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Job Chapter
Six
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JOB 6
This
and the following chapter contain Job's answer to the speech of Eliphaz in the
two foregoing; he first excuses his impatience by the greatness of his
afflictions
which
if weighed by good and impartial hands
would be found to
be heavier than the sand of the sea
and which words were wanting to express
Job 6:1; and the
reason why they were so heavy is given
they being the arrows and terrors of
the Almighty
Job 6:4; and by
various similes he shows that his moans and complaints under them need not seem
strange and unreasonable
Job 6:5; and what
had been said not being convincing to him
he continues in the same sentiment
and disposition of mind
and wishes to be removed by death out of his miserable
condition
and gives his reasons for it
Job 6:8; and though
his case was such as required pity from his friends
yet this he had not from
them
but represents them as deceitful
and as having sadly disappointed him
and
therefore he neither hoped nor asked for anything of them
Job 6:14; and
observes that their words and arguments were of no force and weight with him
but harmful and pernicious
Job 6:24; and in
his turn gives them some exhortations and instructions
and signifies that he
was as capable of discerning between right and wrong as they
with which this
chapter is concluded
Job 6:28.
Job 6:1 Then
Job answered and said:
YLT
1And Job answereth and
saith: --
But Job answered and said. Though Eliphaz thought
his speech was unanswerable
being
as he and his friends judged
unquestionably true
and the fruit of strict
laborious
and diligent search
and inquiry; or
"then Job answered"F20ויען
"tunc respondit"
Drusius.
as the same particle is rendered
Job 4:1; after he
had heard Eliphaz out; he waited with patience until he had finished his
discourse
without giving him any interruption
though there were many things
that were very provoking
particularly in Job 4:5; and when
he had done
then he made his reply; and this was no other than what every man
has a right unto
to answer for himself when any charge or accusation is
brought against him; when his character is attacked
or his good name
which is
better the precious ointment
is taken from him; and is what all reasonable
men
and the laws of all civilized nations
allow of.
Job 6:2 2 “Oh
that my grief were
fully weighed
And my calamity laid with it on the scales!
YLT
2O that my provocation were
thoroughly weighed
And my calamity in balances They would lift up together!
Oh that my grief were thoroughly weighed
.... Or
"in weighing weighed"F21שקול ישקל "librando
libraretur"
Cocceius
Schultens.
most nicely and exactly weighed; that is
his grievous affliction
which
caused so much grief of heart
and which had been shown in words and gestures;
or his "wrath" and "anger"F23כעשי
"ira mea"
Pagninus
Montanus
Drusius
Schmidt
&c. so the
Targum and Sept.
as others render it: not his anger against Eliphaz
as
Sephorno
but as before
meaning the same thing
his affliction; which either
as he understood
was the fruit and effect of the wrath and anger of God
who
treated him as an enemy; or rather
that wrath
anger
and resentment raised in
his own mind by those afflictive providences
and which broke out in hot and
passionate expressions
and for which he was blamed as a foolish man
Job 5:2; or else
the "complaint"F24"Querela mea"
Vatablus
Mercerus.
the groans and moans he made under them; or the
"impatience"F25"Impatientia"
Belgae
Castalio.
he was charged with in bearing of them; and now he wishes
and suggests
that
if they were well weighed and considered by kind and judicious persons
men of
moderation and temper
a great allowance would be made for them
and they would
easily be excused; that is
if
together with his expressions of grief
anger
and impatience
his great afflictions
the cause of them
were but looked into
and carefully examined
as follows:
and my calamity laid in the balances together! that is
his
affliction
which had a being
as the word signifies
as Aben Ezra observes
was not through the prepossessions of fear as before
nor merely in fancy as in
many
or as exaggerated
and made greater than it is
which is often the case;
but what was real and true
and matter of fact; it was what befell him
had
happened to him
not by chance
but by the appointment and providence of God;
and includes all his misfortunes
the loss of his cattle
servants
and
children
and of his own health; and now to be added to them
the unkindness of
his friends; and his desire is
that these might be taken up
and put together
in the scales
and being put there
that the balances might be lifted up at
once
and the true weight of them taken; and the meaning is
either that all
his excessive grief
and passionate words
and extravagant and unwarrantable
impatience
as they were judged
might be put into one scale
and all his
afflictions in another
and then it would be seen which were heaviest
and what
reason there was for the former
and what little reason there was to blame him
on that account; or however
he might be excused
and not be bore hard upon
as
he was; to this sense his words incline in Job 23:2; or else
by his grief and calamity he means the same thing
his grievous afflictions
which he would have put together in a pair of balances
and weighed against
anything that was ever so heavy
and then they would appear to be as is
expressed in Job 6:3; Job by all
this seems desirous to have his case thoroughly canvassed
and his conduct
thoroughly examined into
and to be well weighed and pondered in the scale of
right reason and sound judgment
by men of equal and impartial characters; but
he tacitly suggests that his friends were not such
and therefore wishes that
some third person
or other persons
would undertake this affair.
