Job 36:19

19 Would your wealth or even all your mighty efforts sustain you so you would not be in distress?

Job 36:19 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
19 Will he esteem thy riches? no, not gold, nor all the forces of strength.
English Standard Version (ESV)
19 Will your cry for help avail to keep you from distress, or all the force of your strength?
New Living Translation (NLT)
19 Could all your wealth or all your mighty efforts keep you from distress?
The Message Bible (MSG)
19 Did you plan to buy your way out of this? Not on your life!
American Standard Version (ASV)
19 Will thy cry avail, [that thou be] not in distress, Or all the forces of [thy] strength?
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
19 Will your riches save you from having to suffer? Will all your mighty strength help you?
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
19 Can your wealth or all [your] physical exertion keep [you] from distress?
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
19 Can your wealth keep you out of trouble? Can all of your mighty efforts keep you going?

Job 36:19 Meaning and Commentary

Job 36:19

Will he esteem thy riches? [no], not gold, nor all the forces
of strength.
] Riches can be of no account, nor bear any weight with God; for they are of him and come from him, and what he has a right to take away and dispose of as he pleases. These cannot ward off the stroke of death, or secure from it; nor can a man possessed of them carry them with him into the other world; nor will they profit in the day of wrath. Mr. Broughton renders it, "will he esteem thy nobleness?" so Junius and Tremellius; thy noble birth, rank and station, thou hast had among men? Not at all. God is no respecter of persons; he regards not the noble and the rich more than the poor: and as for gold, the same may be said of that, which, though the most valuable among men, is of no esteem with God; and besides it is his: "the gold is mine", says he, "and the silver is mine", ( Haggai 2:8 ) . Nor is death to be bribed with it, or put off by it; nor is a "munition" F26 fortress or castle, as some render the word, any defence against it: "nor all the forces of strength". Had a man at his command ever such numerous and powerful armies, they could not protect him from the stroke of death, or deliver him from eternal punishment, the demerit of sin. Though as Job had no riches, no gold, nor troops of soldiers about him; nor was there any great likelihood that this would be his case at death; I should think the words might be better rendered, "will he regard thy cry? no, not in distress; not even the most strong and forcible" cries or entreaties: when the stroke of death is given, the sentence of wrath is passed, and eternal destruction takes place; weeping and wailing will signify nothing: the cries and howlings of the damned in hell are of no avail; their strong cryings, and most intense and earnest entreaties, will have no effect on the Lord; though he is a God of great pity and compassion, and has sympathy with his people in distress, and in all their afflictions is afflicted; yet will have no regard to cries and tears, when the decree is gone forth and carried into execution: the verb from whence the first word is derived is used for "crying" in this chapter, ( Job 36:13 ) ; and the Targum renders it here by supplication and petition; so some other Jewish writers F1 interpret it of crying: and the second word is by several rendered "in straits" F2 and distress; and Cocceius has observed the notion of intense and fervent prayer in the third, and renders the whole pretty near to what has been observed {c}.


FOOTNOTES:

F26 (rub al) "non munitionem", Tigurine version.
F1 Vid. Aben Ezra, Bar Tzemach, Sephorno.
F2 "In angustia", Mercerus, Drusius, Piscator; "in arcto", Cocceius, Schultens.
F3 "Num aequalis esset imploration tua non in arcto et omnes contentiones virium", Cocceius.

Job 36:19 In-Context

17 But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked; judgment and justice have taken hold of you.
18 Be careful that no one entices you by riches; do not let a large bribe turn you aside.
19 Would your wealth or even all your mighty efforts sustain you so you would not be in distress?
20 Do not long for the night, to drag people away from their homes.
21 Beware of turning to evil, which you seem to prefer to affliction.

Cross References 1

  • 1. Psalms 49:6; Jeremiah 9:23
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