Job 5:20
in Job 5In famine He will redeem you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In famine he will redeem thee from death; And in war from the power of the sword.
KJV
In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.
⋯
This verse in Job 5
Commentary
11 notes on this verseIn famine He shall redeem thee from death, and in war from the power of the sword. As the 'famine' of the flesh is the withdrawal of the support of the body, so the hunger of the soul is the silence of divine revelation. Hence it is rightly delivered by the Prophet, I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord.
This site's exposition
He will rescue you from six calamities
on Job 5:19-23
Eliphaz counts deliverance in a rising number, covering famine, battle, destruction and wild beasts. Clarke notes the six-and-seven pattern as a Hebrew idiom for completeness. The promise hangs on Job's repentance, the friends' whole method: a sweeping future blessing made to argue backward for a present hidden sin.
This site's exposition
In famine He will redeem you from death
The Hebrew gives the sword hands, as Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note, a living agent reaching for its victim. Clarke reports that the Targum reads the verse as the famine of Egypt and the war with Amalek, from which God redeemed Israel. Famine and battle head the list of troubles.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Without doubt Job possesses happiness. You see that, by necessity or willingly, while Job starves and keeps away from all the tables of this world, he cries, "Sighing is my nourishment." Yet Job does not die and confirms with force this word of God, "Man …
The Medieval Church1 voice
Since he had mentioned seven tribulations, he now enumerates them. Note that sometimes adversity is the result of a particular danger for an individual person, which is sometimes even against his corporeal life which is sometimes taken away by withdrawing the necessities of life. To …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one. 3 I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation. 4 His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
If God please, it shall not touch thee; or if it wound thee, if it kill thee, it shall not hurt thee; it can but kill the body, nor has it power to do that unless it be given from above." (4.) That, whatever is maliciously said against them, it shall not affect them to do them any hurt,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
In famine he shall redeem thee from death,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
In famine he shall redeem thee - The Chaldee, which understands this chapter as speaking of the troubles and deliverances of the Israelites in Egypt and the wilderness, renders this verse as follows: “In the famine of Egypt he redeemed thee from death; and in the war of Amalek, from the slaying of the sword.”
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Hebrew, "hands." of the sword-- (Eze 35:5, Margin). Hands are given to the sword personified as a living agent.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
In famine he shall redeem thee - That is, will deliver thee from death. On the meaning of the word “redeem,” see the notes at Isa 43:1, Isa 43:3. From the power of the sword - Margin, as in Hebrew “hands.” That is, he should not be slain by armed men. A mouth is often attributed to the sword in the Scriptures, because it devours; “hands” are attributed to it here, because it is by the hand that we perform an undertaking, and the sword is personified, and represented as acting as a conscious agent; compare Eze 35:5, margin. The meaning is that God would protect those who put their trust in him, in times of calamity and war. Doubtless Eliphaz had seen instances enough of this kind to lead him to this general conclusion, where the pious poor had been protected in a remarkable manner, and where signal deliverances had been vouchsafed to the righteous in danger.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּ֭רָעָב | berao | in famine | H7458 → | |
| פָּֽדְךָ֣ | padekha | he will ransom you | H6299 → | 59 times |
| מִמָּ֑וֶת | mimavet | from death | H4194 → | 156 times |
| וּ֝בְמִלְחָמָ֗ה | uvemilchamah | and in battle | H4421 → | 320 times |
| מִ֣ידֵי | midei | from [the] hands of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| חָֽרֶב׃ | charev | [the] sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
בְּ֭רָעָבin famine
beraoH7458 →
פָּֽדְךָ֣he will ransom you
padekhaH6299 →59 times
מִמָּ֑וֶתfrom death
mimavetH4194 →156 times
וּ֝בְמִלְחָמָ֗הand in battle
uvemilchamahH4421 →320 times
מִ֣ידֵיfrom [the] hands of
mideiH3027 →1618 times
חָֽרֶב׃[the] sword
charevH2719 →413 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 37:19In the time of evil they will not be ashamed, and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.
it leads to
- Proverbs 10:3
The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but He denies the craving of the wicked.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 33:16
he will dwell on the heights; the mountain fortress will be his refuge; his food will be provided and his water assured.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 33:19
to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
- Proverbs 10:3
Through
Psalms 33:19to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
it leads to
- Psalms 37:19
In the time of evil they will not be ashamed, and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 37:19
Through
Proverbs 10:3The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but He denies the craving of the wicked.
it leads to
- Psalms 37:3
Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
- Matthew 6:30–33
If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
- Psalms 37:25
I once was young and now am old, yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned or their children begging for bread.
- Psalms 37:3
Through
Hosea 13:14I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from Death. Where, O Death, are your plagues? Where, O Sheol, is your sting? Compassion is hidden from My eyes.
it leads to
- Isaiah 25:8
He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.
- Isaiah 25:8
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 (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book VI; Hesychius of Jerusalem, HOMILIES ON JOB 8.5.20-26; 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 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.