# God keeps man's life back from the pit ... his life from crossing over to death Both of these statements mean the same thing. Alternate translation: "God saves people from the grave and from death" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-parallelism]]) # the pit The place where people go when they die is referred to here as "the pit." Alternate translation: "the place where dead people are" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]]) # man's life back ... his life This is an idiom. Alternate translation: "man from dying and ... he keeps him" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom]]) # from crossing over to death Here "death" represents the place where people go when they die, that is, sheol. Alternate translation: "from going to sheol" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]])