Job 33:18

He keepeth back his soul from the pit -The word soul in the Hebrew is often equivalent to self, and the idea is, that he keeps the man from the pit in this manner. The object of these warnings is to keep him from rushing on to his own destruction. The word rendered “pit” -שׁחתshachath, properly means a pit, or pitfall, in which traps are laid for wild animals;Psalms 7:15;Psalms 9:15; then a cistern that is miry;Job 9:31; a prison,Isaiah 51:14; then the grave, or sepulchre, as being often a cavern;Job 17:13;Psalms 30:9; seeJob 33:28,Job 33:30.