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Job Chapter
Thirty-eight
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JOB 38
In
this chapter the Lord takes up the controversy with Job; calls upon him to
prepare to engage with him in it, and demands an answer to posing questions he
puts to him, concerning the earth and the fabric of it, Job 38:1;
concerning the sea, compared to an infant in embryo, at its birth, in its
swaddling bands and cradle, Job 38:8;
concerning the morning light, its spread and influence, Job 38:12;
concerning the springs of the sea, the dark parts of the earth, the place both
of light and darkness, Job 38:16;
concerning the various meteors, snow, hail, rain, thunder, lightning, and the
influences of the stars, Job 38:22; and
concerning provision for lions and ravens, Job 38:40.
Job 38:1 Then
the Lord
answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
YLT
1And Jehovah answereth Job
out of the whirlwind, and saith: --
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind,.... As soon
as Elihu had done speaking, who saw the tempest rising, and gave hints of it, Job 37:2; and
hastened to finish his discourse. This was raised to give notice of the Lord
being about to appear, and to display his majesty, and to command reverence and
attention. The Targum calls it the whirlwind of distress, as it might be to
Job; and a representation of the distressed and disturbed state and condition
in which he was. The person that spoke out of it is Jehovah the Son of God, the
eternal Word, who very probably appeared in an human form; there was an object
seen, Job 42:5; and spoke
with an articulate voice to Job;
and said; in answer to his frequent wishes and desires that the Lord would
appear and take his cause in hand.
Job 38:2 2 “Who is this who
darkens counsel By words without knowledge?
YLT
2Who [is] this -- darkening
counsel, By words without knowledge?
Who is this,.... Meaning not Elihu the last speaker, as
some think; and there are some who suppose not only that these words are
directed to him, but all that is said in this and the following chapter: but it
was Job the Lord spoke to and answered, as expressed in Job 38:1; and these
words are taken by Job to himself, Job 42:3.
Concerning whom the Lord inquires, not as ignorant of him, who he was; but
wondering that such a man as he should talk as he did; and as angry with him,
and rebuking him for it;
that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? either his
own counsel, his sense and sentiments of things, which were delivered in such
an obscure manner as not to be intelligible by those that heard them; whereby
they were led, as Job's friends were, into some mistaken notions of him: or
rather the counsel of God, his works of providence, which are done according to
the counsel of his will, and were misrepresented by Job, as not being wise and
good, just and equitable; see Job 34:3.
Job 38:3 3 Now prepare yourself like
a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
YLT
3Gird, I pray thee, as a
man, thy loins, And I ask thee, and cause thou Me to know.
Gird up now thy loins like a man,.... Like a man of valour
that girds on his harness for battle: Job is bid to prepare for the controversy
the Lord was entering into with him; and bring forth his strong reasons and
most powerful arguments in his own defence. The allusion is to the custom in
the eastern countries, where they wore long garments, to gird them about their
loins, when they engaged in work or war. Job had blustered what he would do,
and now he is dared to it; see Job 23:4;
for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me; put questions
to him, to which he required a direct and positive answer. Jehovah takes the
part of the opponent in this dispute, and gives that of the respondent to Job;
since Job himself had put it to his option which to take, Job 13:22.
Job 38:4 4 “Where were you when I
laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
YLT
4Where wast thou when I
founded earth? Declare, if thou hast known understanding.
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?.... The earth
has foundations, and such firm ones that it cannot be moved; but what are they,
since it is hung in the air on nothing! No other than the power and will of
God, who laid these foundations, and the Son of God, who has created and
upholds all things by the word of his power, Hebrews 1:3. Where
was Job then? In a state of nothingness, a mere nonentity: he was not present
when this amazing work of nature was done, and saw not how the Lord went about
it; and yet takes upon him to dive into the secret works and ways of
Providence, for which he is rebuked by this question and the following;
declare, if thou hast understanding: Job had the
understanding of a man in things natural and civil, and of a good man in things
spiritual and divine; but he had no understanding of this, of what he is
questioned about; could not declare in what place he was, and where he stood,
when the earth was founded.
Job 38:5 5 Who determined its
measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?
YLT
5Who placed its measures --
if thou knowest? Or who hath stretched out upon it a line?
Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest?.... Did God
or a creature? The Lord, no doubt. He laid them out in his divine mind, and
laid them forth by his divine power; who does all things by weight and measure.
He fixed the dimensions of the earth, how long, how thick, and how broad it
should be; he settled the borders and boundaries of it. This Job might know
that the Lord did; but he laid them, and what they are that are laid, he knew
not. Mathematicians pretend to give us the circumference and diameter of the
earth; but in their accounts are not agreed, but widely differ; which shows
they are at no certainty about themF5The mathematicians in
Aristotle's time reckoned the breadth of the earth a little less than forty
myriads of furlongs, and the length of it seventy myriads. Aristot. de Mundo,
c. 3. Vid. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 2. c. 108, 109. According to the moderns, the
circumference of the earth is 25,031.5 of our statute miles, and its diameter
7967 such miles. See Chamber's Dictionary on the word "Earth". ; and
Job and the men of his age might be still less knowing: though the words may be
rendered, "for thou knowest"F6כי
"quadoquidem", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "quia",
Michaelis; "nam", Schultens; so Broughton. ; surely such a knowing
man as thou art must needs know this and so are a severe sarcasm upon him;
or who hath stretched the line upon it? The measuring
line being formed according to rule, with exact symmetry and proportion. This
may be the same with the circle of the earth, and the compass set upon the face
of the deep or terraqueous globe, Proverbs 8:27. And
with the same exactness and just proportion are the ways and works of
Providence, which Job ought to have acquiesced in as being well and wisely
done.
Job 38:6 6 To what were its
foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone,
YLT
6On what have its sockets
been sunk? Or who hath cast its corner-stone?
Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened?.... Or the
pillars of it, as Ben Gersom interprets it; see Psalm 75:3; and
which Aben Ezra understands of the mountains: but be they what they may, on
what can they be fastened or sunk into, when the earth hangs on nothing, and
there is nothing visible to support it, nothing but the mighty hand of God?
or who laid the corner stone thereof? which unites,
cements, and keeps the fabric together, and is the ornament and beauty of it;
but who can tell what that is? Aben Ezra interprets it of the point or centre
of the earth.
