job 34:10–12
Therefore listen to me, O men of understanding. Far be it from God to do wrong, and from the Almighty to act unjustly.
- 2 Chronicles 19:7
Through
Genesis 18:25Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the…
it leads to
- Job 8:20
Behold, God does not reject the blameless, nor will He strengthen the hand of evildoers.
- Job 8:3
Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
- Isaiah 3:10–11
Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.
- Job 8:20
About Job

This page draws on 9 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); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXIV; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON JOB 34:12-17; 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.
