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Job Chapter
Twenty-one
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JOB 21
This
chapter contains Job's reply to Zophar's preceding discourse, in which, after a
preface exciting attention to what he was about to say, Job 21:1; he
describes by various instances the prosperity of wicked men, even of the most
impious and atheistical, and which continues with them as long as they live,
contrary to what Zophar had asserted in Job 20:5, Job 21:7; as for
himself, he disapproved of such wicked men as much as any, and owns that
destruction comes upon them sooner or later, and on their posterity also, Job 21:16; but as
God is a God of knowledge, and needs no instruction from any, and is a
sovereign Being, he deals with men in different ways; some die in great ease,
and peace, and prosperity, and others in bitterness and distress, but both are
alike brought to the dust, Job 21:22; and
whereas he was aware of their censures of him, and their objections to what he
had said, he allows that the wicked are reserved to the day of destruction,
which is future, and in the mean while lie in the grave, where all must follow;
yet they are not repaid or rewarded in this life, that remains to be done in
another world, Job 21:27; and
concludes, that their consolation with respect to him was vain, and falsehood
was in their answers, Job 21:34.
Job 21:1 Then
Job answered and said:
YLT
1And Job answereth and
saith: --
But Job answered and said. In reply to what Zophar
had asserted, concerning the prosperity of the wicked being only for a short
time, Job 20:5; the
contrary to which he most clearly proves, and that in many instances their
prosperity continues as long as they live; that they die in it, and it is
enjoyed by their posterity after them.
Job 21:2 2 “Listen carefully to my
speech, And let this be your consolation.
YLT
2Hear ye diligently my word,
And this is your consolation.
Hear diligently my speech,.... The following
oration or discourse he was about to deliver concerning the prosperity of
wicked men; to which he desires their closest attention, that they might the
better understand the force of his reasoning, the evidences and proof of fasts
he should give; whereby, if their minds were open to conviction, they would
clearly see their mistake, and that truth lay on his side:
and let this be your consolations; or "this shall be
your consolations"F11ותהי זאת "et hoc erit consolationes vestrae", Beza,
Mercerus; so Jarchi; "idque pro consolatione vobis", Tigurine
version; "pro consolationibus vestris", Schultens. ; meaning, either
that they would receive instruction and benefit by his discourse, which would yield
them pleasure and comfort; and to an ingenuous mind, to be convinced of an
error, to have mistakes rectified, and to get knowledge of the truth, it is a
real satisfaction, and affords pleasure; or else, that whereas their end in
paying him a visit was to comfort him, and they had taken methods, as they
thought, in order to it, but in Job's opinion to very little purpose, yea, they
were, as he says, miserable comforters; now he observes, that if they would but
be silent, and attentively listen to what he had to say, that would be in the
room of all comforts they could give unto him; it would be a consolation to
him, and be reckoned by him, instead of all they could give, or could propose
to him, if he might have but this favour, to be heard with candour, diligence,
and attention.
Job 21:3 3 Bear with me that I may
speak, And after I have spoken, keep mocking.
YLT
3Bear with me, and I speak,
And after my speaking -- ye may deride.
Suffer me that I may speak,.... To go on with his
discourse, without any interruption, until he had finished it; as he before
craves their attention, here he entreats their patience to hear him out, as
well as to give him leave to begin; they might by their gestures seem as if
they were breaking up and departing; or they raised a tumultuous clamour, to
hinder his proceeding to reply; or he might fear, that if he was allowed to
speak, they would break in upon him before he had done, as they had already; or
"bear me", as several of the Jewish commentators explain the phrase;
though what he was going to say might sit heavy upon their minds, and be very
burdensome, grating, and uneasy to them; yet he entreats they would endure it
patiently, until he had made an end of speaking:
and after that I have spoken, mock on; as they had
already, Job 12:4; they had
mocked not at his troubles and afflictions, but at his words and arguments in
vindication of his innocence; and now all he entreats of them is, that they
would admit him to speak once more, and to finish his discourse; and then if
they thought fit, or if they could, to go on with their scoffs and derisions of
him; if he could but obtain this favour, he should be easy, he should not
regard their mockings, but bear them patiently; and he seems to intimate, that
he thought he should be able to say such things to them, that would spoil their
mocking, and prevent it for the future; so the Greek version renders it,
"thou shalt not laugh"; and the words being singular have led many to
think, that Zophar, who spoke last, is particularly intended, though it may
respect everyone of his friends.
Job 21:4 4 “As for me, is my
complaint against man? And if it were, why should I not be impatient?
YLT
4I -- to man [is] my
complaint? and if [so], wherefore May not my temper become short?
As for me, is my complaint to man?.... Job had
been complaining, and still was, and continued to do so after this, but not to
them, his friends, nor any other man; his complaint was made to God, and of him
he thought he was hardly dealt with by him, he could not tell for what; he had
desired to know the reason why he contended with him in such a manner, but
could get no satisfaction; when his friends came first to visit him, they said
nothing to him, nor he to them; and when he did speak, it was not to them, but
to God, of whom he complains; and expostulates with him why he had ever been
born, or had not died as soon as born, and not have lived to have seen such
unhappy days, and endured so much affliction and trouble:
and if it were so; that he had made his
complaint to man, since it would have been in vain, and to no purpose, he
should have got no relief, nor obtained any satisfaction:
why should not my spirit be troubled? or
"shortened"F12תקצר
"abbreviabitur", Montanus, Vatablus, "abbreviaretur",
Drusius, Cocceius, Michaelis. ; or, as the Targum, be straitened; for as
comfort and joy enlarge the heart, trouble contracts and straitens it; or is
"my prayer" orF13שיחי
"precatio mea", Drusius. "petition to men?" it was not,
though he was reduced so low, and was in such a distressed condition; he had
asked nothing of men, not of these his friends, neither to give him of their
substance, nor to help him out of the hands of his enemies, Job 6:21; he had
poured out his complaint before God, and had directed his prayer to the God of
his life; he had desired to speak to none but the Almighty, and to reason only
with him; he had petitioned him to take cognizance of his case, and to admit of
a hearing of it before him, and to have it determined by him; he had complained
of wrongs and injuries done him, and begged to be redressed and righted, but
got no answer; God did not think fit to answer him, but hid himself from him,
and continued so to do: "and if", if this be the case, as it really
was, "why should not my spirit be troubled?" is there not reason for
it? Some think Job's meaning is, is "my disputation", as the Vulgate
Latin version, or is my discourse concerning human things, things within the
compass of human knowledge and reasoning? or, to be attained to by the force of
that, without divine revelation? no, it is concerning divine things; concerning
the mysteries of Providence, with respect to good and bad men; concerning the
living Redeemer, his incarnation, resurrection, &c. and faith in him;
concerning the general resurrection, the final judgment, and a future state of
happiness: or does my complaint, petition, or discourse, savour of that which
is human, and is intermixed with human frailty? if it be so, it should be borne
with, it should be considered I am but a man, and liable to err; and especially
great allowances should be made in my present circumstances, being trader such
sore afflictions; and it may be reasonably thought, that though the spirit may
be willing to behave in a better manner, the flesh is weak, and much must be
imputed unto that; and it will not seem so extravagant to indulge a troubled spirit
so severely exercised; persons under afflictions generally think they do well
to be troubled, and that there is reason enough for it, and ought to be borne
with, and not to be reproached and rallied on that account.
Job 21:5 5 Look at me and be astonished;
Put your hand over your mouth.
YLT
5Turn unto me, and be
astonished, And put hand to mouth.
Mark me,.... Or "look at me"F14פנו
אלי "respicite ad me", Pagninus, Montanus,
Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, &c. ; not at his person, which was no
lovely sight to behold, being covered with boils from head to foot, his flesh
clothed with worms and clods of dust, his skin broken, yea, scarce any left;
however, he was become a mere skeleton, reduced to skin and bone; but at his
sorrows, and sufferings, and consider and contemplate them in their minds, and
see if there was any sorrow like his, or anyone that suffered as he did, and in
such pitiful circumstances; or that they would have a regard to his words, and
well weigh what he had said, or was about to say, concerning his own case, or
concerning the providences of God with respect to good and bad men, and
especially the latter:
and be astonished; at what had befallen him, at his
afflictions, being an innocent man, and not chargeable with any crime for which
it could be thought that these came upon him; and at the different methods of
Providence towards good men and bad men, the one being afflicted, and the other
in prosperous circumstances, see Job 17:8;
and lay your hand upon your mouth; and be
silent, since such dispensations of Providence are unsearchable, and past
finding out; and, as they are not to be accounted for, are not to be spoken
against: and it would have been well if Job had taken the same advice himself,
and had been still, and owned and acknowledged the sovereignty of God, and not
opened his mouth in the manner he had done, and cursed the of his birth, and
complained of hard treatment at the hand of God perhaps his sense may be, that
he would have his friends be silent, and forbear drawing the characters of men
from the outward dealings of God with them. This phrase is used of silence in Job 29:9; thus
Harpocrates, the god of silence with the Heathens, is always pictured with his
hand to his mouth.
Job 21:6 6 Even when I remember I am
terrified, And trembling takes hold of my flesh.
YLT
6Yea, if I have remembered,
then I have been troubled. And my flesh hath taken fright.
Even when I remember,.... Either the
iniquities of his youth he was made to possess; or his former state of outward
happiness and prosperity he had enjoyed, and reviewed his present miserable
case and condition, and called to mind the evil tidings brought him thick and
fast of the loss of his substance, servants, and children, which were so
terrible and shocking; or when he reflected on the instances of Providence he
was about to relate in the following verses:
I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh; which is
sometimes the case of good men, both with respect to the judgments of God upon
the wicked, and with respect to what befalls, or is coming upon, the people of
God, Psalm 119:120; and
even the different treatment of good and bad men in this life, as that the one
should be severely afflicted and distressed, and the other be in such
prosperous and happy circumstances, is not only a sore temptation to them, but
shocks their minds, and makes them shudder and stagger at it, and gives them
great pain and uneasiness, Psalm 73:2.
Job 21:7 7 Why do the wicked live and
become old, Yes, become mighty in power?
YLT
7Wherefore do the wicked
live? They have become old, Yea, they have been mighty in wealth.
Wherefore do the wicked live,.... Which question is
put either to God himself, as not knowing ow to account for it, or to reconcile
it to his divine perfections; that he, a holy, just, and righteous Being,
should suffer such wretches to live upon his earth, who had been, and still
were, continually sinning against him, transgressing his law, and trampling
under foot his power and authority; when he, a man that feared the Lord, as God
himself had borne witness of him, laboured under such heavy affliction, that he
seemed rather to die than live: or else it is put to his friends, to whom he
appeals for the truth of it, as Zophar had to him, about the short time of the
prosperity of the wicked, Job 10:4; and
desires them to try how they could make such undeniable facts comport with
their own principles, that wicked men are always and only afflicted to any
great degree, and not holy and good men; but if so, it is asked, why do they
"live", even live at all? why is not their breath stopped at once,
that breathe out nothing but sin and wickedness? or why are they
"lively?" as Mr. Broughton renders the word; that is, brisk,
cheerful, and jocund, live merrily, having an abundance of this world's good
things; call upon themselves to eat, drink, and be merry, and indulge
themselves in all the gratifications of sensual pleasures and delights; live at
ease, in peace and outward comfort, and are not in trouble as other men, having
nothing to disturb, disquiet, and distress them; nay, not only live
comfortably, but live long: while a righteous man perishes or dies in his
righteousness, the wicked man prolongs his life in his wickedness, Ecclesiastes 7:15,
as it follows:
become old; live to a considerable old age, as Ishmael did, to whom he may
have respect, as well as to some others within his knowledge; or are
"durable"F14עתקו
"durant", Mercerus, Cocceius, Michaelis; "edurant",
Schultens. , not only in age, as the sinner is supposed to die, and sometimes
does die an hundred years old, or more, but in wealth and riches, in outward
prosperity; for though spiritual riches are only durable riches, in opposition
to temporal ones, yet these sometimes endure with a wicked man, and he endures
with them as long as he lives, as may be seen in the instances of wicked rich
men in Luke 12:16; with
which agrees what follows:
yea, are mighty in power? are in great authority
among men, being kings, princes, civil magistrates, see Psalm 37:35; are
advanced to great dignity and honour, as the twelve princes that sprung from
Ishmael, and the race of kings and dukes that came from Esau. Mr. Broughton
renders it, "be mighty in riches", greatly increase in them; and so
the Targum, possess substance or riches.
Job 21:8 8 Their descendants are
established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes.
YLT
8Their seed is established,
Before their face with them, And their offspring before their eyes.
Their seed is established in their sight with them,.... Which is
to be understood not of seed sown in the earth, and of the permanence and
increase of that, but of their children; to have a numerous progeny, was
reckoned a great temporal blessing, and to have them settled happily and
comfortably in the world was an additional one; and what contributed still more
to their felicity was, that they were well settled during their life, or they
yet living, and with their eyes beholding their prosperous and stable
condition; and also "with them"; near them, in the same
neighbourhood, or at no great distance from them; or even in like circumstances
with them, equally as well settled and as prosperous as themselves, as this
phrase is sometimes used, see Psalm 106:6;
and their offspring before their eyes; their
children's children, as the Targum, and so the Vulgate Latin version; so that
prosperity attends not only wicked men and their children, but also their
grandchildren, and they live to see these grown up and settled in the world,
and in thriving circumstances; all which must give them pleasure, and be matter
of honour and glory to them, Proverbs 17:6. Now
this is diametrically opposite to Zophar's notion of the short continuance of
the prosperity of wicked men, and of the low and miserable condition of their
children, Job 20:5.
Job 21:9 9 Their houses are
safe from fear, Neither is the rod of God upon them.
YLT
9Their houses [are] peace
without fear, Nor [is] a rod of God upon them.
Their houses are safe from fear,.... Of
enemies besetting them, entering into them, and pillaging and plundering them;
of thieves and robbers breaking into them, and carrying off their substance: or
"their houses are peace"F15שלום
"pax", Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Schultens. ; their families
live in peace among themselves, or enjoy all prosperity, which the word peace
frequently signifies; they have peace and prosperity within doors and are free
"from fear", or devoid of fear, from anything without;
neither is the rod of God upon them; neither his
rod of chastisement, which is upon his own people, and with which he scourges
every son, though in love for their good, and which was now upon Job, Job 9:34; nor any
sore judgment, as famine, plague, sword, or any other; no, not even the common
afflictions and troubles that men are exercised with.
Job 21:10 10 Their bull breeds without
failure; Their cow calves without miscarriage.
YLT
10His bullock hath eaten
corn, and doth not loath. His cow bringeth forth safely, And doth not miscarry.
Their bull gendereth, and faileth not,.... As the
wicked man's prosperity is described before by the increase and comfortable
settlement of his children and grandchildren, and by the peace and safety of
all within doors; here it is further set forth by the increase of his cattle in
the fields, one part being put for the whole, his oxen and asses, his camels
and sheep, things in which the riches of men chiefly lay in those times and
countries; and he was reckoned an happy man when these brought forth
abundantly; see Psalm 144:13;
their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf; both male and
female succeed in propagating their species, and so in increasing the wealth of
their owner; this is sometimes promised as a temporal blessing, Exodus 23:26.
Job 21:11 11 They send forth their
little ones like a flock, And their children dance.
YLT
11They send forth as a flock
their sucklings, And their children skip,
They send forth their little ones like a flock,.... Of sheep,
which are creatures very increasing, and become very numerous, Psalm 144:13; to
which a large increase of families may be compared, Psalm 107:41, for
this is not to be interpreted of their kine sending or bringing forth such
numbers as to be like a flock of sheep; but of the families of wicked men being
increased in like manner; and the sending them forth to be understood either of
the birth of their children being sent out or proceeding from them as plants
out of the earth, or branches from a tree; or of their being sent out not to
school to be instructed in useful learning, but into the streets to play, and
pipe, and dance; and it may denote, as their number, so their being left to
themselves, and being at liberty to do as they please, being under no
restriction, nor any care taken of their education; at least in such a manner
as to have a tendency to make them sober, virtuous, and useful in life:
and their children dance; either in a natural way,
skip and frisk, and play like calves and lambs, and so are very diverting to their
parents, as well as shows them to be in good health; which adds to their
parents happiness and pleasure: or in an artificial way, being taught to dance;
and it should be observed, it is "their" children, the children of
the wicked, and not of the godly, that are thus brought up; so Abraham did not
train up his children, nor Job his; no instance can be given of the children of
good men being trained up in this manner, or of their dancing in an irreligious
way; however, this proves in what a jovial way, and in what outward prosperity
and pleasure, wicked men and their families live; which is the thing Job has in
view, and is endeavouring to prove and establish.
Job 21:12 12 They sing to the
tambourine and harp, And rejoice to the sound of the flute.
YLT
12They lift [themselves] up
at timbrel and harp, And rejoice at the sound of an organ.
They take the timbrel and harp,.... Not the children,
but the parents of them; these took these instruments of music into their
hands, and played upon them while their children danced; thus merrily they
spent their time: or, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra, they lift up the voice with the
tabret and harp; that is, while they played on these with their hands, they
sung songs with their mouths; they used both vocal and instrumental music
together, to make the greater harmony, and give the greater pleasure, like
those in Amos 6:5;
and rejoice at the sound of the organ; a musical
instrument, very pleasant and entertaining, from whence it has its name in the
Hebrew tongue; but of what form it was cannot be with certainty said; that
which we now so call is of later invention, and unknown in those times:
probably Job may have respect to Jubal, the inventor of this sort of music, and
others of the posterity of Cain before the flood, who practised it, and were
delighted in it; in which they were imitated and followed by wicked men after
it, and in Job's time, Genesis 4:21.
Job 21:13 13 They spend their days in
wealth, And in a moment go down to the grave.[a]
YLT
13They wear out in good their
days, And in a moment [to] Sheol go down.
They spend their days in wealth,.... Or "in
good"F16בטוב "in bono",
Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, &c. ; not in the performance
of good works, or in the exercise of that which is spiritually good; or in
seeking after spiritual good things, or eternal happiness; but in earthly good,
in the enjoyment of the temporal good things of this life, and which to enjoy
in a moderate and becoming manner is not criminal, but commendable; but these
men, and such as they, seek no other good but worldly good; their language is,
"who will show us any good?" Psalm 4:6; any
outward good; the way to get it, how to come at it, and be put in the
possession of it: such place all their happiness in such sort of good, and
spend all their time either in getting it, or in enjoying it, and in nothing
else; not in spiritual exercises, in prayer, or praise, in their own houses, in
private; nor in an attendance on the worship of God in public; it denotes also
their continuance in prosperity unto the end of their days; for there is a
various reading; we follow the Keri or margin, but the "Cetib", or
writing, is, "they become old"F17יבלו
"vetustate terent", Montanus; "veterascunt", Junius &
Tremellius, Piscator, Mercerus; "vetusti fiunt", Cocceius; "ad
senectam deterunt", Schultens. ; in wealth, or good things, and which is
followed by many; they live all their days in the midst of wealth and riches,
and die in such circumstances, contrary to what Zophar had asserted in Job 20:5;
and in a moment go down to the grave; the house
appointed for all living, man's long home, into which he is said to go down,
because let down and interred in the earth; hither wicked men must come, after
all their wealth, riches, prosperity, and pleasure; and hither they descend
"in a moment"; suddenly, no previous change being made in their
outward circumstances; and without any presage or forenotice of it, without any
lingering disease and sickness leading on to it, there being no bands in their
death, nothing to hinder and restrain from dying; but they drop at once into
the grave, without sickness or pain: or "in rest", or
"quietly"F18ברגע
"quiete", Pagninus; "in quiete", Vatablus. ; being wholly
at ease and quiet, as in Job 21:23; not only
free from acute pains and grievous distempers, as burning fevers, and violent
tortures, and racks of the stone, and other distressing disorders; but without
any distress of mind, ignorant of their state and condition, and unconcerned
about it; as they are at ease from their youth, and settled on their lees, they
remain so, and go out of the world in like manner; and as sheep are laid in the
grave, die senseless and stupid, having no thought in their last moments what
will become of them in another world: some render it, "they go down to
hell"F19שאול "ad inferna",
V. L. "ad infernum", Cocceius; "in infernum", Schmidt. ;
the state and place of the wicked after death; which, though true, seems not so
agreeable to Job's scope and design, which is not to describe the punishment of
the wicked, but their easy circumstances in life and in death; and so the
Jewish commentators generally understand it. Aben Ezra's note is,
"in
a moment, without afflictions;'
Jarchi,
"quietly,
without chastisements;'
and
Bar Tzemach,
"without
evil diseases;'
having
nothing to distress them in body or mind, when many a good man lies long on a
bed of languishing, tortured with diseases, chastened with sore pain, and his
life gradually draws near to the grave, and to the destroyers.
Job 21:14 14 Yet they say to God, ‘Depart
from us, For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.
YLT
14And they say to God, `Turn
aside from us, And the knowledge of Thy ways We have not desired.
Therefore they say unto God,.... While in health and
life, amidst all their outward prosperity, and because of it; for worldly
riches have this tendency, to make men proud and insolent, and not only to
behave ill to their fellow creatures, and to slight and despise them; but even
to forsake God, and lightly esteem their Creator and benefactor; yea, even to
kick against him, and oppose him, to set their mouths against him, and speak
very contemptuously and blasphemously of him, as in the following words; which
though not expressly uttered and pronounced, which yet may have been by some,
however are conceived in the mind, and inwardly spoken; and by their lives and
conversations outwardly declared and abundantly proclaimed:
depart from us; not as to his general presence, which
cannot be, and without which they would not be able to subsist; God is everywhere,
and near to everyone, and all live, and move, and have their being, in him; nor
as to his spiritual presence, which wicked men know nothing of, and are
unconcerned about; but they do not choose to have him so near them as that
their minds should be conversant about him; they do not care to have him in
their thoughts, they are desirous if possible of banishing him out of their
minds; they would live without thinking of God, or thinking that there is a God
in the world, for such a thought makes them uneasy; they do not love to have
their consciences awakened by him, so as to check and accuse for what they do;
they had rather have them cauterized or seared, as with a red hot iron, and be
past feeling, that they may go on in their sinful courses without control: this
is the just character of a worldling, who is afraid he shall be a loser by God
and religion, should he attend thereunto; and therefore, as the Gergesenes for
a like reason desired Christ to depart out of their coasts, so such desire God
to depart from them, Matthew 8:28; and
of the epicure, whose God is his belly, and that only; and most righteously
will it be said to such at the last day, "depart from me"; this will
be a just retaliation:
for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways; the ways
which God prescribes, directs, and enjoins men to walk in, even the ways of his
commandments; these are unknown to men, until shown and taught them; but wicked
men do not desire to be instructed in them; they have no pleasure and delight
neither in them, nor in the knowledge of them; they fancy there is no pleasure
to be had in them, and they think they have got into a much more pleasant way,
which they have chosen, and their souls delight in; though destruction and
misery are in it, and it leads into it: they wilfully affect ignorance of the
ways of God; they do not care to come to the light, lest their deeds should be
reproved, their consciences be made uneasy, and they not able to go on so
peaceably and quietly in their own ways.
Job 21:15 15 Who is the
Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit do we have if we pray to
Him?’
YLT
15What [is] the Mighty One
that we serve Him? And what do we profit when we meet with Him?'
What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?.... "Who
is he"F20מה "quis est?" V.
L. ? as some render it; or what is there in him, in his nature, in his
excellencies and perfections, that should oblige us to serve him? One would
think the attribute of "Almighty", they own and acknowledge, is
sufficient to engage to it, since he is the lawgiver that is able to save and
to destroy, even to destroy with an everlasting destruction, both body and soul
in hell, who obey him not; but fulness of riches, power, and authority, swell
the mind with pride, and put men on asking such questions, and running such
lengths as these; see Exodus 5:2. The
question is full of atheism, and suggests there was nothing in God excellent or
worthy of any regard, or on account of which he should be served and
worshipped; as if he was a mere idol, which is nothing in the world; and that
he was indeed nothing in it, neither did good nor evil, nor concerned himself
with the affairs of men; had forsaken the earth, and took no notice of what was
doing is it; at least, the question supposes that such think themselves under
no obligations to serve him, and shows them to be sons of Belial, without a
yoke; that they neither are nor can he subject to the law of God without his
grace; they are not willing God should reign over them, nor to be obedient to
his commands and ordinances; but are for freeing themselves from all
obligations to him, and choose to serve various lusts and pleasures; be the
vassals of sin and Satan, rather than be the worshippers of God:
and what profit should we have if we pray unto him? Prayer is one
part of the service of God, and may be here put for the whole: this, as all the
rest, is very disagreeable to a natural man, who, as he is biased entirely by
profit and gain, thinks there is nothing to be got by religious exercises; he
observing, that the worshippers of God, as to external things, fare worse than
those who do not pray unto him, or do not serve and worship him; see Malachi 3:14;
though there is much profit, and many things, and those most excellent and
valuable, got by prayer; for whatsoever good men ask in prayer, believing, they
receive, Matthew 7:7. The
Targum is
"if
we pray in his Word,'
in
the name of the essential Word, the Son of God; whereas to ask or pray in his
name is the only way of succeeding; and such, who do ask in faith in his name,
have what they ask for, John 14:15.
Job 21:16 16 Indeed their prosperity is
not in their hand; The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
YLT
16Lo, not in their hand [is]
their good, (The counsel of the wicked Hath been far from me.)
Lo, their good is not in their hand,.... Though it
is in their possession for the present, it is not in the power of their hands
to keep, nor to carry it with them when they die; God, that gave it, can take
it away when he pleases; and therefore it might be profitable to them to serve
him and pray unto him: or "their good is not by their hand";
they do not obtain their happiness by their works, as in the Tigurine version;
and to the same sense Mr. Broughton,
"lo,
their wealth cometh not by their own power;'
it
is not got by their own industry, diligence, care, and labour; by their own
wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and cunning; for riches are not always to men
of understanding, but come from God, who gives them to whom he pleases, and can
take them away again if he thinks fit; and therefore men are dependent upon him
for what they have, and should be thankful to him, and serve him, and pray for
the continuance of good things to them. Jarchi reads the words by way of
interrogation and admiration, lo! is "not their good in their hand?"
verily it is, especially in their own opinion; their hands are full of it; they
want nothing of God; they see no need of praying to him; hence the above words,
which Job expresses his disapprobation of:
the counsel of the wicked is far from me; the counsels
of their hearts; the thoughts of their mind; the words of their mouth; the
above impious sayings were such as were detested and abhorred by him; their
sense and judgment of things, their choice from deliberate consultation with
themselves, preferring temporal good to spiritual good, and earthly things to
heavenly ones, outward wealth and riches to the knowledge, service, and worship
of God, and communion with him; these were what he disliked; their course of
life, which was according to this world, and Satan the god of it, their company
and conversation, were such as he carefully shunned and avoided; he chose not
to come into their assembly, or to have any fellowship with them; to walk in
the counsel of the ungodly, or stand in the way of sinners, these things were
an abomination to him; see Psalm 1:1. This Job
says to exculpate himself, and wipe off any calumny that might be cast upon
him, as if by what he had said, concerning the outward prosperity of the
wicked, that he was a patron and defender of them, and an advocate for them.
Job 21:17 17 “How often is the lamp of
the wicked put out? How often does their destruction come upon them, The
sorrows God distributes in His anger?
YLT
17How oft is the lamp of the
wicked extinguished, And come on them doth their calamity? Pangs He
apportioneth in His anger.
How oft is the candle of the wicked put out?.... Job here
returns, as Jarchi observes, to his former account of the constant and
continued prosperity of wicked men; and puts questions tending to prove the
same. Bildad had said, that the light and candle of the wicked would be put
out, Job 18:5. Job,
referring to this, asks how often this is the case; meaning, by the candle of
the wicked, not his soul or spirit, which cannot be put out, or become extinct,
as to be no more; nor the light of nature in his soul, though that may be put
out in a great measure, and he be given up to judicial blindness and hardness
of heart; but either his natural life, which, like a candle, burns for a while,
and then becomes extinct, or rather his outward prosperity and happiness: if
the question relates to the former, to the natural life of wicked men, it is
not whether they die, that is no question; all die, good and bad; but whether
they die in common sooner than others, or whether the instances of the brevity
of the life of wicked men were frequent, or but seldom; or, is this always the
case? it is not, it is rare, and not common; they live as long as other men,
and oftentimes longer; they live and become old, as Job before observes; they
prolong their days in their wickedness; or, if this refers to the latter, the
prosperity of the wicked, the question is, is that for the most part a short lived
prosperity? it is not, it is but rarely so; wicked men generally spend all
their days in wealth, as before observed; so Ramban interprets "how
oft", that is, how seldom; and to the same sense Mr. Broughton,
"not
so often is the candle of the wicked put out;'
and how oft cometh their destruction upon them? not eternal,
but temporal destruction, calamities and distresses; these are threatened them,
but they are not executed on them immediately; and therefore their hearts are
set in them to do evil: generally speaking, they have their good things here;
they are filled with hidden treasure, which they enjoy while they live, and
leave the rest of their substance to their babes; they are not destroyed on
every side, as Job was; their substance, their cattle, their servants, their
children, and their own health. Job asks how often this is their case, as had
been his; and his sense is, and what experience testifies, it is but rarely
the, case of wicked men; he seems to refer to what is said, Job 18:12.
God distributeth sorrows in
his anger; or rather, "how oft doth he distribute sorrows in his
anger?" but seldom; he is angry with the wicked every day, and reserves
wrath for them, and many sorrows shall be to them, but not for the present;
those are future, and even such as of a woman in travail, as the word used
signifies, and which shall come upon them suddenly and certainly, and there
will be no avoiding them; see Psalm 32:10; but
does God frequently distribute or portion out sorrows to them now? he does not;
they have their portion of good things in this life; does he usually give them
sorrow of heart, his curse unto them? he does not; it is very seldom he does;
they are not in trouble, nor plagued as other men; they are not men of sorrows
and acquainted with griefs; they are generally strangers to them, and live
merrily all their days, Job 21:12; respect
seems to be had to the conclusion of Zophar's speech, Job 20:29.
Job 21:18 18 They are like straw before
the wind, And like chaff that a storm carries away.
YLT
18They are as straw before
wind, And as chaff a hurricane hath stolen away,
They are as stubble before the wind,.... Or how oft "are
they as stubble?" &c. or how oft does God do the above things,
"so that they are", or "become, as stubble before the wind"F21יהיו כתבן "ut sint velut
palea", Tigurine version; so Broughton, "quoties sunt", Junius
& Tremellius; "quoties fiunt", Piscator, Michaelis. ,
and as chaff that the storm carrieth, or
"steals away"F24גנבתו
"furatus est eam", Montanus; "suffuratur", Vatablus;
"furatur", Drusius, Cocceius, Schultens. ? hastily, suddenly, at an
unawares like a thief: wicked men are comparable to stubble and chaff; for the
vanity of their minds, their emptiness of all good things; for their lightness,
the levity and inconstancy of their hearts, their principles and practices; for
their uselessness and unprofitableness to God and men, to themselves and their
fellow creatures; for their being fit fuel for everlasting burnings, their end
like these being to be burned; and whose destruction is inevitable and
irresistible, and can no more be withstood and prevented than stubble and chaff
can stand before a strong wind and a stormy tempest: but is this their common
case now? are they usually tossed to and fro with the wind of adversity, and
the storms of desolating judgments? are they not, on the other hand, seen in
great power, and spreading themselves like a green bay tree; taking root,
increasing in outward prosperity, and bringing forth the fruit of it? see Psalm 37:35.
Job 21:19 19 They say,
‘God lays up one’s[b] iniquity
for his children’; Let Him recompense him, that he may know it.
YLT
19God layeth up for his sons
his sorrow, He giveth recompense unto him -- and he knoweth.
God layeth up his iniquity for his children,.... This is a
prevention of an objection which Job foresaw his friends would make, and
therefore takes it up and answers to it; you will say, that, be it so, that the
wicked are for the most part prosperous, and their prosperity continues; God
does not punish them now for their sins in their own persons, yet he will
punish them in their children, for whom he reserves the punishment of their
iniquity: this way go many of the Jewish commentatorsF25Nachmanides,
Jarchi, Ben Gersom, Bar Tzemach. , in which they are followed by many Christian
interpretersF26Beza, Cocceius, Schultens. ; and, as it seems, very
rightly; now this Job grants, that so it is, God takes notice of the iniquities
of men, and lays them up in his mind, and puts them down in the book of his
remembrance; he reserves the punishment of their iniquities for their children,
iniquity being often put for the punishment of it; this is laid up among his
stores of vengeance, and is treasured up against the day of wrath; and when
they have filled up the measure of their father's sins by their own transgressions,
the deserved punishment shall be inflicted, according to Exodus 20:5; but
this will not clear the case, nor support the notions and sentiments of Job's
friends, who had all along given out, that wicked men are punished themselves
as well as their children; and that, if they are at any time in prosperous
circumstances, it is only for a little while; and therefore agreeably to such
notions God should take other methods with them, not punish their children
only, but themselves, as Job argues in answer to the objection in Job 21:18,
he rewarded him, and he shall know it; or "he
should reward him, and he should know it"F1ישלם
אליו וידע "redderet
illi, et (hoc) sciret", Beza; "retribueret ipsi potius, et
sentiret", Cocceius. ; and so the word "should" is to be put
instead of "shall" in Job 21:20, which
directs to the true sense of these clauses: and the meaning of Job is, that
according to the sentiments of his friends, God should reward a wicked man
while he lives in his own body, and not in his posterity only; he should render
to them a just recompence of reward of their evil works, the demerit of their
sins; and in such a manner, that they should know it, be sensible of it, and
feel it themselves, and perceive the evil of sin in the punishment of it; see Hosea 9:7.
Job 21:20 20 Let his eyes see his
destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
YLT
20His own eyes see his
destruction, And of the wrath of the Mighty he drinketh.
His eyes shall see his destruction,.... Or "should see
his destruction"F2יראו עינו כריו "videret ejus
oculi exitium suum", Beza, Cocceius. ; calamities coming upon himself and
upon his children; or otherwise it will not affect him: but when a man has a
personal experience of affliction as punishments of his sin, or with his own
eyes sees his children in distressed circumstances on his account, this must
sensibly affect him, and be a sore punishment to him; as it was to Zedekiah to
have his children slain before his eyes, Jeremiah 52:10;
and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty; or "he
should drink"F3ישתה
"biberet", Beza, Cocceius. of it now, according to the principles of
Job's friends, even he in person, and not his posterity only; the wrath of God
is on account of sin, and dreadful to bear: if the wrath of a temporal king is
as the roaring of a lion, what must be the wrath of the Almighty God, the King
of kings, and Lord of lords? this is frequently in Scripture compared to a cup,
and is called a cup of trembling, of wrath and fury: and of which all the
wicked of the earth shall drink sooner or later, Psalm 75:8; but
this they should do now, according to the notions of Job's friends, whereas
they do not; waters of a full cup, though not in wrath indeed, are wrung out to
the people of God, and, as they apprehend, in wrath, when the wicked drink wine
in bowls, and the cup of their prosperity overflows.
Job 21:21 21 For what does he care
about his household after him, When the number of his months is cut in half?
YLT
21For what [is] his delight
in his house after him, And the number of his months cut off?
For what pleasure hath he in his house after him,.... As, on
the one hand, the prosperity of his children after his decease gives him no
pleasure and delight, so, on the other hand, the calamities and distresses of
his family for his sins and theirs give him no pain or uneasiness; he knows
nothing that befalls them, and it is no part of his concern; and let what will
befall them, he cares not for it; he feels it not, he is not sensible of it;
and therefore to object that signifies nothing; see Job 14:21; or,
"what business has he with his house after death?" the affairsF4So
Schultens. of his family do not at all concern him, one way or another; he is
not affected with them; he can neither consider their happiness as a blessing
nor their calamities as a punishment to him:
when the number of his months is cut off in the midst? the years,
the months, and the days of the lives of men, are numbered and determined by
the Lord, Job 14:5; which,
when finished, the thread of life is cut off in the midst, from the rest of the
months, which a man or his friends might have expected he would have lived; or
rather, "when his number of the months is fully up"F5חצצו "integro numero calculis ducti sunt",
Cocceius; "cumulatam sortem habuerint", Schultens. ; when the
calculation of them is complete, and the full number of them is perfected; the
sense is, what cares a wicked man for what befalls his family after his death,
when he has lived out the full term of life in great outward happiness and
prosperity; has lived to be full of days, of months, and years, to a full age,
even to an age that may be truly called old age?
Job 21:22 22 “Can anyone teach
God knowledge, Since He judges those on high?
YLT
22To God doth [one] teach
knowledge, And He the high doth judge?
Shall any teach God knowledge?.... Who is a
God of knowledge, and knows all things, that teaches men knowledge; will any
one take upon him to teach him the path of judgment, and the way of
understanding, how he shall govern the world, and dispose of men and things in
it? see Isaiah 40:13. Will
anyone be so bold and audacious as to pretend to direct and instruct him whom
he shall afflict, and whom not, and when he shall do it, and in what manner?
should not these things be left to him, who does all things after the counsel
of his own will? shall his dealings with men in an outward way of providence be
the criterions of the characters and estates of men, as if love and hatred were
to be known by those things, and therefore God must be taught what he should do
in order to fix them?
seeing he judgeth those that are high; not the high
heavens, as the Targum, nor the angels in them, though he has judged them that
sinned, and cast them down to hell; but the high ones on earth, kings, princes,
and civil magistrates, such as are in high places, and are lifted up with pride
above others: God is above them; he is higher than the highest, and judges
them; he is the Judge of all the earth, that will do right, the Governor of the
universe, and who overrules all things for his own glory and the good of his
creatures; and therefore none should pretend to direct him what is fit and
proper to be done by him, who is a Sovereign, and distinguishes men in his
providence, in life, and at death, as follows; but their characters, as good or
bad men, are not to be determined thereby.
Job 21:23 23 One dies in his full
strength, Being wholly at ease and secure;
YLT
23This [one] dieth in his
perfect strength, Wholly at ease and quiet.
One dieth in his full strength,.... Man is born a weak
feeble creature, and it is by degrees, and through various stages of infancy,
childhood, and youth, that he arrives to his full strength in manhood; and,
when he does, sometimes so it is, that his strength is not weakened in the
course of his life by a train of disorders and diseases, as it is in some; but
death seizes and carries him off in the prime of his days, and in the fulness
of his strength; for no strength of man, even the greatest, is a security
against death: thousands die before they come to their full strength, and
multitudes after it begins to decay; and when it is almost wasted, through the
force of distempers, or the infirmities of old age, and others, as here, when
their strength is in its highest rigour and utmost perfection, and all as God
pleases: the words may be rendered "in the strength of his
integrity", or "of his perfection"F6בעצם תמו "in fortitudine
perfectionis suae", Pagninus; so Junius and Tremellius, Piscator; "in
fortitudine integritatis suae", Montanus, Bolducius; so Drusius, Mercerus.
; in the Targum and Ben Gersom, and so Mr. Broughton, "in his very
perfection"; and the word is sometimes used, in a moral and spiritual
sense, of the integrity of a man's heart, and the uprightness of his ways and
walk, and of the perfection of his state God-ward; see Job 1:1; and such a
man who is upright in heart and conversation, who is truly gracious, sincerely
a good man, and perfect through the complete righteousness of Christ, he dies
such, his integrity continues with him to the last; and his graces being
brought to maturity, he comes to his grave like a shock of corn in its season,
and is found in the perfect righteousness of his living Redeemer: but it seems
best to take the words in a natural and literal sense, as before; or to
interpret them of the fulness of outward felicity, which some men arrive unto,
and die in the midst of, when they have got to the highest degree of honour and
grandeur, and attained to the greatest degree of wealth and riches, it could
well be supposed they would; and then, when in the perfection of it, have been
taken away by death; both these senses may stand together: it follows,
being wholly at ease and quiet; in easy circumstances,
having an affluence of all good things, and nothing to disturb them, nor are in
trouble as others, or plagued as they be; having all that heart can wish, or
more, and without any pains of body, at least any long and continued ones;
while others are attended with them, days, and months, and years, before their
death, Job 33:19; whereas
these go down to the grave in a moment, feeling little or no pain, and are
quiet and easy in their minds, thoughtless of a future state, and unconcerned
how it will be with them in another world; having no sight nor sense of sin, of
the evil nature and just demerit of it, feel not the weight and burden of it in
their consciences; have no concern or grief of mind for sins of omission or
commission, no godly sorrow for it, or repentance of it, nor any fears of wrath
and ruin, hell and damnation; but as they are at ease from their youth, with
respect to those things, so they live and so they die, secure, stupid, and
senseless. Some interpret this of good menF7So Schmidt. ; and it is
not to be wondered at that a man that dies in his integrity, in the perfection
of grace, holiness, and righteousness, should be at ease and quiet; who has an
interest in the God of peace, whose peace is made by the blood of Christ, his
Peacemaker, and who has a conscience peace arising from a comfortable view of
the peace speaking blood, righteousness, and sacrifice of the Mediator; who
knows his state is safe, being interested in everlasting love, in an
unchangeable covenant in God, as his covenant God, in Jesus his living
Redeemer; and knows where he is going, to heaven, to happiness and glory, to be
with God, with Christ, with holy angels and glorified saints: but the former
sense seems best, of a man dying in easy circumstances, without pain of booty,
or distress of mind, whether we understand it of a good man or bad man, though
the latter is rather meant.
Job 21:24 24 His pails[c] are full
of milk, And the marrow of his bones is moist.
YLT
24His breasts have been full
of milk, And marrow his bones doth moisten.
His breasts are full of milk,.... As this is not
literally true of men, some versions read the words otherwise; his bowels or
intestines are full of fat, as the Vulgate Latin and Septuagint; and others,
his sides or ribs are full of fat, as the Syriac and Arabic; the words for
"side" and "fat" being near in sound to those here used;
and so it describes a man fit and plump, and fleshy, when death lays hold upon
him, and not wasted with consumptions and pining sickness, as in the case of
some, Job 33:21; the word
for breasts is observed by someF8See Kimchi, Sepher Shorash. rad. עטן, and Jarchi and Ben Melech in loc. to signify, in the
Arabic language, "vessels", in which liquors are contained, and in
the Misnic language such as they put oil in, out of which oil is squeezed; and
so are thought here to intend such vessels as are milked into; and therefore
render it by milk pails; so Mr. Broughton, "his pails are full of
milk"F9עטיניו "muletralia
ejus", Montanus, Beza, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Mercerus,
Bolducius, Drusius, Cocceius, Schmidt. ; which may denote the abundance of good
things enjoyed by such persons, as rivers of honey and butter; contrary to
Zophar's notion, Job 20:17; and a
large increase of oil and wine, and all temporal worldly good; amidst the
plenty of which such die:
and his bones are moistened with marrow; not dried up
through a broken spirit, or with grief and trouble, and through the decays of
old age; but, being full of marrow, are moist, and firm and strong; and so it
intimates, that such, at the time when death seizes them, are of an hale,
healthful, robust, and strong constitution; see Psalm 73:4.
Job 21:25 25 Another man dies in the
bitterness of his soul, Never having eaten with pleasure.
YLT
25And this [one] dieth with a
bitter soul, And have not eaten with gladness.
And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul,.... Either
another wicked man; for there is a difference among wicked men; some are
outwardly happy in life, and in the circumstances of their death, as before
described; and others are very unhappy in both; their life is a scene of
afflictions which embitter life, and make death eligible; and in the midst of
which they die, as well as oftentimes in bitter pains, and terrible agonies of
body, as well as in great distress and horror of mind, and black despair, as
Judas and others:
and never eateth with pleasure, or "of any
good", or "any good thing"F25טובה
"bonum", Pagninus, Mercerus; so Junius & Tremellius, Piscator
& Bar Tzemach; "de bono", Cocceius, Michaelis, Schultens. ;
either he has it not to eat, or what he has is not good, but like husks which
swine eat, of which the prodigal would fain have filled his belly, when in
extreme poverty, such as those words may describe; or else having what is good,
has not an heart to eat of it; and so they describe a miser, living and dying
such; see Ecclesiastes 6:2;
or rather the case of a man, who, through distempers and diseases of body, has
lost his appetite, and cannot with any pleasure taste of the richest dainties;
see Job 33:20. SomeF26Bar
Tzemach. interpret this verse and Job 21:23 as what
should be the case according to the sentiments of Job's friends, who objected,
that God punished the iniquities of wicked men, not in their own persons, but
in their children; according to which, a wicked man then should die in the
perfection of happiness, without weakness or want, in all quietness, ease,
peace, and prosperity; and not in poverty and distress: but as Job 21:23 respect a
wicked man, and his case and circumstances at death, agreeably to the whole
context; so this relates to those of a good man, whom the Lord often deals
bitterly with in life, as he did with Naomi, and was now the case of Job; see 1:20; and who die in very poor and distressed
circumstances; so that nothing is to be concluded from such appearances, with
respect to the characters of men, as good or bad, and especially since both are
brought into a like condition by death, as follows.
Job 21:26 26 They lie down alike in the
dust, And worms cover them.
YLT
26Together -- on the dust
they lie down, And the worm doth cover them over.
They shall lie down alike in the dust,.... Such as
have lived and died in great outward prosperity, or in more unhappy
circumstances; these are levelled by death, and brought into the same state and
condition; are laid on dusty beds, where there is no difference between them,
their rest together is in the dust; here they dwell, and here they lie and
sleep until they are awaked in the morning of the resurrection:
and the worms shall cover them; these are the companions
alike unto them, and sweetly feed on the one as on the other; the earth is
their bed, and worms are their covering; even such who used to lie on beds of
down, and were covered with coverings of silk, have now the same bed and
covering as those who used to lie on beds of straw, and scarce any thing to
cover them; worms are spread under them, and are spread upon them; they are
both their bed and their covering, Isaiah 14:11.
Job 21:27 27 “Look, I know your
thoughts, And the schemes with which you would wrong me.
YLT
27Lo, I have known your
thoughts, And the devices against me ye do wrongfully.
Behold, I know your thoughts,.... God only truly, really,
and in fact, knows the thoughts of men; this is his peculiar prerogative, he
only is the searcher of the hearts and the trier of the reins of the children
of men. Christ, the eternal Logos, or Word, by his being a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart, appears to be truly God. No man knows the
things of a than, or the thoughts of his heart, but himself, and such to
whomsoever he reveals them; but a wise and understanding man, a careful
observer of men and things, may make some shrewd guesses at the thoughts of
others, by hints and half words, or sentences expressed by them; by the show of
their countenance, which is the index of the mind, and by the gestures and
motions of their bodies; by these they may in a good measure judge whether they
like or dislike, approve or, disapprove, of what is said to them: and thus Job
knew the thoughts of his friends, that they were different from his, that the
sentiments of their minds did not agree with his; and though he had so clearly
proved his point, yet he saw by their looks and gestures that what he had said
was not satisfactory to them; that they did not think it a sufficient
confutation of their arguments, and a full answer to their objections:
and the devices which ye wrongfully imagine against me; that he was
an hypocrite, a wicked man, guilty of crimes, and which they were devising to
produce against him, and charge and load him with, as Eliphaz does in the
following chapter; he knew they meant him in all that they had said concerning
wicked men, and their afflictions, and what would be their portion at death,
and after it; and though they did not name his name, they might as well have
done it, since he was the man they struck at in all, particularly it, Job 20:5.
Job 21:28 28 For you say, ‘Where is
the house of the prince? And where is the tent,[d] The
dwelling place of the wicked?’
YLT
28For ye say, `Where [is] the
house of the noble? And where the tent -- The tabernacles of the wicked?'
For ye say,.... Or "have said", or "I know that ye
say"; or "that ye are about to say"F1כי תאמרו "vos dicere",
Junius & Tremellius; "nempe vos dicturos", Piscator; so Schmidt,
Schultens. ; it is in your hearts and minds, and just ready to come out of your
lips, and what you will say next:
where is the house of the prince? of the
righteous man, as the Syriac and Arabic versions; or "of the good and
liberal man", as othersF2נדיב
"liberalis", Montanus; "boni et liberalis hominis",
Tigurine version; "ingenui", Schultens. ; of such as are of a
princely and ingenuous spirit, who are made willing, free, or princes, in the
day of the power of the grace of God upon them; and are endowed and upheld with
a free and princely spirit; where is the house, or what is the state and
condition, of the families of such? are they the same with that of wicked men
in the next clause? is there no difference between the one and the other?
according to your way of reasoning, Job, there should not be any: or else this
is to be understood rather of a wicked and tyrannical prince, who has built
himself a stately palace, which he fancied would continue for ever; but where
is it now? it lies in ruins; having respect perhaps to some noted prince of
those times: or rather either to Job himself, who had been a prince, and the
greatest man in all the east, but in what condition were his house and family
now? or else to his eldest son, whose house was blown down with a violent wind:
and where are the dwelling places of the wicked? of the mighty
men before the flood, which are now overthrown by it; or of the king and
princes, and nobles, and great men of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the other cities
of the plain destroyed by fire and brimstone from heaven; or of Job, his tent
or tabernacle, and the several apartments in it; or of the rest of his children
and servants, respecting rather, as before observed, the state and condition of
his family, than his material house: these questions are answered by putting
others.
Job 21:29 29 Have you not asked those
who travel the road? And do you not know their signs?
YLT
29Have ye not asked those
passing by the way? And their signs do ye not know?
Have ye not asked them that go by the way?.... Did you
not ask every traveller you met with on the road the above question? not which
was the way to Job's house, which they knew very well, but in what condition
that and his sons were? or what was the case of him and his family? and what
was his character? or what was thought of him now since his unhappy
circumstances?
and do ye not know their tokens? by which it might be
known in what a plight he and his family were, and what were the marks, signs,
and characters they gave of him: "have ye not asked?" &c. the
sense seems to be this, that if they had not asked, they might and should have
asked of travellers the above things relating to himself and family, and then
they would not have needed to put the above question about his house and
tabernacles; or, if they had inquired of his character of any travellers, they
would have given them it, that he was a generous hospitable man, a man truly
good, strictly just and upright, and not the wicked man and the hypocrite as
they had traduced him; for Job's house had been open to strangers and
travellers, and he was well known by them, and they were ready to give him a
good character, see Job 31:32; or, if
they had inquired of them concerning the stately houses and palaces of wicked
men that had lived in times past, whether there were any of them standing; they
could have told them they were, and where they were, and given them such signs
and tokens, and such proof and evidence of them they could not deny; and
indeed, if they had been inquired of about the thing in controversy between Job
and his friends, concerning the prosperity of the wicked, and the afflictions
of the godly, as they by travelling became acquainted with persons and things,
and made their observations on them, they could have easily pointed out
instances of wicked men living and dying in prosperous circumstances, and of
good men being greatly afflicted and distressed, if not all their days, yet
great part of them; and they could have given such plain signs and tokens, and
such clear and manifest proofs of those things, as could not have been
gainsaid: and this may be understood of travellers in a spiritual sense, and
who are the best judges of such a case, and are travellers through the
wilderness of this world, and pass through many tribulations in it; and, being
bound for another and better country, an heavenly one, are pilgrims, strangers,
and sojourners here; have no abiding, but are passing on in the paths of faith,
truth, and holiness, till they come to the heavenly Canaan; if any of those who
are yet on the road, and especially if such could be come at who have finished
their travels, and the question be put to them, they would all unite in this
doctrine, which Abraham, the spiritual traveller, is represented delivering to
the rich wicked man in hell; that wicked men have their good things in this
life, and good men their evil things, Luke 16:25; and
particularly would agree in saying what follows.
Job 21:30 30 For the wicked are
reserved for the day of doom; They shall be brought out on the day of wrath.
YLT
30That to a day of calamity
is the wicked spared. To a day of wrath they are brought.
That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction?.... That is,
that they are spared, withheld, restrained, as the wordF4יחשד "prohibebitur", Pagninus, Montanus,
Bolducius; so Beza, Vatablus, Mercerus; "subtrahitur", Junius &
Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius; "subdueitur", Schultens. signifies,
or kept and preserved from many calamities and distresses, which others are
exposed unto; and so are reserved, either unto a time of greater destruction in
this life or rather to eternal destruction in the world to come; which is the
same with the day of judgment, and perdition of ungodly men, when they will be
destroyed soul and body, in hell, with an everlasting destruction, as the just
demerit of sin; or of that sinful course of life they live, being the broad way
which leads to and issues in destruction, and for which there is a day
appointed, when it will take place; and unto that day are the wicked reserved,
in the purpose and decree of God, by which they are righteously destined to
this day of evil, and by the power and providence of God, even the same chains
of darkness, in which the angels are reserved unto the same time, being fitted
and prepared for destruction by their own sins and transgressions, 2 Peter 2:4, and
unto which they are kept, as condemned malefactors are in their cells, unto the
day of execution, they being condemned already, though the sentence is not yet
executed; in order to which
they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath; the wrath of
God, which is very terrible and dreadful, and is revealed from heaven against
all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men, and is here expressed in the plural
number, "wraths"F5עברות
"irarum", Pagninus, Tigurine version, Cocceius, Schultens. , either
as denoting both present and future wrath; or the vehemency of it, it being
exceeding fierce and vehement; and the continuance and duration of it, there
will be wrath upon wrath, even to the uttermost, and for ever; and for this a
day is fixed, against which day wicked men are treasuring up wrath to
themselves, and they shall be brought forth at the day of judgment, to have it
poured forth upon them. This is the true state of the case with respect to
them, that, though sometimes they are involved in general calamities, as the
old world, and the men of Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 7:23; and
sometimes good men are delivered from them, as Noah and Lot were, Genesis 7:23, or
are taken away by death from the evil to come; yet for the most part, generally
speaking, wicked men escape present calamities and distresses, and are not in
trouble as other men, but live in ease and pleasure all their days;
nevertheless, wrath and ruin, and everlasting destruction, will be their
portion.
Job 21:31 31 Who condemns his way to
his face? And who repays him for what he has done?
YLT
31Who doth declare to his
face his way? And [for] that which he hath done, Who doth give recompence to
him?
Who shall declare his way to his face?.... Jarchi
and Aben Ezra think that Job here returns to God, and speaks of him, as in Job 21:22;
signifying that no man can or ought to presume to charge the ways of God in his
providence with inequality or injustice, in sparing the wicked now, and
reserving them to wrath and destruction hereafter; since he is a sovereign
Being, and does what he pleases, and none can hinder him, nor ought any to say
to him, what dost thou? nor does he give an account of his matters to the
children of men; but this respects the wicked man, and describes his state and
condition in this life, as being possessed of such wealth and riches, and
living in such grandeur and splendour, and advanced to such places of honour
and glory, as to be above the reproof of men; though his way, his course of
life, is a very wicked one, and he ought to be told to his face the evil of his
way, and the danger he is exposed to by it, and what will be the sad
consequence of it; his relations and friends, his neighbours and acquaintance,
should labour to convince him of his evil, and reprove him to his face, and
endeavour to reclaim him from it; but how few are there that have courage and
faithfulness enough to do this, since they are sure to incur his displeasure
and hatred, and run the risk of their lives, as John the Baptist lost his for
his faithfulness in reproving Herod to his face, for taking to him his brother
Philip's wife? Matthew 14:3;
and who shall repay him what he hath done? bring him to
an account for his crimes, and to just punishment for them; who will venture to
bring a charge against him, or enter an action at law, bring him before a court
of judicature, and prosecute him, and get judgment passed upon him? as such a
man is above all reproof for his sins, he is out of the reach of punishment for
them; he lives with impunity, none can punish him but God; and being lifted up
with his greatness, he neither fears God nor regards man.
Job 21:32 32 Yet he shall be brought to
the grave, And a vigil kept over the tomb.
YLT
32And he -- to the graves he
is brought. And over the heap a watch is kept.
Yet shall he be brought to the grave,.... Or
"and", "or yea he shall be brought", &c.F1והוא "et ipse", Pagninus, Montanus, &c. ; for
the meaning is not, that though he is great in life he shall be brought low
enough at death; for Job is still describing the grand figure wicked men make,
even at death, as well as in life; for he is not only brought to the grave, as
all men are, it being the house appointed for all living, and every man's long
home; but the wicked rich man is brought thither in great funeral pomp, in
great state, as the rich sinner was buried, Ecclesiastes 8:10;
or "to the graves"F2לקברות
"ad sepulchra", V. L. Montamus, Vatablus, Drusius, Beza, Mercerus,
Michaelis, Schultens; "in sepulchra", Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator. , the place where many graves are, the place of the sepulchres of his
ancestors; and in the chiefest and choicest of them he is interred, and has an
honourable burial; not cast into a ditch, or buried with the burial of an ass,
as Jehoiakim was, being cast forth beyond the gates of the city, Jeremiah 22:19; and
shall remain in the tomb; quiet and undisturbed, when it has been the lot of
others to have their bones taken out of their grave, and spread before the sun,
see Jeremiah 8:1; and
even some good men, who have had their graves dug up, their bones taken out and
burnt, and their ashes scattered about, as was the case of that eminent man,
John Wickliff, here in England. The word for "tomb" signifies an
"heap"F3על גדיש
"super acervo", Montanus, Codurcus; so Bolducius, Mercerus. , and is
sometimes used for an heap of the fruits of the earth; which has led some to
think of the place of this man's interment being in the midst of a corn field;
but the reason why a grave or tomb is so called is, because a grave, through a
body or bodies being laid in it, rises up higher than the common ground; and if
it has a tomb erected over it, that is no other than an heap of stones
artificially put together; or it may be so called from the heaps of bodies one
upon another in a grave, or vault, over which the tomb is, or where every part
of the body is gathered and heapedF4Vid. David de Pomis Lexic. fol.
14. 3. ; from this sense of the word some have given this interpretation of the
passage, that the wicked man shall be brought to his grave, and abide there,
after he has heaped up a great deal of wealth and riches in this world; which,
though a truth, seems not to be intended here, any more than others taken from
the different signification of the word translated "remain". It is
observed by some to signify to "hasten"F5ישקוד "festinabit", Pagninus; so some in
Vatablus, and Ben Melech. , from whence the almond tree, which hastens to put
forth its bloom, has its name, Jeremiah 1:10; and
so give this as the sense, that such a man, being of full age, is ripe for
death, and, comes to his grave, or heap, like a shock of corn in its season.
Others observe, that it signifies to "watch"; and so in the margin of
our Bibles the clause is put, "he shall watch in the heap"F6"Vigilabit",
V. L. Tigurine version, Montanus; "vigilat", Michaelis, Schultens;
"erit tanquam vigil", Bolducius. , which is differently interpreted;
by some, that he early and carefully provides himself a tomb, as Absalom in his
lifetime set up a sepulchral pillar for himself, 2 Samuel 18:18; and
Shebna the scribe, and Joseph of Arimathea, hewed themselves sepulchres out of
the rock, Isaiah 22:15; and
others think the allusion is either to statues upon tombs, as are still in use
in our days, where they are placed as if they were watching over the tombs; or
to bodies embalmed, according to the custom of the eastern countries,
especially the Egyptians, which were set up erect in their vaults, and seemed
as if they were alive, and there set to watch the places they were in, rather
than as if buried there; or, according to others, "he shall be
watched", or "the keeper shall watch at", or "over
the tomb"F7"Vigilabitur", Beza;
"vigilatur", Cocceius; so Calovius. , that the body is not disturbed
or taken away; but the sense our version gives is best, and most agrees with
the context, and the scope of it, and with what follows.
Job 21:33 33 The clods of the valley
shall be sweet to him; Everyone shall follow him, As countless have gone
before him.
YLT
33Sweet to him have been the
clods of the valley, And after him every man he draweth, And before him there
is no numbering.
The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him,.... Where he
lies interred, alluding to places of interment at the bottom of hills, and
mountains, and under rocks, in plains and vales, see Genesis 35:8; and
by this strong figure is signified, that the dead wicked man, lying in the
clods of the valley in his grave, is in great repose, and in the utmost ease
and quiet, feels no pains of body, nor has any uneasiness of mind concerning
what befalls his posterity after his death, Job 14:21;
and every man shall draw after him, as there are
innumerable before him; which either respects the pomp at his funeral procession, vast
numbers being drawn and gathered together to gaze at it, as is common at grand
funerals; and particularly, it may describe the multitude that go before the
corpse, as well as those that follow after it; but rather as he is before
represented as brought to his grave, and laid there, this clause is added, to
denote the universality of death, it being common to all; thousands and ten
thousands, even a number which no man can number, have gone before him by death
into another world, as every man that comes after him must; and so this may
prevent an objection to the grandeur of a wicked man, that after all he dies;
but then death is no other than what is common to all men, to the vast
multitudes that have gone before, and will be the case of all that come after,
to the end of the world.
Job 21:34 34 How then can you comfort
me with empty words, Since falsehood remains in your answers?”
YLT
34And how do ye comfort me
[with] vanity, And in your answers hath been left trespass?
How then comfort ye me in vain,.... This is the
conclusion Job draws from the above observations: his friends came to comfort
him, and they took methods for it, as they thought, but miserable comforters
were they all; what they administered for comfort was in vain, and to no
purpose; nor could any be expected from them, on the plan upon which they
proceeded; they suggested he was a bad man, because of his afflictions, and
they exhorted him to repentance and reformation, and then promised him
happiness and prosperity upon it; which could not be expected, as appeared from
the face of things in Providence; since, according to the above instances and
proofs, wicked men enjoy prosperity, and good men had usually a great share of
adversity:
seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood; all their
replies to Job were filled with these intimations and suggestions, that wicked
men were only and always afflicted; or if they were at any time in prosperity,
it was but for a little while; that good men were seldom or never afflicted, at
least as Job was, or but a little afflicted, and for a little while: now Job
had proved the contrary to all this, and therefore no consolation could be
hoped for from men that held such tenets; comfort only springs from truth, and
not falsehood; a man that speaks the truths, or delivers out the truths of
God's word, he speaks to comfort and edification; but he that brings nothing
but error and falsehood can never be the means and instrument of true solid
comfort to any. Job having thus fully proved his point, and confuted the
notions of his friends, it might have been thought they would have sat down in
silence, and made no further answer; but Eliphaz rises up a third time, and
makes a reply, as follows.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)