Job · Chapter 12

Verse 1. And Job answered — Greatly vexed that his friends should entertain so firm an opinion of his being a wicked man, and that they should press him so hard with their maxim, “that affliction was a demonstration of guilt,” he can no longer refrain from answering them with great sharpness. He taxes them with self-conceit; their maxims he treats as mean and poor, the contrary of which was evident to all observing persons; good men were frequently in distress, while robbers and public plunderers enjoyed their ill-gotten wealth in perfect security, verses 2-6. This was so notorious, that it was impossible it could have escaped their observation, verse 7. This was indeed the work of Jehovah, who was all-wise and all-powerful, and no one could call him to account. All this he was as sensible of as they could be, for which reason he was the more desirous to argue the point with God, Job 13:1-10. And, as for them, if they would pretend to be judges, they should take great care to be upright ones; since God would by no means excuse corruption of judgment, though it should be in his own behalf; and his all-seeing eye would penetrate their motives, though ever so closely concealed from human view; and in his sight all their maxims of wisdom, on which they seemed so much to value themselves, would be regarded as dross and dung. That he was not in the least apprehensive of bringing his cause to an issue; because he was satisfied that the Almighty, far from oppressing him by dint of power, would rather afford him strength to go through his defence; and he was persuaded the issue would be favourable to him, verses 11-19. He, therefore, challenges any one among them to declare himself the accuser; secure enough as to that point, as he was sensible they could not make good their charge. He again ends with a tender expostulation with the Almighty, begging he might have, before his death, an opportunity of publicly vindicating his innocence, since afterward he could have no hope of doing it, verse 20 to the end of chap. 14. — Heath.

1. Job answered — He scouts the pompous pretensions of the “friends” to superior wisdom, which, however, he remarks, do not prevent their treating misfortune with contempt. A single matter-of-fact utterance, (verse 6,) foils all their laboured arguments — a fact which they should have learned from the most ordinary view of society. The inferior creation is ready to instruct man, if he will but listen, instead of pluming himself with the wise saws of the ancients, which Job says are not to be accepted until they have been fully tested. Infinite in knowledge and in power, God holds all events and results in his hands; and his wisdom and might are not less mysterious and inexplicable in his providence over men than in the worlds of nature. (Chap. 13.) Conscious of innocence, and assured that he will not find justice at the hands of men, who, for various reasons, are ever ready to pervert the truth, Job takes the only course open to him, and formally, as in open court, makes his appeal to God. He is painfully sensible that he takes his life in his hands; and yet, such is his faith in God and in truth, that he triumphantly declares that if God should smite him down he would still hold fast to his faith — even in death God should be his salvation. Though pain, passion, and despair burn within him, the flame that lifts itself to sight is one of blended faith and hope which nothing can extinguish. His appeal commences with a bold and unjustifiable challenge, (23-28,) and ends in a heart-rending wail. Chap. 14. Heir of a fleeting existence, which brings with it the taint of corruption, Job pleads the miserable lot of man as a reason for clemency on the part of God. For vegetation there is a possible renewal of life, but for man there is none in this present world, not even till the heavens be no more. His one striking prayer is, that he may be hidden in the grave until the present dark scheme shall have ended, and another day have dawned, when God shall try the cause of Job under an economy different from that which now prevails (verse 15). In a scene where even rocks and mountains waste away, man can cherish but little, if any, hope. A gloom rests upon the whole of mortal life, “which is lighted up as by a lightning flash, only by the possibility of another life after death.” — Dillmann. This, the last and greatest address of Job in the first debate, divides itself according to the chapters, the first of which is in two sections of about equal length.

Section 1: SARCASTIC COMMENDATION OF THAT WISDOM WHICH FAILS TO RECOGNIZE THE

V. 2. Ye-You have engrossed all the reason of mankind; and each of you has as much wisdom as an whole people put together. All the wisdom which is in the world, lives in you, and will be utterly lost when you die. When wise and good men die, it is a comfort to think that wisdom and goodness do not die with them: it is folly to think, that there will be a great, irreparable loss of us when we are gone, since God has the residue of the spirit, and can raise up others more fit to do his work.

Verse 2. No doubt but ye are the people] Doubtless ye are the wisest men in the world; all wisdom is concentrated in you; and when ye die, there will no more be found on the face of the earth! This is a strong irony.

Verse 2. No doubt but ye are the people — You, of all people, are the most eminent for wisdom; the only men living of distinguished knowledge and prudence. You have engrossed all the reason of mankind, and each of you has as much wisdom as a whole people put together. And wisdom shall die with you — All the wisdom which is in the world lives in you, and will be utterly lost when you die. When wise and good men die, it is a comfort to think that wisdom and goodness do not die with them: it is folly to think that there will be a great, irreparable loss of us when we are gone, since God has the residue of the Spirit, and can raise up others more fit to do his work.

SECURITY OF THE WICKED, 2-12.

a. Piety in straits is an object of derision; while robbers (such as the Sabeans and Chaldaeans) are at peace, 2-6.

2. Wisdom shall die with you — The people of the East take great pleasure in irony, and some of their satirical sayings are very cutting. When a sage intimates that he has superior wisdom, of when he is disposed to rally another for his meagre attainments, he says, “Yes, yes; you are the man! Your wisdom is like the sea.… When you die, whither will wisdom go!… When gone, alas! what will become of wisdom?” — ROBERTS’S Oriental Illustrations. Moschus thus laments the death of Bion: — “Bion, the swain, and all with him, is dead;

Song lives no more, the Doric muse is fled.”

V. 3. But-In these things, which he speaks not in a way of boasting, but for the just vindication both of himself, and of that cause of God, which for the substance of it he maintained rightly, as God himself attests, Job 42:7. Such things-The truth is, neither you nor I have any reason to be puffed up with our knowledge of these things: for the most barbarous nations know that God is infinite in wisdom, and power, and justice. But this is not the question between you and me.

Verse 3. I am not inferior to you] I do not fall short of any of you in understanding, wisdom, learning, and experience.

Who knoweth not such things as these?] All your boasted wisdom consists only in strings of proverbs which are in every person’s mouth, and are no proof of wisdom and experience in them that use them.

Verse 3. But I have an understanding — Hebrew, a heart, which is often put for the understanding: God hath given me also the knowledge and ability to judge of these matters. I am not inferior to you — In these things; which he speaks, not in a way of boasting, but for the just vindication both of himself and of that cause of God, which, for the substance of it, he maintained rightly, as God himself attests, Job 42:6. Who knoweth not such things — The truth is, neither you nor I have any reason to be puffed up with our knowledge of these things; for the most barbarous nations know that God is infinite in wisdom, and power, and justice. But this is not the question between you and me.

