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Job Chapter
Eight
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JOB 8
In
this chapter Bildad enters the discussion with Job; proceeding upon the same
lines as Eliphaz, he reproves him for his long and loud talk, Job 8:1; asserts
the justice of God in his providence, of which the taking away of Job's
children by death for their transgression was an instance and proof, Job 8:3; and
suggests, that if Job, who had not sinned so heinously as they had, and
therefore was spared, would make his submission to God, and ask forgiveness of
him, and behave for the future with purity and uprightness, he need not doubt
but God would immediately appear and exert himself on his behalf, and bless him
and his with prosperity and plenty, Job 8:5; for this
was his ordinary way of dealing with the children of men, for the truth of
which he refers him to the records of former times, and to the sentiments of
ancient men, who lived longer, and were more knowing than he and his friends,
on whose opinion he does not desire him to rely, Job 8:8; and then
by various similes used by the ancients, or taken from them by Bildad, or which
were of his own inventing and framing, are set forth the short lived
enjoyments, and vain hope and confidence, of hypocrites and wicked men; as by
the sudden withering of rushes and flags of themselves, that grow in mire and
water, even in their greenness, before they are cut down, or cropped by any
hand, Job 8:11; and by
the spider's web, which cannot stand and endure when leaned upon and held, Job 8:14; and by a
flourishing tree destroyed, and seen no more, Job 8:16; and the
chapter is concluded with an observation and maxim, that he and the rest of his
friends set out upon, and were tenacious of; that God did not afflict good men
in any severe manner, but filled them with joy and gladness; and that he would
not long help and prosper wicked men, but bring them and their dwelling place
to nought; and this being the case of Job, he suggests that he was such an one,
Job 8:20.
Job 8:1 Then
Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
YLT
1And Bildad the Shuhite
answereth and saith: --
Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said. This was the
second of Job's friends that came to visit him, Job 2:11; and is
mentioned next to Eliphaz there, and takes his turn in this controversy in the
same side; which no doubt was agreed upon among themselves, as well as the part
each should bear, and the general sentiment they should pursue, which was the
same in them all. Some have observed, that Job's friends were like the
messengers that brought him the tidings of his losses, before one had done
speaking another came; and so as soon as one of his friends had delivered his
discourse, and before Job could well finish his reply, up starts another to
charge him afresh, as here Bildad did, who said as follows.
Job 8:2 2 “How long will you speak
these things, And the words of your mouth be like a strong wind?
YLT
2Till when dost thou speak
these things? And a strong wind -- sayings of thy mouth?
How long wilt thou speak these things?.... Either
what he had delivered in the "third" chapter in cursing the day of
his birth, and wishing for death, in which sentiments he still continued, and
resolutely defended; or those expressed in the "two" preceding
chapters, in answer to Eliphaz; this he said, as wondering that he should be
able to continue his discourse to such a length, and to express himself with
such vehemence, when his spirits might be thought to be so greatly depressed by
his afflictions, and his body enfeebled by diseases; or as angry with him for
his blasphemy against God, as he was ready to term it, his bold and daring
speeches of him, and charge of unrighteousness on him, and for his disregard to
what Eliphaz had said, his contempt of in and opposition to it; or as impatient
at his long reply, wanting him to cease speaking, that he might return an
answer, and therefore breaks in upon him before he had well done, see Job 18:2; or as
despising what he had said, representing it as idle talk, and as mere trifling;
and so some render the words, "how long wilt thou trifle after this
sort?"F7תמלל אלה
"nugaberis haec", Cocceius; "talia", Tigurine version;
"talk after this sort?" Broughton. or throw out such nonsense and
fabulous stuff as this?
and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a
strong wind? blustering, boisterous, and noisy, to which passionate words,
expressed in a loud and sonorous manner, may be compared; and so we say of a
man in a passion and rage, that he "storms". Bildad thought that his
speeches were hard and rough, and stout against God, and very indecent and
unbecoming a creature to his Maker, and not kind and civil to them his friends;
and yet they were like wind, vain and empty, great swelling words, but words of
vanity; they were spoken, and seemed big, but had nothing solid and substantial
in them, as Bildad thought.
Job 8:3 3 Does God subvert judgment?
Or does the Almighty pervert justice?
YLT
3Doth God pervert judgment?
And doth the Mighty One pervert justice?
Doth God pervert judgment?.... In his dealings with
men in the way of his providence; no, he does not; here Bildad opposes himself
to Job, who he thought had charged God with injustice in dealing with him, and
his children, in the manner he had done: the same thing is intended in the
following question:
or doth the Almighty pervert justice? for judgment
and justice are the same, and often go together in Scripture, as being done
either by God or men, when righteousness is executed by them, and this is never
perverted by the Lord; there is no unrighteousness in him, neither in his
nature, nor in his ways and works, either of providence or of grace; he is the
Judge of all the earth, that does and will do right; to subvert a man in his
cause, he approves not of in others, and will never do it himself; to justify
the wicked, and condemn the just, are both an abomination to him, and therefore
neither of these can ever be thought to be done by him; for though he justifies
the ungodly, he does not justify their ungodliness, nor them in it, but from
it, and that by the perfect righteousness of his Son; whereby the law is
fulfilled, and justice satisfied, and so he is just while he is the justifier
of him that believes in Jesus; though he is gracious and merciful, he is also
righteous, and will not clear the guilty, or pardon sin without satisfaction to
his justice; and such as are truly just or righteous, he never condemns here or
hereafter; he may afflict them, but he delivers them out of their afflictions,
nor are they ever forsaken by him; and, on the contrary, he punishes wicked men
in this world, and in that to come, as he has the angels that sinned, the old
world, Sodom and Gomorrah, and many others, and all wicked men will be punished
with everlasting destruction; yea, even so strict is his punitive justice, that
the sins of his own people being laid and found on his Son as their surety, he
has most severely punished him for them; he awoke the sword of justice against
him, spared him not, but delivered him to death for us all; and though he
forgives the iniquities of his children, he takes vengeance on their
inventions, and chastises them for their sins, that they may not be condemned
with the world; and, on the other hand, he is not unrighteous to forget their
work and labour of love, which he rewards in a way of grace, as well as it is a
righteous thing with him to render tribulation to them that trouble them: the
righteousness of God is known by the judgments he executes on wicked men, and
especially will be manifest in his judgments on antichrist; and though the
justice of God in the course of his providence, in some instances, may not now
be so clear, his judgments will be made manifest, and especially at the great
day of judgment, when everything shall be brought to account, and God will
judge the world in righteousness; all which, we may be assured of, is and will
be executed by him, from the consideration of his nature and perfections, and
particularly from the name he goes by in this passage, being El, the mighty
God, who is able to save and to destroy, to save the righteous, and destroy the
wicked; and is Shaddai, all sufficient, stands in need of nothing; nor can he
receive anything that is not his own, and therefore incapable of being bribed
to the perversion of justice and judgment.
Job 8:4 4 If your sons have sinned
against Him, He has cast them away for their transgression.
YLT
4If thy sons have sinned
before Him, And He doth send them away, By the hand of their transgression,
If thy children have sinned against him,.... As no
doubt they had, and, as Bildad thought, in a very notorious manner, and
therefore were righteously punished for them; this instance is produced as a
proof of God's not perverting, but doing justice, and the rather, because it
was on account of this that it was supposed that Job charged, or was ready to
charge, God with injustice; this was so far from it, that it was a righteous
thing to do it, "if" or "seeing" his children had sinned;
or "because" they have sinned, or "though" they have
sinned, as the wordsF8אם
"quandoquidem", Michaelis; "quia", Vatablus;
"etiamsi", V. L. are by some differently rendered; and either way
shows that God did not pervert justice, but acted agreeably to it. Mr.
Broughton renders them, "as thy children have sinned against him, so hath
he sent them into the hand of their trespass"; as a righteous retaliation
for it: that Job's children had sinned, there is no question to be made of it;
they were born in sin, though born of godly parents; and though they had a
religious education, yet no doubt were guilty of sin in their younger years, as
well as when grown up; and even though good men, as there may be reason to
conclude they were, yet daily sinning, for there are none without sin; and also
it is true, that all sin is against God, contrary to his nature and will, a
breach and transgression of his law, and an act of hostility against himself,
and a trampling under foot, or at least a neglect, of his legislative power and
authority, which is an aggravation of it; yet it does not appear that Job's
children were guilty of any notorious sins or atrocious crimes, or lived a
sinful course of life, for which the judgments of God came upon them; nor is it
a clear case that they were taken away by death in the manner they were on
account of their sins, but rather purely for the trial of Job's integrity,
faith, and patience:
and he have cast them away for their transgression; or "by
the hand of it"F9ביד פשעם "in manu iniquitatis suae", V. L. so
Montanus, Cocceius. ; by means of it, because of it, being provoked with it.
Bildad represents them as abandoned sinners, as castaways and reprobates,
rejected of God with abhorrence, and utterly ruined. Some render it, "hath
sent them into the hand of their transgression"F11"In
manum transgressionis ipsorum", Piscator, Beza, Schmidt, Michaelis,
Schultens; "in potestatem defectionis ipsorum", Junius &
Tremellius. , or trespass; that is, delivered them up to the power and dominion
of sin, gave them up to their hearts' lusts, and to vile affections, to do
things not convenient, and which they pursued to their ruin; the Targum
is,"he sent them into the place of their transgressionF12So
Munster ;'into hell, which their transgressions deserved, and for which they
were fitted by them. Some a little more mildly render the words, "he sent
them away"F13וישלחמ "et dimisit
eos", Drusius; "e mundo", Pagninus, Vatablus; so Gersom. ; that
is, dismissed them out of the world, took them out of it by death; which
dismission is sometimes in peace, as good old Simeon prayed for, and sometimes
in wrath, as Saul was taken away, see Luke 2:29; the
latter is the meaning here.
Job 8:5 5 If you would earnestly
seek God And make your supplication to the Almighty,
YLT
5If thou dost seek early
unto God, And unto the Mighty makest supplication,
If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes,.... Here
Bildad seems to think more mildly, and speak more kindly to Job, that though he
had sinned, yet not in so gross a manner as his children, since he was spared,
and they were not; and therefore if he would apply himself to God, and
supplicate his grace and mercy, and live a godly life, it might yet be well
with him, and he be restored to his former or to better circumstances; his
sense is, that he would advise him, as Eliphaz had done before, Job 5:8; to seek
unto God "by prayer", as the Targum adds, and of which it is
explained in the next clause, and that he would do this "betimes", or
"in the morning"F14תשחר
"mane quaesieris", Pagninus, Piscator, Mercerus. ; which is a proper
time for prayer, and was one of the seasons good men in former times made use
of for that purpose; see Psalm 5:3; or that
he would seek him in the first place, and above all things, take the first
opportunity to do it, without any procrastination of it, and that with
eagerness and earnestness, with his whole heart and soul; for God is a rewarder
of them that diligently seek him, and those that seek him early shall find him:
and make thy supplication to the Almighty: not pleading
any merit of his own, as deserving of any blessing on account of what he had
done; but ask what he should as a favour, as a free gift, in a way of grace and
mercy, as the wordF15So Schmidt in loc. signifies; call for the pity
of the Almighty, as Broughton renders it.
Job 8:6 6 If you were pure
and upright, Surely now He would awake for you, And prosper your rightful
dwelling place.
YLT
6If pure and upright thou
[art], Surely now He waketh for thee, And hath completed The habitation of thy
righteousness.
If thou wert pure and upright,.... By which
he tacitly intimates that he was neither; though the character given of him is,
that he was perfect and upright, feared God and eschewed evil, and which is
confirmed by God himself, and even after he had been tried by sore afflictions.
Bildad's meaning is, if he was pure in heart, and upright in his life and
conversation, then things would be well with him. Men's hearts are naturally
impure; no man is pure of himself, or can make his heart pure; nor is there any
good man that is so pure as to be entirely free from sin; but such are pure in
heart, who have clean hearts created, and right spirits renewed in them; or
have new hearts and new spirits given them; have their hearts sprinkled from an
evil conscience, and so keep the faith in a pure conscience; having their
hearts purified by faith in the blood of Christ, whose blood cleanses from all
sin; and in this sense Job was pure, having an interest in a living Redeemer,
and in his blood, and a partaker of his grace; and that he was upright is
before testified of him, though now called in question, an if being put upon
it, as well as on the former, having in the course of his life walked
uprightly, according to the will of God revealed unto him:
surely now; directly at once, without delay, as Sephorno interprets it; it
need not be doubted of, verily so it would be:
he would awake for thee; who though he neither
slumbers nor sleeps, yet seems to be asleep when he suffers his people to be
afflicted, distressed, and oppressed, and therefore they cry unto him to awake
to their judgment, and their cause; see Psalm 7:8; the
sense is, that he would stir up and exert himself, and show himself strong on
his behalf, and appear to be on his side, and work deliverance and salvation
for him; or awake his mercy, grace, and goodness, as some Jewish commentatorsF16Gersom,
Simeon Bar Tzemach, Sephorno. interpret it; that is, bestow his favours upon
him:
and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous; which some
understand of his body, the earthly house of his tabernacle, which if his soul
was pure and upright that dwelt in it, might be called the habitation of
righteousness; which, were this the case, would become healthful that was now
covered with worms, and clods of dust: others interpret it of the soul, as Aben
Ezra and Ben Gersom, the seat of righteousness, and of all the graces of the
Spirit; which is in a prosperous condition when these graces are in lively
exercise, and the presence of God, and the light of his countenance, and
communion with him, are enjoyed; but rather his dwelling house in a literal
sense, and all his domestic affairs, are here meant; and it is signified that
all would be again in peace and prosperity, and he should enjoy great plenty of
good things should he behave well; and here is a tacit intimation as if his
habitation had not been an habitation of righteousness, but had been filled
with the mammon of unrighteousness, with goods ill gotten, such as were
obtained by rapine and oppression, and neither he nor his family righteous; a
very unjust and iniquitous insinuation: the Targum paraphrases it, "and,
shall make the beauty of thy righteousness perfect"F17נות צדקך "pulchritudinent
justitiae tuae", Bolducius. ; but Job had a more beautiful righteousness
than his own; his was but as rags, and neither pure nor perfect; even the
righteousness of Christ, which is perfect and beautiful, and makes such so,
that are arrayed with it; see Psalm 50:2.
Job 8:7 7 Though your beginning was
small, Yet your latter end would increase abundantly.
YLT
7And thy beginning hath been
small, And thy latter end is very great.
Though thy beginning was small,.... When, he first set
out in the world; and which though it greatly increased, and he was the
greatest man in all the east, yet Bildad suggests, should he behave well, that
was comparatively small to what it would be with him hereafter; and which was fact,
for he had double of what he before enjoyed; so Mr. Broughton renders the
words, "and thy former state should be little to thy latter": or
rather the sense and meaning is, "though thy beginning should be
small"F18והיה "etsi
fuerit", so some in Michaelis. ; be it so that it is; or rather that
though he should begin again in the world with very little, as indeed at
present he had nothing to begin with, and when he did it was but with little;
one gave him a piece of money, and another an earring of gold:
yet thy latter end should greatly increase; as it did,
for the Lord blessed his latter end, and he had more than at the beginning,
even double to what he had in his most flourishing circumstances; see Job 42:11, &c.
Bildad seems to have spoken under a spirit of prophecy, without being sensible
of it, and not imagining in the least that so it would be in fact; for he only
affirms it on supposition of Job's good behaviour for the future, putting it
entirely upon that condition, which he had no great expectation of it ever
being performed.
