Job 36:16

Indeed, He drew you from the jaws of distress to a spacious and broad place, to a table full of richness.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Elihu addresses Job during his discourse, contrasting God’s past intervention with Job’s current condition.

The words — מִ/פִּי־ צָר (mi./pi- Tzar) translates literally to “from [the] mouth of enemy,” while רַ֭חַב (Ra.chav) means “a broad place.”

The thread — The motif of deliverance from distress to open space and divine provision recurs in Psalms 23:5, 118:5, and 18:19.

Why it lands — The text states God’s past action of rescuing from oppression to a spacious place and providing a table of richness, while the immediate context notes Job now bears the judgment due the wicked. It asks the reader to recognize the disconnect between past deliverance and present accountability without softening the demand for honest reckoning.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְאַ֤ףve./'Afand/ also הֲסִיתְךָ֨׀ha.si.te./Khahe has allured/ you מִפִּי־mi./pi-from/ [the] mouth of צָ֗רTzarenemy רַ֭חַבRa.chava broad place לֹא־lo'-not מוּצָ֣קmu.Tzakconstraint תַּחְתֶּ֑יהָtach.Tei./hain place/ its וְנַ֥חַתve./Na.chatand/ [the] quietness of שֻׁ֝לְחָנְךָ֗Shul.cha.ne./Khatable/ your מָ֣לֵאMa.le'it was full דָֽשֶׁן׃Da.shenfatness

King James Version

Even so would he have removed thee out of the strait into a broad place, where there is no straitness; and that which should be set on thy table should be full of fatness.

Cross-references

Psalms 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Psalms 118:5 In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered and set me free.
Psalms 18:19 He brought me out into the open; He rescued me because He delighted in me.
Psalms 31:8 You have not delivered me to the enemy; You have set my feet in the open.
Psalms 63:5 My soul is satisfied as with the richest of foods; with joyful lips my mouth will praise You.
Isaiah 25:6 On this mountain the LORD of Hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all the peoples, a feast of aged wine, of choice meat, of finely aged wine.
Psalms 36:8 They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from Your river of delights.
Psalms 40:1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry.
Job 19:8 He has blocked my way so I cannot pass; He has veiled my paths with darkness.
Job 42:10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his prosperity and doubled his former possessions.