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Contemporary English Version
Job 21:32
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
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- TheParallel Translations
He is carried to the grave,and someone keeps watch over his tomb.
Yet shall he be borne to the grave, Men shall keep watch over the tomb.
Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb.
When he is carried to the grave, watch is kept over his tomb.
They are carried to their graves, and someone keeps watch over their tombs.
And when he is carried to the tombs, and watch is kept over the funeral mound,
"When he is carried to his grave, A guard will keep watch over his tomb.
"When he is carried to the grave, People will keep watch over his tomb.
Yet shall he be borne to the grave, Men shall keep watch over the tomb.
Yet shal he be brought to the graue, & remaine in the heape.
While he is led forth to the grave,Men will keep watch over his tomb.
He is carried to the grave, and watch is kept over his tomb.
For he is carried off to the grave, people keep watch over his tomb,
Yet is he carried to the graves, and watch is kept over the tomb.
When they are carried to the grave, they will have someone to watch over the place they are buried.
Yet he shall be brought to the grave, he is reserved for misfortune.
When they are carried to the graveyard, to their well-guarded tombs,
When he is brought to the grave, then someone stands guard over the tomb.
Yet he shall be brought to the grave, and watch shall be kept over his tomb.
Yet shal he be brought to his graue, and watch amonge the heape of the deed.
Yet shall he be borne to the grave, And men shall keep watch over the tomb.
He is taken to his last resting-place, and keeps watch over it.
For he is borne to the grave, and watch is kept over his tomb.
Yet shall hee be brought to the graue, & shall remaine in the tombe.
Yet shall he be brought to his graue, and dwell among the heape [of the dead.]
And he has been led away to the tombs, and he has watched over the heaps.
Yet shall he be borne to the grave, and shall keep watch over the tomb.
He schal be led to the sepulcris; and he schal wake in the heep of deed men.
Yet he shall be borne to the grave, And men shall keep watch over the tomb.
Yet he shall be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb.
Yet he shall be brought to the grave, And a vigil kept over the tomb.
When they are carried to the grave, an honor guard keeps watch at their tomb.
When he is carried to the grave, men will keep watch over his grave.
When they are carried to the grave, a watch is kept over their tomb.
Yet, he, to the graves, is borne, and, over the tomb, one keepeth watch;
He shall be brought to the graves, and shall watch in the heap of the dead.
When he is borne to the grave, watch is kept over his tomb.
And he -- to the graves he is brought. And over the heap a watch is kept.
"While he is carried to the grave, Men will keep watch over his tomb.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
he be: Psalms 49:14, Ezekiel 32:21-32, Luke 16:22
grave: Heb. graves
remain in the tomb: Heb. watch in the heap
Reciprocal: Job 7:21 - sleep Job 17:14 - corruption Job 24:19 - so doth Psalms 82:7 - But Ecclesiastes 8:10 - so
Cross-References
At this time Abram the Hebrew was living near the oaks that belonged to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his brothers Eshcol and Aner were Abram's friends. Someone who had escaped from the battle told Abram
Abraham gave Abimelech some sheep and cattle, and then the two men made a peace treaty.
After Isaac had been there a long time, King Abimelech looked out a window and saw Isaac hugging and kissing Rebekah.
In fact, the Philistines were jealous of the large number of sheep, goats, and slaves that Isaac owned,
My father Nahor, your grandfather Abraham, and their ancestors all worshiped the same God, and he will make sure that we each keep the agreement. Then Jacob made a promise in the name of the fearsome God his father Isaac had worshiped.
After the king had finally let the people go, the Lord did not lead them through Philistine territory, though that was the shortest way. God had said, "If they are attacked, they may decide to return to Egypt."
Once again the Israelites started disobeying the Lord . So he let the Philistines take control of Israel for forty years.
