Job · Chapter 27

V. 1. Parable-His grave and weighty discourse.

Verse 1. Continued his parable] After having delivered the preceding discourse, Job appears to have paused to see if any of his friends chose to make any reply; but finding them all silent, he resumed his discourse, which is here called wlvm meshalo, his parable, his authoritative weighty discourse; from lvm mashal, to exercise rule, authority, dominion, or power.—Parkhurst. And it must be granted that in this speech he assumes great boldness, exhibits his own unsullied character, and treats his friends with little ceremony.

Verses 1-4. Job continued his parable — His grave and weighty discourse. As God liveth — He confirms the truth of his expressions by an oath, because he found them very backward to believe what he professed. Who hath taken away my judgment — Who, though he knows my integrity, yet does not plead my cause against my friends. All the while my breath is in me — Which is the constant companion and certain sign of life; or my soul or life is in me; and Spirit of God — Or rather, the breath of God; is in my nostrils — I protest, that as long as I have breath in my body, and he shall enable me to speak a word; my lips shall not speak wickedness, &c. — My tongue shall be the faithful interpreter of my heart, and I will never speak otherwise than I think.

Verse 1. Parable, equivalent to a wise, learned and conclusive speech.

1. Job waits for an answer. The friends are silenced. He is now master of the field. The mists that surrounded his opponents had served to magnify them and their cause. Job now stands forth in the clear sunlight of truth, alone and conqueror. He confirms his integrity by the most solemn appeal to God and his conscience. No one, he says, could maintain such hope in the sight of death, such trust in God’s help, such joyous confidence in him, and be conscious of such guilt as they had charged. (Verses 8-10.) Now that he has driven his friends from their extreme positions, he reviews the ground he has gained, and brings out into stronger relief some principles he himself had advanced, at least in theory, one of which was that the prosperity of the wicked was apparent, and could not endure, (Job 21:16, 21, etc.,) but which, in the heat of the controversy, had not received their proper attention. (See note on verse 13.) His argument throughout had assumed a future adjustment of wrong and sin, (verse 8.) But this is not sufficient. The doctrine of future awards lacks substantial basis if there be no retributive government of the wicked in this life. Parable — Mashal: a discourse conveying important truth in language concise and to a high degree poetical. Balaam took up his parable. Numbers 23:1. “The introduction of the ultimatum, as mashal, reminds one of ‘the proverb (el-methel,) seals it,’ in the mouth of the Arab, since in common life it is customary to use a pithy saying as the final proof at the conclusion of a speech.” — Delitzsch. The phrase Job “continued to take up his parable,” serves to mark the pause that must have ensued upon the close of his reply to Bildad, while he waited in vain to hear from the discomfited Zophar.

Section first — JOB’S RENEWED ASSEVERATION OF HIS INNOCENCE IS CONFIRMED UNDER THE SANCTIONS OF AN OATH, 2-10. Hengstenberg and Hitzig divide the section into two strophes.

a. The oath of his innocence he takes with the full consciousness of its gravity, and with a determination to maintain it against all gainsayers, 2-6.

V. 2. Who-Though he knows my integrity, yet doth not plead my cause against my friends.

Verse 2. Who hath taken away my judgment] Who has turned aside my cause, and has not permitted it to come to a hearing, where I might have justice done to me, but has abandoned me to the harsh and uncharitable judgment of my enemies? There appears to be a great want of reverence in these words of Job; he speaks with a degree of irritation, if not bitterness, which cannot be justified. No man should speak thus of his Maker.

Verses 1-4. Job continued his parable — His grave and weighty discourse. As God liveth — He confirms the truth of his expressions by an oath, because he found them very backward to believe what he professed. Who hath taken away my judgment — Who, though he knows my integrity, yet does not plead my cause against my friends. All the while my breath is in me — Which is the constant companion and certain sign of life; or my soul or life is in me; and Spirit of God — Or rather, the breath of God; is in my nostrils — I protest, that as long as I have breath in my body, and he shall enable me to speak a word; my lips shall not speak wickedness, &c. — My tongue shall be the faithful interpreter of my heart, and I will never speak otherwise than I think.

Ver. 2. God—hath taken away my judgment. The old readings here are preferable. The LXX, God—judgeth me thus, or so heavily. Chaldaic, He taketh away the rule of my judgment; that is, he does not judge me according to the manner of men: he makes my case special, and out of the common rule.

2. As God liveth — Literally, living is God, that is, “by the living God,” an Arabic and Hebrew form of oath. Raschi cites from Rabbi Joshua, that Job must have served God from love, because no one swears by the life of a king unless he loves the king. Compare Psalm 63:11, and Isaiah 48:1. My judgment, etc. — My right. God has not only rejected his cause, but embittered his soul. This cry of wrong demonstrates that Job is still far from fitted to undo the twisted knot of his sufferings and rise erect in true manhood, renewed through sorrow; while it most admirably paves the way for Elihu.