3. Understanding — Or, a heart. With the ancient Hebrews the heart was the seat of the understanding, and the bowels the seat of the emotions. “He also has a heart like them; he is, therefore, not ‘empty.’” — Delitzsch. Job thus courteously replies to Zophar’s savage onslaught. See note on Job 11:12. Inferior to you — Either in argument, or, perhaps, (ironically,) in the ability to bring forward proverbs. Who knoweth not, etc. — Your wisdom is commonplace. Common sense should have taught you this.

V. 4. Upon God-Even by my religious neighbours, by those who call upon God, and not in vain; whose prayers therefore I covet, not their reproaches. The just-I, who, notwithstanding all their hard censures dare still own it, that through God’s grace I am an upright man.

Verse 4. I am as one mocked of his neighbour] Though I am invoking God for help and salvation, yet my friends mock me in this most solemn and sacred work. But God answereth me.

The just upright man is laughed to scorn] This is a very difficult verse, on which no two critics seem to be agreed. Mr. Good translates the fourth and fifth verses thus:—

“Thus brother is become a laughing-stock to his companions, While calling upon God that he would succour him.

The just, the perfect man, is a laughing-stock to the proud, A derision amidst the sunshine of the prosperous,

While ready to slip with his foot.

For a vindication of this version, I must refer to his notes. Coverdale gives at least a good sense. Thus he that calleth upon God, and whom God heareth, is mocked of his neighboure: the godly and innocent man is laughed to scorne. Godlynesse is a light despysed in the hertes of the rich; and is set for them to stomble upon. The fifth verse is thus rendered by Mr. Parkhurst: “A torch of contempt, or contemptible link, (see Isaiah 7:4; 40:2, 3,) לעשתות leashtoth, to the splendours of the prosperous (is he who is) ready (נכון nachon, Job 15:23; 18:12; Psalm 38:17) to slip with his foot.” The general sense is tolerably plain; but to emendations and conjectures there is no end.

Verse 4. I am as one mocked of his neighbour — hyha wh[rl qjc, sechok leregnehu ehjeh, literally, a jest to his friend, I am. Thus Jeremiah complains, I was a derision to all my people, Lamentations 3:14. Who calleth upon God, and he answereth him — This is applied by Sol. Jarchi, and the commentators in general, to Job’s neighbour or friend; intimating that such a one, addressing himself to God, received a favourable answer; when Job himself had no satisfactory return paid to his loud cries and importunate complaints. But the words are capable of a very different construction if we refer them to Job, and not to his friend, and as containing the mocking words thrown out against him: Thus, He calleth (say they) upon God; but doth he answer him? — He is loud and importunate in protesting his innocence; in clearing and vindicating himself; in appealing to the tribunal of Heaven. But to what purpose? Are his importunities and clamours received, his solemn protestations heard or admitted? His trust and confidence (he would have us to believe) are entirely on God; but is he eased of his troubles; is he delivered from his miseries? Thus the Jews mocked our Lord Jesus: “He trusted in God; (said they;) let him deliver him now, if he will have him.” “This man calleth for Elias; let us see whether Elias will come and save him.” The just upright man is laughed to scorn — The words have a peculiar beauty, being spoken with much religious concern and modesty; for Job does not say, I, a just and upright man, am made a laughing-stock; but he delivers himself in general terms; the just and upright man, &c. His meaning however is, that, notwithstanding all their hard censures and reproaches, he must still believe himself to be, through God’s grace, a just and upright man; and must say that, as such, he was derided by them.

4. I am one mocked — Literally, A mockery to his friend, am I; [I] who railed upon God and he answered him: a mockery is the just, upright man. Answereth him — As if it were too great a thing for Job to say that God had heard and answered his prayer, he passes from the first to the third person. What appears to be a solecism, is really the humility of true greatness. If we truly appreciate the significance of prayer we shall not wonder at this; for prayer assumes that the invisible God is near to hearken to, and consciously answer, the cry of mortals. Its privilege confers on the mind of man the greatest conceivable exercise of might — none the less than to move the Divine Being to the exertion of his power for our good. The secret of this lies in the parental affection of God. No attainment of greatness raises the Father above the touching appeal of an infant’s cry. “When ye pray, say, Our Father.”

V. 5. Slip with his feet-And fall into trouble; tho’ he had formerly shone as a lamp, he is then looked upon as a lamp going out, as the snuff of a candle, which we throw to the ground and tread upon; and accordingly is despised in the thought of him that is at ease.

Verse 5. He that is ready to slip with his feet — The just man, last mentioned, who is ready to fall, or has already fallen into trouble; is as a lamp despised — That is, like a lamp or torch, which, while it shines clearly in a dark night, is very useful and comfortable; but when it is almost extinct, or when the light of the morning approaches, is neglected and despised, as that which is unnecessary, troublesome, and offensive. So the same man, who, while his feet stood fast in a prosperous condition, was magnified and honoured by all, and he shone as a lamp; when he appears to be ready to slip with his feet, and to fall into adversity and trouble, is looked upon as a lamp going out, or as the snuff of a candle, which we throw to the ground and tread upon: Despised in the thought of him that is at ease — That is, in the opinion of a man that lives in great ease and outward happiness; which generally make people forget and despise those who are in affliction. Heath interprets the verse thus: In calamity contempt is ready in the thought of the insolent, for those whose feet are tottering. The words being transposed in the English version, Chappelow thinks, if they be taken in the order in which they occur in the Hebrew, their meaning becomes more manifest. It is thus: A lamp, despised in the opinion of an indolent man, is prepared for the slips of the foot: that is, he who is a lamp or light to enlighten and instruct other people, though despised by those who are indolent, as if they wanted no instruction, is prepared for the several accidents of life, (the trials or troubles,) which are as natural and common to man as it is natural for him sometimes to stumble or slip with his foot. Here also Job’s words are general, without a particular application to himself, though doubtless he spoke them with reference to his own distressed circumstances.