Job 38:7 7 When the morning stars
sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
YLT
7In the singing together of
stars of morning, And all sons of God shout for joy,
When the morning stars sang together,.... Either
all the stars in a literal sense; for though, strictly speaking, there is but
one morning star, yet all may be called so, because early created in the
morning of the world; and are all stars of light, shine till the morning; and
it is observed by some, that the nearer the morning the brighter they shine:
and these in their way sing the praises of God, and set forth the glory of his
perfections, and occasion songs of praise in men; see Psalm 148:3. Or
figuratively, either angels, as most interpret them, comparable to stars for
their glory, purity, and light, for their constancy, permanency, and numbers:
or good men, particularly ministers of the word, and angels of the churches;
who are stars in Christ's right hand, Revelation 1:20;
but the principal morning star is Christ himself, Revelation 22:16;
and all the sons of God shouted for joy; which are
usually understood of angels also, so the Targum; who are the sons of God, not
by birth, as Christ, nor by adoption, as saints; but by creation, as Adam, Luke 3:38. And
because they bear some likeness to God, as holy spirits, and honour and obey
him in doing his will; though the character of sons of God, as distinct from
the children of men, given to professors of religion, obtained before the times
of Job; see Genesis 6:2; and
who might be said to sing together, and shout for joy, when they met for social
worship; see Job 1:6; and
especially when any fresh discoveries were made to them of the Messiah, and
salvation by him. Thus Abraham, one of these sons of God, saw Christ's day and
was glad, and shouted for joy, John 8:56. For
these words are not necessarily to be restrained to the laying of the
foundation and cornerstone of the earth, as our version directs; though indeed
the angels then might be present, being created as soon as the heavens were,
and with the stars, as Capellus on this place observes; and rejoiced, when the
foundations of the earth were laid, on beholding such a display of the power,
wisdom, and goodness of God therein; and which may be said of them, in allusion
to what is done at the laying of the foundation of any building of note; see Ezra 3:10; for it
may be repeated from Job 38:4;
"where wast thou when the morning stars", &c. and so may refer to
any rejoicing, whether of angels or men, before the times of Job, at which he
was not present.
Job 38:8 8 “Or who shut in the
sea with doors, When it burst forth and issued from the womb;
YLT
8And He shutteth up with
doors the sea, In its coming forth, from the womb it goeth out.
Or who shut up the sea with doors,.... From the
earth the transition is to the sea, according to the order of the creation; and
this refers not to the state and case of the sea as at the flood, of which some
interpret it, but as at its first creation; and it is throughout this account
represented as an infant, and here first as in embryo, shut up in the bowels of
the earth, where it was when first created with it, as an infant shut up in its
mother's womb, and with the doors of it; see Job 3:10; the
bowels of the earth being the storehouses where God first laid up the deep
waters, Psalm 33:7; and
when the chaos, the misshapen earth, was like a woman big with child;
when it brake forth out of the abyss, as the
Targum, with force and violence, as Pharez broke out of his mother's womb; for
which reason he had his name given, which signifies a breach, Genesis 38:29; so
it follows,
as if it had issued
out of the womb; as a child out of its mother's womb; so the sea burst forth and
issued out of the bowels of the earth, and covered it all around, as in Psalm 104:6; and
now it was that the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, before
they were drained off the earth; this was the first open visible production of
the sea, and nay be called the birth of it; see Genesis 1:2.
Something like this the Heathen philosopher Archelaus had a notion of, who saysF7Laert.
Vit. Philosoph. l. 2. p. 99. , the sea was shut up in hollow places, and was as
it were strained through the earth.
Job 38:9 9 When I made the clouds its
garment, And thick darkness its swaddling band;
YLT
9In My making a cloud its
clothing, And thick darkness its swaddling band,
When I made the cloud the garment thereof,.... For this
newborn babe, the sea;
and thick darkness a swaddling band for it; which was the
case of the sea when it burst out of the bowels of the earth and covered it,
for then darkness was upon the face of the deep, a dark, foggy, misty air, Genesis 1:2; and
this was before its separation from the land, and in this order it stands in
this account; though since, clouds, fogs, and mists, which rise out of the sea,
are as garments to it, and cover it at times, and the surrounding atmosphere,
as it presses the whole terraqueous globe, and keeps the parts of the earth
together, so the waters of the sea from spilling out; and these are the garments
and the swaddling bands with which the hands and arms of this big and
boisterous creature are wreathed; it is said of the infant in Ezekiel 16:4 that
it was neither "salted nor swaddled at all"; but both may be said of
the sea; that it is salted is sufficiently known, and that it is swaddled is
here affirmed; but who except the Lord Almighty could do this? and who has
managed, and still does and can manage, this unruly creature, as easily as a
nurse can turn about and swaddle a newborn babe upon her lap.
Job 38:10 10 When I fixed My limit for
it, And set bars and doors;
YLT
10And I measure over it My
statute, And place bar and doors,
And brake up for it my decreed place,.... Or, as
Mr. Broughton translates it, "and brake the earth for it by my
decree": made a vast chasm in the earth to hold the waters of the sea,
which was provided as a sort of cradle to put this swaddled infant in; God
cleaved the earth, raised the hills and sank the valleys, which became as
channels to convey the waters that ran off the earth to their appointed place,
which beautifully expressed in Psalm 104:7; and
refers there, as here, to the work of creation on the second day, Genesis 1:9 F8Or
determined, that is, appointed for it its convenient, proper, and fixed place;
so David de Pomis, Lexic. fol. 203. 1. ;
and set bars and doors; to keep it in its
decreed appointed place, that the waters might not go over the earth; these are
the shores, as the Targum, the cliffs and rocks upon them, the boundaries of the
sea; to which may be added, and what is amazing, the sand upon the seashore is
such a boundary to it that it cannot pass, Jeremiah 5:22; but
these would be insufficient was it not for the power and will of God, next
expressed.
Job 38:11 11 When I said, ‘This far you
may come, but no farther, And here your proud waves must stop!’
YLT
11And say, `Hitherto come
thou, and add not, And a command is placed On the pride of thy billows.'