Verse 3. All the while my breath is in me] As Job appears to allude to the creation of Adam, whom God made out of the dust of the earth, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, so that he became a living soul, the whole of Job’s assertion may be no more than a periphrasis for As long as I live and have my understanding. Indeed ytmvn nishmathi may be rendered my mind or understanding, and hwla jwr ruach Eloah, the breath of God, the principle of animal life, the same that he breathed into Adam; for it is there said, Genesis 2:7, He breathed into his nostrils, tmcn חיים nismath chaiyim, the breath of lives, or that principle from which animal and spiritual life proceeds; in consequence of which he became hyj vpnl lenephesh chaiyah, an intelligent or rational animal.

Verses 1-4. Job continued his parable — His grave and weighty discourse. As God liveth — He confirms the truth of his expressions by an oath, because he found them very backward to believe what he professed. Who hath taken away my judgment — Who, though he knows my integrity, yet does not plead my cause against my friends. All the while my breath is in me — Which is the constant companion and certain sign of life; or my soul or life is in me; and Spirit of God — Or rather, the breath of God; is in my nostrils — I protest, that as long as I have breath in my body, and he shall enable me to speak a word; my lips shall not speak wickedness, &c. — My tongue shall be the faithful interpreter of my heart, and I will never speak otherwise than I think.

Ver. 3. The Spirit of God is in my nostrils. Poole thinks that Job alludes here to Genesis 2:7. If so, Moses must either have had writings or very explicit traditions for his Genesis, which were known to Abraham and to Job. Be that as it might, he was conscious that the Spirit of God animated his heart, and emboldened him in the effusions of his mind.

3. All the while, etc. — Dillmann, Hitzig, and the Speaker’s Commentary, read, for whole even yet is my breath in me; that is, notwithstanding his weight of sorrow he feels himself “sound, capable of knowing and holding what is true and right;” in a condition not unlike that essential to the making of a will, “being in sound mind.” The Authorized Version, which is approved by Gesenius, Furst, and Hengstenberg, makes quite as good sense. As long as he lives he will adhere to what he is about to swear. Umbreit makes this verse a part of the oath. Spirit (or breath) of God — An allusion to the Mosaical account of man’s creation. Genesis 2:7.

Verse 4. My lips shall not speak wickedness] As I have hitherto lived in all good conscience before God, as he knoweth, so will I continue to live.

Verses 1-4. Job continued his parable — His grave and weighty discourse. As God liveth — He confirms the truth of his expressions by an oath, because he found them very backward to believe what he professed. Who hath taken away my judgment — Who, though he knows my integrity, yet does not plead my cause against my friends. All the while my breath is in me — Which is the constant companion and certain sign of life; or my soul or life is in me; and Spirit of God — Or rather, the breath of God; is in my nostrils — I protest, that as long as I have breath in my body, and he shall enable me to speak a word; my lips shall not speak wickedness, &c. — My tongue shall be the faithful interpreter of my heart, and I will never speak otherwise than I think.

4. My lips — Literally, If my lips. The oath introduced by the usual form µa, im, commences with this verse: He will speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Verse 5. God forbid] yl hlylj chalilah lli, far be it from me, that I should justify you—that I should now, by any kind of acknowledgment of wickedness or hypocrisy justify your harsh judgment. You say that God afflicts me for my crimes; I say, and God knows it is truth, that I have not sinned so as to draw down any such judgment upon me. Your judgment, therefore, is pronounced at your own risk.

Verses 5, 6. God forbid that I should justify you — In your opinion concerning me, and censure of me; till I die, &c. — Never hope that I will yield to your judgment, which I know to be false: no, I abhor the thought of it, and will sooner die than confess the guilt which you charge upon me. My righteousness I hold fast — You shall never extort that from me, but I will resolutely maintain my uprightness, and not be persuaded by any reason to desert its defence. My heart shall not reproach me, &c. — With betraying my own cause and innocence; my conscience doth not hitherto accuse me, and it shall not upbraid me hereafter.

5. God forbid — Literally, Far be it from me, mh genoito, (Romans 6:2,) to concede that you are right in the impeachment of my righteousness, and thus to compromise the truth. Hitzig supposes “God” to be the subject of the textual form hlylj, in 2 Samuel 23:17, and follows frequent renderings of the word in the Septuagint, and its cognate meaning in the Arabic, by translating it, “God be gracious to me, if,” etc. Mine integrity — Among the heaviest strokes that fell upon Job were the cruel aspersions against his integrity.

V. 6. Reproach-With betraying my own cause and innocency.

Verse 6. My righteousness I hold fast] I stand firmly on this ground; I have endeavoured to live an upright life, and my afflictions are not the consequence of my sins.

My heart shall not reproach me] I shall take care so to live that I shall have a conscience void of offense before God and man. “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God;” 1 John 3:21. This seems to be Job’s meaning.

Verses 5, 6. God forbid that I should justify you — In your opinion concerning me, and censure of me; till I die, &c. — Never hope that I will yield to your judgment, which I know to be false: no, I abhor the thought of it, and will sooner die than confess the guilt which you charge upon me. My righteousness I hold fast — You shall never extort that from me, but I will resolutely maintain my uprightness, and not be persuaded by any reason to desert its defence. My heart shall not reproach me, &c. — With betraying my own cause and innocence; my conscience doth not hitherto accuse me, and it shall not upbraid me hereafter.

