Job 5:19

Modern

He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven.

Traditional

He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.

Literal

In six distresses he will rescue you, and in seven, evil shall not touch you.

Latin

In sex tribulationibus liberabit te, et in septima non tanget te malum.

Hebrew

English

He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven.

Six calamities … in seven: This formula for wise sayings suggests a condition of completion (compare Proverbs 30:15–31).
This list reflects the blessings and curses of the covenant God gave to Moses (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28).
Eliphaz believed that people in a right relationship with God would avoid:

Famine, meaning starving. (Job 5:20, 22; see Leviticus 26:4–5, 10; Deuteronomy 28:4–6, 8, 11–12).
Battle and its destruction (Job 5:20; 5:21, 22; see Leviticus 26:6–8; Deuteronomy 28:7, 48).
Scourge of the tongue, or words spoken against them (slander).
They would even be at peace with wild animals and the stones of the field (Job 5:23; see Leviticus 26:6). This peace might mean productive fields instead of rocky ones (2 Kings 3:19, 25; Matthew 13:5). Or it might symbolize broader harmony with creation (see Psalm 91:11–12).

Theme notes and profiles

Psalm 34:19
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.
1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it.
Psalm 91:3–10
Surely He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly plague.
Proverbs 24:16
For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up; but the wicked stumble in bad times.
2 Peter 2:9
…if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
2 Corinthians 1:8
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.