Job 21:32
in Job 21He is carried to the grave, and watch is kept over his tomb.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Yet shall he be borne to the grave, And men shall keep watch over the tomb.
KJV
Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb.
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This verse in Job 21
Commentary
9 notes on this verseYet shall he be brought to the grave - He shall die like other men; and the corruption of the grave shall prey upon him. Mr. Carlyle, in his specimens of Arabic poetry, Translations, p. 16, quotes this verse, which he translates and paraphrases, והוא לקברות יובל “He shall be brought to the grave,” ועל גדוש ישקוד And shall watch upon the high-raised heap.” It was the opinion of the pagan Arabs, that upon the death of any person, a bird, by them called Manah, issued from the brain, and haunted the sepulcher of the deceased, uttering a lamentable scream.
This site's exposition
He is carried to the grave
on Job 21:32-34
Job closes with a wicked man honored in death. He turns on their counsel, and "your answers remain full of falsehood" is the sharpest word he has used. Watson notes that in chapter 22 Eliphaz stops refining the doctrine and names specific sins Job is nowhere shown to have committed.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
So he concludes that this day of perdition and the fury previously mentioned is not in this life but after death, for he then says, "He himself will be led to the grave," after he has died. Yet he will live in his soul, and …
Ver. 32. He shall be brought to the graves, and in the heap of the dead bodies he shall watch. 70. Whereas graves cover dead bodies, what else is denoted by 'the graves' but the lost, in whom their souls extinct of the life of blessedness lie as in graves?
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He shall remain in the tomb with a Hic jacet--Here lies, over him, and a large encomium. Perhaps it is meant of the embalming of his body to preserve it, which was a piece of honour anciently done by the Egyptians to their great men. He shall watch in the tomb (so the word is), shall abide solitary and quiet there, as a watchman in his tower.
And - The pomp of his death shall be suitable to the glory of his life. Brought - With pomp and state, as the word signifies. Grave - Hebrew. to the graves; to an honourable and eminent grave: the plural number being used emphatically to denote eminency.
Yet shall he be brought to the grave,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Yet--rather, "and." brought--with solemn pomp (Ps 45:15). grave--literally, "graves"; that is, the place where the graves are. remain in--rather, watch on the tomb, or sepulchral mound. Even after death he seems still to live and watch (that is, have his "remembrance" preserved) by means of the monument over the grave.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Yet shall he be brought to the grave - Margin, “graves.” That is, he is brought with honor and prosperity to the grave. He is not cut down by manifest divine displeasure for his sins. He is conducted to the grave as other people are, not withstanding his enormous wickedness. The “object” of this is clearly to state that he would not be overwhelmed with calamity, as the friends of Job had maintained, and that nothing could be determined in regard to his character from the divine dealings toward him in this life. And shall remain in the tomb - Margin, “watch in the heap.” The marginal reading does not make sense, though it seems to be an exact translation of the Hebrew. Noyes renders it, “Yet he still survives upon his tomb.” Prof. Lee, “For the tomb was he watchful;” that is, his anxiety was to have an honored and a splendid burial. Wemyss, “They watch over his tomb;” that is, he is honored in his death, and his friends visit his tomb with affectionate solicitude, and keep watch over his grave. So Dr. Good renders it. Jerome translates it; “et in congerie mortuorum vigilabit.” The Septuagint, “And he shall be borne to the graves, and he shall watch over the tombs;” or, he shall cause a watch to be kept over his tomb - ἐπὶ σωρῶν ἠγρύπνησεν epi sōrōn ēgrupnēsen. Amidst this variety of interpretation, it is not easy to determine the true sense of the passage. The “general” meaning is not difficult. It is, that he should be honored even in his death; that he would live in prosperity, and be buried with magnificence. There would be nothing in his death or burial which would certainly show that God regarded him as a wicked man. But there is considerable difficulty in determining the exact sense of the original words. […]
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְ֭הוּא | vehu' | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לִקְבָר֣וֹת | likvarot | to [the] grave<s> | H6913 → | 67 times |
| יוּבָ֑ל | yuval | he will be borne | H2986 → | 18 times |
| וְֽעַל־ | veal- | and over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| גָּדִ֥ישׁ | gadish | a tomb | H1430 → | |
| יִשְׁקֽוֹד׃ | yishkod | someone will keep watch | H8245 → |
וְ֭הוּאand he
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
לִקְבָר֣וֹתto [the] grave<s>
likvarotH6913 →67 times
יוּבָ֑לhe will be borne
yuvalH2986 →18 times
וְֽעַל־and over
veal-H5921 →5755 times
גָּדִ֥ישׁa tomb
gadishH1430 →
יִשְׁקֽוֹד׃someone will keep watch
yishkodH8245 →
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
Luke 16:22One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:24
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
- Psalms 49:16–19
Do not be amazed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases.
- Revelation 14:13
And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors,…
- James 1:11
For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
- 1 Peter 2:24
Through
Psalms 49:14Like sheep they are destined for Sheol. Death will be their shepherd. The upright will rule them in the morning, and their form will decay in Sheol, far from their lofty abode.
it leads to
- Malachi 4:3
Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- 1 Corinthians 6:2
Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?
- Job 24:19–20
As drought and heat consume the melting snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned.
- Daniel 7:22
until the Ancient of Days arrived and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for them to possess the kingdom.
- Malachi 4:3
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); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XV; 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; R. A. Watson, The Book of Job, Expositor's Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.