Job 20:24

Almeida Revista e Atualizada

Se fugir das armas de ferro, o arco de bronze o traspassar.

Parallel Translations

A Biblia Sagrada
Ainda que fuja das armas de ferro, o arco de bronze o atravessar.

Almeida Revista e Corrigida
Ainda que fuja das armas de ferro, o arco de ao o atravessar.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

flee from: 1 Kings 20:30, Isaiah 24:18, Jeremiah 48:43, Jeremiah 48:44, Amos 5:19, Amos 9:1-3

the bow: 2 Samuel 22:35

strike him: Proverbs 7:23

Reciprocal: Exodus 14:25 - Let us flee Job 15:22 - and he is Job 27:22 - he would fain flee Ezekiel 11:8 - General

Gill's Notes on the Bible

He shall flee from the iron weapon,.... The sword, for fear of being thrust through with it; the flaming sword of justice God sometimes threatens to take, and whet, and make use of against ungodly men; the sword of God, as Bar Tzemach observes, is hereby figuratively expressed; fleeing from it, or an attempt to flee from it, shows guilt in the conscience, danger, and a sense of it, and a fear of falling into it, and yet there is no escaping the hand of God, or fleeing from his presence:

[and] the bow of steel shall strike him through; that is, an arrow out of a bow, made of steel or brass, of which bows were formerly made, and reckoned the strongest and most forcible, see Psalms 18:34; signifying, that if he should escape the dint of a weapon, a sword or spear used near at hand, yet, as he fled, he would be reached by one that strikes at a distance, an arrow shot from a bow; the sense is, that, if a wicked man escapes one judgment, another will be sure to follow him, and overtake him and destroy him, see Isaiah 24:17.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

He shall flee from the iron weapon - The sword, or the spear. That is, he shall be exposed to attacks, and shall flee in cowardice and alarm. Bands of robbers shall come suddenly upon him, and he shall have no safety except in flight. Pref. Lee explains this as meaning, “While he flees from the iron weapon, the brass bow shall pierre him through.” Probably the expression is proverbial, like that in Latin, Incidit in Scyllam cupiens vitare Charybdin.

The bow of steel shall strike him through - That is, the “arrow” from the bow of steel shall strike him down. Bows and arrows were commonly used in hunting and in war. To a considerable extent they are still employed in Persia, though the use has been somewhat superseded by the gun. “Bows” were made of various materials. The first were, undoubtedly, of wood. They were inlaid with horn, or ivory, or were made in part of metal. Sometimes, it would seem that the whole bow was made of metal, though it is supposed that the metal bow was not in general use. The “weight,” if nothing else, would be an objection to it. The word which is here rendered “steel” (נחוּשׁה n^echûshâh), means properly “brass or copper” - but it is certain that brass or copper could never have been used to form the main part of the bow, as they are destitute of the elasticity which is necessary. Jerome renders it, et irruet in arcum aereum - “he rushes on the brazen bow.” So the Septuagint, τόξον χάλκειον toxon chalkeion. So the Chaldee, דכוכומא קשתא - “the bow of brass.” There is no certain proof that “steel” was then known - though “iron” is often mentioned. It is possible, however, that though the whole bow was not made of brass or copper, yet that such quantities of these metals were employed in constructing bows, that they might, without impropriety, be called bows of brass. The Oriental bow consists of three parts. The handle, or middle part - that on which the arrow rested - was straight, and might be made of wood, brass, copper, or any other strong substance. To this was affixed, at each end, pieces of horn, or of any other elastic substance, and, the string was applied to the ends of these horns. The straight piece might have been of brass, and so without impropriety it might be called a brass bow. It is not properly rendered “steel” at any rate, as the word used here is never employed to denote iron or steel.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 20:24. He shall flee from the iron weapon — Or, "Though he should flee from the iron armour, the brazen bow should strike him through." So that yf he fle the yron weapens, he shal be shott with the stele bow. - Coverdale. That is, he shall most certainly perish: all kinds of deaths await him.