John Gill Commentary Job 5:20

"In famine he will redeem thee from death; And in war from the power of the sword." — Job 5:20 (ASV)

In famine he shall redeem you from death
In a time of extreme want of provisions, God so cares for his own dear people, that they shall not be starved to death by the famine; so in the famine in Egypt, which the Targum takes notice of, in the times of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, and the patriarchs, there was food provided for them, so that they and their families were sustained, and perished not for lack of the necessaries of life: God sometimes goes out of his ordinary way, and works wonders for his poor and needy in distress, when they cry to him; see (Isaiah 41:17Isaiah 41:18) ;

and in war from the power of the sword ;
or, "from the hands of the sword" ^F6 : from swords in hand, when drawn, and men are ready to push with them with all their force; as he delivered and preserved Abraham from the sword of the four kings, when he waged war with them, (Genesis 14:20) ; and the Israelites, in the war of Amalek, in the times of Moses, (Exodus 17:8–13) , which the Targum here refers to; and David from the harmful sword of Goliath, (1 Samuel 17:46 1 Samuel 17:47) , and others with whom he was concerned in war: and so the Lord often covers the heads of his people in the day of battle, when multitudes fall on their right hand and on their left.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F6: (brx ydym) "de manu gladii", V. L. "e manibus gladii", Pagninus & Montanus