Job 30:24
New International Version
“Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man when he cries for help in his distress.

New Living Translation
“Surely no one would turn against the needy when they cry for help in their trouble.

English Standard Version
“Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, and in his disaster cry for help?

Berean Standard Bible
Yet no one stretches out his hand to a ruined man when he cries for help in his distress.

King James Bible
Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction.

New King James Version
“Surely He would not stretch out His hand against a heap of ruins, If they cry out when He destroys it.

New American Standard Bible
“Yet does one in a heap of ruins not reach out with his hand, Or in his disaster does he not cry out for help?

NASB 1995
“Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, Or in his disaster therefore cry out for help?

NASB 1977
“Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, Or in his disaster therefore cry out for help?

Legacy Standard Bible
“Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, Or, in his upheaval, is there a cry for help because of them?

Amplified Bible
“However, does not one falling in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand? Or in his disaster [will he not] therefore cry out for help?

Christian Standard Bible
Yet no one would stretch out his hand against a ruined person when he cries out to him for help because of his distress.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Yet no one would stretch out his hand against a ruined man when he cries out to him for help because of his distress.

American Standard Version
Howbeit doth not one stretch out the hand in his fall? Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?

Contemporary English Version
No one refuses help to others, when disaster strikes.

English Revised Version
Surely against a ruinous heap he will not put forth his hand; though it be in his destruction, one may utter a cry because of these things.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"But God doesn't stretch out his hand against one who is ruined when that person calls for help in his disaster.

Good News Translation
Why do you attack a ruined man, one who can do nothing but beg for pity?

International Standard Version
"Surely he won't stretch his hand against the needy, will he, especially if they cry to him in their calamity?

Majority Standard Bible
Yet no one stretches out his hand to a ruined man when he cries for help in his distress.

NET Bible
"Surely one does not stretch out his hand against a broken man when he cries for help in his distress.

New Heart English Bible
"However doesn't one stretch out a hand in his fall? Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?

Webster's Bible Translation
Yet he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction.

World English Bible
“However doesn’t one stretch out a hand in his fall? Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Surely not against the heap "" Does He send forth the hand, "" Though they have safety in its ruin.

Young's Literal Translation
Surely not against the heap Doth He send forth the hand, Though in its ruin they have safety.

Smith's Literal Translation
But prayer is nothing; he will send forth the hand, if in his calamity to them a cry for help.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
But yet thou stretchest not forth thy hand to their consumption: and if they shall fall down thou wilt save.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Truly, then, you do not extend your hand in order to consume them, and if they fall down, you will save them.

New American Bible
Yet should not a hand be held out to help a wretched person in distress?

New Revised Standard Version
“Surely one does not turn against the needy, when in disaster they cry for help.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
But he will not stretch out his hand against me, and when I cry to him he will save me.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
However, he will not reach his hand against me, and whenever I have cried out to him, he will save me
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Surely none shall put forth his hand to a ruinous heap, Neither because of these things shall help come in one's calamity,

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Oh then that I might lay hands upon myself, or at least ask another, and he should do this for me.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job's Prosperity Becomes Calamity
23Yes, I know that You will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living. 24Yet no one stretches out his hand to a ruined man when he cries for help in his distress. 25Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has my soul not grieved for the needy?…

Cross References
Psalm 22:1-2
For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Doe of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from my words of groaning? / I cry out by day, O my God, but You do not answer, and by night, but I have no rest.

Psalm 69:1-3
For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David. Save me, O God, for the waters are up to my neck. / I have sunk into the miry depths, where there is no footing; I have drifted into deep waters, where the flood engulfs me. / I am weary from my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.

Lamentations 3:55-56
I called on Your name, O LORD, out of the depths of the Pit. / You heard my plea: “Do not ignore my cry for relief.”

Psalm 88:1-2
A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite. O LORD, the God of my salvation, day and night I cry out before You. / May my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry.

Psalm 142:1-2
A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer. I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift my voice to the LORD for mercy. / I pour out my complaint before Him; I reveal my trouble to Him.

Psalm 18:6
In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears.

Psalm 130:1-2
A song of ascents. Out of the depths I cry to You, O LORD! / O Lord, hear my voice; let Your ears be attentive to my plea for mercy.

Psalm 40:1-3
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry. / He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm. / He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.

Isaiah 38:14
I chirp like a swallow or crane; I moan like a dove. My eyes grow weak as I look upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security.”

Jonah 2:2
saying: “In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered me. From the belly of Sheol I called for help, and You heard my voice.

Matthew 27:46
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

Hebrews 5:7
During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.

2 Corinthians 1:8-10
We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. / Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead. / He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us,

Romans 8:26
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.

2 Corinthians 12:8-9
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. / But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.


Treasury of Scripture

However, he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction.

grave.

Judges 5:31
So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.

Psalm 35:25
Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We have swallowed him up.