5. A lamp despised — All interpreters acknowledge the obscurity of this verse to be exceedingly great. Schultens speaks of more than ten different opinions. “The words of this text are dark,” says the quaint Caryl, “and there are not a few who make the lamp the darkest word in it.” Rosenmuller and others render it: “A despised torch, in the thought of one happy, is he who is ready to slip with his feet.” Friends were meant for use. When no longer serviceable they are thrown away like burned out torches. Prosperity thrusts away the scaffolding by the help of which the edifice was built. Thus these friends basked in the light of Job’s success — but now they treat him as they would a useless torch. Such is the way of the world in every age — “to give to the tottering still another push.” — Dillmann. But most critics properly regard the le of dypl (torch) as a prefix, and the pidh as meaning misfortune. For misfortune (there is) scorn in the thought of the secure; (scorn) ready for those who waver in their steps. In like mariner Ewald, Conant, Hirtzel, etc. In the last clause Dillmann and Furst follow Eichhorn in rendering nakhon, (ready,) a blow or destruction.

V. 6. Are secure-Job’s friends had all supposed, that wicked men cannot prosper long in the world. This Job opposes, and maintains, that God herein acts as sovereign, and reserves that exact distribution of rewards and punishments for the other world.

Verse 6. The tabernacles of robbers prosper.] Those who live by the plunder of their neighbours are often found in great secular prosperity; and they that provoke God by impiety and blasphemy live in a state of security and affluence. These are administrations of Providence which cannot be accounted for; yet the Judge of all the earth does right. Therefore prosperity and adversity are no evidences of a man’s spiritual state, nor of the place he holds in the approbation or disapprobation of God.

Verse 6. The tabernacles of robbers prosper — Job’s friends had all supposed that wicked men cannot prosper long in the world. This Job opposes, and maintains that God herein acts as sovereign, and reserves that exact distribution of rewards and punishments for the other world. As if he had said, Thy opinion, O Zophar, (see Job 11:14, &c.,) is confuted by daily experience; which shows that very wicked, injurious, and impudent oppressors, tyrants, and robbers, are so far from always meeting with those disappointments and miseries of which thou spakest as being their certain portion, that they frequently succeed in their iniquitous and daring enterprises, flourish in wealth and glory, and fill their houses with the goods of others, which they violently took away; of which the Chaldeans and Sabeans (Job 1:15, 17) are a present and striking evidence. And they that provoke God are secure — They, whose common practice it is to despise and provoke God, are confident and safe, apparently living without danger or fear. Into whose hands God bringeth abundantly — So far is God from crushing such persons, that he seems to favour them with wonderful success; by his providence, puts into their hands the opportunities which they seek, of enriching themselves by injustice and oppression, and the persons and goods of other more righteous men, for which they lie in wait.

Verse 6. The tabernacles of robbers prosper. Or as it might be rendered, a placid tranquility gladdens the tabernacles of robbers; referring to the Arabs, who plunder the merchants. This and the following are invincible arguments.

6. Tabernacles of robbers prosper — Literally, Are at peace. Zophar had spoken of the security of the tabernacle where virtue dwelt; (Job 11:14-19;) Job adduces other matters of fact — vice has also its security. In ancient Egypt robbing was regarded as a necessity of its civilization, and was treated as a profession. Those who followed the craft “gave in their names to the chief of the robbers, and agreed that he should be informed of every thing that they should thence forward steal, the moment it was in their possession. In consequence of this the owner of the lost goods always applied by letter to the chief for their recovery.” — WILKINSON’S Anc. Egyptians, Pop. Acct., 2:216. Into whose hand God bringeth — Now generally rendered, he who brings God in his hand, (Ewald, etc.,) that is, who either deifies his hand, or, as some say, that which is taken into the hand. Thus Mezentius says, “Dextra mihi Deus — My right hand is God.” — AEneid, 10:773. Habakkuk speaks in like manner of the Chaldaean: Literally, This its strength is its God. 1:11.

b. The divine wisdom on which Zophar has descanted, the entire brute creation might have taught him. And yet Zophar does not know that He who is Lord over life and death, lets the wicked live, 7-12.

V. 7. But-If thou observest the beasts, and their properties and actions, and events, from them thou mayst learn this lesson: that which Zophar had uttered with so much pomp and gravity, Job 11:7,8,9, concerning God’s infinite wisdom, saith Job, thou needest not go into heaven or hell to know. but thou mayst learn it even from the beasts.

Verse 7. But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee] Mr. Good’s paraphrase here is very just: “Why tell ye me that the Almighty hath brought this calamity upon me? Every thing in nature, the beasts of the field, the fowls of the heaven, every inhabitant of earth and sea, and every thing that befalls them, are the work of his hands; and every thing feels and acknowledges him to be the universal Creator and Controller. It is the common doctrine of all nature; but to apply it as ye would apply it to me, and to assert that I am suffering from being guilty of hypocrisy, is equally impertinent. He ordains every thing in wisdom as well as in power; but why events happen as they happen, why good and evil are promiscuously scattered throughout nature or human life, ye are as ignorant of as myself.”

Verse 7. Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee — If thou observest the beasts, and their properties, actions, and events, from them thou mayest learn this lesson: namely, that which Zophar had uttered with so much pomp and gravity, (Job 11:7-9,) concerning God’s unsearchable wisdom, almighty power, and absolute sovereignty: thou dost not need, says Job, to go into heaven or hell to know it; but thou mayest learn it even from the brute creatures. The beasts of the earth, the fowls of the air, the fishes of the sea, all animals, and even plants, fruits, and flowers, are daily and hourly evidences to us, of the being and infinite perfections of God. The wonderful contrivance and admirable mechanism manifested in their formation, the preparation made for their wants, the exact adaptation of their organs to the particular mode of life for which they are intended; the wonderful regularity observed in their propagation: these things as plainly tell us, they are the work of God, as if they all had intelligible voices and declared it to us. Some commentators suppose that Job referred here to the greater and stronger brute creatures, preying on the lesser and weaker, as a fact illustrative of his argument respecting the power and prosperity of robbers, oppressors, and tyrants; and to the inferior animals in general, ministering to the pride, luxury, and indulgence of ungodly men; the earth and its richest produce being their property, and all nature drudging, as it were, to gratify their lusts. But the following verses seem rather to lead to the interpretation first mentioned, which certainly is the more instructive use of the words.