Job 6:3 3 For then it would be
heavier than the sand of the sea— Therefore my words have been rash.
YLT
3For now
than the sands of
the sea it is heavier
Therefore my words have been rash.
For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea
.... Or
"seas"F26ימים
"marium"
Pagninus
Montanus
Mercerus
Piscator
Michaelis
Schultens. ; all sand is heavy in its own nature
Proverbs 27:3;
especially the sand of the sea
that which is immediately taken out of it; for
that on the shore is lighter
being dried by the winds and heat of the sun
but
the other is heavier
through the additional weight of water; and much more
especially how heavy must all the sand of the sea be
and of all the seas that
are in the world: yet Job suggests by this hyperbolical expression
exaggerating his case
that his affliction was heavier than it all
a most
intolerable and insupportable burden; the afflictions of God's people are but
light when compared with what their sins deserve
with the torments of the
damned in hell
with the sufferings of Christ in their room and stead
and with
everlasting
happiness
the eternal weight of glory
2 Corinthians 4:17;
but in themselves they are heavy
and press hard; they are so to flesh and
blood
and especially unless everlasting arms are put under men
and they are
supported and upheld with the right hand of God's righteousness; they are heavy
when attended with the hidings of God's face
and a sense of his wrath and
displeasure
which was Job's case
see Job 13:24; some
render "it more copious"
or "numerous"F1יכבד "copiosior et gravior est"
Michaelis; so
Schultens.
and indeed the word has this signification
as in Numbers 20:20; and
the metaphor is more frequently used to express a multitude
even what is
innumerable
Hosea 1:10; yet the
notion of heaviness best agrees with the preceding figure of weighing in
balances
and therefore at least is not to be excluded some learned men take in
both
as the sense of the word
the number of afflictions
and the bulk and
weight of them:
therefore my words are swallowed up; either by his friends
as Kimchi
who heard them
and put a wrong construction on them
without
thoroughly examining the true sense of them; as men that swallow down their
food greedily
do not chew it
nor take the true taste of it
and so are no
judges whether it is good or bad; but this sense seems to have no connection
with what goes before; rather they were swallowed up by himself
and the
meaning either is
that such was the weight and pressure of his afflictions
that he wanted words to express it; his words "failed" him
as the
Targum: or they "come short"
as Mr. Broughton renders it; they were
not sufficient to set forth and declare the greatness of his troubles; or he
faltered in his speech
he could not speak out plainly and distinctly
because
of his grief and sorrow
see Psalm 77:4; what he
had said was delivered amidst sighs and sobs
through the heaviness of the
calamity on him; they were but half words
attended with groanings that could
not be uttered; by which he would signify
that though his friends had charged
him with speaking too much and too freely
he had not spoken enough
nor could
he
by reason of the greatness of his affliction; and also to excuse his
present answer
if it was not delivered with that politeness and fulness of
expression
with that eloquence and strength of reasoning and discoursing he at
other times was capable of: or rather the words may be rendered
"therefore my words break out with heat"F2על־כן דברי לעו
"propterea verba mea aestuantia sunt"
Schultens. ; in a vehement
manner
in a hot and passionate way I am blamed for; but this is to be imputed
to the burden of affliction and sorrow upon me
which
if considered
some
allowances would be made
and the charge be alleviated.
Job 6:4 4 For the arrows of the
Almighty are within me; My spirit drinks in their poison; The terrors of
God are arrayed against me.
YLT
4For arrows of the Mighty
[are] with me
Whose poison is drinking up my spirit. Terrors of God array
themselves [for] me!
For the arrows of the Almighty are within me
.... Which are
a reason proving the weight and heaviness of his affliction
and also of his
hot and passionate expressions he broke out into; which designs not so much outward
calamities
as famine
pestilence
thunder and lightning
which are called the
arrows of God
Deuteronomy 32:23;
all which had attended Job
and were his case; being reduced to extreme
poverty
had malignant and pestilential ulcers upon him
and his sheep
destroyed by thunder and lightning; and which were like arrows
that came upon
him suddenly
secretly
and at unawares
and very swiftly; these arrows flew
thick and first about
him
and stuck in him
and were sharp and painful
and
wounded and slew him; for he was now under slaying circumstances of Providence;
but rather these mean
together with his afflictions
the inward distresses
grief
and anguish of his mind arising from them
being attended with a keen
sense of the divine displeasure
which was the case of David
and is expressed
in much the same language
Psalm 38:1; Job
here considers his afflictions as coming from God
as arrows shot from his bow;
and as coming from him
not as a father
in a way of paternal chastisement
and
love
dealing with him as a child of his
but accounting him as an enemy
and
setting him up as a mark or butt to shoot at
see Job 7:20; yea
not
only as the arrows of a strong and mighty man
expert in archery
who shoots
his arrows with great strength and skill
so that they miss not
and return not
in vain
see Psalm 120:4; but as
being the arrows of the Almighty
which come with force irresistible
with the
stretching and lighting down of his arm
and with the indignation of his anger
intolerable:
the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit; alluding to
the custom of some people
that used to dip their arrows in poison
or besmear
them with it; so the Persians
as Jarchi observes
and HeliodorusF3Ethiopic.
