Job 5:15
in Job 5He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth and from the clutches of the powerful.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But he saveth from the sword of their mouth, Even the needy from the hand of the mighty.
KJV
But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.
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This verse in Job 5
Commentary
11 notes on this verseMORAL INTERPRETATION. But he shall save the poor from the sword of their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty. For the 'poor' is everyone that is not set up in his own eyes. And hence 'Truth' saith in the Gospel, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now a person is drawn into sin in two ways. For either he is led on by pleasure, or overcome by fear. For 'the sword of the mouth' is the mischievousness of persuasion, but 'the hand of the mighty' is the opposition of power.
This site's exposition
They encounter darkness by day
on Job 5:14-16
The crafty "encounter darkness by day and grope at noon as in the night". Meanwhile God "saves the needy from the sword in their mouth and from the clutches of the powerful". The section closes with "So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth," the silencing of wrongdoing.
This site's exposition
He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth
Barnes notes that the phrase the sword in their mouth has been read in several ways. Matthew Henry takes it as the tongue of the crafty, which joins their hands and their swords against the needy. God stands as protector of the defenceless.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Look! This is what God does, so the weak may hope for happiness and the powerful may not become proud. In fact, he said above, "Call for help in order to see whether you will be listened to," so that you may not think that there are things that escape providence.… Eliphaz dedicates the beginning of his speech to the defeat of Job. Indeed, God is accustomed to exalt the weak, to bring the powerful down and to confound the cunning. Now draw your own conclusions.
The Medieval Church2 voices
LITERAL INTERPRETATION. But He shall save the poor from the sword of their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty. For it is this very Poor Man of whom it is said by Paul, Though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor. And because the Jews in accusing betrayed the Lord, Whom, when so betrayed, the Gentiles put to death, by 'the sword of the mouth' may be signified the tongue of the Hebrews, that were His accusers, of whom the Psalmist saith, Whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. For, as the Gospel also witnesses, they cried out, Crucify Him, Crucify Him. But by 'the hand of the violent' may be set forth the very Gentile world itself, which crucified Him, which in our Redeemer's death fulfilled in act the words of the Hebrews; God then 'saved this Poor One both from the hand of the violent,' and from 'the sword of the mouth,' in that our Redeemer, in His human Nature, was subjected both to the powers of the Gentiles, and to the tongues of the Jews by dying, but in the power of His Divine Nature He overcame them by rising again. By which same resurrection what else is brought to pass than that our weakness is strengthened to conceive the hope of the life hereafter?
To prove these things seem to happen from divine providence, he goes on to describe what useful purpose they serve. For when the cunning of evildoers is impeded, the poor are freed from their deceptions. This is why he adds, "But he will make the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But he saveth the poor,....
That the afflictions which are borne well will end well; and Job particularly, if he would come to a better temper, might assure himself that God had great mercy in store for him,
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The designs of the crafty are to ruin the poor. Tongue, and hand, and sword, and all, are at work in order to this; but God takes under his special protection those who, being poor and unable to help themselves, being his poor and devoted to his praise, have committed themselves to him.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
He saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth - This is rather a harsh construction. To avoid this, some have proposed to render מחרב mechereb, which we translate from the sword, the persecuted, but, I am afraid, on very slender authority. Instead of מחרב מפיהם mechereb mippihem, “from the sword, from their mouth,” eleven of Kennicott and De Rossi’s MSS. read מחרב פיהם mechereb pihem, from the sword of their mouth; and with these MSS. the Chaldee, Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic agree. The verse, therefore, may be translated thus: - He saveth from the sword of their mouth; The poor from the hand of the mighty. Or thus: - He saveth from the sword of their mouth; And with a strong hand the impoverished.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
But he saveth the poor from the sword - He shows himself to be the friend and protector of the defenseless. The phrase “from the sword, from their mouth,” has been variously interpreted.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
By day, they meet darkness For their counsel is not executed nor accomplished, and the light of their wisdom is converted to darkness.
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. 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣שַׁע | vaiyosha' | and he saved | H3467 → | 206 times |
| מֵ֭חֶרֶב | mecherev | from [the] sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| מִפִּיהֶ֑ם | mipihem | from mouth their | H6310 → | 498 times |
| וּמִיַּ֖ד | umiyad | and from [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| חָזָ֣ק | chazak | [the] strong | H2389 → | |
| אֶבְיֽוֹן׃ | ʾevyon | [the] needy | H34 → | 61 times |
וַיֹּ֣שַׁעand he saved
vaiyosha'H3467 →206 times
מֵ֭חֶרֶבfrom [the] sword
mecherevH2719 →413 times
מִפִּיהֶ֑םfrom mouth their
mipihemH6310 →498 times
וּמִיַּ֖דand from [the] hand of
umiyadH3027 →1618 times
חָזָ֣ק[the] strong
chazakH2389 →
אֶבְיֽוֹן׃[the] needy
ʾevyonH34 →61 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 10:17You have heard, O LORD, the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their hearts. You will incline Your ear,
it leads to
- Psalms 145:19
He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.
- 2 Chronicles 34:27
because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its people, and because you have humbled yourself before Me and you have…
- Psalms 34:15
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry.
- Psalms 145:19
Through
Psalms 109:31For He stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from the condemners of his soul.
it leads to
- Psalms 121:5
The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is the shade on your right hand.
- Psalms 16:8
I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
- Psalms 110:5
The Lord is at Your right hand; He will crush kings in the day of His wrath.
- Psalms 121:5
Through
Psalms 35:10All my bones will exclaim, “Who is like You, O LORD, who delivers the afflicted from the aggressor, the poor and needy from the robber?”
it leads to
- Psalms 109:31
For He stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from the condemners of his soul.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 109:31
Through
Psalms 140:12I know that the LORD upholds justice for the poor and defends the cause of the needy.
it leads to
- Psalms 9:4
For You have upheld my just cause; You sit on Your throne judging righteously.
- Psalms 9:4
Where this verse is studied
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; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book VI; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON JOB 5:15B-16B; 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.