6. My heart shall not reproach — My heart reproaches not one of my days. (Hitzig.) Job’s heart, rendered by Luther “conscience,” was, like the apostle’s, “void of offence.” “Friends” had charged him with secret sins as the source of his woes. He assures them, in the language of the Septuagint, “I am not conscious of having done wrong, atopa.” See sermon of Sydney Smith in loc., on “The Reproaches of the Heart.”

b. As an incidental confirmation of his righteousness, Job adduces his triumphant religious experience, and reasons that he who possesses such, cannot be as the wicked, 7-10.

V. 7. Let-I am so far from practicing wickedness, that I abhor the thoughts of it, and if I would wish to be revenged of my enemy, I could wish him no greater mischief than to be a wicked man.

Verse 7. Let mine enemy be as the wicked] Let my accuser be proved a lying and perjured man, because he has laid to my charge things which he cannot prove, and which are utterly false.

Verse 7. Let mine enemy be as the wicked — I am so far from loving and practising wickedness, whereof you accuse me, that I abhor the thoughts of it; and if I might and should wish to be revenged of mine enemy, I could wish him no greater mischief than to be a wicked man. This does not imply that we may lawfully wish any man to be wicked, or that any man who is not wicked should be treated as wicked; but we ought all rather to choose to be in the condition of a beggar, an outlaw, a galley-slave, any thing rather than in the condition of the wicked, though in ever so much outward pomp and prosperity.

7. Let mine enemy be, etc. — Rather, Mine enemy must appear as the wicked, etc. The sentiments his antagonists have expressed are such as are held by the wicked. They who counsel to acts of hypocrisy as these had done, should be regarded as wicked. There is here no imprecation. It is simply the announcement of an important truth: he who consciously antagonizes truth must be himself accounted as untrue.

V. 8. Though-Though they prosper in the world. God, as the judge takes it away, to be tried, and determined to its everlasting state. And what will his hope be then? It will be vanity and a lie; it will stand him in no stead.

Verse 8. What is the hope of the hypocrite] The word pnj chaneph, which we translate, most improperly, hypocrite, means a wicked fellow, a defiled, polluted wretch, a rascal, a knave, a man who sticks at nothing in order to gain his ends. In this verse it means a dishonest man, a rogue, who by overreaching, cheating, &c., has amassed a fortune. When God taketh away his soul?] Could he have had any well grounded hope of eternal blessedness when he was acquiring earthly property by guilt and deceit? And of what avail will this property be when his soul is summoned before the judgment-seat? A righteous man yields up his soul to God; the wicked does not, because he is afraid of God, of death, and of eternity. God therefore takes the soul away-forces it out of the body. Mr. Blair gives us an affecting picture of the death of a wicked man. Though well known, I shall insert it as a striking comment on this passage:— “How shocking must thy summons be, O death!

To him that is at ease in his possessions;

Who, counting on long years of pleasures here;

Is quite unfurnished for that world to come!

In that dread moment how the frantic soul

Raves round the walls of her clay tenement;

Runs to each avenue, and shrieks for help,

But shrieks in vain! How wishfully she looks

On all she’s leaving, now no longer hers!

A little longer, yet a little longer,

O, might she stay, to wash away her stains,

And fit her for her passage! Mournful sight!

Her very eyes weep blood; and every groan

She heaves is big with horror. But the foe,

Like a stanch murderer, steady to his purpose,

Pursues her close, through every lane of life,

Nor misses once the track, but presses on;

Till, forced at last to the tremendous verge,

At once she sinks to everlasting ruin.”

THE GRAVE.

The Chaldee has, What can the detractor expect who has gathered together (rqvd ממונ mamon dishkar, the mammon of unrighteousness) when God plucks out his soul? The Septuagint: Tiv gar estin eti elpiv asebei, oti epeceiÈ mh pepoiqwv epi kurion ei ara swqhsetai; “For what is the hope of the ungodly that he should wait for? shall he, by hoping in the Lord, be therefore saved?” Mr. Good translates differently from all the versions:—

“Yet what is the hope of the wicked that he should prosper, That God should keep his soul in quiet?”

I believe our version gives as true a sense as any; and the words appear to have been in the eye of our Lord, when he said, “For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:26.

Verse 8. What is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained? — There is no reason why I should envy or desire the portion of wicked men: although they ofttimes prosper in the world, and seem to be great gainers; yet death, which hasteneth to all men, and to me especially, will show that they are far greater losers, and die in a most wretched and desperate condition, having no hope either of continuing in this life, which they chiefly desire, or of enjoying a better life, which they never regarded. But I have a firm and well-grounded hope, not of that temporal restitution which you promise, but of a blessed immortality after death; and therefore I am not a hopeless hypocrite, as you think me to be. When God taketh away his soul — When, much against his will, and by an act of violence, (as the word lvy, jeshel, here used, signifies,) God, as the Judge, takes his soul out of his body, that it may be tried and determined to its everlasting state. What will his hope be then? It will be vanity and a lie; it will stand him in no stead. The wealth of this world, which he hoped in, he must leave behind him, and the happiness of the other world, which he hoped for, he will certainly fall short of; his hopes, therefore, will disappoint and make him ashamed.

