Job 33:23

Job 33:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness:
• English Standard Version (ESV)If there be for him an angel, a mediator, one of the thousand, to declare to man what is right for him,
• New King James Version (NKJV)“If there is a messenger for him, A mediator, one among a thousand, To show man His uprightness,
• New Living Translation (NLT)“But if an angel from heaven appears— a special messenger to intercede for a person and declare that he is upright—

Context of Job 33:23

21Their flesh wastes away to nothing, and their bones, once hidden, now stick out. 22They draw near to the pit, and their life to the messengers of death. Yet if there is an angel at their side, a messenger, one out of a thousand, sent to tell them how to be upright, 24and he is gracious to that person and says to God, ‘Spare them from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for them— 25let their flesh be renewed like a child’s; let them be restored as in the days of their youth’—

Job 33:23 word by word

אִם־יֵ֤שׁ עָלָ֨יו׀ מַלְאָ֗ךְ מֵלִ֗יץ אֶחָ֥ד מִנִּי־אָ֑לֶף לְהַגִּ֖יד לְאָדָ֣ם יָשְׁרֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• If thereיֵשׁyêsh · thereH3426
• be a messengerמַלְאָךְmal'âk · messenger: angelH4397
• with him, an interpreterלִיץlûts · to mockH3887
• oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• among a thousandאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
• to shewנָגַדnâgad · to tellH5046
• unto manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• his uprightnessיֹ֫שֶׁרyôsher · uprightnessH3476

Cross-references for Job 33:23

• Judges 2:1The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you,
• 2 Chronicles 36:15The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place.
• Haggai 1:13Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with you,” declares the Lord.
• Malachi 2:7“For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.
• Malachi 3:1“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.
• 2 Corinthians 5:20We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
• Job 34:32Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do so again.’
• Psalms 94:12Blessed is the one you discipline, Lord, the one you teach from your law;
• Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
• Acts 8:30Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
• 1 Corinthians 11:30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
• Hebrews 12:5And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
• Job 9:3Though they wished to dispute with him, they could not answer him one time out of a thousand.
• Ecclesiastes 7:28while I was still searching but not finding— I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all.
• Romans 11:13I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry
• Job 11:6and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.

Commentaries on Job 33:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23V. The Messengers If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, etc. - The Messengers of righteousness; this is a Fifth method, מליץ מלאך עליו יש אם im yesh alaiv malach melits, "If there be over him an interpreting or mediatorial angel or messenger." One among a thousand, אלף מני אחד echad minni aleph . "One from the Chief, Head, or Teacher." To show unto man his uprightness - ישרו לאדם להגיד lehaggid leadam yoshro, "to manifest or cause to be…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23If there be a messenger with him - This part of the speech of Elihu has given rise to scarcely less diversity of opinion, and to scarcely less discussion, than the celebrated passage in Job 19:25-27. Almost every interpreter has had a special view of its meaning, and of course it is very difficult, if not impossible, to determine its true sense. Before the opinions which have been entertained are specified, and an attempt made to determine the true sense…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. 23An angel or messenger from heaven would act as the mediator Job desired (see 5:1; 9:33–34; 16:18–21).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. Elihu refers to himself as the divinely-sent (Job 32:8; 33:6) "messenger," the "interpreter" to explain to Job and vindicate God's righteousness; such a one Eliphaz had denied that Job could look for (Job 5:1), and Job (Job 9:33) had wished for such a "daysman" or umpire between him and God. The "messenger" of good is antithetical to the "destroyers" (Job 33:23). with him--if there be vouchsafed to the sufferer. The office of the interpreter is stated…Read the comment

Topics related to Job 33:23

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

In the dictionaries

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

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