Job 33:23-25

33:23 If there is an angel beside him,

one mediator ¹  out of a thousand,

to tell a person what constitutes his uprightness; ² 

33:24 and if ³  God ⁴  is gracious to him and says,

‘Spare ⁵  him from going down

to the place of corruption,

I have found a ransom for him,’ ⁶ 

33:25 then his flesh is restored ⁷  like a youth’s;

he returns to the days of his youthful vigor. ⁸ 

[33:23]  ¹ sn The verse is describing the way God can preserve someone from dying by sending a messenger (translated here as “angel”), who could be human or angelic. This messenger will interpret/mediate God’s will. By “one … out of a thousand” Elihu could have meant either that one of the thousands of messengers at God’s disposal might be sent or that the messenger would be unique (see Eccl 7:28; and cp. Job 9:3).

[33:23]  ² tn This is a smoother reading. The MT has “to tell to a man his uprightness,” to reveal what is right for him. The LXX translated this word “duty”; the choice is adopted by some commentaries. However, that is too far from the text, which indicates that the angel/messenger is to call the person to uprightness.

[33:24]  ³ tn This verse seems to continue the protasis begun in the last verse, with the apodosis coming in the next verse.

[33:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:24]  ⁵ tc The verb is either taken as an anomalous form of פָּדַע (pada’, “to rescue; to redeem,” or “to exempt him”), or it is emended to some similar word, like פָּרַע (para’, “to let loose,” so Wright).

[33:24]  ⁶ sn This verse and v. 28 should be compared with Ps 49:7-9, 15 (8-10, 16 HT) where the same basic vocabulary and concepts are employed.

[33:25]  ⁵ tc The word רֻטֲפַשׁ (rutafash) is found nowhere else. One suggestion is that it should be יִרְטַב (yirtav, “to become fresh”), connected to רָטַב (ratav, “to be well watered [or moist]”). It is also possible that it was a combination of רָטַב (ratav, “to be well watered”) and טָפַשׁ (tafash, “to grow fat”). But these are all guesses in the commentaries.

[33:25]  ⁶ tn The word describes the period when the man is healthy and vigorous, ripe for what life brings his way.