Job 33:28
in Job 33He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit, and I will live to see the light.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He hath redeemed my soul from going into the pit, And my life shall behold the light.
KJV
He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.
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This verse in Job 33
Commentary
10 notes on this verseFor he hath delivered his soul from going onwards to destruction. Because when Divine Grace goes before us in good works, our free will follows it, we, who yield our consent to God Who delivers us, are said to deliver ourselves; and hence Paul when saying, I laboured more abundantly than they all, [1 Cor. 15, 1] for fear he should seem to ascribe his labours to himself, immediately added, Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
This site's exposition
his flesh is refreshed like a child’s
on Job 33:25-28
The restored man's confession, “I have sinned and perverted what was right”, gives the words Job has refused to speak of himself through the debate. Gill reads “He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit” as the rescue promised at verse 18 now delivered.
This site's exposition
I will live to see the light
Gill reads the Pit two ways, the grave and the place of perdition. Wesley reads the light two ways as well. It is the restored life and also the sight and enjoyment of God.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
He shows the fruit of humility saying, "For he freed my soul," in confessing his sin, "from going to destruction," which refers to death, corporeal or spiritual. He also wants to attain further goods and so he says, "but in living my soul will see …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He will deliver his soul from going into the pit,.... Into the pit of the grave; and then the soul is put for the man or for the body; or into the pit of hell or perdition: and his life shall see the light; or he shall live and enjoy outward prosperity here, and the light of eternal happiness hereafter; and so the Targum interprets it of superior light, or the light above, even the inheritance of the saints in light.
Life - His life which was endangered, shall be restored and continued. Yea, farther, God shall Deliver his soul from going into the pit of hell: and his life shall see the light, all good, in the vision and fruition of God.
As sick people, upon their submission, are restored, so all others that truly repent of their sins shall find mercy with God. What sin is, and what reason we have not to sin.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He will deliver his soul - He will do that to every individual penitent sinner which he has promised in his word to do for a lost world - he will deliver his soul from going down to the pit of hell. And his life shall see the light - He shall walk in the light, as Christ is in the light; always enjoying a clear sense of his acceptance through the blood of the Lamb. See another mode of paraphrasing these verses at the end of the chapter.
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)
proposed
(See on Job 33:24); rather, as Hebrew text (English Version reads as the Margin, Hebrew, Keri, "his soul, his life"), "He hath delivered my soul . . . my life." Continuation of the penitent's testimony to the people. light-- (Job 33:30;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He will deliver his soul - Margin, “He hath delivered my soul.” There are various readings here in the text, which give rise to this diversity of interpretation. The present reading in the text is נפשׁי nepheshay - “my soul”; and according to this, it is to be regarded as the language of the sufferer celebrating the mercy of God, and is language which is connected with the confession in the previous verse, “I have sinned; I found it no advantage; and he hath rescued me from death.” Many manuscripts, however, read נפשׁו nepheshô - “his soul”; and according to this, the language would be that of Elihu, saying, that in those circumstances God would deliver him when he made suitable confession of his sin. The sense is essentially the same. The Vulgate has, “He will deliver his soul;” the Septuagint, “Save my soul.” From going into the pit - Notes Job 33:18. And his life shall see the light - Here there is the same variety of reading which occurs in regard to the word soul. The present Hebrew text is (חיתי chayātay) “my life”; many manuscripts read (חיתו chayātô), “his life.” The phrase “to see the light” is equivalent to live. Death was represented as going down into regions where there was no ray of light. See Job 3:5; Job 10:21-22.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| פָּדָ֣ה | padah | he has ransomed | H6299 → | 59 times |
| נַ֭פְשׁוֹ | nafshi | self his | H5315 → | 754 times |
| מֵעֲבֹ֣ר | meavor | from passing on | H5674 → | 556 times |
| בַּשָּׁ֑חַת | bashachat | in the pit | H7845 → | 23 times |
| וְ֝חַיָּתוֹ | vechaiyato | and life his | H2416 → | 498 times |
| בָּא֥וֹר | baor | on the light | H216 → | 121 times |
| תִּרְאֶֽה׃ | tireh | it will look | H7200 → | 1300 times |
פָּדָ֣הhe has ransomed
padahH6299 →59 times
נַ֭פְשׁוֹself his
nafshiH5315 →754 times
מֵעֲבֹ֣רfrom passing on
meavorH5674 →556 times
בַּשָּׁ֑חַתin the pit
bashachatH7845 →23 times
וְ֝חַיָּתוֹand life his
vechaiyatoH2416 →498 times
בָּא֥וֹרon the light
baorH216 →121 times
תִּרְאֶֽה׃it will look
tirehH7200 →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
John 11:9Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? If anyone walks in the daytime, he will not stumble, because he sees by the light of this world.
it leads to
- John 9:4
While it is daytime, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
- John 12:35
Then Jesus told them, “For a little while longer, the Light will be among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you. The one who walks in the…
- John 9:4
Through
Job 3:16Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child, like an infant who never sees daylight?
it leads to
- Psalms 58:8
Like a slug that dissolves in its slime, like a woman’s stillborn child, may they never see the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 6:3
A man may father a hundred children and live for many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he is unsatisfied with his prosperity and does not even receive a proper burial,…
- Psalms 58:8
Through
Job 33:24to be gracious to him and say, ‘Spare him from going down to the Pit; I have found his ransom,’
it leads to
- Psalms 49:7–8
No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God.
- 1 Peter 1:18–19
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
- Job 33:18
to preserve his soul from the Pit and his life from perishing by the sword.
- Matthew 20:28
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
- Psalms 49:7–8
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 on the Book of Job; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXIV; 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.