And said, hitherto shalt thou come, but no further,.... The
waters of the sea shall spread themselves to such and such shores, and wash
them, but go no further; its rolling tides shall go up so far in rivers that go
out of it, and then return, keeping exactly to time and place; this is said by
Jehovah, the Word of God, and through his almighty power is tended to;
and here shall thy proud waves be stayed; so high and
no higher shall they lift up themselves; so far and no farther shall they roll
on, than to the boundaries fixed for them; and though they may toss up
themselves as proud men toss up their heads, for which, reason pride is
ascribed to them, yet they shall not prevail, Jeremiah 5:22; all
this may be accommodated to the afflictions of God's people, which are
sometimes compared to the waves and billows of the sea, Psalm 42:7; and
these issue out of the womb of God's purposes and decrees, and are not the
effects of chance; they are many, and threaten to overwhelm, but God is with
his people in them, and preserves them from being overflowed by them; he has
set the bounds and measures of them, beyond which they cannot go; see Isaiah 27:8; and
also to the world, and to the men of it, who are like a troubled sea, Daniel 7:2; and who
rise, and swell, and dash against the people of God, being separated from them
who were originally mixed with them; but the Lord restrains their wrath and
fury, and suffers them not to do his people any harm; whom he has placed in the
munition of rocks out of their reach, that those proud waters cannot go over
them as they threaten to do; see Psalm 76:10.
Job 38:12 12 “Have you commanded the
morning since your days began, And caused the dawn to know its place,
YLT
12Hast thou commanded morning
since thy days? Causest thou the dawn to know its place?
Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days;.... Job had
lived to see many a morning, but it never was in his power to command one; he
had been in such circumstances as to wish for morning light before it was, but
was obliged to wait for it, could not hasten it, or cause it to spring before
its time; see Job 7:3; one of the
Targums is,
"wast
thou in the days of the first creation, and commandedst the morning to be?'
he
was not, God was; he was before the first morning, and commanded it into being,
Genesis 1:3;
and caused the dayspring to
know his place; the first spring of light or dawn of day; which though it has a
different place every day in the year, as the sun ascends or descends in the
signs of the Zodiac, yet it knows and observes its exact place, being taught of
God.
Job 38:13 13 That it might take hold of
the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it?
YLT
13To take hold on the skirts
of the earth, And the wicked are shaken out of it,
That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,.... As when
the morning light springs forth, it quickly does, reaching in a short time the
extreme part of the hemisphere; which, and what goes before, may be applied to
the light of the Gospel, and the direction of that under divine Providence in
the several parts of the world, and unto the ends of it; see Psalm 19:4;
that the wicked might be shaken out of it? the earth, by
means of the light; which may be understood either of wicked men who have been
all night upon works of darkness, and be take themselves on the approach of
light to private lurking places, like beasts of prey, so that the earth seems
to be, as it were, clear of them; or of their being taken up in the morning for
deeds done in the night, and brought to justice, which used to be exercised in
mornings, Jeremiah 21:12; and
so the earth rid of them: thus wicked men shun the light, of the Gospel, and
are condemned by it; and in the latter day light and glory they will cease from
the earth; see John 3:19.
Job 38:14 14 It takes on form like clay
under a seal, And stands out like a garment.
YLT
14It turneth itself as clay
of a seal And they station themselves as clothed.
It is turned as clay to the seal,.... As the
clay receives a different form by the impress of the seal upon it, so the earth
appears in a different manner by the spring of morning light upon it; in the
darkness of the night nothing of its form and beauty is to be seen; it is a
mere "tohu" and "bohu", like the chaos, Genesis 1:2; its
rising hills, and spreading dales, and beautiful landscapes, cannot be observed
with pleasure; but when the light breaks forth in the morning, it is seen in
all its beauty and glory: of the change the light of the Gospel makes in men, see
2 Corinthians 3:18;
and they stand as a garment; or things stand upon it
as a garment, as Mr. Broughton renders the words; herbs, plants, and trees, unseen
in the night, stand up like a vesture to the earth in the morning light; and as
they are clothed themselves, they are a garment to that, which now puts on
another and beautiful habit; the pastures are clothed with flocks, and the
valleys covered with corn, and the whole earth with light itself, as with a
garment: and as beautifully do men made light in the Lord appear; see Isaiah 41:10.
Job 38:15 15 From the wicked their
light is withheld, And the upraised arm is broken.
YLT
15And withheld from the
wicked is their light, And the arm lifted up is broken.
And from the wicked their light is withholden,.... Whose
light is darkness, and whose day is the night, of which they are deprived when
the morning light breaks forth; see Job 24:17; it may
be figuratively understood of the light of prosperity being removed from them,
or the light of life, when they shall be sent into utter darkness;
and the high arm shall be broken; their power weakened and
made useless; even the power of such wicked men who have had a large share of
it, and have used it in a tyrannical manner; and especially this will be their
case at death; see Isaiah 14:10.
Job 38:16 16 “Have you entered the
springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths?
YLT
16Hast thou come in to
springs of the sea? And in searching the deep Hast thou walked up and down?
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?.... The
subterraneous passages through which the waters flow into the sea and supply
it; or the springs and fountains that rise up at the bottom of itF9According
to Dr. Plot, the principal fountains have their origin, and are supplied with
water through subterraneous passages from the sea. De Origine Fontium, &c.
apud Act. Erudit. Lips. A. M. 1685. p. 538. See Gen vii. 11. ; and some tell us
of springs of sweet water that rise there, even though the water at the bottom
of the sea is saltier than on the surfaceF11Vid. Scheucbzer. Physic.
