Job 13:25
New International Version
Will you torment a windblown leaf? Will you chase after dry chaff?

New Living Translation
Would you terrify a leaf blown by the wind? Would you chase dry straw?

English Standard Version
Will you frighten a driven leaf and pursue dry chaff?

Berean Standard Bible
Would You frighten a windblown leaf? Would You chase after dry chaff?

King James Bible
Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?

New King James Version
Will You frighten a leaf driven to and fro? And will You pursue dry stubble?

New American Standard Bible
“Will You scare away a scattered leaf? Or will You pursue the dry chaff?

NASB 1995
“Will You cause a driven leaf to tremble? Or will You pursue the dry chaff?

NASB 1977
“Wilt Thou cause a driven leaf to tremble? Or wilt Thou pursue the dry chaff?

Legacy Standard Bible
Will You cause a driven leaf to tremble? Or will You pursue the dry chaff?

Amplified Bible
“Will You cause a windblown leaf to tremble? Will You pursue the chaff of the dry stubble?

Christian Standard Bible
Will you frighten a wind-driven leaf? Will you chase after dry straw?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Will You frighten a wind-driven leaf? Will You chase after dry straw?

American Standard Version
Wilt thou harass a driven leaf? And wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?

Contemporary English Version
Do you really enjoy frightening a fallen leaf?

English Revised Version
Wilt thou harass a driven leaf? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Are you trying to make a fluttering leaf tremble or trying to chase dry husks?

Good News Translation
Are you trying to frighten me? I'm nothing but a leaf; you are attacking a piece of dry straw.

International Standard Version
Are you a god who would make a leaf tremble or who would prosecute a dry straw?

Majority Standard Bible
Would You frighten a windblown leaf? Would You chase after dry chaff?

NET Bible
Do you wish to torment a windblown leaf and chase after dry chaff?

New Heart English Bible
Will you harass a driven leaf? Will you pursue the dry stubble?

Webster's Bible Translation
Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?

World English Bible
Will you harass a driven leaf? Will you pursue the dry stubble?
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Do You terrify a leaf driven away? And do You pursue the dry stubble?

Young's Literal Translation
A leaf driven away dost Thou terrify? And the dry stubble dost Thou pursue?

Smith's Literal Translation
Wilt thou terrify the scattered leaf? and wilt thou pursue the dry straw?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Against a leaf, that is carried away with the wind, thou shewest thy power, and thou pursuest a dry straw.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Against a leaf, which is carried away by the wind, you reveal your power, and you pursue dry straw.

New American Bible
Will you harass a wind-driven leaf or pursue a withered straw?

New Revised Standard Version
Will you frighten a windblown leaf and pursue dry chaff?
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Wilt thou tread upon a fallen leaf? And wilt thou pursue the dry grass in the air?

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Do you trample a dry leaf that falls, or do you chase a dry blade of grass?
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Wilt Thou harass a driven leaf? And wilt Thou pursue the dry stubble?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Wilt thou be startled at me, as at a leaf shaken by the wind? or wilt thou set thyself against me as against grass borne upon the breeze?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job Reproves His Friends
24Why do You hide Your face and consider me as Your enemy? 25Would You frighten a windblown leaf? Would You chase after dry chaff? 26For You record bitter accusations against me and bequeath to me the iniquities of my youth.…

Cross References
Psalm 39:11
You discipline and correct a man for his iniquity, consuming like a moth what he holds dear; surely each man is but a vapor. Selah

Isaiah 41:14
Do not fear, O Jacob, you worm, O few men of Israel. I will help you,” declares the LORD. “Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

Psalm 144:4
Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

Isaiah 40:7-8
The grass withers and the flowers fall when the breath of the LORD blows on them; indeed, the people are grass. / The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

Psalm 103:15-16
As for man, his days are like grass—he blooms like a flower of the field; / when the wind passes over, it vanishes, and its place remembers it no more.

James 4:14
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

1 Peter 1:24
For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,

Psalm 102:11
My days are like lengthening shadows, and I wither away like grass.

Isaiah 64:6
Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.

Matthew 12:20
A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish, till He leads justice to victory.

Psalm 78:39
He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.

Isaiah 42:3
A bruised reed He will not break and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.