7. Ask now the beasts… and the fowls, etc. — Among the Hindus, if any one refuses instruction or will not be convinced, he is told to ask the cattle, inquire of the birds, and that they will give him wisdom. (Roberts.) Some imagine that Job appeals to the brute creation to show that the most rapacious are most secure. But others more correctly suppose that he resumes the thought with which his discourse opens (verse 3) — that of the power and wisdom of God. In the world’s great school (he says) anybody might learn “these.” The Scriptures frequently summon the so-called inferior creation to instruct man in things pertaining to wisdom. “Every creature hath a trumpet in his mouth to proclaim the Deity.” The world of instinct is one of mystery which man cannot fathom. It is with us, but separated from us by a great gulf which neither man nor brute can cross. As respects the interchange of thought, the brute world moves around us in an orbit of silence, but one that none the less reflects its Maker’s praise. Lord Erskine would never allow animals to be called the brute creation; he called them the mute creation. Instinct trenches upon reason at so many points, in some respects vastly surpassing it, that it does not become the monarch man to look upon his subjects with disdain. In ways we know not of, they may proclaim in the ear of the great Creator his wisdom, power, and love.

8. Speak to the earth — That is, to “every creeping thing” (Genesis 1:30) which is on the earth. The division of animate creation is the same and in the same order as in Genesis 9:2. Beasts, birds, creeping things, fishes. The downward gradation, closing with the fish, probably the least intelligent of all, admirably chimes in with Job’s strain of irony.

V. 9. Lord-This is the only time that we meet with the name Jehovah in all the discourses between Job and his friends. For God in that age was more known by the name of Shaddai, the Almighty.

Verse 9. Who knoweth not in all these — Or, by all these brute creatures; that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this — That God, by his power and wisdom, hath created and ordered all that is in them, or that is done by and among them. Job meant in these verses to express his firm opinion that all animate and inanimate nature clearly bore testimony to the creating power and overruling providence of God: see Nehemiah 9:6. This is the only time that we meet with the name Jehovah in all the discourses between Job and his friends. For God in that age was more known by the name of Shaddai, the Almighty.

9. Lord — Jehovah. This is the only place in the poetical part of this book (if we except Job 28:28) where the name Jehovah appears. Jehovah, the Self-existent, is the source of life to all these — “the things seen.” Hebrews 11:3. Compare Isaiah 66:2. This — The totality of creation, corresponding to, but more comprehensive than, “all these;” or better — “the administration of God among his creatures.”

Verse 10. In whose hand is the soul of every living thing] yj lk vpn nephesh col chai, “the soul of all life.”

And the breath of all mankind.] rcb lk jwrw veruach col besar, “and the spirit or breath of all flesh.” Does not the first refer to the immortal soul, the principle of all intellectual life; and the latter to the breath, respiration, the grand means by which animal existence is continued? See Job 10:1.

Verse 10. In whose hand is the soul — That is, the life, or the principle of life; of every living thing — That is, of all irrational animals, of which he spake, verse 7, opposed to man in the last words of this verse. He means, in whose absolute power it is to give life or to take it away, when and how it seemeth good to him; and the breath of all mankind — Or, the spirit, as the word jwr, ruach, here used, commonly means; that is, the immortal soul, which is no less a creature, and in God’s power to dispose of it, than the animal soul or life of brutes.

10. The breath of all mankind — Literally, the spirit of all the flesh of man. The soul (nephesh) is the principle of natural life which man shares with the inferior creation; while the spirit (rouahh) is that higher endowment belonging, among animals, exclusively to man, by which he is allied to angels and to God.

V. 11. Doth not-This may be a preface to his following discourse; whereby he invites them to hear and judge of his words candidly and impartially; that they and he too might agree in disallowing what should appear to be false, and owning of every truth.

Verse 11. Doth not the ear try words?] All these are common-place sayings. Ye have advanced nothing new; ye have cast no light upon the dispensations of Providence.

Verse 11. Doth not the ear try words? &c. — Doth not the mind distinguish truth from falsehood, and wisdom from folly, as exactly as the palate distinguishes a sweet from a bitter taste? These words may either be considered as the conclusion of the foregoing discourse, or as a preface to the following. And he thereby demands from his friends the liberty of judging for himself of what they had said, and invites them to use the same liberty with respect to what he had advanced; wishing them to hear and judge of his words candidly and impartially, that they and he might agree in disavowing what should appear to be false or foolish, and in owning what was true and important.

11. And — Even as. Taste his meat — Literally, Taste food for itself. In the same manner the testimony of the ancients is to be put to proof, and accepted on no other ground than that it should stand the test.

V. 12. Wisdom-These words contain a concession of what Bildad had said, Job 8:8,9, and a joining with him in that appeal; but withal, an intimation that this wisdom was but imperfect, and liable to many mistakes; and indeed mere ignorance and folly, if compared with the Divine wisdom, and therefore that antiquity ought not to be received against the truths of the most wise God.

Verse 12. With the ancient is wisdom] Men who have lived in those primitive times, when the great facts of nature were recent, such as the creation, fall, flood, confusion of tongues, migration of families, and consequent settlement of nations, had much knowledge from those facts; and their length of days—the many hundreds of years to which they lived, gave them such an opportunity of accumulating wisdom by experience, that they are deservedly considered as oracles.

Verse 12. With the ancient is wisdom — These words contain a concession of what Bildad had said (Job 8:8, 9,) and a joining with him in that appeal; but withal, an intimation that this wisdom was but imperfect, and liable to many mistakes; and indeed mere ignorance and folly, if compared with the divine wisdom, of which he speaks in the following verses. And therefore that antiquity ought not to be received against the truths of the most wise God.

Ver. 12. With the ancient is wisdom. The Hebrews have three words which they use to express degrees of age in old men. Zaken, a man above sixty years of age; Sheb, a man above seventy; Ishish, a man upwards of eighty. Ishish being used here, we may infer that Job’s calamities happened before he had attained that age.

12. The ancient — Old men. In length, etc. — Length of days is understanding. Omit the in.

Section Second — THE WISDOM OF GOD, SUBORDINATED TO INFINITE AND IRRESISTIBLE

Verse 13. With him is wisdom and strength] But all these things come from GOD; he is the Fountain of wisdom and the Source of power. He alone can give us unerring counsel, and understanding to comprehend and act profitably by it. See on Job 12:16.

Verse 13. With him is wisdom — That is, with God. Perfect wisdom is only in him, and all wisdom in the world cometh from him, who giveth to young and old as it pleaseth him. The ancients were not wise without his gift and grace, and with that a younger man may be wiser than the ancients. He hath counsel — Practical wisdom to guide and govern all the affairs of the world; and understanding — A perfect knowledge of all persons and things. “Job shows, in the following verses, that the affairs of the world, and the fortunes of men, are subject to such variety of changes, that all human reason and wisdom must be silent with respect to them; since the same calamities involve the good and the wicked, and seem rather to flow from the supreme dominion and unsearchable will of God, than to be distributed according to the rule of exact justice.” — Schultens and Dodd.