8. For — Job appeals to the want of religious experience on the part of the ungodly to show that he cannot be accounted such. Gained (unjustly) — Thus the Syriac, Chaldee, Vulgate, Arnheim, Gesenius, Furst, etc. The exhaustive comment of Tayler Lewis abundantly shows that Zockler, (in Lange,) Dillmann, etc., are wrong in reading [xby yk, “When he cutteth off.” The transition from the prime meaning of batsa’h, “break off,” “plunder” (for gain,) to its secondary meaning “gain,” is easy and natural. The construction of Zockler, etc., mixes the metaphor, and demands, contrary to Hebrew usage, the same subject for two successive verbs, each preceded by yk; also it destroys the parallelism. The resemblance between the text and the profound question of Christ (Mark 8:36) is worthy of note. Taketh away — Literally, Draweth out, as a sword from its sheath, as in Daniel 7:15, (see margin,) where the body is called a sheath. The Talmud, the Hindu, and the Roman, (Pliny,) use the same metaphor. The Hindu Vedanta says, “The soul is in the body as in a sheath.” — COLEBROOK, Misc. Essays, 1:372. Gesenius (Thes., 855) cites a philosopher who, being despised by Alexander on account of his ugliness, responded: “The body is nothing but the sheath of a sword in which the soul is concealed.” While the figure of the text painfully expresses the resistance of the soul against its severance from the body, (compare Genesis 35:18,) it assumes a separate existence for the soul. To speak of hope for a man after his death, unless the soul be conscious, would be a palpable absurdity. The passage is among the many of this book that take for granted the conscious existence of the wicked after death, and by implication the immortality of all.

Verse 9. Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh? — When any calamity comes upon him; or, when his conscience accuses him, and his guilt flies in his face? Will God pay any regard to the cries of one who regarded him so little?

V. 10. Delight-When he has nothing else to delight in? No: his delight is in the things of the world, which now sink under him. And those who do not delight in God, will not always, will not long, call upon him.

Verse 10. Will he delight himself in the Almighty? — When he has nothing else to delight in? No: his delight is in the things of the world, which now sink under him. Will he always call upon God? — Will he have the confidence to pray to God, and expect any comfort from him? Nay, will he not rather despond in such a case, and cease to call upon him? Certainly those who do not delight in God will not long call upon him.

10. Delight himself — Same as in Job 22:26. If the ungodly have no such experience as his own, Job would have his friends infer that he must be righteous. Always — Hebrew, In all time. Delight in God manifests itself in habitual communion with him. The question of Job is an unconscious exponent of his own unceasing life of prayer. Section second — A CALM AND FORMAL STATEMENT OF JOB’S VIEWS CONCERNING THE LOT

Verse 11. I will teach you by the hand of God] Relying on Divine assistance, and not speaking out of my own head, or quoting what others have said I will teach you what the mind of the Almighty is, and I will conceal nothing. Job felt that the good hand of his God was upon him, and that therefore he should make no mistake in his doctrines. In this way the Chaldee understood the words, la dyb beyad El, by the hand of God, which it translates ahla tawbnb binbuath Elaha, by the prophecy of God. Those who reject the literal meaning, which conveys a very good sense, may adopt the translation of Mr. Good, which has much to recommend it: “I will teach you concerning the dealings of God.”

Verse 11. I will teach you by the hand of God — That is, by God’s help and inspiration; or, by such arguments as are irresistible. The words, however, may be rendered, concerning the hand of God; that is, concerning his counsel and providence in governing the world, or the manner of his dealing with men, and especially with wicked men, of whom he discourses, verse 13, &c., showing how far the hand of God is either for them, upon, or against them. That which is with the Almighty — That is, in his counsel, and how he executes his secret purposes concerning them; I will not conceal — I will declare the truth of God, and the doctrine that he hath taught his church about these matters.

OF THE WICKED IN THIS, AND THEIR DOOM IN THE NEXT, LIFE, 11-23. Introductory strophe a — Experience has given man wisdom which should guard him against error in the interpretation of the mind and ways of God. With a noble feeling of conciliation he takes for his text the statement of the friends concerning the wicked, 11-13.

11. By the — Concerning. Literally, in. Hand of God — The mystery of the divine government, which he proceeds to unfold in this and the subsequent chapters. That which is with the Almighty — His dealings. Compare Job 12:16; 15:9; and see note on Job 22:14.

V. 12. Have seen-I speak what is confirmed by your own, as well as others experiences. Vain-To condemn me for a wicked man, because I am afflicted.

Verse 12. Ye yourselves have seen it] Your own experience and observation have shown you that the righteous are frequently in affliction, and the wicked in affluence.

Why then are ye thus altogether vain?] The original is very emphatical: wlbht lbh hebel tehbalu, and well expressed by Mr. Good: “Why then should ye thus babble babblings!” It our language would allow it, we might say vanitize vanity.

Verse 12. Ye yourselves have seen it — I speak no false or strange things: but what is known and confirmed by your own experience, and that of others. Why then are ye thus altogether vain? — In maintaining such a foolish and false opinion against your own knowledge and experience? Why do you so obstinately defend your opinion, and not comply with mine, for the truth of which I appeal to your own consciences?