Jonathan liked David so much that they promised to always be loyal friends.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Yet shall he be brought to the grave,.... Or "and", "or yea he shall be brought", c. a for the meaning is not, that though he is great in life he shall be brought low enough at death; for Job is still describing the grand figure wicked men make, even at death, as well as in life; for he is not only brought to the grave, as all men are, it being the house appointed for all living, and every man's long home; but the wicked rich man is brought thither in great funeral pomp, in great state, as the rich sinner was buried, Ecclesiastes 8:10; or "to the graves" b, the place where many graves are, the place of the sepulchres of his ancestors; and in the chiefest and choicest of them he is interred, and has an honourable burial; not cast into a ditch, or buried with the burial of an ass, as Jehoiakim was, being cast forth beyond the gates of the city, Jeremiah 22:19; and shall remain in the tomb; quiet and undisturbed, when it has been the lot of others to have their bones taken out of their grave, and spread before the sun, see Jeremiah 8:1; and even some good men, who have had their graves dug up, their bones taken out and burnt, and their ashes scattered about, as was the case of that eminent man, John Wickliff, here in England. The word for "tomb" signifies an "heap" c, and is sometimes used for an heap of the fruits of the earth; which has led some to think of the place of this man's interment being in the midst of a corn field; but the reason why a grave or tomb is so called is, because a grave, through a body or bodies being laid in it, rises up higher than the common ground; and if it has a tomb erected over it, that is no other than an heap of stones artificially put together; or it may be so called from the heaps of bodies one upon another in a grave, or vault, over which the tomb is, or where every part of the body is gathered and heaped d; from this sense of the word some have given this interpretation of the passage, that the wicked man shall be brought to his grave, and abide there, after he has heaped up a great deal of wealth and riches in this world; which, though a truth, seems not to be intended here, any more than others taken from the different signification of the word translated "remain". It is observed by some to signify to "hasten" e, from whence the almond tree, which hastens to put forth its bloom, has its name, Jeremiah 1:10; and so give this as the sense, that such a man, being of full age, is ripe for death, and, comes to his grave, or heap, like a shock of corn in its season. Others observe, that it signifies to "watch"; and so in the margin of our Bibles the clause is put, "he shall watch in the heap" f, which is differently interpreted; by some, that he early and carefully provides himself a tomb, as Absalom in his lifetime set up a sepulchral pillar for himself, 2 Samuel 18:18; and Shebna the scribe, and Joseph of Arimathea, hewed themselves sepulchres out of the rock,
Isaiah 22:15; and others think the allusion is either to statues upon tombs, as are still in use in our days, where they are placed as if they were watching over the tombs; or to bodies embalmed, according to the custom of the eastern countries, especially the Egyptians, which were set up erect in their vaults, and seemed as if they were alive, and there set to watch the places they were in, rather than as if buried there; or, according to others, "he shall be watched", or "[the keeper] shall watch at", or "over the tomb" g, that the body is not disturbed or taken away; but the sense our version gives is best, and most agrees with the context, and the scope of it, and with what follows.
a והוא "et ipse", Pagninus, Montanus, c. b לקברות "ad sepulchra", V. L. Montamus, Vatablus, Drusius, Beza, Mercerus, Michaelis, Schultens "in sepulchra", Junius Tremellius, Piscator. c על גדיש "super acervo", Montanus, Codurcus so Bolducius, Mercerus. d Vid. David de Pomis Lexic. fol. 14. 3. e ישקוד "festinabit", Pagninus; so some in Vatablus, and Ben Melech. f "Vigilabit", V. L. Tigurine version, Montanus; "vigilat", Michaelis, Schultens; "erit tanquam vigil", Bolducius. g "Vigilabitur", Beza; "vigilatur", Cocceius; so Calovius.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Yet shall he be brought to the grave - Margin, “graves.” That is, he is brought with honor and prosperity to the grave. He is not cut down by manifest divine displeasure for his sins. He is conducted to the grave as other people are, not withstanding his enormous wickedness. The “object” of this is clearly to state that he would not be overwhelmed with calamity, as the friends of Job had maintained, and that nothing could be determined in regard to his character from the divine dealings toward him in this life.
And shall remain in the tomb - Margin, “watch in the heap.” The marginal reading does not make sense, though it seems to be an exact translation of the Hebrew. Noyes renders it, “Yet he still survives upon his tomb.” Prof. Lee, “For the tomb was he watchful;” that is, his anxiety was to have an honored and a splendid burial. Wemyss, “They watch over his tomb;” that is, he is honored in his death, and his friends visit his tomb with affectionate solicitude, and keep watch over his grave. So Dr. Good renders it. Jerome translates it; “et in congerie mortuorum vigilabit.” The Septuagint, “And he shall be borne to the graves, and he shall watch over the tombs;” or, he shall cause a watch to be kept over his tomb - ἐπὶ σωρῶν ἠγρύπνησεν epi sōrōn ēgrupnēsen. Amidst this variety of interpretation, it is not easy to determine the true sense of the passage. The “general” meaning is not difficult.