POWER, INVOLVES THE DIVINE MORAL GOVERNMENT IN AN INEXPLICABLE MAZE, 13-25. First double strophe. 13-18.

a. Admits the wisdom and power of God, as illustrated by the divine government in the natural world, 13-15.

13. Him — God. The rest of this chapter is thought by some to be an old Idumaean poem, or else a collection of maxims handed down from antediluvian ancestors or sages. (Wemyss.) In the original, the first word, WISDOM, (hhokmah,) is the general and most comprehensive word for wisdom; the second, STRENGTH, (gebourah,) from the same root as geber, man, implies the ability to carry into execution the behest of the will; the third, COUNSEL, (‘hetsah,) gives the idea of “strength,” the “making firm” — practical wisdom; fourth, UNDERSTANDING, (tebounah,) implies the intellectual perception, characterized by its power of penetrating into, and distinguishing between, the true and false.

V. 14. No opening-Without God’s permission. Yea, he shuts up in the grave, and none can break open those sealed doors. He shuts up in hell, in chains of darkness, and none can pass that great gulf.

Verse 14. He breaketh down] He alone can create, and he alone can destroy. Nothing can be annihilated but by the same Power that created it. This is a most remarkable fact. No power, skill, or cunning of man can annihilate the smallest particle of matter. Man, by chemical agency, may change its form; but to reduce it to nothing belongs to God alone. In the course of his providence God breaks down, so that it cannot be built up again. See proofs of this in the total political destruction of Nineveh, Babylon, Persepolis, Tyre, and other cities, which have broken down never to be rebuilt; as well as the Assyrian, Babylonian, Grecian, and Roman empires, which have been dismembered and almost annihilated, never more to be regenerated.

He shutteth up a man] He often frustrates the best laid purposes, so that they can never be brought to good effect.

Verse 14. Behold, he breaketh down — Houses, castles, cities; and it cannot be built again — It is not in the power of any creature to repair what he designs utterly to destroy. He shutteth up a man — In prison, or in straits and troubles; and there can be no opening — Without his permission and providence. Yea, he shuts up in the grave, and none can break open those sealed doors. He shuts up in hell, in chains of darkness, and none can pass that great gulf.

14. Shutteth up a man — In the sense of closing over. This is explained by the nature of the prisons among the Hebrews, which were subterranean excavations, whose mouth was covered with a stone. Lamentations 3:53. The Chaldee renders it, “He shuts man up in the grave, and it cannot be opened.”

Saint Gregory moralizes upon this clause: “Evil deeds build a prison for man in the depths of his conscience. Habit bars the doors, and blindness of understanding darkens the windows. Thus God shuts him in. If ever the desire arise to break forth from his dungeon, he is not able.” But all this tends to depreciate the grace of the gospel, which is powerful to break any prison bar that habit or appetite has forged.

V. 15. The waters-Which are reserved its the clouds, that they may not fall upon the earth. They-The waters upon the earth, springs, and brooks, and rivers. As at the time of the general deluge, to which here is a manifest allusion.

Verse 15. He withholdeth the waters] This is, I think, an allusion to the third day’s work of the creation, Genesis 1:9: And God said, Let the waters be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear. Thus the earth was drained, and the waters collected into seas, and bound to their particular places.

Also he sendeth them out] Here is also an allusion to the flood, for when he broke up the fountains of the great deep, then the earth was overturned.

Verse 15. He withholdeth the waters — Which are reserved in the clouds, that they may not fall upon the earth; and they dry up — Namely, the waters upon the earth, springs, brooks, and rivers dry up, as after the general deluge, to which here is a manifest allusion.

Ver. 15. The waters—overturn the earth, alluding to the deluge of Noah, when the mighty tides washed the mountains, made depositions of marine productions, and stratified all the northern regions with an infinitude of reeds and plants, natives of the torrid zone. Such is the opinion of the ingenious Mr. Hutchinson. Genesis 7. 8.

15. Is thought by some to refer to the deluge. Compare Psalm 104:29, 30.

b. For the sake of the argument Job acknowledges the divine wisdom and might in the moral world; but at once saddles these attributes with calamities that strike deceived and deceiver alike; as much as to say, Grand descriptions, such as the friends had given of the power and wisdom of God, do not explain the dark mysteries of the divine government, 16-18.

V. 16. With him-The same thing he had said before, ver. 13, but he repeats it here to prepare the way for the following events, which are eminent instances, both of his power and wisdom. Are his-Wholly subject to his disposal. He governs the deceiver and sets bounds to his deceits, how far they shall extend; he also over-rules all this to his own glory, and the accomplishment of his righteous designs of trying the good, and punishing wicked men, by giving them up to believe lies. Yet God is not the author of any error or sin, but only the wise and holy governor of it.

Verse 16. With him is strength and wisdom] hyvwtw z[ oz

vethushiyah, strength and sufficiency. Strength or power, springing from an exhaustless and infinite source of potency. In the thirteenth verse it is said, With him is wisdom and strength; but the expressions are not the same, hrwbgw hmkj chochmah ugeburah, intelligence and fortitude, or strength in action, the wisdom ever guiding the exertions of power; but here is strength or power in essence, and an eternal potentiality. With him is every excellence, in potentia and in esse. He borrows nothing, he derives nothing. As he is self-existent, so is he self-sufficient. We have had the word tushiyah before. See Clarke’s note on “Job 11:6”. The deceived and the deceiver are his.] Some think this refers to the fall; even Satan the deceiver or beguiler, and Adam and Eve, the deceived or beguiled, are his. Satan, as this book shows, cannot act without especial permission; and man, whom the seducer thought to make his own property for ever, is claimed as the peculium or especial property of God, for the seed of the woman was then appointed to bruise the head of the serpent; and Jesus Christ has assumed the nature of man, and thus brought human nature into a state of fellowship with himself. Thus he who sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren; Hebrews 2:11.

Verse 16. With him is strength, &c. — He doth the things mentioned in the foregoing and following verses so powerfully, that no creature can resist him and hinder his operations; and so wisely, that none can prevent him or frustrate his counsels. He had said the same thing before, (verse 13,) but he repeats it here to prepare the way for the following events, which are eminent instances both of his power and wisdom. The deceived and the deceiver are his — Wholly subject to his disposal. He governs the deceiver, and sets bounds to his deceits, how far they shall extend: he also overrules all this to his own glory, and the accomplishment of his righteous designs of trying the good and punishing wicked men, by giving them up to believe lies. Yet God is not the author of any error or sin, but only the wise and holy governor of it.