12. Ye yourselves have seen it — The facts he is about to adduce are in keeping with their views. Job has, indeed, several times intimated, what he now expresses, that the prosperity of the wicked is not uninterrupted. Altogether vain — Literally, Vain in vanity, or vain even to vanity. Their folly partly consisted in making false use of the truth. The words they spoke coined themselves into a corresponding state of the heart, a truth forcibly implied in the verb lbh, “to speak vainly,” (Gesenius,) “to be vain,” (Furst.) “Hollow opinions hollow out the man.” “They followed vanity and became vain.” 2 Kings 17:15.

Verse 13. This is the portion of a wicked man] Job now commences his promised teaching; and what follows is a description of the lot or portion of the wicked man and of tyrants. And this remuneration shall they have with God in general, though the hand of man be not laid upon them. Though he does not at all times show his displeasure against the wicked, by reducing them to a state of poverty and affliction, yet he often does it so that men may see it; and at other times he seems to pass them by, reserving their judgment for another world, that men may not forget that there is a day of judgment and perdition for ungodly men, and a future recompense for the righteous.

Verse 13. This is the portion of a wicked man — Namely, that which is mentioned in the following verses; with God — Either laid up with God, namely, in his counsel and appointment; or, which he shall have from God, as the next words explain it; and the heritage of oppressors — Who are mighty, fierce, terrible, and mischievous, as the word µyxyr[, gnaritzim, implies; whom, therefore, men cannot destroy, but God will.

13. In chapters 21 and 24 Job had, in glowing terms, portrayed the prosperity of the wicked; he now (verses 13-23) guards his statement by conceding that wickedness is punished, though not uniformly. His argument before seemed to deny punishment in this present life. Now that he has silenced his adversaries he desires to leave the argument in a condition more satisfactory, lest the wicked be emboldened to sin without restraint. He employs against the friends the very terms they had used, gathering them up like so many weapons, which in their disastrous defeat they had left on the field, Job 20:29. Delitzsch suggests “that Job holds up the end of the evildoer before the friends that they may infer from it that he is not an evildoer, whereas the friends held it up before Job that he might infer from it that he is an evildoer.” A.B. Davidson and others regard “the passage in question as a kind of summary by Job of the views of the friends on providence, which views he characterizes as lbh, (verse 12,) “utter vanity,” and quite insufficient to explain the facts. Having run over these views (verses 13-23) he proceeds to controvert them.” Such an estimate is, however, erroneous, since Job distinctly declares (verses 11, 12) his determination to set forth his own views. The speech stands forth in its rugged grandeur, self-declaratory of its Jobesque origin, and is in itself a refutation of those who would sacrilegiously ascribe it to the feeblest of the three, the passionate, parrot-like Zophar. Portion… heritage — The passage is taken almost verbatim from Zophar; Job 20:29. Strophe b — Having fully established his main position, that the virtuous may suffer, for instance as in his case, (2-10,) Job proceeds to give in detail the sufferings of a portion of the wicked in this present life. In admitting the sufferings of some of the wicked, he magnanimously proffers a ground of conciliation, with an implied condition that the friends should also admit the sufferings of the righteous, which they in the obstinacy of silence fail to do, 14-18.

Verse 14. If his children be multiplied] As numerous families were supposed to be a proof of the benediction of the Almighty, Job shows that this is not always the case; for the offspring of the wicked shall be partly cut off by violent deaths, and partly reduced to great poverty.

Verses 14, 15. It is for the sword — That they may be cut off by the sword, either of war or of justice: and his offspring, &c. — Shall be starved, or shall want necessaries. Those that remain of him — Who survive that sword and famine; shall be buried in death — “Shall be reduced to so great a degree of misery,” says Schultens, “that where they die, there they shall rot, and no person shall bury them: they shall have death itself, (so he renders the text,) for their sepulchre.” It is put in antithesis, or by way of contrast to the monuments of the rich. And his widows — For they had many wives; shall not weep — Because they, as well as other persons, groaned under his tyranny, and, therefore, rejoice in their deliverance from it.

14. His children — Calamity hangs over his home also; his children perish, too, some by war and some by famine. Job’s glowing description of a godless family in Job 21:8, he now qualifies by declaring their doom. It is painfully natural that desolate Job should first speak of the children of the wicked.

V. 15. Remain-Who survive that sword and famine. Widows-For they had many wives. Weep-Because they also, as well as other persons, groaned under their tyranny, and rejoice in their deliverance from it.

Verse 15. Those that remain of him] wydyrc seridaiv, his remains, whether meaning himself personally, or his family.

Shall be buried in death] Shall come to utter and remediless destruction. Death shall have his full conquest over them, and the grave its complete victory. These are no common dead. All the sting, all the wound, and all the poison of sin, remains: and so evident are God’s judgments in his and their removal, that even widows shall not weep for them; the public shall not bewail them; for when the wicked perish there is shouting. Mr. Good, following the Chaldee, translates: Entombed in corruption, or in the pestilence. But I see no reason why we should desert the literal reading. Entombed in corruption gives no nervous sense in my judgment; for in corruption are the high and the low, the wicked and the good, entombed: but buried in death is at once nervous and expressive. Death itself is the place where he shall lie; he shall have no redemption, no resurrection to life; death shall ever have dominion over him. The expression is very similar to that in Luke 16:22, as found in several versions and MSS.: The rich man died, and was buried in hell; and, lifting up his eyes, being in torment, he saw, &c. See my note there.

