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Job Chapter
Seventeen
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JOB 17
In
this chapter Job not only enlarges upon the reason given in the preceding
chapter, why he was desirous of an advocate with God, and one to plead his
cause with him for him, Job 17:1; but adds
other reasons taken from the usage of his friends, from the impossibility of
any but a divine Person being his surety; and of anyone being provided and
appointed as such but by God himself; from the insufficiency of his friends to
judge of his cause, and from the condition and circumstances he was in, Job 17:2; then he
takes notice of the effects his present case would have on good men, that
though they might be astonished at it, they would be filled with indignation
against hypocrites, and would not be moved and stumbled by his afflictions to
apostatize from and desert the good ways of God, Job 17:8; after
which he addresses his friends, and either calls upon them to renew the dispute
with him, or repent of their notions, and join with him in his sentiments, Job 17:10; and
lastly describes his state and circumstances, according to his apprehension of
things, observing the shortness of his life, and the darkness of the
dispensation he was under, through one thing and another, Job 17:11; that he
had nothing but the grave in view, which, and its attendants, he had made very
familiar with him, Job 17:13; and that
he had no hope of restoration to a better condition, as to his outward
circumstances, and that he, and his hopes his friends would have him entertain,
and they also, would go down together to the grave, and there should lie in the
dust, and rest together till the morning of the resurrection, Job 17:15.
Job 17:1 “My
spirit is broken, My days are extinguished, The grave is ready for me.
YLT
1My spirit hath been
destroyed, My days extinguished -- graves [are] for me.
My breath is corrupt,.... Through the force of
his disease, which made it have an ill smell, so that it was strange and
disagreeable to his wife, Job 19:17; passing
through his lungs, or other parts, which were affected with some disorder, or
as frequently is the case of dying persons, and so Job thought himself to be.
The wordF14Pineda. used has the signification of pain, even of the
pains of a woman in travail; and so may signify, that Job drew his breath with
great pain, as people troubled with an asthma do, or dying persons in the
hiccups, or just fetching their last breath; or "my spirit"F15רוחי "spiritus meus", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus,
Junius & Tremellius, &c. , as it may be rendered, that is, his vital
spirits which were exhausted and spent, there were scarce any left in him; or
"my mind"F16"Anima mea", Piscator, Schmidt. , or
soul, which was overwhelmed with grief, and so disturbed, that he was not
himself, but in a manner distracted with the terrors of God, and the severity
of his hand upon him:
my days are extinct; here Job corrects
himself; he had spoken of a few years before, but it is as if he should say
now, why do I talk of a few years, when I have but a few days to live, and even
those are as good as gone? meaning not only his days of prosperity, which were
at an entire end, as he thought, but the days of his natural life; the lamp of
life was almost burnt out, the oil was spent, the wick was just extinguished,
it was like the snuff of a candle going out:
the graves are ready for me; the place of his
fathers' sepulchres, the burial place of his ancestors, where many graves were;
or he may have respect to various things into which the dead are put, as into
so many graves; as besides their being rolled up in linen, as was the way of
the eastern countries, there was the coffin, a sort of a grave, and which
sometimes was made of stone; and then the place dug in the earth, more properly
called the grave, and often over that a sepulchral monument was erected; so
that there was grave upon grave. Job does not seem to have any respect to the
usage of kings, and great personages, preparing stately monuments for
themselves while living, such as the pyramids of Egypt, built by and for their
kings, as is supposed; for the words "are ready" are not in the text,
only supplied, though they are also by the Targum; they are very short and significant
in the original text, "the graves for me", or they are mine; the
grave is my property, my house, where I expect shortly to be, and there to
abide and dwell until the resurrection, and which was desirable to him; "a
grave to me"; that is all that I desire, or can expect; here he wished to
be, as he did not doubt he quickly should be; and it is as if he should say, I
am ready for that, and so Jarchi paraphrases it; and happy is the man that is
ready for the grave, for death, and eternity, for the coming of his Lord,
having the grace of God wrought in him, and the righteousness of his living
Redeemer on him, which was Job's case; such an one shall go into the nuptial
chamber at once, and be received into everlasting habitations.
Job 17:2 2 Are
not mockers with me? And does not my eye dwell on their provocation?
YLT
2If not -- mockeries [are]
with me. And in their provocations mine eye lodgeth.
Are there not mockers
with me?.... Meaning not irreligious persons, such as make a mock at sin,
a jest of religion, a laugh at good men, sneer at the doctrines and ordinances
of God, and scoff at things future, as the coming of Christ, the resurrection
of the dead, and a future judgment; with whom it is very uncomfortable to be,
as well as with any sort of profane men, and such there were no doubt in Job's
time; but he seems to design his friends, by whom be thought himself mocked,
and who were, as he imagined, scorners of him, Job 12:4; and
therefore for this reason entreats his case might be heard, and his cause
pleaded:
and doth not mine eye continue in their provocation? or
"lodge all night"F17תלן
"pernoctat", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius, Schmidt,
Michaelis, Schultens. ; his sense is, that they were continually provoking him
with their words, their scoffs and jeers, their censures and calumnies, and the
weak reasons and arguments they made use of to support their charges and
suspicions; these dwelt upon his mind not only in the daytime but in the night,
so that he could not get a wink of sleep for them; their words were so teasing
and distressing, and they acted such a cruel part to him, and stuck so close to
him, and hung upon his thoughts, that he could not get clear of them in the
night season; but his mind ran upon them, which kept him waking, that he could
not close his eyelids for thinking of them.
Job 17:3 3 “Now put down a pledge for
me with Yourself. Who is he who will shake hands with me?
YLT
3Place, I pray Thee, my
pledge with Thee; Who is he that striketh hand with me?
Lay down now,.... A pledge that thou wilt provide a
surety, appoint and admit one to plead for me, and that thou wilt hear my
cause, and determine it; or "put now", or "put, I pray
thee"F18שימה נא
"pone nunc", Montanus; "poae quaeso", Pagninus, Piscator,
Mercerus, Cocceius, Schmidt; "sub cor tunm", Vatablus. , thy heart
and mind to me and my case, to my petition and request, and grant it:
put me in a surety with thee; appoint, provide, and
place a surety for me with thee, and let him appear to do his work and office:
such an one Jesus Christ is; he is of God the Father's appointing to be the
Mediator between God and men, and who himself voluntarily engaged and agreed to
be the surety of the better testament; and this was known to the Old Testament
saints, and to Job; and his prayer was the prayer of faith: and this work and
office Christ performs; he was surety for his people from eternity, he drew
nigh to God on their account, and struck hands with his Father, or covenanted
and agreed with him about the salvation of his people, and the manner of it; he
gave his word, his bond, to his Father for them, that he would save them; and
upon that suretyship engagement of Christ all the Old Testament saints were
pardoned, justified, and glorified; he promised and bound himself to pay all
their debts, to satisfy for all their sins, to bring in an everlasting
righteousness for them, and to bring them all safe to heaven and happiness; in
order to which, he put himself in their room and stead, and laid down his life
a ransom for them; upon which Job might say, and so may every believer, what
follows,
who is he that will strike hands with me? that will
enter the lists, litigate and dispute the point with me, or bring any charge or
accusation against me, having such a surety to answer for me, such an advocate
to plead my cause, such a Mediator between God and man, who has made
reconciliation for sin, brought in everlasting righteousness, and satisfied law
and justice, see Romans 8:33; or
else the sense is, "who is he", besides him that is a surety
of God's appointing and providing, "can strike bands with me?" or be
a surety for me? there is no other Mediator, Saviour, or Redeemer, besides him;
if he had not undertaken the cause of his people, and the redemption of them,
it must have ceased for ever, no other was equal to such a work; so that here
is another reason used with the Lord to provide a surety, since no other could
to any purpose.
Job 17:4 4 For You have hidden their
heart from understanding; Therefore You will not exalt them.
YLT
4For their heart Thou hast
hidden From understanding, Therefore Thou dost not exalt them.
For thou hast hid their heart from understanding,.... That is,
the hearts of his friends, and therefore they were unfit to undertake his
cause, or be sureties for him, or be judges in it. It is the same thing as to
hide understanding from their hearts, which God sometimes does in a natural
sense; when men like not the knowledge of him, as attainable by the light of
nature, he gives them up to reprobate minds, minds void of knowledge and
judgment in things natural; and sometimes, in a spiritual sense, he hides men's
hearts from the knowledge of things divine and evangelical, and even this he
does from the wise and prudent of this world; yea, sometimes he hides the
knowledge of his providential dealings with men from his own people, as he did from
Asaph, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and others; and, as it seems, from Job's friends,
who therefore mistook his case, and were very unfit and insufficient to
determine it:
therefore shalt thou not exalt them; to such
honour and dignity, to be umpires, arbitrators, or judges in the case of Job;
this God had reserved for another, Elihu, or rather himself, who decided the
controversy between Job and his friends, and declared in his favour, and that
they had not spoken the thing that was right of him, as his servant Job had
done, Job 42:7;
Job 17:5 5 He who speaks flattery to his
friends, Even the eyes of his children will fail.
YLT
5For a portion he sheweth
friendship, And the eyes of his sons are consumed.
He that speaketh flattery to his friends,.... As Job's
friends did to him when they promised great outward prosperity, and a
restoration to his former state, and to a greater affluence upon his repentance
and reformation; or when they spoke deceitfully for God, pretending great
regard to the honour of his justice and holiness, and therefore insisted on it
that he must be a wicked man and an hypocrite, that was afflicted by him, as
Job was:
even the eyes of his children shall fail; so hateful
are some sins to God, and particularly deceitful tongues, and flattering lips,
that he will punish them in their posterity; the eyes of their children shall
fail for want of sustenance, and while they are looking in vain for salvation
and deliverance out of trouble, see Exodus 20:4.
Job 17:6 6 “But He has made me a
byword of the people, And I have become one in whose face men spit.
YLT
6And he set me up for a
proverb of the peoples, And a wonder before them I am.
He hath made me also a byword of the people,.... Either
Eliphaz, or God; for whatsoever befell him, whether more immediately by the
hand of God, or by any instrument, the ascribes it to him, as being suffered in
Providence to befall him; as when he became a byword or proverb to the people
in common, to whom an example might be set by one or more of Job's friends. The
name of Job is to this day a byword or proverb among men, both for his poverty
and his patience; if a man is described as very poor, he is said to be as poor
as Job; or if very patient under his afflictions, he is said to be as patient
as Job; but as neither of these are to the disgrace of Job, something else
seems rather intended here, even something to his reproach; as when a man was
represented as a very wicked man, or an hypocrite, it used to be said, such an
one is as wicked a creature, and as arrant an hypocrite, as Job:
and aforetime I was as a tabret; the delight of the
people, who, when he appeared in the public streets, came out and went before
him, singing, and dancing, and beating on tabrets, and such like musical
instruments, to express their joy upon the sight of him; but now it was
otherwise with him, and he whom they could not sufficiently extol and commend,
now knew not well what to say bad enough of him; such a change in the
sentiments and conduct of men must needs be very chagrining: or "aforetime
I was as a lord", as Ben Gersom, from the use of the word in Daniel 3:2; as he
supposes; he was like a lord or nobleman, or as one in some high office, and
now as the offscouring of all things; or it denotes what he was "before
them", the people, in their sight at present, and should be: the word used
is "Tophet", which Aben Ezra takes to be the name of a place, and as
it seems of that place where children were offered to Moloch, and which place
was in being, and such practices used by the Canaanites in the times of Job;
and this place, which was also called the valley of Hinnom, being afterwards
used for hell, led the Targum to paraphrase the words thus, "and hell from
within shall I be"; and so Sephorno, in appearance hell to all that see
me; and in general it may signify that he was, or should be, avoided, as any
unclean place, very ungrateful and disagreeable, as that place was; or as
anything abominable, and to be loathed and rejected, and this way go several
interpretersF19Schmidt, Michaelis, Schultens. ; though some think
respect is had to the punishment of tympanization, in which sufferers were
beaten upon in several parts of their bodies, as if men were beating upon a
tabret or drum, which gave great pain and torment, see Hebrews 11:35; and
with such like cruelty and indignity Job suggests he was or should be used; and
therefore begs for a surety, for one to interpose and plead on his behalf; let
the carriage of men to him be what it will, that is here referred to; compare
with this Psalm 69:11.
Job 17:7 7 My eye has also grown dim
because of sorrow, And all my members are like shadows.
YLT
7And dim from sorrow is mine
eye, And my members as a shadow all of them.
Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow,.... Through
excessive weeping, and the abundance of tears he shed, so that he had almost
lost his eyesight, or however it was greatly weakened and impaired by that
means, which is often the case, see Psalm 6:7;
and all my members are as a shadow; his flesh was
consumed off his bones, there were nothing left scarcely but skin and bone; he
was a mere anatomy, and as thin as a lath, as we commonly say of a man that is
quite worn away, as it were; is a walking shadow, has scarce any substance in
him, but is the mere shadow of a man; the Targum interprets it of his form,
splendour, and countenance, which were like a shadow; some interpret it
"my thoughts"F20יצרי
"cogitationes meae", Pagninus, Bolducius, Codurcus, so Ben Gersom. ,
and understand it of the formations of his mind, and not of his body, which
were shadows, empty, fleeting, and having no consistence in them through that
sorrow that possessed him.
Job 17:8 8 Upright men are
astonished at this, And the innocent stirs himself up against the hypocrite.
YLT
8Astonished are the upright
at this, And the innocent against the profane Stirreth himself up.
Upright men shall be astonished at this,.... Such as
were upright in heart, and in their walk conversation, sincere and honourable
in their profession of religion, these would be amazed at the afflictions of
Job, and the unkindness of his friends; it is hereby suggested, that it would
be then, and in ages to come, a matter of surprise to truly gracious persons,
when they should hear of such sore afflictions laid upon so good a man, and he
told what censures, calumnies, and reproaches, were cast upon him by his
friends; this would be so astonishing, that they would not know how to believe
it, and still more at a loss how to account for it, that such things should be
permitted in Providence, there being reason to believe the truth of them:
and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite; that is,
such, who though they are not free from sin, yet live holy and harmless lives
and conversations among men, so that they are not chargeable with any gross
iniquity, or what is scandalous and unbecoming their character; these shall
rise up with indignation against such persons as pretend to a great deal of
sanctify and devotion, and yet have no charity or love to an afflicted saint,
but censure and reproach him, and add affliction to his affliction. Thus Job
retorts the charge of hypocrisy his friends brought against him upon them; for
he seems tacitly to design them, and delivers these words as a kind of solace
to himself; that though he was thus used by them at that time, yet good men in
future time would have different apprehensions of him, and rise up and
vindicate his name and character.
Job 17:9 9 Yet the righteous will
hold to his way, And he who has clean hands will be stronger and stronger.
YLT
9And the righteous layeth
hold [on] his way, And the clean of hands addeth strength, And -- dumb are they
all.
The righteous also shall hold on his way,.... He that
is righteous, not in appearance but really, not in a legal but in an evangelic
sense; who is justified by the righteousness of Job's living Redeemer, who
lives by faith on his righteousness, and in consequence of that in holiness of
life and conversation; such an one being in Christ the way of righteousness and
salvation, and walking in the paths of faith, holiness, and truth, and in all
the tracks of religious worship, private and public, he will persevere therein,
and will not on any account depart out of the right way into which he has been
led and directed. This is opposed to a going back, as some do, and to a turning
to the right hand or the left, as others, and to a standing still, being stumbled,
offended, and discouraged; and it supposes a progress, a going forward in the
way, so as not to be moved out of it by their own, or the afflictions of
others, by the reproaches and persecutions of men, the temptations of Satan,
the snares, riches, honours, and pleasures of the world, or through darkness,
desertion, and unbelief; they may indeed have many slips and falls, and be
almost, but not altogether, out of the way, and never finally or to perdition;
which is owing not to their conduct and care, might and strength, but to the
power of God, and the supplies of his grace, to Christ and his strength, and to
the Spirit and his influence, guidance, and direction:
and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger; or "add
strength"F21יסיף אמץ
"addet fortitudinem", Pagninus, Montanus. ; increase in it. This
character is opposed to one of an immoral life and conversation, and describes
one that is not guilty of any notorious crime, that does not live in any known
sin, but in the general course of his life is upright and sincere, holy,
harmless, and inoffensive; such a man as he is already a partaker of spiritual
grace and strength, and so, as he wants more, it is given him; his spiritual
strength is renewed, he goes from one degree of it to another, and even while
walking in the way of God he finds an increase of it; yea, that itself is
strength unto him; as his day is his strength is, to assist him in religious
services, to enable him to resist his enemies, and endure afflictions, and continue
in the good ways of God.
Job 17:10 10 “But please, come back
again, all of you,[a] For I
shall not find one wise man among you.
YLT
10Return, and come in, I pray
you, And I find not among you a wise man.
But as for you all, do ye return, and come now,.... This is
an address to his three friends, all and everyone of them, who he perceived
were nettled with his reply, and were either departing, or preparing for a
rejoinder; and being conscious of his innocence, and satisfied of the goodness
of his cause, and having nothing to fear from them, boldly challenges them to
go on with the dispute; for though they were three to one, he was a match for
them all; or else he calls upon them to turn and repent of what they had said
to him, to relinquish the bad notions and ill opinion they had of him, and to
retract their hard speeches and unjust censures, and return to a friendly and
amicable conversation; or however, that they would come and sit down quietly,
and patiently hear what he had further to say to them for their information and
instruction, which they stood in great need of:
for I cannot find one wise man among you; that took his
case right, was capable of judging of it, and speaking pertinently to it, and
of administering comfort to him in it; they were physicians, but not skilful
ones; comforters, but miserable ones; had not the tongue of the learned, to
speak a word in season; disputants, but wranglers, and knew not where the pinch
of the controversy lay; and their arguments were weak and worthless, and their
judgment and sense of things not deserving any regard, see 1 Corinthians 6:5.
Job 17:11 11 My days are past, My
purposes are broken off, Even the thoughts of my heart.
YLT
11My days have passed by, My
devices have been broken off, The possessions of my heart!
My days are past,.... Or "passed away", or
"passed over"F23עברו
"transierunt", Pagninus, Montanus, &c. ; not that they passed
over the time fixed and appointed by God, for there is no passing the bound
settled by him, Job 14:5; but
either the common term of man's life was passed with Job, or he speaks of
things in his own apprehension; he imagined his death was so near, that he had
not a day longer to live; his days, as he before says, were extinct, were at an
end, he should never enjoy another day; and therefore it was folly to flatter
him with a promise of long life, or encourage him to expect it; which he may
mention as a proof of there being not a wise man among them, since they all
suggested this in case of repentance; or his meaning is, that his good days, or
days of goodness, as Jarchi interprets it, were past; his days of prosperity
were at an end, and evil days were come upon him, in which he had no pleasure;
nor had he any reason to believe it would be otherwise with him:
my purposes are broken off; Job doubtless had formed
in his mind great designs of good things, natural, civil; and religious,
concerning the enlargement of his temporal estate, the settlement of his children
in the world, making provision for the poor, supporting and enlarging the
interest of true religion, the reformation of his Heathenish neighbours, and
the spread of divine truths among them; but now they were all frustrated, he
was not in a capacity of carrying them into execution, and was obliged to drop
them, and think no more of them, nor was there with him any prospect of ever
renewing them; they were "rooted up"F24נתקו
"evulsae sunt", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator; "radicitus evulsae
sunt", Michaelis. , or plucked up, as some render the word, so that there
was no likelihood of their ever rising up again, and coming to any effect:
even the thoughts
of my heart; or "the possessions"F25מורשי
"possessiones", Montanus, Vatablus, Piscator, Cocceius, Schmidt;
"haereditariae possessiones", Schultens; so Drusius & Michaelis.
of it, as the thoughts are; they are the things of a man, which especially
belong to him; they are the inheritance of his mind, what none have a right
unto, and a claim upon, but himself, nor can any know but himself, and to whom
he discovers them: now the thread of these is broken off at death, they then
cease; not that the mind or soul of man ceases to be, or ceases to be a
thinking being, it still thinks; but only its thoughts are not employed about
the same things in a future state, or in the state after death, as in this, see
Psalm 146:4.
Job 17:12 12 They change the night into
day; ‘The light is near,’ they say, in the face of darkness.
YLT
12Night for day they appoint,
Light [is] near because of darkness.
They change the night into day,.... Meaning either his
friends, by what they had said unto him, or the thoughts of his heart, which
comes to the same sense; these being in the night season employed about what
had been said to him in the day, insomuch that he could get no sleep, the night
was as broad day unto him; or they put the day before the night, contrary to
the order of nature, as NoldiusF26Ebr. Part. Concord. No. 1931.
observes, whereas the night is before the day, Genesis 1:5; his
friends promising him long days, and an age clearer than noon day, as bright as
the morning, Job 11:17; when the
night of death was coming on, and he was hastening to the dark and silent
grave:
the light is short because of darkness; the morning
light, or light of the day, when that comes continues but for a short time,
because of the darkness of the evening, which quickly follows; or because of
the darkness of fiction, which fills it up, and makes it uncomfortable; or the
light of prosperity, could it be enjoyed, is but short, because of the darkness
of adversity; or "the light is near"F1קרוב
"propinquam", Pagninus, Montanus; so Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator, &c. , as in the original text; though Jarchi interprets the word
"short" as we do; Noldius renders it, "the light is rather
nearer than darkness"F2Ib. p. 642. ; after the night has been
spent without sleep, the morning light is nearer than darkness; that may soon
be expected, and so an end to sleep and rest.
Job 17:13 13 If I wait for the
grave as my house, If I make my bed in the darkness,
YLT
13If I wait -- Sheol [is] my
house, In darkness I have spread out my couch.
If I wait, the grave is mine house,.... Not that
Job put an "if" upon, or made a doubt of waiting upon God in private
or public; or of waiting for him, his gracious appearances to him, answers of
prayer, performance of promises, and deliverance out of trouble; and especially
of waiting his appointed time till his change came, and hoping and expecting
eternal life and happiness; all which he determined to do, and did, see Job 13:15; but he
says this with respect to the advice of his friends, which should it be taken,
the issue of would be no other than what he here suggests; they had intimated,
that if he repented and reformed, he might hope for and expect a peaceable
tabernacle, and a prosperous habitation, a line house, and affluent
circumstances, Job 5:24. Now, says
he, should I listen to this, and endeavour to cherish some hope and expectation
of small things, and put myself in a waiting posture for them, alas! how soon
would it be over, for what other house can I rationally expect but the grave?
and this is what I have upon; I think of no other house than that, which is
man's long home, the house appointed for all living; there I shall dwell, and
make my abode until the morning of the resurrection, and I look for no other;
and if I should, I am well assured! should be disappointed:
I have made my bed in the darkness: in the dark grave, where
the light of the body is extinct, and where the light of the sun comes not; in
houses there are various apartments, some for work and business, as is the
shop; others for eating and drinking, as the dining room; and others for sleep
and rest, as the bedchamber; now in the house of the grave there is no mention
of any but the latter; for there is no work and device in the grave, nor eating
and drinking there; but it is a bed where the weary saint lies down and rests
upon from all his toil and labour, until he awakes at the resurrection: now Job
had settled the matter with himself, he had laid it out in his own mind, and
taken a kind of pleasure in the prospect of it; that he had got a house to move
into, when he was dislodged from the earthly house of his tabernacle, and where
he had made himself, in his own thought, an easy bed, on which he should lay
his weary limbs, and take his sleep and rest, until the heavens be no more.
Job 17:14 14 If I say to corruption,
‘You are my father,’ And to the worm, ‘You are my mother and my
sister,’
YLT
14To corruption I have
called: -- `Thou [art] my father.' `My mother' and `my sister' -- to the worm.
I have said to corruption, thou art my father,.... Not to
the corruptible seed, of which he was begotten; nor to the corruption or
purulent matter of his boils and ulcers, and the worms his flesh was now
clothed with, Job 7:5; but to
that corruption his body would turn to in the grave, lying long enough to see
it, which Christ's body did not, Psalm 16:10; that
is, "to the pit of corruption"F3לשחת
"foveam", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Drusius, &c. , as
it may be rendered, meaning the grave, so called because in it dead bodies
corrupt and putrefy: in houses are families consisting of various persons, of
different relations, who dwell together in friendship and harmony, very
lovingly and familiarly, as father and mother, brother and sister; so in the
grave, the dwelling house of men, there are inhabitants that dwell together, as
if they were familiar friends and acquaintance; and with these, Job claims
kindred, such as corruption, rottenness, dust and worms, and these he speaks
unto, not only very familiarly, but very respectfully; the note of Bar Tzemach
is,
"I
honour the grave as a son a father, that it may receive me quickly;'
yea,
he speaks as not ashamed of the relation, but is fond of it; "I
called" or "cried"F4קראתי
"vocavi", Montanus; "clamavi", Mercerus. that is, aloud,
with great vehemency and affection:
to the worm, thou art my mother and my sister; these are the
rather mentioned, because the relation is near, and they are very loving and
tender, and abide in the house, see Proverbs 7:4; he
calls these his mother and sister, as the above Jewish commentator observes,
because the might lie in their bosom; by all this Job would represent how
familiar death and the grave were to him, and how little he dreaded them; yea,
how desirable they were to him, since he should be at home, and among his
relations and friends.
Job 17:15 15 Where then is my
hope? As for my hope, who can see it?
YLT
15And where [is] now my hope?
Yea, my hope, who doth behold it?
And where is now my hope?.... Not the grace of
hope, which was in his heart; and though it might sometimes be low in exercise,
it could not be lost; it is an anchor, sure and steadfast, and is one of the
graces that always abides, and never disappoints and makes ashamed; nor the
object of hope, eternal glory and happiness in another world, that is laid up
in heaven, and for which he was looking and waiting by faith; but his hope of
outward happiness, and of being restored to his former state of prosperity, or
a better, which his friends encouraged him to; this had no place in him, nor did
he see any reason to cherish it; all ground and foundation of it was removed,
as he apprehended; there was nothing on which he could build such an hope as
that, see Job 6:11;
as for my hope, who shall see it? that is, which his
friends would have him hope for, a line house, a large estate, a numerous
family, honour and respect among men, long life, and an abundance of outward
peace and happiness; this he was firmly persuaded he should never see, being
just going into the grave, nor his friends that suggested these things to him,
nor anybody else; though indeed what he himself truly hoped for might be
rightly thus described, being things not seen by the eye of the body, nor by
carnal sense and reason, but are the invisible glories and realities of another
world, for "hope that is seen is not hope", &c. Romans 8:24; but
Job does not design these, but the former.
Job 17:16 16 Will
they go down to the gates of Sheol? Shall we have rest together in the
dust?”
YLT
16[To] the parts of Sheol ye
go down, If together on the dust we may rest.
They shall go down to the bars of the pit,.... He
himself, and his friends, and the hopes they would have him entertain; these
should all go down together to the grave, and there lie barred and locked up;
these hopes, so as never to rise anymore, and the bodies of himself, and his
friends, till loosed by him who has the keys of hell and death: or "the
bars shall go down to the grave"; the members of his body, as Jarchi,
which are the bars of it, as some in Bar Tzemach; the strength and support of
it, as particularly the bones, these shall go down to the grave, and there turn
to rottenness and dust; and therefore, as if he should say, as he elsewhere
does, "what is my strength, that I should hope?" Job 6:11;
when our rest together is in the dust; which is
man's original, and to which he returns, and in which the dead lie and sleep
until the resurrection; and where they are at rest from all adversity and
affliction of body, mind, and estate; from all the troubles and vexations
occasioned by wicked men, and from all disputes, wranglings, contentions, and
animosities among friends, which would be the case of Job, and his friends,
when their heads were laid in the dust, and which he supposed would quickly be;
and therefore it was in vain for them to feed him with hopes of outward
happiness, and for him to entertain them; it best came them both to think of
death and the grave as near at hand, where their controversies would be buried,
and they would be good friends, and lie quietly together, and take their rest
until they should awake and rise to everlasting life.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)