16. Strength and wisdom — The word translated wisdom (toushiyyah) we have had before. Job 11:6. “Its fundamental signification can only be, true existence, actual being.” — Furst. Dr. Adam Clarke remarks, “God is strength, or power in essence, and an eternal potentiality. With him is every excellence in potentia and in esse. He borrows nothing; he derives nothing. As he is self-existent, so he is self-sufficient.” The deceived and the deceiver — “A proverb denoting all kinds of sinful men.” — Furst. All are in His power, though allowed at will to disport themselves during the brief day of life. The delay of judgment does not render judgment less certain. Ecclesiastes 8:11. Bishop Sherlock thinks that there is an allusion in this passage to the fall of man through the tempter.

V. 17. Spoiled-The wise counsellors or statesmen, by whom the affairs of kings and kingdoms are ordered, he leadeth away as captives in triumph, being spoiled either of that wisdom which they had, or seemed to have; or of that power and dignity which they had enjoyed. Fools-By discovering their folly, and by infatuating their minds, and turning their own counsels to their ruin.

Verse 17. He leadeth counsellors away spoiled] The events of war are also in his hand. It is he who gives victory; through him even the counsellors—the great men and chief men, are often led into captivity, and found among the spoils.

And maketh the judges fools.] He infatuates the judges. Does this refer to the foolish conduct of some of the Israelitish judges, such as Samson?

Verse 17. He leadeth counsellors away spoiled — The wise counsellors, or statesmen, by whom the affairs of kings and kingdoms are ordered, he leadeth away as captives in triumph, being spoiled either of that wisdom which they had, or seemed to have; or of that power and dignity which they had enjoyed. And maketh the judges fools — By discovering their folly, and by infatuating their minds, and turning their own counsels to their ruin.

Ver. 17. He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, or despoiled of wisdom. God is worthy of praise, not of blame, for confounding the counsel of Ahitophel. We must always treat the permission of evil as emanating from the unsearchable depths of providence, as is the sense of ver. 22, 24. “He leadeth the chiefs in a wilderness where there is no way.”

17. Spoiled — Barefoot. Captives were often stripped of their covering. Isaiah 20:4. Fools — The counsels of Ahithophel, (brother of folly,) the counsellor of Absalom, were “turned into foolishness,” in answer to the prayer of David. 2 Samuel 15:31.

V. 18. Looseth-He freeth them from that wherewith they bind their subjects to obedience, their power and authority, and that majesty which God stamps upon kings, to keep their people in awe. Girdeth-He reduces them to a mean and servile condition; which is thus expressed, because servants did use to gird up their garments (that after the manner of those parts were loose and long) that they might be fitter for attendance upon their masters: he not only deposes them from their thrones, but brings them into slavery.

Verse 18. He looseth the bond of kings] He takes away their splendid robes, and clothes them with sackcloth; or, he dissolves their authority, permits their subjects to rebel and overthrow the state, to bind them as captives, and despoil them of all power, authority, and liberty. Many proofs of this occur in the Israelitish history and in the history of the principal nations of the earth, and not a few in the history of Britain.

Verse 18. He looseth the bond of kings — He takes from them the power and authority wherewith they ruled their subjects; ruled them with rigour, perhaps tyrannised over and enslaved them: and he divests them of that majesty which he had stamped upon them, and by which they kept their people in awe. These God can, and often does, take away from them, and thereby free the people from their bonds, of which we have abundance of instances in the history of different nations; and girdeth their loins with a girdle — He reduces them to a mean and servile condition; which is thus expressed, because servants used to gird up their garments, (which, after the manner of those parts of the world, were loose and long,) that they might be fitter for attendance upon their masters: he not only deposes them from their thrones, but brings them into slavery.

18. Bond of kings — The bond or fetter with which they bound their subjects. Girdeth their loins — Literally, Binds a (girdle) fetter upon their loins. An instance of like retribution. The tyrannical binder of his subjects is himself bound with a captive’s cord. History is full of instances of such sad vicissitudes of fate. With no class of society has fortune been a more “fickle goddess” (so called) than with monarchs. The wreck of thrones, on the other hand, is an unceasing proclamation that “God reigns.” Lucretius (v. 1232) had remarked the instability of all human glory, but failed to perceive in its oft-repeated overthrow the providence and power of God: —

So from his awful shades, some POWER UNSEEN

O’erthrows all human greatness! treads to dust

Rods, ensigns, crowns — the proudest pomps of state,

And laughs at all the mockery of man.

Second double strophe, 19-25.

a. This wisdom confounds and overwhelms the best as well as the mightiest of the earth. 19-21.

Verse 19. He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty.] What multitudes of proofs of this does the history of the world present! Even the late disastrous war with the French republic and empire, which began in 1793, and continued without intermission till 1814, was afterwards renewed, and had a catastrophe that went nearly to ruin Europe. How many princes, or rather priests, כהנים cohanim, have been spoiled of their power, influence, and authority; and how many mighty men—captains, generals, admirals, &c., have been overthrown! But supposing that the writer of the Book of Job lived, as some think, after the captivity, how many priests were led away spoiled, both from Israel and Judah; and how many kings and mighty men were overthrown in the disastrous wars between the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Jews!

Ver. 19. He leadeth princes away spoiled. The word ˆhk cohen, signifies priests; but the Chaldee has princes, for the prince and the priest in Job’s time was the same person, as is exemplified in Melchizedek, Abraham, &c. Hence the use of this term is a farther argument of the great antiquity of the book of Job.

19. Princes — The Hebrew also means priests. They who wait on God’s altars are not exempt from a similar doom. In many ancient states priests were held in esteem quite equal to that of the sovereign. Sometimes, as with Melchisedek, Jethro, and the Assyrians, the two characters of priest and prince were blended together in the same person. The mighty — Those firmly established.

V. 20. The speech-By taking away or restraining the gift of utterance from them. Or, by taking away their understanding which should direct their speech. Trusty-Of those wise and experienced counsellors, that were trusted by the greatest princes.

Verse 20. He removeth away the speech of the trusty] The faithful counsellor and the eloquent orator avail nothing: Quos Deus vult perdere, prius dementat; “God infatuates those whom he is determined to destroy.” The writer might have had his eyes on Isaiah 3:1-3, which the reader will do well to consult.

