Job 33:18 Meaning and Explanation
“He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →By such warnings God holds a person’s soul back from the pit and their life from perishing by the sword.
What Does Job 33:18 Mean?
Here is the result Elihu has been building toward. God’s nighttime speaking is a hand that draws the soul back from the grave and spares a life from violent ruin.
The God who warns is the God who saves. What looks like mere instruction is, underneath, a rescue from death. Throughout the chapter the pit looms as the great threat, and again and again it is God who keeps His own from falling into it, a deliverance that points toward the One who would conquer the grave for us.
Job 33:18 in the Original Language
shachat (שַׁחַת), 'pit' -- the grave or pit of destruction, here the death God holds the soul back from.
Frequently Asked Questions About Job 33:18
What does Job 33:18 mean?
By such warnings God holds a person’s soul back from the pit and their life from perishing by the sword.