Job 5:19

19 He shall deliver thee in six tribulations, and in the seventh no evil shall touch thee.

Job 5:19 Meaning and Commentary

Job 5:19

He shall deliver thee in six troubles
Behaving as before directed; seeking unto God, committing his cause and case to him, and leaving it with him; and not despising the chastening of the Lord, but receiving and bearing it with reverence, patience, and submission: and then the sense is, that God would deliver out of whatsoever troubles he was or should be in, though they were ever so many; a certain number being put for an uncertain one, ( Psalms 34:19 ) ;

yea, seven there shall no evil touch thee;
which is a number expressive of multitude and of perfection, and so may denote the multitude and fulness of afflictions: the tribulations of God's people are many, through which they pass to heaven, and there is a measure of them to be filled up; and when they are come to the height, and the measure is fully up, then the Lord puts a stop to them, and delivers out of all their troubles; and in the midst of them all, so preserves them, that "no evil" shall so much as "touch" them; not the evil of punishment; for, though those troubles and afflictions that attend them are evil things, in a natural or civil sense, they are disagreeable and distressing, yet they are not the effect of vindictive justice; there is not a drop wrath and vengeance in them; and though they do come upon them and unto them, upon their persons and families; yet not so as to do any real hurt, or as to destroy them; see ( Psalms 91:10 ) ; some think that seven particular troubles are meant, hereafter mentioned, as Jarchi; as famine, war, an evil tongue, destruction, dearness of provision, the beasts of the earth, and the stones of the field.

Job 5:19 In-Context

17 Behold, blessed is the man whom God chastens; therefore, do not despise not the correction of the Almighty.
18 For he makes sore, and binds up; he wounds, and his hands make whole.
19 He shall deliver thee in six tribulations, and in the seventh no evil shall touch thee.
20 In famine he shall ransom thee from death, and in war from the power of the sword.
21 Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue; neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it comes.
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010