Job 13:25

Would You frighten a windblown leaf? Would You chase after dry chaff?

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Job addresses God directly while lamenting divine hostility and the recording of his past sins. He poses rhetorical questions to challenge God’s perceived pursuit of him.

The words — The verse hinges on תַּעֲר֑וֹץ (ta'arotz), meaning "will you terrify," and תִּרְדֹּֽף (tirdef), meaning "will you pursue." These verbs frame God’s actions as a targeted hunt against fragile, worthless targets.

The thread — The imagery of pursuing dry chaff and windblown leaves echoes Job 21:18 and Leviticus 26:36, where scattered chaff and fleeing hearts depict divine judgment and helplessness. It also parallels the rhetorical dismissal in 1 Samuel 24:14.

Why it lands — The text forces a reader to confront the absurdity of divine pursuit if the target is as insubstantial as dry chaff. It demands an evaluation of whether God’s actions match the magnitude of human suffering or exceed it.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

הֶעָלֶ֣הhe./'a.Leh¿/ a leaf נִדָּ֣ףni.Dafdriven about תַּעֲר֑וֹץta.'a.Rotzwill you terrify וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>קַ֖שׁkashchaff יָבֵ֣שׁya.Veshdry תִּרְדֹּֽף׃tir.Dofwill you pursue?

King James Version

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

Cross-references

Leviticus 26:36 As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. And they will flee as one flees the sword, and fall when no one pursues them.
Job 21:18 Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a storm?
1 Samuel 24:14 Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea?
Job 14:3 Do You open Your eyes to one like this? Will You bring him into judgment before You?
Isaiah 17:13 The nations rage like the rush of many waters. He rebukes them, and they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweeds before a gale.
Matthew 12:20 A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish, till He leads justice to victory.