Would your wealth sustain you in distress, or all the might of your strength?
Parallel Translations
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Would your wealth sustain you in distress, or all the might of your strength?
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Will he esteem thy riches? no, not gold, nor all the forces of strength.
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Will thy riches avail, that are without stint, or all the forces of thy strength?
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to Job 36:19 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Proverbs 11:4 Riches don’t profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
- Proverbs 11:21 Most certainly, the evil man will not be unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.
- Job 9:13 “God will not withdraw his anger. The helpers of Rahab stoop under him.
- Psalms 33:16-17 There is no king saved by the multitude of an army. A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain thing for safety, neither does he deliver any by his great power.
- Proverbs 10:2 Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness delivers from death.
- Isaiah 2:20 In that day, men shall cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which have been made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats,
- Isaiah 37:36 Then Yahweh’s angel went out and struck one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the camp of the Assyrians. When men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.
- Zephaniah 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of Yahweh’s wrath, but the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he will make an end, yes, a terrible end, of all those who dwell in the land.
- James 5:3 Your gold and your silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be for a testimony against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up your treasure in the last days.
- Job 34:20 In a moment they die, even at midnight. The people are shaken and pass away. The mighty are taken away without a hand.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Job 36:19 Will he esteem thy riches? [no], not…
Job 36:19 Will he esteem thy riches? [no], not gold, nor all the forces of strength.
Ver. 19. Will he esteem thy riches?] Tremellius rendereth it, thy nobility. Others read it thus, Will he regard thy crying in thine adversity? Or, That thou shouldest not abide in adversity? See Pro 10:2; Pro 11:4, {See Trapp on "Pro 10:2"} {See Trapp on "Pro 11:4"}
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No, not gold] Which yet can do much with men. The Hebrew word signifieth finest gold, Job 22:24, and hath its name from defending, because gold is a man’s defence: with men it may be so, but not with God, Zep 1:18; see the note there. Others read it, No, not in affliction.
Nor all the forces of strength] Which are poor things in comparison to God, whose weakness is stronger than men, 1Co 1:25. He need but to arise, and his enemies shall be scattered; yea, all that hate him shall fly before him, Psa 68:1. As the rocks repel the greatest waves, so doth God his enemies, Conantia frangere franguut.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain If thou couldst recover thy lost wealth or strength,…
If thou couldst recover thy lost wealth or strength, or thy friends would employ theirs on thy behalf, neither could the one ransom thee, nor the other rescue thee.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Will he esteem thy riches? no, not gold, nor…
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", Hag 2:8. Nor is death to be bribed with it, or put off by it; nor is a "munition" (z) 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 (a) interpret it of crying: and the second word is by several rendered "in straits" (b) 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).
(z) "non munitionem", Tigurine version. (a) Vid. Aben Ezra, Bar Tzemach, Sephorno. (b) "In angustia", Mercerus, Drusius, Piscator; "in arcto", Cocceius, Schultens. (c) "Num aequalis esset imploration tua non in arcto et omnes contentiones virium", Cocceius.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Thy riches - If thou hadst as much of…
Thy riches - If thou hadst as much of them as ever. Forces - The strongest forces.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Will he esteem thy riches? - That is God…
Will he esteem thy riches? - That is God will not regard thy riches as a reason why he should not cut you off, or as a ransom for your forfeited life. The reference here must be to the fact that Job “had been” a rich man, and the meaning is, either that God would not spare him because he “had been” a rich man, or that if he had now all the wealth which he once possessed, it would not be sufficient to be a ransom for his life.
Nor all the forces of his strength - Not all that gives power and influence to a man - wealth, age, wisdom, reputation, authority, and rank. The meaning is, that God would not regard any of these when a man was rebellious in affliction, and refused in a proper manner to acknowledge his Maker. Of the truth of what is here affirmed, there can be no doubt. Riches, rank, and honors cannot redeem the life of a man. They do not save him from the grave, and from all that is gloomy and revolting there. When God comes forth to deal with mankind, he does not regard their gold, their rank, their splendid robes or palaces, but he deals with them as “men” - and the “happy,” the beautiful, the rich, the noble, moulder back, under his hand, to their native dust in the same manner as the most humble peasant. How forcibly should this teach us not to set our hearts on wealth, and not to seek the honors and wealth of the world as our portion!