Job 8:8 8 “For inquire, please, of
the former age, And consider the things discovered by their fathers;
YLT
8For, ask I pray thee of a
former generation, And prepare to a search of their fathers,
For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age,.... With
respect to the truth of what he had said, or should say; he does not desire Job
to take his word for it, but inquire how it was in former times; by which it
would appear, that when good men have been in affliction and trouble, and have
behaved well under it, as became them, they have been delivered out of it, and
have been afterwards in more flourishing and comfortable circumstances, as
Noah, Abraham, Lot, and others; and that wicked men and hypocrites, though they
have flourished for a while, yet destruction has sooner or later come upon
them, and they have utterly perished, as the descendants of Cain, the builders
of Babel, and the men of Sodom, and others; whereas good and upright men are
never cast away by the Lord, no instance can be given of it; all which would
appear, if inquiry was made into what had happened in the "former
age" not the "first age", as the Septuagint version, the age or
generation in which the first man and woman lived; for who were "their
fathers", mentioned in the next clause? but the age or generation
preceding that in which Job and his friends lived; and the knowledge of things
done in that might with some application and diligence be more easily obtained:
and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers; of the
fathers of the men of the former age, who lived in the age preceding that, and
from whom their posterity had received the knowledge of many things by
tradition, as they had received from their fathers that lived before them and
so upwards; things being handed down in a traditionary way from father to son;
and though these fathers were dead, yet, by their traditions that were
preserved, they were capable of teaching and instructing men; and their sayings
and sentiments deserved regard, and were had in much esteem; but yet being
uninspired and fallible men, were not to be received without examination; for
though truth is of the greatest antiquity, and to be revered on that account,
yet error is almost as old as that; and therefore great care is to be taken how
any thing is received purely upon the score of antiquity; and great pains,
diligence, and circumspection, are necessary to a due search of the fathers,
and coming at their sense and sentiments; and so as to distinguish between
truth and error, and get a true knowledge of facts done in ancient times; such
a search is to be made in like manner as one would search for gold and silver,
and hidden treasures.
Job 8:9 9 For we were born
yesterday, and know nothing, Because our days on earth are a shadow.
YLT
9(For of yesterday we [are],
and we know not, For a shadow [are] our days on earth.)
For we are but of yesterdayF19 επαμεροι, Pindar.
Pythia, Ode 8. ,.... Which is not to be understood strictly of the day last past,
but of a short space of time backward; and especially when compared with the
antediluvian fathers, who lived the far greater part of them upwards of nine
hundred years; otherwise Bildad and his two friends were men in years; Eliphaz
says, that with them were the gray headed and very aged men, much older than
the father of Job, and Elihu speaks of himself as a young man, and of them as
very old; see Job 15:10,
and know nothing; which is not to be taken in an absolute
sense, for they knew much of the things of nature, providence, and grace; they
were men of great understanding in things natural, civil, and religious, as
appears by their discourses; but in a comparative sense, or when compared with
the long lived patriarchs, who through the length of their days had much time
and opportunity to make their observations on things, to learn the arts and
sciences, and improve themselves in all useful knowledge, human and divine; for
which reason Job is sent to inquire of them; whereas they had been but a little
while in the world, and knew but little, to whom might be applied that saying,
as now to men since, "ars longa, vita brevis"; and they knew nothing
as it is to be known, or perfectly, or in comparison of the saints in heaven;
for they that know most here know but in part, see through a glass darkly; but
in the other world they see face to face, and know as they are known. Moreover,
Bildad might say this of himself and his friends, in a modest manner, having
learned to know themselves, their weakness, and their folly; and the first and
great lesson of wisdom is to become fools in men's own apprehension, in order
to be truly wise, having the like sense of themselves as Agur had, Proverbs 30:2; see 1 Corinthians 3:18;
or rather this might be said as being the sense of Job concerning them, who had
a very mean and indifferent opinion of them; see Job 12:2; and
therefore Bildad would not have him take their sense of things, but inquire of
persons older and wiser:
because our days upon earth are a shadow; man's time is
rather measured by days than by months and years, being so short; and these are
called "days" on earth, to distinguish them from the days of heaven,
which are one everlasting day, in which there is no night of darkness, either
in a literal or figurative sense, and which will never end; but the days of
this life are like a "shadow", dark and obscure; full of the darkness
of adversity and trouble, as well as greatly deficient in the light of
knowledge; there is nothing in them solid and substantial; the greatest and best
things of this life are but a vain show; in heaven there is a better and more
enduring substance: every thing is mutable and uncertain here; man is subject
to a variety of changes in his mind and body, in family and outward estate and
circumstances: and life itself is but a vapour, which appears a while and soon
vanishes away; or rather like a shadow, that declines, is fleeting, and quickly
gone; see 1 Chronicles 29:15.
Job 8:10 10 Will they not teach you
and tell you, And utter words from their heart?
YLT
10Do they not shew thee --
speak to thee, And from their heart bring forth words?
Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee,.... That is,
the men of the former age, and their fathers before them, Job is directed to
inquire of, and to prepare for a search into their records and traditions; from
whom he might reasonably expect to be taught and told things that would be very
instructive and useful to him in his present circumstances:
and utter words out of their heart? such as were the effect
of mature judgment and long observation, and which they had laid up in their
hearts, and brought out from their treasure there; and, with the greatest
faithfulness and sincerity, had either committed them to writing, or delivered
them in a traditionary way to their posterity, to be communicated to theirs;
and which might be depended upon as true and genuine, being men of probity,
uprightness, and singleness of heart; who declared sincerely what they knew,
and spoke not with a double heart, having no intention to deceive, as it cannot
be thought they would impose upon their own children; and therefore Job might
safely receive what they uttered, and depend upon it as truth and fact; and
what they said, as Jarchi observes, is as follows; or what follows Bildad
collected from them, and so might Job, and think he heard them
"saying", as Piscator supplies the text, what is expressed in the
following verses, if not in their words, yet as their sense.
Job 8:11 11 “Can the papyrus grow up
without a marsh? Can the reeds flourish without water?
YLT
11`Doth a rush wise without
mire? A reed increase without water?
