SHOULD NOT THE MULTITUDE OF WORDS BE ANSWERED? - As if all that Job had said had been mere words; or as if he was remarkable for mere garrulity. AND SHOULD A MAN FULL OF TALK BE JUSTIFIED - Margin, as in Hebrew “of lips.” The phrase is evidently a Hebraism, to denote a great talker - a man of mere l... [ Continue Reading ]
SHOULD THY LIES - Margin, “devices.” Rosenmuller renders this, “should men bear thy boastings with silence?” Dr. Good, “before thee would man-kind keep silence?” Vulgate, “tibi soli tacebunt homines?” “Shall men be silent before thee alone? The Septuagint tenders the whole passage, “he who speaketh... [ Continue Reading ]
MY DOCTRINE IS PURE - The Septuagint instead of the word “doctrine” here reads “deeds,” ἔργοις _ergois_; the Syriac, “thou sayest I have acted justly.” But the word used here (לקח _leqach_) means properly “fair speech” or “taking arguments,” that by which one is “taken” or captivated, from לקח _la... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT OH THAT GOD WOULD SPEAK - Hebrew, “and truly, who will give that God should speak.” It is the expression of an earnest wish that God would address him, and bring him to a proper sense of his ill desert. The meaning is, that if God should speak to him he would by no means find himself so holy as... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THAT HE WOULD SHOW THEE THE SECRETS OF WISDOM - The hidden things that pertain to wisdom. The reference here is to the wisdom of God himself. The sense is this, “you now think yourself pure and holy. You have confidence in your own wisdom and integrity. But this apprehension is based on a short-... [ Continue Reading ]
CANST THEN, BY SEARCHING, FIND OUT GOD? - In order to illustrate the sentiment which he had just expressed, that the secrets of divine wisdom must be far above our comprehension, Zophar introduces here this sublime description of God - a description which seems to have the form and force of a prover... [ Continue Reading ]
IT IS AS HIGH AS HEAVEN - That is, the knowledge of God; or the subject is as high as heaven. The idea is, that man is incompetent to examine, with accuracy, an object that is as far off as the heavens; and that as the knowledge of God must be of that character, it is vain for him to attempt to inve... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MEASURE THEREOF IS LONGER THAN THE EARTH - The measure of the knowledge of God. The extent of the earth would be one of the longest measures known to the ancients. Yet it is now impossible to ascertain what ideas were attached, in the time of Job, to the extent of the earth - and it is not neces... [ Continue Reading ]
IF HE CUT OFF - Margin, “Make a change.” But neither of these phrases properly expresses the sense of the original. The whole image here is probably that of arresting a criminal and bringing him to trial, and the language is taken from the mode of conducting a prosecution. The word rendered “cut off... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR HE KNOWETH VAIN MEN - He is intimately acquainted with the heart; he knows human beings altogether. The word “vain” here (שׁוא _shâv'_), means properly vanity, emptiness, falsehood, a lie, iniquity. “Men of vanity,” here may mean people whose opinions are valueless, or it may mean people of dec... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR VAIN MAN - Margin, “empty.” נבוב _nâbûb_, according to Gesenius, from the root נבב _nâbab_, to bore through, and then to be hollow; metaphorical, “empty,” “foolish.” The Septuagint, strangely enough, renders this,” but man floats about with words.” The Hebrew here means, manifestly, hollow, e... [ Continue Reading ]
IF THOU PREPARE THINE HEART - Zophar now proceeds to state that if Job even yet would return to God, he might hope for acceptance. Though he had sinned, and though he was now, as he supposed, a hollow-hearted and an insincere man, yet, if he would repent, he might expect the divine favor. In this he... [ Continue Reading ]
IF INIQUITY BE IN THINE HAND - If you have in your possession anything that has been unjustly obtained. If you have oppressed the poor and the fatherless, and have what properly belongs to them, let it be restored. This is the obvious duty of one who comes to God to implore his favor; compare Luke 1... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THEN SHALT THOU LIFT UP THY FACE WITHOUT SPOT - That is, thy face shall be bright, clear, and cheerful. Thus, we speak of a bright and happy countenance. Zophar undoubtedly designs to show what his appearance would be, contrasted with what it then was. Now his countenance was dejected and sad. I... [ Continue Reading ]
AND REMEMBER IT AS WATERS THAT PASS AWAY - As calamity that has completely gone by, or that has rolled on and will return no more. The comparison is beautiful. The water of the river is borne by us, and returns no more. The rough, the swollen, the turbid stream, we remember as it foamed and dashed a... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THINE AGE - Thy life. This does not mean old age, but the idea is, that his life would be cheerful and happy. CLEARER THAN THE NOON-DAY - Margin, “Arise above the noon-day.” The margin is a literal rendering; but the sense is clear in the text. The idea is, that the remainder of his life would... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THOU SHALT BE SECURE - You will feel confident that your prosperity will be permanent, and you will be free from the distressing anxieties and fears which you now have. THOU SHALT DIG ABOUT THEE - The Chaldee renders this, “thou shalt prepare for thyself a sepulchre, and shalt lie down in safet... [ Continue Reading ]
MANY SHALL MAKE SUIT UNTO THEE - Many shall come in a suppliant manner to ask counsel and advice. The meaning is, that he would be a man of distinction, to whom many would look for counsel. This was evidently an honor highly valued in the East, and one on which Job had formerly pridcd himself; see J... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THE EYES OF THE WICKED SHALL FAIL - That is, they shall be wearied out by anxiously looking for relief from their miseries. “Noyes.” Their expectation shall be vain, and they shall find no relief. Perhaps Zophar here means to apply this to Job, and to say to him that with his present views and c... [ Continue Reading ]