Bible Strands
Job 5:20
In famine He will redeem you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Eliphaz addresses Job within a structured argument about divine intervention during times of crisis. The speech occurs as Eliphaz outlines specific calamities from which God will deliver the righteous.
The words — The Hebrew verb פָּדָה (padah) carries the literal sense of "ransom" or "redeem," denoting a secured release. It directly modifies מִמָּוֶת (mimmavet, "from death") and pairs with בְּרָעָב (bera'av, "in famine") to frame the rescue as a concrete transaction against literal threats.
The thread — The motif of God ransoming people from death and famine appears in Psalms 33:19 and Hosea 13:14, where deliverance from Sheol mirrors the protective promise. Genesis 45:7 similarly records divine intervention preserving a remnant through a great deliverance.
Why it lands — The text states that God's protection operates through specific, historical dangers like famine and warfare rather than general comfort. A reader must acknowledge that the promise requires direct application to tangible survival rather than abstract spiritualization.
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
King James Version
In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.
Cross-references
- Psalms 33:19 to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
- Hosea 13:14 I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from Death. Where, O Death, are your plagues? Where, O Sheol, is your sting? Compassion is hidden from My eyes.
- Genesis 45:7 God sent me before you to preserve you as a remnant on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
- Psalms 37:19 In the time of evil they will not be ashamed, and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.
- 1 Kings 17:6 The ravens would bring him bread and meat in the morning and evening, and he would drink from the brook.
- Proverbs 10:3 The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but He denies the craving of the wicked.
- Habakkuk 3:17 Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls,
- Psalms 27:3 Though an army encamps around me, my heart will not fear; though a war breaks out against me, I will keep my trust.
- Psalms 144:10 to Him who gives victory to kings, who frees His servant David from the deadly sword.
- Matthew 24:6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come.