Can the rush grow up without mire?.... No, at least not
long, or so as to lift up his head on high, as the word signifiesF1היגאה "an attollit se", Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator, Cocceius; "an superbiet", so some; Beza, Schultens. ; the
rush or bulrush, which seems to be meant, delights in watery places, and has
its name in Hebrew from its absorbing or drinking up water; it grows in moist
and watery clay, or in marshy places, which Jarchi says is the sense of the
word here used; the Septuagint understands it of the "paper reed",
which, as PlinyF2Nat. Hist. l. 13. c. 11. observes, grows in the
marshy places of Egypt, and by the still waters of the river Nile:
can the flag grow without water? or "the sedge"F3אחו "carectum", V. L. "ulva", Junius
& Tremellius, Piscator, Schmidt, Michaelis, Schultens. ; which usually
grows in moist places, and on the banks of rivers; this unless in such places,
or if without water, cannot grow long, or make any very large increase, or come
to maturity; so someF4Sic Bar Tzemach & Belgae. render it,
"if the rush should grow up without", &c. then it would be with
it as follows.
Job 8:12 12 While it is yet
green and not cut down, It withers before any other plant.
YLT
12While it [is] in its
budding -- uncropt, Even before any herb it withereth.
Whilst it is yet in its greenness,.... Before it
is come to its full height, or to a proper ripeness; when as yet it has not
flowered, or is about it; before the time usual for it to turn and change; it
being without moisture, water, or watery clay, will change:
and not cut down; by the
scythe, or cropped by the hand of man:
it withereth before any other herb; of itself;
rather sooner than such that do not require so much moisture; or in the sight
and presence of them, they looking on as it were, and deriding it; a poetical
representation, as Schultens observes: next follows the accommodation of these
similes to wicked and hypocritical men.
Job 8:13 13 So are the paths of
all who forget God; And the hope of the hypocrite shall perish,
YLT
13So [are] the paths of all
forgetting God, And the hope of the profane doth perish,
So are the paths of all that forget God,.... Who
forget that there is a God; he is not in all, and scarce in any of their
thoughts, and they live without him in the world; who forget the works of God,
of creation and providence, in which there is a glorious display of his being
and perfections; who forget the benefits and blessings of his goodness they are
every day partakers of, and are not thankful for them; and who forget the word,
worship, and ordinances of God, and follow after and observe lying vanities,
idols, and the works of men's hands, and worship them, being unmindful of the
rock of their salvation: now such men, as well as the hypocrites in the next
clause, are like bulrushes and flags, or sedge, being unfruitful, useless, and
unprofitable; and, for their sensuality and worldly mindedness, standing in the
mire and clay of an unregenerate state, and of carnal and worldly lusts; and
though, especially the latter, may carry their heads high in a profession of
religion, and make a fair show in the flesh while it is a time of outward
prosperity with them, but when tribulation arises on the account of religion,
they are presently offended, and apostatize; being destitute of the true grace
of God, and having the root of the matter in them, they wither of themselves;
they soon drop their profession in the view of all good men, comparable to
herbs and green grass, which abide in their verdure, when the other are gone
and are seen no more:
and the hypocrite's hope shall perish; who are
either the same with those before described, who, being in prosperous
circumstances, forget the God of their mercies they make a profession of, like
Jeshurun of old, or different persons, as Bar Tzemach thinks, the former
designing open profane sinners, these secret ones, under the appearance of good
men: an "hypocrite" is one whose inside is not as his outside, as the
Jews say; who is outwardly righteous, but inwardly wicked; has a form of
godliness, but not the power of it; a name to live, but dead; that makes a show
of religion and devotion, attending the worship and ordinances of God in an
external way, as if he had great delight in him and them, when his heart is
removed far from him: and such have their "hope", for the present, of
being in the favour of God, and of future happiness, which is founded on their
outward prosperity their esteem among men, and more especially their external righteousness,
and profession of religion; but this will "perish", even both the
ground of their hope, the riches and righteousness, which come to nothing, and
the hope that is built thereupon sinks into despair; if not in life, as it
sometimes does, yet always at death, see Job 11:20; Bildad
seems to have Job in view here, whom he esteemed an hypocrite.
Job 8:14 14 Whose confidence shall be
cut off, And whose trust is a spider’s web.
YLT
14Whose confidence is
loathsome, And the house of a spider his trust.
Whose hope shall be cut off,.... The same thing as
before, expressed in different words, and repeated for the certainty of it;
signifying that it should be of no manner of use, should be wholly lost, and
issue in black despair: the word has the signification of loathing, and is
differently rendered, either, "whom his hope shall loathe"F5אשר יקוט כסלז
"quem abominabitur spes ejus", Montanus; "fastidit", Junius
& Tremellius, Piscator; "cum taedio rejectabit", Schultens. or,
"who shall loathe his hope"F6"Quippe abominabitur
spem suam", Schmidt. ; he shall fret and tease, and vex himself that he
should be such a fool to entertain such a vain hope, or to place hope and
confidence in such vain things, finding himself most sadly disappointed:
and whose trust shall be a spider's web; or "a
spider's house"F7בית עכביש "domus araneae, vel aranei"; Pagninus,
Montanus, &c. ; and such its web is to it; having made it, it encloses
itself in it, and dwells securely: very fitly is the hope and confidence of an
hypocrite compared to a spider's web, which is a very nice and curious piece of
workmanship, as are the outward works of righteousness, done by hypocrites they
are wrought out and set off to the best advantage, to be seen of men; yet very
slight and thin, and will bear no weight; such are the best works of carnal
professors; they make a fine appearance, but have no substance, do not flow
from principles of grace, nor are done in the strength of Christ, or to the
glory of God; are but "splendida peccata", as one calls them, and
fall infinitely short of bearing the weight of the salvation of the soul: as
the spider's web is spun out of its own bowels, so the works of such persons
are wholly of themselves; they are their own, done without the grace of God and
spirit of Christ; and such webs are not fit for garments, are too thin to cover
naked souls; insufficient to shelter from divine wrath and vengeance; cannot
bear the besom of justice, one stroke of which will sweep them all away; and
though they may think themselves safe enclosed in them as in a house, they will
find themselves in the issue wretchedly mistaken; for there is no shelter,
safety, and security, in such cobwebs; there is none but in Christ and his
righteousness.
Job 8:15 15 He leans on his house, but
it does not stand. He holds it fast, but it does not endure.
YLT
15He leaneth on his house --
and it standeth not: He taketh hold on it -- and it abideth not.
He shall lean upon his house,.... Either the spider or
the hypocrite, or the hypocrite as the spider; that is, that which is the
ground of his confidence, which is as the spider's house, on that he shall
depend, either on his riches and outward prosperity, which he promises himself
a long continuance of, and from whence he concludes himself to be high in the
favour and good will of God; or on his works of righteousness, his outward profession
of religion, attendance on external worship, and a round of duties performed by
him; in these he trusts, on these he depends, in such webs he enwraps himself,
in such a house he dwells, and imagines himself safe; which is only making
flesh his arm, leaning upon a broken reed, and building an house upon the sand:
the Septuagint version is, "if he prop up his house", by repeated
outward acts of religion:
but it shall not stand: whether it be riches,
these are uncertain things, of no continuance; there are no riches durable but
the unsearchable riches of Christ and his grace; or whether it be a man's own
righteousness, which he endeavours to establish, or "make to stand",
as the phrase is in Romans 10:3; but in
vain; it is but a sandy foundation to build on; or the hope and confidence laid
upon it is like a house built on the sand, and, when rain falls, floods come,
and winds beat upon it, it falls; and great is the fall of it, Matthew 7:26,
he shall hold it fast; as the worldling does
his wealth, his gold and his silver; but it is snatched out of his hand by one
providence or another, or however at last death obliges him to part with it;
and the self-righteous man holds fast his righteousness, it is his own, he is
fond of, an house of his own building, and cannot bear to have it demolished;
an idol of his own setting up, and to take it away is to take away his gods;
and what has he more? wherefore he holds it as fast as he can, and will not let
it go till he can hold it no longer; or, "he shall fortify himself in
it"F8יחזיק "roborabit in
eam", Montanus, Bolducius; "firmat se", Vatablus; so the Targum
and Ben Gersom. , as in a castle or strong hold, which he thinks impregnable,
yet will soon and easily be battered down by divine justice:
but it shall not endure; gold perishes, riches
come to nought, wealth is no enduring substance, nor is a man's righteousness
lasting; only Christ's righteousness is everlasting; true grace endures to
eternal and issues in it; but external gifts, speculative and rational
knowledge, and a mere profession of religion, fail, cease, and vanish away.
Job 8:16 16 He grows green in the sun,
And his branches spread out in his garden.
YLT
16Green he [is] before the
sun, And over his garden his branch goeth out.
He is green before the sun,.... Which some
understand of the rush or flag, of which a further account is given, as setting
forth more fully the case of wicked men and hypocrites; but to either of these
do not agree the situation of it in a garden, the shooting forth of its
branches, and the height of it, and its striking its roots deep in stony
places: Cocceius interprets it of the "herb" or grass before which
the flag withers, Job 8:12; but the
same objections, or most of them, lie against that also; rather, from the
description of it, a tall large tree is designed, to which hypocrites in their
most flourishing circumstances are compared, and yet come to nothing, Psalm 37:35; that
is "green" in its leaves, and looks beautiful, so they in a
profession of religion, which is like green leaves without fruit; they make in
it a fair show in the flesh, take up and him the lamp of a profession, and
retain it bright and fair for a time; or, like a tree full of sap, or
"juicy"F9רטוב
"succosus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Schultens;
"viridis quidem et succi plenus", Michaelis. ; or, as Mr. Broughton
renders it, "juiceful"; denoting, not a fulness of the spirit and his
grace, or of faith, hope, love, &c. and of righteousness and goodness, but
of, outward prosperity, having as much as heart could wish, and great plenty of
good things laid up for many years: and this tree is said to be green and juicy
"before the sun"; either in the presence and through the influence of
it, as hypocrites flourish, even in a religious way, while the sun of
prosperity shines upon them, and no longer; or openly and publicly, in the
sight of all men, as this phrase is used, 2 Samuel 12:11; and
as such men do, in the view of all men, professors and profane, doing all they
do to be seen of men, and before whom they are outwardly righteous, and
reckoned good men; or, "before the sun" rises, as the Targum and Aben
Ezra, so hypocrites flourish, before the sun of persecution arises and smites
them, because of their profession, and then they drop it; see Matthew 13:6,
and his branch shooteth forth in his garden; or
"over"F11על "supra",
Junius & Tremellius, Mercerus, Codurcus; "super", Montanus,
Piscator, Schmidt, Schultens. it; and branch may be put branches, which in a
flourishing tree spread themselves to cover a considerable piece of ground: Mr.
Broughton renders it, "and his suckers sprout over his orchard"; all
which may denote the increase of a wicked man, in his family, in his wealth and
substance, and particularly in his posterity, which are as branches and suckers
from him; and Bildad, if these are his own words, may have respect to Job, and
to his large substance and number of children he had in his prosperity, when he
had an hedge set about him, and was enclosed as in a garden: and whereas the
church of God is sometimes compared to a garden, Song of Solomon 4:12;
it agrees very well with hypocrites, who have a place there, and are called
hypocrites in Sion, where they have a name, and flourish for a while: many
interpreters, both JewishF12Saadiah Caon, R. Levi, Ben Gersom. and
ChristianF13Vatablus, Beza, Diodati, Cocceius, Gussetius, p. 247. ,
interpret this, and what follows, of truly righteous and good men under
afflictive providences, who notwithstanding continue, and are not the worse,
but the better for them; their leaf of profession is always green, and withers
not; and that "before the sun", even of adversity and affliction; and
though that beats upon them, and smites them severely, they are like green
olive trees, or the cedars of God, full of sap, full of the grace of God, and
continually supplied with it; and so patiently endure temptation and
affliction, bear the heat and burden of the day, and are not careful in the
year of drought; see Song of Solomon 1:6;
such are planted in the garden and house of the Lord by himself and shall never
be rooted up; where their branches spread, and they grow in grace, and in the
knowledge of all divine things, and are filled with the fruits of
righteousness.
Job 8:17 17 His roots wrap around the
rock heap, And look for a place in the stones.
YLT
17By a heap his roots are
wrapped, A house of stones he looketh for.
His roots are wrapped about the heap,.... The heap
of stones where the tree stands; it strikes its roots among them, and
implicates and twists them about them, and secures itself and grows up notwithstanding
them: and this expresses the seeming stable state and condition of hypocrites
for a season, who not only flourish, but seem to take root; and who maintain
their ground amidst some difficulties; this fitly agrees with and describes
such hearers of the word, and professors of religion, comparable to the seed
sown on stony ground, Matthew 13:5,
and seeth the place of stones; or, "the
house of stones"F14בית אבנים "domum lapidum", Montanus, Cocceius,
Schmidt, Michaelis, Schultens; so Tigurine version, Codurcus, Junius &
Tremellius. ; a house built of stones, high and stately; yet this tree rises
higher than that, overtops and overlooks it; and is represented as viewing it
thoroughly, or looking down upon it, and all around it, being so high and so
spreading; the Targum renders it, implicateth the house of stones;
"platteth", as Mr. Broughton, or twists about them, and so many of
the Jewish writers; but this seems to be designed in the former clause: all
this suits very well with good men, whose "roots are wrapped about the
fountain"F15על גל
"juxta fontem", Pagninus, Mercerus; so Vatablus, Piscator, Gersom,
and Bar Tzemach. ; as the words may be rendered; about the love of God, in
which they are rooted and grounded, and are like trees planted by rivers of
water, the river of divine love, which refreshes, revives, and makes them
fruitful; and about Christ, the fountain of gardens and well of living waters;
in whom they are rooted and built up, increase, flourish, and are established;
and though they are among stones, and attended with many difficulties, yet they
abide and surmount all; believe in hope against hope, and see and enjoy, yea,
even dwell in the house of stones, the church of God, built on a rock, against
which the gates of hell cannot prevail.
Job 8:18 18 If he is destroyed from
his place, Then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have not seen you.’
YLT
18If [one] doth destroy him
from his place, Then it hath feigned concerning him, I have not seen thee!
If he destroy him from his place,.... If the sun when he
is risen strikes the tree with such vehement heat that it withers and utterly
perishes from the place where it grew; or roots it up, so the Targum and
Nachmanides; or, if God destroys the hypocrite from his place, or he is by one
means or another removed out of the garden, the church, being detested and
rejected by good men; or from all his worldly enjoyments, his honour, credit,
and esteem with men, which are all precarious, fickle, and inconstant; or out
of the world, being cut down as a cumber ground:
then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee; that is,
either the tree shall deny that it ever was planted in such a place, or rather
the place shall deny that the tree ever was planted there; the sense is, that
it shall be so utterly destroyed, that neither root nor branch shall be left,
nor anything to show that it ever grew there; its place shall know it no more,
see Job 7:10; or God
shall deny the hypocrite, and say he never saw him nor knew him; he never
belonged to him, nor was under his care; he never looked upon him with a look
of love, grace, and mercy; he never had any delight and pleasure in him, nor
regarded him as one of his; he was no tree of his planting, watering, and
keeping, see Matthew 7:23; this
seems most difficult to accommodate to a good man, and those who carry it that
way seem to be most puzzled with this; some render it, "shall he be
swallowed?" or, "shall anyone in, allow him up?"F16אם יבלענז "num absorbebitur
a loco suo?" Beza; "num absorbebit cum quisquam e loco suo",
Diodatus. destroy or root him out of his place? none shall: the root of the
righteous cannot be moved, nor they from that; not from the everlasting love of
God, in which they are rooted, nor from Christ, in whom they are fixed: others
understand this of the digging up of a tree, and transplanting it to another
place, where it grows as well, or better; and so the people of God, though they
have many stripping providences, and are removed from place to place, and from
one condition to another, so that their former state and place know them no
more; yet all things work together for their good.
Job 8:19 19 “Behold, this is the joy
of His way, And out of the earth others will grow.
YLT
19Lo, this [is] the joy of
his way, And from the dust others spring up.'