Verses 14, 15. It is for the sword — That they may be cut off by the sword, either of war or of justice: and his offspring, &c. — Shall be starved, or shall want necessaries. Those that remain of him — Who survive that sword and famine; shall be buried in death — “Shall be reduced to so great a degree of misery,” says Schultens, “that where they die, there they shall rot, and no person shall bury them: they shall have death itself, (so he renders the text,) for their sepulchre.” It is put in antithesis, or by way of contrast to the monuments of the rich. And his widows — For they had many wives; shall not weep — Because they, as well as other persons, groaned under his tyranny, and, therefore, rejoice in their deliverance from it.

Ver. 15. His widows shall not weep. The LXX, No man shall have compassion on their widows: iniquity being visited on posterity.

15. Buried in death — Or, by death. They who escape war and famine shall fall by some fell pestilence that precludes even a burial. Death himself shall administer the last sad rites — no funeral cortege, save wild beasts from the desert — no dirge; even their “widows shall not weep,” “corruption alone shall be their tomb.” A startling personification. Comp. Jeremiah 16:4. The pestilence, in the Middle Ages, was called black death. The reader will recall painful allusions to the death of Job’s children which stained the speeches of the friends. His widows shall not weep — Comp. Jeremiah 22:18. The plural form “widows” points to polygamy as a common practice of Job’s times, and consequently to a remote age for the writing of this book.

V. 16. As clay-In great abundance.

Verse 16. Though he heap up silver] Though he amass riches in the greatest abundance, he shall not enjoy them. Unsanctified wealth is a curse to its possessor. Money, of all earthly possessions, is the most dangerous, as it is the readiest agent to do good or evil. He that perverts it is doubly cursed, because it affords him the most immediate means of sinful gratification; and he can sin more in an hour through this, than he can in a day or week by any other kind of property. On the other hand, they who use it aright have it in their power to do the most prompt and immediate good. Almost every kind of want may be speedily relieved by it. Hence, he who uses it as he ought is doubly blessed; while he who abuses it is doubly cursed.

Verses 16-18. Prepare raiment as the clay — In great abundance. But the just shall put it on — Either because it shall be given to him by the magistrate, to recompense him for those injuries which he had received from the oppressor; or because the right of it is, in some other way, transferred upon him by divine providence. He buildeth his house as a moth — Which settleth itself in a garment, but is quickly and unexpectedly dispossessed of its dwelling, and crushed to death. And as a booth, &c. — Which the keeper of a garden or vineyard suddenly rears up in fruit-time, and as quickly pulls down again.

16. Raiment as the clay — As with Elizabeth, queen of England, the wardrobe of the rich in the East represented often untold sums of wealth.

Verse 17. The just shall put it on] Money is God’s property. “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord;” and though it may be abused for a time by unrighteous hands, God, in the course of his providence, brings it back to its proper use; and often the righteous possess the inheritance of the wicked.

Verses 16-18. Prepare raiment as the clay — In great abundance. But the just shall put it on — Either because it shall be given to him by the magistrate, to recompense him for those injuries which he had received from the oppressor; or because the right of it is, in some other way, transferred upon him by divine providence. He buildeth his house as a moth — Which settleth itself in a garment, but is quickly and unexpectedly dispossessed of its dwelling, and crushed to death. And as a booth, &c. — Which the keeper of a garden or vineyard suddenly rears up in fruit-time, and as quickly pulls down again.

OF THE WICKED IN THIS, AND THEIR DOOM IN THE NEXT, LIFE, 11-23. Introductory strophe a — Experience has given man wisdom which should guard him against error in the interpretation of the mind and ways of God. With a noble feeling of conciliation he takes for his text the statement of the friends concerning the wicked, 11-13.

11. By the — Concerning. Literally, in. Hand of God — The mystery of the divine government, which he proceeds to unfold in this and the subsequent chapters. That which is with the Almighty — His dealings. Compare Job 12:16; 15:9; and see note on Job 22:14.

V. 18. A moth-Which settleth itself in a garment, but is quickly and unexpectedly dispossessed of its dwelling, and crushed to death. A booth-Which the keeper of a garden or vineyard suddenly rears up in fruit-time, and as quickly pulls down again.

Verse 18. He buildeth his house as a moth] With great skill, great pains, and great industry; but the structure, however skilful, shall be dissolved; and the materials, however costly, shall be brought to corruption. To its owner it shall be only a temporary habitation, like that which the moth makes in its larve or caterpillar state, during its change from a chrysalis to a winged insect.

As a booth that the keeper maketh.] A shed which the watchman or keeper of a vineyard erects to cover him from the scorching sun, while watching the ripening grapes, that they may be preserved from depredation. Travellers in the East have observed that such booths or sheds are made of the lightest and most worthless materials; and after the harvest or vintage is in, they are quite neglected, and by the winter rains, &c., are soon dissolved and destroyed.

