The Meaning of Job 5:20 Explained

Job 5:20

KJV: In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.

YLT: In famine He hath redeemed thee from death, And in battle from the hands of the sword.

Darby: In famine he will redeem thee from death, and in war from the power of the sword.

ASV: In famine he will redeem thee from death; And in war from the power of the sword.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

In famine  he shall redeem  thee from death:  and in war  from the power  of the sword. 

What does Job 5:20 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 5:1-27 - The Benefits Of Chastisement
In this chapter Eliphaz closes his first speech. He had already suggested that Job's sufferings were the result of some secret sin. It could not be otherwise according to his philosophy. Affliction and trouble did not come by chance. It was as much a law of nature, so Eliphaz thought, for calamity to follow sin as for sparks to fly upward. However deeply evil men had rooted themselves, they were doomed to be destroyed. Was it not obvious that Job had in some way offended? Let him confess and be restored!
The ideal life which will ensue on a genuine repentance is described in the most thrilling and glowing terms, Job 5:8-17. Each sentence is a priceless jewel, and each has been tested by generations of returning prodigals, for whom each promise has been countersigned by the "Yea" of Christ, 2 Corinthians 1:20. Paul quotes Job 5:13 in 1 Corinthians 3:19. [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 5

1  Eliphaz shows that the end of the wicked is misery;
6  that man is born to trouble;
8  that God is to be regarded in affliction;
17  the happy end of God's correction

What do the individual words in Job 5:20 mean?

In famine He shall redeem you from death and in war from the power of the sword
בְּ֭רָעָב פָּֽדְךָ֣ מִמָּ֑וֶת וּ֝בְמִלְחָמָ֗ה מִ֣ידֵי חָֽרֶב

בְּ֭רָעָב  In  famine 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular
Root: רָעָב  
Sense: famine, hunger.
פָּֽדְךָ֣  He  shall  redeem  you 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular, second person masculine singular
Root: פָּדָה  
Sense: to ransom, redeem, rescue, deliver.
מִמָּ֑וֶת  from  death 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מָוֶת  
Sense: death, dying, Death (personified), realm of the dead.
וּ֝בְמִלְחָמָ֗ה  and  in  war 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִלְחָמָה  
Sense: battle, war.
מִ֣ידֵי  from  the  power 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, fdc
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
חָֽרֶב  of  the  sword 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֶרֶב  
Sense: sword, knife.