The Meaning of Job 29:18 Explained

Job 29:18

KJV: Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand.

YLT: And I say, 'With my nest I expire, And as the sand I multiply days.'

Darby: And I said, I shall die in my nest, and multiply my days as the sand;

ASV: Then I said, I shall die in my nest, And I shall multiply my days as the sand:

What does Job 29:18 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 29:1-25 - The Bitter Memory Of The Happy Past
How many thousands, looking back on the beautiful dawn of life which has become overcast, have uttered the thought of the opening words of this chapter! The worldling has no hope of the renewal of that blessed past; but the believer knows that in Christ he belongs to the eternal order, which enters into the devastation wrought by sin, arresting, canceling and converting evil into good.
If we believe in Jesus Christ, submit to His will, and unite ourselves to His heart, "a statelier Eden" comes back to us. God watches over us for good; His lamp shines on our way; His friendship is in our tent, and His love transfigures all things. The graphic description which follows of the life of a godly man is still true when a man's ways please the Lord. [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 29

1  Job bemoans his former prosperity

What do the individual words in Job 29:18 mean?

And I said in my nest I shall die and as the sand multiply [my] days
וָ֭אֹמַר עִם־ קִנִּ֣י אֶגְוָ֑ע וְ֝כַח֗וֹל אַרְבֶּ֥ה יָמִֽים

וָ֭אֹמַר  And  I  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
קִנִּ֣י  my  nest 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: קֵן  
Sense: nest.
אֶגְוָ֑ע  I  shall  die 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: גָּוַע  
Sense: to expire, die, perish, give up the ghost, yield up the ghost, be dead, be ready to die.
וְ֝כַח֗וֹל  and  as  the  sand 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹול 
Sense: sand.
אַרְבֶּ֥ה  multiply 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: הַרְבָּה 
Sense: be or become great, be or become many, be or become much, be or become numerous.
יָמִֽים  [my]  days 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.