Job 16:22
New International Version
“Only a few years will pass before I take the path of no return.

New Living Translation
For soon I must go down that road from which I will never return.

English Standard Version
For when a few years have come I shall go the way from which I shall not return.

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

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

New King James Version
For when a few years are finished, I shall go the way of no return.

New American Standard Bible
“For when a few years are past, I shall go the way of no return.

NASB 1995
“For when a few years are past, I shall go the way of no return.

NASB 1977
“For when a few years are past, I shall go the way of no return.

Legacy Standard Bible
For when a few years are past, I shall go the way of no return.

Amplified Bible
“For when a few years are past, I shall go the way of no return.

Christian Standard Bible
For only a few years will pass before I go the way of no return.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
For only a few years will pass before I go the way of no return.

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

Contemporary English Version
Because in only a few years, I will be dead and gone.

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

GOD'S WORD® Translation
because in a few short years I will take the path of no return.

Good News Translation
My years are passing now, and I walk the road of no return.

International Standard Version
For when only a few years have elapsed, I'll start down a path from which I'll never return."

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

NET Bible
For the years that lie ahead are few, and then I will go on the way of no return.

New Heart English Bible
For when a few years are come, I shall go the way from where I shall not return.

Webster's Bible Translation
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.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
When a few years come, "" Then I go [on] the path of no return.”

Young's Literal Translation
When a few years do come, Then a path I return not do I go.

Smith's Literal Translation
When years of number shall come, and the way I shall go I shall not turn back.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
For behold short years pass away and I am walking in a path by which l shall not return.

Catholic Public Domain Version
For behold, a few years pass by, and I am walking a path by which I will not return.

New American Bible
For my years are numbered, and I go the road of no return.

New Revised Standard Version
For when a few years have come, I shall go the way from which I shall not return.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
For the number of a man's years will come to an end; then he shall go the way from whence he shall not return.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
For the number of his years are coming, and he goes the way without return!
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
For the years that are few are coming on, And I shall go the way whence I shall not return.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
But my years are numbered and their end come, and I shall go by the way by which I shall not return.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



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.

Cross References
Psalm 39:4-5
“Show me, O LORD, my end and the measure of my days. Let me know how fleeting my life is. / You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah

Ecclesiastes 12:7
before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Hebrews 9:27
Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,

James 4:14
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Psalm 90:10
The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty if we are strong—yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

2 Corinthians 5:1
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

1 Peter 1:24
For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,

Genesis 3:19
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”

Psalm 89:48
What man can live and never see death? Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah

2 Samuel 14:14
For we will surely die and be like water poured out on the ground, which cannot be recovered. Yet God does not take away a life, but He devises ways that the banished one may not be cast out from Him.

Isaiah 38:10-12
I said, “In the prime of my life I must go through the gates of Sheol and be deprived of the remainder of my years.” / I said, “I will never again see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living; I will no longer look on mankind with those who dwell in this world. / My dwelling has been picked up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent. I have rolled up my life like a weaver; He cuts me off from the loom; from day until night You make an end of me.

Philippians 1:23
I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed.

2 Timothy 4:6
For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.

John 14:2-3
In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? / And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope. / For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.


Treasury of Scripture

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

a few years.

Job 14:5,14
Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; …

whence

Job 7:9,10
As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more

Job 14:10
But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?

Ecclesiastes 12:5
Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

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Job 16
1. Job reproves his friends for unmercifulness
17. He maintains his innocence














For when only a few years are past
This phrase reflects Job's acute awareness of the brevity of life. The Hebrew word for "years" is "שָׁנִים" (shanim), which emphasizes the passage of time. In the context of Job's suffering, these "few years" underscore the fleeting nature of human existence. Historically, this reflects the ancient Near Eastern understanding of life as transient and often filled with suffering. Job's lamentation here is a poignant reminder of the urgency to live righteously and with purpose, as life is but a vapor.

I will go
The phrase "I will go" is a personal acknowledgment of the inevitability of death. The Hebrew verb "הָלַךְ" (halak) means "to walk" or "to go," suggesting a journey or transition. In the biblical context, this journey is not just physical but spiritual, as it signifies the soul's departure from the earthly realm. This reflects the conservative Christian belief in the afterlife and the soul's journey towards eternity, emphasizing the importance of one's spiritual state at the time of death.

the way of no return
This phrase captures the finality of death. The "way" in Hebrew is "דֶּרֶךְ" (derekh), often used to describe a path or journey. The "way of no return" signifies a one-way journey, highlighting the irreversible nature of death. In the scriptural context, this underscores the belief in the finality of earthly life and the transition to an eternal state. For conservative Christians, this serves as a sobering reminder of the importance of salvation and the hope of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. The phrase also reflects the ancient understanding of Sheol, the abode of the dead, from which there is no return to earthly life, reinforcing the need for preparedness for the afterlife.

(22) When a few years are come.--Literally, years of number, which means either "years than can be easily numbered," as men of number (Genesis 34:20) is used to express few men; or "years that are numbered," that is, allotted, determined. It is strange to find Job speaking, in his condition, of years, but so, for that matter, is it to find a man so sorely tormented as he was indulging in so long an argument. Perhaps this shows us that the narrative of Job is intended to be an ideal only, setting forth the low estate of sin-stricken humanity: this is only thrown out as a suggestion, no weight is assigned to it more than it may chance to claim. Perhaps, however, these words are spoken by Job in contemplation of his condition as a dying man, even had he not been so afflicted.

Verse 22. - When a few years are come; literally, a number of years, which generally means a small number. I shall go the way whence I shall not return. This verse would more fitly begin the following chapter, which opens in a similar strain, with an anticipation of the near approach of death



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
For when
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

only a few
מִסְפָּ֣ר (mis·pār)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4557: A number, definite, indefinite, narration

years
שְׁנ֣וֹת (šə·nō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural construct
Strong's 8141: A year

are past
יֶאֱתָ֑יוּ (ye·’ĕ·ṯā·yū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 857: To arrive

I will go
אֶהֱלֹֽךְ׃ (’e·hĕ·lōḵ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

the way
וְאֹ֖רַח (wə·’ō·raḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - common singular
Strong's 734: A well-trodden road, a caravan

of no
לֹא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

return.
אָשׁ֣וּב (’ā·šūḇ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 7725: To turn back, in, to retreat, again


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OT Poetry: Job 16:22 For when a few years are come (Jb)
Job 16:21
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