Job 33:18

Job 33:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.
• New International Version (NIV)to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword.
• English Standard Version (ESV)he keeps back his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword.
• New King James Version (NKJV)He keeps back his soul from the Pit, And his life from perishing by the sword.

Context of Job 33:18

16Then He opens the ears of men And seals their instruction, 17That He may turn man aside from his conduct, And keep him from pride; He holds back his soul from the pit [of destruction], And his life from passing over into Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead). 19“Man is also disciplined with pain on his bed, And with unceasing complaint in his bones, 20So that his life makes him loathe food, And his soul [loathe] even his favorite dishes.

Job 33:18 word by word

יַחְשֹׂ֣ךְ נַ֭פְשׁוֹ מִנִּי־שָׁ֑חַת וְ֝חַיָּת֗וֹ מֵעֲבֹ֥ר בַּשָּֽׁלַח׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• He keepeth backחָשַׂךְchâώak · to withholdH2820
• his soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soulH5315
• from the pitשַׁ֫חַתshachath · Pit: hellH7845
• and his lifeחַיָּהchay · living thingH2416
• from perishingעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674
• by the swordשֶׁ֫לַחshelach · missileH7973

Cross-references for Job 33:18

• Acts 16:27When the jailer, shaken out of sleep, saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped.
• Romans 2:4Or do you have no regard for the wealth of His kindness and tolerance and patience [in withholding His wrath]? Are you [actually] unaware or ignorant [of the fact] that God’s kindness leads you to repentance [that is, to change your inner self, your old way of thinking—seek His purpose for your life]?
• 2 Peter 3:9The Lord does not delay [as though He were unable to act] and is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is [extraordinarily] patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

Commentaries on Job 33:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18He keepeth back his soul from the pit - By the above means, how many have been snatched from an untimely death! By taking the warning thus given, some have been prevented from perishing by the pit - some sudden accident; and others from the sword of the assassin or nocturnal murderer. It would be easy to give examples, in all these kinds; but the knowledge of the reader may save this trouble to the commentator.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18He keepeth back his soul from the pit - The word soul in the Hebrew is often equivalent to self, and the idea is, that he keeps the man from the pit in this manner. The object of these warnings is to keep him from rushing on to his own destruction. The word rendered “pit” - שׁחת shachath properly means a pit, or pitfall, in which traps are laid for wild animals; Psalm 7:15; Psalm 9:15; then a cistern that is miry; Job 9:31; a prison, Isaiah 51:14; then…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-18Verses 14-18 God speaks to us by conscience, by providences, and by ministers; of all these Elihu discourses. There was not then, that we know of, any Divine revelation in writing, though now it is our principal guide. When God designs men's good, by the convictions and dictates of their own consciences, he opens the heart, as Lydia's, and opens the ears, so that conviction finds or forces its way in. The end and design of these admonitions are to keep…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18from perishing by the sword: This phrase can also mean "from crossing over the river of death" (New Living Translation). Both translations make sense in the context (compare 36:12).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. his soul--his life. the pit--the grave; a symbol of hell. perishing by the sword--that is, a violent death; in the Old Testament a symbol of the future punishment of the ungodly.Read the comment

Topics related to Job 33:18

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Agency
• Conviction
• God
• God Continued...
• Philosophy
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Account
• Elihu
• Path
• Ransom
• Soul
• Stick
• Wish
• Affliction
• Elihu (2)
• Resurrection

Commentaries on Job 33

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings