Job 5:22

Modern

You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts of the earth.

Traditional

At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

Literal

At destruction and famine you will laugh, and of the beasts of the earth you shall not be afraid.

Latin

In vastitate et fame ridebis, et bestias terræ non formidabis.

Hebrew

English

You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts of the earth.

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

Ezekiel 34:25
I will make with them a covenant of peace and rid the land of wild animals, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest.
Isaiah 35:9
No lion will be there, and no vicious beast will go up on it. Such will not be found there, but the redeemed will walk upon it.
Psalm 91:13
You will tread on the lion and cobra; you will trample the young lion and serpent.
Hosea 2:18
On that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that crawl on the ground. And I will abolish bow and sword and battle in the land, and will make them lie down in safety.
Isaiah 65:25
The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but the food of the serpent will be dust. They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.
2 Kings 19:21
This is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: ‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you; the Daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head behind you.