Sacr. vol. 4. p. 803. : some render it "the drops of the sea"F12נבכי ים "guttas maris",
Tigurine version, Grotius. ; hast thou considered them and counted them? art
thou able to do it? no: others the "perplexities" of itF13"Perplexitates
maris", Munster. , so the Targum, the word being used in this sense, Exodus 14:3; the
thickets of it; some speak of woods and forests in it; see Gill on Exodus 10:19;
others "rocks" and shelvesF14"Scopulos maris",
Michaelis; "salebrosa maris", Schultens. , and others the
"borders" of itF15So Jarchi. ; and the sense then is, hast
thou entered into and travelled through the main ocean, observed the forests in
it, the shelving rocks and sandy mountains in it, and gone to the utmost
borders of it?
or hast thou walked in the search of the depth? to find out
the deepest place of it, where no sounding line can reachF16For
though the greatest depth of the sea is said by Fabianus (apud Plin. Nat. Hist.
l. 2, c. 102.) to be fifteen furlongs, or near two miles, this must be
understood of that part of it which is fathomable and nearer land. But such as
those, called Bathea Ponti, the depths of the Pontus, and are almost three
hundred furlongs from the continent, they are said (Plin. ib.) to be of an
immense depth, and the bottom not to be found. And if the Sardinian sea, the
deepest in the Mediterranean (Aristot. Meteorolog. l. 2, c. 1.) is a thousand
orgies or fathoms deep, (Posidonius apud Strabo. Geograph. l. 1, p. 37.) that
is, one mile and a fifth, what must the depth of the vast ocean be? ; or walked
in quest of the curiosities of it, animals, plants and minerals, unknown to
men; or of the riches that lie at the bottom of it, for which now the diving
bell is used, but not invented and known in the times of Job; and if Job had
not done and could not do all this, how should he be able to enter into the
secret springs of Providence, or trace the ways of God, whose way is in the
sea, and whose paths are in the great waters, and his footsteps not known? Psalm 77:19.
Job 38:17 17 Have the gates of death
been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?
YLT
17Revealed to thee were the
gates of death? And the gates of death-shade dost thou see?
Have the gates of death been opened unto thee?.... Meaning
not by which death has entered into the world, and which have been the causes
and occasion of it; as the sin of man, the appointment of God, and various
providences, calamities and diseases; but by which men enter into the state of
the dead. Men know not experimentally what death is, nor in what way they shall
go out of the world, nor at what time, nor in what place; they know not what
the state of the dead is, there is no correspondence between them and the
living; they do not know either what they enjoy or endure, or who precisely and
with certainty are in the separate abodes of bliss or misery; the gates of
these dark and invisible regions to us have never been thrown open, for mortals
to look into them;
or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death? the same
thing in other words; the Targum and Jarchi interpret this of hell.
Job 38:18 18 Have you comprehended the
breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.
YLT
18Thou hast understanding,
Even unto the broad places of earth! Declare -- if thou hast known it all.
Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth?.... Which may
be put for all the dimensions of it, length, breadth, diameter, and
circumference, but especially it regards the surface of it, and the measurement
of that; hast thou gone over the whole face of the earth and measured it, all
its parts, its hills and dales, rocks and mountains, and took a survey of all
the cities, towns and villages, woods, forests, fountains, rivers, &c? no;
if a man lived as long as Methuselah, and spent all his days in this way, he
could never be able to do it; and some parts are inaccessible, and not to be
measured by the most skilful geometer;
declare, if thou knowest it all; the whole earth and
every part of it, and all that is in it. Whether the other hemisphere and the
antipodes were known in Job's time is a question; however not America, or the
new world, which is a late discovery; and even now, in our most exact maps of
the world, some parts are marked with "terra incognita", the unknown
land.
Job 38:19 19 “Where is the way to
the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place,
YLT
19Where [is] this -- the way
light dwelleth? And darkness, where [is] this -- its place?
Where is the way where light dwelleth?.... Or the
way to the place where it dwells, and what that is;
and as for darkness, where is the place thereof? where these
were placed when they were first separated at the creation? where light goes
and dwells, when it departs from us at sun setting? and where the darkness
betakes itself, and makes its abode at sun rising? What is the chamber of the
sun, and the tabernacle of it? from whence it sets out, and whither it returns?
And though these questions may be answered by geographers and astronomers in
their way; yet they seem to respect chiefly the disposal of light and darkness,
in such a manner as to cause the revolution of them, and the inequality of days
and nights in different seasons and climates; and which is not in the power of
men to effect, but depends on the sovereign will of God.
Job 38:20 20 That you may take it to its
territory, That you may know the paths to its home?
YLT
20That thou dost take it unto
its boundary, And that thou dost understand The paths of its house.
That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof,.... Either
darkness, or rather the light; take it as it were by the hand, and guide and
direct its course to its utmost bound. This only the Lord can do and does: he
has set a tabernacle for the sun, which goes forth at his command as a strong
man to run a race; whose going forth is from the end of the heavens, and his
circuit unto the ends of it: in which his course is so steered and directed by
the Lord, that he never misses his way or errs from it; but keeps his path
exactly, as well as knows its rising and setting, its utmost bounds;
and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof? from whence
it sets out, and whither it returns; see Psalm 19:4. And so
the light and darkness of prosperity and adversity, as well as natural light
and darkness, are of God, at his disposal, and bounded by him, and therefore
his will should be submitted to; which is the doctrine the Lord would teach Job
by all this.
Job 38:21 21 Do you know it,
because you were born then, Or because the number of your days is
great?
YLT
21Thou hast known -- for then
thou art born And the number of thy days [are] many!
Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born?.... When
light and darkness were first separated, and had their several apartments
assigned them; their laws and rules given them, and their bounds and limits set
them? No; he was not: and, had he been the first man, could not have been early
enough to have been present at the doing of this, and so come at the knowledge
thereof; since man was not made until the sixth day of the creation;
or because the number of thy days is great; reach to the
beginning of time, and so as old as the creation. This was not the case. Some
understand these words ironically; "thou knowest" the places and
bounds of light and darkness, since thou art a very old man, born as soon as
the world was. Whereas he was of yesterday, and knew nothing; which to convince
him of is the design of this biting, cutting, expression. The Targum is,
"didst
thou know then that thou shouldest be born, and the number of thy days many?'
No,
Job did not know when he was born, nor of whom, and in what circumstances, but
by the relation of others; and much less could he know before he was born, that
he should be, or how long he should live in the world: but God knows all this
beforehand; when men shall come into the world, at what period and of what
parents, and how long they shall continue in it.
Job 38:22 22 “Have you entered the
treasury of snow, Or have you seen the treasury of hail,
YLT
22Hast thou come in unto the
treasure of snow? Yea, the treasures of hail dost thou see?
Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou
seen the treasures of the hail? The vapours raised, and clouds formed in the
atmosphere, which is the storehouse of those meteors; and may be called
treasures, because hidden in the clouds, and not seen by man until the fall of
them; and because they are in the keeping, and at the command and direction of
the Lord the proprietor of them; and because rich and enriching, especially
snow, which falling keeps the earth warm, and makes it fruitful; and because of
the abundance thereof which sometimes falls. Now we are not to imagine that the
Lord has stores of these laid up in heaps, in times past for time to come; but
that he can and does as easily and as soon produce them when he pleases, as one
that has treasures laid up can bring them forth at once.
Job 38:23 23 Which I have reserved for
the time of trouble, For the day of battle and war?
YLT
23That I have kept back for a
time of distress, For a day of conflict and battle.
Which I have reserved against the time of trouble,.... For the
punishment or affliction of men; and is explained as follows,
against the day of battle and war? as his artillery and
ammunition to light his enemies with. Of hail we have instances in Scripture,
as employed against the Egyptians and Canaanites, Exodus 9:25; and of
a reserve of it in the purposes of God, and in prophecy against the day of
battle with antichrist, Revelation 16:21;
and so Jarchi interprets it here of the war of Gog and Magog. And though there
are no instances of snow being used in this way in Scripture, yet there is in
history. StraboF19Geograph. l. 11. p. 363. reports, that at Corzena
and Cambysena, which join to Mount Caucasus, such snows have fallen, that whole
companies of men have been swallowed up in them; and even armies have been
overwhelmed with them, as the army of the GaulsF20Cicero de
Divinatione, l. 1. ; and such quantities have been thrown down from mountains,
on which they have been lodged, that towns, towers, and villages, have been
laid prostrate by themF21Olaus Magu. de Ritu Gent. Septent. l. 2. c.
13. ; and in the year 443, a vast snow destroyed manyF23Whiston's
Chronolog. Tables, cent. 20. . Frequently do we hear in our parts of the
disasters occasioned by them. The Targum particularly makes mention of snow;
and renders it, "which snow I have reserved", &c. though absurdly
applies it to punishment in hell.
Job 38:24 24 By what way is light
diffused, Or the east wind scattered over the earth?
YLT
24Where [is] this, the way
light is apportioned? It scattereth an east wind over the earth.
By what way is the light parted,.... That is, dost thou
know by what way it is parted or divided? as at the first creation, when God
divided the light from darkness, Genesis 1:4; or at
sun rising and sun setting; and so in the two hemispheres, when there is
darkness on the one, and light on the other; or under the two poles, when there
are interchangeably six months light and six months darkness. Or how it is
parted in an unequal distribution of day and night, at different seasons and in
different climates; or how on one and the same day, and at the same time, the
sun shall shine in one part of the earth, and not another; and more especially
if this had been now a fact, and known, that there should be darkness all over
the land of Egypt, and light in Goshen. Some understand this of lightning, but
that is later mentioned;
which scattereth the
east wind upon the earth? that rising sometimes with the sun, or first spring of light;
see Jonah 4:8; or which
light spreads and diffuses itself "from the east", as it may be
rendered. The sun rises in the east, and in a very quick and surprising manner
spreads and diffuses its light throughout the hemisphere. Or this may respect
the east wind itself, which scatters the clouds; and either spreads them in the
heavens over the earth, or disperses them and drives away rainF24"Agente
nimbos ocyor euro". Horat. Carmin. l. 2. Ode 16. , as the north wind does:
or as Mr. Broughton renders the words, "and the east wind scattereth
itself over the earth"; it blowing invisibly and without our knowledge,
goes and returns as other winds do, John 3:8.
Job 38:25 25 “Who has divided a channel
for the overflowing water, Or a path for the thunderbolt,
YLT
25Who hath divided for the
flood a conduit? And a way for the lightning of the voices?
Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters,.... For a
very large shower of rain, as the Vulgate Latin version: for this is not to be
understood of an aqueduct, channel, or canal made on earth, either for the
draining of waters off of land overflowed thereby, or for the conveyance of it
to different parts to overflow it; such as were cut out of the Nile in Egypt,
for the overflowing of the land, to make it fruitful; such may be and have been
made by men: but of a watercourse in the air or atmosphere, as a canal or
channel, for the rain to come down upon the earth; and this is the work of God,
and him only, who directs and steers the course of rain, that it falls
regularly and gently, not in spouts and floods, but in drops larger or lesser,
on what spot of ground, or part of the earth, he pleases: and if what Jarchi
says true, that every drop has its course, its canal, through which it passes,
it is still more wonderful;
or a way for the lightning of thunder: which
generally go together, and are of God. His fire and voice, and for which he
makes a way, by which they burst and break forth out of the cloud, and their
course is directed by him under the whole heavens; see Job 28:26. So the
Gospel, compared to rain and lightning, has its direction and its course
steered to what part of the world, he pleases; see Psalm 19:4.
Job 38:26 26 To cause it to rain on a
land where there is no one, A wilderness in which there is no
man;
YLT
26To cause [it] to rain on a
land -- no man, A wilderness -- no man in it.
To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on
the wilderness, wherein there is no man. Which is uninhabited by
men, being so dry and barren; where there is no man to cultivate and water it,
as gardens are; and where is no man to receive any advantage by the rain that
comes upon it; and yet the Lord sends it for the use of animals that dwell
there; which shows his care and providence with respect even to the wild beasts
of the earth. This may be an emblem of the rain of the Gospel upon the Gentile
world, comparable to a wilderness; see Isaiah 35:1.
Job 38:27 27 To satisfy the desolate
waste, And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass?
YLT
27To satisfy a desolate and
waste place, And to cause to shoot up The produce of the tender grass?
To satisfy the desolate and waste ground,.... Which is
exceeding desolate, and therefore two such words are used to express it; which
is so dry and thirsty that it is one of the four things that say not it is
enough, Proverbs 30:16; and
yet God can and does give it rain to its full satisfaction, Psalm 104:13; so
the Lord satisfies souls, comparable to dry and thirsty ground, by his word and
ordinances, with the goodness and fatness of his house; see Psalm 63:1;
and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth? grass for the
cattle, and herb for the service of men, Psalm 104:14; of
like use is the word in a spiritual sense for the budding and increase of the
graces of the Spirit in the Lord's people; see Deuteronomy 32:2.