Matthew 27:39-44
And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, …

Jump to Previous
Availeth Broken Calamity Cries Cry Destroyeth Destruction Distress Fall Forth Grave Hand Heap Help Howbeit However Indeed Lays One's Poor Prayer Ruinous Saviour Stretch Stretched Stretcheth Surely Trouble
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Availeth Broken Calamity Cries Cry Destroyeth Destruction Distress Fall Forth Grave Hand Heap Help Howbeit However Indeed Lays One's Poor Prayer Ruinous Saviour Stretch Stretched Stretcheth Surely Trouble
Job 30
1. Job's honor is turned into extreme contempt
15. and his prosperity into calamity














Yet no one
This phrase underscores the isolation and abandonment Job feels. In the Hebrew text, the word "no one" (Hebrew: "אַךְ" - 'ak) emphasizes the absolute nature of his solitude. Historically, Job was once a man of great influence and respect, yet now he finds himself utterly alone. This reflects the human condition of feeling forsaken in times of deep suffering, a theme that resonates throughout the Bible, reminding us of the importance of community and support.

stretches out his hand
The act of stretching out one's hand is a universal gesture of offering help or seeking connection. In the Hebrew context, this phrase (Hebrew: "יָשִׁיט" - yashit) conveys an action of reaching out, which is absent in Job's experience. This absence highlights the lack of compassion and empathy from those around him, contrasting with the biblical call to love and support one another, as seen in the teachings of Jesus and the apostles.

to a ruined man
The term "ruined" (Hebrew: "בְּפִידוֹ" - befido) describes someone who has been utterly destroyed or devastated. Job's use of this word reflects his perception of his own state—once prosperous and now completely broken. This imagery is powerful, evoking the desolation that sin and suffering can bring into a person's life. It serves as a reminder of the fragility of human existence and the need for divine intervention and grace.

when he cries for help
Crying for help (Hebrew: "בְּשַׁוְּעוֹ" - beshav'o) is a natural human response to distress, and in the biblical narrative, it often precedes divine intervention. Job's cry is not just a plea for human assistance but also an implicit call to God. This reflects the biblical theme that God hears the cries of the afflicted, as seen in the Psalms and the Exodus narrative, where God responds to the cries of His people.

in his distress
The word "distress" (Hebrew: "בְּאֵידוֹ" - be'edo) captures the intense suffering and turmoil Job is experiencing. This term is often used in the Old Testament to describe situations of extreme hardship and calamity. Job's distress is both physical and spiritual, representing the comprehensive nature of his trials. This serves as a poignant reminder of the reality of suffering in a fallen world and the hope of redemption and restoration through faith in God.

(24) Though they cry in his destruction.--This is a very obscure verse. Some render it, "Surely against a ruinous heap he will not put forth his hand; though it be in his destruction one may utter a cry because of these things." Others, understanding the word rendered "ruinous heap" otherwise, render "Howbeit, God will not put forth His hand to bring man to death and the grave when there is earnest prayer for them, nor even when in calamity proceeding from Him there is a loud cry for them:" that is to say, "I know that Thou wilt dissolve and destroy me, and bring me to the grave, though Thou wilt not do so when I pray unto Thee to release me by death from my sufferings. Thou wilt surely do so, but not in my time or according to my will, but only in Thine own appointed time, and as Thou seest fit." This is one of those passages that may be regarded as hopelessly uncertain. Each reader will make the best sense he can of it, according to his judgment. That Job should speak of himself as a ruinous heap seems very strange; neither is it at all clear what "these things" are because of which a cry is uttered. Certainly the significance given by the other rendering is much greater. "His destruction" must mean, at all events, the destruction that cometh from Him; and if this is so, the sense given is virtually that of the Authorised Version.

Verse 24. - Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction. This is one of the most obscure passages in the entire Book of Job, and scarcely any two independent commentators understand it alike. To give all the different renderings, and discuss them, would be an almost endless task, and one over-wearisome to the reader. It will, per-Imps, suffice to select the one which to the present writer appears the most satisfactory. This is the rendering of Professor Stanley Leathes, who suggests the following: "Howbeit God will not put forth his hand to bring a man to death and the grave, when there is earnest prayer for them, not even when he himself hath caused the calamity." The same writer further explains the passage as follows: "I know that thou wilt dissolve and destroy me, and bring me to the grave (ver. 23), though thou wilt not do so when I pray to thee to release me by death from my sufferings. Thou wilt surely do so [some time or other], but not in my time, or according to my will, but only in thine own appointed time, and as thou seest fit."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Yet
אַ֣ךְ (’aḵ)
Adverb
Strong's 389: A particle of affirmation, surely

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

stretches out
יִשְׁלַח־ (yiš·laḥ-)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

his hand
יָ֑ד (yāḏ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 3027: A hand

to a ruined man
בְ֭עִי (ḇə·‘î)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1164: A prayer

when
אִם־ (’im-)
Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

he cries for help
שֽׁוּעַ׃ (šū·a‘)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7769: A cry for help

in his distress.
בְּ֝פִיד֗וֹ (bə·p̄î·ḏōw)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6365: Ruin, disaster


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OT Poetry: Job 30:24 However doesn't one stretch out a hand (Jb)
Job 30:23
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