God’s Word Translation
Job 33:20
20so that their whole being hates food and they lose their appetite for a delicious meal.
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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)so that his life loathes bread, and his appetite the choicest food.
- New King James Version (NKJV)So that his life abhors bread, And his soul succulent food.
Context of Job 33:20
18He keeps their souls from the pit and their lives from crossing the River ⌞of Death⌟. 19In pain on their sickbeds, they are disciplined with endless aching in their bones so that their whole being hates food and they lose their appetite for a delicious meal. 21Their flesh becomes so thin that it can’t be seen. Their bones, not seen before, will be exposed. 22Their souls approach the pit. Their lives come close to those already dead.
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 107:17Fools suffered because of their disobedience and because of their crimes.
- Genesis 3:6The woman saw that the tree had fruit that was good to eat, nice to look at, and desirable for making someone wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
- Jeremiah 3:19“I wanted to treat you like children and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful property among the nations. I thought that you would call me Father and wouldn’t turn away from me.
- Amos 5:11You trample on the poor and take their wheat from them for taxes. That is why you build houses from hand-cut stones, but you will not live in them. You plant beautiful vineyards, but you will 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries