Job 15:22
in Job 15He despairs of his return from darkness; he is marked for the sword.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, And he is waited for of the sword.
KJV
He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.
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This verse in Job 15
Commentary
13 notes on this verseThat he shall return out of darkness - If he take but a few steps in the dark, he expects the dagger of the assassin. This appears to be the only meaning of the place. Some think the passage should be understood to signify that he has no hope of a resurrection; he can never escape from the tomb. This I doubt: in the days of the writer of this book, the doctrine of a future judgment was understood in every part of the East where the knowledge of the true God was diffused.
This site's exposition
A wicked man writhes in pain all his days
on Job 15:20-24
Eliphaz opens the book's first full poem on the wicked man, the doctrine the friends have assumed now set in verse. Henry reads it as settled theology of exact retribution, repeated in chapters 18 and 20 and rejected at 42:7, and Job's innocent suffering never appears.
This site's exposition
he is marked for the sword
Darkness here means calamity, Barnes explains, and the wicked man despairs of any return from it. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown see a glance at Job, who had despaired of his own restoration. Gesenius reads him as destined for the sword.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"He has been appointed to be food for vultures." "He has already been given over to the power of the sword." Notice this again. His death is pitiful. It is not conformed to the common law of nature but is the result of violence, war and battle. After his death, he will not have a burial or a funeral and will not only be deprived of a tomb but will also be "food for vultures." "He knows within himself that he is doomed to be a carcass." The foreboding of these events makes them even more painful for Job when they are predicted to him and announced beforehand.
The Medieval Church2 voices
Now when one has fears about some of his enemies, he can hope to escape even if he is defeated for a while with the help of his friends. But one who confides in no one and fears everyone cannot hope for deliverance after he …
Ver. 22. He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword. For because he believes himself to be on all sides stricken from ambush, despairing of salvation, he is ever growing on in wickedness. Now there are times too when this ungodly man turns his eyes to judgments from above as well, and dreads their coming upon him. But whilst he seeks the wages of the present life, these same judgments which he had begun to fear, being conquered by the madness of avarice, he sets at nought.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Good men expect light at evening time, light out of darkness; but what reason have those to expect that they shall return out of the darkness of trouble who would not return from the darkness of sin, but went on in it? It is the misery of damned sinners that they know they shall never return out of that utter darkness, nor pass the gulf there fixed.
11 Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee? 12 Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at, 13 That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth? 14 What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
): He is, in his own apprehension, waited for of the sword; for he knows that he who killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword, Rev. xiii. A guilty conscience represents to the sinner a flaming sword turning every way ( Gen. iii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
Believeth not - When he falls into trouble, he despairs of deliverance, by reason of his guilty conscience. Waited for - Besides the calamity which is upon him, he is in constant expectation of greater; the sword is used for any grievous affliction.
He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
darkness--namely, danger or calamity. Glancing at Job, who despaired of restoration: in contrast to good men when in darkness (Mic 7:8, 9). waited for of--that is, He is destined for the sword [GESENIUS]. Rather (in the night of danger), "he looks anxiously towards the sword," as if every sword was drawn against him [UMBREIT].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness - Darkness is used in the Bible, as elsewhere, to denote calamity; and the meaning here is, that the wicked man has not confidence (יאמין לא lo' ya'amı̂yn), that he shall return safely from impending danger. He is in constant dread of assassination, or of some fearful evil. He is never secure; his mind is never calm; he lives in constant dread. This is still an accurate description of a man with a guilty conscience; for such a man lives in constant fear, and never feels any security that he is safe. And he is waited for of the sword - That is, he is destined for the sword. Gesenius.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַאֲמִ֣ין | yaamin | he believes | H539 → | 106 times |
| שׁ֭וּב | suv | to return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| מִנִּי־ | mini- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| חֹ֑שֶׁךְ | choshekh | darkness | H2822 → | 80 times |
| וְצָפ֖וּי | vetzafu | and [is] watched | H6822 → | |
| ה֣וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אֱלֵי־ | ʾelei- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| חָֽרֶב׃ | charev | [the] sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יַאֲמִ֣יןhe believes
yaaminH539 →106 times
שׁ֭וּבto return
suvH7725 →1056 times
מִנִּי־from
mini-H4480 →1188 times
חֹ֑שֶׁךְdarkness
choshekhH2822 →80 times
וְצָפ֖וּיand [is] watched
vetzafuH6822 →
ה֣וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
אֱלֵי־to
ʾelei-H413 →5510 times
חָֽרֶב׃[the] sword
charevH2719 →413 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Job 27:14Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword; and his offspring will never have enough food.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:41
You will father sons and daughters, but they will not remain yours, because they will go into captivity.
- Luke 23:29
Look, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore, and breasts that never nursed!’
- Job 20:10
His sons will seek the favor of the poor, for his own hands must return his wealth.
- Deuteronomy 28:41
Through
2 Kings 6:33While Elisha was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him. And the king said, “This calamity is from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”
it leads to
- Job 2:9
Then Job’s wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!”
- Isaiah 8:21
They will roam the land, dejected and hungry. When they are famished, they will become enraged; and looking upward, they will curse their king and their God.
- Habakkuk 2:3
For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.
- Job 2:9
Through
Job 19:29then you should fear the sword yourselves, because wrath brings punishment by the sword, so that you may know there is a judgment.”
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 12:14
For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
- Ecclesiastes 11:9
Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes,…
- Ecclesiastes 12:14
About Job
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XII; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON JOB 15:17-23B; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.