Job 33:21
in Job 33His flesh wastes away from sight, and his hidden bones protrude.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; And his bones that were not seen stick out.
KJV
His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his bones that were not seen stick out.
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This verse in Job 33
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen - He wastes away. His flesh, once vigorous, beautiful, and fair, now disappears. This is not a mere description of the nature of his sickness, but it is a description of the disciplinary arrangements of God. It is an important part of his affliction, as a part of the discipline, that his flesh vanishes, and that his appearance is so changed that he becomes repulsive to the view. And his bones that were not seen, stick out - His bones were before invisible.
This site's exposition
A man is also chastened on his bed
on Job 33:19-22
“A man is also chastened on his bed with pain” introduces the second way God speaks, through suffering. Elihu describes it in sickbed terms close to Job's state: “he detests his bread”. Barnes reads the chastening as communication, pain sent as a message, which is Elihu's whole argument in small.
This site's exposition
his hidden bones protrude
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown mark the reversal. Flesh that once stood out now wastes away from sight, and bones once hidden now protrude. Henry says a few days of sickness can leave a man with ribs that may be counted.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Fourth, he places leanness when he says, "His flesh will waste away," that is, will fail, "and," consequently, "the bones which were hidden," by flesh, "will be laid bare," because they will appear to be covered only by skin.
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistMorals on the Book of Job, Book XXIII · Written before 604.
proposed
His flesh shall waste away, and his bones which were covered shall be laid bare. For when every outward pleasure is worn away by the pressure of the rod, the bones of inward firmness are laid bare. For what is meant in this place by the word flesh, but fleshly pleasure itself? Or what by bones, but the virtues of the soul?
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen,....
By sickness, perhaps a few days' sickness, his flesh, which was fat, and fair, is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; it is strangely wasted and gone: and his bones, which were buried in flesh, now stick out; you may count his ribs, may tell all his bones.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
His flesh once prominent "can no more be seen." His bones once not seen now appear prominent. stick out--literally, "are bare." The Margin, Hebrew (Keri) reading. The text (Chetib) reads it a noun "(are become) bareness." The Keri was no doubt an explanatory reading of transcribers.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
His flesh is consumed away - As in atrophy, marasmus, and consumptive complaints in general.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יִ֣כֶל | yikhel | it wastes away | H3615 → | 208 times |
| בְּשָׂר֣וֹ | besaro | flesh his | H1320 → | 270 times |
| מֵרֹ֑אִי | meroi | from sight | H7210 → | |
| וְשֻׁפּ֥וּ | ushefi | and they are laid bare | H8192 → | |
| עַ֝צְמוֹתָ֗יו | atzmotav | bones his | H6106 → | 126 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | [which] not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| רֻאּֽוּ׃ | ru'u | they were seen | H7200 → | 1300 times |
יִ֣כֶלit wastes away
yikhelH3615 →208 times
בְּשָׂר֣וֹflesh his
besaroH1320 →270 times
מֵרֹ֑אִיfrom sight
meroiH7210 →
וְשֻׁפּ֥וּand they are laid bare
ushefiH8192 →
עַ֝צְמוֹתָ֗יוbones his
atzmotavH6106 →126 times
לֹ֣א[which] not
lo'H3808 →5168 times
רֻאּֽוּ׃they were seen
ru'uH7200 →1300 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 19:20My skin and flesh cling to my bones; I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
it leads to
- Lamentations 4:8
But now their appearance is blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as a stick.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 102:5
Through my loud groaning my flesh clings to my bones.
- Lamentations 4:8
Through
Proverbs 5:11At the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are spent,
it leads to
- Romans 6:21
What fruit did you reap at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The outcome of those things is death.
- Revelation 22:15
But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
- Numbers 5:27
When he has made her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, then the water that brings a curse will enter her and cause bitter suffering; her…
- Romans 6:21
Through
Job 7:5My flesh is clothed with worms and encrusted with dirt; my skin is cracked and festering.
it leads to
- Isaiah 14:11
Your pomp has been brought down to Sheol, along with the music of your harps. Maggots are your bed and worms your blanket.
- Job 17:14
and say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’
- Isaiah 14:11
Through
Job 13:28So man wastes away like something rotten, like a moth-eaten garment.
it leads to
- Psalms 39:11
You discipline and correct a man for his iniquity, consuming like a moth what he holds dear; surely each man is but a vapor. Selah
- Psalms 39:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Job
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 XXIII; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.