“Then, if there should be for one of them an angel,
He would be a mediator.
One of a thousand,
This angel declares a person upright.
He is gracious to that person.
He says.
‘Deliver him from going down into the Pit!
I have found a ransom.
Let his flesh become fresh with youth!
Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor.’
Then he prays to God.
It is accepted by him.
He comes into his presence with joy.
God repays him for his righteousness.
That person sings to others.
He says.
‘I sinned.
I perverted what was right.
It was not paid back to me.
He has redeemed my soul from going down to the pit.
My life shall see the light.’”
An angel was sent from God to redeem or interpret God’s words. Later Christians might call him the guardian angel. However, only 1 in 1,000 had this redeeming angel. Somehow the redeeming angel of God ransomed this sinner. Instead of death, this person received their youthful vigor. God had answered this person’s prayer so that he went before God with joy. He was repaid for his righteousness. Then he sang to others that he was a sinner. He was saved from going down into the pit, death. He was redeemed through the light from the angel of God. Obviously this is a view of a special afterlife here on earth with a special emphasis on that guarding angel.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 