Job 38:28 28 Has the rain a father? Or
who has begotten the drops of dew?
YLT
28Hath the rain a father? Or
who hath begotten the drops of dew?
Hath the rain a father?.... None but God; hence
the Heathens themselves call God γετιοςF25Aristot.
de Mundo, c. 7. , and ομβριοςF26Pausan.
Attica, sive, l. 1. p. 60. ; see Jeremiah 14:22; he
that is our Father in heaven is the Father of rain, and him only; whatever
secondary causes there be, God only is the efficient cause, parent, and
producer of it: so the Gospel is not of men but of God, is a gift of his, comes
down from heaven, tarries not for men, and is a great blessing, as rain is;
or who hath begotten the drops of the dew? which are
innumerable; he that is the parent of the rain is of the dew also, and he onlyF1Though
a certain poet (Alcman Lyricus apud Macrob. Saturnal. l. 7. c. 16.) says that
dew is the offspring of the air and of the moon; but these can only at most be
reckoned but secondary causes. The Arabs speak of an angel over dew.
Abulpharag, Hist. Dynast. p. 75. ; to which sometimes not only the word of God,
and his free favour and good will, but the people of God themselves are
compared for their number, influence, and use; see Psalm 110:3; and
their new birth is similar to the generation of dew, it being not of the will
of man, but of God, according to his abundant mercy, free favour, and good
will, is from above, from heaven, and is effected silently, secretly, suddenly,
at an unawares; John 1:13.
Job 38:29 29 From whose womb comes the
ice? And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth?
YLT
29From whose belly came forth
the ice? And the hoar-frost of the heavens, Who hath begotten it?
Out of whose womb came the ice?.... The parent of the rain
and dew is the parent of the ice also, and he only; it is therefore called
"his ice", his child, his offspring, Psalm 147:17. Here
the Lord is represented as a mother, and so he is by OrpheusF2Apud
Clement. Stromat. l. 5. p. 608. called "metropator", or
"mother-father";
and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? this is of
God, and by his breath; see Job 37:10.
Job 38:30 30 The waters harden like
stone, And the surface of the deep is frozen.
YLT
30As a stone waters are
hidden, And the face of the deep is captured.
The waters are hid as with a stone,.... The
surface of the waters by frost become as hard as a stone, and will bear great
burdens, and admit of carriages to pass over themF3"Nunc
hospita plaustris", &c. Virg. Georgic. l. 3. v. 362. where ships went
before; so that the waters under them are hid and quite out of sight: an emblem
of the hard heart of man, which can only be thawed by the power and grace of
God, by the south wind of the Spirit blowing, and the "sun of
righteousness" rising on it;
and the face of the deep is frozen; or bound together by the
frost, as the Targum; it is taken, laid hold on, and kept together, as the word
signifies, so that it cannot flow. Historians speak of seas being frozen up, as
some parts of the Scythian sea, reported by MelaF4De Situ Orbis, l.
3. c. 5. , and the Cimmerian Bosphorus, by HerodotusF5Melpomene,
sive, l. 4. c. 20. Vid. Macrob. Saturnal. l. 7. c. 12. , and the northern seas
by Olaus MagnusF6De Ritu Gent. Septent. l. 1. c. 13. ; as that men
might travel over them on foot or on horseback, from one country to another;
and Strabo relatesF7Geograph. l. 7. p. 211. Vid. Alex. ab Alex.
Genial. Dier. l. 1. c. 22. , that where a sea fight has been in the summer
time, armies and hosts have met and fought in the winter. In Muscovy the ice is
to six and ten feet deepF8Scheuchzer. Phys. Sacr. vol 4. p. 810. ;
in the year 401 the Euxine seaF9Universal History, vol. 16. p. 489.
was frozen over for the space of twenty days; and in the year 763 the seas at
Constantinople were frozen one hundred miles from the shore, so thick as to
bear the heaviest carriagesF11Universal History, vol. 17. p. 45. .
Job 38:31 31 “Can you bind the cluster
of the Pleiades, Or loose the belt of Orion?
YLT
31Dost thou bind sweet
influences of Kimah? Or the attractions of Kesil dost thou open?
Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades,.... Of which
See Gill on Job 9:9; and this
constellation of the seven stars which is meant, rising in the spring, the pleasantnesses
of the season, as the word may be rendered, may be intended here; which cannot
be restrained or hindered from taking place in the proper course of the year;
which is beautifully described in Song of Solomon 2:12;
and may in a spiritual sense relate to the effects of powerful and efficacious
grace, the influences of which are irresistible, and cause a springtime in the
souls of men, where it was before winter, a state of darkness, deadness,
coldness, hardness, and unfruitfulness, but now the reverse. Some versions
read, "the bands of the Pleiades"F12מעדנות
כימה δεσμον
πλειαδος, Sept. "nexus stellarum", Schmidt; so Jarchi
and Targum.--According to the Talmud, the word signifies an hundred stars. Vid.
T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 58. 2. , as if the sense was, canst thou gather and bind,
or cluster together, such a constellation as the seven stars be, as I have
done? thou canst not; and so not stop their rising or hinder their influences,
according to the other versions:
or loose the bands of Orion? of which See Gill on Job 9:9 and Amos 5:8. This
constellation appears in the winter, and brings with it stormy winds, rain,
snow, and frost, which latter binds up the earth, that seeds and roots in it
cannot spring up; and binds the hands of men from working, by benumbing them,
or rendering their materials or utensils useless; for which reasons bands are
ascribed to Orion, and are such strong ones that it is not in the power of men
to loose: the seasons are not to be altered by men; and, Job might be taught by
this that it was not in his power to make any change in the dispensations of
Providence; to turn the winter of adversity into the spring of prosperity; and
therefore it was best silently to submit to the sovereignty of God, and wait
his time for a change of circumstances.
Job 38:32 32 Can you bring out
Mazzaroth[a] in its
season? Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs?
YLT
32Dost thou bring out
Mazzaroth in its season? And Aysh for her sons dost thou comfort?
Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season?.... Which are
thought to be the same with "the chambers of the south", Job 9:9; the
southern poleF13David de Pomis, Lexic. fol. 77. 3. with its stars,
signified by chambers, because hidden from our sight in this part of the globe;
and here by Mazzaroth, from, "nazar", to separate, because separated
and at a distance from us; some thinkF14Vatablus, Codurcus,
Schultens; so Suidas in voce μαζουραθ.
the twelve signs of the Zodiac are meant, each of which are brought forth in
their season, not by men, but by the Lord; see Isaiah 40:26;
or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? a
constellation of many stars called its sons, of which see Job 9:9. Schmidt
conjectures that Jupiter and his satellites are meant; but rather what we call
the greater and lesser Bear, in the tail of which is the north pole star, the
guide of mariners, saidF15Callimachus apud Laert. Vit. Thalet. p.
16. to be found out by Thales, by which the Phoenicians sailed, but is not to
be guided by men; this, constellation is fancied to be in the form of a wain or
wagon, and is called Charles's wain; could this be admitted, there might be
thought to be an allusion to itF16Vid. Hinckelman. Praefat. ad
Alkoran. p. 29, 30. , and the sense be, canst thou guide and lead this
constellation, as a wagon or team of horses can be guided and led? stars have
their courses, Judges 5:20; but
are not steered, guided, and directed by men, but by the Lord himself.
Job 38:33 33 Do you know the ordinances
of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth?
YLT
33Hast thou known the
statutes of heaven? Or dost thou appoint Its dominion in the earth?
Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven?.... Settled
by the decree, purpose, and will of God, and are firm and stable; see Psalm 148:6; the
laws and statutes respecting their situation, motion, operation, influence, and
use, which are constantly observed; these are so far from being made by men,
and at their direction, that they are not known by them, at least not fully and
perfectly;
canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth? or over it;
of the heavens over the earth; not such an one as judicial astrologers ascribe
unto them, as to influence the bodies of men, especially the tempers and
dispositions of their minds; to affect their wills and moral actions, the
events and occurrences of their lives, and the fate of nations and kingdoms;
their dominion is not moral and civil, but physical or natural, as to make the
revolutions of night and day, and of the several seasons of the year; and to
affect and influence the fruits of the earth, &c. see Genesis 1:16; but
this dominion is solely under God, and at his direction, and is not of men's
fixing.
Job 38:34 34 “Can you lift up your
voice to the clouds, That an abundance of water may cover you?
YLT
34Dost thou lift up to the
cloud thy voice, And abundance of water doth cover thee?
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of
waters may cover thee? Thy gardens, fields, and farms; canst thou, in a magisterial way,
call to and demand of the clouds to let down rain in large quantities,
sufficient to water them and make them fruitful? no, thou canst not: thou
mayest cry and call as long as thou wilt, not a cloud will stir, nor a drop of
water be let down; rain is to be had in a suppliant way, through the prayer of
faith, as by Elijah, but not in a dictatorial authoritative way: the clouds and
rain are only at the disposal of the Lord; ask of him, and he will give them;
but they are not to be commanded, Zechariah 10:1; see
Amos 5:8.
Job 38:35 35 Can you send out
lightnings, that they may go, And say to you, ‘Here we are!’?
YLT
35Dost thou send out
lightnings, and they go And say unto thee, `Behold us?'
Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee,
Here we are? Thy humble servants; we have been where thou didst send us, and
have executed what we were bid to do, and are returned, and here we are waiting
further orders; see Matthew 8:9; no;
lightnings are only at the command of God, and there have been some awful
instances of it, Leviticus 10:1; but
not in the power of men; indeed we have an extraordinary instance in Elijah,
who, at the motion, and under the impulse of the spirit of prophecy in him,
called for fire, or lightning, to consume captains with their fifties, and it
came down on them, and consumed them, 2 Kings 1:10; but
he is not to be imitated herein: when the disciples of Christ desired the same
upon a provocation, they were severely reproved by him, Luke 9:54; were
these at the call and dispose of men, what dreadful things would be done in the
world! for if good men, when provoked, would make use of such a power to
destroy the lives of men, much more bad men; and our eyes would continually
behold the flashes of lighting, and our ears hear the roarings of thunder, and
the terrible effects thereof; but neither mercies nor judgments are at the
command of men, but of God.
Job 38:36 36 Who has put wisdom in the
mind?[b] Or who has
given understanding to the heart?
YLT
36Who hath put in the inward
parts wisdom? Or who hath given To the covered part understanding?
Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts?.... That is,
of man, in his heart, as explained in the next clause; such wisdom as to guide
the stars, know the ordinances of heaven, set their dominion on earth, manage
and direct the clouds and lightning; no such wisdom is put in man:
or who hath, given understanding to the heart? to understand
all the above things, and answer to the several questions put in this chapter;
though, as these clauses may respect much one and the same thing, they may be
understood of wisdom and understanding in man, whether natural or spiritual;
and seeing they are found there, the question is, who put them there, or how
came they there? who gave them to him? the answer must be, God himself, and no other;
man has his rational soul, his intellectual powers, the light of nature and
reason in him; all his understanding in arts and sciences, trades and
manufactures, is of the Lord, and not of himself or another, see Job 32:8; all
spiritual wisdom and understanding which lies in a man's concern for his
eternal welfare in the knowledge of himself, and of his state and condition by
nature, and of the way of life and salvation by Christ, and of the truths and
doctrines of the Gospel, is all of God and Christ, and by the spirit of wisdom
and revelation in the knowledge of him; no man, therefore, has any reason to
glory in his wisdom and knowledge, of whatsoever kind, as though he had not
received it; nor should he dare to arraign the wisdom of God in his
providential dealings with men; since he that teaches man knowledge must needs
know better than man how to govern the world he has made, and dispose of all
things in it. The last clause is in the Vulgate Latin rendered, "who hath
given to the cock understanding?" and so the Targums and other Jewish
writersF16Jarchi, Ramban, Simeon Bar. Tzemach. interpret it; and
they observeF17Vajikra Rabba, s. 25. fol. 166. 1. Vid. T. Roshhashanah,
fol. 26. 1. , that in Arabia a cock is called by the word that is here used;
and in their morning prayers, and at hearing a cock crowF18Seder
Tephillot. fol. 2. 2. Ed. Basil. & Bab. Beracot, fol. 60. 2. ,
"Blessed
be the Lord, who giveth to the cock understanding to distinguish between the
day and the night:'
but
however remarkable the understanding of this creature is, which God has given
it, and which is even taken notice of by Heathen writersF19Plin.
Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 21. Aelian. de Animal. l. 4. c. 29. ; that it should know
the stars, distinguish the hours of the night by crowing, and express its joy
at the rising of the sun and moon; yet such a sense of the text seems
impertinent, as well as that of the Septuagint version, of giving to women the
wisdom and knowledge of weaving and embroidery.
Job 38:37 37 Who can number the clouds
by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,
YLT
37Who doth number the clouds
by wisdom? And the bottles of the heavens, Who doth cause to lie down,
Who can number the clouds in wisdom?.... Or has such wisdom
as to be able to count them when the heavens are full of them; hence they are
used to denote a great multitude, Isaiah 55:8; or
"declare" themF20יספר
"enarrabit", V. L. "vel explicabit", Mercerus, Schmidt. ,
set forth and explain the nature of them, their matter, motion, and use; none
can do this perfectly or completely. Aben Ezra interprets it, who can make them
as sapphire? in which he is followed by Mr. Broughton and othersF21Junius
& Tremellius, Piscator, Vid. Ravii Orthograph. Ebr. p. 22. ; the sapphire
is a precious stone, very clear and lucid, of a sky colour. And then the sense
is, who can make a clear and serene sky, when it is cloudy? None but the Lord;
see Job 37:11;
or who can stay the bottles of heaven? or
"barrels", as Mr. Broughton; the clouds in which the rain is bottled
or barrelled up; and when it is the pleasure of God to pour them out, who can
stay, stop, or restrain them? or who can "cause them to lie
down"F23ישכיב "cubare
faciet", Drusius, Schmidt; "quiescere", Montanus;
"descendere", Pagninus, so Aben Ezra; "effundit humi",
Schultens. ? that is, on the earth; to descend or "distil" on it, as
the same translator. Who can do this, when it is the will of God to withhold
them? To stop or unstop, those bottles, to restrain rain, or pour it forth, is
entirely at his dispose, and not man's; see Job 38:34.
Job 38:38 38 When the dust hardens in
clumps, And the clods cling together?
YLT
38In the hardening of dust
into hardness, And clods cleave together?
When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast
together? When the dust is attenuated, and ground, as it were, into powder;
and the clods cleave together, as if glued, as in a drought for want of rain:
or the bottles of heaven being unstopped and poured out; or
"sprinkling
the dust with this sprinkling,'
as
Mr. Broughton. Or rather, pouring on the dust with pouring; that is, pouring
down rain, by unstopping the bottles of heaven. The dust, as meal, by water
poured into it, cements, unites, and is compacted, and becomes earth, that may
be cultivated; is clodded and cleaves together, and may be ploughed and sown.
Job 38:39 39 “Can you hunt the prey for
the lion, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
YLT
39Dost thou hunt for a lion prey?
And the desire of young lions fulfil?
Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion?.... From
meteors the Lord passes to animals, beasts, and birds, wherefore some here
begin the thirty ninth chapter, which only treats of such; and he begins with
the lion, the strongest among beasts, and most fierce; cruel, and voracious;
and asks, who hunts his prey for him? Not man, who cannot; and if he could,
durst not: but the Lord does; and, according to some writersF24Thevenot's
Travels, part 2. c. 13. , he has provided a small creature, between a fox and a
wolf, called a jackal; which goes before the lion, and hunts the prey for him.
And could this be understood particularly of the old lion, as Cocceius and
others, naturalistsF25Aelian. de Animal. l. 9. c. 1. observe, that
young lions hunt for the old ones, when they are not able to go in search of
prey; and when they have got it, either bring it to them, or call them to
partake of it with them;
or fill the appetite of the young lions, whose
appetite is sharp and keen, and requires a great deal to fill it, and
especially to satisfy a great many of them; herds of them, as Mr. Broughton
renders the word, and which signifies a company; see Psalm 68:30. Men
cannot feed them, but God can and does; there being some ends in Providence to
be answered thereby, see Psalm 104:21; see
also Psalm 34:8.
Job 38:40 40 When they crouch in their
dens, Or lurk in their lairs to lie in wait?
YLT
40When they bow down in dens
-- Abide in a thicket for a covert?
When they couch in their dens, and abide in the
covert to lie in wait? Which some understand of old lions, who, for want of strength,
lie couchant in their dens, or in some covert place, waiting for any prey that
passes by, to seize upon it. But the same pasture and places are used by
younger lions, as well as old ones; who are emblems of wicked men, cruel
persecutors, and bloodthirsty tyrants, who fill their palaces and kingdoms with
murder and rapine; see Psalm 10:8, Nahum 2:11.
Job 38:41 41 Who provides food for the
raven, When its young ones cry to God, And wander about for lack of food?
YLT
41Who doth prepare for a
raven his provision, When his young ones cry unto God? They wander without
food.
Who provideth for the
raven his food?.... Not man, but God; he feeds the ravens, creatures very
voracious, mean, and useless, Luke 12:24;
when his young ones cry unto God; cry for want of food;
which is interpreted by the Lord as a cry unto him, and he relieves them, Psalm 147:9; when
deserted by the old ones; either left in their nests through forgetfulness, as
someF26Plin. apud Servium in Virgil. Georgic. l. 1. p. 189. ; or
because they are not, till fledged, black like them, as othersF1Pirke
Eliezer, c. 21. ; when God feeds them, as some sayF2Hieron. in Pasl.
cxlvii. 9. , with a kind of dew from heaven, or with flies that fly about them,
and fall into their mouths; or with worms bred out of their dung but these
things are not to be depended on; it may rather respect them when cast out of
the nest by the old ones, when able to fly, which is testified by naturalistsF3Aristot.
Hist. Animal. l. 9. c. 3. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 12. ; and with this agrees
what follows:
they wander for lack of meat; being obliged to shift
for themselves, when God takes care of them; which is an instance of his
providential goodness; and how this is to be improved, see Matthew 6:26.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)