Text -- Job 20:3-29 (NET)

20:3 When I hear a reproof that dishonors me, then my understanding prompts me to answer. 20:4 “Surely you know that it has been from old, ever since humankind was placed on the earth, 20:5 that the elation of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment. 20:6 Even though his stature reaches to the heavens and his head touches the clouds, 20:7 he will perish forever, like his own excrement; those who used to see him will say, ‘Where is he?’ 20:8 Like a dream he flies away, never again to be found, and like a vision of the night he is put to flight. 20:9 People who had seen him will not see him again, and the place where he was will recognize him no longer. 20:10 His sons must recompense the poor; his own hands must return his wealth. 20:11 His bones were full of his youthful vigor, but that vigor will lie down with him in the dust. 20:12 “If evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue, 20:13 if he retains it for himself and does not let it go, and holds it fast in his mouth, 20:14 his food is turned sour in his stomach; it becomes the venom of serpents within him. 20:15 The wealth that he consumed he vomits up, God will make him throw it out of his stomach. 20:16 He sucks the poison of serpents; the fangs of a viper kill him. 20:17 He will not look on the streams, the rivers, which are the torrents of honey and butter. 20:18 He gives back the ill-gotten gain without assimilating it; he will not enjoy the wealth from his commerce. 20:19 For he has oppressed the poor and abandoned them; he has seized a house which he did not build. 20:20 For he knows no satisfaction in his appetite; he does not let anything he desires escape. 20:21 “Nothing is left for him to devour; that is why his prosperity does not last. 20:22 In the fullness of his sufficiency, distress overtakes him. the full force of misery will come upon him. 20:23 “While he is filling his belly, God sends his burning anger against him, and rains down his blows upon him. 20:24 If he flees from an iron weapon, then an arrow from a bronze bow pierces him. 20:25 When he pulls it out and it comes out of his back, the gleaming point out of his liver, terrors come over him. 20:26 Total darkness waits to receive his treasures; a fire which has not been kindled will consume him and devour what is left in his tent. 20:27 The heavens reveal his iniquity; the earth rises up against him. 20:28 A flood will carry off his house, rushing waters on the day of God’s wrath. 20:29 Such is the lot God allots the wicked, and the heritage of his appointment from God.”

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Job 20:3

Thy opprobrious reproofs of us.

Wesley: Job 20:3

I speak, not from passion, but certain knowledge.

Wesley: Job 20:4

Which I am now about to say.

Wesley: Job 20:4

Since the world was made.

Wesley: Job 20:6

Though he be advanced to great dignity and authority.

Wesley: Job 20:11

His whole body, even the strongest parts of it.

Wesley: Job 20:11

Of the punishment of it.

Wesley: Job 20:12

To his taste; though it greatly please him for the present.

Wesley: Job 20:12

As an epicure doth a sweet morsel, which he keeps and rolls about his mouth, that he may longer enjoy the pleasure of it.

Wesley: Job 20:14

From sweet to bitter.

Wesley: Job 20:14

Exceeding bitter and pernicious. Gall is most bitter; the gall of serpents is full of poison; and the poison of asps is most dangerous and within a few hours kills without remedy.

Wesley: Job 20:15

Be forced to restore them.

Wesley: Job 20:15

If no man's hand can reach him, God shall find him out.

Wesley: Job 20:17

Not enjoy that abundant satisfaction and comfort, which good men through God's blessings enjoy.

Wesley: Job 20:18

So as to hold it. He shall not possess it long, nor to any considerable purpose. Yea, he shall be forced to part with his estate to make compensations for his wrongs. So that he shall not enjoy what he had gotten, because it shall be taken from him.

Wesley: Job 20:20

He shall have no peace in his mind.

Wesley: Job 20:20

Any part of his desirable things, but shall forfeit and lose them all.

Wesley: Job 20:21

It being publickly known that he was totally ruined, none of his kindred shall trouble themselves about any relicks of his estate.

Wesley: Job 20:22

_In the height of prosperity he shall be distressed.

Wesley: Job 20:22

So his wickedness shall be punished by those as wicked as himself.

Wesley: Job 20:23

This phrase denotes both the author of his plagues, God, and the nature and quality of them, that they shall come upon him like rain; with great vehemency, so that he cannot prevent or avoid it.

Wesley: Job 20:23

As it fell upon thy sons.

Wesley: Job 20:24

From the sword or spear; and so shall think him self out of danger.

Wesley: Job 20:25

The arrow, which had entered into his body, and now was drawn out of it either by himself or some other person; having in general said, that it came out of his body, he determines also the part of the body, the gall; which shews that the wound was both deep and deadly.

Wesley: Job 20:25

The terrors of death; because he perceived his wound was incurable.

Wesley: Job 20:26

All sorts of miseries.

Wesley: Job 20:26

Or, laid up; by God for him. It is reserved and treasured up for him, and shall infallibly overtake him.

Wesley: Job 20:26

In those places where he confidently hopes to hide himself from all evil: even there God shall find him out.

Wesley: Job 20:26

By man, but kindled by God himself. He thinks by his might and violence to secure himself from men, but God will find him out.

Wesley: Job 20:26

With his family, who shall inherit his curse as well as his estate.

Wesley: Job 20:27

God shall be a swift witness against him by extraordinary judgments; still he reflects upon Job's case, and the fire from heaven.

Wesley: Job 20:27

All creatures upon earth shall conspire to destroy him. If the God of heaven and earth be his enemy, neither heaven nor earth will shew him any kindness, but all the host of both are, and will he at war with him.

Wesley: Job 20:28

His estate.

Wesley: Job 20:28

Shall be lost.

Wesley: Job 20:28

Like waters, swiftly and strongly, and so as to return no more.

Wesley: Job 20:28

Of God's wrath.

Wesley: Job 20:29

Heb. the heritage; so called, to denote the stability and assurance of it, that it is as firm as an inheritance to the right heir; and in opposition to that inheritance which he had gotten by fraud and violence.

JFB: Job 20:3

That is, the castigation intended as a reproach (literally, "shame") to me.

JFB: Job 20:3

My rational spirit; answering to "calm thoughts" (Job 20:2). In spite of thy reproach urging me to "hastiness." I will answer in calm reason.

JFB: Job 20:5

Literally, "the ungodly" (Psa 37:35-36).

JFB: Job 20:6

(Isa 14:13; Oba 1:3-4).

JFB: Job 20:7

In contrast to the haughtiness of the sinner (Job 20:6); this strong term expresses disgust and the lowest degradation (Psa 83:10; 1Ki 14:10).

JFB: Job 20:8

(Psa 73:20).

JFB: Job 20:9

Rather "the eye followeth him, but can discern him no more." A sharp-looking is meant (Job 28:7; Job 7:10).

JFB: Job 20:10

"Atone to the poor" (by restoring the property of which they had been robbed by the father) [DE WETTE]. Better than English Version, "The children" are reduced to the humiliating condition of "seeking the favor of those very poor," whom the father had oppressed. But UMBREIT translates as Margin.

JFB: Job 20:10

Rather, "their (the children's) hands."

JFB: Job 20:10

The goods of the poor. Righteous retribution! (Exo 20:5).

JFB: Job 20:11

(Psa 25:7), so Vulgate. GESENIUS has "full of youth"; namely, in the fulness of his youthful strength he shall be laid in the dust. But "bones" plainly alludes to Job's disease, probably to Job's own words (Job 19:20). UMBREIT translates, "full of his secret sins," as in Psa 90:8; his secret guilt in his time of seeming righteousness, like secret poison, at last lays him in the dust. The English Version is best. Zophar alludes to Job's own words (Job 17:16).

JFB: Job 20:11

His sin had so pervaded his nature that it accompanies him to the grave: for eternity the sinner cannot get rid of it (Rev 22:11).

JFB: Job 20:12

"taste sweet." Sin's fascination is like poison sweet to the taste, but at last deadly to the vital organs (Pro 20:17; Job 9:17-18).

JFB: Job 20:12

Seek to prolong the enjoyment by keeping the sweet morsel long in the mouth (so Job 20:13).

JFB: Job 20:14

Hebrew denotes a total change into a disagreeable contrary (Jer 2:21; compare Rev 10:9-10).

JFB: Job 20:14

In which the poison of the asp was thought to lie. It rather is contained in a sack in the mouth. Scripture uses popular language, where no moral truth is thereby endangered.

JFB: Job 20:15

He is forced to disgorge his ill-gotten wealth.

JFB: Job 20:16

It shall turn out that he has sucked the poison, &c.

JFB: Job 20:17

Literally, "stream of floods," plentiful streams flowing with milk, &c. (Job 29:6; Exo 3:17). Honey and butter are more fluid in the East than with us and are poured out from jars. These "rivers" or water brooks are in the sultry East emblems of prosperity.

JFB: Job 20:18

Image from food which is taken away from one before he can swallow it.

JFB: Job 20:18

(So Pro 6:31). The parallelism favors the English Version rather than the translation of GESENIUS, "As a possession to be restored in which he rejoices not."

JFB: Job 20:18

His enjoyment of his ill-gotten gains shall then be at an end (Job 20:5).

JFB: Job 20:19

Whereas he ought to have espoused their cause (2Ch 16:10).

JFB: Job 20:19

Left helpless.

JFB: Job 20:19

Thus leaving the poor without shelter (Isa 5:8; Mic 2:2).

JFB: Job 20:20

UMBREIT translates, "His inward parts know no rest" from desires.

JFB: Job 20:20

That is, peace inwardly.

JFB: Job 20:20

Literally, "not escape with that which," &c., alluding to Job's having been stripped of his all.

JFB: Job 20:21

Rather, "because his goods," that is, prosperity shall have no endurance.

JFB: Job 20:22

Rather, "he is (feeleth) straitened." The next clause explains in what respect.

JFB: Job 20:22

Rather, "the whole hand of the miserable (whom he had oppressed) cometh upon him"; namely, the sense of his having oppressed the poor, now in turn comes with all its power (hand) on him. This caused his "straitened" feeling even in prosperity.

JFB: Job 20:23

Rather, "God shall cast (may God send) [UMBREIT] upon him the fury of His wrath to fill his belly!"

JFB: Job 20:23

Rather, "shall rain it upon him for his food!" Fiery rain, that is, lightning (Psa 11:6; alluding to Job's misfortune, Job 1:16). The force of the image is felt by picturing to one's self the opposite nature of a refreshing rain in the desert (Exo 16:4; Psa 68:9).

JFB: Job 20:24

Rather, "brass." While the wicked flees from one danger, he falls into a greater one from an opposite quarter [UMBREIT].

JFB: Job 20:25

Rather, "He (God) draweth (the sword, Jos 5:13) and (no sooner has He done so, than) it cometh out of (that is, passes right through) the (sinner's) body" (Deu 32:41-42; Eze 21:9-10). The glittering sword is a happy image for lightning.

JFB: Job 20:25

That is, his life (Job 16:13). "Inflicts a deadly wound."

JFB: Job 20:25

Zophar repeats Bildad's words (Job 17:11; Psa 88:16; Psa 55:4).

JFB: Job 20:26

That is, every calamity that befalls the wicked shall be hid (in store for him) in His (God's) secret places, or treasures (Jud 1:13; Deu 32:34).

JFB: Job 20:26

Not kindled by man's hands, but by God's (Isa 30:33; the Septuagint in the Alexandrian Manuscript reads "unquenchable fire," Mat 3:12). Tact is shown by the friends in not expressly mentioning, but alluding under color of general cases, to Job's calamities; here (Job 1:16) UMBREIT explains it, wickedness, is a "self-igniting fire"; in it lie the principles of destruction.

JFB: Job 20:26

Every trace of the sinner must be obliterated (Job 18:15).

JFB: Job 20:27

All creation is at enmity with him, and proclaims his guilt, which he would fain conceal.

JFB: Job 20:28

Prosperity. Ill got--ill gone.

JFB: Job 20:28

Like waters that run dry in summer; using Job's own metaphor against himself (Job 6:15-17; 2Sa 14:14; Mic 1:4).

JFB: Job 20:28

God's.

JFB: Job 20:29

Not as a matter of chance, but by the divine "decree" (Margin) and settled principle.

Clarke: Job 20:3

I have heard the check of my reproach - Some suppose that Zophar quotes the words of Job, and that some words should be supplied to indicate this meaning; e.g., "I have heard (sayest thou) the check or charge of my reproach?"Or it may refer to what Job says of Zophar and his companions, Job 19:2, Job 19:3 : How long will ye vex may soul - these ten times have ye reproached me. Zophar therefore assumes his old ground, and retracts nothing of what he had said. Like many of his own complexion in the present day, he was determined to believe that his judgment was infallible, and that he could not err.

Clarke: Job 20:4

Knowest thou not this of old - This is a maxim as ancient as the world; it began with the first man: A wicked man shall triumph but a short time; God will destroy the proud doer

Clarke: Job 20:4

Since man was placed upon earth - Literally, since Adam was placed on the earth; that is, since the fall, wickedness and hypocrisy have existed; but they have never triumphed long. Thou hast lately been expressing confidence in reference to a general judgment; but such is thy character, that thou hast little reason to anticipate with any joy the decisions of that day.

Clarke: Job 20:6

Though his excellency mount up to the heavens - Probably referring to the original state of Adam, of whose fall he appears to have spoken, Job 20:4. He was created in the image of God; but by his sin against his Maker he fell into wretchedness, misery, death, and destruction.

Clarke: Job 20:7

He shall perish for ever - He is dust, and shall return to the dust from which he was taken. Zophar here hints his disbelief in that doctrine, the resurrection of the body, which Job had so solemnly asserted in the preceding chapter. Or he might have been like some in the present day, who believe that the wicked shall be annihilated, and the bodies of the righteous only be raised from the dead; but I know of no scripture by which such a doctrine is confirmed

Clarke: Job 20:7

Like his own dung - His reputation shall be abominable, and his putrid carcass shall resemble his own excrement. A speech that partakes as much of the malevolence as of the asperity of Zophar’ s spirit.

Clarke: Job 20:8

He shall fly away as a dream - Instead of rising again from corruption, as thou hast asserted, (Job 19:26), with a new body, his flesh shall rot in the earth, and his spirit be dissipated like a vapor; and, like a vision of the night, nothing shall remain but the bare impression that such a creature had once existed, but shall appear no more for ever.

Clarke: Job 20:10

His children shall seek to please the poor - They shall be reduced to the lowest degree of poverty and want, so as to be obliged to become servants to the poor. Cursed be Ham, a servant of servants shall he be. There are cases where the poor actually serve the poor; and this is the lowest or most abject state of poverty

Clarke: Job 20:10

His hands shall restore their goods - He shall be obliged to restore the goods that he has taken by violence. Mr. Good translates: His branches shall be involved in his iniquity; i.e., his children shall suffer on his account. "His own hands shall render to himself the evil that he has done to others."- Calmet. The clause is variously translated.

Clarke: Job 20:11

His bones are full of the sin of his youth - Our translators have followed the Vulgate, Ossa ejus implebuntur vitiis adolescentiae ejus; "his bones shall be filled with the sins of his youth."The Syriac and Arabic have, his bones are full of marrow; and the Targum is to the same sense. At first view it might appear that Zophar refers to those infirmities in old age, which are the consequences of youthful vices and irregularities. עלומו alumau , which we translate his youth, may be rendered his hidden things; as if he had said, his secret vices bring down his strength to the dust. For this rendering Rosenmuller contends, and several other German critics. Mr. Good contends for the same.

Clarke: Job 20:12

Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth - This seems to refer to the secret sins mentioned above

Clarke: Job 20:12

Hide it under his tongue - This and the four following verses contain an allegory; and the reference is to a man who, instead of taking wholesome food, takes what is poisonous, and is so delighted with it because it is sweet, that he rolls it under his tongue, and will scarcely let it down into his stomach, he is so delighted with the taste; "he spares it, and forsakes it not, but keeps it still within his mouth,"Job 20:13. "But when he swallows it, it is turned to the gall of asps within him,"Job 20:14, which shall corrode and torture his bowels.

Clarke: Job 20:15

He shall vomit them up again - This is also an allusion to an effect of most ordinary poisons; they occasion a nausea, and often excruciating vomiting; nature striving to eject what it knows, if retained, will be its bane.

Clarke: Job 20:16

He shall suck the poison of asps - That delicious morsel, that secret, easily-besetting sin, so palatable, and so pleasurable, shall act on the life of his soul, as the poison of asps would do on the life of his body. The poison is called the gall of asps, it being anciently supposed that the poison of serpents consists in their gall, which is thought to be copiously exuded when those animals are enraged; as it has been often seen that their bite is not poisonous when they are not angry. Pliny, in speaking of the various parts of animals, Hist. Nat. lib. xi., c. 37, states, from this circumstance, that in the gall, the poison of serpents consists; ne quis miretur id (fel) venenum esse serpentum. And in lib. xxviii., c. 9, he ranks the gall of horses among the poisons: Damnatur (fel) equinum tantum inter venena. We see, therefore, that the gall was considered to be the source whence the poison of serpents was generated, not only in Arabia, but also in Italy.

Clarke: Job 20:17

He shall not see the rivers - Mr. Good has the following judicious note on this passage: "Honey and butter are the common results of a rich, well-watered pasturage, offering a perpetual banquet of grass to kine, and of nectar to bees; and thus loading the possessor with the most luscious luxuries of pastoral life, peculiarly so before the discovery of the means of obtaining sugar. The expression appears to have been proverbial; and is certainly used here to denote a very high degree of temporal prosperity."See also Job 29:6. To the Hebrews such expressions were quite familiar. See Exo 3:8; Exo 13:5; Exo 33:3; 2Ki 18:32; Deu 31:20, and elsewhere. The Greek and Roman writers abound in such images. Milk and honey were such delicacies with the ancients, that Pindar compares his song to them for its smoothness and sweetness: -

Χαιρε

Φιλος. Εγω τοδε τοι

Πεμπω μεμιγμενον μελι λευκῳ

Συν γαλακτι· κιρναμενα δ ’ εερς ’ αμφεπει πομ ’ αοιδιμον, Αιολισιν εν πνοαισιν αυλων

Pind. Nem. iii., ver. 133

"Hail, friend! to thee I tune my song

For thee its mingled sweets prepare

Mellifluous accents pour along

Verse, pure as milk, to thee I bear

On all thy actions falls the dew of praise

Pierian draughts thy thirst of fame assuage

And breathing flutes thy songs of triumph raise.

J. B. C

Qui te, Pollio, amat, veniat, quo te quoque gaudet

Mella fluant illi, ferat et rubus asper amomum

Virg. Ecl. iii., ver. 88

"Who Pollio loves, and who his muse admires

Let Pollio’ s fortune crown his full desire

Let myrrh, instead of thorn, his fences fill

And showers of honey from his oaks distil!

Dryden

Ovid, describing the golden age, employs the same image: -

Flumina jam lactis, jam flumina nectaris ibant

Flavaque de viridi stillabant ilice mella

Metam. lib. i., ver. 3

"Floods were with milk, and floods with nectar, fill’ d

And honey from the sweating oak distill’ d.

Dryden

Horace employs a similar image in nearly the same words: -

Mella cava manant ex ilice, montibus altis

Levis crepante lympha desilit pede

Epod. xvi., ver. 46

"From hollow oaks, where honey’ d streams distil

And bounds with noisy foot the pebbled rill.

Francis

Job employs the same metaphor, Job 29:6 : -

When I washed my steps with butter

And the rock poured out to me rivers of oil

Isaiah, also, Isa 7:22, uses the same when describing the produce of a heifer and two ewes: -

From the plenty of milk that they shall produce

He shall eat butter: butter and honey shall he eat

Whosoever is left in the midst of the land

And Joel, Joe 3:18 : -

And it shall come to pass in that day

The mountains shall drop down new wine

And the hills shall flow with milk

And all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters

These expressions denote fertility and abundance; and are often employed to point out the excellence of the promised land, which is frequently denominated a land flowing with milk and honey: and even the superior blessings of the Gospel are thus characterized, Isa 51:1.

Clarke: Job 20:18

That which he laboureth for shall he restore - I prefer here the reading of the Arabic, which is also supported by the Syriac, and is much nearer to the Hebrew text than the common version. He shall return to labor, but he shall not eat; he shall toil, and not be permitted to enjoy the fruit of his labor. The whole of this verse Mr. Good thus translates: -

"To labor shall he return, but he shall not eat

A dearth his recompense: yea, nothing shall he taste.

It may be inquired how Mr. Good arrives at this meaning. It is by considering the word יעלס yaalos , which we translate he shall rejoice, as the Arabic (Arabic) alasa, "he ate, drank, tasted;"and the word כהיל kehil , which we make a compound word, keeheyl, "according to substance,"to be the pure Arabic word (Arabic) kahala , "it was fruitless,"applied to a year of dearth: hence kahlan, "a barren year."Conceiving these two to be pure Arabic words, for which he seems to have sufficient authority, he renders תמורתו temuratho , his recompense, as in Job 15:31, and not restitution, as here. The general meaning is, He shall labor and toil, but shall not reap, for God shall send on his land blasting and mildew. Houbigant translates the verse thus: Reddet labore partum; neque id absumet; copiosae fuerunt mercaturae ejus, sed illis non fruetur. "He shall restore what he gained by labor, nor shall he consume it; his merchandises were abundant, but he shall not enjoy them."O, how doctors disagree! Old Coverdale gives a good sense, which is no unfrequent thing with this venerable translator: -

But laboure shal he, and yet have nothinge to eate; great travayle shal he make for riches, but he shal not enjoye them.

Clarke: Job 20:19

He hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor - Literally, He hath broken in pieces the forsaken of the poor; כי רצץ עזב דלים ki ritstsats azab dallim . The poor have fled from famine, and left their children behind them; and this hard-hearted wretch, meaning Job all the while, has suffered them to perish, when he might have saved them alive

Clarke: Job 20:19

He hath violently taken away a house which he builded not - Or rather, He hath thrown down a house, and hath not rebuilt it. By neglecting or destroying the forsaken orphans of the poor, mentioned above, he has destroyed a house, (a family), while he might, by helping the wretched, have preserved the family from becoming extinct.

Clarke: Job 20:20

Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly - I have already remarked that the word בטן beten , which we translate belly, often means in the sacred Scriptures the whole of the human trunk; the regions of the thorax and abdomen, with their contents; the heart, lungs, liver, etc., and consequently all the thoughts, purposes, and inclinations of the mind, of which those viscera were supposed to be the functionaries. The meaning seems to be, "He shall never be satisfied; he shall have an endless desire after secular good, and shall never be able to obtain what he covets."

Clarke: Job 20:21

There shall none of his meat be left - Coverdale translates thus: He devoured so gredily, that he left nothinge behynde, therefore his goodes shal not prospere. He shall be stripped of every thing.

Clarke: Job 20:22

In the fullness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits - This is a fine saying, and few of the menders of Job’ s text have been able to improve the version. It is literally true of every great, rich, wicked man; he has no God, and anxieties and perplexities torment him, notwithstanding he has his portion in this life

Clarke: Job 20:22

Every hand of the wicked shall come upon him - All kinds of misery shall be his portion. Coverdale translates: Though he had plenteousnesse of every thinge, yet was he poore; and, therefore, he is but a wretch on every syde.

Clarke: Job 20:23

When he is about to fill his belly - Here seems a plain allusion to the lustings of the children of Israel in the desert. God showered down quails upon them, and showered down his wrath while the flesh was in their mouth. The allusion is too plain to be mistaken; and this gives some countenance to the bishop of Killala’ s version of Job 20:20 -

"Because he acknowledged not the quail in his stomach

In the midst of his delight he shall not escape.

That שלו, which we translate quietness, means a quail, also the history of the Hebrews’ lustings, Exo 16:2-11, and Num 11:31-35, sufficiently proves. Let the reader mark all the expressions here, Job 20:20-23, and compare them with Num 11:31-35, and he will probably be of opinion that Zophar has that history immediately in view, which speaks of the Hebrews’ murmurings for bread and flesh, and the miraculous showers of manna and quails, and the judgments that fell on them for their murmurings. Let us compare a few passages: -

Clarke: Job 20:23

Job 20:20. He shall not feel quietness - שלו selav , the quail. "He shall not save of that which he desired."Job 20:21 : "There shall none of his meat be left."Exo 16:19 : "Let no man leave of it till the morning.

Clarke: Job 20:23

Job 20:22. In the fullness of his sufficiency, he shall be in straits - Exo 16:20 : "But some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms and stank.

Clarke: Job 20:23

Job 20:23. When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating - Num 11:33 : "And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague."Psa 78:26-30 : "He rained flesh upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea: so they did eat and were filled-but, while the meat was in their mouth, the wrath of God came upon them,"etc. These show to what Zophar refers.

Clarke: Job 20:24

He shall flee from the iron weapon - Or, "Though he should flee from the iron armor, the brazen bow should strike him through." So that yf he fle the yron weapens, he shal be shott with the stele bow - Coverdale. That is, he shall most certainly perish: all kinds of deaths await him.

Clarke: Job 20:25

It is drawn, and cometh out - This refers to archery: The arrow is drawn out of the sheaf or quiver, and discharged from the bow against its mark, and pierces the vitals, and passes through the body. So Coverdale - The arowe shal be taken forth, and go out at his backe.

Clarke: Job 20:26

A fire not blown shall consume him - As Zophar is here showing that the wicked cannot escape from the Divine judgments; so he points out the different instruments which God employs for their destruction. The wrath of God - any secret or supernatural curse. The iron weapon - the spear or such like. The bow, and its swift-flying arrow

Darkness - deep horror and perplexity. A fire not blown - a supernatural fire; lightning: such as fell on Korah, and his company, to whose destruction there is probably here an allusion: hence the words, It shall go ill with him who is left in his tabernacle. "And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. Get ye up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Depart from the tents of these wicked men. There came out a fire from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense;"Num 16:20, etc.

Clarke: Job 20:27

The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him - Another allusion, if I mistake not, to the destruction of Korah and his company. The heaven revealed their iniquity; God declared out of heaven his judgment of their rebellion. "And the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the congregation;"Num 16:20, etc. And then the earth rose up against them. "The ground clave asunder that was under them, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up; and they went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them;"Num 16:31-33.

Clarke: Job 20:28

The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath - A farther allusion to the punishment of the rebellious company of Korah, who not only perished themselves, but their houses also, and their goods. Num 16:32. These examples were all in point, on the ground assumed by Zophar; and such well-attested facts would not be passed over by him, had he known the record of them; and that he did know it, alludes to it, and quotes the very circumstances, is more than probable.

Clarke: Job 20:29

This is the portion - As God has dealt with the murmuring Israelites, and with the rebellious sons of Korah, so will he deal with those who murmur against the dispensations of his providence, and rebel against his authority. Instead of an earthly portion, and an ecclesiastical heritage, such as Korah, Dathan, and Abiram sought; they shall have fire from God to scorch them, and the earth to swallow them up. Dr. Stock, bishop of Killala, who has noticed the allusion to the quails, and for which he has been most unmeritedly ridiculed, gives us the following note on the passage: - "Here I apprehend is a fresh example of the known usage of Hebrew poets, in adorning their compositions by allusions to facts in the history of their own people. It has escaped all the interpreters; and it is the more important, because it fixes the date of this poem, so far as to prove its having been composed subsequently to the transgression of Israel, at Kibroth Hattaavah, recorded in Num 11:33, Num 11:34. Because the wicked acknowledges not the quail, that is, the meat with which God has filled his stomach; but, like the ungrateful Israelites, crammed, and blasphemed his feeder, as Milton finely expresses it, he shall experience the same punishment with them, and be cut off in the midst of his enjoyment, as Moses tells us the people were who lusted."If I mistake not, I have added considerable strength to the prelate’ s reasoning, by showing that there is a reference also to the history of the manna, and to that which details the rebellion of Korah and his company; and if so, (and they may dispute who please), it is a proof that the Book of Job is not so old as, much less older than, the Pentateuch, as some have endeavored to prove, but with no evidence of success, at least to my mind: a point which never has been, and I am certain never can be, proved; which has multitudes of presumptions against it, and not one clear incontestable fact for it. Mr. Good has done more in this case than any of his predecessors, and yet Mr. Good has failed; no wonder then that others, unmerciful criticisers of the bishop of Killala, have failed also, who had not a tenth part of Mr. Good’ s learning, nor one-hundredth part of his critical acumen. It is, however, strange that men cannot suffer others to differ from them on a subject of confessed difficulty and comparatively little importance, without raising up the cry of heresy against them, and treating them with superciliousness and contempt! These should know, if they are clergymen, whether dignified or not, that such conduct ill becomes the sacerdotal character; and that ante barbam docet senes cannot be always spoken to the teacher’ s advantage. As a good story is not the worse for being twice told, the following lines from a clergyman, who, for his humility and piety, was as much an honor to his vocation as he was to human nature, may not be amiss, in point of advice to all Warburtonian spirits: -

    "Be calm in arguing, for fierceness make

    Error a fault, and truth discourtesy

    Why should I feel another man’ s mistake

    More than his sickness or his poverty

In love I should: but anger is not lov

Nor wisdom neither; therefore, gently move

    Calmness is great advantage: he that let

    Another chafe, may warm him at his fire

    Mark all his wanderings, and enjoy his frets

    As cunning fencers suffer heat to tire

Truth dwells not in the clouds: the bow that’ s ther

Doth often aim at, never hit, the sphere.

Hebert

Dr. Stock’ s work on the Book of Job will stand honourably on the same shelf with the best on this difficult subject.

Defender: Job 20:24

The so-called "iron age" is believed by evolutionists to have come after the "bronze age," but there were expert craftsmen in both brass and iron even before the Flood (Gen 4:22).

Defender: Job 20:24

Some translations prefer "brass" or "copper" instead of "steel" here. However, this is not the usual Hebrew word for "brass" or "copper," and there is good reason to believe men knew how to produce and fabricate fine steel from very ancient times."

TSK: Job 20:3

the check : Job 19:29

the spirit : Job 20:2, Job 27:11, Job 33:3; Psa 49:3, Psa 78:2-5

TSK: Job 20:4

thou not : Job 8:8, Job 8:9, Job 15:10, Job 32:7

man : Gen 1:28, Gen 9:1-3; Psa 115:16

TSK: Job 20:5

the triumphing : Job 5:3, Job 15:29-34, Job 18:5, Job 18:6, Job 27:13-23; Exo 15:9, Exo 15:10; Jdg 16:21-30; Est 5:11, Est 5:12, Est 7:10; Psa 37:35, Psa 37:36, Psa 73:18-20; Act 12:22, Act 12:23

short : Heb. from near

the joy : Job 8:19, Job 27:8; Mat 7:21, Mat 13:20, Mat 13:21; Gal 6:4; Jam 4:16

TSK: Job 20:6

his excellency : Gen 11:4; Isa 14:13, Isa 14:14; Dan 4:11, Dan 4:22; Amo 9:2; Oba 1:3, Oba 1:4; Mat 11:23

clouds : Heb. cloud

TSK: Job 20:7

perish : 1Ki 14:10; 2Ki 9:37; Psa 83:10; Jer 8:2

shall say : Job 14:10

TSK: Job 20:8

fly away : Psa 73:20, Psa 18:10, Psa 90:5; Isa 29:7, Isa 29:8

TSK: Job 20:9

The eye : Job 20:7, Job 7:8, Job 7:10, Job 8:18, Job 27:3; Psa 37:10, Psa 37:36, Psa 103:15, Psa 103:16

TSK: Job 20:10

His children : etc. or, The poor shall oppress his children, Pro 28:3

seek : Psa 109:10

his hands : Job 20:18; Exo 12:36, Exo 22:1, Exo 22:3, Exo 9:2; 2Sa 12:6; Pro 6:31; Luk 19:8

TSK: Job 20:11

bones : Job 13:26, Job 19:20; Psa 25:7; Pro 5:11-13, Pro 5:22, Pro 5:23; Eze 32:27

which shall lie : Job 21:26; Pro 14:32; Eze 24:13; Joh 8:21, Joh 8:24; Act 1:25

TSK: Job 20:12

wickedness : Job 15:16; Gen 3:6; Pro 9:17, Pro 9:18, Pro 20:17; Ecc 11:9

he hide : Psa 10:7, Psa 109:17, Psa 109:18

TSK: Job 20:13

spare it : Mat 5:29, Mat 5:30; Mar 9:43-49; Rom 8:13

within his mouth : Heb. in the midst of his palate

TSK: Job 20:14

his meat : 2Sa 11:2-5, 2Sa 12:10, 2Sa 12:11; Psa 32:3, Psa 32:4, Psa 38:1-8, Psa 51:8, Psa 51:9; Pro 1:31; Pro 23:20, Pro 23:21, Pro 23:29-35; Jer 2:19; Mal 2:2

the gall : Job 20:16; Deu 32:24; Rom 3:13

TSK: Job 20:15

swallowed : Pro 23:8; Mat 27:3, Mat 27:4

TSK: Job 20:16

the poison : Rom 3:13

the viper’ s : Isa 30:6; Mat 3:7; Act 28:3-6

TSK: Job 20:17

shall not see : Num 14:23; 2Ki 7:2; Jer 17:6-8; Luk 16:24

the rivers : Psa 36:8, Psa 36:9; Isa 41:17; Jer 17:6; Rev 22:1

floods : or, streaming brooks

of honey : Deu 32:13, Deu 32:14; 2Sa 17:29; Psa 81:16; Isa 7:15, Isa 7:22

TSK: Job 20:18

shall he restore : Job 20:10, Job 20:15

swallow : Job 20:5; Pro 1:12; Jer 51:34, Jer 51:44; Lam 2:16; Hos 8:7, Hos 8:8; Amo 8:4; Mat 23:14, Mat 23:24

his substance : Heb. the substance of his exchange

and he shall : Job 31:25, Job 31:29; Isa 24:7-11; Jer 11:15, Jer 11:16, Jer 22:13, Jer 22:17; Eze 7:12; Hos 9:1; Jam 4:8, Jam 4:9

TSK: Job 20:19

Because : Job 21:27, Job 21:28, Job 22:6, Job 24:2-12, Job 31:13-22, Job 31:38, Job 31:39, Job 35:9; 1Sa 12:3, 1Sa 12:4; Psa 10:18; Psa 12:5; Pro 14:31, Pro 22:22, Pro 22:23; Ecc 4:1, Ecc 5:8; Eze 22:29; Amo 4:1-3; Jam 2:6, Jam 2:13, Jam 5:4

oppressed : Heb. crushed, Deu 28:33; Lam 3:34

he hath violently : Job 18:15, Job 24:2; 1Ki 21:19; Isa 5:7, Isa 5:8; Mic 2:2, Mic 2:9

TSK: Job 20:20

Surely : Ecc 5:13, Ecc 5:14; Isa 57:20, Isa 57:21

feel : Heb. know

TSK: Job 20:21

none of his meat be left : or, be none left for his meat, Job 18:19; Jer 17:11; Luk 16:24, Luk 16:25

TSK: Job 20:22

the fulness : Job 15:29, Job 18:7; Psa 39:5; Ecc 2:18-20; Rev 18:7

every hand : Job 1:15, Job 1:17, Job 16:11; 2Ki 24:2; Isa 10:6

wicked : or, troublesome, Job 3:17

TSK: Job 20:23

he is about : Num 11:33; Psa 78:30, Psa 78:31; Mal 2:2; Luk 12:17-20

rain it : Gen 19:24; Exo 9:23; Psa 11:6, Psa 78:30, Psa 78:31; Isa 21:4

TSK: Job 20:24

flee from : 1Ki 20:30; Isa 24:18; Jer 48:43, Jer 48:44; Amo 5:19, Amo 9:1-3

the bow : 2Sa 22:35

strike him : Pro 7:23

TSK: Job 20:25

drawn : Job 16:13; Deu 32:41; 2Sa 18:14; Psa 7:12

terrors : Job 6:4, Job 15:21, Job 18:11, Job 27:20; Psa 73:19, Psa 88:15; Jer 20:3, Jer 20:4; 2Co 5:11

TSK: Job 20:26

darkness : Job 18:5, Job 18:6; Isa 8:22; Mat 8:12; Jud 1:13

a fire : Psa 21:9, Psa 120:4; Isa 30:33; Mat 3:12

it shall go : Job 18:19; Psa 109:9-15; Isa 14:20-22

TSK: Job 20:27

heaven : Psa 44:20, Psa 44:21; Jer 29:23; Mal 3:5; Luk 12:2, Luk 12:3; Rom 2:16; 1Co 4:5

earth : Job 16:18, Job 18:18; Isa 26:21

TSK: Job 20:28

increase : Job 20:10, Job 20:18-22, Job 5:5, Job 27:14-19; 2Ki 20:17; Rev 18:17

and his goods : Pro 11:4; Zep 1:18; Mat 16:26; Jam 5:1-3

TSK: Job 20:29

the portion : Job 18:21, Job 27:13, Job 31:2, Job 31:3; Deu 29:20-28; Psa 11:5, Psa 11:6; Mat 24:51

appointed unto him by God : Heb. of his decree from God, Lam 3:38

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Job 20:3

I have heard the check of my reproach - I have heard your violent and severe language reproaching us. Probably he refers to what Job had said in the close of his speech Job 19:29, that they had occasion to dread the wrath of God, and that they might anticipate heavy judgments as the result of their opinions. Or it may be, as Schultens supposes, that he refers to what Job said in Job 19:2, and the rebuke that he had administered there. Or possibly, and still more probably, I think, he may refer to what Job had said in reply to the former speech of Zophar Job 12:2, where he tauntingly says that "they were the people, and that wisdom would die with them."The Hebrew literally is, "the correction of my shame"( כלמה מוּסר mûsâr k^e lı̂mmâh ), "the correction of my shame."that is, the castigation or rebuke which tends to cover me with ignominy. The sense is, "you have accused me of that which is ignominious and shameful, and under the impetuous feelings caused by such a charge I cannot refrain from replying."

And the spirit of my understanding - Meaning, perhaps, "the emotion of his mind."The word "mind"or "soul"would better express the idea than the word "understanding;"and the word "spirit"here seems to be used in the sense of violent or agitating emotions - perhaps in allusion to the primary signification of the word ( רוּח rûach ), "mind."

Barnes: Job 20:4

Knowest thou not this of old - That is, dost thou not know that this has always happened from the beginning of the world, or that this is the invariable course of events. His purpose is to show that it was the settled arrangement of Providence that the wicked would be overtaken with signal calamity. It was "so"settled that Job ought not to be surprised that it had occurred in "his"case. Zophar goes on to show that though a wicked man might rise high in honor, and obtain great wealth, yet that the fall would certainly come, and he would sink to a depth of degradation corresponding to the former prosperity.

Since man was placed upon earth - Since the creation; that is, it has always been so.

Barnes: Job 20:5

That the triumphing - The word "triumphing"here ( רננה r^e nânâh ),"shouting, rejoicing"- such a shouting as people make after a victory, or such as occurred at the close of harvesting. Here it means that the occasion which the wicked had for rejoicing would be brief. It would be but for a moment, and he then would be overwhelmed with calamity or cut off by death.

Short - Margin, as in Hebrew "from near."That is, it would be soon over.

And the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? - This probably means, as used by Zophar, that the happiness of a hypocrite would be brief - referring to the happiness arising from the possession of health, life, property, friends, reputation. Soon God would take away all these, and leave him to sorrow. This, he said, was the regular course of events as they had been observed from the earliest times. But the "language"conveys most important truths in reference to the spiritual joys of the hypocrite at all times, though it is not certain that Zophar used it in this sense. The truths are these.

(1) There is a kind of joy which a hypocrite may have - the counterfeit of that which a true Christian possesses. The word "hypocrite"may be used in a large sense to denote the man who is a professor of religion, but who has none, as well as him who intentionally imposes on others, and who makes pretensions to piety which he knows he has not. Such a man may have joy. He supposes that his sins are forgiven, and that he has a well-founded hope of eternal life. He may have been greatly distressed in view of his sin and danger, and when he supposes that his heart is changed, and that the danger is passed, from the nature of the case he will have a species of enjoyment. A man is confined in a dungeon under sentence of death. A forged instrument of pardon is brought to him. He does not know that it is forged, and supposes the danger is past, and his joy will be as real as though the pardon were genuine. So with the man who "supposes"that his sins are forgiven.

(2) The joy of the self-deceiver or the hypocrite will be short. There is no genuine religion to sustain it, and it soon dies away. It may be at first very elevated, just as the joy of the man who supposed that he was pardoned would fill him with exultation. But in the case of the hypocrite it soon dies away. He has no true love to God; he has never been truly reconciled to him; he has no real faith in Christ; he has no sincere love of prayer, of the Bible, or of Christians and soon the temporary excitement dies away, and he lives without comfort or peace. He may be a professor of religion, but with him it is a matter of form, and he has neither love nor zeal in the cause of his professed Master. Motives of pride, or the desire of a reputation for piety, or some other selfish aim may keep him in the church, and he lives to shed blighting on all around him. Or if, under the illusion, he should be enabled to keep up some emotions of happiness in his bosom, they must soon cease, for to the hypocrite death will soon end it all. How much does it become us, therefore, to inquire whether the peace which we seek and which we may possess in religion, is the genuine happiness which results from true reconciliation to God and a well founded hope of salvation. Sad will be the disappointment of him who has cherished a hope of heaven through life, should he at last sink down to hell! Deep the condemnation of him who has professed to be a friend of God, and who has been at heart his bitter foe; who has endeavored to keep up the forms of religion, but who has been a stranger through life to the true peace which religion produces!

Barnes: Job 20:6

Though his excellency mount up to the heavens - Though he attain to the highest pitch of honor and prosperity. The Septuagint renders this, "Though his gifts should go up to heaven, and his sacrifice should touch the clouds;"a sentence conveying a true and a beautiful idea, but which is not a translation of the Hebrew. The phrases, to go up to heaven, and to touch the clouds, often occur to denote anything that is greatly exalted, or that is very high. Thus, in Virgil,

It clamor coelo.

So Horace,

Sublimi feriam sidera vertice.

And again,

Attingit solium Joyis .

Compare Gen 11:4, "Let us build us a tower whose top may reach unto heaven."In Homer the expression not unfrequently occurs, τοῦ γὰρ κλέος οὐρανὸν ἵκει tou gar kleos ouranon hikei . In Seneca (Thyest. Act. v. ver. 1, 2,4,) similar expressions occur:

Aequalis astris gradior, et cunctos super

Altum superbo vertice attingens polum,

Dimitto superos: summa votorum attigi.

The "language"of Zophar would also well express the condition of many a hypocrite whose piety seems to be of the most exalted character, and who appears to have made most eminent attainments in religion. Such a man may "seem"to be a man of uncommon excellence. He may attract attention as having extraordinary sanctity. He may seem to have a remarkable spirit of prayer, and yet all may be false and hollow. Men who design to be hypocrites, aim usually to be "eminent"hypocrites; they who have true piety often, alas, aim at a much lower standard. A hypocrite cannot keep himself in countenance, or accomplish his purpose of imposing on the world, without the appearance of extraordinary devotedness to God; many a sincere believer is satisfied with much less of the appearance of religion. He is sincere and honest. He is conscious of true piety, and he attempts to impose on none. At the same time he makes no attempt scarcely "to be"what the hypocrite wishes "to appear"to be; and hence, the man that shall appear to be the most eminently devoted to God "may"be a hypocrite - yet usually not long. His zeal dies away, or he is suffered to fall into open sin, and to show that he had no true religion at heart.

Barnes: Job 20:8

He shall fly away as a dream - As a dream wholly disappears or vanishes. This comparison of man with a dream is not uncommon, and is most impressive. See Psa 73:20; see the notes at Isa 29:7-8.

As a vision of the night - As when one in a dream seems to see objects which vanish when he awakes. The parallelism requires us to understand this of what appears in a dream, and not of a spectre. In our dreams we "seem"to see objects, and when we awake they vanish.

Barnes: Job 20:9

The eye also which saw him - This is almost exactly the language which Job uses respecting himself. See Job 7:8, note; Job 7:10, note.

Barnes: Job 20:10

His children shall seek to please the poor - Margin, or, "the poor shall oppress his children."The idea in the Hebrew seems to be, that his sons shall be reduced to the humiliating condition of asking the aid of the most needy and abject. Instead of being in a situation to assist others, and to indulge in a liberal hospitality, they themselves shall be reduced to the necessity of applying to the poor for the means of subsistence. There is great strength in this expression. It is usually regarded as humiliating to be compelled to ask aid at all; but the idea here is, that they would be reduced to the necessity of asking it of those who themselves needed it, "or would be beggars of beggars."

And his hands shall restore their goods - Noyes renders this, "And their hands shall give back his wealth."Rosenmuller supposes it means, "And their hands shall restore his iniquity;"that is, what their father took unjustly away. There can be but little doubt that this refers to his "sons,"and not to himself - though the singular suffix in the word ( ידיו yâdāŷ ), "his hands"is used. But the singular is sometimes used instead of the plural. The word rendered "goods"( און 'ôn ), means "strength, power, and then wealth;"and the idea here is, that the hands of his sons would be compelled to give back the property which the father had unjustly acquired. Instead of retaining and enjoying it, they would be compelled to make restitution, and thus be reduced to penury and want.

Barnes: Job 20:11

His bones are full of the sin of his youth - The words "of the sin"in our common translation are supplied by the translators. Gesenius and Noyes suppose that the Hebrew means, "His bones are full of youth;"that is, full of vigor and strength, and the idea according to this would be, that he would be cut off in the fulness of his strength. Dr. Good renders it forcibly,

"His secret lusts shall follow his bones,

Yea, they shall press upon him in the dust."

The Vulgate renders it, "His bones are full of the sins of his youth."The Septuagint, "His bones are full of his youth."The Chaldee Paraphrase, "His bones are full of his strength."The Hebrew literally is, "His bones are full of his secret things"( עלוּמו ‛âlûmāŷ ) - referring, as I suppose, to the "secret, long-cherished"faults of his life; the corrupt propensities and desires of his soul which had been seated in his very nature, and which would adhere to him, leaving a withering influence on his whole system in advancing years. The effect is that which is so often seen, when vices corrupt the very physical frame, and where the results are seen long in future life. The effect would be seen in the diseases which they engendered in his system, and in the certainty with which they would bring him down to the grave. The Syriac renders it, "marrow,"as if the idea were that he would die full of vigor and strength. But the sense is rather that his secret lusts would work his certain ruin.

Which shall lie down with him - That is, the results of his secret sins shall lie down with him in the grave. He will never get rid of them. He has so long indulged in his sins; they have so thoroughly pervaded his nature, and he so delights to cherish them, that they will attend him to the tomb. There is truth in this representation. Wicked people often indulge in secret sin so long that it seems to pervade the whole system. Nothing will remove it; and it lives and acts until the body is committed to the dust, and the soul sinks ruined into hell.

Barnes: Job 20:12

Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth - Though he has pleasure in committing it, as he has in pleasant food. The sense of this and the following verses is, that though a man may have pleasure in indulgence in sin, and may find happiness of a certain kind in it, yet that the consequences will be bitter - as if the food which he ate should become like gall, and he should cast it up with loathing. There are many sins which, from the laws of our nature, are attended with a kind of pleasure. Such, for illustration, are the sins of gluttony and of intemperance in drinking; the sins of ambition and vanity; the sins of amusement and of fashionable life. To such we give the name of "pleasures."We do not speak of them as "happiness."That is a word which would not express their nature. It denotes rather substantial, solid, permanent joy - such joy as the "pleasures of sin for a season"do not furnish. It is this temporary "pleasure"which the lovers of vanity, fashion and dress, seek, and which, it cannot be denied, they often find. As long ago as the time of Zophar, it was admitted that such pleasure might be found in some forms of sinful indulgence and yet even in his time that was seen, which all subsequent observation has proved true, that such indulgence must lead to bitter results.

Though he hide it under his tongue - It is from this passage, probably, that we have derived the phrase, "to roll sin as a sweet morsel under the tongue,"which is often quoted as if it were a part of Scripture. The "meaning"here is, that a man would find pleasure in sin, and would seek to prolong it, as one does the pleasure of eating that which is grateful to the palate by holding it long in the mouth, or by placing it under the tongue.

Barnes: Job 20:13

Though he spare it - That is, though he retains it long in his mouth, that he may enjoy it the more.

And forsake it not - Retains it as long as he can.

But keep it still within his mouth - Margin, as in Hebrew "in the midst of his palate."He seeks to enjoy it as long as possible.

Barnes: Job 20:14

Yet his meat - His food.

In his bowels is turned - That is, it is as if he had taken food which was exceedingly pleasant, and had retained it in his mouth as long as possible, that he might enjoy it, but when he swallowed it, it became bitter and offensive; compare Rev 10:9-10. Sin may be pleasant when it is committed, but its consequences will be bitter.

It is the gall of asps - On the meaning of the word here rendered "asps"( פתן pethen ), see the notes at Isa 11:8. There can be little doubt that the "asp,"or aspic, of antiquity, which was so celebrated, is here intended. The bite was deadly, and was regarded as incurable. The sight became immediately dim after the bite - a swelling took place, and pain was felt in the stomach, followed by stupor, convulsions, and death. It is probably the same as the "boetan"of the Arabians. It is about a foot in length, and two inches in circumference - its color being black and white. "Pict. Bib."The word "gall"( מרורה m^e rôrâh ), means "bitterness, acridness"(compare Job 13:26); and hence, bile or gall. It is not improbable that it was formerly supposed that the poison of the serpent was contained in the gall, though it is now ascertained that it is found in a small sack in the mouth. It is used here as synonymous with the "poison"of asps - supposed to be "bitter"and "deadly."The meaning is, that sin, however pleasant and grateful it may be when committed, will be as destructive to the soul as food would be to the body, which, as soon as it was swallowed, became the most deadly poison. This is a fair account still of the effects of sin.

Barnes: Job 20:15

He hath swallowed down riches - He has "glutted"down riches - or gormandized them - or devoured them greedily. The Hebrew word בלע bela‛ , means "to absorb, to devour with the idea of greediness."It is descriptive of the voracity of a wild beast, and means here that he had devoured them eagerly, or voraciously.

And he shall vomit - As an epicure does that which he has drunk or swallowed with delight. "Noyes."The idea is, that he shall lose that which he has acquired, and that it will be attended with loathing. All this is to a great extent true still, and may be applied to those who aim to accumulate wealth, and to lay up ill gotten gold. It will be ruinous to their peace; and the time will come when it will be looked on with inexpressible loathing. Zophar meant, undoubtedly, to apply this to Job, and to infer, that since it was a settled maxim that such would be the result of the ill-gotten gain of a wicked man, where a result like this "had"happened, that there must have been wickedness. How cutting and severe this must have been to Job can be easily conceived. The Septuagint renders this, "Out of his house let an angel drag him."

Barnes: Job 20:16

He shall suck the poison of asps - That which he swallowed as pleasant nutriment, shall become the most deadly poison; or the consequence shall be as if he had sucked the poison of asps. It would seem that the ancients regarded the poison of the serpent as deadly, however, it was taken into the system. They seem not to have been aware that the poison of a wound may be sucked out without injury to him who does it; and that it is necessary that the poison should mingle with the blood to be fatal.

The viper’ s tongue shall slay him - The early impression probably was, that the injury done by a serpent was by the fiery, forked, and brandished tongue, which was supposed to be sharp and penetrating. It is now known, that the injury is done by the poison ejected through a groove, or orifice in one of the teeth, which is so made as to lie flat on the roof of the mouth, except when the serpent bites, when that tooth is elevated, and penetrates the flesh. The word "viper"here ( אפעה 'eph‛eh ), "viper,"is probably the same species of serpent that is known among the Arabs by the same name still - El Effah . See the notes at Isa 30:6. It is the most common and venomous of the serpent tribe in Northern Africa and in South-western Asia. It is remarkable for its quick and penetrating poison. It is about two feet long, as thick as a man’ s arm, beautifully spotted with yellow and brown, and sprinkled over with blackish specks. They have a large mouth, by which they inhale a large quantity of air, and when inflated therewith, they eject it with such force as to be heard a considerable distance. "Jackson."Capt. Riley, in his "Authentic Narrative,"(New York, 1817,) confirms this account. He describes the viper as the "most beautiful object in nature,"and says that the poison is so virulent as to cause death in fifteen minutes.

Barnes: Job 20:17

He shall not see the rivers - That is, he shall not be permitted to enjoy plenty and prosperity. Rivers or rills of honey and butter are emblems of prosperity; compare Exo 3:17; Job 29:6. A land flowing with milk, honey, and butter, is, in the Scripture, the highest image of prosperity and happiness. The word rendered "rivers"( פלגה p^e laggâh ), means rather "rivulets small streams - or brooks,"such as were made by "dividing"a large stream (from פלג pâlag , to "cleave, divide"), and would properly be applied to canals made by separating a large stream, or dividing it into numerous watercourses for the purpose of irrigating lands. The word rendered "floods,"and in the margin, "streaming brooks"( נחלי נהרי nâhârēy nachalēy ), means "the rivers of the valley,"or such as flow through a valley when it is swelled by the melting of snow, or by torrents of rain.

A flood, a rapid, swollen, full stream, would express the idea. These were ideas of beauty and fertility among the Orientals; and where butter and honey were represented as flowing in this manner in a land, it was the highest conception of plenty. The word rendered "honey"( דבשׁ d^e bash ) may, and commonly does, mean "honey;"but it also means the juice of the grape, boiled down to about the consistency of molasses, and used as an article of food. The Arabs make much use of this kind of food now, and in Syria, nearly two-thirds of the grapes are employed in preparing this article of food. It is called by the Arabs " Dibs ,"which is the same as the Hebrew word used here. May not the word mean this in some of the places where it is rendered "honey"in the Scriptures? The word rendered "butter"( חמאה chem'âh ) probably means, usually, "curdled milk."See the notes at Isa 7:15. It is not certain that the word is ever used in the Old Testament to denote "butter."The article which is used still by the Arabs is chiefly curdled milk, and probably this is referred to here. It will illustrate this passage to remark, that the inhabitants of Arabia, and of those who live in similar countries, have no idea of "butter,"as it exists among us, in a solid state. What they call "butter,"is in a fluid state, and is hence compared with flowing streams. An abundance of these articles was regarded as a high proof of prosperity, as they constitute a considerable part of the diet of Orientals. The same image, to denote plenty, is often used by the sacred writers, and by Classical poets; see Isa 7:22 :

And it shall come to pass in that day

That a man shall keep alive a young cow and two sheep,

And it shall be that from the plenty of milk which they shall give,

He shall eat butter

For butter and honey shall every one eat,

Who is left alone in the midst of the land.

See also in Joe 3:18 :

And it shall come to pass in that day,

The mountains shall drop down new wine,

And the hills shall flow with milk,

And all the rivers of Judah shall flow with water.

Thus, also Ovid, Metam. iii.

Flumina jam lactis, jam flumina nectaris ibant.

Compare Horace Epod. xvi. 41.

Mella cava manant ex ilice; montibus altis

Levis crepante lympha desilit pede.

From oaks pure honey flows, from lofty hills

Bound in light dance the murmuring rills.

Boscawen.

See also Euripides, Bacch. 142; and Theoc. Idyll. 5,124. Compare Rosenmuller’ s Alte u. neue Morgenland on Exo 3:8, No. 194.

Barnes: Job 20:18

That which he laboured for shall he restore - This means that he shall give back the profit of his labor. He shall not be permitted to enjoy it or to consume it.

And shall not swallow it down - Shall not enjoy it; shall not eat it. He shall be obliged to give it to others.

According to his substance shall the restitution be - literally, according to Gesenius, "As a possession to be restored in which one rejoices not."The sense is, that all that he has is like property which a man has, which he feels not to be his own, but which belongs to another and which is soon to be given "up."In such property a man does not find that pleasure which he does in that which he feels to be his own. He cannot dispose of it, and he cannot look on it and feel that it is his. So Zophar says it is with the wicked man. He can look on his property only as that which he will soon be compelled to part with, and not having any security for retaining it, he cannot rejoice in it as if it were his own. Dr. Lee, however, renders this, "As his wealth is, so shall his restitution be; and he shall not rejoice."But the interpretation proposed above, seems to me to accord best with the sense of the Hebrew.

Barnes: Job 20:19

Because he hath oppressed - Margin, "crushed."Such is the Hebrew.

And forsaken the poor - He has plundered them, and then forsaken them - as robbers do. The meaning is, that he had done this by his oppressive manner of dealing, and then left them to suffer and pine in want.

He hath violently taken away an house which he builded not - That is, by overreaching and harsh dealings he has come in possession of dwellings which he did not build, or purchase in any proper manner. It does not mean that he had done this by violence - for Zophar is not describing a robber, but he means that he took advantage of the needs of the poor and obtained their property. This is often done still. A rich man takes advantage of the needs of the poor, and obtains their little farm or house for much less than it is worth. He takes a mortgage, and then forecloses it, and buys the property himself for much less than its real value, and thus practices a species of the worst kind of robbery. Such a man, Zophar says, must expect punishment - and if there is any man who has occasion to dread the wrath of heaven it is he.

Barnes: Job 20:20

Surely he shall not feel quietness - Margin, as in the Hebrew "know."The sense is, he shall not know peace or tranquility. He shall be agitated and troubled. Wemyss, however, renders this, "Because his appetite could not be satisfied."Noyes, "Because his avarice was insatiable."So Rosenmuller explains it. So the Vulgate renders it, "Nec est satiatus renter ejus."The Septuagint, "Neither is there safety to his property, nor shall he be saved by his desire."But it seems to me that the former is the sense, and that the idea is, that he should not know peace or tranquility after he had obtained the things which he had so anxiously sought.

In his belly - Within him; in his mind or heart. The viscera in general in the Scriptures are regarded as the seat of the affections. We confine the idea now to the "heart."

He shall not save of that which he desired - literally, he shall not "escape"with that which was an object of desire. He shall not be "delivered"from the evils which threaten him by obtaining that which he desired. All this shall be taken from him.

Barnes: Job 20:21

"There shall none of his meat be left Margin, "or, be none left for his meat."Noyes renders it, "Because nothing escaped his greatness."Prof. Lee, "no surviver shall remain for his provision."But the meaning, probably, is, nothing shall remain of his food, or it shall all be wasted, or dissipated.

Therefore, shall no man look for his goods - Or rather, his goods or his property shall not endure. But a great variety of interpretations has been given to the passage. The Hebrew word rendered "shall look," יחיל yāchı̂yl , is from חוּל chûl , which means, "to turn round, to twist, to whirl;"and thence, arises the notion of being firm, stable, or strong - as a rope that is twisted is strong. That is the idea here; and the sense is, that his property should not be secure or firm; or that he should not prosper. Jerome renders it, "Nothing shall remain of his goods."The Septuagint, "Therefore his good things - αὐτοῦ τὰ ἀγκθά autou ta agatha - shall not flourish"- ἀνθήσει anthēsei .

Barnes: Job 20:22

In the fulness of his sufficiency - When he seems to have an abundance.

He shall be in straits - Either by the dread of calamity, or because calamity shall come suddenly upon him, and his property shall be swept away. When everything seemed to be abundant he should be reduced to want.

Every hand of the wicked shall come upon him - Margin, "or, troublesome"The meaning is, that all that the wretched or miserable endure should come suddenly upon him. Rosenmuller suggests, however, that it means that all the poor, and all who had been oppressed and robbed by him, would suddenly come upon him to recover their own property, and would scatter all that he had. The general meaning is clear, that he would be involved in misery from every quarter, or on every hand.

Barnes: Job 20:23

When he is about to fill his belly - Or rather, "there shall be enough to fill his belly."But what "kind"of food it should be, is indicated in the following part of the verse. "God"would fill him with the food of his displeasure. It is spoken sarcastically, as of a gormandizer, or a man who lived to enjoy eating, and the meaning is, that he should for once have enough. So Rosenmuller interprets it.

God shall cast the fury - This is the kind of food that he shall have. God shall fill him with the tokens of his wrath - and he shall have enough.

And shall rain it upon him while he is eating - Noyes renders this, "And rain it down upon him for his food."The meaning is, that God would pour down his wrath like a plentiful shower while he was in the act of eating. In the very midst of his enjoyments God would fill him with the tokens of his displeasure. There can be no doubt that Zophar designed that this should be understood to be applicable to Job. Indeed no one can fail to see that his remarks are made with consummate skill, and that they are such as would be fitted "to cut deep,"as they were doubtless intended to do. The speaker does not, indeed, make a direct application of them, but he so makes his selection of proverbs that there could be no difficulty in perceiving that they were designed to apply to him, who, from such a height of prosperity, had been so suddenly plunged into so deep calamity.

Barnes: Job 20:24

He shall flee from the iron weapon - The sword, or the spear. That is, he shall be exposed to attacks, and shall flee in cowardice and alarm. Bands of robbers shall come suddenly upon him, and he shall have no safety except in flight. Pref. Lee explains this as meaning, "While he flees from the iron weapon, the brass bow shall pierre him through."Probably the expression is proverbial, like that in Latin, Incidit in Scyllam cupiens vitare Charybdin.

The bow of steel shall strike him through - That is, the "arrow"from the bow of steel shall strike him down. Bows and arrows were commonly used in hunting and in war. To a considerable extent they are still employed in Persia, though the use has been somewhat superseded by the gun. "Bows"were made of various materials. The first were, undoubtedly, of wood. They were inlaid with horn, or ivory, or were made in part of metal. Sometimes, it would seem that the whole bow was made of metal, though it is supposed that the metal bow was not in general use. The "weight,"if nothing else, would be an objection to it. The word which is here rendered "steel"( נחוּשׁה n^e chûshâh ), means properly "brass or copper"- but it is certain that brass or copper could never have been used to form the main part of the bow, as they are destitute of the elasticity which is necessary. Jerome renders it, et irruet in arcum aereum - "he rushes on the brazen bow."So the Septuagint, τόξον χάλκειον toxon chalkeion . So the Chaldee, דכוכומא קשתא - "the bow of brass."There is no certain proof that "steel"was then known - though "iron"is often mentioned. It is possible, however, that though the whole bow was not made of brass or copper, yet that such quantities of these metals were employed in constructing bows, that they might, without impropriety, be called bows of brass. The Oriental bow consists of three parts. The handle, or middle part - that on which the arrow rested - was straight, and might be made of wood, brass, copper, or any other strong substance. To this was affixed, at each end, pieces of horn, or of any other elastic substance, and, the string was applied to the ends of these horns. The straight piece might have been of brass, and so without impropriety it might be called a brass bow. It is not properly rendered "steel"at any rate, as the word used here is never employed to denote iron or steel.

Barnes: Job 20:25

It is drawn - Or rather, "he draws"- that is, he draws out the arrow that has been shot at him; or it may mean, as Prof. Lee supposes, that he draws, that is, "someone"draws the arrow from its quiver, or the sword from its sheath, in order to smite him. The object is to describe his death, and to show that he should be certainly overtaken with calamity. Zophar, therefore, goes through the process by which he would be shot down, or shows that he could not escape.

And cometh out of the body - That is, the arrow, or the glittering blade. It has penetrated the body, and passed through it. He shall be pierced through and through.

The glittering sword - Hebrew ברק bârâq - "the glittering;"scil. thing, or weapon, and is given to the sword, because it is kept bright.

Cometh out of his gall - Supposed to be the seat of life. See the notes, Job 16:13.

Terrors are upon him - The terrors of death.

Barnes: Job 20:26

All darkness shall be hid in his secret places - The word "darkness"here, as is common, means evidently calamity. The phrase "is hid,"means is treasured up for him. The phrase "in his secret places,"may mean "for his treasures,"or instead of the great treasures which he had laid up for himself. The Apostle Paul has a similar expression, in which, perhaps, he makes an allusion to this place. Rom 2:5, "but, after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath."Treasures formerly were laid up in secret places, or places of darkness, that were regarded as inaccessible; see the notes at Isa 45:3.

A fire not blown - A fire unkindled. Probably the meaning is, a fire that man has not kindled, or that is of heavenly origin. The language is such as would convey the idea of being consumed by lightning, and probably Zophar intended to refer to such calamities as had come upon the family of Job, Job 1:16. There is much "tact"in this speech of Zophar, and in the discourses of his friends on this point. They never, I believe, refer expressly to the calamities that had come upon Job and his family. They never in so many words say, that those calamities were proof of the wrath of heaven. But they go on to mention a great many similar "cases"in the abstract; to prove that the wicked would be destroyed in that manner; that when such calamities came upon people, it was proof that they were wicked, and they leave Job himself to make the application. The allusion, as in this case, was too broad to be misunderstood, and Job was not slow in regarding it as intended for himself. Prof Lee ("in loc.") supposes that there may be an allusion here to the "fire that shall not be quenched,"or to the future punishment of the wicked. But this seems to me to be foreign to the design of the argument, and not to be suggested or demanded by the use of the word. The argument is not conducted on the supposition that people will be punished in the future world. That would at once have given a new phase to the whole controversy, and would have settled it at once. The question was about the dealings of God "in this life,"and whether men are punished according to their deeds here. Had there been a knowledge of the future world of rewards and punishments, the whole difficulty would have vanished at once, and the controversy would have been ended.

It shall go ill with him in his tabernacle - Hebrew שׂריד ירע yâra‛ śârı̂yd - "It shall be ill with whatever survives or remains in his tent."That is, all that remains in his dwelling shall be destroyed. Prof Lee renders it, "In his tent shall his survivor be broken"- supposing that the word ירע yâra‛ is from רעע râ‛a‛ - "to break."But it is more probably from רוּע rûa‛ - "to be evil; to suffer evil; to come off ill:"and the sense is, that evil, or calamity, would come upon all that should remain in his dwelling.

Barnes: Job 20:27

The heaven shall reveal his iniquity - The meaning here is, that the whole creation would conspire against such a man. Heaven and earth would be arrayed against him. The course of events would be so ordered as to seem designed to bring his character out, and to show what he was. He would attempt to conceal his sin, but it would be in vain. He would hide it in his bosom, but it would be developed. He would put on the air of piety and innocence, but his secret sin would be known. This seems to be the general sense of the verse; and it is not necessary to attempt to show "how"it would be done - whether by lightning from heaven, as Noyes supposes, or whether by some direct manifestation from the skies. Probably the meaning is, that the divine dispensations toward such a man - the overwhelming calamities which he would experience, would show what he was. The word "heaven"is not unfrequently put for God himself. Dan 4:23, "the heavens do rule."Luk 15:21, "I have sinned against heaven."

The earth shall rise up against him - Calamities from the earth. The course of events here. Want of success - sterility of soil - blight and mildew, would rise up against such a man and show what he was. His real character would in some way be brought out, and it would be seen that he was a wicked man; compare Jdg 5:20.

They fought from heaven;

The stars in their courses fought against Sisera.

Barnes: Job 20:28

The increase of his house shall depart - Septuagint, "Destruction shall bring his house to an end."The word rendered "depart"( יגל yı̂gel from גלה gâlâh ), means, properly, "shall go into captivity."The sense is, that whatever he had laid up in his house would entirely disappear.

His goods shall flow away - What he had gained would seem to flow away like water.

In the day of his wrath - The wrath of God - for so the connection demands.

Barnes: Job 20:29

This is the portion of a wicked man - This conclusion is similar to that which Bildad drew at the close of his speech, Job 18:21. Zophar intended, undoubtedly, that Job should apply it to himself, and that he should draw the inference, that one who had been treated in this manner, must be a wicked man.

And the heritage appointed - Margin, "of his decree from."The Hebrew is,"Of his word"( אמרוּ 'êmerô ) - that is, of his "purpose."The idea is, that this is the divine rule, or arrangement. It is not a matter of chance. It is the result of appointment, and when people are afflicted in this manner, we are to conclude that "God"regards them as guilty. The whole object of the discussion was to arrive at the principles of the divine administration. Nothing is attributed to chance; and nothing is ascribed to second causes, except as indicating the will of God. It is assumed, that the course of events in the world was a sufficient exponent of the divine intention, and that when they understood how God "treated"a man, they could clearly understand how he regarded his character. The principle is a good one, when "the whole of existence"is taken into the account; the fault here was in taking in only a small part of existence - this short life - and hastening to the conclusion, that the character could be certainly determined by the manner in which God deals with people here.

Poole: Job 20:3

I have heard from thy mouth. Or, Shall I hear , to wit, with patience, and without a reply? Who can endure it?

The check of my reproach i.e. thy shameful and opprobrious reproofs of us, as if we and all thy friends were void of all humanity and natural affection towards them, and were haters, and cruel persecutors, and even devourers, of thee, Job 19:19,22 ; and as if we were guilty of most heinous crimes, and might expect God’ s vengeance upon us.

The spirit i.e. my soul or mind.

Of my understanding or, because of (for so the Hebrew mem oft signifies)

my understanding i.e. out of, or because of, that certain knowledge which I have of this matter from study and experience; I have not spoken, and I shall not speak, out of ignorance, or prejudice, or passion and rage against Job, as he asperseth us, but only what I evidently know, and yet hope that I can and shall convince thee of.

Causeth me to answer i.e. forceth me to speak. Or, answereth for me , i.e. either vindicates me against thy calumnies, or suggesteth an answer to me.

Poole: Job 20:4

i.e. This which I am now about to say. How canst thou,

thou I say, who pretendest to such an exact and universal knowledge of men and things, be ignorant of so notorious a thing, which wicked men sensibly feel, and good men diligently observe, and all men are forced to acknowledge, one time or other?

Of old i.e. from the experience of all former ages.

Since man was placed upon earth i.e. since the world was made, and there were any men to observe God’ s government of it.

Poole: Job 20:5

Is short Heb. is from near , i.e. from or for a little time; they have not long enjoyed it, and it will shortly vanish.

The joy of the hypocrite: this he adds by way of reflection upon Job, who though he did clear himself from gross wickedness, yet might be guilty of deep hyprocrisy.

Poole: Job 20:6

Though he be advanced to great dignity and authority in the world.

Poole: Job 20:7

Like his own dung which men cast away with contempt and abhorrency. Compare 1Ki 14:10 2Ki 9:37 .

They which have seen him with admiration at his felicity.

Where is he? i.e. he is no where to be found; he is utterly lost and gone.

Poole: Job 20:8

As a dream which for the present makes a great show and noise, and highly affects the fancy, but hath nothing solid nor permanent in it; for as soon as the man awakes all vanisheth, and the remembrance of it is quickly lost.

Shall not be found the man will be utterly lost and gone, together with all his riches and glory.

As a vision of the night which appears to a man in the night and in his sleep.

Poole: Job 20:9

i.e. It shall not acknowledge nor contain him. A figure called prosopopaeia , as Job 7:10 . Or, neither shall it (i.e. the eye last mentioned) behold him any more in his place .

Poole: Job 20:10

Shall seek to please the poor either,

1. To get some small relief from them in their extreme necessity. Or rather,

2. Lest they should revenge themselves of them for the great and many injuries which their father did them, or seek to the magistrate for reparations.

His hands shall restore their goods by the sentence of the judge, to whom the oppressed poor will appeal, notwithstanding all their entreaties and endeavours to dissuade them from so-doing.

Poole: Job 20:11

His bones i.e. his whole body, even the strongest parts of it, which may seem most remote from danger.

Of the sin of his youth Heb. of his youth , i.e. of his youthful pleasures and lusts, by a metonymy of the subject. And this may be understood either,

1. Of the sins themselves, that he shall persevere in his youthful lusts even in old age, and shall die without repentance. Or rather,

2. Of the punishment of his sins, of which he is speaking both in the foregoing and following verses. He shall feel the sad effects of those sins in his riper years, as riotous sinners commonly do; and, as it follows, attended him to his grave. Or, with his secret ways or sins, as others render it; whereby he possibly intimates that Job, though he appeared righteous before others, yet was guilty of some secret wickedness, for which God was now reckoning with him.

Poole: Job 20:12

In his mouth i.e. to his taste, though it greatly please him for the present.

Though he hide it under his tongue as an epicure doth a sweet morsel, which he is loth to swallow, and therefore keeps and rolls it about his mouth that he may longer enjoy the pleasure of it: though he be highly pleased with his lusts, and cleave to them in hearty love, and resolve to hold them fast, and improve them to the greatest delight and advantage.

Poole: Job 20:13

Though he spare it i.e. will not part with it; or gratify and obey it, instead of subduing and mortifying it.

Keep it still within his mouth to suck out all the sweetness or benefit of it, though it be very delightful to him.

Poole: Job 20:14

Turned into another nature or quality, from sweet to bitter.

The gall of asps i.e. exceeding bitter and pernicious. Gall is most bitter; the gall of serpents is full of poison, which from thence is conveyed to their mouths by veins, as Pliny observes; and the poison of asps is most dangerous, and within a few hours kills without remedy.

Poole: Job 20:15

He shall vomit them up again i.e. be forced to restore them with great shame and torment, as gluttons sometimes do loathe, and with grief and pain cast up, that meat which they have eaten and swallowed down with much greediness and delight. If no man’ s hand can reach him, God shall find him out, and punish him severely.

Poole: Job 20:16

That which he hath greedily and industriously sucked in as pleasant and wholesome nourishment, shall in the issue be as ungrateful and destructive to him as the

poison or head (for the Hebrew word signifies both, and the poison lies in the head)

of asps would be to one that sucketh it. The viper’ s tongue, together with its teeth, in which the poison lurks, which it conveys by biting a man.

Poole: Job 20:17

Not see i.e. not enjoy, as that word is oft used as Psa 106:5 Ecc 2:1 .

The brooks of honey and butter that abundant satisfaction and comfort, (oft signified by these or suchlike metaphors; as Psa 36:8 46:4 Isa 7:15,22 41:18 ) either which he promised to himself from that great estate which he had got by deceit and oppression, or which good men through God’ s blessing may and commonly do enjoy.

Poole: Job 20:18

That which he laboured for Heb. labour , i.e. the goods which were gotten with labour; either,

1. By the labour of others; or rather,

2. By his own labour; which may relate as well to the goods of others, which he got not without pains and difficulty; or to his own goods honestly gotten by the sweat of his brows. And this is an aggravation of his misery, that he was forced to restore not only other men’ s goods which were in his hands, but his own also, to make reparation for their damages.

Shall not swallow it down to wit, so as to hold it; for otherwise he did swallow it, but withal did speedily vomit it up again, Job 20:15 , which was as if he had not swallowed it. He shall not possess it long, nor to any considerable purpose.

According to his substance shall the restitution be i.e. he shall be forced to part with all his estate to make compensation for his wrongs done to others.

He shall not rejoice therein i.e. he shall not enjoy what he hath gotten, because it shall be taken from him.

Poole: Job 20:19

By his oppression he brought men to utter poverty, and then forsook or left them in that forlorn estate, affording no mercy nor help to them. Or, some he made poor by his oppression, and others that were poor he suffered to perish for want of that relief which he should and might have afforded them; which is a crying sin in God’ s sight, and one of those sins for which God destroyed Sodom, Eze 16:49 , and therefore fitly mentioned here as one of the sins for which God punished this wicked man. Or, he oppresseth and leaveth poor , as Broughton renders it.

An house which he built not i.e. which was none of his. Heb. he hath violently taken away an house, and (or but ) did not build (or repair , as building is oft used) it , to wit, that house for his own use, i.e. he did not build or possess that house, as he intended to do, but was cut off by God’ s hand before he could enjoy the fruit of his oppressions.

Poole: Job 20:20

He shall not feel quietness in his belly i.e. he shall have no peace nor satisfaction in his mind in all his gains, partly because of his perpetual fears and expectations of the wrath of God and man, which his guilty conscience knoweth that he deserves; and partly because they shall be speedily taken away from him. He still continueth the metaphor of a glutton, whose belly is not quiet until it hath vomited up that wherewith he had oppressed it.

Of that which he desired i.e. any part of his good and desirable things, but he shall forfeit and lose them all.

Poole: Job 20:21

None of his meat be left for his own future use; but he shall be stripped of all.

Therefore shall no man look for his goods it being publicly known and observed that he was totally ruined, none of his kindred or friends shall trouble themselves to seek for any relics of his estate, as is usually done after men’ s deaths. But this verse is and may be rendered otherwise, There shall none be left for his meat , (i.e. he shall leave no heir who shall possess or enjoy his goods,) because , (for so the Hebrew particle al-chen is oft used; as Gen 38:26 Num 14:13 Psa 42:7 Jer 48:36 ) none of his goods shall remain , either for his heir or any other; all shall be utterly lost.

Poole: Job 20:22

In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits i.e. the height of prosperity and abundance he shall be distressed and tormented, either by the horrors of an unquiet mind and guilty conscience, which makes him every moment expect Divine vengeance to fall upon his head; or rather, because of the sudden and unexpected assault of other men combining against him, and spoiling all his goods, as it follows.

Every hand of the wicked who lives by injury and the spoiling of others, and by God’ s providence are directed to fall upon him. Or, of the labourer , whose wages possibly he hath detained; or, of such as are in trouble or misery , as this word signifies, Job 3:20 , who may jointly invade him, either because their necessity tempts and drives them to spoil others; or rather, because they were such as had been brought into their calamity by his oppressions, and therefore now take reparations from him.

Poole: Job 20:23

When he is about to fill his belly i.e. when he hath enough and abundance to satisfy all his appetites, and shall design to take the pleasure of all his gains, and to spend his days in epicurism and sensuality. God ; who is oft understood in this book where he is not expressed; and so he is here, as appears from the following words, because there is no other person here expressed who was to inflict these evils upon him, and because they, are said to be rained down upon him ; which implies their coming from Heaven, or from God. The fury of his wrath ; some dreadful and destructive judgment.

Shall rain it upon him This phrase notes both the author of his plagues, God, and the nature and quality of them, that they shall come upon him like rain, i.e. with great vehemency, and so as he cannot prevent or avoid it.

While he is eating as it fell upon thy sons, Job 1:18,19 . Compare Psa 78:30,31 .

Poole: Job 20:24

From the iron weapon i.e. from the sword or spear; and so shall think himself out of danger.

The bow an arrow shot out of a bow. A distant, place and unknown hand shall unexpectedly fall upon him; so that he shall only go from one danger to another.

Of steel which is of great strength, and therefore sendeth forth the arrow with greater force. Compare Psa 18:34 . Or, of brass , as the word properly signifies; which the ancients did so temper and harden, that their bows were commonly made of it.

Shall strike him through i.e. mortally wound him.

Poole: Job 20:25

It is drawn either,

1. A sword, which may be understood out of this Hebrew verb, which is for the most part used of that weapon, as Num 22:23,31 Jud 8:20 , &c., and out of the following branch of the verse. Or,

2. The arrow last mentioned, which had entered into his body, and now was drawn out of it either by himself, or by some other person, as is frequent in that case, if peradventure he might be cured.

Out of the body or, out of his body , i.e. the body of the wounded man; as appears both by the next clause of the verse, which is added to explain the former; where it is

out of his gall and from the use of this Hebrew word, which signifies a man’ s body or carcass, as Jud 14:8 1Sa 31:12 Isa 5:25 Nah 3:3 .

The glittering sword: the word properly signifies lightning , and thence a glittering weapon , the bright sword or spear, as Deu 32:41 Eze 21:10,15 Na 3:3 Hab 3:11 ; whereby it is implied that he was doubly wounded; first, by the arrow, and then, to make more sure work, with the sword or spear thrust into him. But the word may as well signify the bright and sharp point of an arrow , of which he spoke hitherto; and having in the general said that it came out of his body , now he determines the part of the body, the gall ; which showeth that the wound was both deep and deadly, as they are in that part. It is probable he mentions this in reference to the like expression of Job, Job 16:13 .

Cometh out of his gall into which it had entered, and wherewith it was coloured.

Terrors are upon him to wit, the terrors of death, because he perceived by the tincture of his gall upon the weapon that his wound was incurable; or horrors of conscience, because he cannot live, and dare not die.

Poole: Job 20:26

All darkness i.e. all sorts of miseries, both of soul, and body, and estate.

Shall be hid or, is hid , or laid up , to wit, by God for him. This phrase may note, that though it be not actually upon him, yet it is reserved and treasured up for him, and is kept as in a sure place, and shall infallibly overtake him.

In his secret places either,

1. In his hid treasures , as this very word signifies, Psa 17:14 . He treasures up wealth, and with God’ s wrath and curse. Or,

2. In those places where he confidently hopes to hide and secure himself from all evils and enemies; yet even there God shall find him out. Or, for , or instead of , (or with , for both ways the prefix lamed is oft used,) his hid treasures .

A fire not blown to wit, by man, but kindled by God himself, as that was, Job 1:16 . He thinks by his might and violence to secure himself from men, but God by his own immediate hand, or in some unknown and unexpected manner, will find him out. Some understand it of hell-fire; of which see Isa 30:33 .

With him that is left in his tabernacle i.e. with his posterity or family, who shall inherit his curse as well as his estate.

Poole: Job 20:27

The heaven shall reveal his iniquity i.e. God shall be a swift witness against him by some extraordinary judgments: still he reflects upon Job’ s case, and the fire from heaven, Job 1 .

The earth i.e. all creatures upon earth shall conspire with God to destroy him.

Poole: Job 20:28

The increase of his house either,

1. His posterity; or rather,

2. His estate, got by the labour, and employed for the use, of his family.

Shall depart shall be lost or taken away from him. See 2Ki 20:17 .

His goods shall flow away like waters, to wit, swiftly and strongly, and so as to return no more.

The day of his wrath i. e. of God’ s wrath, when God shall come to execute judgment upon him.

Poole: Job 20:29

From God who like a wise master of a feast gives to every man his proper portion, and as a just judge distributes to him according to his deserts.

The heritage appointed unto him by God Heb. the heritage (i.e. the portion, as before; called here a heritage; partly to note the stability and assurance of it, that it is as firm as an inheritance to the right heir; and partly in opposition to that inheritance which he had gotten by fraud and violence) of his word ; either,

1. Of God’ s word, i.e. which is allotted to him by the word or sentence of God. Or,

2. Of the wicked man’ s word, the reward of his speeches; which, like his actions, are and may well be presumed to be wicked and blasphemous, and many ways offensive to God: and he instanceth in his speeches rather than his actions, to meet with Job, who, though he had made some colourable excuses for his actions, yet was manifestly guilty of hard and sinful speeches against God, which he would hereby intimate that they were not such harmless and excusable things as Job pretended, as appeared by these severe judgments which they brought upon wicked men.

Haydock: Job 20:4

I know. Hebrew and Septuagint, "dost thou not know?"

Haydock: Job 20:6

Pride. Septuagint, "presents." (Haydock) ---

Riches may be meant by pride. (Calmet)

Haydock: Job 20:7

Hill. Hebrew, "his own dung." (Haydock) (Proverbs x. 7.)

Haydock: Job 20:8

Fleeth. The poets assign wings to sleep and to dreams. (Homer, &c.) Isaias (xxix. 7.) describes a man who dreams that he is eating, and finds himself hungry when he awakes. Such is the live of the avaricious, (Calmet) and of all wicked people. (Haydock)

Haydock: Job 20:9

Behold him, as if it were susceptible of resentment, and entered into the views of God, chap vii. 10., and Psalm xxvi. 35. (Calmet)

Haydock: Job 20:10

Be. Hebrew, "seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods," which the wicked had gotten by oppression. (Haydock)

Haydock: Job 20:11

Vices of, is not in Hebrew, but must be understood. (Haydock) ---

Youth. Some translate, "hidden." Sophar perhaps accuses Job of some secret abominations, for which he was afflicted with the venereal disease. At least, nothing is more common than to see people brought to old age and infirmities unnumbered, (Calmet) before their time, in consequence of riotous living in their youth. (Haydock) ---

Youth may also denote the sin in which we are born, which is the source of all our maladies, and is always dragging us towards the grave. (Calmet)

Haydock: Job 20:12

Evil of any king, and particularly (Haydock) injustice, which at first seems sweet, but will prove in the end a mortal poison. (Calmet) ---

The unjust will be forced to restore his ill-gotten goods, or suffer eternally for the neglect, ver. 14, 18. (Haydock) ---

Habitual sins are also overcome with most difficulty, ver. 11. (Menochius)

Haydock: Job 20:16

Head. Hebrew, "venom." Septuagint, "the wrath of dragons." (Calmet) ---

Vipers. The same Hebrew term is elsewhere rendered basilisk, or asp. The precise import of such things is not easily ascertained. (Pineda) ---

Tongue. The ancients thought that serpents communicated the venom by the tongue, or sting. Moderns think they do it rather by the teeth. (Calmet)

Haydock: Job 20:17

Butter. The impious may have a short-lived pleasure, but it will not give perfect satisfaction. The poets use similar expressions. (Calmet) Mella fluant illi, ferat et rubus asper amomum. (Virgil)

Flumina jam lactis, jam flumina nectaris ibant. (Met. i.)

Haydock: Job 20:18

Suffer eternal torments. (Calmet) ---

Hebrew, "according to his substance, shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice." (Protestants)

Haydock: Job 20:20

Them. Death will overtake him, like the rich man, Luke xii. 20. (Calmet)

Haydock: Job 20:21

Continue. Hebrew, "no one shall look for his goods." The sinner eat up all in his life-time, or saw his possessions slip from him. (Haydock) ---

At least, he shall not take them with him to the grave. (Calmet)

Haydock: Job 20:23

May. Hebrew, "And when he shall be about to fill his belly," like king Baltassar, death shall hurry him away. (Calmet) ---

Rain. Septuagint, "hurl sorrows upon him," (Haydock) by an untimely death, followed with eternal hunger and thirst. Thus was treat the rich glutton, Luke xvi. 22. (Calmet)

Haydock: Job 20:24

Brass; of which metal the strongest bows were made. Protestants have, "steel:" (Haydock) but brass was used by the ancients for the same purpose. (Calmet) ---

This proverb shews that those who endeavour to escape from men, fall into the hands of God. (Delrio. Adag. 9, t. ii.) Incidit in Scyllam cupiens vitare Charbydim. (Virgil) (Menochius)

Haydock: Job 20:25

The sword is, occurs not in the Vulgate, (Haydock) though it be in the Complutensian and Sixtine editions. (Calmet) ---

Hebrew, "It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; the glittering sword cometh out of his gall; terrors are upon him." Protestants, "May likewise the dart come out through his body," &c. (Haydock) ---

Ones. Hebrew, " Enim; giants, who formerly inhabited the land of Moab, near the eastern Idumea. Their name might be placed for any cruel enemies. (Calmet)

Haydock: Job 20:26

Darkness, or misery. (Calmet) ---

Septuagint, "Terrors upon him, ( 26 ) and all darkness may await him." (Haydock) ---

He shall find no means of escaping. (Calmet) ---

Kindled. Hebrew, "blown." St. Gregory observes that hell-fire is corporeal, but very different from our material fire. Chaldean, &c., explain this passage in the same sense. It may also intimate interior anguish, (Calmet) lightning, (Vatable) pestilence, (Grotius) and every species of calamity. (Calmet) ---

Tabernacle, in hell. (Menochius) ---

We may also translate, "he who is left," (Haydock) the offspring shall be also miserable. (Menochius)

Haydock: Job 20:27

Heavens, as his sins have cried for vengeance, Genesis xviii. 20. (Calmet) ---

All creatures shall fight against the wicked. (Menochius)

Haydock: Job 20:28

Exposed. Hebrew, "the bud, (Calmet) or increase of his house, shall depart," (Haydock) and be led away into captivity, (Calmet) and ruined. Septuagint, "Let final destruction draw away his house, and the day of wrath overtake him."

Gill: Job 20:3

I have heard the check of my reproach,.... He took it that Job had reproached him and his friends, by representing them as hardhearted men, and persecuting him wrongly in a violent manner; and he had observed the "check" or reproof given for it, by bidding them beware of the sword, and lest the punishment of it should be inflicted on them; and if that should not be the case, yet there was a righteous judgment they could not escape. Now Zophar heard this, but could not hear it with patience; be could not bear that he and his friends should be insulted, as he thought, in this manner; and therefore it was he was in such baste to return an answer; though some ^d think he here pretends to a divine oracle, like that which Eliphaz makes mention of in the beginning of this dispute, Job 4:12, &c. which he had from God, and from which he had heard the "correction of his reproach" ^e, or a full confutation of the thing Job had reproached him with; and being thus divinely furnished, he thought it his duty to deliver it:

and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer; or his rational spirit, his natural understanding, furnished him at once with an answer; he had such a clear insight into the controversy on foot, and such a full view of it, that he thought himself capable of speaking very particularly to the matter in hand, and to the conviction and confusion of Job; nay, his conscience, or the spirit of his conscience, as Mr. Broughton renders it, not only readily dictated to him what he should say, but obliged him to it; though some think he meant the Holy Spirit of God, by which he would be thought to be inspired; that he "out of his understanding" ^f, enlightened by him, caused him to answer, or would answer for him, or supply him with matter sufficient to qualify him for it; and this he might observe to Job, in order to raise his attention to what he was about to say.

Gill: Job 20:4

Knowest thou not this of old,.... Or "from eternity" ^g, from the beginning of time, ever since the world was; as if he should say, if you are the knowing man you pretend to be, you must know this I am about to observe; and if you do not know it, you must be an ignorant man, since it is an ancient truth, confirmed by all experience from the creation; not that Job could know it so early, he was not the first man that was born, nor was he made before the hills, but was of yesterday, and comparatively knew nothing; but the sense is, that this about to be delivered was an old established maxim, of which there had been numerous instances,

since man, or "Adam",

was placed upon earth; referring to the putting of Adam in Eden to dress the garden, and keep it; and every man, ever since, is placed on earth by the ordination, and according to the will of God, where and for purposes he pleases: the instances Zophar might have in view are perhaps the expulsion of our first parents out of paradise, the vagabond state of Cain, the destruction of the old world by a flood, and of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire from heaven; which show that God, sooner or later, gives manifest tokens of his displeasure at sin and sinners, by his punishment of them for it. What he means is as follows.

Gill: Job 20:5

That the triumphing of the wicked is short,.... Their outward prosperity and felicity, of which they make their boast, and in which they glory and triumph for a while; at first Job's friends set out with this notion, that the wicked never flourished and prospered, but it always went ill with them in Providence; but being beat out of that, they own they may be for a small time in flourishing and prosperous circumstances, but it is but for a small time; which may be true in many instances, but it is not invariable and without exception the case: the sense is, it is but a little while that they are in so much mirth and jollity, and triumph over their neighbours, as being in more advantageous circumstances than they; this is said in the original text to be "from near" ^h; it is but a little while ago when it began; and; as the Targum paraphrases it, it will be quickly ended:

and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment; the word "wicked", in the former clause, may signify the same person here called the "hypocrite"; but inasmuch as that signifies one restless and troublesome, one that is ungodly, and destitute of the fear of God, that has nothing in him but wickedness, who is continually committing it, and is abandoned to it; it might be thought not to apply to the character of Job, whom Zophar had in his view, and therefore this is added as descriptive of him: an hypocrite is one who seems to be that he is not, holy, righteous, good, and godly; who professes to have what he has not, the true grace of God, and pretends to worship God, but does not do it cordially, and from right principles; and who seeks himself in all he does, and not the glory of God: now there may be a joy in such sort of persons; they may hear ministers gladly, as Herod heard John, and receive the word with joy, as the stony ground hearers did, Mar 6:20; they may seem to delight in the ways and ordinances of God, and even have some tastes of the powers of the world to come, and some pleasing thoughts and hopes of heaven and happiness; as well as they triumph in and boast of their profession of religion and performance of duties, and rejoice in their boastings, which is evil; but then this is like the pleasures of sin, which are but for a season, or like the crackling of thorns under a pot, which make a great noise and blaze, but soon over, Ecc 7:6; and so their joy in civil as well as religious, things. It is possible Zophar might be so ill natured as to have reference to Job's triumph of faith, Job 19:25; and by this would suggest, that his faith in a living Redeemer, and the joy of it he professed, would be soon over and no more; which shows what spirit he was of.

Gill: Job 20:6

Though his excellency mount up to the heavens,.... Though, in worldly grandeur and glory, he should arrive to such a pitch as the Assyrian monarch was ambitious of, as to ascend into heaven, exalt his throne above the stars of God, and be like the Most High; or be comparable to such a tree, by which the greatness of Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom is expressed, the height whereof reached unto heaven, Isa 14:12;

and his head reach unto the clouds; being lifted up with pride, because of his greatness, and looking with contempt and scorn on others; the Septuagint version is, "if his gifts ascend up to heaven", &c. which well agrees with an hypocrite possessed of great gifts, and proud of them; as Capernaum was highly favoured with external things, as the presence of Christ, his ministry and miracles, and so said to be exalted unto heaven, yet, because of its impenitence and unbelief, should be brought down to hell, Mat 11:23.

Gill: Job 20:7

Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung,.... Not only in this world, but in the world to come, both in his outward substance here, and in his body in the grave, and in his soul to all eternity, and that in the most shameful and disgraceful manner; he shall perish in his own corruption, and like his own dung inevitably, which is never returned to its place again: dead bodies were reckoned by the ancients as dung, and the carcasses of men are rather to be cast out than dung ⁱ; and the Arabians used, to bury in dunghills even their kings ^k; to which some ^l think the allusion is:

they which have seen him shall say, where is he? such as formerly gazed at him, in his prosperity, with wonder and amazement at his grandeur and greatness, now being removed from his outward splendour, or from the world, by death, ask where he is, not being able to see him in his former lustre, nor in the land of the living; see Job 14:10.

Gill: Job 20:8

He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found,.... Either as a dream which is forgotten, as Nebuchadnezzar's was, and cannot be recovered; or as the matter and substance of a dream, which, though remembered, is a mere illusion; as when a hungry or thirsty man dreams he eats or drinks, but, awaking, finds himself empty, and not at all refreshed; what he fancied is fled and gone ^m, and indeed never had any existence but in his imagination, Isa 29:8;

yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night; either the same as a nocturnal dream, or what a man fancies he sees in his dream; or like a mere spectre or apparition, which is a mere phantom, and, when followed and pursued, vanishes and disappears; so such a man before described is chased out of the world, and is seen in it no more, see Job 18:18; the first clause, according to Sephorno, refers to the generation of the flood, and the second to the slaying of the firstborn of Egypt in the night.

Gill: Job 20:9

The eye also which saw him shall see him no more,.... In this world, concerned in the affairs of life, and busy in worldly employments, and especially in the grandeur he sometimes was, if not removed by death; but the former sense seems most agreeable by what follows,

neither shall his place any more behold him; the men of his place, as Ben Gersom, those that lived in the same place he did; or he shall not be seen, and known, and acknowledged any more as the master, owner, and proprietor of the house he formerly dwelt in; this seems to be taken from Job's own words in Job 7:10. The above Jewish commentator interprets this verse of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, whom Moses and the Israelites would see no more, Exo 10:29.

Gill: Job 20:10

His children shall seek to please the poor,.... In this and some following verses the miserable state of a wicked man is described, and which begins with his children, who are often visited in wrath for their parents' sins, especially when they tread in their steps, and follow their example; and it is an affliction to parents to see their children in distress, and particularly on their account, and even to be threatened with it. According to our version, the sense of this clause is, that after a wicked man's death his children shall seek to gain the good will and favour of the poor who have been oppressed by him, that they may not reproach them, or take revenge on them, or apply to the civil magistrate to have justice done them; but Jarchi renders the words,

"the poor shall oppress or destroy his children;''

and so the margin of our Bible, who, being enraged with the ill usage of their parents, shall fall upon them in great wrath, and destroy them, Pro 28:3; and the same Jewish writer restrains the words to the men of Sodom, who were oppressive and cruel to the poor; or rather the sense is, that the children of the wicked man shall be reduced to such extreme poverty, that they shall even seek relief of the poor, and supplicate and entreat them to give them something out of their small pittance; with which others in a good measure agree, who render the words, "his children shall please, being poor" ⁿ; it shall be a pleasure and satisfaction to those they have been injurious to, to see their children begging their bread from door to door, see Psa 109:5;

and his hands shall restore their goods: or "for his hands", &c. ^o; and so are a reason why his children shall be so reduced after his death as to need the relief of others, because their parent, in his lifetime, was obliged to make restitution of his ill gotten goods, so that in the end he had nothing to leave his children at his death; for this restitution spoken of is not voluntary, but forced. Sephorno thinks reference is had to the Egyptians lending jewels and other riches to the Israelites, whereby they were obliged to repay six hundred thousand men for their service.

Gill: Job 20:11

His bones are full of the sins of his youth,.... Man is born in sin, and is a transgressor from the womb; and the youthful age is addicted to many sins, as pride, passion, lust, luxury, intemperance, and uncleanness; and these are sometimes brought to mind, and men are convinced of them, and corrected for them, when more advanced in years; and if not stopped in them, and reformed from them, they are continued in an old age; and the effects of them are seen in bodily diseases, which a debauched life brings upon them, not only to the rottenness and consumption of their flesh, but to the putrefaction of their bones; though this may be understood of the whole body, the bones, the principal and stronger parts, being put for the whole, and denote that general decay and waste which gluttony, drunkenness, and uncleanness, bring into, see Pro 5:11; Some interpret this of "secret" sins ^p, as the word is thought to signify, which, if not cleansed from and pardoned, will be found and charged on them, and be brought into judgment, and they punished for them, Psa 90:8;

which shall lie down with him in the dust: to be in the dust is to be in the state of the dead, to lie in the grave, where men lie down and sleep as on a bed; and this is common to good and bad men, all sleep in the dust of the earth, but with this difference, the sins of wicked men lie down with them; as they live in sin, they die in their sins; not that their sins die with them, and are no more, but they continue on them, and with them, and will rise with them, and will follow them to judgment, and remain with them after, and the guilt and remorse of which will be always on their consciences, and is that worm that never dies: of such it is said, that they "are gone down to hell with their weapons of war"; with the same enmity against God, against Christ, and his people, and all that is good, they had in their lifetime: and "they have laid their swords under their heads"; in the grave, and shall rise with the same revengeful spirit they ever had against the saints, see Rev 20:8; "but their iniquities shall be upon their bones"; both them, and the punishment of them, Eze 32:27. The Jewish commentator last mentioned interprets the whole verse of Balaam, who died at the age of thirty three, and whose prosperity died with him, he leaving nothing to his children; and so he interprets the following verses of the curse he was forced to hide, which he would gladly have pronounced, and of the riches he received from Balak falling into the hands of the Israelites.

Gill: Job 20:12

Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth,.... Which may respect some particular sin, and by the context it seems to be the sin of covetousness, or of getting riches in an unlawful way, which is very sweet and pleasing to wicked men, while they are in such pursuits that succeed; and so Mr. Broughton renders it by "wrong"; though it may be applied to sin in general, which is "wickedness", or an evil ^q, being contrary to the pure and holy nature, will, and law of God; and it is evil in its effects on men, it having deprived them of the image and glory of God, and exposed them to his wrath, to the curses of his law, and to eternal deaths. Now this is "sweet" to an unregenerate man, who minds and savours the things of the flesh, whose taste is not changed, but is as it was from his birth, and who calls sweet bitter, and bitter sweet; such a man has the same delight in sin as a man has in his food, drinks up iniquity like water, and commits sin with greediness; for it is natural to him, he is conceived, born, and brought up in it; besides, some sins are what are more particularly called constitution sins, which some are peculiarly addicted to, and in which they take a peculiar delight and pleasure; these are like the right hand or right eye, and they cannot be persuaded, at any rate, to part with them:

though he hide it under his tongue; not for the sake of concealing it, nor by denying, dissembling, or excusing it, but for the sake of enjoying more pleasure in it; as a gluttonous man, when he has got a sweet morsel in his mouth, do not let it go down his throat immediately, but rolls it under his tongue, that he may have all the pleasure of it he can; so a wicked man devises sin in his heart, keeps it on his mind, revolves it in his thoughts, and his meditation on it is sweet; and he is so far from hiding it from others, that he openly declares it, freely tells of it, and takes pleasure in so doing: "fools make a mock at sin"; it is their diversion and recreation.

Gill: Job 20:13

Though he spare it,.... Not that he feeds sparingly on it, for he eats of it freely and plentifully, with great eagerness and greediness; it designs the gratefulness of it to him; he does not spit it out as loathsome, having tasted of it, but retains it as sweet and pleasant; he spares it as Saul did Agag, and as a man spares his only son; sin being a child, a brat of a wicked man, and therefore it is dear unto him:

and forsake it not: as he never will, until he is fully convinced of the evil of it, and it becomes exceeding sinful to him, and so loathsome and disagreeable; and he is restrained from it by the grace of God, and enabled by it to desert it, for such an one only finds mercy, Pro 28:13;

but keep it still within his mouth; like an epicure, that will not suffer his food quickly to go down his throat into his stomach, that he may have the greater pleasure in tasting, palating, and relishing it; as Philoxenus, who wished his throat as long as a crane's, that he might be the longer in tasting the sweetness of what he ate and drank; so the wicked man keeps sin within his mouth, not by restraining his mouth from speaking evil, rather by a non-confession of it, but chiefly by continuing and persisting in it, that he might have all the pleasure and satisfaction he has promised himself in it.

Gill: Job 20:14

Yet his meat in his bowels is turned,.... Or "his bread" ^r, to which sin is compared, being what the sinner lives in, and lives upon; what he strengthens himself in and with, and by which he is nourished unto the day of slaughter, and by means of which he grows and proceeds to more ungodliness, though in the issue he comes into starving and famishing circumstances; for this is bread of deceit, and proves to be ashes and gravel stones; it promises pleasure, profit, liberty, and impunity, but is all the reverse; as meat turns in a man's stomach when it does not digest in him, or rather his stomach turns against that, and instead of its being pleasant and agreeable to him, it distresses him and makes him uneasy; sin being compared to meat in the bowels, denotes the finishing of in after it has been conceived in the mind, and completed in the act:

it is the gall of asps within him; which is bitter, though not poison; which yet Pliny ^s suggests, but it seems ^t it is not fact. Sin is an evil and bitter thing, and produces bitter sorrow, and makes bitter work for repentance in good men, Jer 2:19; and fills with distress inexpressible and intolerable in wicked men, as in Cain and Judas in this world, and with black despair, weeping, and gnashing of teeth, and dreadful horrors of conscience, in the world to come, to all eternity; the effect of it is eternal death, the second death, inevitable and everlasting ruin and destruction.

Gill: Job 20:15

He hath swallowed down riches,.... Not his own, but another's, which he has spoiled him of and devoured, with as much eagerness, pleasure, and delight, as a hungry man swallows down his food; having an excessive and immoderate love of riches, and an insatiable desire after them, which make him stop at nothing, though ever so illicit, to obtain them; and when he has got them into his possession, thinks them as safe as the food in his belly, and never once dreams of refunding them, which yet he must do, as follows:

and he shall vomit them up again; that is, make restoration of them, not freely, but forcedly, with great reluctance, much pain of mind, and gripes of conscience:

God shall cast them out of his belly; he shall oblige him to cast them up again, by working upon his heart, making his mind uneasy, loading his conscience with guilt, so that he shall have no rest nor peace until he has done it; though they are as meat in his belly within him, they shall not remain with him; though they are in his house, in his coffers, or in his barns, they shall be fetched out from thence.

Gill: Job 20:16

He shall suck the poison of asps,.... Or "the head of asps" ^u; for their poison lies in their heads, particularly in their "teeth" ^w; or rather is a liquor in the gums, yellow like oil ^x; according to Pliny ^y, in copulation the male puts his head into the mouth of the female, which she sucks and gnaws off through the sweetness of the pleasure, then conceives her young, which eat out her belly; this is to be understood not of the man's sin, then it would have been expressed either in the past or present tense, as if that was sweet unto him in the commission of it, sucked in like milk from the breast, or honey from the honeycomb; such were his contrivances and artful methods, and the success of them in getting riches, but in the issue proved like the poison of asps, pernicious and deadly to him, which caused him to vomit them up again; for poison excites vomiting: but of the punishment of his sin; for putting men to death by the poison of asps was a punishment inflicted by some people upon malefactors; and however, it is certain death, and immediately and quickly dispatches, and without sense; so the wages of sin is death, and there is no avoiding it, and it comes insensibly on carnal men; they are not aware of it, and in no pain about it, until in hell they lift up their eyes as the rich man did:

the viper's tongue shall slay him; though it is with its teeth it bites, yet, when it is about to bite, it puts out its tongue, and to it its poison is sometimes ascribed; though it is said ^z to be quite harmless, and therefore not to be understood in a literal sense, but figuratively of the tongue of a detractor, a calumniator and false accuser, such an one as Doeg; but cannot be the sense here, since the fall of the person here described would not be by any such means; but the phrase, as before, denotes the certain and immediate death of such a wicked man; for the bite of a viper was always reckoned incurable, and issued in sudden death, see Act 28:3.

Gill: Job 20:17

He shall not see the rivers,.... Of water, or meet with any to assuage his thirst, which poison excites, and so makes a man wish for water, and desire large quantities; but this shall not be granted the wicked man; this might be illustrated in the case of the rich man in hell, who desired a drop of cold water to cool his tongue, but could not have it, Luk 16:24; though rather plenty of good things is here intended, see Isa 48:18; as also the following expressions:

the floods, the brooks of honey and butter; or "cream"; which are hyperbolical expressions, denoting the great profusion and abundance of temporal blessings, which either the covetous rich man was ambitious of obtaining, and hoped to enjoy, seeking and promising great things to himself, which yet he should never attain unto; or else the sense is, though he had enjoyed such plenty, and been in such great prosperity as to have honey and butter, or all temporal good things, flowing about him like rivers, and floods, and brooks; yet he should "see them no more", so Broughton reads the words; and perhaps Zophar may have respect to the abundance Job once possessed, but should no more, and which is by himself expressed by such like metaphors, Job 29:6; yea, even spiritual and eternal good things may be designed, and the plenty of them, as they often are in Scripture, by wine, and milk, and honey; such as the means of grace, the word and ordinances, the blessings of grace dispensed and communicated through them; spiritual peace and joy, called the rivers of pleasure; the love of God, and the streams of it, which make glad his people; yea, eternal glory and happiness, signified by new wine in the kingdom of God, and by a river of water of life, and a tree of life by it, see Isa 55:1; which are what carnal men and hypocrites shall never see or enjoy; and whereas Zophar took Job to be such a man, he may have a principal view to him, and object this to the beatific vision of God, and the enjoyment of eternal happiness he promised himself, Job 19:26. Bar Tzemach observes, that these words are to be read by a transposition thus, "he shall not see rivers of water, floods of honey, and brooks of butter".

Gill: Job 20:18

That which he laboured for shall he restore,.... This explains what was before figuratively expressed by vomiting, Job 20:15; and is to be interpreted either of that which another laboured for; so the Targum paraphrases it,

"another's labour;''

and Mr. Broughton renders it, "he shall restore what man's pain get": and then the sense is, that that which another got by his labour, coming by some means or another into the hand of this rapacious, covetous, wicked man, he shall be obliged to restore to him again; or the hire of the labourer being detained in his hands, he shall be forced to give it to him, as the Egyptians, by lending the Israelites their jewels of gold and silver, restored to them the wages due to them for all their labour among them for many years; or else this is to be understood of what the wicked man himself had laboured for, who with much toil and labour, as well as trick and artifice, had got the wealth of others into his hands; but should be obliged to make restoration of it again, and along with that also what he had laboured for, and had got even in an honest and lawful way, the marathon of unrighteousness corrupting and marring his whole substance:

and shall not swallow it down; or "not have time to devour it", as Mr. Broughton; he shall be obliged so soon to restore it, that it shall be as if he had never had it; he shall have no enjoyment of it, at least no comfort, pleasure, and satisfaction in it:

according to his substance shall the restitution be; the law of Moses required, in some cases, fourfold, in others fivefold, and sometimes sevenfold was exacted; and if a man had not sufficient to pay, all his substance was to go towards payment, and by this means what he lawfully got went along with that which was obtained in an illicit way, as before, see Exo 22:1;

and he shall not rejoice therein; not in the restitution he is forced to make, it being greatly against his will; nor in his ill-gotten substance, at least but for a little while, as in Job 20:5; he shall neither enjoy it nor have delight and pleasure in it, nor glory of it, as men are apt to do; Mr. Broughton reads this in connection with the preceding clause thus,

"and never rejoice in the wealth for which he must make recompense.''

Gill: Job 20:19

Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor,.... Having oppressed, crushed, and broken the poor to pieces, he leaves them so without pity and compassion for them, and without giving them any relief; he first by oppression makes them poor, or however poorer still, and then leaves them in such circumstances; for this does not suppose that he once was a favourer of them, and afforded them assistance in their necessities, and afterwards forsook them; but rather, as Ben Gersom gives the sense, he does not leave the poor until he has oppressed and crushed them, and then he does; Mr. Broughton's reading of the words agrees with the former sense, "he oppresseth and leaveth poor":

because he hath violently taken away an house which he built not; an house which did not belong to him, he had no property in or right unto, which, as he had not bought, he had not built; and therefore could lay no rightful claim unto it, and yet this he took in a violent manner from the right owner of it, see Mic 2:2; or "and", or "but shall not build it" ^a, or "buildeth it not"; he took it away with an intention to pull it down, and build a stately palace in the room of it; but either his substance was taken from him, or he taken away by death before he could finish it, and so either through neglect, or want of opportunity, or of money, did not what he thought to have done.

Gill: Job 20:20

Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly,.... Or happiness in his children, so some in Bar Tzemach; rather shall have no satisfaction in his substance; though his belly is filled with hid treasure, it shall give him no contentment; he shall be a stranger to that divine art, but ever have a restless craving after more, which is his sin; but rather punishment is here meant, and the sense is, that he shall have no quiet in his conscience, no peace of mind, because of his sin in getting riches in an unlawful way:

he shall not save of that which he desired; of his desirable things, his goods, his wealth, his riches, and even his children, all being gone, and none saved; respect may be had particularly to Job's case, who was stripped of everything, of all his substance and his children.

Gill: Job 20:21

There shall none of his meat be left,.... Not in his belly, all shall be cast up; none of his substance left for himself or others; none of his riches for his children or heirs, all being consumed: or this may respect either the profuseness or niggardliness of his living, that he should live in great luxury himself, but take no care of the poor; or else keep so mean a table, that there would be nothing left for the poor, not so much as a few crumbs to fall from it; but the first sense seems best; though some render the words, "there shall be none left for his meat" ^b, or his substance; he shall leave no children, have no heirs, all his family shall be cut off, see Job 18:19;

therefore shall no man look for his goods; for there shall be none to look for them; or rather there shall be none to look for, all being gone: a man in good circumstances of life, his heirs expect to enjoy much at his death, but when he is stripped of all, as Job was, his relations and friends are in no expectation of having anything at his death; and therefore do not think it worth their while to look out, or make an inquiry whether there is anything for them or not, see Job 20:28.

Gill: Job 20:22

In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits,.... For though he may not only have a sufficient competency to live upon, but even a fulness of temporal blessings, have as much as heart can wish, or more, even good things, and plenty of them laid up for many years; yet amidst it all shall be reduced to the utmost straits and difficulties, either through fear of losing what he has, insomuch that his abundance will not suffer him to sleep in the night, nor to enjoy an hour's pleasure in the day; or being so narrow spirited, notwithstanding his fulness, that he cannot allow himself to eat of the fruit of his labours, and rejoice therein; or fearing, notwithstanding all his plenty, that he shall come to want and poverty; or rather while he is in the most flourishing circumstances, and in the height of his prosperity, he is suddenly, as Nebuchadnezzar was, dispossessed of all, and reduced to the utmost extremity, Dan 4:31; the Targum is,

"when his measure is filled, he shall take vengeance on him:''

every hand of the wicked shall come upon him: or of the labourer, as the Targum, the hire of whose labour he has detained, or has taken away from him that which he laboured for; and so Broughton,

"the hand of the injured or grieved;''

such as he had been injurious to, and had grieved by his oppressions of them; or rather every troublesome wicked man, the hand of every thief or robber; respect seems to be had to the hand of the Sabeans and Chaldeans, that had been on Job and his substance.

Gill: Job 20:23

When he is about to fill his belly,.... Either in a literal sense, when he is about to take an ordinary meal to satisfy nature; or in a figurative sense, when he is seeking to increase his worldly riches, and his barns and coffers, and endeavouring to get satisfaction therein:

God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him; or "send it out on him" ^c; out of the treasures of it, which are laid up with him, Deu 32:34; into his conscience, and fill him with a dreadful sense and apprehension of it, and that with great force and violence, and cast it, and pour it on him like fire, or any scalding liquor, which is very terrible and intolerable. This intends the indignation of God against sin, and his just punishment of it, according to the rigour of his justice; sometimes it is only a little wrath and displeasure he shows, he does not stir up all his wrath; but here it is threatened he will cast it, and pour it in great plenty, even "the fury" of it, in the most awful and terrible manner:

and shall rain it upon him while he is eating; signifying, that the wrath of God shall be revealed from heaven against him, from whence rain comes; that it shall fall on him from above, unseen, suddenly, and at an unawares, and come with a force and violence not to be resisted, and in great abundance and profusion. The allusion seems to be to the raining of fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah, the inhabitants of which were indulging themselves in gratifying the flesh, when that judgment came upon them, Luk 17:28; and so it was with the Israelites, when they sinned against God in the wilderness, Psa 78:30; perhaps Zophar may glance at Job's children being slain while they were eating and drinking in their elder brother's house, Job 1:18. Some render it, "upon his food" ^d; his meat, a curse going along with it, while he is eating it, his table becoming a snare unto him; or upon his wealth and riches, he is endeavouring to fill his belly or satisfy himself with; and others, "upon his flesh", as the Targum; or "into his flesh"; as Broughton, and so many of the Jewish commentators ^e meaning his body, filling it with diseases, so that there is no soundness in it, but is in pain, and wasting, and consuming; and Job's case may be referred to, his body being full of boils and ulcers.

Gill: Job 20:24

He shall flee from the iron weapon,.... The sword, for fear of being thrust through with it; the flaming sword of justice God sometimes threatens to take, and whet, and make use of against ungodly men; the sword of God, as Bar Tzemach observes, is hereby figuratively expressed; fleeing from it, or an attempt to flee from it, shows guilt in the conscience, danger, and a sense of it, and a fear of falling into it, and yet there is no escaping the hand of God, or fleeing from his presence:

and the bow of steel shall strike him through; that is, an arrow out of a bow, made of steel or brass, of which bows were formerly made, and reckoned the strongest and most forcible, see Psa 18:34; signifying, that if he should escape the dint of a weapon, a sword or spear used near at hand, yet, as he fled, he would be reached by one that strikes at a distance, an arrow shot from a bow; the sense is, that, if a wicked man escapes one judgment, another will be sure to follow him, and overtake him and destroy him, see Isa 24:17.

Gill: Job 20:25

It is drawn, and cometh out of the body,.... That is, the arrow with which a wicked man is stricken through; either it is drawn, and comes out of the quiver, as Broughton; or rather is drawn out of the body of a wicked man, being shot into it, and that in order that he may be cured of his wound if possible, but to no purpose, since it follows:

yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall; being thrust into it, which being pierced and poured out, is certain and immediate death, see Job 16:13. Some render it, yea, "the glittering sword out of his gall, he shall go away", or "is gone" ^f; that is, he shall die, or is a dead man, there is no hope of him, when the arrow has transfixed his body, and the sword has penetrated into his gall, and divided that:

terrors are upon him; the terrors of death, the plain symptoms of it being upon him; the terrors of an awful judgment, which follows after it; the terrors of the dreadful sentence of condemnation that will then be pronounced, "go, ye cursed", &c. and the terrors of hell and eternal death, signified by utter darkness, unquenchable fire, and the never ceasing torments of it. Some by them understand devils, those terrible spirits which haunt wicked men in their dying moments, and are ready to carry them to the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, where they are to be companions with them for ever. The word is sometimes used of gigantic persons, who are sometimes terrible to others; and since these are mentioned along with weapons of war, Bar Tzemach interprets them of men of strength and power, men of war or soldiers, whose fear falls on others.

Gill: Job 20:26

All darkness shall be hid in his secret places,.... In such places of secrecy, where he may promise himself safety, he shall find more calamities of all sorts; or every kind of judgments shall find him out, and come upon him, sometimes signified by darkness, see Isa 8:22; or utter darkness, the blackness of darkness; everlasting wrath, ruin, and destruction, are laid up and reserved in God's secret places for him, and lie hid among his treasures of vengeance, which he in due time will bring forth from thence, and punish the guilty sinner with, Jud 1:13; or all this shall be because of secret sins, as Ben Gersom interprets it; and so Mr. Broughton renders the words, "for his store"; that is, for the store of his sins, as he explains it, which, however privately and secretly committed, shall be brought into judgment; and there the hidden things of darkness will be brought to light, and sentence pass upon men for them:

a fire not blown shall consume him; not blown by man, but by God himself; which some understand of thunder and lightning, such as fell on Job's sheep and servants, and consumed them, and which may be glanced at; and others of some fiery distemper, a burning fever, hot ulcers, carbuncles, &c. such as were at this time on Job's body; but the Targum, better, of the fire of hell; and so many of the Jewish commentators ^g, as well as Christian; the Septuagint version renders it, "unquenchable fire"; and so Mr. Broughton; and such the fire of hell is said to be, Mat 3:12, &c. and which is a fire kindled by the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, Isa 30:33;

it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle; not only it shall go ill with the wicked man himself, but with those he leaves behind him, that dwell in the house he formerly lived in, with his posterity; God sometimes punishing the iniquities of the fathers upon the children.

Gill: Job 20:27

The heaven shall reveal his iniquity,.... Either God the Maker and Possessor of heaven, who dwells there, and is sometimes so called, Dan 4:25; who sees and knows all things, even those that are most secret, as well as more openly committed, and will make all manifest, sooner or later; or else the angels of heaven, the inhabitants of it, so the Targum; who in the last day will be employed in gathering out of Christ's kingdom all that offend, and do iniquity, Mat 13:41; or the judgments of God descending from heaven, or appear there, and are owing to it; such as drowning the old world by opening the windows of heaven, Gen 7:11; the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire and brimstone from thence, Gen 19:24; and the destruction of persons by thunder, 2Sa 22:15, and lightning, 1Sa 2:10, and the like; which judgments falling upon men, show them to be guilty of crimes deserving of the wrath of God, see Rom 1:18;

and the earth shall rise up against him; when that becomes barren for the sins of men, and nothing but things hurtful to man rise up out of it; when it discloses the blood of murdered persons, and will at last give up the wicked dead that are buried in it; the Targum is,

"the inhabitants of the earth;''

and may be interpreted of their enmity, opposition, and hostility.

Gill: Job 20:28

The increase of his house shall depart,.... Either his children or his substance. Some interpret it, as Kimchi ^h observes, of the walls of his house, because of what follows, "they shall flow away", &c. as if he should say, the stones of his house shall fall down, and his habitation shall be destroyed, according to Mic 1:6; where a dilapidation is expressed by a flow, or pouring down of stones:

and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath; in the day of the wrath of God upon him, which will come upon him like water split on the ground, of no more use and service to him; the Targum interprets it of oil and wine, which shall flow away and cease, and so Mr. Broughton renders it, "fruits for his house"; all desirable and useful ones, see Rev 18:14.

Gill: Job 20:29

This is the portion of a wicked man from God,.... All before related, and which is very different from the portion of a good man, which is God himself, both here and hereafter; the wicked man has indeed his portion from God, which he has assigned him, but his portion is not himself; nor is it with him, nor with his people, but it is at most and best in this life, and but a worldly one, and hereafter will be with devils and damned spirits; and a dreadful portion it is to be banished from the presence of God to all eternity, and take up an everlasting abode with such company:

and the heritage appointed unto him by God; it is not only a portion allotted to him, but an inheritance to abide continually with him; and this by the irreversible decree and appointment of God, who has foreordained ungodly men to condemnation, and made, appointed, and reserved them to the day of wrath and destruction. Some choose to render the clause, "and the inheritance of his word or words ⁱ is unto him by God"; that is, punishment shall be inflicted upon him, and continue with him as an inheritance, because of his words, his indecent words, hard speeches and blasphemies uttered by him; referring, as it is thought, to the words which had dropped from the lips of Job.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Job 20:3

¹ tn There is no indication that this clause is to be subordinated to the next, other than the logical connection, and the use of the ו (vav) in the second half.

² tn See Job 19:3.

³ tn The phrase actually has רוּחַ מִבִּינָתִי (ruakh mibbinati, “a spirit/wind/breath/impulse from my understanding”). Some translate it “out of my understanding a spirit answers me.” The idea is not that difficult, and so the many proposals to rewrite the text can be rejected. The spirit of his understanding prompts the reply.

⁴ tn To take this verb as a simple Qal and read it “answers me,” does not provide a clear idea. The form can just as easily be taken as a Hiphil, with the sense “causes me to answer.” It is Zophar who will “return” and who will “answer.”

NET Notes: Job 20:4

¹ tn The MT has “Do you not know?” The question can be interpreted as a rhetorical question affirming that Job must know this. The question serves to express the conviction that the contents are well-known to the audience (see GKC 474 §150.e).

² tn Heb “from the putting of man on earth.” The infinitive is the object of the preposition, which is here temporal. If “man” is taken as the subjective genitive, then the verb would be given a passive translation. Here “man” is a generic, referring to “mankind” or “the human race.”

NET Notes: Job 20:5

¹ tn The expression in the text is “quite near.” This indicates that it is easily attained, and that its end is near.

² tn For the discussion of חָנֵף (khanef, “godless”) see Job 8:13.

³ tn The phrase is “until a moment,” meaning it is short-lived. But see J. Barr, “Hebrew ’ad, especially at Job 1:18 and Neh 7:3,” JSS 27 (1982): 177-88.

NET Notes: Job 20:6

¹ tn The word שִׂיא (si’) has been connected with the verb נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to lift up”), and so interpreted here as “pride.” The form is parallel to “head” in the next part, and so here it refers to his stature, the part that rises up and is crowned. But the verse does describe the pride of such a person, with his head in the heavens.

NET Notes: Job 20:7

¹ tn There have been attempts to change the word here to “like a whirlwind,” or something similar. But many argue that there is no reason to remove a coarse expression from Zophar.

NET Notes: Job 20:8

¹ tn Heb “and they do not find him.” The verb has no expressed subject, and so here is equivalent to a passive. The clause itself is taken adverbially in the sentence.

NET Notes: Job 20:9

¹ tn Heb “the eye that had seen him.” Here a part of the person (the eye, the instrument of vision) is put by metonymy for the entire person.

NET Notes: Job 20:10

¹ tn The early versions confused the root of this verb, taking it from רָצַץ (ratsats, “mistreat”) and not from רָצָה (ratsah, “be please with”). So it was taken to mean, “Let inferiors destroy his children.” But the verb is רָצָה (ratsah). This has been taken to mean “his sons will seek the favor of the poor.” This would mean that they would be reduced to poverty and need help from even the poor. Some commentators see this as another root רָצָה (ratsah) meaning “to compensate; to restore” wealth their father had gained by impoverishing others. This fits the parallelism well, but not the whole context that well.

² tn Some commentators are surprised to see “his hands” here, thinking the passage talks about his death. Budde changed it to “his children,” by altering one letter. R. Gordis argued that “hand” can mean offspring, and so translated it that way without changing anything in the text (“A note on YAD,” JBL 62 [1943]: 343).

NET Notes: Job 20:11

¹ tn “Bones” is often used metonymically for the whole person, the bones being the framework, meaning everything inside, as well as the body itself.

² sn This line means that he dies prematurely – at the height of his youthful vigor.

NET Notes: Job 20:12

¹ tn The conjunction אִם (’im) introduces clauses that are conditional or concessive. With the imperfect verb in the protasis it indicates what is possible in the present or future. See GKC 496 §159.q).

² sn The wicked person holds on to evil as long as he can, savoring the taste or the pleasure of it.

NET Notes: Job 20:13

¹ tn Heb “in the middle of his palate.”

NET Notes: Job 20:14

¹ tn The perfect verb in the apodosis might express the suddenness of the change (see S. R. Driver, Tenses in Hebrew, 204), or it might be a constative perfect looking at the action as a whole without reference to inception, progress, or completion (see IBHS 480-81 §30.1d). The Niphal perfect simply means “is turned” or “turns”; “sour is supplied in the translation to clarify what is meant.

² tn The word is “in his loins” or “within him.” Some translate more specifically “bowels.”

³ sn Some commentators suggest that the ancients believed that serpents secreted poison in the gall bladder, or that the poison came from the gall bladder of serpents. In any case, there is poison (from the root “bitter”) in the system of the wicked person; it may simply be saying it is that type of poison.

NET Notes: Job 20:15

¹ tn Heb “swallowed.”

² tn The choice of words is excellent. The verb יָרַשׁ (yarash) means either “to inherit” or “to disinherit; to dispossess.” The context makes the figure clear that God is administering the emetic to make the wicked throw up the wealth (thus, “God will make him throw it out…”); but since wealth is the subject there is a disinheritance meant here.

NET Notes: Job 20:16

¹ tn The word is a homonym for the word for “head,” which has led to some confusion in the early versions.

² sn To take the possessions of another person is hereby compared to sucking poison from a serpent – it will kill eventually.

³ tn Heb “tongue.”

⁴ tn Some have thought this verse is a gloss on v. 14 and should be deleted. But the word for “viper” (אֶפְעֶה, ’ef’eh) is a rare word, occurring only here and in Isa 30:6 and 59:5. It is unlikely that a rarer word would be used in a gloss. But the point is similar to v. 14 – the wealth that was greedily sucked in by the wicked proves to be their undoing. Either this is totally irrelevant to Job’s case, a general discussion, or the man is raising questions about how Job got his wealth.

NET Notes: Job 20:17

¹ tn The word פְּלַגּוֹת (pÿlaggot) simply means “streams” or “channels.” Because the word is used elsewhere for “streams of oil” (cf. 29:6), and that makes a good parallelism here, some supply “oil” (cf. NAB, NLT). But the second colon of the verse is probably in apposition to the first. The verb “see” followed by the preposition bet, “to look on; to look over,” means “to enjoy as a possession,” an activity of the victor.

² tn The construct nouns here have caused a certain amount of revision. It says “rivers of, torrents of.” The first has been emended by Klostermann to יִצְהָר (yitshar, “oil”) and connected to the first colon. Older editors argued for a נָהָר (nahar) that meant “oil” but that was not convincing. On the other hand, there is support for having more than one construct together serving as apposition (see GKC 422 §130.e). If the word “streams” in the last colon is a construct, that would mean three of them; but that one need not be construct. The reading would be “He will not see the streams, [that is] the rivers [which are] the torrents of honey and butter.” It is unusual, but workable.

³ sn This word is often translated “curds.” It is curdled milk, possibly a type of butter.

NET Notes: Job 20:18

¹ tn The idea is the fruit of his evil work. The word יָגָע (yaga’) occurs only here; it must mean ill-gotten gains. The verb is in 10:3.

² tn Heb “and he does not swallow.” In the context this means “consume” for his own pleasure and prosperity. The verbal clause is here taken adverbially.

³ sn The expression is “according to the wealth of his exchange.” This means he cannot enjoy whatever he gained in his business deals. Some mss have בּ (bet) preposition, making the translation easier; but this is evidence of a scribal correction.

NET Notes: Job 20:19

¹ tc The verb indicates that after he oppressed the poor he abandoned them to their fate. But there have been several attempts to improve on the text. Several have repointed the text to get a word parallel to “house.” Ehrlich came up with עֹזֵב (’ozev, “mud hut”), Kissane had “hovel” (similar to Neh 3:8). M. Dahood did the same (“The Root ’zb II in Job,” JBL 78 [1959]: 306-7). J. Reider came up with עֶזֶב (’ezev, the “leavings”), what the rich were to leave for the poor (“Contributions to the Scriptural text,” HUCA 24 [1952/53]: 103-6). But an additional root עָזַב (’azav) is questionable. And while the text as it stands is general and not very striking, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Dhorme reverses the letters to gain בְּעֹז (bÿ’oz, “with force [or violence]”).

² tn The last clause says, “and he did not build it.” This can be understood in an adverbial sense, supplying the relative pronoun to the translation.

NET Notes: Job 20:20

¹ tn Heb “belly,” which represents his cravings, his desires and appetites. The “satisfaction” is actually the word for “quiet; peace; calmness; ease.” He was driven by greedy desires, or he felt and displayed an insatiable greed.

² tn The verb is the passive participle of the verb חָמַד (khamad) which is one of the words for “covet; desire.” This person is controlled by his desires; there is no escape. He is a slave.

³ tn The verb is difficult to translate in this line. It basically means “to cause to escape; to rescue.” Some translate this verb as “it is impossible to escape”; this may work, but is uncertain. Others translate the verb in the sense of saving something else: N. Sarna says, “Of his most cherished possessions he shall save nothing” (“The Interchange of the Preposition bet and min in Biblical Hebrew,” JBL 78 [1959]: 315-16). The RSV has “he will save nothing in which he delights”; NIV has “he cannot save himself by his treasure.”

NET Notes: Job 20:21

¹ tn Heb “for his eating,” which is frequently rendered “for his gluttony.” It refers, of course, to all the desires he has to take things from other people.

² sn The point throughout is that insatiable greed and ruthless plundering to satisfy it will be recompensed with utter and complete loss.

NET Notes: Job 20:22

¹ tn The word שָׂפַק (safaq) occurs only here; it means “sufficiency; wealth; abundance (see D. W. Thomas, “The Text of Jesaia 2:6 and the Word sapaq,” ZAW 75 [1963]: 88-90).

² tn Heb “there is straightness for him.” The root צָרַר (tsarar) means “to be narrowed in straits, to be in a bind.” The word here would have the idea of pressure, stress, trouble. One could say he is in a bind.

³ tn Heb “every hand of trouble comes to him.” The pointing of עָמֵל (’amel) indicates it would refer to one who brings trouble; LXX and Latin read an abstract noun עָמָל (’amal, “trouble”) here.

NET Notes: Job 20:23

¹ tn D. J. A. Clines observes that to do justice to the three jussives in the verse, one would have to translate “May it be, to fill his belly to the full, that God should send…and rain” (Job [WBC], 477). The jussive form of the verb at the beginning of the verse could also simply introduce a protasis of a conditional clause (see GKC 323 §109.h, i). This would mean, “if he [God] is about to fill his [the wicked’s] belly to the full, he will send….” The NIV reads “when he has filled his belly.” These fit better, because the context is talking about the wicked in his evil pursuit being cut down.

² tn “God” is understood as the subject of the judgment.

³ tn Heb “the anger of his wrath.”

⁴ tn Heb “rain down upon him, on his flesh.” Dhorme changes עָלֵימוֹ (’alemo, “upon him”) to “his arrows”; he translates the line as “he rains his arrows upon his flesh.” The word בִּלְחוּמוֹ (bilkhumo,“his flesh”) has been given a wide variety of translations: “as his food,” “on his flesh,” “upon him, his anger,” or “missiles or weapons of war.”

NET Notes: Job 20:24

¹ tn Heb “a bronze bow pierces him.” The words “an arrow from” are implied and are supplied in the translation; cf. “pulls it out” in the following verse.

NET Notes: Job 20:25

¹ tn The MT has “he draws out [or as a passive, “it is drawn out/forth”] and comes [or goes] out of his back.” For the first verb שָׁלַף (shalaf, “pull, draw”), many commentators follow the LXX and use שֶׁלַח (shelakh, “a spear”). It then reads “and a shaft comes out of his back,” a sword flash comes out of his liver.” But the verse could also be a continuation of the preceding.

² tn Possibly a reference to lightnings.

NET Notes: Job 20:26

¹ tn Heb “all darkness is hidden for his laid up things.” “All darkness” refers to the misfortunes and afflictions that await. The verb “hidden” means “is destined for.”

² tn Heb “not blown upon,” i.e., not kindled by man. But G. R. Driver reads “unquenched” (“Hebrew notes on the ‘Wisdom of Jesus Ben Sirach’,” JBL 53 [1934]: 289).

NET Notes: Job 20:29

¹ tn For the word אִמְרוֹ (’imro) some propose reading “his appointment,” and the others, “his word.” Driver shows that “the heritage of his appointment” means “his appointed heritage” (see GKC 440 §135.n).

Geneva Bible: Job 20:3

I have heard ^{( a )} the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer.

^{( a )} He declares that two things moved him to speak: that is, because Job seemed to touch him, and because he thought he had knowledge sufficient to confute him.

Geneva Bible: Job 20:6

Though ^{( b )} his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;

^{( b )} His purpose is to prove Job to be a wicked man, and a hypocrite, because God punished him, and changed his prosperity into adversity.

Geneva Bible: Job 20:10

His children shall ^{( c )} seek to please the poor, and his hands shall ^{( d )} restore their goods.

^{( c )} While the father through ambition and tyranny oppressed the poor, the children through poverty and misery will seek favour from the poor.

^{( d )} So that the thing which he has taken away by violence will be restored again by force.

Geneva Bible: Job 20:11

His bones are full [of the sin] of his youth, which ^{( e )} shall lie down with him in the dust.

^{( e )} Meaning that he will carry nothing away with him but his sin.

Geneva Bible: Job 20:12

Though wickedness be ^{( f )} sweet in his mouth, [though] he hide it under his tongue;

^{( f )} As poison that is sweet in the mouth brings destruction when it comes into the body: so all vice at the first is pleasant, but God later turns it to destruction.

Geneva Bible: Job 20:16

He shall suck the ^{( g )} poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall slay him.

^{( g )} He compares ill-gotten goods to the venom of asps, which is a dangerous serpent, noting that Jobs great riches were not truly come by and therefore God plagues him justly for the same.

Geneva Bible: Job 20:17

He shall not see the ^{( h )} rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.

^{( h )} Though God gives all other abundance from his blessings yet he will have no part of it.

Geneva Bible: Job 20:18

That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow [it] down: according to [his] substance [shall] the restitution [be], ^{( i )} and he shall not rejoice [therein].

^{( i )} That is these raveners and spoilers of the poor will enjoy their theft but for a time for after God will take it from them, and cause them to make restitution so that it is only an exchange.

Geneva Bible: Job 20:21

There shall none of his ^{( k )} meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.

^{( k )} He will leave nothing to his posterity.

Geneva Bible: Job 20:22

In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand ^{( l )} of the wicked shall come upon him.

^{( l )} The wicked will never be in rest: for one wicked man will seek to destroy another.

Geneva Bible: Job 20:23

[When] he is about to fill his belly, [God] shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, ^{( m )} and shall rain [it] upon him while he is eating.

^{( m )} Some read, upon his flesh, alluding to Job, whose flesh was smitten with a scab.

Geneva Bible: Job 20:25

It is drawn, and cometh out of the ^{( n )} body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors [are] upon him.

^{( n )} Some read, of the quiver.

Geneva Bible: Job 20:26

^{( o )} All darkness [shall be] hid in his secret places: a fire not ^{( p )} blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.

^{( o )} All fear and sorrow will light on him when he thinks to escape.

^{( p )} That is, fire from heaven, or the fire of God's wrath.

Geneva Bible: Job 20:28

The ^{( q )} increase of his house shall depart, [and his goods] shall flow away in the day of his wrath.

^{( q )} Meaning, the children of the wicked will flow away like rivers and be dispersed in various places.

Geneva Bible: Job 20:29

This [is] the portion of a wicked man from ^{( r )} God, and the heritage appointed unto him by ^{( s )} God.

^{( r )} Thus God will plague the wicked.

^{( s )} Against God, thinking to excuse himself, and to escape God's hand.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Job 20:1-29

1 Zophar shews the state and portion of the wicked.

MHCC: Job 20:1-9

Zophar's discourse is upon the certain misery of the wicked. The triumph of the wicked and the joy of the hypocrite are fleeting. The pleasures and gains of sin bring disease and pain; they end in remorse, anguish, and ruin. Dissembled piety is double iniquity, and the ruin that attends it will be accordingly.

MHCC: Job 20:10-22

The miserable condition of the wicked man in this world is fully set forth. The lusts of the flesh are here called the sins of his youth. His hiding it and keeping it under his tongue, denotes concealment of his beloved lust, and delight therein. But He who knows what is in the heart, knows what is under the tongue, and will discover it. The love of the world, and of the wealth of it, also is wickedness, and man sets his heart upon these. Also violence and injustice, these sins bring God's judgments upon nations and families. Observe the punishment of the wicked man for these things. Sin is turned into gall, than which nothing is more bitter; it will prove to him poison; so will all unlawful gains be. In his fulness he shall be in straits, through the anxieties of his own mind. To be led by the sanctifying grace of God to restore what was unjustly gotten, as Zaccheus was, is a great mercy. But to be forced to restore by the horrors of a despairing conscience, as Judas was, has no benefit and comfort attending it.

MHCC: Job 20:23-29

Zophar, having described the vexations which attend wicked practices, shows their ruin from God's wrath. There is no fence against this, but in Christ, who is the only Covert from the storm and tempest, Isa 32:2. Zophar concludes, " This is the portion of a wicked man from God;" it is allotted him. Never was any doctrine better explained, or worse applied, than this by Zophar, who intended to prove Job a hypocrite. Let us receive the good explanation, and make a better application, for warning to ourselves, to stand in awe and sin not. One view of Jesus, directed by the Holy Spirit, and by him suitably impressed upon our souls, will quell a thousand carnal reasonings about the suffering of the faithful.

Matthew Henry: Job 20:1-9

Here, I. Zophar begins very passionately, and seems to be in a great heat at what Job had said. Being resolved to condemn Job for a bad man, he was much displeased that he talked so like a good man, and, as it should seem, broke in upon him, and began abruptly (Job 20:2): Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer. He takes no notice of what Job had said to move their pity, or to evidence his own integrity, but fastens upon the reproof he gave them in the close of his discourse, counts that a reproach, and thinks himself therefore obliged to answer, because Job had bidden them be afraid of the sword, that he might not seem to be frightened by his menaces. The best counsel is too often ill taken from an antagonist, and therefore usually may be well spared. Zophar seemed more in haste to speak than became a wise man; but he excuses his haste with two things: - 1. That Job had given him strong provocation (Job 20:3): " I have heard the check of my reproach, and cannot bear to hear it any longer."Job's friends, I doubt, had spirits too high to deal with a man in his low condition; and high spirits are impatient of contradiction, and think themselves affronted if all about them do not say as they say; they cannot bear a check but they call it the check of their reproach, and then they are bound in honour to return it, if not to draw upon him that gave it. 2. That his own heart gave him a strong instigation. His thoughts caused him to answer (Job 20:2), for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks; but he fathers the instigation (Job 20:3) upon the spirit of his understanding: that indeed should cause us to answer; we should rightly apprehend a thing and duly consider it before we speak of it; but whether it did so here or no is a question. Men often mistake the dictates of their passion for the dictates of their reason, and therefore think they do well to be angry.

II. Zophar proceeds very plainly to show the ruin and destruction of wicked people, insinuating that because Job was destroyed and ruined he was certainly a wicked man and a hypocrite. Observe,

1. How this doctrine is introduced, Job 20:4, where he appeals, (1.) To Job's own knowledge and conviction: " Knowest thou not this? Canst thou be ignorant of a truth so plain? Or canst thou doubt of a truth which has been confirmed by the suffrages of all mankind?"Those know little who do not know that the wages of sin is death. (2.) To the experience of all ages. It was known of old, since man was placed upon the earth; that is, ever since man was made he has had this truth written in his heart, that the sin of sinners will be their ruin; and ever since there were instances of wickedness (which there were soon after man was placed on the earth) there were instances of the punishments of it, witness the exclusions of Adam and Cain. When sin entered into the world death entered with it: all the world knows that evil pursues sinners, whom vengeance suffers not to live (Act 28:4), and subscribes to that (Isa 3:11), Woe to the wicked; it shall be ill with him, sooner or later.

2. How it is laid down (Job 20:5): The triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment. Observe, (1.) He asserts the misery, not only of those who are openly wicked and profane, but of hypocrites, who secretly practice wickedness under a show and profession of religion, because such a wicked man he looked upon Job to be; and it is true that a form of godliness, if it be made use of for a cloak of maliciousness, does but make bad worse. Dissembled piety is double iniquity, and the ruin that attends it will be accordingly. The hottest place in hell will be the portion of hypocrites, as our Saviour intimates, Mat 24:51. (2.) He grants that wicked men may for a time prosper, may be secure and easy, and very merry. You may see them in triumph and joy, triumphing and rejoicing in their wealth and power, their grandeur and success, triumphing and rejoicing over their poor honest neighbours whom they vex and oppress: they feel no evil, they fear none. Job's friends were loth to own, at first, that wicked people might prosper at all (Job 4:9), until Job proved it plainly (Job 9:24, Job 12:6), and now Zophar yields it; but, (3.) He lays it down for a certain truth that they will not prosper long. Their joy is but for a moment, and will quickly end in endless sorrow. Though he be ever so great, and rich, and jovial, the hypocrite will be humbled, and mortified, and made miserable.

3. How it is illustrated, Job 20:6-9. (1.) He supposes his prosperity to be very high, as high as you can imagine, Job 20:6. It is not his wisdom and virtue, but his worldly wealth or greatness, that he accounts his excellency, and values himself upon. We will suppose that to mount up to the heavens, and, since his spirit always rises with his condition, you may suppose that with it his head reaches to the clouds. He is every way advanced; the world has done the utmost it can for him. He looks down upon all about him with disdain, while they look up to him with admiration, envy, or fear. We will suppose him to bid fair for a universal monarchy. And, though he cannot but have made himself many enemies before he arrived to this pitch of prosperity, yet he thinks himself as much out of the reach of their darts as if he were in the clouds. (2.) He is confident that his ruin will accordingly be very great, and his fall the more dreadful for his having risen so high: He shall perish for ever, Job 20:7. His pride and security were the certain presages of his misery. This will certainly be true of all impenitent sinners in the other world; they shall be undone, for ever undone. But Zophar means his ruin in this world; and indeed sometimes notorious sinners are remarkably cut off by present judgments; they have reason enough to fear what Zophar here threatens even the triumphant sinner with. [1.] A shameful destruction: He shall perish like his own dung or dunghill, so loathsome is he to God and all good men, and so willing will the world be to part with him, Psa 119:119; Isa 66:24. [2.] A surprising destruction. He will be brought into desolation in a moment (Psa 73:19), so that those about him, that saw him but just now, will ask, " Where is he? Could he that made so great a figure vanish and expire so suddenly?"[3.] A swift destruction, Job 20:8. He shall fly away upon the wings of his own terrors, and be chased away by the just imprecations of all about him, who would gladly get rid of him. [4.] An utter destruction. It will be total; he shall go away like a dream, or vision of the night, which was a mere phantasm, and, whatever in it pleased the fancy, it is quite gone, and nothing of it remains but what serves us to laugh at the folly of. It will be final (Job 20:9): The eye that saw him, and was ready to adore him, shall see him no more, and the place he filled shall no more behold him, having given him an eternal farewell when he went to his own place, as Judas, Act 1:25.

Matthew Henry: Job 20:10-22

The instances here given of the miserable condition of the wicked man in this world are expressed with great fulness and fluency of language, and the same thing returned to again and repeated in other words. Let us therefore reduce the particulars to their proper heads, and observe,

I. What his wickedness is for which he is punished.

1. The lusts of the flesh, here called the sins of his youth (Job 20:11); for those are the sins which, at that age, people are most tempted to. The forbidden pleasures of sense are said to be sweet in his mouth (Job 20:12); he indulges himself in all the gratifications of the carnal appetite, and takes an inordinate complacency in them, as yielding the most agreeable delights. That is the satisfaction which he hides under his tongue, and rolls there, as the most dainty delicate thing that can be. He keeps it still within his mouth (Job 20:13); let him have that, and he desires no more; he will never part with that for the spiritual and divine pleasures of religion, which he has no relish or nor affection for. His keeping it still in his mouth denotes his obstinately persisting in his sin ( he spares it when he should kill and mortify it, and forsakes it not, but holds it fast, and goes on frowardly in it), and also his re-acting of his sin by revolving it and remembering it with pleasure, as that adulterous woman (Eze 23:19) who multiplied her whoredoms by calling to remembrance the days of her youth; so does this wicked man here. Or his hiding it and keeping it under his tongue denotes his industrious concealment of his beloved lust. Being a hypocrite, his haunts of sin are secret, that he may save the credit of his profession; but he who knows what is in the heart knows what is under the tongue too, and will discover it shortly.

2. The love of the world and the wealth of it. It is in worldly wealth that he places his happiness, and therefore he sets his heart upon it. See here, (1.) How greedy he is of it (Job 20:15): He has swallowed down riches as eagerly as ever a hungry man swallowed down meat; and is still crying, "Give, give."It is that which he desired (Job 20:20); it was, in his eye, the best gift, and that which he coveted earnestly. (2.) What pains he takes for it: It is that which he laboured for (Job 20:18), not by honest diligence in a lawful calling, but by an unwearied prosecution of all ways and methods, per fas, per nefas - right or wrong, to be rich. We must labour, not to be rich (Pro 23:4), but to be charitable, that we may have to give (Eph 4:28), not to spend. (3.) What great things he promises himself from it, intimated in the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter (Job 20:17); his being disappointed of them supposes that he had flattered himself with the hopes of them: he expected rivers of sensual delights.

3. Violence and oppression, and injustice in his poor neighbours, Job 20:19. This was the sin of the giants of the old world, and a sin that, as much as any, brings God's judgments upon nations and families. It is charged upon this wicked man, (1.) That he has forsaken the poor, taken no care of them, shown no kindness to them, nor made any provision for them. At first perhaps, for a pretence, he gave alms like the Pharisees, to gain a reputation; but, when he had served his turn by this practice, he left it off, and forsook the poor, whom before he seemed to be concerned for. Those who do good, but not from a good principle, though they may abound in it, will not abide in it. (2.) That he has oppressed them, crushed them, taken all advantages against them to do them a mischief. To enrich himself, he has robbed the spital, and made the poor poorer. (3.) That he has violently taken away their houses, which he had no right to, as Ahab took Naboth's vineyard, not by secret fraud, by forgery, perjury, or some trick in law, but avowedly, and by open violence.

II. What his punishment is for this wickedness.

1. He shall be disappointed in his expectations, and shall not find that satisfaction in his worldly wealth which he vainly promised himself (Job 20:17): He shall never see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter, with which he hoped to glut himself. The world is not that to those who love it, and court it, and admire it, which they fancy it will be. The enjoyment sinks far below the raised expectation.

2. He shall be diseased and distempered in his body; and how little comfort a man has in riches if he has not health! Sickness and pain, especially it they be in extremity, embitter all his enjoyments. This wicked man has all the delights of sense wound up to the height of pleasurableness; but what real happiness can he enjoy when his bones are full of the sins of his youth (Job 20:11), that is, of the effects of those sins? By his drunkenness and gluttony, his uncleanness and wantonness, when he was young, he contracted those diseases which are painful to him long after, and perhaps make his life very miserable, and, as Solomon speaks, consume his flesh and his body, Pro 5:11. Perhaps he was given to fight when he was young, and then made nothing of a cut or a bruise in a fray; but he feels it in his bones long after. But can he get no ease, no relief? No, he is likely to carry his pains and diseases with him to the grave, or rather they are likely to carry him thither, and so the sins of his youth shall lie down with him in the dust; the very putrefying of his body in the grave is to him the effect of sin (Job 24:19), so that his iniquity is upon his bones there, Eze 32:27. The sin of sinners follows them to the other side death.

3. He shall be disquieted and troubled in his mind: Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, Job 20:20. He has not that ease in his own mind that people think he has, but is in continual agitation. The ill-gotten wealth which he has swallowed down makes him sick, and, like undigested meat, is always upbraiding him. Let none expect to enjoy that comfortably which they have gotten unjustly. The unquietness of his mind arises, (1.) From his conscience looking back, and filling him with the fear of the wrath of God against him for his wickedness. Even that wickedness which was sweet in the commission, and was rolled under the tongue as a delicate morsel, becomes bitter in the reflection, and, when it is reviewed, fills him with horror and vexation. In his bowels it is turned (Job 20:14) like John's book, in his mouth as sweet as honey, but, when he had eaten it, his belly was bitter, Rev 10:10. Such a thing is sin; it is turned into the gall of asps, than which nothing is more bitter, the poison of asps (Job 20:16), than which nothing more fatal, and so it will be to him; what he sucked so sweetly, and with so much pleasure, will prove to him the poison of asps; so will all unlawful gains be. The fawning tongue will prove the viper's tongue. All the charming graces that are thought to be in sin will, when conscience is awakened, turn into so many raging furies. (2.) From his cares, looking forward, Job 20:22. In the fulness of his sufficiency, when he thinks himself most happy, and most sure of the continuance of his happiness, he shall be in straits, that is, he shall think himself so, through the anxieties and perplexities of his own mind, as that rich man who, when his ground brought forth plentifully, cried out, What shall I do? Luk 12:17.

4. He shall be dispossessed of his estate; that shall sink and dwindle away to nothing, so that he shall not rejoice therein, Job 20:18. He shall not only never rejoice truly, but not long rejoice at all. (1.) What he has unjustly swallowed he shall be compelled to disgorge (Job 20:15): He swallowed down riches, and then thought himself sure of them, and that they were as much his own as the meat he had eaten; but he was deceived: he shall vomit them up again; his own conscience perhaps may make him so uneasy in the keeping of what he has gotten that, for the quiet of his own mind, he shall make restitution, and that not with the pleasure of a virtue, but the pain of a vomit, and with the utmost reluctancy. Or, if he do not himself refund what he has violently taken away, God will, by his providence, force him to it, and bring it about, one way or other, that ill-gotten goods shall return to the right owners: God shall cast them out of his belly, while yet the love of the sin is not cast out of his heart. So loud shall the clamours of the poor, whom he has impoverished, be against him, that he shall be forced to send his children to them to soothe them and beg their pardon (Job 20:10): His children shall seek to please the poor, while his own hands shall restore them their goods with shame (Job 20:18): That which he laboured for, by all the arts of oppression, shall he restore, and shall not so swallow it down as to digest it; it shall not stay with him, but according to his shame shall the restitution be; having gotten a great deal unjustly, he shall restore a great deal, so that when every one has his own he will have but little left for himself. To be made to restore what was unjustly gotten, by the sanctifying grace of God, as Zaccheus was, is a great mercy; he voluntarily and cheerfully restored four-fold, and yet had a great deal left to give to the poor, Luk 19:8. But to be forced to restore, as Judas was, merely by the horrors of a despairing conscience, has none of that benefit and comfort attending it, for he threw down the pieces of silver and went and hanged himself. (2.) He shall be stripped of all he has and become a beggar. He that spoiled others shall himself be spoiled (Isa 33:1); for every hand of the wicked shall be upon him. The innocent, whom he has wronged, sit down by their loss, saying, as David, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked, but my hand shall not be upon him, 1Sa 24:13. But though they have forgiven him, though they will make no reprisals, divine justice will, and often makes the wicked to avenge the quarrel of the righteous, and squeezes and crushes one bad man by the hand of another upon him. Thus, when he is plucked on all sides, he shall not save of that which he desired (Job 20:20), not only he shall not save it all, but he shall save nothing of it. There shall none of his meat (which he coveted so much, and fed upon with so much pleasure) be left, Job 20:21. All his neighbours and relations shall look upon him to be in such bad circumstances that, when he is dead, no man shall look for his goods, none of his kindred shall expect to be a penny the better for him, nor be willing to take out letters of administration for what he leaves behind him. In all this Zophar reflects upon Job, who had lost all and was reduced to the last extremity.

Matthew Henry: Job 20:23-29

Zophar, having described the many embarrassments and vexations which commonly attend the wicked practices of oppressors and cruel men, here comes to show their utter ruin at last.

I. Their ruin will take its rise from God's wrath and vengeance, Job 20:23. The hand of the wicked was upon him (Job 20:22), every hand of the wicked. His hand was against every one, and therefore every man's hand will be against him. Yet, in grappling with these, he might go near to make his part good; but his heart cannot endure, nor his hands be strong, when God shall deal with him (Eze 22:14), when God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him and rain it upon him. Every word here speaks terror. It is not only the justice of God that is engaged against him, but his wrath, the deep resentment of provocations given to himself; it is the fury of his wrath, incensed to the highest degree; it is cast upon him with force and fierceness; it is rained upon him in abundance; it comes on his head like the fire and brimstone upon Sodom, to which the psalmist also refers, Psa 11:6. On the wicked God shall rain fire and brimstone. There is no fence against this, but in Christ, who is the only covert from the storm and tempest, Isa 32:2. This wrath shall be cast upon him when he is about to fill his belly, just going to glut himself with what he has gotten and promising himself abundant satisfaction in it. Then, when he is eating, shall this tempest surprise him, when he is secure and easy, and in apprehension of no danger; as the ruin of the old world and Sodom came when they were in the depth of their security and the height of their sensuality, as Christ observes, Luk 17:26, etc. Perhaps Zophar here reflects on the death of Job's children when they were eating and drinking.

II. Their ruin will be inevitable, and there will be no possibility of escaping it (Job 20:24): He shall flee from the iron weapon. Flight argues guilt. He will not humble himself under the judgments of God, nor seek means to make his peace with him. All his care is to escape the vengeance that pursues him, but in vain: if he escape the sword, yet the bow of steel shall strike him through. God has weapons of all sorts; he has both whet his sword and bent his bow (Psa 7:12, Psa 7:13); he can deal with his enemies cominus vel eminus - at hand or afar off. He has a sword for those that think to fight it out with him by their strength, and a bow for those that think to avoid him by their craft. See Isa 24:17, Isa 24:18; Jer 48:43, Jer 48:44. He that is marked for ruin, though he may escape one judgment, will find another ready for him.

III. It will be a total terrible ruin. When the dart that has struck him through (for when God shoots he is sure to hit his mark, when he strikes he strikes home) comes to be drawn out of his body, when the glittering sword (the lightning, so the word is), the flaming sword, the sword that is bathed in heaven (Isa 34:5), comes out of his gall, O what terrors are upon him! How strong are the convulsions, how violent are the dying agonies! How terrible are the arrests of death to a wicked man!

IV. Sometimes it is a ruin that comes upon him insensibly, Job 20:26. 1. The darkness he is wrapped up in is a hidden darkness: it is all darkness, utter darkness, without the least mixture of light, and it is hid in his secret place, whither he has retreated and where he hopes to shelter himself; he never retires into his own conscience but he finds himself in the dark and utterly at a loss. 2. The fire he is consumed by is a fire not blown, kindled without noise, a consumption which every body sees the effect of, but nobody sees the cause of. It is plain that the gourd is withered, but the worm at the root, that causes it to wither, is out of sight. He is wasted by a soft gentle fire - surely, but very slowly. When the fuel is very combustible, the fire needs no blowing, and that is his case; he is ripe for ruin. The proud, and those that do wickedly, shall be stubble, Mal 4:1. An unquenchable fire shall consume him (so some read it), and that is certainly true of hell-fire.

V. It is a ruin, not only to himself, but to his family: It shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle, for the curse shall reach him, and he shall be cut off perhaps by the same grievous disease. There is an entail of wrath upon the family, which will destroy both his heirs and his inheritance, Job 20:28. 1. His posterity will be rooted out: The increase of his house shall depart, shall either be cut off by untimely deaths or forced to run their country. Numerous and growing families, if wicked and vile, are soon reduced, dispersed, and extirpated, by the judgments of God. 2. His estate will be sunk. His goods shall flow away from his family as fast as ever they flowed into it, when the day of God's wrath comes, for which, all the while his estate was in the getting by fraud and oppression, he was treasuring up wrath.

VI. It is a ruin which will manifestly appear to be just and righteous, and what he has brought upon himself by his own wickedness; for (Job 20:27) the heaven shall reveal his iniquity, that is, the God of heaven, who sees all the secret wickedness of the wicked, will, by some means or other, let all the world know what a base man he has been, that they may own the justice of God in all that is brought upon him. The earth also shall rise up against him, both to discover his wickedness and to avenge it. The earth shall disclose her blood, Isa 26:21. The earth will rise up against him (as the stomach rises against that which is loathsome), and will no longer keep him. The heaven reveals his iniquity, and therefore will not receive him. Whither then must he go but to hell? If the God of heaven and earth be his enemy, neither heaven nor earth will show him any kindness, but all the hosts of both are and will be at war with him.

VII. Zophar concludes like an orator (Job 20:29): This is the portion of a wicked man from God; it is allotted him, it is designed him, as his portion. He will have it at last, as a child has his portion, and he will have it for a perpetuity; it is what he must abide by: This is the heritage of his decree from God; it is the settled rule of his judgment, and fair warning is given of it. O wicked man! thou shalt surely die, Eze 33:8. Though impenitent sinners do not always fall under such temporal judgments as are here described (therein Zophar was mistaken), yet the wrath of God abides upon them, and they are made miserable by spiritual judgments, which are much worse, their consciences being either, on the one hand, a terror to them, and then they are in continual amazement, or, on the other hand, seared and silenced, and then they are given up to a reprobate sense and bound over to eternal ruin. Never was any doctrine better explained, or worse applied, than this by Zophar, who intended by all this to prove Job a hypocrite. Let us receive the good explication, and make a better application, for warning to ourselves to stand in awe and not to sin.

Keil-Delitzsch: Job 20:1-5

1 Then began Zophar the Naamathite, and said:

2 Therefore do my thoughts furnish me with a reply,

And indeed by reason of my feeling within me.

3 The correction of my reproach I must hear,

Nevertheless the spirit of my understanding informeth me.

4 Knowest thou this which is from everlasting,

Since man was placed upon the earth:

5 That the triumphing of the evil-doer is not long,

And the joy of the godless is but for a moment?

All modern expositors take Job 20:2 as an apology for the opposition which follows, and the majority of them consider בּעבוּר as elliptical for בעבור זאת , as Tremell., Piscator, and others have done, partly (but wrongly) by referring to the Rebia mugrasch . Ewald observes: " בעבור stands without addition, because this is easily understood from the כן in לכן ."But although this ellipsis is not inadmissible (comp. לכן = לכן אשׁר , Job 34:25; כעל , Isa 59:18), in spite of it Job 20:2 furnishes no meaning that can be accepted. Most expositors translate: "and hence the storm within me"(thus e.g., Ewald); but the signification perturbatio animi , proposed by Schultens for חוּשׁי , after the Arab. ḥâš , is too remote from the usage of Hebrew. Moreover, this Arab. ḥâš signifies prop. to scare, hunt, of game; not, however: to be agitated, to storm, - a signification which even the corresponding Hebr. חוּשׁ , properare , does not support. Only a few expositors (as Umbreit, who translates: because of my storm within me) take בעבור (which occurs only this once in the book of Job) as praepos., as it must be taken in consideration of the infin. which follows (comp. Exo 9:16; Exo 20:20; 1Sa 1:6; 2Sa 10:3). Further, לכן (only by Umbreit translated by "yet,"after the Arab. lâkin , lâkinna , which it never signifies in Hebr., where ל is not = לא , but = ל with Kametz before the tone) with that which follows is referred by several expositors to the preceding speech of Job, e.g., Hahn: "under such circumstances, if thou behavest thus;"by most, however, it is referred to Job 20:3, e.g., Ew.: " On this account he feels called upon by his thoughts to answer, and hence his inward impulse leaves him no rest: because he hears from Job a contemptuous wounding reproof of himself."In other words: in consequence of the reproach which Job casts upon him, especially with his threat of judgment, Zophar's mind and feelings fall into a state of excitement, and give him an answer to which he now gives utterance. This prospective sense of לכן may at any rate be retained, though בעבור is taken as a preposition (wherefore ... and indeed on account of my inward commotion); but it is far more natural that the beginning of Zophar's speech should be connected with the last word of Job's. Job 20:2 may really be so understood if we connect חושׁי , not with Arab. ḥâš , חושׁ , to excite, to make haste (after which also Saad. and Aben-Ezra: on account of my inward hastening or urging), but with Arab. ḥs , to feel; in this meaning chsh is usual in all the Semitic dialects, and is even biblical also; for Ecc 2:25 is to be translated: who hath feeling (pleasure) except from Him (read ממנו )? i.e., even in pleasure man is not free, but has conditions fixed by God.

With לכן (used as in Job 42:3) Zophar draws an inference from Job's conduct, esp. from the turn which his last speech has taken, which, as ישׁיבוּני שׂעיפּי

(Note: Thus it is to be read according to the Masoretic note, ומלא לית (i.e., plene , as nowhere else), which occurs in Codd., as is also attested by Kimchi in his Gramm., Moznajim , p. 8; Aben-Ezra in his Gramm., Zachoth 1, b ; and the punctuator Jekuthiël, in his Darche ha-Nikkud (chapter on the letters יהוא ).)

affirms, urges him involuntarily and irresistibly forward, and indeed, as he adds with Waw explic.: on account of the power of feeling dwelling in him, by which he means both his sense of truth and his moral feeling, in general the capacity of direct perception, not perception that is only attained after long reflection. On שׂעיפי , of thoughts which, as it were, branch out, vid., on Job 4:13, and Psychol . S. 181. השׁיב signifies, as everywhere, to answer, not causative, to compel to answer. חוּשׁי is n. actionis in the sense of רגישׁתּי (Targ.), or הרגישׁי (Ralbag), which also signifies "my feeling ( αἴσθησις ),"and the combination חושׁי בי is like Job 4:21; Job 6:13. Wherein the inference consists in self-evident, and proceeds from Job 20:4. In Job 20:3 expression is given to the ground of the conclusion intended in לכן : the chastisement of my dishonour, i.e., which tends to my dishonour (comp. Isa 53:5, chastisement which conduces to our peace), I must hear (comp. on this modal signification of the future, e.g., Job 17:2); and in Job 20:3 Zophar repeats what he has said in Job 20:2, only somewhat differently applied: the spirit, this inner light (vid., Job 32:8; Psychol . S. 154, f ), answers him from the perception which is peculiar to himself, i.e., out of the fulness of this perception it furnishes him with information as to what is to be thought of Job with his insulting attacks, viz., (this is the substance of the השׁיב of the thoughts, and of the ענות of the spirit), that in this conduct of Job only his godlessness is manifest. This is what he warningly brings against him, Job 20:4 : knowest thou indeed (which, according to Job 41:1; 1Ki 21:19, sarcastically is equivalent to: thou surely knowest, or in astonishment: what dost thou not know?!) this from the beginning, i.e., this law, which has been in operation from time immemorial (or as Ew.: hoccine scis aeternum esse , so that מני־עד is not a virtual adj., but virtual predicate-acc.), since man was placed ( שׂים infin., therefore prop., since one has placed man) upon the earth (comp. the model passage, Deu 4:32), that the exulting of the wicked is מקּרוב , from near, i.e., not extending far, enduring only a short time (Arab. qrı̂b often directly signifies brevis ); and the joy of the godless עדי־רגע , only for a moment, and continuing no longer?

Keil-Delitzsch: Job 20:6-11

6 If his aspiration riseth to the heavens,

And he causeth his head to touch the clouds:

7 Like his dung he perisheth for ever;

Those who see him say: Where is he?

8 As a dream he flieth away, and they cannot find him;

And he is scared away as a vision of the night.

9 The eye hath seen him, and never again,

And his place beholdeth him no more.

10 His children must appease the poor,

And his hands give up his wealth.

11 His bones were full of youthful vigour;

Now it is laid down with him in the dust.

If the exaltation of the evil-doer rises to heaven, and he causes his head to reach to the clouds, i.e., to touch the clouds, he notwithstanding perishes like his own dung. We are here reminded of what Obadiah, Job 20:4, says of Edom, and Isaiah, Isa 14:13-15, says of the king of Babylon. שׂיא is equivalent to נשׂיא , like שׂוא , Psa 89:10 = נשׂוא ; the first weak radical is cast away, as in כּילי = נכילי , fraudulentus , machinator , Isa 32:5, and according to Olsh. in שׁיבה = ישׁיבה , 2Sa 19:33. הגּיע is to be understood as causative (at least this is the most natural) in the same manner as in Isa 25:12, and freq. It is unnecessary, with Ew., Hirz., and Hlgst., after Schultens, to transl. כגללו , Job 20:7 , according to the Arab. jlâl (whence the name Gelâl-ed-dîn ): secundum majestatem suam , or with Reiske to read בגללו , in magnificentia sua , and it is very hazardous, since the Hebrew גלל has not the meaning of Arab. jll , illustrem esse . Even Schultens, in his Commentary , has retracted the explanation commended in his Animadv., and maintained the correctness of the translation, sicut stercus suum (Jer. sicut sterquilinium ), which is also favoured by the similar figurative words in 1Ki 14:10 : as one burneth up (not: brushes away) dung ( הגּלל ), probably cow-dung as fuel, until it is completely gone. גּללו (or גּללו with an audible Shevâ ) may be derived from גּלל , but the analogy of צללו favours the primary form גּל (Ew. §255, b ); on no account is it גּלל . The word is not low, as Eze 4:12, comp. Zep 1:17, shows, and the figure, though revolting, is still very expressive; and how the fulfilment is to be thought of may be seen from an example from 2Ki 9:37, according to which, "as dung upon the face of the field shall it be, so that they cannot say: this is Jezebel."

(Note: In Arabic, gille ( גּלּה ) and gelle ( גּלּה ) is the usual and preferred fuel (hence used as synon. of hhattab ) formed of the dung of cows, and not indeed yoke-oxen ( baqar 'ammâle ), because they have more solid fodder, which produces no material for the gelle, but from cattle that pasture in the open fields ( baqar bat.tâle ), which are almost entirely milking cows. This dung is collected by women and children in the spring from the pastures as perfectly dry cakes, which have the green colour of the grass. Every husbandman knows that this kind of dung - the product of a rapid, one might say merely half, digestion, even when fresh, but especially when dry - is perfectly free from smell. What is collected is brought in baskets to the forming or pressing place ( mattba'a , מטבּעה ), where it is crumbled, then with water made into a thick mass, and, having been mixed with chopped straw, is formed by the women with the hand into round cakes, about a span across, and three fingers thick. They resemble the tanners' tan-cakes, only they are not square. Since this compound has the form of a loaf it is called qurss (which also signifies a loaf of bread); and since a definite form is given to it by the hand, it is called ttabu' ( טבּוּע ), collective ttêbâbi' , which צפוּעי ( צפיעי ), Eze 4:15, resembles in meaning; for ssaf' , צפע (cogn. ssafhh , צפח ), signifies to beat anything with the palm of the hand. First spread out, then later on piled up, the gelle lies the whole summer in the mattba'a . The domes ( qubeb ) are not formed until a month before the rainy season, i.e., a circular structure is built up of the cakes skilfully placed one upon another like bricks; it is made from six to eight yards high, gradually narrowed and finished with a vaulted dome, whence this structure has its name, qubbe ( קבּה ). Below it measures about eight or ten paces, it is always hollow, and is filled from beneath by means of an opening which serves as a door. The outside of the qubbe is plastered over with a thick solution of dung; and this coating, when once dried in the sun, entirely protects the building, which is both storehouse and store, against the winter rains. When they begin to use the fuel, they take from the inside first by means of the doorway, and afterwards (by which time the heavy rains are over) they use up the building itself, removing the upper part first by means of a ladder. By the summer the qubbe has disappeared. Many large households have three or four of these stores. Where walled-in courts are spacious, as is generally the case, they stand within; where not, outside. The communities bordering on the desert, and exposed to attacks from the Arabs, place them close round their villages, which gives them a peculiar appearance. When attacked, the herds are driven behind these buildings, and the peasants make their appearance between them with their javelins. Seetzen reckons the gelle among the seven characteristics of the district of Haurân ( Basan ).

It appears that Eze 4:12. - where the prophet is allowed the usual cow-dung, the flame of which has no smell whatever, and its ashes, which smoulder for a long time, are as clean as wood ashes, instead of the cakes ( גּללי ) of human dung - is to be explained according to this custom. My fellow-travellers have frequently roasted mushrooms ( futtr ) and truffles ( faq' , פּקע ) in the early spring in the glowing ashes of the gelle . On the other hand, it would be an error to infer from this passage that the Semites made use of human dung for fuel; the Semites (including the Nomads) are the most scrupulously particular people respecting cleanliness. According to the above, Zep 1:17 may be explained: "their flesh shall become like dung,"i.e., be burned or destroyed like dung. And also we understand the above passage in the book of Job, "as his heap of dung-cakes shall he be consumed away,"exactly like 1Ki 14:10 : "I will burn (take away) the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man burneth the dung-cakes until they are consumed,"The suff. in כּגללו refers to the habitation of the evil-doer, above whose grovelling joy the high dome of the dung-cakes rises, which, before one becomes aware of it, has disappeared; and throughout the description of the sudden destruction of the evil-doer, 1Ki 14:8, 1Ki 14:9, the reader must keep the figure of this dome and its disappearing before his mind. If it be objected that by such a rendering כּגלליו would be expected, 1Ki 14:10 shows that גּלל ( גּל ) was also used as a collective, and the Arabic gelle is never used in any other way, which is the more remarkable, as one from the first regards its termination as the "Arab. t of unity."My attendants on my journey from Damascus (where there is no gelle , and consequently the word is not used) always took it so, and formed the plural gellât and the collective gilel , and were always laughed at and corrected: say Arab. aqrâts jllt or tbâbî' jllt! - Wetzst.)

The continuation here, Job 20:7 , is just the same: they who saw him ( partic. of what is past, Ges. §134, 1) say: where is he? As a dream he flieth away, so that he is not found, and is scared away ( ידּד Hoph., not ידּד Kal ) as a vision of the night ( חזּיון everywhere in the book of Job instead of חזון , from which it perhaps differs, as visum from visio ), which one banishes on waking as a trick of his fancy (comp. Psa 73:20; Isa 29:7.). Eyes looked upon him ( שׁזף only in the book of Job in this signification of a fixed scorching look, cogn. שׁדף , adurere , as is manifest from Son 1:6), and do it no more; and his place ( מקומו construed as fem., as Gen 18:24; 2Sa 17:12, Cheth .) shall not henceforth regard him ( שׁוּר , especially frequent in the book of Job, prop. to go about, cogn. תור , then to look about one). The futt . here everywhere describe what shall meet the evil-doer. Therefore Ewald's transl., "his fists smote down the weak,"cannot be received. Moreover, חפניו , which must then be read instead of בּנין , does not occur elsewhere in this athletic signification; and it is quite unnecessary to derive ירצּוּ from a רצּה = רצּץ (to crush, to hurl to the ground), or to change it to ירצּוּ (Schnurrer) or ירצּצוּ (Olsh.); for although the thought, filios ejus vexabunt egeni (lxx according to the reading θλάσειαν , and Targ. according to the reading ירעעוּן ), is not unsuitable for Job 20:10 , a sense more natural in connection with the position of bnyw, and still more pleasing, is gained if רצּה is taken in the usual signification: to conciliate, appease, as the Targ. according to the reading ירעוּן (Peschito-word for ἀποκαταλλάσσειν ), and Ges., Vaih., Schlottm., and others, after Aben-Ezra, Ralbag, Merc.: filii ejus placabunt tenues, quos scilicet eorum pater diripuerat, vel eo inopiae adigentur, ut pauperibus sese adjungere et ab illis inire gratiam cognantur. Its retributive relation to Job 20:19 is also retained by this rendering. The children of the unfeeling oppressor of the poor will be obliged, when the tyrant is dead, to conciliate the destitute; and his hands, by means of his children, will be obliged to give back his property, i.e., to those whom his covetousness had brought to beggary ( און , exertion, strength, Job 18:7, then as hown, and synon. חיל , wealth, prob. from the radical meaning to breathe, which is differently applied in the Arabic aun , rest, and haun , lightness). Carey thinks that the description is retrospective: even he himself, in his lifetime, which, however, does not commend itself, since here it is throughout the deceased who is spoken of. As in Job 20:9, so now in Job 20:11 also, perf . and fut . interchange, the former of the past, the latter of the future. Jerome, by an amalgamation of two distinct radical significations, translates: ossa ejus implebuntur (it should be impleta erant ) vitiis adolescentiae ejus , which is to be rejected, because עלוּם , Psa 90:8, is indeed intended of secret sin, but signifies generally that which is secret (veiled). On the contrary, עלוּמים , Job 33:25, certainly signifies adolescentia (Arab. gulûmat ), and is accordingly, after lxx, Targ., and Syr., to be translated: his bones were full of youthful vigour. In Job 20:11 , תּשׁכּב , as Job 14:19, can refer to the purely plural עצמותיו , but the predicate belonging to it would then be plur. in Job 20:11 , and sing. in Job 20:11 ; on which account the reference to עלוּמו , which is in itself far more suitable, is to be preferred (Hirz., Schlottm.): his youthful vigour, on which he relied, lies with him in the dust (of the grave).

Keil-Delitzsch: Job 20:12-16

12 If wickedness tasted sweet in his mouth,

He hid it under his tongue;

13 He carefully cherished it and did not let it go,

And retained it in his palate:

14 His bread is now changed in his bowels,

It is the gall of vipers within him.

15 He hath swallowed down riches and now he spitteth them out,

God shall drive them out of his belly.

16 He sucked in the poison of vipers,

The tongue of the adder slayeth him.

The evil-doer is, in Job 20:12, likened to an epicure; he keeps hold of wickedness as long as possible, like a delicate morsel that is retained in the mouth (Renan: comme un bonbon qu'on laisse fondre dans la bouche ), and seeks to enjoy it to the very last. המתּיק , to make sweet, has here the intransitive signification dulcescere , Ew. §122, c . הכחיד , to remove from sight, signifies elsewhere to destroy, here to conceal (as the Piel , Job 6:10; Job 15:18). חמל , to spare, is construed with על , which is usual with verbs of covering and protecting. The conclusion of the hypothetical antecedent clauses begins with Job 20:14; the perf . נהפּך (with Kametz by Athnach ) describes the suddenness of the change; the מרורת which follows is not equivalent to למרורת (Luther: His food shall be turned to adder's gall in his body ), but Job 20:14 expresses the result of the change in a substantival clause. The bitter and poisonous are synonymous in the ancient languages; hence we find the meanings poison and gall (Job 20:25) in מררה , and ראשׁ signifies both a poisonous plant which is known by its bitterness, and the poison of plants like to the poison of serpents (Job 20:16; Deu 32:33). חיל (Job 20:15) is property, without the accompanying notion of forcible acquisition (Hirz.), which, on the contrary, is indicated by the בּלע . The following fut. consec. is here not aor., but expressive of the inevitable result which the performance of an act assuredly brings: he must vomit back the property which he has swallowed down; God casts it out of his belly, i.e., (which is implied in בּלע , expellere ) forcibly, and therefore as by the pains of colic. The lxx, according to whose taste the mention of God here was contrary to decorum, trans. ἐξ οἰκίας (read κοιλίας , according to Cod. Alex. ) αὐτοῦ ἐξελκύσει αὐτὸν ἄγγελος (Theod. δυνάστης ). The perf., Job 20:15 , is in Job 20:16 changed into the imperf. fut. יינק , which more strongly represents the past action as that which has gone before what is now described; and the ασυνδέτως , fut. which follows, describes the consequence which is necessarily and directly involved in it. Psa 140:4 may be compared with Job 20:16 , Pro 23:32 with Job 20:16 . He who sucked in the poison of low desire with a relish, will meet his punishment in that in which he sinned: he is destroyed by the poisonous deadly bite of the serpent, for the punishment of sin is fundamentally nothing but the nature of sin itself brought fully out.

Keil-Delitzsch: Job 20:17-20

17 He shall not delight himself in streams,

Like to rivers and brooks of honey and cream.

18 Giving back that for which he laboured, he shall not swallow it;

He shall not rejoice according to the riches he hath gotten.

19 Because he cast down, let the destitute lie helpless;

He shall not, in case he hath seized a house, finish building it.

20 Because he knew no rest in his craving,

He shall not be able to rescue himself with what he most loveth.

As poets sing of the aurea aetas of the paradise-like primeval age: Flumina jam lactis, jam flumina nectaris ibant ,

(Note: Ovid, Metam . i. 112, comp. Virgil, Ecl. iv. 30:

Et durae quercus sudabant roscida mella ;

and Horace, Epod . xvi. 47

Mella cava manant ex ilice, montibus altis

Levis crepante lympha desilit pede .)

and as the land of promise is called in the words of Jehovah in the Thora, "a land flowing with milk and honey,"the puffed-up prosperity to which the evil-doer has attained by injustice is likened to streams ( פּלגּות , prop. dividings, and indeed perhaps of a country = districts, Jdg 5:15., or as here, of a fountain = streams) of rivers, of brooks (two gen. appositionis which are co-ordinate, of which Hupfeld thinks one must be crossed out; they, however, are not unpoetical, since, just as in Psa 78:9, the flow of words is suspended, Ew. §289, c ) of honey and cream (comp. cream and oil, Job 29:6), if נהרי נחלי is not perhaps (which is more in accordance with the accentuation) intended as an explanatory permutative of בפלגות : he shall not feast himself upon streams, streamings of rivers of honey and cream (Dachselt); and by אל־ירא ( seq. Beth, to fasten one's gaze upon anything = feast one's self upon it), the prospect of enjoying this prosperity, and indeed, since the moral judgment and feeling are concerned in the affirmation of the fact ( אל , as Job 5:22; Psa 41:3; Pro 3:3, Pro 3:25), the privilege of this prospect, is denied. This thought, that the enjoyment aimed at and anticipated shall not follow the attainment of this height of prosperity, is reiterated in a twofold form in Job 20:18.

Job 20:18 is not to be translated: He gives back that which he has gained without swallowing it down, which must have been ישׁיב ; the syntactic relation is a different one: the Waw of ולא is not expressive of detail; the detailing is implied in the partic., which is made prominent as an antecedent, as if it were: because, or since, he gives out again that which he has acquired ( ינע only here instead of יגיע , Job 10:3 and freq.), he has no pleasure in it, he shall or may not altogether swallow it down (Targ. incorrectly ולא־יגמר , after the Arabic blg, to penetrate, attain an object). The formation of the clause corresponds entirely with Job 20:18 . All attempts at interpretation which connect כּחיל תּמוּרתו with משׁיב , Job 20:18 , are to be objected to: (he gives it back again) as property of his restitution, i.e., property that is to be restored (Schlottm.), or the property of another (Hahn). Apart from the unsuitableness of the expression to the meaning found in it, it is contrary to the relative independence of the separate lines of the verse, which our poet almost always preserves, and is also opposed by the interposing of ולא יבלע . The explanation chosen by Schult., Oet., Umbr., Hirz., Renan, and others, after the Targ., is utterly impossible: as his possession, so his exchange (which is intended to mean: restitution, giving up); this, instead of כּחיל , must have been not merely כּחיל , but כּחילו . The designed relation of the members of the sentence is, without doubt, that כחיל תמורתו is a nearer defining of ולא יעלס , after the manner of an antecedent clause, and from which, that it may be emphatically introduced, it begins by means of Waw apod. (to which Schult. not unsuitably compares Jer 6:19; 1Ki 15:13). The following explanation is very suitable: according to the power, i.e., entire fulness of his exchange, but not in the sense of "to the full amount of its value"(Carey, as Rosenm.), connected with משׁיב , but connected with what follows: "how great soever his exchange (gain), still he does not rejoice"(Ew.). But it is not probable that חיל here signifies power = a great quantity, where property and possessions are spoken of. The most natural rendering appears to me to be this: according to the relation of the property of his exchange ( תמורה from מור , Syr. directly emere , cogn. מהר , מחר , and perhaps also מכר , here of exchange, barter, or even acquisition, as Job 15:31; comp. Job 28:17, of the means of exchange), i.e., of the property exchanged, bartered, gained by barter by him, he is not to enjoy, i.e., the rejoicing which might have been expected in connection with the greatness of the wealth he has amassed, departs from him.

Jerome is not the only expositor who (as though the Hebrew tenses were subject to no rule, and might mean everything) translates Job 20:19, domum rapuit et non aedificvit eam (equivalent to quam non aedificaverat ). Even Hupfeld translates thus, by taking ולא יבנהו as imperfect = והוּא לא בנהוּ ; but he, of course, fails to furnish a grammatical proof for the possibility of inferring a plusquamperfectum sense. It might sooner be explained: instead of building it ( Lit. Centralblatt , 1853, Nr. 24). But according to the syntax, Job 20:19 must be an antecedent clause: because he crushed, left (therefore: crushed by himself) the destitute alone;

(Note: The Targ. translates: because he brought to ruin the business of the poor ( עזב after עזּבון in Ezekiel); and Parchon: because he brought to ruin the courts of the poor (after the Mishna-word מעזיבה , a paved floor); but עזב , according to the Masora on Isa 58:2 (comp. Kimchi, Michlol , p. 35), is to be read עזב as a verb.)

and Job 20:19 the conclusion: he has pillaged a house, and will not build it, i.e., in case he has plundered a house, he will not build it up. For בּית גּזל , according to the accents, which are here correct, is not to be translated: domus, quam rapuit , but hypothetically: si ( ἐὰν ) domum rapuit , to which ybnhw wl' is connected by Waw apod. (comp. Job 7:21 ); and בּנה signifies here, as frequently, not: to build, but: to build round, build additions to, continue building (comp. 2Ch 11:5-6; Psa 89:3, Psa 89:5). In Job 20:20 similar periodizing occurs: because he knew not שׁלו (neutral = שׁלוה , Pro 17:1; Ew. §293, c ), contentment, rest, and sufficiency (comp. Isa 59:8, לא ידע שׁלום ) in his belly, i.e., his craving, which swallows up everything: he will not be able to deliver himself ( מלּט like פּלּט , Job 23:7, as intensive of Kal : to escape, or also = מלּט נפשׁו , which Amo 2:15 seems to favour) with ( בּ as Job 19:20) his dearest treasure (thus e.g., Ewald), or: he will not be able to rescue his dearest object, prop. not to effect a rescue with his dearest object, the obj., as Job 16:4, Job 16:10; Job 31:12, conceived of as the instrument (vid., e.g., Schlottm.). The former explanation is more natural and simple. חמוּד , that which is exceedingly desired (Psa 39:12), of health and pleasantness; Isa 44:9, of idols, as the cherished objects of their worshippers), is the dearest and most precious thing to which the sinner clung with all his soul, not, as Böttch. thinks, the soul itself.

(Note: Hupfeld interprets: non fruitur securus ventre suo h. e. cibo quo venter potitus erat et deliciis quas non salvas retinebit (or also Job 20:20 as a clause by itself: cum deliciis suis non evadet ), but without any proof that ידע בּ can signify frui , and בטן metonymically food, whereas the assertion that שׁלו cannot be equivalent to שׁלו , and cannot be used of rest with reference to the desire, is unfounded. In Hebrew the neuter adj. can be used as a substantive, just as in Greek, e.g., τὸ ἀσφαλές , security, τὸ εὐτυχές , success (comp. e.g., the combination בתמים ואמת ), and שלח signifies release and ease (Arab. followed by ‛n ), without distinction of what disturbs, be it danger, or pain, or any kind of emotion whatever.)

Keil-Delitzsch: Job 20:21-25

21 Nothing escaped his covetousness,

Therefore his prosperity shall not continue.

22 In the fulness of his need it shall be strait with him,

Every hand of the needy shall come upon him.

23 It shall come to pass: in order to fill his belly,

He sendeth forth the glow of His anger into him,

And He causeth it to rain upon him into his flesh.

24 He must flee from an iron weapon,

Therefore a brazen bow pierceth him through.

25 It teareth, then it cometh forth out of his body,

And the steel out of his gall,

The terrors of death come upon him.

The words of Job 20:21 are: there was nothing that escaped ( שׂריד , as Job 18:19, from שׂרד , Arab. šarada , aufugere ) his eating (from אכל , not from אכל ), i.e., he devoured everything without sparing, even to the last remnant; therefore טוּבו , his prosperity, his abundant wealth, will not continue or hold out ( יחיל , as Psa 10:5, to be solid, powerful, enduring, whence חיל , Arab. ȟı̂lat , ḥawl ). Hupf. transl. differently: nihil ei superstes ad vescendum, itaque non durant ejus bona ; but שׂריד signifies first elapsum, and על־כן propterea ; and we may retain these first significations, especially since Job 20:21 is not future like Job 20:21 . The tone of prediction taken up in Job 20:21 is continued in what follows. The inf. constr. מלאות (prop. מלאות , but with Cholem by the Aleph, since the Waw is regarded as יתיר , superfluous), formed after the manner of the verbs Lamed He (Ew. 238, c ), is written like קראות , Jdg 8:1 (comp. on the other hand the scriptio devectiva , Lev 8:33; Lev 12:4); and שׂפקו (with Sin , as Norzi decides after Codd., Kimchi, and Farisol, not Samech ) is to be derived from שׂפק ( ספק ), sufficientia (comp. the verb, 1Ki 20:10): if his sufficiency exists in abundance, not from שׂפק = Arab. safqat , ṣafqat , complosio , according to which Schultens explains: if his joyous clapping of hands has reached its highest point (Elizabeth Smith: "while clapping the hands in the fulness of joy"), to which מלאות is not suitable, and which ought at least to be שׁפק כּפּיו . Therefore: in the fulness of his need shall he be straitened ( יצר with the tone drawn back for יצר on account of the following monosyllable, although also apocopated futt . follow further on in the strict future signification, according to poetic usage), by which not merely the fearful foreboding is meant, which just in the fullest overflow makes known his impending lot, but the real calamity, into which his towering prosperity suddenly changes, as Job 20:22 shows: All the hands of the destitute come upon him ( בּוא seq. acc.: invadere ) to avenge on him the injustice done to the needy. It is not necessary to understand merely such as he has made destitute, it is כּל־יד ; the assertion is therefore general: the rich uncompassionate man becomes a defenceless prey of the proletaries.

Job 20:23

The יהי which opens this verse (and which also occurs elsewhere, e.g., Job 18:12, in a purely future signification), here, like ויהי , 2Sa 5:24 (Ew. §333, b ), serves to introduce the following ישׁלּח (it shall happen: He shall send forth); ויהי (e.g., Gen 40:1) frequent in the historical style, and והיה in the prophetical, are similarly used. In order to fill his belly, which is insatiable, God will send forth against him His glowing wrath (comp. Lam 1:13, from on high hath He sent fire into my bones), and will rain upon him into his flesh, or his plumpness (Arab. fi lachmihi ). Thus we believe בּלחוּמו must be understood by referring to Zep 1:17; where, perhaps not without reference to this speech of Zophar, the כּגּללים , which serves to explain Job 20:7, coincides with וּלחמּם , which serves to explain this בלחומו ; and the right meaning is not even missed by the lxx, which translates καὶ τὰς σάρκας αὐτῶν ὡς βόλβιτα .

(Note: This passage is translated: and their blood is poured forth as dust, i.e., useless rubbish (Arab. el -ghabra אלעברה ), and their flesh as filth. The form of inflection לחמּם is referable to לחם after the form לאם .)

A suitable thought is obtained if לחוּם is taken in the signification, food: He will rain upon him his food, i.e., what is fit for him (with Beth of the instrument instead of the accusative of the object), or: He will rain down (His wrath) upon him as his food (with Beth essent., according to which Ew.: what can satisfy him; Bridel: pour son aliment ; Renan: en guise de pain ); but we give the preference to the other interpretation, because it is at once natural in this book, abounding in Arabisms, to suppose for לחום the signification of the Arab. laḥm , which is also supported in Hebrew by Zep 1:17; further, because the Targ. favours it, which transl. בּשׁלדיהּ , and expositors, as Aben-Ezra and Ralbag, who interpret by בבשׂרו ; finally, because it gives an appropriate idea, to which Lam 1:13 presents a commendable parallel, comp. also Jam 5:3, and Koran, Sur . 2, 169: "those who hide what God has sent down by the Scripture, and thereby obtain a small profit, eat only fire into their belly."That עלימו can be used pathetically for עליו is unmistakeably clear from Job 22:2, comp. Job 27:23, and on Psa 11:7; the morally indignant speech which threatens punishment, intentionally seeks after rare solemn words and darksome tones. Therefore: Upon his flesh, which has been nourished in unsympathizing greediness, God rains down, i.e., rain of fire, which scorches it. This is the hidden background of the lot of punishment, the active principle of which, though it be effected by human agency, is the punitive power of the fire of divine wrath. Job 20:24 describe, by illustration, how it is worked out. The evil-doer flees from a hostile superior power, is hit in the back by the enemy's arrows; and since he, one who is overthrown, seeks to get free from them, he is made to feel the terrors of inevitably approaching death.

Job 20:24

The two futt . may be arranged as in a conditional clause, like Psa 91:7 , comp. Amo 9:2-4; and this is, as it seems, the mutual relation of the two expressions designed by the poet (similar to Isa 24:18): if he flee from the weapons of iron, i.e., the deadly weapon in the thick of the fight, he succumbs to that which is destructive by and by: the bow of brass ( נחוּשׁה poet. for נחשׁת , as Psa 18:35, although it might also be an adj., since eth , as the Arab. qaws shows, is really a feminine termination) will pierce him through ( fut. Kal of חלף , Arab. chlf , to press further and further, press after, here as in Jdg 5:26). The flight of the disheartened is a punishment which is completed by his being hit while fleeing by the arrow which the brazen bow sends with swift power after him. In Job 20:25 the Targ. reads מגּוהּ with He mappic., and translates: he (the enemy, or God) draws ( stringit ), and it (the sword) comes out of its sheath, which is to be rejected because גּו cannot signify vagina . Kimchi and most Jewish expositors interpret מגּוה by מגּוּף ; the lxx also translates it σῶμα . To understand it according to גּו (back), of the hinder part of the body, gives no suitable sense, since the evil-doer is imagined as hit in the back, the arrow consequently passing out at the front;

(Note: Thus sings the warrior Cana'an Têjâr (died about 1815) after the loss of his wife: -

"My grief for her is the brief of him whose horse is dashed in pieces in the desert.

The way is wild, and there is no help from the travellers who have hurried on before.

My groaning is like the groaning of one who, mortally wounded between the shoulders,

Will flee, and trails after him the lance that is fastened in him."

- Wetzst.)

whereas the signification body is suitable, and is also made sufficiently certain by the cognate form גּויּה . The verb שׁלף , however, is used as in Jdg 3:22 : he who is hit drawn the arrow out, then it comes out of his body, into which it is driven deep; and the glance, i.e., the metal head of the arrow (like להב , Jdg 3:22, the point in distinction from the shaft), out of his gall ( מררה = מררה , Job 16:13, so called from its bitterness, as χολή , χόλος , comp. χλόος , χλωρός , from the green-yellow colour), since, as the Syriac version freely translates, his gall-bladder is burst.

(Note: Abulwalid (in Kimchi) understands the red gall, i.e., the gall-bladder, by מרורה , after the Arabic marâre . If this is pierced, its contents are emptied into the lower part of the body, and the man dies.)

Is יהלך , as a parallel word to ויּצא , to be connected with ממררתו , or with what follows? The accentuation varies. The ordinary interpunction is וברק with Dechî, ממררתו Mercha , or more correctly Mercha-Zinnorith , יהלך Rebia mugrasch (according to which, Ew., Umbr., Vaih., Welte, Hahn, Schlottm., and Olsh. divide); ממררתו is, however, also found with Athnach . Although the latter mode of accentuation is only feebly supported, we nevertheless consider it as the more correct, for עליו אמים , in the mind of the poet, can hardly have formed a line of the verse. If, however, יהלך עליו אמים is now taken together, it is a matter for inquiry whether it is to be explained: he passes away, since terrors come upon him (Schult., Rosenm., Hirz., Von Gerl., Carey), or: terrors come upon him (lxx, Targ., Syr., Jer., Ramban). We consider the latter as the only correct interpretation; for if יהלך ought to be understood after Job 14:20; Job 16:22, the poet would have expressed himself ambiguously, since it is at least as natural to consider אמים as the subject of יהלך , as to take עליו אמים as an adverbial clause. The former, however, is both natural according to the syntax (vid., Ges. §147, a ) and suitable in matter: terrors (i.e., of certain death to him in a short time) draw on upon him, and accordingly we decide in its favour.

Keil-Delitzsch: Job 20:26-29

26 All darkness is reserved for his treasured things,

A fire that is not blown upon devoureth him;

It feedeth upon what is left in his tent.

27 The heavens reveal his iniquity,

And the earth riseth up against him.

28 The produce of his house must vanish,

Flowing away in the day of God's wrath.

. . . . . .

29 This is the lot of the wicked man from Elohim,

And the heritage decreed for him from God.

As in Psa 17:14 God's store of earthly goods for the children of men is called צפוּן ( צפין ), so here the stores laid up by man himself are called צפוּניו . Total darkness, which will finally destroy them, is decreed by God against these stores of the godless, which are brought together not as coming from the hand of God, but covetously, and regardless of Him. Instead of טמוּן it might also have been צפוּן (Job 15:20; Job 21:19; Job 24:1), and instead of לצפוּניו also לטמוּניו (Deu 33:19); but טמוּן is, as Job 40:13 shows, better suited to darkness (on account of the ט , this dull-toned muta , with which the word begins). כּל־חשׁך signifies sheer darkness, as in Psa 39:6, כל־הבל , sheer nothingness; Psa 45:14, כל־כבודה , sheer splendour; and perhaps Isa 4:5, כל־כבוד , sheer glory. And the thought, expressed with somewhat of a play upon words, is, that to the θησαυρίζειν of the godless corresponds a θησαυρίζειν of God, the Judge (Rom 2:5; Jam 5:3): the one gathers up treasures, and the other nothing but darkness, to whom at an appointed season they shall be surrendered. The תּאכלהוּ which follows is regarded by Ges. as Piel instead of תּאכּלהוּ , but such a resolving of the characteristic sharpened syllable of Piel is unsupportable; by Hirz., Olsh. §250, b , and Pual instead of תּאכּלהוּ , but אכּל signifies to be eaten, not (so that it might be connected with an accusative of the obj.) to get to eat; by Ew., Hupf., as Kal for תּאכלהוּ , which is possible both from the letters and the matter (vid., on Psa 94:20); but more correctly it is regarded as Poel , for such Poel forms from strong roots do occur, as שׁפט (vid., on Job 9:15), and that the Cholem of these forms can be shortened into Kametz-chatuph is seen from ודרשׁוּ , Psa 109:10 (vid., Psalter in loc. ).

(Note: Such a contraction is also presented in the readings תּרצחוּ , Psa 62:4; מלשׁני , Psa 101:5; and ויּחלקם , 1Ch 23:6; 1Ch 24:3. All these forms are not resolved forms of Piel (Ges., Berth., Olsh. §248, a ), but contracted forms of Poel with Kametz-chatuph instead of Cholem . תּהתלּוּ , Job 13:9, is not a resolved form of Piel , but a non-syncopated Hiphil . It should be observed that the Chateph-Kametz in " wedorschu "above and at p. 328 is used as an unmistakeable sign of the ŏ . - Tr.])

The Poel is in the passage before us the intensive of Kal : a fire which is not blown upon shall eat him up. By this translation נפּח is equivalent to נפּחה , since attention is given to the gender of אשׁ in the verb immediately connected with it, but it is left out of consideration in the verbs נפח and ירע which stand further form it, which Olshausen thinks doubtful; there are, however, not a few examples which may be adduced in favour of it, as 1Ki 19:11; Isa 33:9; comp. Ges. §147, rem. 1. Certainly the relative clause לא נפח may also be explained by supplying בּהּ : into which one has not blown, or that one has not blown on (Symm., Theod., ἄνευ φυσήματος ): both renderings are possible, according to Eze 22:20, Eze 22:22; but since the masc. ירע follows, having undoubtedly אשׁ as its subject, we can unhesitatingly take the Synallage gen. as beginning even with נפח . A fire which needs no human help for its kindling and its maintenance is intended (comp. on לא ביד , Job 34:20); therefore "fire of God,"Job 1:16. This fire feasts upon what has escaped ( שׂריד , as Job 20:21; Job 18:19), i.e., whatever has escaped other fates, in his tent. yeera` ( Milel ) is fut. apoc. Kal; the form of writing ירע ( fut. apoc. Niph. ) proposed by Olsh. on account of the change of gender, i.e., it is devoured, is to be rejected for the reason assigned in connection with נפח . The correct interpretation has been brought forward by Schultens.

It is not without reference to Job 16:18-19, where Job has called upon earth and heaven as witnesses, that in Job 20:27 Zophar continues: "the heavens reveal his guilt, and the earth rises against him;"heaven and earth bear witness to his being an abhorrence, not worthy of being borne by the earth and shone upon by the light of heaven; they testify this, since their powers from below and above vie with one another to get rid of him. מתקוממה is connected closely with לו (which has Lamed raphatum ) by means of Mercha-Zinnorith, and under the influence of the law, according to which before a monosyllabic accented word the tone is drawn back from the last syllable of the preceding word to the penultima (Ew. §73, 3), is accented as Milel on account of the pause.

(Note: This mode of accentuation, which is found in Codd. and is attested by grammarians (vid., Norzi), is grammatically more intelligible than that of our editions, which have the Mercha with the final syllable. For while מתקוממה , as Milel , is the pausal-form of the fem. part. Hithpalel for מתקוממה ( מתקוממת ) with a pausal â instead of ê , it ought to be as Milra , a passive form; but the Hithpalal has no meaning here, and is in general not firmly supported within the range of biblical Hebrew.)

In Job 20:28, Ges., Olsh., and others translate: the produce of his house, that which is swept together, must vanish away in the day of His wrath; נגּרות corrasae ( opes ), Niph . from גּרר . But first, the suff. is wanting to נגרות ; and secondly, בּיום אפּו has no natural connection in what precedes. The Niph . נגרות in the signification diffluentia , derived from נגר morf devire , to flow away (comp. Arab. jry , to flow), is incomparably better suited to the passage (comp. 2Sa 14:14, where Luther transl.: as water which glides away into the earth). The close of the description is similar to Isa 17:11 : "In the day that thou plantedst, thou causedst it to increase, and with the morning thy seed was in flowera harvest-head in the day of deep wounding and deadly sorrow."So here everything that the evil-doer hoards up is spoken of as "vanishing in the day of God's wrath."

The speech now closes by summing up like Bildad's, Job 18:21 : "This is the portion or inheritance of, i.e., the lot that is assigned or falls to, the wicked man ( אדם רשׁע , a rare application of אדם , comp. Pro 6:12, instead of which אישׁ is more usual) from Elohim, and this the heritage of his (i.e., concerning him) decree from God." אמר ( אמר ) with an objective suff., which also occurs elsewhere of the almighty word of command of God (vid., on Hab 3:9), signifies here God's judicial arrangement or order, in this sense just as Arabic as Hebraic, for also in Arab. amr (plur. awâmir ) signifies command and order.

The speech of Zophar, Job 20, is his ultimatum, for in the third course of the controversy he takes no part. We have already seen from his first speech, Job 11, that he is the most impassioned of the friends. His vehemence is now the less excusable, since Job in his previous speech has used the truly spiritual language of importunate entreaty and earnest warning in reply to the friends. The friends would now have done well if they had been silent, and still better if they had recognised in the sufferer the tried and buffeted servant of God, and had withdrawn their charges, which his innermost nature repudiates. But Zophar is not disposed to allow the reproach of the correction which they received to rest upon him; in him we have an illustration of the fact that a man is never more eloquent than when he has to defend his injured honour, but that he is also never more in danger of regarding the extravagant images of natural excitement as a higher inspiration, or, however, as striking justifications coming from the fulness of a superior perception. It has been rightly remarked, that in Zophar the poet described to us one of those hot-heads who pretend to fight for religion that is imperilled, while they are zealous for their own wounded vanity. Instead of being warned by Job's threat of judgment, he thrusts back his attempt at producing dismay be a similar attempt. He has nothing new to bring forward in reply to Job; the poet has skilfully understood how to turn the heart of his readers step by step from the friends, and in the same degree to gain its sympathy for Job. For they are completely spent in their one dogma; and while in Job an endless multitude of thoughts and feelings surge up one after another, their heart is as hermetically closed against every new perception and emotion. All that is new in the speech of Zophar, and in those of the friends generally, in this second course of the controversy, is, that they no longer try to lure Job on to penitence by promises, but endeavour to bring him to a right state of mind, or rather to weaken his supposedly-mad assault upon themselves, by presenting to him only the most terrible images. It is not possible to illustrate the principle that the covetous, uncompassionate rich man is torn away from his prosperity by the punishment God decrees for him, more fearfully and more graphically than Zophar does it; and this terrible description is not overdrawn, but true and appropriate-but in opposition to Job it is the extreme of uncharitableness which outdoes itself: applied to him, the fearful truth becomes a fearful lie. For in Zophar's mind Job is the godless man, whose rejoicing does not last long, who indeed raises himself towards heaven, but as his own dung must he perish, and to whom the sin of his unjust gain is become as the poison of the viper in his belly. The arrow of God's wrath sticks fast in him; and though he draw it out, it has already inflicted on him a deservedly mortal wound! The fire of God which has already begun to consume his possessions, does not rest until even the last remnant in his tent is consumed. The heavens, where in his self-delusion he seeks the defender of his innocence, reveal his guilt, and the earth, which he hopes to have as a witness in his favour, rises up as his accuser. Thus mercilessly does Zophar seek to stifle the new trust which Job conceives towards God, to extinguish the faith which bursts upwards from beneath the ashes of the conflict. Zophar's method of treatment is soul-destroying; he seeks to slay that life which germinates from the feeling of death, instead of strengthening it. He does not, however, succeed; for so long as Job does not become doubtful of his innocence, the uncharitableness of the friends must be to him the thread by which he finds his way through the labyrinth of his sufferings to the God who loves him, although He seems to be angry with him.

Constable: Job 15:1--21:34

C. The Second Cycle of Speeches between Job and His Three Friends chs. 15-21

In the second cycle of speeches Job's companions did not change their minds about why Job was suffering and the larger issue of the basis of the divine human relationship. They continued to hold the dogma of retribution. Their spirit did change, however, to one of greater hostility. They seem to have abandoned hope that direct appeals to Job would move him to repent because they no longer called on him to repent. Instead they stressed the fate of the wicked and indirectly urged him to repent. In their first speeches their approach was more intellectual; they challenged Job to think logically. In their second speeches their approach was more emotional; they sought to convict Job's conscience.

"In the first [cycle of speeches] Eliphaz had emphasised [sic] the moral perfection of God, Bildad his unwavering justice, and Zophar his omniscience. Job in reply had dwelt on his own unmerited sufferings and declared his willingness to meet God face to face to argue his case. Having failed to stir his conscience, the friends see in him a menace to all true religion, and in the second cycle their rebukes are sharper than in the first, though their characters are still carefully preserved."⁷²

Constable: Job 20:1-29

5. Zophar's second speech ch. 20

This speech must have hurt Job more than any that his friends had presented so far. Zophar was brutal in his attack. He continued the theme of the fate of the wicked that Eliphaz and Bildad had emphasized. However whereas Eliphaz stressed the distress of the wicked and Bildad their trapped position, Zophar elaborated on the fact that wicked people lose their wealth. He had nothing new to say, but he said it passionately.

Constable: Job 20:1-3

Zophar's anger 20:1-3

"Therefore" (v. 2) must refer to what Job had said. Job had previously asked why his friends answered him (16:3). Zophar replied that the spirit of his understanding made him answer (v. 3b). Again he seems to be claiming innate, instinctive knowledge (cf. ch. 11).

Constable: Job 20:4-11

The brief prosperity of the wicked 20:4-11

Zophar reminded Job that everyone knew the wicked only prosper for a short time (cf. 15:29). The description of the wicked that Zophar proceeded to draw fit Job very well and must have wounded him deeply.

Constable: Job 20:12-19

The certain punishment of sin 20:12-19

Verse 16 pictures the wicked eating his delicacies but finding that they have turned to poison in his stomach and are killing him (v. 14). Ancient Near Easterners considered honey and curds (the part of milk from which cheese comes) a great delicacy (cf. Judg. 5:25).

Constable: Job 20:20-29

God's swift judgment of the wicked 20:20-29

Zophar explained that while the wicked greedily fill their own bellies, God sends His anger into their bowels (v. 23). In other words, the poor health that accompanies over indulgence is God's instrument of judgment on the wealthy wicked. If God does not punish him this way he will still not escape because God will catch him some other way (vv. 24-25; cf. 16:13). After he died, God would burn up his possessions and family in judgment as He already had done in Job's case (v. 26; cf. ch. 1). Rather than anticipating divine vindication on the earth, Job should expect God to reveal his iniquity and the earth to rise up against him (v. 27; cf. 16:18-19).

Was Zophar correct in his assessment of the wicked's fate? He was correct in saying that God judges sin, but he was wrong in claiming that God's judgment always takes place during our earthly lifetime. He was also inaccurate in saying that Job was the type of person he described.

Introduction / Outline

JFB: Job (Book Introduction)

JOB A REAL PERSON.--It has been supposed by some that the book of Job is an allegory, not a real narrative, on account of the artificial character of many of its statements. Thus the sacred numbers, three and seven, often occur. He had seven thousand sheep, seven sons, both before and after his trials; his three friends sit down with him seven days and seven nights; both before and after his trials he had three daughters. So also the number and form of the speeches of the several speakers seem to be artificial. The name of Job, too, is derived from an Arabic word signifying repentance.

But Eze 14:14 (compare Eze 14:16, Eze 14:20) speaks of "Job" in conjunction with "Noah and Daniel," real persons. St. James (Jam 5:11) also refers to Job as an example of "patience," which he would not have been likely to do had Job been only a fictitious person. Also the names of persons and places are specified with a particularity not to be looked for in an allegory. As to the exact doubling of his possessions after his restoration, no doubt the round number is given for the exact number, as the latter approached near the former; this is often done in undoubtedly historical books. As to the studied number and form of the speeches, it seems likely that the arguments were substantially those which appear in the book, but that the studied and poetic form was given by Job himself, guided by the Holy Spirit. He lived one hundred and forty years after his trials, and nothing would be more natural than that he should, at his leisure, mould into a perfect form the arguments used in the momentous debate, for the instruction of the Church in all ages. Probably, too, the debate itself occupied several sittings; and the number of speeches assigned to each was arranged by preconcerted agreement, and each was allowed the interval of a day or more to prepare carefully his speech and replies; this will account for the speakers bringing forward their arguments in regular series, no one speaking out of his turn. As to the name Job--repentance (supposing the derivation correct)--it was common in old times to give a name from circumstances which occurred at an advanced period of life, and this is no argument against the reality of the person.

WHERE JOB LIVED.--"Uz," according to GESENIUS, means a light, sandy soil, and was in the north of Arabia-Deserta, between Palestine and the Euphrates, called by PTOLEMY (Geography, 19) Ausitai or Aisitai. In Gen 10:23; Gen 22:21; Gen 36:28; and 1Ch 1:17, 1Ch 1:42, it is the name of a man. In Jer 25:20; Lam 4:21; and Job 1:1, it is a country. Uz, in Gen 22:21, is said to be the son of Nahor, brother of Abraham--a different person from the one mentioned (Gen 10:23), a grandson of Shem. The probability is that the country took its name from the latter of the two; for this one was the son of Aram, from whom the Arameans take their name, and these dwelt in Mesopotamia, between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris. Compare as to the dwelling of the sons of Shem in Gen 10:30, "a mount of the East," answering to "men of the East" (Job 1:3). RAWLINSON, in his deciphering of the Assyrian inscriptions, states that "Uz is the prevailing name of the country at the mouth of the Euphrates." It is probable that Eliphaz the Temanite and the Sabeans dwelt in that quarter; and we know that the Chaldeans resided there, and not near Idumea, which some identify with Uz. The tornado from "the wilderness" (Job 1:19) agrees with the view of it being Arabia-Deserta. Job (Job 1:3) is called "the greatest of the men of the East"; but Idumea was not east, but south of Palestine: therefore in Scripture language, the phrase cannot apply to that country, but probably refers to the north of Arabia-Deserta, between Palestine, Idumea, and the Euphrates. So the Arabs still show in the Houran a place called Uz as the residence of Job.

THE AGE WHEN JOB LIVED.--EUSEBIUS fixes it two ages before Moses, that is, about the time of Isaac: eighteen hundred years before Christ, and six hundred after the Deluge. Agreeing with this are the following considerations: 1. Job's length of life is patriarchal, two hundred years. 2. He alludes only to the earliest form of idolatry, namely, the worship of the sun, moon, and heavenly hosts (called Saba, whence arises the title "Lord of Sabaoth," as opposed to Sabeanism) (Job 31:26-28). 3. The number of oxen and rams sacrificed, seven, as in the case of Balaam. God would not have sanctioned this after the giving of the Mosaic law, though He might graciously accommodate Himself to existing customs before the law. 4. The language of Job is Hebrew, interspersed occasionally with Syriac and Arabic expressions, implying a time when all the Shemitic tribes spoke one common tongue and had not branched into different dialects, Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabic. 5. He speaks of the most ancient kind of writing, namely, sculpture. Riches also are reckoned by cattle. The Hebrew word, translated "a piece of money," ought rather be rendered "a lamb." 6. There is no allusion to the exodus from Egypt and to the miracles that accompanied it; nor to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (PATRICK, however, thinks there is); though there is to the Flood (Job 22:17); and these events, happening in Job's vicinity, would have been striking illustrations of the argument for God's interposition in destroying the wicked and vindicating the righteous, had Job and his friends known of them. Nor is there any undoubted reference to the Jewish law, ritual, and priesthood. 7. The religion of Job is that which prevailed among the patriarchs previous to the law; sacrifices performed by the head of the family; no officiating priesthood, temple, or consecrated altar.

THE WRITER.--All the foregoing facts accord with Job himself having been the author. The style of thought, imagery, and manners, are such as we should look for in the work of an Arabian emir. There is precisely that degree of knowledge of primitive tradition (see Job 31:33, as to Adam) which was universally spread abroad in the days of Noah and Abraham, and which was subsequently embodied in the early chapters of Genesis. Job, in his speeches, shows that he was much more competent to compose the work than Elihu, to whom LIGHTFOOT attributes it. The style forbids its being attributed to Moses, to whom its composition is by some attributed, "whilst he was among the Midianites, about 1520 B.C." But the fact, that it, though not a Jewish book, appears among the Hebrew sacred writings, makes it likely that it came to the knowledge of Moses during the forty years which he passed in parts of Arabia, chiefly near Horeb; and that he, by divine guidance, introduced it as a sacred writing to the Israelites, to whom, in their affliction, the patience and restoration of Job were calculated to be a lesson of especial utility. That it is inspired appears from the fact that Paul (1Co 3:19) quotes it (Job 5:13) with the formula, "It is written." Our Savior, too Mat 24:28), plainly refers to Job 29:30. Compare also Jam 4:10 and 1Pe 5:6 with Job 22:29; Rom 11:34-35 with Job 15:8. It is probably the oldest book in the world. It stands among the Hagiographa in the threefold division of Scripture into the Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa ("Psalms," Luk 24:44).

DESIGN OF THE BOOK.--It is a public debate in poetic form on an important question concerning the divine government; moreover the prologue and epilogue, which are in prose, shed the interest of a living history over the debate, which would otherwise be but a contest of abstract reasonings. To each speaker of the three friends three speeches are assigned. Job having no one to stand by him is allowed to reply to each speech of each of the three. Eliphaz, as the oldest, leads the way. Zophar, at his third turn, failed to speak, thus virtually owning himself overcome (Job 27:1-23). Therefore Job continued his reply, which forms three speeches (Job 26:1-14; Job 27:1-23; Job 28:1-28; Job 29:1-31:40). Elihu (Job 32:1-37:24) is allowed four speeches. Jehovah makes three addresses (Job 38:1-41:34). Thus, throughout there is a tripartite division. The whole is divided into three parts--the prologue, poem proper, and epilogue. The poem, into three--(1) The dispute of Job and his three friends; (2) The address of Elihu; (3) The address of God. There are three series in the controversy, and in the same order. The epilogue (Job 42:1-17) also is threefold; Job's justification, reconciliation with his friends, restoration. The speakers also in their successive speeches regularly advance from less to greater vehemence. With all this artificial composition, everything seems easy and natural.

The question to be solved, as exemplified in the case of Job, is, Why are the righteous afflicted consistently with God's justice? The doctrine of retribution after death, no doubt, is the great solution of the difficulty. And to it Job plainly refers in Job 14:14, and Job 19:25. The objection to this, that the explicitness of the language on the resurrection in Job is inconsistent with the obscurity on the subject in the early books of the Old Testament, is answered by the fact that Job enjoyed the divine vision (Job 38:1; Job 42:5), and therefore, by inspiration, foretold these truths. Next, the revelations made outside of Israel being few needed to be the more explicit; thus Balaam's prophecy (Num 24:17) was clear enough to lead the wise men of the East by the star (Mat 2:2); and in the age before the written law, it was the more needful for God not to leave Himself without witness of the truth. Still Job evidently did not fully realize the significance designed by the Spirit in his own words (compare 1Pe 1:11-12). The doctrine, though existing, was not plainly revealed or at least understood. Hence he does not mainly refer to this solution. Yes, and even now, we need something in addition to this solution. David, who firmly believed in a future retribution (Psa 16:10; Psa 17:15), still felt the difficulty not entirely solved thereby (Psa. 83:1-18). The solution is not in Job's or in his three friends' speeches. It must, therefore, be in Elihu's. God will hold a final judgment, no doubt, to clear up all that seems dark in His present dealings; but He also now providentially and morally governs the world and all the events of human life. Even the comparatively righteous are not without sin which needs to be corrected. The justice and love of God administer the altogether deserved and merciful correction. Affliction to the godly is thus mercy and justice in disguise. The afflicted believer on repentance sees this. "Via crucis, via salutis" ["The way of the cross, the way of deliverance"]. Though afflicted, the godly are happier even now than the ungodly, and when affliction has attained its end, it is removed by the Lord. In the Old Testament the consolations are more temporal and outward; in the New Testament, more spiritual; but in neither to the entire exclusion of the other. "Prosperity," says BACON, "is the blessing of the Old Testament; adversity that of the New Testament, which is the mark of God's more especial favor. Yet even in the Old Testament, if you listen to David's harp, you shall hear as many hearse-like airs as carols; and the pencil of the Holy Ghost has labored more in describing the afflictions of Job than the felicities of Solomon. Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes; and adversity is not without comforts and hopes." This solution of Elihu is seconded by the addresses of God, in which it is shown God must be just (because He is God), as Elihu had shown how God can be just, and yet the righteous be afflicted. It is also acquiesced in by Job, who makes no reply. God reprimands the "three" friends, but not Elihu. Job's general course is approved; he is directed to intercede for his friends, and is restored to double his former prosperity.

POETRY.--In all countries poetry is the earliest form of composition as being best retained in the memory. In the East especially it was customary for sentiments to be preserved in a terse, proverbial, and poetic form (called maschal). Hebrew poetry is not constituted by the rhythm or meter, but in a form peculiar to itself: 1. In an alphabetical arrangement somewhat like our acrostic. For instance, Lam. 1:1-22. 2. The same verse repeated at intervals; as in Psa 42:1-11; Psa. 107:1-43. 3. Rhythm of gradation. Psalms of degrees, Psa. 120:1-134:3, in which the expression of the previous verse is resumed and carried forward in the next (Psa 121:1-8). 4. The chief characteristic of Hebrew poetry is parallelism, or the correspondence of the same ideas in the parallel clauses. The earliest instance is Enoch's prophecy (Jud 1:14), and Lamech's parody of it (Gen 4:23). Three kinds occur: (1) The synonymous parallelism, in which the second is a repetition of the first, with or without increase of force (Psa 22:27; Isa 15:1); sometimes with double parallelism (Isa 1:15). (2) The antithetic, in which the idea of the second clause is the converse of that in the first (Pro 10:1). (3) The synthetic, where there is a correspondence between different propositions, noun answering to noun, verb to verb, member to member, the sentiment, moreover, being not merely echoed, or put in contrast, but enforced by accessory ideas (Job 3:3-9). Also alternate (Isa 51:19). "Desolation and destruction, famine and sword," that is, desolation by famine, and destruction by the sword. Introverted; where the fourth answers to the first, and the third to the second (Mat 7:6). Parallelism thus often affords a key to the interpretation. For fuller information, see LOWTH (Introduction to Isaiah, and Lecture on Hebrew Poetry) and HERDER (Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, translated by Marsh). The simpler and less artificial forms of parallelism prevail in Job--a mark of its early age.

JFB: Job (Outline)

• THE HOLINESS OF JOB, HIS WEALTH, &c. (Job 1:1-5)
• SATAN, APPEARING BEFORE GOD, FALSELY ACCUSES JOB. (Job 1:6-12)
• SATAN FURTHER TEMPTS JOB. (Job 2:1-8)
• JOB REPROVES HIS WIFE. (Job 2:9-13)
• JOB CURSES THE DAY OF HIS BIRTH AND WISHES FOR DEATH. (Job 3:1-19)
• HE COMPLAINS OF LIFE BECAUSE OF HIS ANGUISH. (Job 3:20-26)
• FIRST SPEECH OF ELIPHAZ. (Job 4:1-21)
• ELIPHAZ' CONCLUSION FROM THE VISION. (Job 5:1-27)
• REPLY OF JOB TO ELIPHAZ. (Job 6:1-30)
• JOB EXCUSES HIS DESIRE FOR DEATH. (Job 7:1-21)
• THE ADDRESS OF BILDAD. (Job 8:1-22)
• REPLY OF JOB TO BILDAD. (Job 9:1-35)
• JOB'S REPLY TO BILDAD CONTINUED. (Job 10:1-22)
• FIRST SPEECH OF ZOPHAR. (Job 11:1-20) Zophar assails Job for his empty words, and indirectly, the two friends, for their weak reply. Taciturnity is highly prized among Orientals (Pro 10:8, Pro 10:19).
• JOB'S REPLY TO ZOPHAR. (Job 12:1-14:22)
• JOB'S REPLY TO ZOPHAR CONTINUED. (Job 13:1-28)
• JOB PASSES FROM HIS OWN TO THE COMMON MISERY OF MANKIND. (Job 14:1-22)
• SECOND SPEECH OF ELIPHAZ. (Job 15:1-35)
• JOB'S REPLY. (Job 16:1-22) (Job 13:4).
• JOB'S ANSWER CONTINUED. (Job 17:1-16)
• REPLY OF BILDAD. (Job 18:1-21)
• JOB'S REPLY TO BILDAD. (Job 19:1-29)
• REPLY OF ZOPHAR. (Job 20:1-29)
• JOB'S ANSWER. (Job 21:1-34)
• AS BEFORE, ELIPHAZ BEGINS. (Job 22:1-30) Eliphaz shows that man's goodness does not add to, or man's badness take from, the happiness of God; therefore it cannot be that God sends prosperity to some and calamities on others for His own advantage; the cause of the goods and ills sent must lie in the men themselves (Psa 16:2; Luk 17:10; Act 17:25; 1Ch 29:14). So Job's calamities must arise from guilt. Eliphaz, instead of meeting the facts, tries to show that it could not be so.
• JOB'S ANSWER. (Job 23:1-17)
• BILDAD'S REPLY. (Job 25:1-6) Power and terror, that is, terror-inspiring power.
• JOB'S REPLY. (Job 26:1-14)
• JOB'S SPEECH CONTINUED. (Job 28:1-28)
• SPEECH OF ELIHU. (Job 32:1-37:24) Prose (poetry begins with "I am young").
• ADDRESS TO JOB, AS (Job 32:1-22) TO THE FRIENDS. (Job 33:1-33)
• GOD'S SECOND ADDRESS. (Job 40:1-24)
• JOB'S PENITENT REPLY. (Job 42:1-6) In the first clause he owns God to be omnipotent over nature, as contrasted with his own feebleness, which God had proved (Job 40:15; Job 41:34); in the second, that God is supremely just (which, in order to be governor of the world, He must needs be) in all His dealings, as contrasted with his own vileness (Job 42:6), and incompetence to deal with the wicked as a just judge (Job 40:8-14).

TSK: Job (Book Introduction)

A large aquatic animal, perhaps the extinct dinosaur, plesiosaurus, the exact meaning is unknown. Some think this to be a crocodile but from the description in Job 41:1-41:34 this is patently absurd. It appears to be a large fire breathing animal of some sort. Just as the bomardier beetle has an explosion producing mechanism, so the great sea dragon may have an explosive producing mechanism to enable it to be a real fire breathing dragon.

TSK: Job 20 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Job 20:1, Zophar shews the state and portion of the wicked.

Poole: Job 20 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 20

Zophar’ s answer: the state and portion of the wicked, not withstanding for a time he may prosper and flourish.

MHCC: Job (Book Introduction)

This book is so called from Job, whose prosperity, afflictions, and restoration, are here recorded. He lived soon after Abraham, or perhaps before that patriarch. Most likely it was written by Job himself, and it is the most ancient book in existence. The instructions to be learned from the patience of Job, and from his trials, are as useful now, and as much needed as ever. We live under the same Providence, we have the same chastening Father, and there is the same need for correction unto righteousness. The fortitude and patience of Job, though not small, gave way in his severe troubles; but his faith was fixed upon the coming of his Redeemer, and this gave him stedfastness and constancy, though every other dependence, particularly the pride and boast of a self-righteous spirit, was tried and consumed. Another great doctrine of the faith, particularly set forth in the book of Job, is that of Providence. It is plain, from this history, that the Lord watched over his servant Job with the affection of a wise and loving father.

MHCC: Job 20 (Chapter Introduction)

(Job 20:1-9) Zophar speaks of the short joy of the wicked.

(Job 20:10-22) The ruin of the wicked.

(Job 20:23-29) The portion of the wicked.

Matthew Henry: Job (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Book of Job

This book of Job stands by itself, is not connected with any other, and is therefore to be considered alone. Many copies of the Hebrew Bible place it after the book of Psalms, and some after the Proverbs, which perhaps has given occasion to some learned men to imagine it to have been written by Isaiah or some of the later prophets. But, as the subject appears to have been much more ancient, so we have no reason to think but that the composition of the book was, and that therefore it is most fitly placed first in this collection of divine morals: also, being doctrinal, it is proper to precede and introduce the book of Psalms, which is devotional, and the book of Proverbs, which is practical; for how shall we worship or obey a God whom we know not? As to this book,

I. We are sure that it is given by inspiration of God, though we are not certain who was the penman of it. The Jews, though no friends to Job, because he was a stranger to the commonwealth of Israel, yet, as faithful conservators of the oracles of God committed to them, always retained this book in their sacred canon. The history is referred to by one apostle (Jam 5:11) and one passage (Job 5:13) is quoted by another apostle, with the usual form of quoting scripture, It is written, 1Co 3:19. It is the opinion of many of the ancients that this history was written by Moses himself in Midian, and delivered to his suffering brethren in Egypt, for their support and comfort under their burdens, and the encouragement of their hope that God would in due time deliver and enrich them, as he did this patient sufferer. Some conjecture that it was written originally in Arabic, and afterwards translated into Hebrew, for the use of the Jewish church, by Solomon (so Monsieur Jurieu) or some other inspired writer. It seems most probable to me that Elihu was the penman of it, at least of the discourses, because (Job 32:15, Job 32:16) he mingles the words of a historian with those of a disputant: but Moses perhaps wrote the first two chapters and the last, to give light to the discourses; for in them God is frequently called Jehovah, but not once in all the discourses, except Job 12:9. That name was but little known to the patriarchs before Moses, Exo 6:3. If Job wrote it himself, some of the Jewish writers themselves own him a prophet among the Gentiles; if Elihu, we find he had a spirit of prophecy which filled him with matter and constrained him, Job 32:18.

II. We are sure that it is, for the substance of it, a true history, and not a romance, though the dialogues are poetical. No doubt there was such a man as Job; the prophet Ezekiel names him with Noah and Daniel, Eze 14:14. The narrative we have here of his prosperity and piety, his strange afflictions and exemplary patience, the substance of his conferences with his friends, and God's discourse with him out of the whirlwind, with his return at length to a very prosperous condition, no doubt is exactly true, though the inspired penman is allowed the usual liberty of putting the matter of which Job and his friends discoursed into his own words.

III. We are sure that it is very ancient, though we cannot fix the precise time either when Job lived or when the book was written. So many, so evident, are its hoary hairs, the marks of its antiquity, that we have reason to think it of equal date with the book of Genesis itself, and that holy Job was contemporary with Isaac and Jacob; though not coheir with them of the promise of the earthly Canaan, yet a joint-expectant with them of the better country, that is, the heavenly. Probably he was of the posterity of Nahor, Abraham's brother, whose first-born was Uz (Gen 22:21), and in whose family religion was for some ages kept up, as appears, Gen 31:53, where God is called, not only the God of Abraham, but the God of Nahor. He lived before the age of man was shortened to seventy or eighty, as it was in Moses's time, before sacrifices were confined to one altar, before the general apostasy of the nations from the knowledge and worship of the true God, and while yet there was no other idolatry known than the worship of the sun and moon, and that punished by the Judges, Job 31:26-28. He lived while God was known by the name of God Almighty more than by the name of Jehovah; for he is called Shaddai - the Almighty, above thirty times in this book. He lived while divine knowledge was conveyed, not by writing, but by tradition; for to that appeals are here made, Job 8:8; Job 21:29; Job 15:18; Job 5:1. And we have therefore reason to think that he lived before Moses, because here is no mention at all of the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, or the giving of the law. There is indeed one passage which might be made to allude to the drowning of Pharaoh (Job 26:12): He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through Rahab, which name Egypt is frequently called by in scripture, as Psa 87:4; Psa 89:10; Isa 51:9. But that may as well refer to the proud waves of the sea. We conclude therefore that we are here got back to the patriarchal age, and, besides its authority, we receive this book with veneration for its antiquity.

IV. We are sure that it is of great use to the church, and to every good Christian, though there are many passages in it dark and hard to be understood. We cannot perhaps be confident of the true meaning of every Arabic word and phrase we meet with in it. It is a book that finds a great deal of work for the critics; but enough is plain to make the whole profitable, and it was all written for our learning.

1. This noble poem presents to us, in very clear and lively characters, these five things among others: - (1.) A monument of primitive theology. The first and great principles of the light of nature, on which natural religion is founded, are here, in a warm, and long, and learned dispute, not only taken for granted on all sides and not the least doubt made of them, but by common consent plainly laid down as eternal truths, illustrated and urged as affecting commanding truths. Were ever the being of God, his glorious attributes and perfections, his unsearchable wisdom, his irresistible power, his inconceivable glory, his inflexible justice, and his incontestable sovereignty, discoursed of with more clearness, fulness, reverence, and divine eloquence, than in this book? The creation of the world, and the government of it, are here admirably described, not as matters of nice speculation, but as laying most powerful obligations upon us to fear and serve, to submit to and trust in, our Creator, owner, Lord, and ruler. Moral good and evil, virtue and vice, were never drawn more to the life (the beauty of the one and the deformity of the other) than in this book; nor the inviolable rule of God's judgment more plainly laid down, That happy are the righteous, it shall be well with them; and Woe to the wicked, it shall be ill with them. These are not questions of the schools to keep the learned world in action, nor engines of state to keep the unlearned world in awe; no, it appears by this book that they are sacred truths of undoubted certainty, and which all the wise and sober part of mankind have in every age subscribed and submitted to. (2.) It presents us with a specimen of Gentile piety. This great saint descended probably not from Abraham, but Nahor; or, if from Abraham, not from Isaac, but from one of the sons of the concubines that were sent into the east-country (Gen 25:6); or, if from Isaac, yet not from Jacob, but Esau; so that he was out of the pale of the covenant of peculiarity, no Israelite, no proselyte, and yet none like him for religion, nor such a favourite of heaven upon this earth. It was a truth therefore, before St. Peter perceived it, that in every nation he that fears God and works righteousness is accepted of him, Act 10:35. There were children of God scattered abroad (Joh 11:52) besides the incorporated children of the kingdom, Mat 8:11, Mat 8:12. (3.) It presents us with an exposition of the book of Providence, and a clear and satisfactory solution of many of the difficult and obscure passages of it. The prosperity of the wicked and the afflictions of the righteous have always been reckoned two as hard chapters as any in that book; but they are here expounded, and reconciled with the divine wisdom, purity, and goodness, by the end of these things. (4.) It presents us with a great example of patience and close adherence to God in the midst of the sorest calamities. Sir Richard Blackmore's most ingenious pen, in his excellent preface to his paraphrase on this book, makes Job a hero proper for an epic poem; for, says he, " He appears brave in distress and valiant in affliction, maintains his virtue, and with that his character, under the most exasperating provocations that the malice of hell could invent, and thereby gives a most noble example of passive fortitude, a character no way inferior to that of the active hero," etc. (5.) It presents us with an illustrious type of Christ, the particulars of which we shall endeavour to take notice of as we go along. In general, Job was a great sufferer, was emptied and humbled, but in order to his greater glory. So Christ abased himself, that we might be exalted. The learned bishop Patrick quotes St. Jerome ore than once speaking of Job as a type of Christ, who for the job that was set before him endured the cross, who was persecuted, for a time, by men and devils, and seemed forsaken of God too, but was raised to be an intercessor even for his friends and had added affliction to his misery. When the apostle speaks of the patience of Job he immediately takes notice of the end of the Lord, that is, of the Lord Jesus (as some understand it), typified by Job, Jam 5:11.

2. In this book we have, (1.) The history of Job's sufferings, and his patience under them (ch. 1, Job 2:1-13, not without a mixture of human frailty, ch. 3. (2.) A dispute between him and his friends upon them, in which, [1.] The opponents were Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. [2.] The respondent was Job. [3.] The moderators were, First, Elihu, ch. 32-37. Secondly, God himself, ch. 38-41. (3.) The issue of all in Job's honour and prosperity, ch. 42. Upon the whole, we learn that many are the afflictions of the righteous, but that when the Lord delivers them out of them all the trial of their faith will be found to praise, and honour, and glory.

Matthew Henry: Job 20 (Chapter Introduction)

One would have thought that such an excellent confession of faith as Job made, in the close of the foregoing chapter, would satisfy his friends, or at least mollify them; but they do not seem to have taken any notice of it, and therefore Zophar here takes his turn, enters the lists with Job, and attacks him with as much vehemence as before. I. His preface is short, but hot (Job 20:2, Job 20:3). II. His discourse is long, and all upon one subject, the very same that Bildad was large upon (ch. 18), the certain misery of wicked people and the ruin that awaits them. 1. He asserts, in general, that the prosperity of a wicked person is short, and his ruin sure (Job 20:4-9). 2. He proves the misery of his condition by many instances - that he should have a diseased body, a troubled conscience, a ruined estate, a beggared family, an infamous name and that he himself should perish under the weight of divine wrath: all this is most curiously described here in lofty expressions and lively similitudes; and it often proves true in this world, and always in another, without repentance (v. 10-29). But the great mistake was, and (as bishop Patrick expresses it) all the flaw in his discourse (which was common to him with the rest), that he imagined God never varied from this method, and therefore Job was, without doubt, a very bad man, though it did not appear that he was, any other way than by his infelicity.

Constable: Job (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

This book, like many others in the Old Testament, got its name from the central character in it rather than from its writer. While it is possible that Job may have written it, there is no concrete evidence that he did.

"Job" means "hated" or "the much persecuted." Perhaps "Job" was a nickname his friends gave him during his suffering. Job is the title of the book in the Hebrew, Greek (Septuagint), Latin (Vulgate), and English Bibles.

Date

Concerning the time the events recorded took place there have been many views ranging from the patriarchal age of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (beginning about 2100 B.C.) to the sixth century B.C.

Internal evidence suggests that Job lived in the patriarchal period. The length of his life (either 140 or about 210 years; 42:16) is similar to that of Terah (205 years), Abraham (175 years), Isaac (180 years), and Jacob (147 years). The writer measured Job's wealth in terms of his livestock. This is how Moses evaluated the wealth of Abraham and Jacob (1:3; 42:12; cf. Gen. 12:16; 13:2; 30:43; 32:5). The Sabeans and Chaldeans (1:15, 17) were nomads during the patriarchal period but not later. Job was the priest of his family (1:5) a condition that became less common when nations in the Near East developed more organization. Names of people and places in the book were also common in the patriarchal age (e.g., Sheba, Tima, Eliphaz, Uz, Job). Genesis, the Mari documents, and the Egyptian Execration texts, all of which refer to life in the Near East at this time, also refer to these names.

"The idea that Job has an Edomite background is as old as the LXX, which equates Job with Jobab, king of Edom (Gn. 36:33)."¹

"Most recent [liberal] writers are agreed that in its original form the book was of post-exilic origin, and the secondary parts of later composition."²

Internal evidence, however, has led many careful students of the book to conclude that it was the work of one person. Perhaps someone else added a few minor touches later under divine inspiration (e.g., 42:16-17). If Job lived in the patriarchal period, as the evidence seems to suggest, what clues are there that someone did not write it then or very soon afterwards? The detailed recounting of the conversations that took place certainly suggests a composition date fairly close to that of the actual events. That has been the position of Jewish and Christian scholars until destructive criticism became popular in the last few centuries. Critics point to the fact that oral tradition was very exact in the ancient world and that people could have transmitted Job's story by mouth for generations and retained its purity. With the Holy Spirit's superintending work it could have been, but there is no evidence that this is what happened. Literacy was widespread in the ancient world at this time.³ Critics further point out that in the process of social evolution composition of a work such as this book was more typical at a date much later than the patriarchal period. Yet again there is no evidence that someone wrote it later. The simpler explanation is that someone wrote it early. Since there is no proof that someone wrote it later, most conservative scholars have continued to prefer the traditional early date of composition theory.

Writer

The book does not identify its writer. Furthermore the ancient Hebrews could not agree on who wrote it. Consequently many different scholars have made guesses as to who the writer was.

From the patriarchal period Job himself is the favored candidate, though some scholars have nominated Elihu. These men seem to be the most likely of the chief characters to have preserved the record of Job's trials. There are many examples of ancient extra-biblical writings in which the author spoke of himself in the third person, so we need not eliminate Job on that ground. The book reads as though an eyewitness of the events recorded wrote it.

Jewish tradition favored Moses as the writer. Moses recorded other events during the patriarchal period in Genesis, he was familiar with desert life, and he had enough ability to write such a book as this one.

Solomon has supporters mainly because he composed other poetic biblical literature (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon). Moreover there are some similarities between Job and Proverbs such as the relationship between fearing God and being wise.

Other scholars have suggested later writers including Hezekiah, Isaiah, and Ezra.

Of course, the writer may have been none of these individuals. No one knows for sure who wrote Job. I tend to prefer a contemporary of Job or Job himself because of the antiquity of this view and the fact that no one has proved it unsatisfactory.

Scope

It is also difficult to determine how much time the events narrated in the book cover.

The first chapter tells about Job's life before his trial, and the last chapter reveals what happened after it until Job's death. The chapters in between deal with a relatively short period in Job's long life. How long was this period?

We have a few clues. Job referred to months when he spoke of his sufferings (7:3; 29:2). In view of Job's physical symptoms his ailments seem to have bothered him for several months at least. He may have suffered for years. However, Job said the same people who had respected him previously had come to reject and avoid him. He implied that his rejection was fairly recent.

The main part of the book contains dialogue that took place between a few individuals. There is no indication in the text that extended periods of time interrupted Job's sojourn at the city dump. It seems to have continued for a few days at the most, though the conversations may have stopped and then restarted. The writer may have telescoped the events to keep the narrative flowing smoothly. It appears that the scope of the main action at the city dump lasted no longer than a few days or possibly weeks.

Genre

Job is primarily a combination of at least three literary types: lawsuit,⁴ lament,⁵ and controversy dialogue.⁶ The larger category is wisdom literature. However there are so many different types of literature in this book that many writers despair of assigning one type as the dominant one.

"The book of Job defies all efforts to establish its literary genre. While it has been viewed as an epic,⁷ a tragedy,⁸ and a parable,⁹ upon close analysis it is none of these even though it exhibits properties belonging to each of them. As Robert Gordis observes, the author of Job has created his own literary genre.¹⁰ The book is didactic in the sense that the author seeks to teach religious truth, a task which he executes primarily by means of lyrical poetry expressive of deep emotions."¹¹

"The book of Job is an astonishing mixture of almost every kind of literature to be found in the Old Testament. Many individual pieces can be isolated and identified as proverbs, riddles, hymns, laments, curses, lyrical nature poems."¹²

"One should think of this aspect of interpretation [i.e., genre] as being like the Olympics, a grand occasion made up of a variety of sports. Though it is all sport, each game is played by its own rules and has its own expectations about how to play the game. The variety of literature is the same way. It all has a message, but it conveys that message in a variety of ways and with a variety of expectations. To try to play basketball with soccer's rules will never work, though both use a ball and require foot speed. Or think of musical instruments, they all make music, but in different ways with different sounds. One cannot play the violin like a piano or drums; nor should one expect a violin to sound like either a piano or the kettledrum! In the same way, to read the poetry of the Psalms like a historical book is to miss the emotional and pictorial impact of the message, though both genres convey reality about people's experience with God."¹³

Message

What this book is all about has been the subject of considerable debate. Many people think God gave it to us to provide His answer to the age-old problem of suffering. In particular, many believe it is in the Bible to help us understand why good people suffer. This is undoubtedly one of the purposes of the book and one that I want to develop at some length. However, I think another purpose is more foundational than this one.

Other people have focused on the great questions Job voiced in the book. During his suffering, when God allowed Satan to knock all the props that support human earthly existence out from under him, Job got down to the most basic needs that people face. He made many profound observations about life. He articulated the most fundamental needs that human beings have. He voiced the greatest philosophical questions about life. These questions are an extremely important contribution of the book and one that I plan to give some attention. Nevertheless I think God has inspired and preserved the message of the Book of Job primarily for another reason.

I believe He did so because this book proves that the basic relationship that God has established with people does not rest on retribution but on grace. This is the message statement. Let me explain it.

In our study of the Old Testament historical books I have pointed out that God blesses people for two reasons. These are His sovereign choice to bless and people's response of trust and obedience to Him.

Because we cannot control God's sovereign choice to bless some people more than others we tend to forget that. We tend to focus on what we can control to some extent, namely our securing His blessing by trusting and obeying Him. This is understandable and legitimate, but it leads to a potential problem. The problem is that we may conclude that we can control God. Since God blesses those who trust and obey Him and He curses those who do not, we may conclude that if we trust and obey God, He owes us blessing.

This conclusion assumes that the basis of God's relationship with people is retribution. If I am good, God will reward me with blessing in some form, but if I am bad, He will punish me somehow. While this is normally the way God deals with human beings it is not always His method. Consequently there must be a more fundamental principle that governs God's dealings with people. On what basis does God consistently deal with us?

Throughout the Book of Job this is the major question that God is answering. Every major character in the book--Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zopher, and Elihu--assumed that God governed humankind on the basis of retribution. They believed there were no exceptions to the rule that God blesses good people and punishes bad people.

Job concluded that God was unjust since he had been good but God was allowing him to suffer. Job's wife agreed with him. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zopher believed that Job must be a bad man instead of a good man since he was suffering. Elihu felt the solution to this apparent exception to the rule was not God's injustice but Job's ignorance rather than his sin. Elihu took a more agnostic approach to the solution of Job's problem. He suspected Job was a bad man, but he wasn't as sure about that as Job's other three friends were.

The Book of Job reveals that while God usually blesses the godly and punishes the ungodly, He does not always do so. There is a more fundamental basis from which God operates. That basis is His own free choice to bless or not bless whom He will.

We might conclude then that the basis of God's dealings with mankind is His sovereignty. However, that answer goes too far back. God's sovereignty really has nothing to do with how He rules. The attribute of sovereignty only sets forth God's position as supreme ruler. How does God rule sovereignly? If it is not on the basis of retribution, on what basis is it?

Evidence in the Book of Job points to God's grace as the basis of His dealings with people. Instead of always dealing with us in retribution, God always deals with us in grace. What does this mean?

This means that instead of responding to our good actions with blessing or our bad actions with cursing God initiates favor toward us without our deserving it.

What is the evidence in the Book of Job that God always deals with people on this basis?

This comes through in God's responses to Job (chs. 38-41). In replying to Job, God essentially reminded him of how good He had been to Job. He pointed out how much wiser and stronger He was than Job. In all of this, God wanted to impress Job with His favor toward the patriarch. That Job got the point is clear from the fact that when God finished speaking Job simply rested in God (42:6). He returned to his joy in being the recipient of God's unmerited favor even though God had not answered his questions.

How does the conflict in heaven that we learn about in chapters 1 and 2 fit into this view? Satan too believed that retribution was the basis on which God deals with people (1:9-11). God proceeded to show him that he was wrong. God allowed calamities to overtake a good man. Then when Job's trouble was all over, God blessed him even though he did not trust and obey God as he should have during his trials (42:12-17).

Satan has consistently failed to appreciate God's grace. Instead of being grateful for his own blessings, he has been in rebellion to obtain more than God gave him. Moreover he has led people to do the same things (cf. Gen. 3; Matt. 4).

I would also like to comment on a fourth possible message of the book that some have suggested. Some students of Job have said that the whole purpose of the book is to show God's superiority over Satan. Not many people hold this view, but it has appealed to some. The main problem with this interpretation, from my viewpoint, is that the dialogues and monologues that constitute the bulk of the book (in chapters 3-41) contribute nothing to this theme. While they do contain references to God's greatness, they do not deal with the issue of God's superiority over Satan.

Finally let me make some observations about the great revelation of this book, namely that the basis for God's dealings with man is His grace rather than His retribution.

First, the Book of Job appears to have been one of the first books of the Bible that God gave as special revelation if not the first. If it was one of the first, its subject would have been one of the most foundational for human beings to understand as history unfolded. What more basic revelation could God have given than the message of this book? The knowledge that God initiates favor toward His creatures without their earning or deserving it is at the heart of God's plan of salvation and the doctrine of God. When you think of Job, think of grace (cf. Ps. 103:10).

Second, like Satan, we tend to disbelieve that God wants the best for us, and we doubt that He will give it to us. Consequently we try to secure what we want for ourselves. We also become ungrateful for God's grace. Ingratitude is at the root of much sin as well as much unhappiness in life. Rejoice in God's grace. Cultivate a spirit of thankfulness (1 Thess. 5:18).

Third, we tend to elevate a secondary principle of God's dealings with people (retribution) into the primary position because it enables us to feel we have some control over God. In this way we can get God to serve us rather than serving God. If I can obligate God to bless me by being good, then God owes me something. Many people, of course, believe God owes them salvation because they are good people. However, we cannot dictate to God how He should bless us. We can count on His promises to bless in certain ways when we relate to Him in certain ways. Yet if God does not bless us as we wish He would, when we do not have His promise, we can still count on the fact that He will bless us ultimately. He will do so because it is His will and He has promised to bless the righteous. His basis of dealing with us is grace.

What about the unsaved? If God wants to bless everyone, why does He send some to eternal torment? The fact that some people choose not to accept God's grace does not mean He does not reach out to them with grace. The whole Bible is a testimony to the fact that God always has and always will reach out to humankind offering unmerited favor. The basis of God's dealings with humankind is grace. His common grace extends to all (Rom. 1; Eph. 1). God does not give us what we deserve. He gives us much better than we deserve.

Constable: Job (Outline)

Outline

I. Prologue chs. 1-2

A. Job's character 1:1-5

B. Job's calamities 1:6-2:10

1. The first test 1:6-22

2. The second test 2:1-10

C. Job's comforters 2:11-13

II. The dialogue concerning the basis of the divine-human relationship 3:1-42:6

A. Job's personal lament ch. 3

1. The wish that he had not been born 3:1-10

2. The wish that he had died at birth 3:11-19

3. The wish that he could die then 3:20-26

B. The first cycle of speeches between Job and his three friends chs. 4-14

1. Eliphaz's first speech chs. 4-5

2. Job's first reply to Eliphaz chs. 6-7

3. Bildad's first speech ch. 8

4. Job's first reply to Bildad chs. 9-10

5. Zophar's first speech ch. 11

6. Job's first reply to Zophar chs. 12-14

C. The second cycle of speeches between Job and his three friends chs. 15-21

1. Eliphaz's second speech ch. 15

2. Job's second reply to Eliphaz chs. 16-17

3. Bildad's second speech ch. 18

4. Job's second reply to Bildad ch. 19

5. Zophar's second speech ch. 20

6. Job's second reply to Zophar ch. 21

D. The third cycle of speeches between Job and his three friends chs. 22-27

1. Eliphaz's third speech ch. 22

2. Job's third reply to Eliphaz chs. 23-24

3. Bildad's third speech ch. 25

4. Job's third reply to Bildad chs. 26-27

E. Job's concluding soliloquies chs. 28-31

1. Job's discourse on God's wisdom ch. 28

2. Job's defense of his innocence chs. 29-31

F. Elihu's speeches chs. 32-37

1. The introduction of Elihu 32:1-5

2. Elihu's first speech 32:6-33:33

3. Elihu's second speech ch. 34

4. Elihu's third speech ch. 35

5. Elihu's fourth speech chs. 36-37

G. The cycle of speeches between Job and God 38:1-42:6

1. God's first speech 38:1-40:2

2. Job's first reply to God 40:3-5

3. God's second speech 40:6-41:34

4. Job's second reply to God 42:1-6

III. Epilogue 42:7-17

A. Job's friends 42:7-9

B. Job's fortune 42:10-17

A structural outline of Job14
Prologue	Job's opening lament	Dialogue-dispute(3 cycles)	Interlude on Wisdom	Monologues (3 cycles)	Job's closing contribution	Epilogue
Chs. 1-2	Ch. 3	Chs. 4-14 Chs. 15-- 21 Chs. 22-- 27	Ch. 28	Chs. 29-- 31 (Job) Chs. 32-- 37 (Elihu) Chs. 38-- 41 (God)	Chs. 40:3-5; 42:1-6	Ch. 42:7-17

Constable: Job

Job

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Job (Book Introduction)

THE BOOK OF JOB.

INTRODUCTION.

This Book takes its name from the holy man, of whom it treats; who, according to the more probable opinion, was of the race of Esau, and the same as Jobab, king of Edom, mentioned [in] Genesis xxxvi. 33. It is uncertain who was the writer of it. Some attribute it to Job himself; others to Moses, or some one of the prophets. In the Hebrew it is written in verse, from the beginning of the third chapter to the forty-second chapter. (Challoner) --- The beginning and conclusion are historical, and in prose. Some have divided this work into a kind of tragedy, the first act extending to chap. xv., the second to chap. xxii., the third to chap. xxxviii., where God appears, and the plot is unfolded. They suppose that the sentiments of the speakers are expressed, though not their own words. This may be very probable: but the opinion of those who look upon the work as a mere allegory, must be rejected with horror. The sacred writers speak of Job as of a personage who had really existed, (Calmet) and set the most noble pattern of virtue, and particularly of patience, Tobias ii. 12., Ezechiel xiv. 14., and James v. 11. Philo and Josephus pass over this history, as they do those of Tobias, Judith, &c. (Haydock) --- The time when Job lived is not clearly ascertained. Some have supposed (Calmet) that he was a contemporary with Esther; (Du Hamel; Thalmud) on which supposition, the work is here placed in its chronological order. But Job more probably live during the period when the Hebrews groaned under the Egyptian bondage, (Haydock) or sojourned in the wilderness, Numbers xiv. 9. The Syrians place the book at the head of the Scriptures. (Calmet) --- Its situation has often varied, and is of no great importance. The subject which is here treated, is of far more; as it is intended to shew that the wicked sometimes prosper, while the good are afflicted. (Haydock) --- This had seldom been witnessed before the days of Abraham: but as God had now selected his family to be witnesses and guardians of religion, a new order of things was beginning to appear. This greatly perplexed Job himself; who, therefore, confesses that he had not sufficiently understood the ways of God, till he had deigned to explain them in the parable of the two great beasts, chap. xlii. 3. We cannot condemn the sentiments expressed by Job, since God has declared that they were right, chap. xlii. 8) and reprimands Elihu, (chap. xxxviii. 2.) and the other three friends of Job, for maintaining a false opinion, though, from the history of past times, they had judge it to be true. This remark may excupate them from the stain of wilful lying, and vain declamation. (Houbigant) --- However, as they assert what was false, their words of themselves are of no authority; and they are even considered as the forerunners of heretics. (St. Gregory; St. Augustine, &c.) (Tirinus) --- Job refutes them by sound logic. (St. Jerome) --- We may discover in this book the sum of Christian morality, (Worthington) for which purpose it has been chiefly explained by St. Gregory. The style is very poetical, (Haydock) though at the same time simple, like that of Moses. (Du Hamel) --- It is interspersed with many Arabic and Chaldaic idioms; (St. Jerome) whence some have concluded, that it was written originally by Job and his friends (Haydock) in Arabic, and translated into Hebrew by Moses, for the consolation of his brethren. (Worthington) --- The Hebrew text is in many places incorrect; (Houbigant) and the Septuagint seem to have omitted several verses. (Origen) --- St. Jerome says almost eight hundred, (Calmet) each consisting of about six words. (Haydock) --- Shultens, in 1747, expressed his dissatisfaction with the labours of all preceding commentators. To explain this book may not therefore be an easy task: but we must be as short as possible. (Haydock) --- Those who desire farther information, may consult Pineda, (Worthington) whose voluminous work, in two folios, will nearly (Haydock) give all necessary information. (Calmet)

Gill: Job (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO JOB

This book, in the Hebrew copies, generally goes by this name, from Job, who is however the subject, if not the writer of it. In the Vulgate Latin version it is called "the Book of Job"; in the Syriac version, the Writing of Job; and in the Arabic, the Writing or Book of Job the Just. In some Hebrew Bibles it stands between the Book of Proverbs and the Song of Solomon; but, according to the Talmudists ^a, it should stand between the Psalms of David and the Proverbs of Solomon. Some have made a question of it, whether there ever was such a man as Job, and suppose this book not to be a real history, or to contain matters of fact, but to be written under fictitious names, and to be parabolical, and that it is designed to set forth an example of patience in suffering affliction; and some of the Jewish writers ^b affirm, that Job never was in being, and that this book is a parable, apologue, or fable; and to this Maimonides ^c himself inclines; but this opinion is justly rejected by Aben Ezra, Peritsol, and others; for that there was such a man is as certain as that there were such men as Noah and Daniel, with whom he is mentioned by the Prophet Ezekiel, Eze 14:14 and the testimony of the Apostle James is full to this purpose, who speaks of him as a person well known, and not to be doubted of; of whom, and of whose patience, the Jews he writes to had heard much, Jam 5:11 besides, the names of the countries where he and his friends lived, the account given of his family, and of his substance, both before and after his afflictions, show it to be a real history. Learned men are not agreed about the signification of his name; according to Jerom ^d, it signifies a magician, taking it to be the same with אוב, "ob": and some Jewish writers ^e place him with Balaam and Jethro, as the counsellors of Pharaoh against the Israelites, for which he was afflicted: the same ancient fathers render the word grieving and howling; others, as Spanheim ^f, derive it from יאב, to "love" or "desire", and so it signifies desire or delight, and is the same with Desiderius or Erasmus; hence Job is called by Suidas ^g τριποθητος, exceeding desirable; but Hillerus ^h, deriving it from the same root, makes it to signify just the reverse, "without desire"; or not desirable; and supposes it to be a compound of יאוב, "desire", and איב, "not"; but the generality of writers derive it from איב, "to be at enmity", and so it signifies one that is exposed to the hatred and enmity of men, or one that is a hater and enemy of wicked men; or, as Schmidtt ⁱ interprets it, a man zealous for God, and showing hatred to wickedness and wicked men on his account. Who Job was, it is not easy to say; not the same with Jobab, of the race of Esau, as some, Gen 36:33. Aristeas ^k says he was a son of Esau himself, by his wife Bessare, and was first called Jobam; nor the same with Job a son of Issachar, Gen 46:13, nor was he a descendant of Abraham by Keturah; but rather sprung from Uz, the firstborn of Nahor, brother of Abraham, Gen 22:21, who gave name to the country where Job lived, as Buz his brother did to that of which Elihu was, and as Chesed, another brother of Uz, did to the Chasdim or Chaldeans, who were both near to Job. It is also not agreed in what time Job lived; Maimonides ^l says, of their writers some place him in the times of the patriarchs, some in the times of Moses, others in the times of David, and others say that he was of the wise men of Babylon; and some add, that he was of them that came out of the captivity there, and had a school at Tiberias, as say the Talmudists ^m who give very different accounts of him: some say he was in the times of the judges; others in the times of the queen of Sheba; and others in the times of Ahasuerus; but the more general opinion is, and indeed the more probable, that he was born when the Israelites went down into Egypt, and that he was dead when they came from thence ⁿ: in short, they place him almost in all the ages from Abraham to the Babylonish captivity, and after it; and even Luther ^o was of opinion that he lived in the times of Solomon, for which there is no more reason than for the rest: it seems most probable that he lived before Moses ^p, at least before the giving of the law to him, since no mention is made of it in this book, nor any reference to it; whereas there is to things more ancient, as the general deluge, the burning of Sodom, &c. the law concerning sacrifices only to be offered by priests was not as yet given; for Job offered sacrifices as being the head of his family, and so did his three friends, Job 1:5. The length of his life best agrees with the times before Moses, for in his time the age of man was reduced to seventy years; whereas Job must live two hundred years or more, since he lived one hundred and forty after his restoration: add to this, that this book seems to have been written before any idolatry was in the world but the worship of the sun and moon, Job 31:25 and before there were any writings divinely inspired, since there is no appeal to any in the whole controversy between Job and his friends; but the appeal is made to men of years and wisdom, and to traditions of former times, Job 5:1. According to Dr. Owen ^q Job lived three hundred and fifty years after the dispersion at Babel, about A. M. 2100. It is also greatly controverted who was the writer of this book; some ascribe the writing of it to Isaiah the prophet; others to Solomon, as Luther ^r; others to one of the prophets who was an Idumaean; but most to Moses, so the Jews ^s say, that he wrote his own book, the section of Balaam, and Job. Some think that he wrote it when in Midian, for the comfort and encouragement of the Hebrews afflicted in Egypt at that time, and who might hope to be delivered out of their afflictions, as this good man was delivered out of his; and this, it is supposed, accounts for the use of many Arabic words in it; Midian being in Arabia, where Moses, having lived some years, had mixed their language with his own. Some are of opinion that he met with this book when in those parts, which he found either in the Arabic or Syriac language, and translated it into Hebrew ^t for the use of the Israelites; and others think it was written by Job's friends, and particularly by Elihu, which is concluded from Job 32:15, but it is most probable that it was written by Job himself, or at least compiled from his diary or "adversaria" kept by him, or from those of his friends, or from both, and that it was written in the language it is now in: but be it written by whom it may, there is no doubt to be made of the divine authority of it; as appears from the sublimity of the style, the subject matter of it, its agreement with other parts of the sacred writings, and particularly from a quotation of a passage out of Job 5:13 by the Apostle Paul, 1Co 3:19 see also Job 5:17, compared with Heb 12:5. The design of it is not only in general to assert and explain the doctrine of Providence, as Maimonides observes; but in particular to show, that, though good men are afflicted, yet sooner or later they are delivered out of their afflictions; and that it becomes them to bear them patiently, and not murmur at them; nor complain of God on account of them, whose ways and works are unsearchable, and who gives no account of his matters to men, but is sovereign, wise, and just, in all he does; and whatsoever is done by him issues in the good of his people, as well as in his own glory, as the event shows. This book may be considered either as an history of the life of Job, in which an account is given of him in his prosperity; of his afflictions, and how they came upon him; of a visit paid him by his friends, and of the discourses that pass between him and them, and of his restoration to greater affluence than he enjoyed before: or as a drama or dialogue consisting of divers parts, and in which various speakers are introduced, as God, Satan, Job, his wife, and friends; or as a dispute, in which Job's three friends are the opponents, himself the respondent, Elihu the moderator, and God the umpire, who settled and determined the point in question. It contains many useful things in it concerning the Divine Being, and the perfections of his nature, his wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and sovereignty; concerning the works of creation and providence; concerning original sin, and the corruption of mankind; concerning redemption by Christ, and good works to be done by men; and concerning the resurrection of the dead, and eternal life. Some think Job was a type of Christ in his afflictions and sufferings; in his patience under them, and deliverance out of them; in his exaltation to an high pitch of happiness and prosperity; and in his intercession for his friends. He is in many things worthy of imitation, though in others to be blamed, and not followed; and, on the whole, this book of his may be read with great pleasure and profit.

Gill: Job 20 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 20

Zophar and his friends, not satisfied with Job's confession of faith, he in his turn replies, and in his preface gives his reasons why he made any answer at all, and was so quick in it, Job 20:1; and appeals to Job for the truth of an old established maxim, that the prosperity of wicked men and hypocrites is very short lived, Job 20:4; and the short enjoyment of their happiness is described by several elegant figures and similes, Job 20:6; such a wicked man being obliged, in his lifetime, to restore his ill gotten goods, and at death to lie down with the sins of his youth, Job 20:10; his sin in getting riches, the disquietude of his mind in retaining them, and his being forced to make restitution, are very beautifully expressed by the simile of a sweet morsel kept in the mouth, and turned to the gall of asps in the bowels, and then vomited up, Job 20:12; the disappointment he shall have, the indigent and strait circumstances he shall be brought into, and the restitution he shall be obliged to make for the oppression of the poor, and the uneasiness he shall feel in his own breast, are set forth in a very strong light, Job 20:17; and it is suggested, that not only the hand of wicked men should be upon him, but the wrath of God also, which should seize on him suddenly and secretly, and would be inevitable, he not being able to make his escape from it, and which would issue in the utter destruction of him and his in this world, and that to come, Job 20:23. And the chapter is, concluded with this observation, that such as before described is the appointed portion and heritage of a wicked man from God, Job 20:29