Job 33:21

21 His flesh wastes away, till one can't stand to look; his bones protrude and become unsightly.

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 "He is also warned by pain when in bed, when all his bones are hurting;

20 so that he detests bread as well as richer food.

21 His flesh wastes away, till one can't stand to look; his bones protrude and become unsightly.

22 His soul comes close to the pit and his life to those who bring death.

23 "If there is for him an angel, a mediator, one among a thousand, who can vouch for the man's uprightness;