Job 33:21

21 They lose weight, wasting away to nothing, reduced to a bag of bones.

Job 33:21 Meaning and Commentary

Job 33:21

His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen
All being gone, none left to be seen, nothing but skin and bones; and this partly through the vehemence of strong pain, and partly through the nausea of food; not being able to take anything for nourishment and the support of the fluids, and so quite emaciated:

and his bones [that] were not seen stick out:
which before were covered with flesh and fat, so that they could not be seen; but now the flesh and fat being wasted, they seem as if they rose up in an eminence, and stood out to be beheld; this was also Job's case, being reduced to a mere skeleton, ( Job 19:20 ) . Elihu, in this description of an afflicted man, seems to have Job chiefly in view, and by this would intimate to him that God had been, and was speaking to him by those afflictions, which he would do well to advert unto.

Job 33:21 In-Context

19 "Or, God might get their attention through pain, by throwing them on a bed of suffering,
20 So they can't stand the sight of food, have no appetite for their favorite treats.
21 They lose weight, wasting away to nothing, reduced to a bag of bones.
22 They hang on the cliff-edge of death, knowing the next breath may be their last.
23 "But even then an angel could come, a champion - there are thousands of them! - to take up your cause,
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.