Job 38:17

King James Version

Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?

Parallel Translations

New Living Translation
Do you know where the gates of death are located? Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?

English Revised Version
Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?

Update Bible Version
Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

New Century Version
Have the gates of death been opened to you? Have you seen the gates of the deep darkness?

New English Translation
Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of deepest darkness?

Webster's Bible Translation
Have the gates of death been opened to thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shades of death?

World English Bible
Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

Amplified Bible
"Have the gates of death been revealed to you, Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

English Standard Version
Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Whether the yatis of deeth ben openyd to thee, and `siest thou the derk doris?

Berean Standard Bible
Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

Contemporary English Version
Have you seen the gate to the world of the dead?

American Standard Version
Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?

Bible in Basic English
Have the doors of death been open to you, or have the door-keepers of the dark ever seen you?

Complete Jewish Bible
Have the gates of death been revealed to you, the gates of death-like darkness?

Darby Translation
Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? and hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?

Easy-to-Read Version
Has anyone shown you the gates to the world of the dead? Have you ever seen those gates that lead to the dark place of death?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?

King James Version (1611)
Haue the gates of death bene opened vnto thee? Or hast thou seene the doores of the shadow of death?

New Life Bible
Have the gates of death been shown to you? Or have you seen the gates of the deep darkness?

New Revised Standard
Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

Geneva Bible (1587)
Haue the gates of death bene opened vnto thee? or hast thou seene the gates of the shadowe of death?

George Lamsa Translation
Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

Good News Translation
Has anyone ever shown you the gates that guard the dark world of the dead?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Have the gates of death been disclosed to thee? And, the gates of the death-shade, couldst thou descry?

Douay-Rheims Bible
Have the gates of death been opened to thee, and hast thou seen the darksome doors?

Revised Standard Version
Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Haue the gates of death ben opened vnto thee? or hast thou seene the doores of the shadowe of death?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And do the gates of death open to thee for fear; and did the porters of hell quake when they saw thee?

Christian Standard Bible®
Have the gates of death been revealed to you?Have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

Hebrew Names Version
Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

Lexham English Bible
Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of deep shadow?

Literal Translation
Have death's gates been opened to you; or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

Young's Literal Translation
Revealed to thee were the gates of death? And the gates of death-shade dost thou see?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Haue the gates of death bene opened vnto the or hast thou sene the dore of euerlastige treasure?

New American Standard Bible
"Have the gates of death been revealed to you, And have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

New King James Version
Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Have the gates of death been revealed to you, Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

Legacy Standard Bible
Have the gates of death been revealed to you,Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

Contextual Overview

¹² Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place; ¹³ That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? ¹⁴ It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment. ¹⁵ And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken. ¹⁶ Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth? ¹⁷ Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death? ¹⁸ Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all. ¹⁹ Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof, ²⁰ That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof? ²¹ Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the gates: Psalms 9:13, Psalms 107:18, Psalms 116:3

the shadow: Job 3:5, Job 12:22, Psalms 23:4, Psalms 107:10, Psalms 107:14, Amos 5:8, Matthew 4:16

Reciprocal: Job 10:22 - the shadow of death Job 28:3 - the stones Matthew 16:18 - and the Hebrews 4:13 - naked

Cross-References

Genesis 38:20
And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not.

Genesis 38:24
And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.

Genesis 38:25
When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.

Proverbs 20:16
Take his garment that is surety for a stranger: and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.

Ezekiel 16:33
They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom.

Luke 16:8
And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Have the gates of death been opened unto thee?.... Meaning not by which death has entered into the world, and which have been the causes and occasion of it; as the sin of man, the appointment of God, and various providences, calamities and diseases; but by which men enter into the state of the dead. Men know not experimentally what death is, nor in what way they shall go out of the world, nor at what time, nor in what place; they know not what the state of the dead is, there is no correspondence between them and the living; they do not know either what they enjoy or endure, or who precisely and with certainty are in the separate abodes of bliss or misery; the gates of these dark and invisible regions to us have never been thrown open, for mortals to look into them;

or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death? the same thing in other words; the Targum and Jarchi interpret this of hell.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Have the gates of death been opened unto thee - That is, the gates of the world where death reigns; or the gates that lead to the abodes of the dead. The allusion here is to “Sheol,” or “Hades,” the dark abodes of the dead. This was supposed to be beneath the ground, and was entered by the grave, and was inclosed by gates and bars; see the notes at Job 10:21-22. The transition from the reference to the bottom of the sea to the regions of the dead was natural, and the mind is carried forward to a subject further beyond the ken of mortals than even the unfathomable depths of the ocean. The idea is, that God saw all that occurred in that dark world beneath us, where the dead were congregated, and that his vast superiority to man was evinced by his being able thus to penetrate into, and survey those hidden regions. It is common in the Classical writers to represent those regions as entered by gates. Thus, Lucretius, i. 1105,

- Haec rebus erit para janua letl,

Hae se turba foras dabit omnis materai.

- “The doors of death are ope,

And the vast whole unbounded ruin whelms.”

Good.

So Virgil, Aeneid ii. 661,

- Pater isti janua leto,

“The door of death stands open.”

Or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death? - The doors which lead down to the gloomy realms where death spreads its dismal shades. This expression is more emphatic than the former, for the word צלמות tsalmâveth “shadow of death,” is more intensive in its meaning than the word מות mâveth, “death.” There is the superadded idea of a deep and dismal shadow; of profound and gloomy darkness; see the word explained in the notes at Job 3:5; compare Job 10:21-22. Man was unable to penetrate those gloomy abodes and to reveal what was there; but God saw all with the clearness of noon-day.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 38:17. Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? — Dost thou know in what the article of death consists? This is as inexplicable as the question, What is animal life?

The doors of the shallow of death? — צלמות tsalmaveth, the intermediate state, the openings into the place of separate spirits. Here two places are distinguished: מות maveth, death, and צלמות tsalmaveth, the shadow of death. It will not do to say, death is the privation of life, for what then would be the shadow of that privation?