The Meaning of Job 29:12 Explained

Job 29:12

KJV: Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.

YLT: For I deliver the afflicted who is crying, And the fatherless who hath no helper.

Darby: For I delivered the afflicted that cried, and the fatherless who had no helper.

ASV: Because I delivered the poor that cried, The fatherless also, that had none to help him.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Because I delivered  the poor  that cried,  and the fatherless,  and [him that had] none to help  him. 

What does Job 29:12 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 29:1-25 - The Bitter Memory Of The Happy Past
How many thousands, looking back on the beautiful dawn of life which has become overcast, have uttered the thought of the opening words of this chapter! The worldling has no hope of the renewal of that blessed past; but the believer knows that in Christ he belongs to the eternal order, which enters into the devastation wrought by sin, arresting, canceling and converting evil into good.
If we believe in Jesus Christ, submit to His will, and unite ourselves to His heart, "a statelier Eden" comes back to us. God watches over us for good; His lamp shines on our way; His friendship is in our tent, and His love transfigures all things. The graphic description which follows of the life of a godly man is still true when a man's ways please the Lord. [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 29

1  Job bemoans his former prosperity

What do the individual words in Job 29:12 mean?

Because I delivered the poor who cried out and the fatherless and no [the one who] had helper to
כִּֽי־ אֲ֭מַלֵּט עָנִ֣י מְשַׁוֵּ֑עַ וְ֝יָת֗וֹם וְֽלֹא־ עֹזֵ֥ר לֽוֹ

כִּֽי־  Because 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
אֲ֭מַלֵּט  I  delivered 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: מָלַט 
Sense: to slip away, escape, deliver, save, be delivered.
עָנִ֣י  the  poor 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: עָנִי  
Sense: poor, afflicted, humble, wretched.
מְשַׁוֵּ֑עַ  who  cried  out 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁוַע  
Sense: (Piel) to cry out (for help), shout.
וְ֝יָת֗וֹם  and  the  fatherless 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָתֹום  
Sense: an orphan, fatherless.
וְֽלֹא־  and  no 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
עֹזֵ֥ר  [the  one  who]  had  helper 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: עָזַר  
Sense: to help, succour, support.