Job 19:29
in Job 19then you should fear the sword yourselves, because wrath brings punishment by the sword, so that you may know there is a judgment.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Be ye afraid of the sword: For wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, That ye may know there is a judgment.
KJV
Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.
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This verse in Job 19
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Be ye afraid of the sword - Of the sword of justice, of the wrath of God. In taking such views, and using such language, you ought to dread the vengeance of God, for he will punish the guilty. For wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword - The word “bringeth” is supplied by the translators, and as it seems to me improperly. The idea is, that wrath or anger such as they had manifested, was proper for punishment; that such malice as they had shown was a crime that God would not suffer to escape unpunished.
This site's exposition
the root of the matter
on Job 19:28-29
Job warns the friends that "wrath brings punishment by the sword". The words "so that you may know there is a judgment" turn their doctrine back on them. As Henry notes, the book keeps the warning: at 42:7 the wrath of the Lord burns against Eliphaz and his two friends.
This site's exposition
you should fear the sword yourselves
Job turns the friends' doctrine of retribution back on them: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read their anger at him as a sin the sword punishes. Wesley and Clarke take the sword as God's judgment, and Henry hears a future judgment where hard speeches must be answered. The accusers stand accused.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Wherefore then do ye now say, Let us persecute him, and find out the root of the word against him? Fly therefore from the face of the sword, for the sword is an avenger of wickedness; and know that there is a judgment. For in the first sentence he reproved the deeds of the wicked, while in the following he made known the punishments proceeding from the Divine judgment, Thus he saith, Wherefore then do ye now say; Let us persecute him and find out the root of the word against him?
So he then says, "Flee, then, from the face of the sword," of divine revenge reserved in the future life for you, even if you flourish in temporal prosperity; "for his sword is the avenger of evils," i.e., the vengeance which he will properly take …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Sword - Of some considerable judgment to be inflicted on you which is called the sword, as Deut. xxxii, 41, and elsewhere. That - This admonition I give you, that you may know it in time, and prevent it. A judgment - God sees and observes, and will judge all your words and actions.
God himself often takes vengeance for it, and those that showed no mercy shall find no mercy. (2.) If they repent not, that will be an earnest of worse. By these you may know there is a judgment, not only a present government, but a future judgment, in which hard speeches must be accounted for.
Be ye afraid of the sword,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
7 Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment. Job's friends had passed a very severe censure upon him as a wicked man because he was so grievously afflicted; now here he tells them how ill he took it to be so censured.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
wrath--the passionate violence with which the friends persecuted Job. bringeth, &c.--literally, "is sin of the of the sword" that ye may know--Supply, "I say this." judgment--inseparably connected with the coming of the Vindicator.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Be ye afraid of the sword - Of God’s judgments. For wrath bringeth - Such anger as ye have displayed against me, God will certainly resent and punish. That ye may know there is a judgment - That ye may know that God will judge the world; and that the unequal distribution of riches and poverty, afflictions and health, in the present life, is a proof that there must be a future judgment, where evil shall be punished and virtue rewarded. It would not be fair, after all the discussion of the preceding verses in reference to the two grand opinions and modes of interpretation instituted by learned men, not to inform the reader that a third method of solving all difficulties has been proposed, viz., that Job refers to a Divine conviction which he had just then received, that God would appear in the most evident manner to vindicate his innocence, and give the fullest proofs to his friends and to the world that his afflictions had not been sent as a scourge for his iniquities. Dr. Kennicott was the proposer of this third mode of solving these difficulties, and I shall give his method in his own words. “These five verses, though they contain but twelve lines, have occasioned controversies without number, as to the general meaning of Job in this place, whether he here expressed his firm belief of a resurrection to happiness after death, or of a restoration to prosperity during the remainder of his life. “Each of these positions has found powerful as well as numerous advocates; and the short issue of the whole seems to be, that each party has confuted the opposite opinion, yet without establishing its own. For how could Job here express his conviction of a reverse of things in this world, and of a restoration to temporal prosperity, at the very time when he strongly asserts that his miseries would soon be terminated by death? […]
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| גּ֤וּרוּ | guru | be afraid | H1481 → | 97 times |
| לָכֶ֨ם׀ | lakhem | <for> yourselves | ||
| מִפְּנֵי־ | mipenei- | of <the face of> | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| חֶ֗רֶב | cherev | [the] sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| חֵ֭מָה | chemah | rage | H2534 → | 125 times |
| עֲוֹנ֣וֹת | avonot | [is] iniquities of | H5771 → | 233 times |
| חָ֑רֶב | charev | [the] sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| לְמַ֖עַן | lemaan | so that | H4616 → | 272 times |
| תֵּדְע֣וּן | tedeun | you may know ! | H3045 → | 945 times |
| שַׁדּֽוּן׃ ס | shadin | that a judgment | H1779 → | 20 times |
גּ֤וּרוּbe afraid
guruH1481 →97 times
לָכֶ֨ם׀<for> yourselves
lakhem
מִפְּנֵי־of <the face of>
mipenei-H6440 →2123 times
חֶ֗רֶב[the] sword
cherevH2719 →413 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
חֵ֭מָהrage
chemahH2534 →125 times
עֲוֹנ֣וֹת[is] iniquities of
avonotH5771 →233 times
חָ֑רֶב[the] sword
charevH2719 →413 times
לְמַ֖עַןso that
lemaanH4616 →272 times
תֵּדְע֣וּןyou may know !
tedeunH3045 →945 times
שַׁדּֽוּן׃ סthat a judgment
shadinH1779 →20 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
Ecclesiastes 11:9Rejoice, 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,…
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 12:14
For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
- 1 John 2:15–16
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
- Ecclesiastes 12:1
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of adversity come and the years approach of which you will say, “I find no pleasure in them,”
- Ecclesiastes 3:17
I said in my heart, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every deed.”
- Ecclesiastes 12:14
Through
Ecclesiastes 12:14For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.
- Romans 2:16
on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Christ Jesus, as proclaimed by my gospel.
- Matthew 12:36
But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.
- 2 Corinthians 5:10
Through
Psalms 1:5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
it leads to
- Psalms 5:5
The boastful cannot stand in Your presence; You hate all workers of iniquity.
- Psalms 5:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Job

This page draws on 9 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 (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XIV; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.
