The Meaning of Job 5:22 Explained

Job 5:22

KJV: At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

YLT: At destruction and at hunger thou mockest, And of the beast of the earth, Thou art not afraid.

Darby: At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh, and of the beasts of the earth thou shalt not be afraid.

ASV: At destruction and dearth thou shalt laugh; Neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

At destruction  and famine  thou shalt laugh:  neither shalt thou be afraid  of the beasts  of the earth. 

What does Job 5:22 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 5:22 mean?

At destruction and famine You shall laugh and of the beasts of the earth not you shall be afraid
לְשֹׁ֣ד וּלְכָפָ֣ן תִּשְׂחָ֑ק וּֽמֵחַיַּ֥ת הָ֝אָ֗רֶץ אַל־ תִּירָֽא

לְשֹׁ֣ד  At  destruction 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֹׁד  
Sense: havoc, violence, destruction, devastation, ruin.
וּלְכָפָ֣ן  and  famine 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: כָּפָן  
Sense: hunger, famine, painful hunger.
תִּשְׂחָ֑ק  You  shall  laugh 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: שָׂחַק  
Sense: to laugh, play, mock.
וּֽמֵחַיַּ֥ת  and  of  the  beasts 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
הָ֝אָ֗רֶץ  of  the  earth 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
תִּירָֽא  you  shall  be  afraid 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: יָרֵא 
Sense: to fear, revere, be afraid.