The understanding of the aged.] µynqz zekenim signifies the same here as our word elders or elder-men; which includes in itself the two ideas of seniority, or considerably advanced age, and official authority. These can do no more to save a state which God designs to destroy, notwithstanding their great political wisdom and knowledge, than the child who can neither reason nor speak.

Verse 20. He removeth away the speech of the trusty — Of those wise and experienced counsellors that were trusted by the greatest princes. He either, 1st, Takes away from them the gift of utterance, or restrains them in the use of it; so that they are not able to express their thoughts with such clearness and force as they used to do. Or, 2d, He brings the affairs of their employers into such straits and difficulties, that they know not what to say or advise. Or, 3d, He takes away their understanding, which should suggest and direct their speech, as it here follows. Or, 4th, He permits them to betray their trust, and either not to speak when they ought, or to speak otherwise than they ought, and to use their understanding and eloquence, not to direct, but to deceive and so to destroy their princes and other superiors.

POWER, INVOLVES THE DIVINE MORAL GOVERNMENT IN AN INEXPLICABLE MAZE, 13-25. First double strophe. 13-18.

a. Admits the wisdom and power of God, as illustrated by the divine government in the natural world, 13-15.

13. Him — God. The rest of this chapter is thought by some to be an old Idumaean poem, or else a collection of maxims handed down from antediluvian ancestors or sages. (Wemyss.) In the original, the first word, WISDOM, (hhokmah,) is the general and most comprehensive word for wisdom; the second, STRENGTH, (gebourah,) from the same root as geber, man, implies the ability to carry into execution the behest of the will; the third, COUNSEL, (‘hetsah,) gives the idea of “strength,” the “making firm” — practical wisdom; fourth, UNDERSTANDING, (tebounah,) implies the intellectual perception, characterized by its power of penetrating into, and distinguishing between, the true and false.

Verse 21. He poureth contempt upon princes] נדיבים nedibim, “those of royal extraction;” widely different from the כהנים cohanim mentioned Job 12:19.

Weakeneth the strength of the mighty.] µyqypa aphikim, the compact; the well-strung together; the nervous and sinewy. Perhaps there is a reference here to the crocodile, as the same term is applied, Job 40:13, to the compactness of his bones: and as jyzm hpr rippah meziach, which we translate weakeneth the strength, signifies more properly looseth the girdle, as the margin has properly rendered it, the reference seems still more pointed; for it is known that “the crocodile, from the shoulders to the extremity of the tail, is covered with large square scales, disposed like parallel girdles, fifty-two in number. In the middle of each girdle are four protuberances, which become higher as they approach the end of the tail, and compose four rows.” See the quotation in Parkhurst, under the word qpa aphak. What is human strength against this? We may say as the Lord said, Job 40:19: He that made him can make his sword to approach unto him. He alone can loose the girdles of this mighty one.

Verses 21, 22. He poureth contempt upon princes — That is, he makes them contemptible to their subjects and others; and weakeneth the strength of the mighty — The word jyzm, meziach, here rendered strength, occurs also Psalm 109:19, where it is translated girdle. The clause might here have been rendered, He looseth the girdle of the mighty, a phrase which signifies weakness, Isaiah 5:27; as the girding of the girdle denotes strength and power, Isaiah 22:21, and 45:5. Both these phrases are taken from the quality of their garments, which, being loose and long, disabled a man for walking or working. He discovereth deep things out of darkness — That is, the most secret and crafty counsels of princes: which are contrived and carried on in the dark.

21. Weakeneth the strength, etc. — Literally, Looseth the girdle of the strong; a proverbial phrase, says Umbreit, “for destroying their power, that is, in the eyes of the people.” The garments of the Orientals were long and flowing, and were consequently in the way when active service was demanded. The girdle served to bind them up; and hence, to unloose the girdle typified inaction or effeminacy. God promised to unloose the loins of kings before Cyrus, (Isaiah 45:1,) that is. to render them unfit for material resistance.

b. The same wisdom on the one side brings “the hidden things of darkness,” (1 Corinthians 4:5,) all the dark plans of wickedness, into light; and on the other, plunges nations, together with their magnates, into the darkness of calamity and hopeless bewilderment, 22-25.

V. 22. Darkness-The most secret counsels of princes, which are contrived and carried on in the dark.

Verse 22. He discovereth deep things out of darkness] This may refer either to God’s works in the great deep, or to the plots and stratagems of wicked men, conspiracies that were deeply laid, well digested, and about to be produced into existence, when death, whose shadow had hitherto concealed them, is to glut himself with carnage.

Verses 21, 22. He poureth contempt upon princes — That is, he makes them contemptible to their subjects and others; and weakeneth the strength of the mighty — The word jyzm, meziach, here rendered strength, occurs also Psalm 109:19, where it is translated girdle. The clause might here have been rendered, He looseth the girdle of the mighty, a phrase which signifies weakness, Isaiah 5:27; as the girding of the girdle denotes strength and power, Isaiah 22:21, and 45:5. Both these phrases are taken from the quality of their garments, which, being loose and long, disabled a man for walking or working. He discovereth deep things out of darkness — That is, the most secret and crafty counsels of princes: which are contrived and carried on in the dark.

22. Darkness… the shadow of death — Though the shadow of death be spread over the evil deeds of men God shall bring them to light.

V. 23. Nations-What hitherto he said of princes, he now applies to nations, whom God does either increase or diminish as he pleases.

Verse 23. He increaseth the nations] Mr. Good translates, He letteth the nations grow licentious. Pride, fulness of bread, with extensive trade and commerce, produce luxury; and this is ever accompanied with profligacy of manners. When, then, the cup of this iniquity is full, God destroys the nation, by bringing or permitting to come against it a nation less pampered, more necessitous, and inured to toil.

He enlargeth the nations] Often permits a nation to acquire an accession of territory, and afterwards shuts them up within their ancient boundaries, and often contracts even those. All these things seem to occur as natural events, and the consequences of state intrigues, and such like causes; but when Divine inspiration comes to pronounce upon them, they are shown to be the consequence of God’s acting in his judgment and mercy; for it is by him that kings reign; it is he who putteth down one and raiseth up another.

