ἄφρων. Literally, ‘Senseless!’ 1 Corinthians 15:36. Comp. Luke 11:40. The nom. is used for the voc., comp. Luke 8:54.

ταύτῃ τῇ νυκτί. Compare the death of Nabal, 1 Samuel 25:36.

τὴν ψυχήν σου�. ‘They demand thy soul of thee.’ Who are ‘they’? Some say God (Job 27:8), or His death-angels (Job 33:22), or robbers whom they suppose to attack the rich man on the night that his wealth has flowed in. There is however no definite pronoun, the phrase is impersonal, as often in Hebrew. It is the same “categoric plural” as in Luke 12:11 and Luke 16:9; Luke 23:31.

ἃ δὲ ἡτοίμασας, τίνι ἔσται; ‘But the things which thou preparedst, for whom shall they be?’ “He heapeth up riches and knoweth not who shall gather them,” Psalms 39:6; Psalms 49:16-17; comp. Psalms 52:7 and James 4:13-15. St James seems to have been deeply impressed with this teaching.

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Old Testament