Verses 16-18. Prepare raiment as the clay — In great abundance. But the just shall put it on — Either because it shall be given to him by the magistrate, to recompense him for those injuries which he had received from the oppressor; or because the right of it is, in some other way, transferred upon him by divine providence. He buildeth his house as a moth — Which settleth itself in a garment, but is quickly and unexpectedly dispossessed of its dwelling, and crushed to death. And as a booth, &c. — Which the keeper of a garden or vineyard suddenly rears up in fruit-time, and as quickly pulls down again.

18. His house as a moth — The house that the moth builds rises on the ruin of the garment where it dwells. “By means of their maxillae these little larvae shear down the surface of various substances, and, uniting the particles by means of their glutinous silk, they thus form protecting habitations.” — Encyclo. Brit., 9:217. So frail is the house that if the garment be shaken it perishes. See Job 4:19. As a booth — A frail and temporary shed erected for the use of those set to watch over vineyards and orchards.

Strophe c — Suddenly and with violence he dies, the scorn of nature and of man, rejected and shot at by God himself, 19-23.

V. 19. Lie down-In death. Not gathered-Instead of that honourable interment with his fathers, his carcase shall lie like dung upon the earth. One openeth his eyes-That is, while a man can open his eyes, in the twinkling of an eye. He is as if he had never been, dead and gone, and his family and name extinct with him.

Verse 19. The rich man shall lie down] In the grave.

But he shall not be gathered] Neither have a respectable burial among men, nor be gathered with the righteous in the kingdom of God. It may be that Job alludes here to an opinion relative to the state of certain persons after death, prevalent in all nations in ancient times, viz., that those whose funeral rites had not been duly performed, wander about as ghosts, and find no rest.

He openeth his eyes] In the morning of the resurrection.

And he is not.] He is utterly lost and undone for ever. This seems to be the plain sense of the passage; and so all the versions appear to have understood it; but Reiske and some others, by making ãsay yeaseph an Arabic word, signifying, not the idea of gathering, but care, anxiety, &c., have quite altered this sense of the passage; and Mr. Good, who copies them, translates thus: Let the rich man lie down, and care not. I see no manner of occasion to resort to this interpretation, which, in my judgment, gives a sense inferior to that given above, or to the following: The rich man shall lie down—go to his rest, fully persuaded that his property is in perfect safety; but he shall not be gathered, or he shall not gather—make any farther addition to his stores: he openeth his eyes in the morning, when he is not—marauders in the night have stripped him of all his property, as in the case of Job himself; a case quite probable, and not unfrequent in Arabia, when a hostile tribe makes a sudden incursion, and carries off an immense booty. But I prefer the first meaning, as it is obtained without crucifying the text. Coverdale translates: When the rich man dyeth, he carieth nothinge with him: he is gone in the twincklinge of an eye.

Verse 19. The rich man shall lie down — In death; but he shall not be gathered — Namely, in burial, as this word ãsay, jeaseph, is often used. Instead of that honourable interment with his fathers, which he expected, his carcass shall lie like dung upon the earth. He openeth, or, one openeth his eyes, and he is not — That is, while a man can open his eyes, in a moment, or in the twinkling of an eye, he is as if he had never been; he is dead and gone, and his family and name are extinct with him.

19. The rich… lie down — He lieth down rich. Though the wicked man be rich at his death, he shall not be gathered; an obscure phrase, the meaning of which our translators have given correctly when they have made it of signification similar to Genesis 25:8 — “Abraham was gathered to his people.” Since Abraham was buried in a land of strangers, and with Sarah only, the expression cannot signify mere burial with the dead, but rather pre-supposes continued conscious existence, and implies probably the communion of the dead. Compare Genesis 15:15; 25:8, 17: 35:29; 49:29-33; Numbers 20:24, etc. The rendering of Ewald, Hirtzel, etc., follows the Septuagint, “he doeth it no more,” that is, “he lies down for the last time,” but is hardly justified by the form of the verb, which is passive. The trivial reading of Umbreit, based upon a different pointing, “and nothing is robbed from him,” Hitzig strangely enough accepts. He openeth his eyes — So sudden and unexpected is his death: it is but a glance, an opening of the eye, and he is no more. Or it may express the surprise of the guilty soul when it awakens to consciousness in the unseen world. Luke 16:23.

V. 20. Terrors-From the sense of approaching death or judgment. Waters-As violently and irresistibly, as a river breaking its banks, or deluge of waters bears down all before it. A tempest-God’s wrath cometh upon him like a tempest, and withal unexpectedly like a thief in the night.

Verse 20. Terrors take hold on him as waters] They come upon him as an irresistible flood; and he is overwhelmed as by a tempest in the night, when darkness partly hides his danger, and deprives him of discerning the way to escape.

Verse 20. Terrors take hold on him — From the sense of approaching death or judgment. As waters — As violently and irresistibly as a river breaking its banks, or a deluge of waters bears down all before it. A tempest stealeth, &c. — God’s wrath cometh upon him like a tempest, and withal unexpectedly like a thief in the night.

20. As waters — Suddenly, violently, continuously. “One terror after another, without intermission, as waters mix together in a flood.” — Rabbi Levi. “That man, then,” says Plato, “who discovers in his own life much iniquity, and, like children, constantly starts in his sleep, is full of terrors, and lives on with scarce a hope of the future.” See, further, his “Republic,” b. 1, ch. 5.