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Without, or before thou be forced by tribulation. (Menochius)…
Without, or before thou be forced by tribulation. (Menochius) --- Lay aside all sentiments of pride, (St. Gregory) or keep in awe the mighty, who administer justice in thy name. (Menochius) --- Protestants, "Will he esteem thy riches? No, not gold, nor all the forces of strength." Septuagint, "Let not a willing mind incline thee unjustly to the prayer of the needy in distress." (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain forces of strength--that is, resources of wealth (Psa 49:7;…
forces of strength--that is, resources of wealth (Psa 49:7; Pro 11:4).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain Strophe b — No resources of riches or might…
Strophe b — No resources of riches or might will suffice to redeem the soul out of God’s hand; therefore long not for the night, and, above all things, pervert not the afflictions of God into occasions of sin, Job_36:19-21.
19. Will he esteem thy riches — On the supposition that betsar is a compound word, some (Zockler) read, “Shall thy crying put thee out of distress? and all the efforts of strength?” i.e., of thy strength. Gesenius, (Thesaurus, 1069,) Renan, Noyes, Conant, Hitzig, etc., substantially agree with the English version. Thus Hirtzel, “Will thy riches suffice? O not gold, nor all treasures of power!” a reading which quite determines that the preceding verse (18) must accord with the Authorized Version. According to Suidas, the Phoenicians represented their gods with purses of gold as the symbol of power.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 19. No other ransom will avail,—not riches nor all…
19. No other ransom will avail,—not riches nor all the power of wealth. Only the purification of suffering will cleanse him from his evil (cf. ch. Job_34:36), and deliver him. Elihu demands with emphasis whether all his riches will be accepted as a ransom? It need not be said that the question is put merely for the purpose of heightening the effect of the idea in Job_36:18, that suffering is the only ransom possible. A similar thought is expressed in Psa_49:7 : “None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him; for the redemption of their soul is too precious and it ceaseth for ever.”
The word translated “without stint” (Conant) is lit. without straitness. The word is often used for distress (Job_36:16), and the clause might be rendered: will thy riches suffice (lit. be equal to it, ch. Job_28:19), without distress, i.e. such afflictions as those now suffered? This is rather flat. The A. V. assumes that the expression is the word ore or gold, ch. Job_22:24, differently spelled. This assumption is both improbable in itself and contrary to the balance of the verse.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (19) No, not gold, nor all the forces of…
(19) No, not gold, nor all the forces of strength.—The words here are doubtful. Some render, “Will He esteem thy riches, that thou be not in distress?” or, “all the forces of thy strength;” others, “Will thy cry avail, that thou be not in distress?” &c.; but there is authority for the Authorised Version.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Will he esteem thy riches! rather, Will thy riches…
Will he esteem thy riches! rather, Will thy riches suffice? (Revised Version); or Will they stand the shock of battle? (Schultens). Will they be a sufficient strength to thee in the time of trouble? No, not gold. This rendering is now generally given up, and the words, lo betsar (rxb al), are taken in connection with the preceding sentence, thus: Will thy riches suffice" that thou be not in distress? or, in other words, Will they keep thee out of trouble? If not, will all the forces of thy strength suffice to do so? Assuredly, nothing will avail against the "stroke" of God (ver. 18).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Can your wealth benefit you, so that you will…
Can your wealth benefit you, so that you will not be in distress, or can all the force of your strength help you?
Elihu asks these questions to state that money and power will not be able to help Job if he acts unjustly. AT: "Your wealth cannot cause you to no longer be in distress, and all the force of your strength cannot help you." (See: Rhetorical Question)
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all the force of your strength
"all of your great strength" or "all of your mighty efforts"
when peoples are cut off in their place
Possible meanings are 1) that "peoples" refers to people in general and "cut off in their place" is a metaphor for oppressing others by dragging them away from their homes. AT: "when people drag others away from their homes" or 2) that "peoples" represents nations and "cut off in their place" is a metaphor for nations being destroyed. AT: "when nations will perish" (See: Metaphor)
you are being tested by suffering
This can be stated in active form. AT: "God is testing you by making you suffer" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
strength
commit
sin
people group
cut off
turn
test
suffer
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.