Job 5:23

Modern

For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.

Traditional

For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.

Literal

For your covenant will be with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.

Latin

Sed cum lapidibus regionum pactum tuum, et bestiæ terræ pacificæ erunt tibi.

Hebrew

English

For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.

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

Leviticus 26:6
And I will give peace to the land, and you will lie down with nothing to fear. I will rid the land of dangerous animals, and no sword will pass through your land.
Daniel 6:22
My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.”
Isaiah 11:6–9
The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat; the calf and young lion and fatling will be together, and a little child will lead them.
Psalm 91:12–13
They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
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.
Ezekiel 14:15–16
Or if I send wild beasts through the land to leave it childless and desolate, with no man passing through it for fear of the beasts,
Romans 8:38–39
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,