V. 21. East-wind-Some terrible judgment, fitly compared to the east-wind, which in those parts was most vehement, and pernicious. Carrieth him-Out of his palace wherein he expected to dwell forever; whence he shall be carried either by an enemy, or by death.

Verse 21. The east wind carrieth him away] Such as is called by Mr. Good, a levanter, the euroclydon, the eastern storm of Acts 27:14.

Verses 21, 22. The east wind — Some terrible judgment, fitly compared to the east wind, which, in those parts, was most vehement, furious, pestilential, and destructive; carrieth him away — Out of his place, as it follows; out of his stately mansion, where he expected to dwell for ever; whence he shall be carried, either by an enemy or by death. For God shall cast upon him — His darts or plagues, one after another and not spare — That is, shall show no pity or mercy to him when he crieth to him for it. As there is no Hebrew for God, we may attribute this power to the storm occasioned by the east wind. For, if the tempest, verse 20, steals him away, according to the same kind of phraseology, the storm may be said to cast itself upon him, and not spare. He would fain flee out of his hand — That is, God’s hand, or from the power and violence of the storm. He earnestly desires and endeavours, by all possible ways, to escape the judgments of God, but in vain. Those that will not be persuaded to flee to the arms of divine grace, which are now stretched out to receive them, will not be able to flee from the arms of divine wrath, which will shortly be stretched out to destroy them.

Ver. 21. The east wind. The LXX, kauswn, is a burning wind, the wind of the Lord. Hosea 13:15. It withers all vegetation. Ezekiel 17:10. 19:12. Bruce, our accredited traveller, calls it the simoon, or hot wind. In the deserts of Numidia his guide called out, the simoon is coming; the camels, by instinct, thrust their noses into the sand, the people did the same, till the hot sulphurous breeze had passed: yet it left a sensation on Bruce’s lungs for some months. See on Psalm 48:7.

21. The east wind — A storm brought on by an east wind is generally very destructive on account of its strong gusts, and it will even uproot the largest trees. (Wetzstein.) This wind, according to “The Hamasa,” is usually most violent at night. See Job 15:2.

V. 22. Cast-His darts or plagues one after another. Would flee-He earnestly desires to escape the judgments of God, but in vain. Those that will not be persuaded to fly to the arms of Divine grace, which are now stretched out to receive them, will not be able to flee from the arms of Divine wrath, which will shortly be stretched out to destroy them.

Verse 22. God shall cast upon him] Or, rather, the storm mentioned above shall incessantly pelt him, and give him no respite; nor can he by any means escape from its fury.

Verses 21, 22. The east wind — Some terrible judgment, fitly compared to the east wind, which, in those parts, was most vehement, furious, pestilential, and destructive; carrieth him away — Out of his place, as it follows; out of his stately mansion, where he expected to dwell for ever; whence he shall be carried, either by an enemy or by death. For God shall cast upon him — His darts or plagues, one after another and not spare — That is, shall show no pity or mercy to him when he crieth to him for it. As there is no Hebrew for God, we may attribute this power to the storm occasioned by the east wind. For, if the tempest, verse 20, steals him away, according to the same kind of phraseology, the storm may be said to cast itself upon him, and not spare. He would fain flee out of his hand — That is, God’s hand, or from the power and violence of the storm. He earnestly desires and endeavours, by all possible ways, to escape the judgments of God, but in vain. Those that will not be persuaded to flee to the arms of divine grace, which are now stretched out to receive them, will not be able to flee from the arms of divine wrath, which will shortly be stretched out to destroy them.

22. He would fain flee — Literally, Fleeing he flees. Hither and thither he flees before God’s hand, but in vain.

V. 23. Clap-In token of their joy at the removal of such a publick pest, by way of astonishment: and in contempt and scorn, all which this gesture signifies in scripture use. His-In token of detestation and derision.

Verse 23. Men shall clap their hands at him] These two verses refer to the storm, which is to sweep away the ungodly; therefore the word God, in Job 27:22, and men in this verse, should be omitted. Ver. 22: “For it shall fall upon him, and not spare: flying from its power he shall continue to fly. Ver. 23. It shall clap its hands against him, and hiss, qrvyw veyishrok, shriek, him out of his place.” Here the storm is personified and the wicked actor is hissed and driven by it from off the stage. It seems it was an ancient method to clap the hands against and hiss a man from any public office, who had acted improperly in it. The populace, in European countries, express their disapprobation of public characters who have not pleased them in the same manner to the present day, by hisses, groans, and the like.

JOB

Verse 23. Men — Who shall see and observe these things; shall clap their hands at him — In token of their joy, at the removal of such a public pest and tyrant; and by way of astonishment, as also in contempt and scorn; all which this action signifies in Scripture. And shall hiss him out of his place — In token of detestation and derision.

23. Men shall clap — It or he, used collectively. In the opinion of some, the storm is personified and represented as acting after the manner of men when they condemn and hiss a public character. The text properly supplies the word men. The accumulation of the terminations emo and omo (says Delitzsch) gives a tone of thunder and a gloomy impress to this conclusion of the description of judgment, as those terminations frequently occur in the book of Psalms, where moral depravity is mourned and divine judgment threatened.