English Standard Version
Job 33:18
18he keeps back his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword.
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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)He keeps back his soul from the Pit, And his life from perishing by the sword.
- New Living Translation (NLT)He protects them from the grave, from crossing over the river of death.
Context of Job 33:18
16then he opens the ears of men and terrifies them with warnings, 17that he may turn man aside from his deed and conceal pride from a man; he keeps back his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword. 19"Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed and with continual strife in his bones, 20so that his life loathes bread, and his appetite the choicest food.
Read all of Job 33Job 33:18 word by word
יַחְשֹׂ֣ךְ נַ֭פְשׁוֹ מִנִּי־שָׁ֑חַת וְ֝חַיָּת֗וֹ מֵעֲבֹ֥ר בַּשָּֽׁלַח׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 33:18
- Acts 16:27When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.
- Romans 2:4Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
- 2 Peter 3:9The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach 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
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries