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Job Chapter
Thirty-six
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JOB 36
This
chapter, with the following, contains Elihu's fourth and last discourse, the
principal view of which is to vindicate the righteousness of God; which is done
by observing the dealings of God with men in his providence, according to their
different characters, and from the wonderful works wrought by him in a
sovereign manner, and for the benefit of his creatures. This chapter is
introduced with a preface, the design of which is to gain attention, Job 36:1; the
different dealings of God with men are observed, and the different issue of
them, and the different ends answered thereby, Job 36:5; and it is
suggested to Job, that had he attended to the design of the providence he was
under, and had submitted to it patiently, things would have been otherwise with
him; and therefore Elihu proceeds to give him some advice, which, if taken,
would be for his own good, and the glory of God, Job 36:16; and
closes the chapter by observing the unsearchable greatness of God, as appears
by the works of nature wrought by him, Job 36:26.
Job 36:1 Elihu
also proceeded and said:
YLT
1And Elihu addeth and saith:
--
Elihu also proceeded, and said. Or "added"F6ויסף "et addidit", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius,
Mercerus, Michaelis. what follows to his former discourses; pausing a while to
see whether Job would make any reply to what he had already said; but
perceiving he had no inclination to do it, and having more upon his mind to
deliver, went on with his discourse.
Job 36:2 2 “Bear with me a little,
and I will show you That there are yet words to speak on God’s behalf.
YLT
2Honour me a little, and I
shew thee, That yet for God [are] words.
Suffer me a little,.... Bear with me a little longer, and allow
me to say a few words more. I have but little more to say, and it will take but
a little time to say it in; thus, proposing brevity, he hoped to be heard with
patience, since he should not long trespass upon it. The word used has the
signification of a crown; but not to be understood in the sense of surrounding,
as a crown surrounds the head, as some, who interpret it, stand about me,
surround me, in order to hear; for this cannot with propriety be said to a single
person; but rather in the sense of doing honour, as Aben Ezra; and so the
meaning may be, do me the honour of giving; me thy presence a little longer,
and hearing me out patiently;
and I will show thee: make things clear,
manifest, and plain to thee: clearness of expression, with brevity, recommends
a discourse. Something may be here supplied; for a greater stop is here to be
made than in our version, as either "my opinion", as in Job 32:10; his
sentiment concerning God and his righteousness in his dealings with the sons of
men; or "truth", as Ben Gersom; truth in general, plain naked truth,
without any colouring, just as it is, cordially, sincerely, in love, and by
clear manifestations of it; and particularly the truth of the righteousness of
God in all his ways and works. He proposed to make it clear to him that God did
all things well and right, and to lay before him in the plainest manner what
were the ends God had in view in dealing thus with Job, and what was his duty
to do in his present circumstances;
that I have yet to speak in God's behalf: or "for
I have yet to speak"F7כי
"quia", Pagninus, Montanus; "nam", Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator. , &c. Elihu had said much for God already, in vindication of his
sovereignty, purity, holiness, and justice, and he had yet more to say; out of
the abundance of his heart his mouth spake for God; he set out with this, that
he was full of matter, and wanted to vent himself, that he might be eased, Job 32:18; and he
had vented much, but he had yet more to deliver; and since it was not for
himself, in his own behalf, nor of any other but God, he hoped he should be
heard: it may be rendered, "for yet God has words"F8עוד לאלוה מלים
"adhue Deo sermones", Montanus; "habit enim Deus adhue quod
dicet", Castalio; so some in Michaelis. , to put into my mouth, and speak
by me; signifying, that he had spoken by him already, and had still more to say
by him; and since it was not so much he that spoke, as God that spoke in him
and by him, it might be expected he would be heard.
Job 36:3 3 I will fetch my knowledge
from afar; I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
YLT
3I lift up my knowledge from
afar, And to my Maker I ascribe righteousness.
I will fetch my knowledge from afar,.... Not from himself;
for it is but a small share of knowledge that a man gets of himself, or attains
to by the light of nature, and especially concerning God and divine things; but
from others, either from persons that lived in former ages, and in foreign
countries; it being usual for men desirous of acquiring knowledge to travel
into distant parts for it; and such were generally much esteemed of, and the
knowledge they professed to have got and published; as the queen of Sheba came
from the further parts of the earth to hear and learn the wisdom of Solomon, 1 Kings 10:1, or
rather the sense is, he would fetch the knowledge he should now communicate
concerning God from God himself, from the nature and perfections of God, who,
and his knowledge, are high as heaven; and from the works of God, which are far
above men; or should treat of things deep and sublime, and not common; though
perhaps it is best of all to read the words, "I will bring forth knowledge
concerning", or "with respect to him that is afar off"F9למרחוק "ei, vel de eo qui est longinquus"; so
Aben Ezra, Bar Tzemach. ; that is, God, who is in the highest heavens, and
inhabits the high and holy place; a God both at hand and afar off; with which
agrees what follows; though some interpret it of lifting it up, and causing it
to be heard afar off so some, as Aben Ezra;
and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker: God is the
Maker of all men; Elihu considered him as his Maker with gratitude, while many
have no regard of him, Job 35:10; and
therefore thought himself obliged to speak for him, and on his behalf; and
particularly in vindication of his righteousness; assert this to be an
essential attribute and perfection of his nature; own, acknowledge, publish,
and declare it; give him the glory of it, and demonstrate that he is righteous
in all his ways and works; and clear him from all imputation of
unrighteousness.
Job 36:4 4 For truly my words are
not false; One who is perfect in knowledge is with you.
YLT
4For, truly, my words [are]
not false, The perfect in knowledge [is] with thee.
For truly my words shall not be false,.... But
strictly true; he would take the utmost care to say nothing but the truth, with
the greatest impartiality and sincerity, so that what was said might be
depended upon; truth spoken briefly, clearly, and on so important a subject as
the righteousness of God, deserved attention;
he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee; meaning
either God, whose knowledge is perfect, who knows all persons and things; knows
himself, his nature, persons, and perfections; his thoughts, counsels, and
purposes; all his creatures, angels and men; the hearts of all men, their
thoughts, words, and works; he, the omniscient and omnipresent God was with
Job, from whose presence there is no fleeing; and therefore it became him to be
careful of his thoughts, words, and actions; that he did not entertain any
unbecoming thoughts of God, and say anything unworthy of him, or do anything
that tended to his dishonour; since he was present with him, and nothing could
escape his notice: or else Elihu means himself; suggesting, that he who
undertook to speak for God and plead his cause, and clear him from the charge
of unrighteousness, was no novice, but one that thoroughly understood the point
in hand; and though no man is perfect in knowledge in an absolute sense, yet
may be in comparison of others; or however may be upright and sincere in his
knowledge; which sense the word used often has; and so it may signify, that as
he was a sincere searcher after knowledge, and had through divine goodness
attained to a competent share of it, even of sound and not superficial
knowledge, he should be honest and upright in the communication of it; and this
he might choose to observe the more, to excite the attention of Job to what he
had to say; though it may be the truest reading of the words is, "perfect
knowledge" or "perfection of knowledge is with thee"F11תמים רעות עמך
"scientiae perfectae tecum"; so some in Bar Tzemach. , that is, in
his own apprehension, so Jarchi; and may be understood either ironically, or
rather really, insinuating that Job was a man of such consummate wisdom and
knowledge, that he would easily see the force of his reasonings, and the
justness of them, and acquiesce in them; and having thus prefaced his
discourse, he next enters upon his subject.
Job 36:5 5 “Behold, God is
mighty, but despises no one; He is mighty in strength of understanding.
YLT
5Lo, God [is] mighty, and
despiseth not, Mighty [in] power [and] heart.
Behold, God is mighty,.... This is a clear
plain truth, easy to be discerned, and worthy of notice, and therefore
introduced with a "behold"; that God is mighty, the most mighty, the
Almighty, as appears from his works of nature and providence; making all things
out of nothing, upholding them by the word of his power, and governing and
overruling all things in the world, and doing in it whatever he pleases: and
from the works of redemption and grace; ransoming his people out of the hands
of them that are stronger than they; converting them by the power of his grace;
assisting them to do all they do in a spiritual way; supporting them under all
their troubles; protecting and defending them from all their enemies; supplying
all their wants, and preserving them safe to his kingdom and glory;
and despises not any; not the meanest of his
creatures, clothing the grass of the field, feeding the fowls of the air, and
preserving man and beast; and particularly he despises not any of the sons of
men: not the mighty through fear of them, nor envy at them, whose power and
grandeur are from him, which he gives and can take away at his pleasure; nor
the mean and miserable the poor and the afflicted, to whom he has a merciful
regard; much less the innocent and harmless, as the Septuagint; or the just and
righteous man, as the Targum: he does not despise his own people, whom he has
loved and chosen, redeemed and called; nor any, as Aben Ezra observes, without
a cause; for though there are some whose image he will despise, it is because
of their own sins and transgressions; and since, therefore, though he is
mighty, yet despises not any of his creatures, he cannot do any unrighteous
thing; he does not and cannot use or abuse his power to the in jury of any of
his creatures;
he is mighty in
strength and wisdom, as there is a pleonasm, a redundancy in the
expression, "mighty in strength", it denotes the abundance of his
strength, that he is exceeding strong, superlatively and all expression so; and
also strong in wisdom, his strength is tempered with wisdom, so that he cannot
employ it to any bad purpose, or be guilty of any unrighteousness. Some men
have strength, but not wisdom to make a right use of it; but God abounds as
much in wisdom as in strength; he is the only wise and the all wise God, and
therefore can do no injustice; and thus Elihu, as he promised, ascribes
righteousness to his almighty Maker.
Job 36:6 6 He does not preserve the
life of the wicked, But gives justice to the oppressed.
YLT
6He reviveth not the wicked,
And the judgment of the poor appointeth;
He preserveth not the life of the wicked,.... He makes
a difference between wicked and righteous men, which shows him to be a holy and
righteous God; though he preserves the life of all men so long as they live,
yet not in the same way; he preserves the lives of wicked men in the common
course of his providence, but not in a special way and manner, as he does the
lives of the righteous, which are dear and precious to him; nor does he
preserve to any great length such as are notorious sinners, who are guilty of
capital crimes, as murder, &c. their lives are shortened, and they do not
live out half their days: or he does not quicken them, bestow his spiritual
favour upon them, in which only is life; and though they will be quickened and
raised at the last day, as well as the righteous, yet not to the resurrection
of life, but to the resurrection of damnation;
but giveth right to the poor; pleads their cause and
rights their wrongs, administers justice to them, especially to the poor in
spirit, who hunger and thirst after righteousness; to these he gives freely the
righteousness of his son, which only denominates persons truly righteous: of
whom in Job 36:7.
Job 36:7 7 He does not withdraw His
eyes from the righteous; But they are on the throne with kings, For He
has seated them forever, And they are exalted.
YLT
7He withdraweth not from the
righteous His eyes, And [from] kings on the throne, And causeth them to sit for
ever, and they are high,
He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous,.... His eyes
of providence are upon them to supply their temporal wants, and to protect and
defend them from their enemies, and they are never off of them; his eyes of
love, grace, and mercy, are upon them; he always viewed them as righteous in
his Son, and through his righteousness imputed; and looked upon them with
delight and pleasure, and always so views them; they are engraven on his heart
and on his hands, and are ever before him, and in his sight: and his eyes are
upon them from the beginning of the year to the end of it, yea, from one
eternity to another; these were set upon them from everlasting, and are upon
them in time; at the time of their conversion to quicken them, and call them by
his grace; and afterwards they continue upon them under all their afflictions,
temptations, and desertions, and ever will remain on them; they will never be
withdrawn, nothing can separate them from the love of God;
but with kings are they on the throne; that is,
either the eyes of the Lord are with them, even with righteous kings, as the
Targum; to guide and direct them in the affairs of government, and to protect
and preserve them from the designs of evil men: or the righteous are with kings
on the throne, or are the favourites of kings that are on thrones; are admitted
into their presence, and are highly esteemed by them, and have honour conferred
on them, even to be the next to them in the throne and kingdom, as Joseph and
Daniel, Genesis 41:41, or
rather, the righteous are equal to kings on the throne; they are so accounted
of by the Lord as kings; they are made by him kings and priests, and are
regarded by him as such; they have the power, and riches, and honour of kings;
they have a kingdom of grace bestowed on them now, and a kingdom of glory they
are entitled to hereafter; and shall reign with Christ on earth a thousand
years, and in the ultimate glory to all eternity, Revelation 20:6;
yea, he doth establish them for ever; as righteous
persons in their righteousness, which is an everlasting one; so that they shall
never come into condemnation: they are established in the love of God, in the
covenant of grace, in the hands of Christ, and in a state of grace now, and
shall be in a stable permanent state of happiness to all eternity;
and they are exalted: now, being raised as
beggars from the dung hill to sit among princes, even among the princes of
God's people; and they will be exalted hereafter, and sit at Christ's right
hand, and be introduced into his kingdom, where they will be set down with him
in his throne, and reign with him for ever and ever, Revelation 22:5.
Job 36:8 8 And if they are
bound in fetters, Held in the cords of affliction,
YLT
8And if prisoners in fetters
They are captured with cords of affliction,
And if they be bound in fetters,.... Not the
wicked, as the Targum, but the righteous spoken of in Job 36:7, with
which this is closely connected; and this is not to be understood of righteous
kings on the throne in particular, or their special favourites, but of the
righteous in general; and not in a literal sense, of their bonds and
imprisonment for religion and righteousness sake, which is sometimes their lot;
but in a figurative sense, of afflictions, as chastenings and corrections for
sin, as appears by the next clause; and the design is to obviate an objection,
and to show that the eye of God is upon them, and his heart towards them; and
they are not the less objects of his love and delight, of his value and esteem,
care and protection, though they are afflicted by him, and, as it may seem,
used with some severity; seeing he has gracious ends and designs in all this,
which are suggested in the following verses;
and be holden in cords of
affliction; righteous men are not exempt from afflictions; the afflictions
of the righteous are many, according to divine appointment, the covenant of
grace, the declaration of God, the constant experience of good men, it being
the way in which they are all led, and must enter into the kingdom; and the
metaphor here used shows that afflictions are sometimes heavy upon them, like
fetters and chains, and those made heavy by the hand of God pressing them sore,
Lamentations 3:7;
no affliction is joyous, but grievous and heavy in itself; it is indeed
comparatively light when viewed with the weight of glory; and God can make a
heavy affliction light with his presence, and the discoveries of his love; but
they are heavy to the flesh, as Job felt his to be, Job 6:2; and, like
fetters and cords, they cannot free themselves from them, or loose them, until
it is the pleasure of God to take them off; and moreover by these they are
sometimes held and restrained from going into more or greater sins, which is
one use of them: as they are with afflictions hedged about that they cannot
come out, any more than a person bound fast in a prison; so they are hedged up
with thorns that they cannot go out after their lovers, Lamentations 3:7, Hosea 2:6. Some
render the phrase, "cords of poverty"F12בתבלי עני "funibus
paupertatis", Mercerus, Drusius; "funibus inopiae", Cocceius. ;
it is oftentimes the case of righteous persons to be poor, and to be sadly
hampered with poverty, and out of which, by all that they can do, cannot
extricate themselves; and sometimes they fall into it, and are held in it,
after they have enjoyed much worldly prosperity, which was the case of Job. Mr.
Broughton renders it, cords of anguish; and indeed the word for
"cords" is used of the pains of a woman in travail, who has then
great anguish and trouble; and anguish on various accounts lays hold on the
righteous, and they are holden thereby, and cannot relieve themselves, Psalm 119:143; and
yet this is all in mercy, and to answer some good ends and purposes, as follow.
Job 36:9 9 Then He tells them their
work and their transgressions—That they have acted defiantly.
YLT
9Then He declareth to them
their work, And their transgressions, Because they have become mighty,
Then he showeth them their work,.... Either what they
ought to do, so the Tigurine version; and which they have not done, their sins
of omission; when they have been negligent either of the duty of prayer in
private and public, or of attendance on the ordinances of the house of God;
then he sends an affliction, and by it, as in a glass, presents to their view
the omissions they have been guilty of: or else the work which they have done,
and should not have done, their sins of commission: sin is a work at which some
toil and labour, and weary themselves to commit; it is a work of the flesh; and
so it is in good men; it is a man's own work, and which he can work of himself;
to have a will, and to do good works, is owing to God working in his people,
and it is through him strengthening them they do them; but sin fill works are
their own act and deed, though tempted to them by others, and which they are
able to do of their own freewill and power. Now God, in the glass of affliction,
holds forth to view the sinful actions of good men, and brings them to their
remembrance which they had forgotten; as the cases of Joseph's brethren, David,
and others, prove: the Lord shows them that they have done such actions, and
shows them the evil of them, how exceeding sinful they are; and humbles them
under a sense of them, and brings them to repentance for them, and the
acknowledgment of them; which sense is confirmed by the next clause, which
explains what this their work is,
and their transgressions that they have exceeded. Sin is a
transgression of the law, 1 John 3:4; every
sin, greater or lesser, is, and even righteous persons are guilty of many; for
there is not a just man that sinneth not; and these exceed the bounds set by
the righteous law of God, and many of them are sadly aggravated by the light
and knowledge, grace and mercy, such have been favoured with; and some of them,
they are suffered to fall into, are exceeding great and exceeding sinful; such
as those of David, Peter, and others; all which they are made to see, bewail,
and weep over, when God by afflictions brings them to a sense of them. Or
"when" or "because they have prevailed"F13כי יתגברו "quum
invalescunt", Mercerus; "quum invaluerunt", Munster, Piscator;
so Drusius, Panginus, Bolducius. ; or begin to prevail: as soon as ever
indwelling sin begins to be prevalent, the Lord is pleased to take measures to
nip it in the bud, by sending a sharp and severe affliction; or when it has
prevailed greatly, as sometimes it does, so that good is hindered from being
done, and much evil is committed, then the soul is so much under the power of
it, as to be carried captive with it; see Romans 7:23. Or
"because they are become proud", or "behaved themselves
proudly"F14"Quia superbierunt", Tigurine version; so
Cocceius, Michaelis, Schultens. ; and therefore he afflicts them to humble
them, and drive pride from them.
Job 36:10 10 He also opens their ear to
instruction, And commands that they turn from iniquity.
YLT
10And He uncovereth their ear
for instruction, And saith that they turn back from iniquity.
He openeth also their ear to discipline,.... Or
"to correction"F15למוסר "ad
correptionem", Montanus; "ad correctionem", Beza, Michaelis,
Schultens. ; to the rod of correction; to hear the voice of it and him that has
appointed it; its reproving voice for sin, its directing voice to duty, and its
commanding voice to return from iniquity, as in the next clause. Or "to
instruction"F16"Ad eruditionem", Cocceius. ; God's
corrections of his people being instructions to them, whereby they learn more
of their duty, and of the rich experiences of grace; their faith, hope, love,
and patience, are tried and increased hereby; and more of the love of God, of
his care and faithfulness, of his covenant, of his gracious presence, and
communion with God, what it is; and even of the doctrines of the everlasting
Gospel: sometimes more is learned by an affliction than by a sermon. Now in
order to hearken hereunto, to the voice of God in an affliction, the ear must
be opened; which is first done in conversion by the mighty power of God: but
sometimes good men fall asleep, and are inattentive to divine things; and this
is one way God takes to awaken them, to arouse their attention; he speaks to
them out of a whirlwind; he sends some terrible startling affliction, which
fetches them out of their slumber, and so their ears are opened to hear what he
says in it: at the noise of his waterspouts, and his billows one after another
rolling over them, they are awakened to a sense of their sin and duty, Psalm 42:7;
and commandeth that they return from iniquity; repent of
their sin, turn from it and forsake it: such a strong voice has an affliction
in it, when sanctified and attended with the spirit and power of God; then it
effectually teaches men to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, as the word of
God, the Gospel of the grace of God does, when accompanied with the same; as
there is a commanding voice in the one, so there is in the other; and happy it
is when such ends as these are answered by afflictions.
Job 36:11 11 If they obey and serve Him,
They shall spend their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures.
YLT
11If they do hear and serve,
They complete their days in good, And their years in pleasantness.
If they obey and serve him,.... That is, God, to
whom so many things are ascribed in the preceding verses; and who only is to be
obeyed and served in a religious way, with the obedience of faith and love, in
all his commands and ordinances. But here not so much obedience to his word,
his law or Gospel, as to his rod is intended: "if they hear", &c.F17אם ישמעו ויעכדו
"si audierint et fecerint", Codurcus. ; hear the rod and him that has
appointed it; hearken to his reproving, instructing, and commanding voice, in
affliction; to his calls, cautions, and admonitions thereby given; and act
according to them; humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, and return
from iniquity:
they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in
pleasures; which intimates, that those to whom afflictions are sanctified,
and they obedient under them, when recovered out of them shall enjoy long life;
not only live many days, but years, and those in great prosperity and pleasure;
be blessed with much temporal prosperity, which lies in riches and wealth, as
this word is rendered in Job 21:13; and in
bodily health, which is a considerable part of outward prosperity; but more
especially prosperity of soul may be intended, see 3 John 1:2; which
is enjoyed when a man is favoured with the discoveries of the love of God to
him; with applications of pardoning grace and mercy; when grace is in lively
exercise in him, and he has a spiritual appetite for the good word of God, and
is fruitful in every good work: and so pleasures do not so much design
corporeal pleasures, though ever so innocent and lawful; for though they may at
proper times be indulged unto, yet a man's days and years are not to be spent
in them; but rather spiritual pleasures, which are had in views of the
wonderful love of God in Christ; in the enjoyment of the gracious presence of
God, and communion with him; and which the people of God are favoured with, in
his house and ordinances, ways and worship: and when those years are gone,
endless pleasures at God's right hand, and in his presence, will follow.
Job 36:12 12 But if they do not obey, They
shall perish by the sword, And they shall die without knowledge.[a]
YLT
12And if they do not hearken,
By the dart they pass away, And expire without knowledge.
But if they obey not,.... Who seem to be
righteous and are not; and when afflicted are not submissive to the will of
God; attend not to the voice of his providence; receive no instruction thereby;
but kick against the pricks, and rebel, against God; complain of him, and
murmur at his dealings with them:
they shall perish by the sword; or they shall pass away
out of the world by it, or by some missive weapon: they shall die a violent
death, by the sword of justice, of the civil magistrate, or by the sword of
men; or, as a Jewish commentatorF18R. Simeon, Bar Tzemach.
paraphrases it, by the dart of death, by the sword of Satan, they shall pass
out of this world;
and they shall die without knowledge; without
knowledge of their death being near, it coming upon them suddenly and at
unawares; or without knowledge of themselves and of their miserable and lost
estate; and without knowledge of Christ, and of God in Christ, and of the way
of salvation by him. Or they shall perish for lack of knowledge; because they
have none; through ignorance and that affected; they know not nor will they
understand, but despise the means of knowledge, and hate instruction.
Job 36:13 13 “But the hypocrites in
heart store up wrath; They do not cry for help when He binds them.
YLT
13And the profane in heart
set the face, They cry not when He hath bound them.
But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath,.... Or
"and the hypocrites"F19וחנפי
"et hypocritae", Montanus; "et loripedes", Schultens. ; for
these are the same with the disobedient in Job 36:12; who seem
to be righteous, but are not; pretend to what they have not; have a double
heart, Psalm 12:2, or say
one thing with their mouth, and mean another thing in their hearts; or with
their mouths draw nigh to God, but their hearts are far from him, Matthew 15:8; and
so hypocrites, at least outwardly righteous before men, but inwardly full of
wickedness, as the Pharisees were, whom our Lord often calls hypocrites, Matthew 15:7, these
"put" or add wrath, as Aben Ezra interprets it; they increase the
wrath of God; or, as we express it, heap up wrath; or, to use the apostle's
phrase, treasure up wrath against the day of wrath: though some understand it
of the wrath of the hypocrites against God for afflicting them; so Jarchi. When
afflictions come upon them, they reproach and blaspheme; they are angry with
God and are wrathful, and quarrel at his dealings with them: "they put the
nose"F20ושימו אף
"ponent nasum", Montanus; "ponunt nasum". Schultens. ; so
it may be literally rendered; they erect that against God, and point it at him
in a proud, haughty, wrathful, and contumacious manner;
they cry not when he bindeth them; in fetters and cords of
affliction, Job 36:8; or when
he corrects them, as Mr. Broughton rightly as to the sense renders it: they
pray not, as Ben Gersom interprets it; whereas sanctified afflictions bring
good men to the throne of grace, who have been too long absent from it: but
these men cry not unto God for grace and mercy, help, assistance, and
deliverance; they cry out against God, but not unto him.
Job 36:14 14 They die in youth, And
their life ends among the perverted persons.[b]
YLT
14Their soul dieth in youth,
And their life among the defiled.
They die in youth,.... They, or "their soul"F21נפשם "anima eorum", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine
version, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, &c. ; which, though
that dies not, being immaterial and immortal; yet being the principal part of
man, is put for the whole person, and which being taken away, the body dies.
All men must die, but all do not die at an age; there is a common term of human
life, Psalm 90:10; some
few exceed it, multitudes arrive not to it; such who die before it may be said
to die in youth; it seems to signify premature and untimely death: the word
signifies an "excussion", or violent shaking out; and the Vulgate
Latin version is, "in a tempest"; in a tempest of divine wrath, and
in a storm in their consciences, Job 27:20. Jarchi
interprets it by suffocation or strangling;
and their life is among the unclean: all men are
by nature unclean, and all that is in them; some are more notoriously and
openly so than others, who give themselves over to lasciviousness, to work all
uncleanness with greediness; such as whoremongers and fornicators, of whom Mr.
Broughton understands those unclean persons; or Sodomites, of whom the word is
sometimes used, Deuteronomy 23:17.
And this may be understood either of the present life of hypocrites before they
die; who are unclean persons themselves, whatever show of purity they make, and
love to live and converse, at least privately, if not openly, with unclean
persons, and die while they live with such and in their sins: or of their life
after death; for wicked men live after death; their souls live in hell, and
their bodies at the resurrection will be raised to life, and be reunited to
their souls, and both together will live in endless punishment; and the life of
hypocrites will be among such; as is a man in life, so he is at and after
death; if filthy, filthy still; and such will have no admittance into the
heavenly state, and with such impure ones, hypocrites will live for ever, Revelation 21:8.
Job 36:15 15 He delivers the poor in
their affliction, And opens their ears in oppression.
YLT
15He draweth out the
afflicted in his affliction, And uncovereth in oppression their ear.
He delivereth the poor in his affliction,.... The
righteous or godly poor; who are not only poor in worldly things, but poor in
spirit; who are humbled, brought low, and made contrite, through the afflicting
hand of God: these, though the Lord does sooner or later deliver
"out" of their afflictions, yet that is not intended here, but a
deliverance "in" them; which is done by supporting them under them,
by supplying them with his grace to bear them patiently, by granting them his
gracious presence for their comfort in them, by stilling the enemy and the
avenger, keeping Satan from disturbing them, and freeing them from doubts and
fears and unbelief, and by drawing their hearts and affections off of the
world, and the things of it, to himself;
and openeth their ears in oppression; while they
are oppressed; not only to discipline, correction, and instruction, Job 36:10; but to
hear comfortable words spoken, to them by the Lord; who, in the midst of their
affliction and oppression, whispers in their ears, and tells them how he loves
them, though they are rebuked and chastened by him; how he has chosen them to
everlasting life and happiness, though now in the furnace of affliction; that
he is their covenant God and Father, and knows and owns their souls in
adversity that he has pardoned all their sins, though he takes vengeance on
their inventions; and in a little time will free them from all their
afflictions and oppressions.
Job 36:16 16 “Indeed He would have brought
you out of dire distress, Into a broad place where there is no
restraint; And what is set on your table would be full of richness.
YLT
16And also He moved thee from
a strait place, [To] a broad place -- no straitness under it, And the sitting
beyond of thy table Hath been full of fatness.
Even so,.... Here Elihu accommodates what he had said to the case of Job;
that had he hearkened and been obedient to the voice of God in his rod, and had
submitted to his chastening hand, and patiently bore his afflictions;
he, God,
would have removed thee out of the strait into a broad
place, where there is no straitness: that is, out of the
strait circumstances in which he was, into liberty; would have brought him into
a large place, where he might walk at liberty, as David experienced, Psalm 4:1; and may
be understood both in a temporal and spiritual sense. In a temporal sense; he
was now in great straits, in poverty and affliction; these pressed him hard on
every side, so that his way, as he says, was "fenced up, that he could not
pass", Job 19:8. Now had
he been rightly humbled under his affliction, God would have taken him out of
the straits of adversity, and set his feet in a large room of prosperity; see Psalm 31:7. In a
spiritual sense; persons are as in a strait place and pent up, when they cannot
come forth in the free exercise of grace and duty; their souls are as it were
in prison, they are shut up, and have not freedom with God nor man; their faith
is ready to fail, their hope is sunk very low, they are straitened in their own
bowels or affections, in their love to God and his people: and then they are
removed into a large place, when it is the reverse with them; when they are
favoured with the free spirit of the Lord, for where he is there is liberty;
and when their hearts are enlarged with the love of God, and in the exercise of
grace; and then they can run cheerfully the ways of his commandments;
and that which should be set on thy table should be full of
fatness; which in a temporal sense denotes, that he should have had a
plentiful table, spread with the best of provisions, the richest dainties, the
finest of the wheat, and the fattest of the creatures; and these should rest
and remain upon his table, or be constantly renewed there: and in a spiritual
sense, that his soul should have been satisfied with the love of God, shed
abroad in his heart; with the blessings of the everlasting covenant of grace
applied unto him; and with the goodness of the house of God, his word and
ordinances, as with marrow and fatness; see Psalm 63:5.
Job 36:17 17 But you are filled with
the judgment due the wicked; Judgment and justice take hold of you.
YLT
17And the judgment of the
wicked thou hast fulfilled, Judgment and justice are upheld -- because of fury,
But thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked,.... SomeF23Schmidt,
Michaelis. take this to be a continuation of the happiness Job would have enjoyed,
had he behaved in his affliction as he ought to have done; then he would have
been filled to satisfaction, by seeing the judgments of God exercised on wicked
men, as on the Chaldeans and Sabeans, who had injured him: "and judgment
and justice would have upheld thee"; when they should be cast down. But
these words rather seem to be expressive of his present state, and the reason
of it, he not being sufficiently humbled: and the sense is, not that he had
lived a vicious course of life, as the wicked do, and filled up the measure of
his wickedness as they; and so deserved to be filled with the like judgments as
inflicted on them. Mr. Broughton reads the words,
"as
thou hast fulfilled the sentence of the wicked, sentence and judgment have laid
hold:'
but
rather the meaning is, that he had "fulfilled the contention of the
wicked"F24ירין רשע
מלאת "et litem improbi implevisti",
Schultens. ; pleaded as they did, argued with God after their manner: and
therefore is said to go in company and walk with them, and make answers for
them, Job 34:8. Wherefore
justice and judgment take hold on thee; afflictions
in righteousness, or the chastening hand of God, in righteous judgment, had
taken hold upon him, and would hold him until he was sufficiently humbled under
them.
Job 36:18 18 Because there is
wrath, beware lest He take you away with one blow; For a large
ransom would not help you avoid it.
YLT
18Lest He move thee with a
stroke, And the abundance of an atonement turn thee not aside.
Because there is wrath,.... Either wrath in Job,
so some; indignation and impatience under the afflicting hand of God, expressed
by cursing the day of his birth, and by his angry pleadings with God: and
therefore Elihu advises him to beware of it, and check this impetuous spirit;
cease from his anger and forsake wrath, and fret not himself to do evil, and
provoke the Lord to take him away at once, and then his case would be
irretrievable. Or rather wrath in God, which is revealed from heaven against
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. His vindictive and punitive
justice, to revenge and punish wickedness, the effects of which are sometimes
awful judgments on men in this life; and eternal vengeance hereafter, called
wrath to come: this is laid up in store with him, and sealed up in his
treasures, prepared in his purposes and decrees, is revealed in his law, and
breaks forth in various instances; see Numbers 16:46. And
there is an appearance of wrath, a little wrath, which is no other than love
displeased, in the afflictions and chastisements of God's people, and might be
perceived by Job: and this being the case, Elihu advises him to
beware; which, though not expressed in the original, is well supplied;
and his meaning is, that he would be cautious of what he said, and not go on to
multiply words against God; speak unbecomingly of him, arraign his justice, and
find fault with his dealings with him; as well as beware of his actions,
conduct, and behaviour, that his tongue and his doings be not against the Lord,
to provoke the eyes of his glory;
lest he take thee away with his stroke; out of the
world by death, which is the stroke of his hand; and is sometimes given
suddenly, and in an awful manner, in wrath and vengeance. Some render the last
word, "with clapping of hands"F25בשפק
"complosione manuum", Tigurine version; so some in Munster. ; either
the hands of men, Job 27:23; or of
God; expressing his exultation and pleasure at the death of such a person,
laughing at his calamity, and mocking when fear cometh; which is dreadful and
tremendous;
then a great ransom cannot deliver thee: there is no
ransom on earth equal to the life or soul of man; "what shall a man give
in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:26; see Psalm 49:6. The
great ransom of all is the ransom of Christ, which Elihu had made mention of
before, Job 33:24; and what
else could he have in his mind now? This is the ransom found by infinite
wisdom, which Christ came to give, and has given; and by which he has ransomed
his people from him that is stronger than they, from the bondage of sin, of
Satan, of the world, of hell and death, and everlasting destruction: and this
is a great one, plenteous redemption, a great salvation; the ransomer is the
great God and our Saviour; the ransom price is not corruptible things, as
silver and gold, but the precious blood of Christ, his life, yea, he himself.
How great must this ransom be! and it is given for great sinners, the chief of
them; and is sufficient for all the elect of God, both Jews and Gentiles: and
yet, as great as it is, it is of no avail to one that God has taken away by a
stroke out of this world, and sent to everlasting destruction; not through want
of sufficiency in this ransom, but by reason of the final and unalterable state
of such persons; as, even in the present life, it is of no avail to the deniers
and despisers of it, Hebrews 10:26.
Job 36:19 19 Will your riches, Or all
the mighty forces, Keep you from distress?
YLT
19Doth He value thy riches?
He hath gold, and all the forces of power.
Will he esteem thy riches? no, not gold, nor all the forces
of strength. Riches can be of no account, nor bear any weight with God; for
they are of him and come from him, and what he has a right to take away and
dispose of as he pleases. These cannot ward off the stroke of death, or secure
from it; nor can a man possessed of them carry them with him into the other
world; nor will they profit in the day of wrath. Mr. Broughton renders it,
"will he esteem thy nobleness?" so Junius and Tremellius; thy noble
birth, rank and station, thou hast had among men? Not at all. God is no
respecter of persons; he regards not the noble and the rich more than the poor:
and as for gold, the same may be said of that, which, though the most valuable
among men, is of no esteem with God; and besides it is his: "the gold is
mine", says he, "and the silver is mine", Haggai 2:8. Nor is
death to be bribed with it, or put off by it; nor is a "munition"F26לא בצר "non
munitionem", Tigurine version. fortress or castle, as some render the
word, any defence against it: "nor all the forces of strength". Had a
man at his command ever such numerous and powerful armies, they could not
protect him from the stroke of death, or deliver him from eternal punishment,
the demerit of sin. Though as Job had no riches, no gold, nor troops of
soldiers about him; nor was there any great likelihood that this would be his
case at death; I should think the words might be better rendered, "will he
regard thy cry? no, not in distress; not even the most strong and
forcible" cries or entreaties: when the stroke of death is given, the
sentence of wrath is passed, and eternal destruction takes place; weeping and
wailing will signify nothing: the cries and howlings of the damned in hell are
of no avail; their strong cryings, and most intense and earnest entreaties,
will have no effect on the Lord; though he is a God of great pity and
compassion, and has sympathy with his people in distress, and in all their
afflictions is afflicted; yet will have no regard to cries and tears, when the
decree is gone forth and carried into execution: the verb from whence the first
word is derived is used for "crying" in this chapter, Job 36:13; and the
Targum renders it here by supplication and petition; so some other Jewish
writersF1Vid. Aben Ezra, Bar Tzemach, Sephorno. interpret it of
crying: and the second word is by several rendered "in straits"F2"In
angustia", Mercerus, Drusius, Piscator; "in arcto", Cocceius,
Schultens. and distress; and Cocceius has observed the notion of intense and
fervent prayer in the third, and renders the whole pretty near to what has been
observedF3"Num aequalis esset imploration tua non in arcto et
omnes contentiones virium", Cocceius. .
Job 36:20 20 Do not desire the night, When
people are cut off in their place.
YLT
20Desire not the night, For
the going up of peoples in their stead.
Desire not the night,.... Either in a literal
sense, which Job might do; not for secrecy to commit sin, as the thief,
murderer, and adulterer do; Elihu had no such suspicion of Job; nor for ease
and rest, which he expected not; nor would his sores admit thereof; his nights
were wearisome, and when come he wished they were gone, Job 7:2; but either
for retirement, that he might muse and consider, and endeavour to search and
find out the reason of God's dealing with men, in cutting off sometimes such
great numbers together. Elihu suggests, that such a search was altogether vain
and to no purpose; he would never be able to find out the reason of these
things: or rather for shelter from the eye and hand of God; as nothing before
mentioned could ward off his stroke, so neither could the night or darkness
preserve from it; see Psalm 139:11. Or
else the words may be taken in a figurative sense; either of the night of
calamity and distress, he might be tempted to desire and wish for, to come upon
his enemies; or rather of the night of death, he wished for himself, as he
often had done; in doing which Elihu suggests he was wrong; not considering
that if God should take him away with a stroke, and he not be humbled and
brought to repentance, what would be the consequence of it;
when people are cut off in their place; as sometimes
they are in the night, literally taken; just in the place where they stood or
lay down, without moving elsewhere, or stirring hand or foot as it were. So
Amraphel, and the kings with him, as Jarchi observes, were cut off in the
night, the firstborn of Egypt, the Midianites and Sennacherib's army, Genesis 14:15; and
so in the night of death, figuratively, the common passage of all men, as Mr.
Broughton observes, who renders the words, "for people's passage to their
place".
Job 36:21 21 Take heed, do not turn to
iniquity, For you have chosen this rather than affliction.
YLT
21Take heed -- do not turn
unto iniquity, For on this thou hast fixed Rather than [on] affliction.
Take heed, regard not iniquity,.... Not any iniquity, as
to show any approbation of it, love for it, and desire after it. All appearance
of sin, of every sin, is to be abstained from; but particularly by the iniquity
here meant may be the sin of impatience under his affliction; murmuring at the
dealings of God with him; arraigning his justice, and saying very indecent
things of him, as in Job 34:5. Or it may
mean the evil he had been guilty of in so earnestly desiring the night of
death:
for this thou hast chosen rather than affliction; chose rather
to die than to be afflicted as he was; or chose rather to complain of God, as
if he dealt hardly with him, and did not do justly by him, than to submit
patiently to the will of God, as he, ought to have done: or this he chose
"through affliction"F4מעני
"prae afflictione", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "prae
miseria ex adflictione", Michaelis. ; through the force of it, because of
it, and by means thereof; and so is a sort of excuse that Elihu makes for him;
though at the same time he would have him by no means to regard such iniquity,
and indulge to it.
Job 36:22 22 “Behold, God is exalted by
His power; Who teaches like Him?
YLT
22Lo, God doth sit on high by
His power, Who [is] like Him -- a teacher?
Behold, God exalteth by his power,.... He exalts himself,
or causes himself to be exalted, and even above all the blessing and praise of
his creatures; by his power, in the works of creation and providence, he makes
such a display of his glorious perfections, as to set him on high, and out of
the reach of the highest praises of men. He exalts his Son as Mediator, and has
made him higher than the kings of the earth, 1 Timothy 2:5; he
exalts him as a Prince and a Saviour, Acts 5:31, to give
repentance and remission of sins to his people, and to be the Judge of quick
and dead, Acts 10:42. He has
exalted the human nature of Christ to the grace of union to the Son of God: and
exalted him in this nature at his right hand, far above all principality and
power, Ephesians 1:21, he
exalts men in a civil sense, who are in a low estate, and raises them to a very
high one; promotion is alone of him, he sets up and puts down at pleasure. In a
spiritual sense, he exalts men when he brings them out of a state of nature
into an open state of grace; brings them out of the horrible pit, and sets
their feet upon the rock Christ Jesus; takes them as beggars from the dunghill,
and places them among princes, even the princes of his people; admits them to
communion with himself, puts and keeps them in his favour, as in a garrison;
and at last causes them to inherit the throne of glory, 1 Samuel 2:8. He
exalts men, when he sets the poor on high from affliction, and brings them out
of adversity into prosperity; and which is what may be chiefly intended here;
let a man he brought as low as may, God can by his power, if he will, raise him
up again. And this may be said for the comfort and encouragement of Job, in his
present circumstances: and so Aben Ezra interprets it,
"God
will exalt thee;'
as
he afterwards did. The Targum is,
"behold,
God alone is strong in his might;'
see
Psalm 21:13;
who teacheth like him? He teaches by his
providences, adverse as well as prosperous; he teaches by his word and
ordinances; he teaches by his Spirit and grace, and none teaches like him.
Ministers of the word teach men both doctrine and duty, but not like him; they
have their gifts for teaching, their wisdom and knowledge, their doctrine, and
all the use they are of, from him; none teach so pleasantly, so profitably, so
powerfully and effectually, as he does: the Targum adds,
"right
things?'
Job 36:23 23 Who has assigned Him His
way, Or who has said, ‘You have done wrong’?
YLT
23Who hath appointed unto Him
his way? And who said, `Thou hast done iniquity?'
Who hath enjoined him his way?.... He teaches men his
own ways, the methods of his grace and mercy towards them; and he prescribes to
them the ways in which they should walk; but none can lead or prescribe to him;
as the way of governing the world, in what manner he should act in it; who has
"taught him in the path of judgment?" or "showed to him the way
of understanding?" Isaiah 40:14; and
particularly whom he should afflict, in what manner he should do it, when and
how long he should continue it; all which he does according to his sovereign
will, and is not to be controlled: and, in a spiritual sense, no man can or
ought to enjoin and prescribe to him whom he should save, and in what way; he
saves whom he pleases, and in his own way, even by his Son Jesus Christ, and no
other; or "who hath visited", or "should visit on him", or
"with him his way"F5מי פקד עליו דרכו
"quis visitavit super illum viam ejus", Montanus, Michaelis;
"cum eo", Tigurine version. ? who can take upon him to examine into
his ways, and scrutinize them, and call him to an account for what he does? no
man can overlook his ways and works, or censure him for any of his actions:
or, who can say, thou hast wrought iniquity? this may be
said of every man, but it cannot be said of God by any without sin; for, as
there is no iniquity in his nature, there can be none in his works; not any in
his works of providence, no, not in the afflictions of his people; just and
true are all his ways.
Job 36:24 24 “Remember to magnify His
work, Of which men have sung.
YLT
24Remember that thou magnify
His work That men have beheld.
Remember that thou magnify his work,.... Or his works; his works
of creation and providence, which are great in themselves, and declare the
greatness of God; and which, though they cannot be made greater than they are,
men may be said to magnify them when they ascribe them to God, and magnify him
on account of them; when they think and speak well of them, and give glory to
God: and particularly by his work may be meant the chastisement of his people,
which is a rod in his hand, which he appoints, and with which he smites; it is
his own doing, and he may do what he pleases this way; and it becomes his
people to be still and patient because he does it; and then do they magnify
this work of his, when they bear it patiently, quietly submit to it, and humble
themselves under the mighty hand of God;
which men behold: for the works of God are visible,
particularly the works of creation, and the glory of God in them; which men of
wisdom and understanding behold with admiration and praise; and so the Targum
is,
"which
righteous men praise;'
and
some derive the word here used from a root which signifies to "sing",
and so may be understood of men's celebrating the works of God in songs of
praise; though his work here may chiefly design the afflictions he lays on his
people, and particularly which he had laid upon Job, which were so visible, and
the hand of God in them was so clearly to be seen, that men easily beheld it
and took notice of it.
Job 36:25 25 Everyone has seen it; Man
looks on it from afar.
YLT
25All men have looked on it,
Man looketh attentively from afar.
Verse 25
Every man may see it,.... Not only was to be
seen by the wise and learned, the just and good, but by the common people;
whether it is to be understood of the works of creation, or of the afflictive
providences of God in general, or of Job's afflictions in particular;
man may behold it afar off; as to time, from the
creation of the world to the present time, as Jarchi; or as to place, from the
heaven, so distant, where are the sun, moon, and stars; and which, though so
far off, are easily beheld; or as to the manner of seeing them, not darkly,
imperfectly, and in a confused manner, as things at a distance are seen, so
some understand it; but rather clearly and plainly, as things easy to be seen
are clearly discerned at a distance; and it signifies that the work of God here
meant is so visible, that he must be quite blind and stupid that cannot see it;
it may be seen, as it were, with half an eye, and a great way off; he that runs
may see and read.
Job 36:26 26 “Behold, God is
great, and we do not know Him; Nor can the number of His years be
discovered.
YLT
26Lo, God [is] high, And we
know not the number of His years, Yea, there [is] no searching.
Behold, God is great,.... In his power and
might, in his wisdom and knowledge, in his truth and faithfulness, in his love,
grace, and mercy, and that to admiration; and it is worthy of notice and
attention, which the word "behold", prefixed hereunto, is expressive
of: or is "much" or "many"F6שגיא
πολυς, Sept.
"multus", Mercerus, Drusius. ; as he is in his persons: for though
his essence is one, his persons are more, they are three, Father, Son, and
Spirit; in his perfections, of which there is a fulness; in his thoughts,
counsels, purposes? and decrees, which respect other persons and things; in his
works of creation, providence, and grace, and in the blessings of his goodness,
which are so many as not to be reckoned up;
and we know him not; God is to be known by
the works of creation, and even by the very Heathen; though such is their
inattention to them, that they are said not to know God; yea, even the wisest
among them, by all their wisdom, knew not God, 1 Corinthians 1:21;
for though they might know there was a God, they knew not who and what he was.
God is known by his word among those who are favoured with a divine revelation
of him, and especially by true believers in Christ, who know God in Christ,
whom to know is life eternal; and yet these know but in part, there is no
finding out the Almighty to perfection; God is not known clearly, fully, and
perfectly, by any: or "we know it not"; the greatness of God;
he is great, but we know not how great he is; his greatness is beyond all
conception and expression;
neither can the number of his years be searched out; years are
ascribed to God, after the manner of men, otherwise, properly speaking, they
are not applicable to him; by which time is measured, and which belongs not to
the eternal God; however, the number of his years in an eternity past, and of
those to come, cannot be searched out and reckoned up: it requires no great
skill in arithmetic to reckon up the years of the oldest man that ever lived;
yea, the months, the days, the hours, and minutes, of his life may be counted;
but the years of the Most High cannot; this is a phrase expressive of the
eternity of him which is, and was, and is to come, and who from everlasting to
everlasting is God. He was before the world was, as the creation of it out of nothing
shows. Jehovah the Father had a Son, and he loved him before the foundation of
the world, and all his people in him; he made an everlasting choice of them in
him, before the world began; he made an everlasting covenant with them in him,
and gave them grace in him as early as that; he set him up as Mediator from
everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was; and will be the
everlasting and unchangeable portion of his people to all eternity. Cocceius
thinks that these words are expressive of the constant love of God to the
church, and the continuance of his kingdom in it; and of his most fixed purpose
of love to men, and indefatigable care of them.
Job 36:27 27 For He draws up drops of
water, Which distill as rain from the mist,
YLT
27When He doth diminish
droppings of the waters, They refine rain according to its vapour,
For he maketh small the drops of rain,.... Elihu
proceeds to give instances and proofs of the greatness of God, and begins with
rain, as Eliphaz does, Job 5:9; a common
phenomenon, what is very frequent, and well known in all ages and countries,
and by all men, more or less; and yet there are some things relative to it
which are beyond the comprehension of men, and show the greatness and
incomprehensibleness of God: and the design of this, and all other instances of
this kind, is to convince Job of his folly in searching out the causes and
reasons of God's works of providence, when the common works of nature lie out
of the reach of men; and to reconcile him to them, and bring him patiently to
submit to the will of God, whose ways are past finding out; and some render the
words, "he restrains the drops of rain"F7יגרע נטפי מים
"aufert stillas pluviae et prohibebit", Pagninus; so Vatablus,
Tigurine version, Targum, & Ben Gersom. ; he withholds it from the earth,
which causes a drought, and so brings on a famine; others, "he
subtracts", or draws out, or draws up, the drops of waterF8"Attrahit",
Codurcus; "subtrahit", i.e. "a mare", Junius &
Tremellius, Piscator, Schultens. , which he exhales by the heat of the sun out
of the earth and out of the sea; see Psalm 135:7, Amos 5:8; and which
are drawn up in small particles, but form large bodies of waters in the clouds;
and which are let down again upon the earth in small drops, in an easy and
gentle manner, and so soak into the earth and make it fruitful; which is what
is meant by our version here: this is a wonderful instance of God's power,
wisdom, and goodness, and is beyond our comprehension; for no mortal man can
tell how the Almighty parts and divides those large quantities of water in the
clouds, that sometimes hang over our heads, into millions and ten thousand
times ten thousand millions of drops, even innumerable; and causes these waters
in such a manner to descend on the earth; lets them not fall at once, or in
waterspouts, which would wash away the inhabitants of cities and towns, the
cattle of the field, and the produce of the earth, as at the general deluge;
they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof: the water,
drawn up and formed into large bodies in the heavens, pours down rain in a
gentle and plentiful manner, according to the quantity of vapours exhaled out
of the earth and sea; if a small quantity is drawn up, a small quantity is let
down; and if a large quantity is attracted, a large quantity, or a plentiful
shower, is given: some think that a small rain is meant in the preceding
clause, and a great rain in this; for there is the small rain and the great
rain of his strength, Job 37:6. The word
translated "pour" has the signification of liquefying, melting, and
dissolving, and of purging and purifying; and which is applicable to clouds
which melt and dissolve gradually as they descend in drops upon the earth; and
the water which they let down is of all the most clear and pure, as Galen and
HippocratesF9Apud Pinedam in loc. , those eminent physicians, have
observed; and a late celebrated one tells usF11Boerhaav. Elem. Chem.
p. 600. apud Schultens in loc. , that rain water is so truly distilled by
nature, that the chemist, with all his distilling art, cannot produce purer
water; for, though it is exhaled out of the dirty earth, out of miry places,
bogs, and ditches, yet, being bound up in the clouds as in a garment, and
passing through the atmosphere, it comes down to us pure as if it had been
percolated or strained through a linen cloth; and though the water as drawn up
out of the sea is salt, yet carried up into the air, and there, as in an
alembic, distilled, it descends to us sweet and fresh, and has not the least
brackishness in it.
Job 36:28 28 Which the clouds drop down
And pour abundantly on man.
YLT
28Which clouds do drop, They
distil on man abundantly.
Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly. Not upon the
persons of men, which they take care as much as possible to shun and avoid, but
upon the fields of men, and so for the profit and advantage of men; and this
denotes both the gentle manner in which the clouds let down rain, and the
liberal profusion of them; they let it down both in an easy and plentiful
manner, and upon an abundance of men, or upon an abundance of fields and lands
belonging to men; though sometimes rain falls upon the wilderness, where no man
is, Job 38:26. The
Targum is,
"at
the prayer of a son of a great man,'
or
at the prayer of a man that has great interest with God; that is famous for his
faith and piety, as Elijah was, to whom perhaps the Targumist may have respect.
The rain is an emblem of the word of God, the Gospel of Christ, which drops and
distils on the souls of men like rain, and refreshes them, and makes them
fruitful; and is dispensed by the ministers of it, who are compared to clouds,
according to the measure of the gift of grace received by them, and that freely
and fully as they have received it.
Job 36:29 29 Indeed, can anyone
understand the spreading of clouds, The thunder from His canopy?
YLT
29Yea, doth [any] understand
The spreadings out of a cloud? The noises of His tabernacle?
Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds,.... Or
"of a cloud"F12עב
"nubis", Montanus, Tigurine version, Mercerus, Piscator, Schultens. ,
a thick cloud, a single one; which sometimes at the beginning is very small,
about the size of a man's hand, 1 Kings 18:44; and which
in a little time spreads all over the heavens, and covers them with black
clouds and darkness; none can understand, describe, and tell by what means so
small a cloud at first appearance is spread to such a prodigious extent; and
which is done partly for the use of God himself, to be a pavilion or tent
around him, Psalm 18:11; and
partly for the use of men, either to let down ram on the several parts of the
world, or to be a sort of an umbrella to men, to shelter them from scorching
heat; nor can any understand how the clouds, stretched out to such a compass,
are poised and balanced in the air, so as to retain their position as long as
it is the pleasure of God; see Job 37:16. Ben
Gersom, who is followed by othersF13מפרשי
"differentias", Pagninus; "varietates", Vatablus. ,
interprets this of the differences of the clouds, which are unaccountable, as
to the form and colour of them being curious, and the matter which they contain
or what issues from them; out of some rain, others hail, others snow and sleet,
others wind, others thunder and lightning; and yet all arise from the same,
even from vapours exhaled from the earth and sea; some become moist and cold,
others hot and dry. As clouds are emblems of Gospel ministers, Isaiah 5:6; this
may lead us to observe the different gifts of grace bestowed on them, and the
different uses they are of; some are Boanergeses, sons of thunder, Mark 3:17; others
Barnabases, sons of consolation, Acts 4:36; and the
extent of the Gospel ministry all over the world, which first began as a small
cloud over the land of Judea, and then was spread throughout the Gentile world;
or the noise of his
tabernacle; the tabernacle of God, which are the clouds, which are laid as
the flooring of his palace, and are drawn about him as a tent or pavilion, Psalm 104:3, where
he sits invisible, and from whence, as a general of an army, he issues out his
orders, and sends forth his artillery, rain, hail, snow, thunder, and
lightning, and stormy wind fulfilling his word; the noise hereof is either the
noise of the waters in the clouds, the sound of an abundance of rain, 1 Kings 18:41; or
of the blustering winds, by which the clouds are moved and portend rain; or of
the thunder that bursts out of them with a vehement noise, and which is usually
followed with rain; and the thunder of his power who can understand? Job 26:14. This may
be an emblem of the voice of God in his Gospel out of his tabernacle, the
church, which the natural man understands not; or the voice of God in his
providences, in which he speaks to men once and twice, and they perceive it
not.
Job 36:30 30 Look, He scatters His
light upon it, And covers the depths of the sea.
YLT
30Lo, He hath spread over it
His light, And the roots of the sea He hath covered,
Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it,.... Upon his
tabernacle; that is, upon the clouds, which are his tabernacle; either the
light of the sun, whereby the clouds are dispersed and blotted out; an emblem
of the blotting out of sin, or the forgiveness of it, Isaiah 44:22, which
is like a clear shining after rain, 2 Samuel 23:4, or
on a thin cloud, whereby the rainbow is formed, an emblem of peace and
reconciliation by Christ; or lightning, which bursting out of the dark cloud is
spread over it, when it seems to be all in flames. Cocceius renders it,
"he spreads the light about himself"; God spreads it about himself,
clothing himself with light as with a garment, and dwelling in light
inaccessible to men: or he "spreads it upon him", upon man;
causing his sun to shine on the just and unjust; or on it, the earth; so it was
spread when first commanded to shine out of darkness, with which the earth in
its primeval state was covered; and so it is spread every morning upon the
earth; as soon as day breaks, the morning is spread upon the mountains, and in
a short time it overspreads the whole hemisphere; an emblem this of the spread
of the light of grace over the dark hearts of men, in conversion, which are
like the earth in its chaotic state, or as in the night season covered with
darkness; out of which they are called and brought by the grace of God, having
the true light sprung and placed in their souls; which at first is but
glimmering, and at best imperfect in the present state, yet is spreading and
increasing, Proverbs 4:18; and
of the spread of the great and glorious light of the Gospel in the world, in
the times of the apostles, and as it will be in the latter day glory;
and covereth the bottom of the sea, or "the roots of
the sea"F14שרשי הים
"radices maris", Pagninus, Montanus, &c. ; though one would think
they should be rather covered with water and with darkness, as they are; see Job 38:8. This is
to be understood either of the light of the sun, and the rays of it, which are
so piercing and penetrating as to reach to the bottom of the sea, and cover it
and exhale waters out of it; or of lightning, which is equally as piercing and
penetrating, or more, and strikes to the very roots of the sea, and covers
them, or rather discovers them, so that the channels of waters are seen, and
the foundations of the world are discovered, Psalm 18:14; the
Targum of this verse is,
"he
spreads upon it rain, and covers the rocks or foundations of the sea;'
and
the rain is called light according to Ramban, because by the descent of it the
day is enlightened, and the darkness of the clouds removed; and by this means
the bottom of the sea is covered, so that it passes its bounds and covers the
rocks, that is, the borders of it, as others explain itF15In Bar
Tzemach in loc. .
Job 36:31 31 For by these He judges the
peoples; He gives food in abundance.
YLT
31For by them He doth judge
peoples, He giveth food in abundance.
For by them judgeth he the people,.... That is, by the
clouds; which the Lord uses both in a way of judgment, as expressed in this
clause; and in a way of mercy, as in the following; by these, and what issue
out of them, as rain, hail, winds, thunder, and lightning, he sometimes
punishes the inhabitants of the earth, as he did the old world by a deluge of
water, which came partly from the fountains of the great deep, and partly from
the windows of heaven, which destroyed man and beast, and the increase of the
earth, Genesis 7:11; he
punished the Egyptians by a violent storm of hail, Exodus 9:23; and
slew many of the Canaanites with hailstones, Joshua 10:11;
Pharaoh and his host sunk like lead when he blew with his wind, Exodus 15:10; and
Sodom and Gomorrah, with the cities of the plain, were destroyed with thunder
and lightning, fire and brimstone, from heaven, Genesis 19:24; as
the army of the Philistines were discomfited by thunder in the times of Samuel,
1 Samuel 7:10; and
the captains of fifties, with their men, were consumed by lightning in the
times of Elijah, 2 Kings 1:14; and
as the heavens and the earth will be burnt with fire at the end of all things, Matthew 13:40, 2 Peter 3:12;
he giveth meat in abundance; very plentifully, or to
a multitude of creatures, both men and cattle; who have a liberal supply of
food by means of the clouds and rain, which falling upon the earth make it
fruitful, so that it gives bread to the eater, and seed to the sower; causes
grass to grow up for the beasts of the field, and produces bread corn, oil, and
wine, for the benefit of men; an emblem of the variety and plenty of spiritual
food dispensed to the churches of Christ, through the ministry of the word, and
by the ministers of it.
Job 36:32 32 He covers His hands
with lightning, And commands it to strike.
YLT
32By two palms He hath
covered the light, And layeth a charge over it in meeting,
With clouds he covereth the light,.... Either the
lightning, which is hid and covered in the black dark cloud until it bursts out
of it; or the light of the sun, which is wonderful, that waters naturally clear
and transparent, when formed into clouds, should obstruct the rays of the sun
and darken it; see Ezekiel 32:7; and
thus it was in the storm and tempest the Apostle Paul was in many days, which
was so thick and dark, that the sun and stars did not appear of a long time, Acts 27:20;
and commandeth it not to shine, by the cloud that
cometh betwixt; that is, commands the sun that it shines not, or hinders it from
shining, by reason of the intervening clouds; this is an emblem of sin
interposing between God and his people, which causes him to hide his face from
them and not shine upon them: sins are comparable to clouds for numbers, being
more than can be told; and for their nature and quality, like clouds they rise
out of the earthly and carnal heart of man; and which is also like a troubled
sea which cannot rest; and which reach up unto heaven and bring down wrath and
vengeance from thence on wicked men; and in God's own people, like the clouds
they intercept the light of his countenance, the bright shining of the sun of
righteousness, the comfort, peace, and joy of the Holy Spirit: the words may be
rendered, "with hands he covers the light, and commands that it shine
not by reason of what comes between": and they are understood
by some, as by Schmidt particularly, of the eclipses of the sun and moon, when
God as it were covers them with hands, and suffers them not to shine by
intervening bodies; so the eclipse of the sun is occasioned by the moon's
coming between that and the earth, and the eclipse of the moon by the
interposition of the earth between that and the sun; the Targum is,
"because
of rapine of hands he restrains rain, and commands it to descend because of him
that prays,'
who
comes between and intercedes for a sinful people, as Elijah did; or, as others,
he commands the lightning that it harms not because of him that comes between
and intercedes with his prayers.
Job 36:33 33 His thunder declares it, The
cattle also, concerning the rising storm.
YLT
33He sheweth by it [to] his
friend substance, Anger against perversity.
The noise thereof showeth concerning it,.... The rain,
that it is coming; it is a presage and prognostic of it, namely, the noise of
the clouds in the air, the sound of abundance of rain there; or the noise of
the winds, which is often a forerunner of it: or the noise of thunder when rain
frequently follows, Jeremiah 10:13;
the cattle also concerning the vapour; that is, the
cattle likewise show signs of rain, being sensible of the vapours which rise up
out of the earth, and are drawn up into the air and form clouds there; these,
through their sharp sight, discern the vapours rising out of the earth insensible
by men; or by their quick smellF16Vid. Democrit. Fragment. &
Rendtorf. Not. in ib. apud Fabritii Bibliothec. Gr. l. 4. c. 29. p. 338, 362.
or taste discern them, these leaving some tincture upon the grass they are
feeding on; and which occasion some motions and gestures in them by which
husbandmen, and those that are accustomed to them, know that the rain is at
hand: and there are various things observable in brutes, fowls, and cattle, and
other creatures, which are signs of approaching rain; as the cawing of crows,
the croaking of frogs, the flying about of cranes and swallows, the motion of
ants, the retire of cattle to places of shelter, and the like; Aben Ezra
observes that sheep lying on their right side portends rain; the above things
with others are most beautifully expressed by VirgilF17"Aut
illum surgentem vallibus imis", c. Georgic, l. 1. v. 374, &c. Bacon's
Nat. Hist. cent. 9. p. 208. and which with many others are collected together
by PlinyF18Nat. Hist. l. 18. c. 35. Vid. Democrit. Fragm. ut supra,
p. 335, 358, 362, 366. ; and though there are various interpretations given of
this passage, this seems to be the most agreeable, and which suits with our
version; unless the following, which I only propose, should be more eligible,
"he", that is, God, "by it", the rain,
"declares his good will" to men, likewise to "the cattle, and
also towards what rises up" out of the earth, the herbs and plants; all
which receive much benefit by the clouds and rain.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)