Verses 23-25. He increaseth the nations, &c. — What he had hitherto said of princes, he now applies to nations and people, whom God either increases or diminishes as he pleases. He enlargeth the nations — He multiplies them so that they are forced to send forth colonies into other lands; and straiteneth them again — Diminishes them by war, famine, or pestilence: or, as µjny, janchem, more properly signifies, leadeth them in, or bringeth them back, namely, into their own land, and confineth them there. So that whole nations, as well as their princes, are perfectly under his power, and he enlarges their bounds, or reduces them into more narrow limits, as he pleaseth. He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people — Deprives them both of courage and judgment, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness; that is, fills them with confusion, uncertainty, and perplexity of mind, so that they know not which way to turn themselves. They grope in the dark — Like men that cannot see their way. And he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man — Who reels hither and thither without any certainty. So they sometimes take one course, and sometimes another, as resolving to try all experiments, and indeed not knowing what to do. All their counsels and motions are as unsteady and fluctuating as those of a man intoxicated.

Ver. 23. He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them. If this were true in patriarchal society, how much more so in the great theatre of universal history. What great cities now lie in ruins: what vast countries, are now occupied by conquering invaders. The successive scourges of war, and the terrific pestilence, have eased the earth of its dense population.

23. Straiteneth them — Leadeth them away (into captivity). Compare 2 Kings 18:11.

Verse 24. He taketh away the heart of the chief] Suddenly deprives the leaders of great counsels, or mighty armies of courage; so that, panic-struck, they flee when none pursueth, or are confounded when about to enter on the accomplishment of important designs.

And causeth them to wander in a wilderness] A plain allusion to the journeyings of the Israelites in the deserts of Arabia, on their way to the promised land. Their chief, Aaron, had his courage all taken away by the clamours of the people; and so made them a molten calf to be the object of their worship, which defection from God was the cause of their wandering nearly forty years in the trackless wilderness. The reference is so marked, that it scarcely admits of a doubt; yet Houbigant and some others have called it in question, and suppose that those chiefs or heads of families which led out colonies into distant parts are principally intended. It answers too well to the case of the Israelites in the wilderness to admit of any other interpretation.

Verses 23-25. He increaseth the nations, &c. — What he had hitherto said of princes, he now applies to nations and people, whom God either increases or diminishes as he pleases. He enlargeth the nations — He multiplies them so that they are forced to send forth colonies into other lands; and straiteneth them again — Diminishes them by war, famine, or pestilence: or, as µjny, janchem, more properly signifies, leadeth them in, or bringeth them back, namely, into their own land, and confineth them there. So that whole nations, as well as their princes, are perfectly under his power, and he enlarges their bounds, or reduces them into more narrow limits, as he pleaseth. He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people — Deprives them both of courage and judgment, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness; that is, fills them with confusion, uncertainty, and perplexity of mind, so that they know not which way to turn themselves. They grope in the dark — Like men that cannot see their way. And he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man — Who reels hither and thither without any certainty. So they sometimes take one course, and sometimes another, as resolving to try all experiments, and indeed not knowing what to do. All their counsels and motions are as unsteady and fluctuating as those of a man intoxicated.

24. The heart — The same word, and perhaps the same allusion, as in verse 3. The first clause of the 21st verse, and the last clause of this, are literally reproduced in Psalm 107:40. “A plain allusion,” says Dr. Adam Clarke, “to the journeyings of the Israelites in the deserts of Arabia on their way to the promised land.” The Koran has a similar thought in connexion with the leadership of Moses: “God causeth to err whom he pleaseth, and directeth whom he pleaseth.” (Sur. 14:5.)

V. 25. Grope-Thus are the revolutions of kingdoms brought about by an overruling providence. Heaven and earth are shaken: but the Lord remaineth a king forever.

Verse 25. They grope in the dark] The writer seems to have had his eye on those words of Moses, Deuteronomy 28:28, 29: The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart; and thou shalt GROPE AT NOONDAY, as the BLIND GROPETH IN DARKNESS. And this also may refer to the unaccountable errors, transgressions, and judicial blindness of the Israelites in their journeying to the promised land: but it will apply also to the state of wicked nations under judicial blindness. The writer is principally indebted for his imagery, and indeed for the chief expressions used here, to Psalm 107:27: They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man. Psalm 107:39, 40: Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow. He POURETH CONTEMPT UPON PRINCES, and CAUSETH THEM TO WONDER IN THE WILDERNESS, where there is NO WAY.

Mr. Good has some judicious reflections on this chapter, particularly on Job 12:13-22: “It should be observed,” says he, “that the entire passage has a reference to the machinery of a regular and political government; and that its general drift is to imprint on the mind of the hearer the important doctrine that the whole of the constituent principles of such a government, its officers and institutions; its monarchs and princes; its privy-counsellors, judges, and ministers of state; its chieftains, public orators, and assembly of elders; its nobles, or men of hereditary rank; and its stout robust peasantry, as we should express it in the present day; nay, the deep designing villains that plot in secret its destruction;—that the nations themselves, and the heads or sovereigns of the nations, are all and equally in the hands of the Almighty: that with him human pomp is poverty; human excellence, turpitude; human judgment, error; human wisdom, folly; human dignity, contempt; human strength, weakness.”

JOB

Verses 23-25. He increaseth the nations, &c. — What he had hitherto said of princes, he now applies to nations and people, whom God either increases or diminishes as he pleases. He enlargeth the nations — He multiplies them so that they are forced to send forth colonies into other lands; and straiteneth them again — Diminishes them by war, famine, or pestilence: or, as µjny, janchem, more properly signifies, leadeth them in, or bringeth them back, namely, into their own land, and confineth them there. So that whole nations, as well as their princes, are perfectly under his power, and he enlarges their bounds, or reduces them into more narrow limits, as he pleaseth. He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people — Deprives them both of courage and judgment, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness; that is, fills them with confusion, uncertainty, and perplexity of mind, so that they know not which way to turn themselves. They grope in the dark — Like men that cannot see their way. And he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man — Who reels hither and thither without any certainty. So they sometimes take one course, and sometimes another, as resolving to try all experiments, and indeed not knowing what to do. All their counsels and motions are as unsteady and fluctuating as those of a man intoxicated.

25. They grope, etc. — They feel the darkness and not light. — Gesenius. The reading of the Septuagint is nearly the same. Their blindness must be intense, when the sense of feeling is their sight. He maketh — God is said to do what he permits to be done. Men who resist grace he leaves a prey to the laws of nature — laws outside of the kingdom of grace. Their work God is said to perform, because it is through laws of his enactment. If he withdraw the enlightening and restraining influences of his grace, the twofold result — darkness and confusion — must follow. Thus deserted, nations like Egypt, (Isaiah 19:14,) and individuals like Saul, alike stagger to their doom. The withdrawal of himself is the great positive evil God inflicts upon an impure soul in the eternal world.