God’s Word Translation
Job 33:22
22Their souls approach the pit. Their lives come close to those already dead.
Job 33:22 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroyers.
- New International Version (NIV)They draw near to the pit, and their life to the messengers of death.
- English Standard Version (ESV)His soul draws near the pit, and his life to those who bring death.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Yes, his soul draws near the Pit, And his life to the executioners.
Context of Job 33:22
20so 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. Their souls approach the pit. Their lives come close to those already dead. 23“If they have a messenger for them, a spokesman, one in a thousand, to tell people what is right for them, 24then he will have pity on them and say, ‘Free them from going into the pit. I have found a ransom.’
Read all of Job 33Job 33:22 word by word
וַתִּקְרַ֣ב לַשַּׁ֣חַת נַפְשׁ֑וֹ וְ֝חַיָּת֗וֹ לַֽמְמִתִֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 33:22
- Job 7:7Remember, my life is only a breath, and never again will my eyes see anything good.
- Job 17:1“My spirit is broken. My days have been snuffed out. The cemetery ⌞is waiting⌟ for me.
- 1 Samuel 2:6“The Lord kills, and he gives life. He makes ⌞people⌟ go down to the grave, and he raises them up ⌞again⌟.
- Psalms 30:3O Lord, you brought me up from the grave. You called me back to life from among those who had gone into the pit.
- Psalms 88:3My soul is filled with troubles, and my life comes closer to the grave.
- Isaiah 38:10I thought that in the prime of my life I would go down to the gates of Sheol and be robbed of the rest of my life.
- Job 15:21Terrifying sounds are in his ears. While he enjoys peace, the destroyer comes to him.
- Exodus 12:23The Lord will go throughout Egypt to kill the Egyptians. When he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, he will pass over that doorway, and he will not let the destroyer come into your home to kill you.
- 2 Samuel 24:16But when the Messenger stretched out his arm to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord changed his mind about the disaster. “Enough!” he said to the Messenger who was destroying the people. “Put down your weapon.” The Messenger of the Lord was at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
- Psalms 17:4I have avoided cruelty because of your word. In spite of what others have done,
- Acts 12:23Immediately, an angel from the Lord killed Herod for not giving glory to God. Herod was eaten by maggots, and he died.
- 1 Corinthians 10:10Don’t complain as some of them did. The angel of death destroyed them.
- Revelation 9:11The king who ruled them was the angel from the bottomless pit. In Hebrew he is called Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.
Commentaries on Job 33:22
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22His soul draweth near unto the grave - נפש nephesh, soul, is here taken for the immortal spirit, as it is distinguished from חיה chaiyah, the animal life. The former draws near to the pit, שחת shachath, corruption; perhaps he meant dissipation, considering it merely as the breath. The latter draws near לממתים lamemithim, to the dead; i.e., to those who are already buried. Mr. Good translates it the Destinies; and supposes the same is meant among the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave - That is, he himself does, for the word soul is often used to denote self. And his life to the destroyers - - לממתים lammitiym literally, “to those causing death.” The interpretation commonly given of this is, “the angels of death” who were supposed to come to close human life; compare 2 Samuel 24:16-17. But it probably refers to diseases and pangs as having power to terminate life, and being the cause of the…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
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22messengers of death: Compare: Exodus 12:23; 2 Samuel 24:16; 1 Corinthians 10:10.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2222. destroyers--angels of death commissioned by God to end man's life (2Sa 24:16; Psa 78:49). The death pains personified may, however, be meant; so "gnawers" (see on Job 30:17).Read the comment
Topics related to Job 33:22
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