Job 36:17-21

2. Job has had the wrong spirit toward his sufferings. (Job 36:17-21)

TEXT 36:17-21

17 But thou art fall of the judgment of the wicked:

Judgment and justice take hold on thee.

18 For let not wrath stir thee up against chastisements;

Neither let the greatness of the ransom turn thee aside.

19 Will thy cry avail, that thou be not in distress,

Or all the forces of thy strength?

20 Desire not the night,

When peoples are cut off in their place.

21 Take heed, regard not iniquity:

For this hast thou chosen rather than affliction.

COMMENT 36:17-21

Job 36:17The first verb in the verse is in the perfect tense, full of judgment, and the second is in the imperfectjudgment and justice take hold of him. Job's own attitude toward justice is continually condemning him.

Job 36:18Elihu warns (hemahbeware) Job, do not let wrath entice you evil. The A. V. understands the wrath to be God'S, while the R. S. V. understands it to be Job'S. The entire issue is concerned with God's judgment on Job's unrighteousness, so surely the wrath (hemah) is God'S. The parallelism presents a powerful warning against the corruption of justice. Do not let the abundance (sepeq) of the reward or ransom pervert you.

Job 36:19Dhorme renders this very difficult verse as can one compare your crying out to him (Heb. loeto him, not lo-') in distress? Wealth and bribery cannot influence the divine JudgePope, p. 271. The rendering of the A. V. makes little sense. The essential meaning of the verse is Job's wealth could not save him. The verse, like the previous one, is a warning against corruption.

Job 36:20The most promising of all suggestions as to the meaning of this cryptic verse is that it is condemning the letting of kinship influence his judgments. As usual, night is the symbol of sudden catastropheJob 34:20; Job 34:25. People, symbol for many, a group, or a clan, are cut off without warning.

Job 36:21Stop rebelling against God because of His chastening hand. Because of your rebellion, you were chosen for testing. Job is being rebuked for choosing rebellion; he certainly did not choose affliction. If one amends the Hebrew text as passive (bohantayou have been tested), the sense is precisely Elihu's major assertionthat suffering is for warning and discipline, in order to turn the sufferer from evil.