Behold, this is the joy of his way,.... Of the
state and condition of the hypocrite, who, while he is in outward prosperity,
exults and rejoices, but his joy is but short, it is but for a moment, Job 20:5; and this
is what it comes to at last, and issues in, even entire destruction from his
place; which, because it may seem strange and wonderful, and is worthy of
notice and consideration, as well as to express a certainty of it, the word
"behold" is prefixed; though this also is understood, by some, of
good men who have much spiritual joy in their present state and condition, be
it what it will; they have joy and peace in believing, even joy unspeakable,
and full of glory; they have joy in the Lord, and in his ways in which they
walk, when they have trouble in the world; they rejoice and even glory in
tribulation, and are cheerful be they where they will, though removed from
their native place and country; and especially this will be their case when
they are transplanted from earth to heaven, the better and heavenly country:
and out of the earth shall others grow; in their room
and stead; where the tall flourishing tree once stood, but now utterly
destroyed, other trees should grow; signifying, either the children of the
hypocrites and wicked men, that should spring up in their place and imitate
them, and come to the same end; or rather such as were strangers to them, that
should inherit their substance and estates; and it may be good men that should
succeed them, and come into the possession of all their wealth, even such as
were before in mean circumstances, and so may be said to come "out of the
earth": it may be rendered, "out of another dust" or "earth
shall they grow"F17מעפר אחר "de pulvere alio", Montanus, Bolducius,
Cocceius; so the Targum; "de terra alia", Pagninus, Mercerus. ;
signifying, that the wicked should be utterly destroyed, they and theirs; and
that such as were of another family, and as it were of another earth and
country, should stand in their place; see Job 27:16; this may
be interpreted of good men, who, though they die, others are raised up in their
stead; God will have a seed to serve him as long as the sun and moon endure;
though they are forced to fly from their native place, being persecuted, to
strange cities, or removed into the heavenly regions, yet God raises up others
to till up their places, and oftentimes out of other families, even of the
ungodly, to support his cause and interest; and understanding the whole of
truly righteous persons seems best to connect the sense with the following
words.
Job 8:20 20 Behold, God will not cast
away the blameless, Nor will He uphold the evildoers.
YLT
20Lo, God doth not reject the
perfect, Nor taketh hold on the hand of evil doers.
Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man,.... A
sincere, upright, good man; one that is truly gracious; who, though he is not
"perfect" in himself, yet in Christ; and though not with respect to
sanctification, which is as yet imperfect in him, yet with respect to
justification, being perfectly justified by the righteousness of Christ, and
all his sins pardoned for his sake: such an one God will never "cast
away"; not out of his sight, being engraven on the palms of his hands, nor
out of his heart's love; or will not "loath"F18ימאס "abominatur", Vatablus;
"aversatur", Beza, Mercerus, Drusius, Piscator. him, as the Targum,
or reject him with abhorrence and contempt; he will not cast him out of his
covenant, which is ordered in all things and sure; nor out of the hands of his
son, where he has put him, and from whence none can pluck; nor out of his
family, where the son abides for ever; or so as to perish eternally, this would
be contrary to his love, to his foreknowledge, and to his covenant; so far is
he from it, that he has the greatest regard for such, delights in them, admits
thereto nearness to himself, sets them as a seal on his heart, keeps them as
the apple of his eye, and preserves them safe to his kingdom and glory:
neither will he help the evil doers; meaning, not everyone
that does evil, or sins, but such who live in sin, make a trade of sinning, are
frequent and constant in the commission of it; such God will not help, or
"take by the hand"F19לא יחזיק ביד "nec apprehendit
manum", Pagninus, Vatablus, Mercerus, Piscator, Cocceius, Michaelis. , in
order to deliver from evil, as Gersom observes; to help them out of mischief
and trouble their sins have brought upon them; or to strengthen them, support
and uphold them, in their present circumstances, and much less so as to admit
them to fellowship and communion with him: these words, with what follow, are
Bildad's conclusion upon the sayings and sentiments of the ancients, which may
be supposed, and are thought by some, to end at the preceding Job 8:19.
Job 8:21 21 He will yet fill your
mouth with laughing, And your lips with rejoicing.
YLT
21While he filleth with
laughter thy mouth, And thy lips with shouting,
Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing. Directing
himself to Job; and suggesting, that if he was a perfect, sincere, and upright
man. God would not cast him away utterly, but help him out of his present
circumstances, and restore him to prosperity; and not leave him until he had
filled his heart with so much joy, that his mouth and lips, being also full of
it, should break forth in strong expressions of it, and in the most exulting
strains, as if it was a time of jubilee with him; see Psalm 126:2; but
Bildad tacitly insinuates that Job was not a perfect and good man but an evil
doer, whom God had cast away and would not help; and this he concluded from the
distressed circumstances he was now in; which was no rule of judgment, and a
very unfair way of reasoning, since love and hatred are not to be known by
outward prosperity and adversity, Ecclesiastes 9:1.
Bar Tzemach interprets "laughing" as at his own goodness, and
"rejoicing" as at the evil of the wicked.
Job 8:22 22 Those who hate you will be
clothed with shame, And the dwelling place of the wicked will come to nothing.”[a]
YLT
22Those hating thee do put on
shame, And the tent of the wicked is not!
They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame,.... The
Chaldeans and Sabeans, who had plundered him of his substance, when they should
see him restored to his former prosperity, beyond all hope and expectation, and
themselves liable to his resentment, and under the displeasure of Providence:
the phrase denotes utter confusion, and such as is visible as the clothes upon
a man's back; see Psalm 132:18,
and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to naught; or,
"shall not be"F20איננו "non
erit", Pagninus, Mercerus, Drusius, Michaelis. ; shall be no more; be utterly
destroyed, and no more built up again; even such dwelling places they fancied
would continue for ever, and perpetuate their names to the latest posterity;
but the curse of God being in them, and upon them, they come to nothing, and
are no more: thus ends Bildad's speech; Job's answer to it follows.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)