Job 29:17
in Job 29I shattered the fangs of the unjust and snatched the prey from his teeth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I brake the jaws of the unrighteous, And plucked the prey out of his teeth.
KJV
And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.
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This verse in Job 29
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And I brake the jaws of the wicked - Margin, “jaw-teeth, or, grinders.” The Hebrew word מתלעה methalle‛âh, the same, with the letters transposed, as מתלעות, is from לתע, to “bite” - and means “the biters,” the grinders, the teeth. It is not used to denote the jaw. The image here is taken from wild beasts, with whom Job compares the wicked, and says that he rescued the helpless from their grasp, as he would a lamb from a lion or wolf.
This site's exposition
put on righteousness
on Job 29:14-17
Job says “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me”, an image Gill notes Isaiah gives to salvation at Isaiah 61:10. Delitzsch reads “I shattered the fangs of the unjust and snatched the prey from his teeth” as a shepherd's language, justice pictured as rescue.
This site's exposition
I shattered the fangs
Barnes traces fangs to a Hebrew word meaning to bite. The unjust are pictured as wild beasts, and Job snatched the prey from their teeth like a lamb from a lion. He broke the oppressor's power to hurt again.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth. [ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION] Oh what a spoil did he take from the mouth of the devil, when by converting she carried off Saul himself the spoiler; when still breathing threats he was on his way to Damascus, having received letters, and whereas by persecuting the faithful he was gathering prey for the devil, he was, by being made acquainted with the faith, himself gathered to Christ.
Some oppress the poor by violence, and devour them so to speak by robbing from them. Job destroyed the violence of men like this with his power, and so he continues, "I broke the jaws of the impious," because I destroyed the greed of violence …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Darkness - I passed safely through many difficulties, and dangers, and common calamities. Seat - When I caused the seat of justice to be set for me. By this, and several other expressions, it appears that Job was a magistrate.
18 Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand. 19 My root was spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch. 20 My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And I brake the jaws of the wicked,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The grounds on which Job was praised (Job 29:11), his helping the afflicted (Ps 72:12) who cried to him for help, as a judge, or as one possessed of means of charity. Translate: "The fatherless who had none to help him."
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Image from combating with wild beasts (Job 4:11; So compassionate was Job to the oppressed, so terrible to the oppressor! jaws--Job broke his power, so that he could do no more hurt, and tore from him the spoil, which he had torn from others.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
I brake the jaws of the wicked - A metaphor taken from hunting. A beast of prey had entered into the fold, and carried off a sheep. “The huntsman comes, assails the wicked beast, breaks his jaws, and delivers the spoil out of his teeth. See the case 1Sa 17:34-37 (note).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And I said, I will perish with my nest Because of the propriety of my traits, I would think to myself that when I die, I would have my nest and my house established with me.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָֽ֭אֲשַׁבְּרָה | vaashaberah | and I broke ! | H7665 → | 147 times |
| מְתַלְּע֣וֹת | metaleot | [the] jaws of | H4973 → | |
| עַוָּ֑ל | ʾaval | [the] unrighteous | H5767 → | 5 times |
| וּ֝מִשִּׁנָּ֗יו | umishinav | and from teeth his | H8127 → | 55 times |
| אַשְׁלִ֥יךְ | ʾashlikh | I threw | H7993 → | 125 times |
| טָֽרֶף׃ | taref | [the] prey | H2964 → | 22 times |
וָֽ֭אֲשַׁבְּרָהand I broke !
vaashaberahH7665 →147 times
מְתַלְּע֣וֹת[the] jaws of
metaleotH4973 →
עַוָּ֑ל[the] unrighteous
ʾavalH5767 →5 times
וּ֝מִשִּׁנָּ֗יוand from teeth his
umishinavH8127 →55 times
אַשְׁלִ֥יךְI threw
ʾashlikhH7993 →125 times
טָֽרֶף׃[the] prey
tarefH2964 →22 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
Psalms 3:7Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.
it leads to
- Psalms 58:6
O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths; O LORD, tear out the fangs of the lions.
- Job 16:10
They open their mouths against me and strike my cheeks with contempt; they join together against me.
- Psalms 59:5
O LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, rouse Yourself to punish all the nations; show no mercy to the wicked traitors. Selah
- Psalms 10:12
Arise, O LORD! Lift up Your hand, O God! Do not forget the helpless.
- Psalms 58:6
Through
Proverbs 30:14there is a generation whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are knives, devouring the oppressed from the earth and the needy from among men.
it leads to
- Psalms 57:4
My soul is among the lions; I lie down with ravenous beasts— with men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
- Psalms 3:7
Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.
- Psalms 57:4
Through
Psalms 124:6Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
it leads to
- Psalms 118:13
I was pushed so hard I was falling, but the LORD helped me.
- Exodus 15:9–10
The enemy declared, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.’
- Psalms 118:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Job
This page draws on 10 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); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XIX; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.