English Standard Version
Job 33:20
20so that his life loathes bread, and his appetite the choicest food.
Job 33:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)So that his life abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty meat.
- New International Version (NIV)so that their body finds food repulsive and their soul loathes the choicest meal.
- New King James Version (NKJV)So that his life abhors bread, And his soul succulent food.
- New Living Translation (NLT)They lose their appetite for even the most delicious food.
Context of Job 33:20
18he 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, so that his life loathes bread, and his appetite the choicest food. 21His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen, and his bones that were not seen stick out. 22His soul draws near the pit, and his life to those who bring death.
Read all of Job 33Job 33:20 word by word
וְזִֽהֲמַ֣תּוּ חַיָּת֣וֹ לָ֑חֶם וְ֝נַפְשׁ֗וֹ מַאֲכַ֥ל תַּאֲוָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 33:20
- Psalms 107:17Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
- Genesis 3:6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
- Jeremiah 3:19"'I said, How I would set you among my sons, and give you a pleasant land, a heritage most beautiful of all nations. And I thought you would call me, My Father, and would not turn from following me.
- Amos 5:11Therefore because you trample on the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.
Commentaries on Job 33:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20His life abhorreth bread - These expressions strongly and naturally point out that general nausea, or loathing which sick persons feel in almost every species of disorder.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20So that his life abhorreth bread - It is a common effect of sickness to take away the appetite. Elihu here regards it as a part of the wholesome discipline of the sufferer. He has no relish for the comforts of life. And his soul dainty meat - Margin, “meat of desire.” The Hebrew is, “food of desire.” The word rendered “meat” (מאכל ma'ăkâl ) does not denote animal food only, but any kind of food. So the Old English word meat was used. The idea is, that…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-28Verses 19-28 Job complained of his diseases, and judged by them that God was angry with him; his friends did so too: but Elihu shows that God often afflicts the body for good to the soul. This thought will be of great use for our getting good from sickness, in and by which God speaks to men. Pain is the fruit of sin; yet, by the grace of God, the pain of the body is often made a means of good to the soul. When afflictions have done their work, they shall…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. life--that is, the appetite, which ordinarily sustains "life" (Job 38:39; Psa 107:18; Ec 12:5). The taking away of desire for food by sickness symbolizes the removal by affliction of lust, for things which foster the spiritual fever of pride. soul--desire.Read the comment
Topics related to Job 33:20
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