Psalm 90:5-6
You sweep them away in their sleep; they are like the new grass of the morning— / in the morning it springs up new, but by evening it fades and withers.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. / For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison. / So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Psalm 62:9
Lowborn men are but a vapor; the exalted are but a lie. Weighed on the scale, they go up; together they are but a vapor.


Treasury of Scripture

Will you break a leaf driven to and fro? and will you pursue the dry stubble?

break

Job 14:3
And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee?

1 Samuel 24:14
After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea.

Isaiah 17:13
The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.

Jump to Previous
Break Cause Chaff Chase Driven Dry Flight Frighten Fro Harass Hard Leaf Pursue Quickly Stem Stubble Torment Tremble Way Wilt Wind Windblown
Jump to Next
Break Cause Chaff Chase Driven Dry Flight Frighten Fro Harass Hard Leaf Pursue Quickly Stem Stubble Torment Tremble Way Wilt Wind Windblown
Job 13
1. Job reproves his friends for partiality
14. He professes his confidence in God;
19. and entreats to know his own sins, and God's purpose in afflicting him














Would You
This phrase introduces a rhetorical question, a common literary device in Hebrew poetry, used to provoke thought and reflection. In the context of Job, it underscores the audacity and boldness of Job's dialogue with God. Job is questioning God's actions, which reflects his deep struggle with understanding divine justice. The Hebrew root for "would" (הֲ) is an interrogative particle, often used to express incredulity or challenge, highlighting Job's inner turmoil and his quest for answers.

frighten
The Hebrew word here is "ערץ" (ʿāraṣ), which conveys a sense of terror or dread. Job is expressing his feeling of vulnerability and insignificance, akin to a leaf easily disturbed by the wind. This imagery is powerful, illustrating Job's perception of himself as fragile and at the mercy of forces beyond his control. It reflects the human condition of feeling small in the face of divine power, yet it also speaks to the courage of Job in addressing God directly.

a windblown leaf
This metaphor paints a vivid picture of fragility and transience. In the ancient Near Eastern context, a leaf blown by the wind symbolizes something that is easily moved and lacks stability. Job uses this imagery to describe his own state, feeling tossed about by the circumstances of his life. The leaf, in its vulnerability, represents humanity's frailty and the seeming insignificance of individual suffering in the grand scheme of creation.

Would You chase
The repetition of "Would You" emphasizes Job's challenge to God. The Hebrew verb "רדף" (rāḏap̄) means to pursue or chase, often used in contexts of hunting or warfare. Here, it suggests an active pursuit, questioning why God would expend effort on something as insignificant as Job feels himself to be. This reflects Job's struggle with the idea of divine attention and justice, questioning why God would focus on him in his suffering.

after dry chaff?
Chaff, the husks separated from grain during threshing, is a common biblical symbol for worthlessness and impermanence. In the agricultural society of the ancient Near East, chaff was a byproduct, easily blown away by the wind. Job's use of this imagery underscores his feeling of being discarded and insignificant. The Hebrew word "קש" (qāš) for chaff highlights the contrast between the enduring and the ephemeral, a theme prevalent throughout the wisdom literature of the Bible. This metaphor serves to question the purpose of divine scrutiny on what seems inconsequential, inviting readers to ponder the nature of God's justice and care.

(25) Wilt thou break a leaf.--His confession of sin here approaches even to what the Psalmist describes as the condition of the ungodly (Psalm 1:4).

Verse 25. - Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble? Job compares himself to two of the weakest things in nature - a withered leaf, and a morsel of dry stubble. He cannot believe that God will employ his almighty strength in crushing and destroying what is so slight and feeble. A deep sense of God's goodness and compassion underlies the thought.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Will You frighten
תַּעֲר֑וֹץ (ta·‘ă·rō·wṣ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 6206: To cause to tremble, tremble

a windblown
נִדָּ֣ף (nid·dāp̄)
Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 5086: To shove asunder, disperse

leaf?
הֶעָלֶ֣ה (he·‘ā·leh)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5929: A leaf, foliage

Will You chase after
תִּרְדֹּֽף׃ (tir·dōp̄)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 7291: To pursue, chase, persecute

dry
יָבֵ֣שׁ (yā·ḇêš)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 3002: Dry, dried

chaff?
קַ֖שׁ (qaš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7179: Stubble, chaff


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OT Poetry: Job 13:25 Will you harass a driven leaf? Will (Jb)
Job 13:24
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