Job 23 · Verse 17

Job 23:17

Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face.
Job 23:17, King James Version

Job 23:17 in other translations

BSBYet I am not silenced by the darkness, by the thick darkness that covers my face.
WEBBecause I was not cut off before the darkness, neither did he cover the thick darkness from my face.
ASVBecause I was not cut off before the darkness, Neither did he cover the thick darkness from my face.
YLTFor I have not been cut off before darkness, And before me He covered thick darkness.
DARBYBecause I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he hidden the gloom from me.
BBEFor I am overcome by the dark, and by the black night which is covering my face.
WebsterBecause I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face.

What does Job 23:17 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
17. Because I was not taken away by death from the evil to come (literally, "from before the face of the darkness," Is 57:1). Alluding to the words of Eliphaz (Job 22:11), "darkness," that is, calamity. cut off--rather, in the Arabic sense, brought to the land of silence; my sad complaint hushed in death [Umbreit]. "Darkness" in the second clause, not the same Hebrew word as in the first, "cloud," "obscurity." Instead of "covering the cloud (of evil) from my face," He "covers" me with it (Job 22:11).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 17 Because I was not cut off - "O, why can I not draw darkness over my face? Why may not thick darkness cover my face?" Mr. Good. This verse should be read in connection with the preceding; and then we shall have the following sense. Job 23:16 : "The Lord hath beaten down my strength, and my soul has been terrified by his fear." Job 23:17 : "For it is not this deep night in which I am enveloped, nor the evils which I suffer, that have overwhelmed me; I sink only through the fear which the presence of his Majesty inspires. This is my greatest affliction; sufferings, diseases, yea, death itself, are nothing in comparison of the terror which my soul feels in the presence of his tremendous holiness and justice." Nothing can humble a pious mind so much as Scriptural apprehensions of the majesty of God. It is easy to contemplate his goodness, loving-kindness, and mercy; in all these we have an interest, and from them we expect the greatest good: but to consider his holiness and justice, the infinite righteousness of his nature, under the conviction that we have sinned, and broken the laws prescribed by his sovereign Majesty, and to feel ourselves brought as into the presence of his judgment-seat, - who can bear the thought? If cherubim and seraphim veil their faces before his throne, and the holiest soul exclaims, I loathe myself when God I see, And into nothing fall; what must a sinner feel, whose conscience is not yet purged from dead works and who feels the wrath of God abiding on him? And how without such a mediator and sacrifice as Jesus Christ is, can any human spirit come into the presence of its Judge? Those who can approach him without terror, know little of his justice and nothing of their sin. When we approach him in prayer, or in any ordinance, should we not feel more reverence than we generally do?

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 23:13-17

As Job does not once question but that his trials are from the hand of God, and that there is no such thing as chance, how does he account for them? The principle on which he views them is, that the hope and reward of the faithful servants of God are only laid up in another life; and he maintains that it is plain to all, that the wicked are not treated according to their deserts in this life, but often directly the…

Read the full comment on Job 23:13-17 →

Job 23:17 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
נִ֭צְמַתִּיNitz.ma.tiI have been destroyedH6789
מִפְּנֵי\־mi.pe.nei-from beforeH6440
חֹ֑שֶׁךְCho.shekhdarknessH2822
וּ֝מִפָּנַ֗יu.mi.pa.Naiand from before meH6440
כִּסָּה\־ki.sah-it coversH3680
אֹֽפֶל\׃'O.felgloomH652

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Job 23:17

  • Job 19:8

    He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths.

  • Isaiah 57:1

    The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.

  • 2 Kings 22:20

    Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.

  • Job 18:6

    The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him.

  • Job 22:11

    Or darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee.

  • Job 6:9

    Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!

  • Job 15:22

    He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.

  • Job 18:18

    He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
cut off.
6:9; 2Ki 22:20; Isa 57:1
the darkness from.
15:22; 18:6,18; 19:8; 22:11

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Job 23:16

    For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me:

  • Job 23:17

    Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face.

Read all of Job 23

Job 23:17 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		¿Por qué no fuí yo cortado delante de las tinieblas, y cubrió con oscuridad mi rostro?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Parce que je n’ai pas été anéanti devant les ténèbres, et qu’il ne m’a pas caché l’obscurité.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Denn nicht wegen der Finsternis bin ich vernichtet, noch weil Dunkelheit mein Angesicht bedeckt hat.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Non enim perii propter imminentes tenebras, nec faciem meam operuit caligo.