Job 16:22

Verse

Berean Standard Bible

For when only a few years are past I will go the way of no return.

American Standard Version (1901)

For when a few years are come, I shall go the way whence I shall not return.

Bible in Basic English

For in a short time I will take the journey from which I will not come back.

Free Bible Version

For in a few short years I shall go down that road from which I shall not return.

King James (Authorized) Version

When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.

Translation for Translators

I say this because within a few years I will die; I will walk along the roadto the grave from which I will never return.”

Unlocked Literal Bible

For when a few years have passed, I will go to a place from where I will not return.

Noah Webster Bible

When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.

World English Bible

For when a few years have come, I will go the way of no return.

Young's Literal Translation

When a few years do come, Then a path I return not do I go.

Context

Job Decries His Comforters

²¹Oh, that a man might plead with God as he pleads with his neighbor! ²²For when only a few years are past I will go the way of no return.

Summary

In this verse, Job expresses his deep anguish and despair as he feels abandoned and isolated by his friends and even by God. Despite his suffering, Job clings to his faith and maintains his innocence, seeking comfort and understanding. This verse reflects the intense emotional turmoil Job experiences during his trials, highlighting the importance of perseverance and trust in God even in the midst of great adversity. Job's cry for a mediator or advocate foreshadows the need for Jesus Christ, who would later serve as the ultimate mediator between God and humanity, offering redemption and reconciliation.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

When a few years are come - I prefer Mr. Good's version: - "But the years numbered to me are come. And I must go the way whence I shall not return." Job could not, in his present circumstances, expect a few years of longer life; from his own conviction he was expecting death every hour. The next verse, the first of the following chapter, should come in here: My breath is corrupt, etc. - He felt himself as in the arms of death: he saw the grave as already digged which was to receive his dead body. This verse shows that our translation of the twenty-second verse is improper, and vindicates Mr. Good's version. I Have said on Job 16:9 that a part of Job's sufferings probably arose from appalling representations made to his eye or to his imagination by Satan and his agents. I think this neither irrational nor improbable. That he and his demons have power to make themselves manifest on especial occasions, has been credited in all ages of the world; not by the weak, credulous, and superstitious only, but also by the wisest, the most learned, and the best of men. I am persuaded that many passages in the Book of Job refer to this, and admit of an easy interpretation on this ground.