It is, that he should be honored even in his death; that he would live in prosperity, and be buried with magnificence. There would be nothing in his death or burial which would certainly show that God regarded him as a wicked man. But there is considerable difficulty in determining the exact sense of the original words. The word rendered “tomb” in the text and “heap” in the margin (גדישׁ gâdı̂ysh) occurs only in the following places, Exodus 22:6; Job 5:26; Judges 15:5, where it is rendered “a shock of corn,” and in this place. The “verb” in the Syriac, Arabic, and in Chaldee, means “to heap up” (see Castell), and the noun may denote, therefore, a stack, or a heap, of grain, or a tomb, that was made by a pile of earth, or stones. The ancient “tumuli” were there heaps of earth or stone, and probably such a pile was made usually over a grave as a monument. On the meaning of the word used here, the reader may consult Bochart, Hieroz. P. i.
L. iii. c. xiii. p. 853. There can be little doubt that it here means a tomb, or a monument raised over a tomb. There is more difficulty about the word rendered “shall remain” (ישׁקוד yı̂shqôd). This properly means, to wake, to be watchful, to be sleepless. So the Chaldee שקד, and the Arabic “dakash” The verb is commonly rendered in the Scriptures, “watch,” or “waketh.” See Psalms 127:1; Psalms 102:7; Jeremiah 31:28; Jeremiah 1:12; Jeremiah 5:6; Jeremiah 44:27; Isaiah 29:20; Ezra 8:29; Daniel 9:14. There is usually in the word the notion of “watching,” with a view to guarding, or protecting, as when one watches a vineyard, a house, or other property. The sense here is, probably, that his tomb should be carefully “watched” by friends, and the verb is probably taken impersonally, or used to denote that “someone” would watch over his grave. This might be either as a proof of affection, or to keep it in repair. One of the most painful ideas might have been then, as it is now among American savages (Bancroft’s History of the United States, vol. iii. p. 299), that of having the grave left or violated, and it may have been regarded as a special honor to have had friends, who would come and watch over their sepulchre.
According to this view, the meaning is, that the wicked man was often honorably buried; that a monument was reared to his memory; and that every mark of attention was paid to him after he was dead. Numbers followed him to his burial, and friends came and wept with affection around his tomb. The argument of Job is, that there was no such distinction between the lives and death of the righteous and the wicked as to make it possible to determine the character; and is it not so still? The wicked man often dies in a palace, and with all the comforts that every clime can furnish to alleviate his pain, and to soothe him in his dying moments. He lies upon a bed of down; friends attend him with unwearied care; the skill of medicine is exhausted to restore him, and there is every indication of grief at his death. So, in the place of his burial, a monument of finest marble, sculptured with all the skill of art, is reared over his grave. An inscription, beautiful as taste can make it, proclaims his virtues to the traveler and the stranger. Friends go and plant roses over his grave, that breathe forth their odors around the spot where he lies. Who, from the dying scene, the funeral, the monument, the attendants, would suppose that he was a man whom God abhorred, and whose soul was already in hell? This is the argument of Job, and of its solidity no one can doubt.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Job 21:32. Yet shall he be brought to the grave — He shall die like other men; and the corruption of the grave shall prey upon him. Mr. Carlyle, in his specimens of Arabic poetry, Translations, p. 16, quotes this verse, which he translates and paraphrases, והוא לקברות יובל "He shall be brought to the grave," ועל גדוש ישקוד And shall watch upon the high-raised heap."
It was the opinion of the pagan Arabs, that upon the death of any person, a bird, by them called Manah, issued from the brain, and haunted the sepulchre of the deceased, uttering a lamentable scream. This notion, he adds, is evidently alluded to in Job 21:32. Thus Abusahel, on the death of his mistress: -
"If her ghost's funereal screech
Through the earth my grave should reach,
On that voice I loved so well
My transported ghost would dwell."