l. 9. c. 19. reports of the Ethiopians
that they dipped their arrows in the
poison of dragons
and which made them inflammatory
and raised such an heat
and such burning pains
as were intolerable; and now
as such poison presently
infected the blood
and penetrated into and seized the animal spirits
and
inflamed and soon exhausted them; so the heat of divine wrath
and a sense of
it
which attended the arrows of God
his afflictions on Job
so affected him
as not only to take away his breath
that he could not speak
as in Job 6:3
or rather
as to cause those warm and hot expressions to break out from him
but even to
eat up his vital spirits
and leave him spiritless and lifeless; which was
Heman's case
and similar to Job's
Psalm 88:3
the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me; the Lord is
sometimes compared to a man of war in arms
stirring up his wrath and jealousy
Exodus 15:3; and in
this light he was viewed by Job
and so he apprehended him
as coming forth
against him
and which was terrible; and his terrors were like an army of
soldiers set in battle array
in rank and file
ready to discharge
or
discharging their artillery upon him; and which sometimes design the inward
terrors of mind
of a guilty conscience
the terrors of God's judgment here
or
of a future judgment hereafter
of death and hell
and eternal damnation
through the menaces and curses of the law of God transgressed and broken; but
here afflictive providences
or terrible things in righteousness
which
surrounded him
attacked him in great numbers
and in a hostile military way
with great order and regularity
and which were frightful to behold; perhaps
regard may be also had to those scaring dreams and terrifying visions he
sometimes had
see Job 7:14.
Job 6:5 5 Does the wild donkey bray
when it has grass
Or does the ox low over its fodder?
YLT
5Brayeth a wild ass over
tender grass? Loweth an ox over his provender?
Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over
his fodder? No
they neither of them do
when the one is in a good pasture
and the other has a sufficiency of provender; but when they are in want of
food
the one will bray
and the other will low
which are tones peculiar to
those creatures
and express their mournful complaints; wherefore Job suggests
that should he make no moan and complaint in his sorrowful circumstances
he
should be more stupid and senseless than those brute creatures: and he may have
some respect to the different circumstances of himself and his friends; he
himself
when he was in prosperity
made no complaints
as the wild ass brays not
and the ox lows not
when they have both food enough; but now
being in
distress
he could not but utter his sorrow and trouble
as those creatures
when in lack of food; and this may serve as an answer to his different conduct
now and formerly
objected to him
Job 4:3; and so his
friends; they lived in great tranquillity and prosperity
as Aben Ezra
observes
and roared and grieved not
which doubtless they would
were they in
the same circumstances he was; though it became them
as things were
to have
uttered words of condolence to their friend in distress
instead of sharp
reproofs and hard censures.
Job 6:6 6 Can flavorless food be
eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
YLT
6Eaten is an insipid thing
without salt? Is there sense in the drivel of dreams?
Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt?.... As any
sort of pulse
peas
beans
lentiles
&c. which have no savoury and agreeable
taste unless salted
and so many other things; and are disagreeable to men
and
not relished by them
and more especially things bitter and unpleasant; and
therefore Job intimates
it need not seem strange that the wormwood and water
of gall
or the bread of adversity and water of affliction
he was fed with
should be so distasteful to him
and he should show such a nausea of it
and an
aversion to it
and complain thereof as he did: though some apply this to the
words and speeches of Eliphaz
and his friends he represented
which with Job
were insipid and foolish talk
and very unsuitable and disagreeable to him
yea
loathed and abhorred by him
not being seasoned with the salt of prudence
grace
and goodness
see Colossians 4:6
or is there any taste in the white of an egg? none at all.
The same things are designed by this as the former. Mr. Broughton renders it
"the white of the yolk"; and Kimchi saysF4Sepher Shorash
rad. חלם; so Ben Melech. it signifies
in the
language of the Rabbins
the red part of the yolk
the innermost part; but
others
from the use of the word in the Arabic language
interpret it of the
froth of milkF5Hottinger. Smegma Oriental. l. 1. c. 7. p. 152.
Hinckeman. Praefat. ad Alcoran. p. 29.
which is very tasteless and insipid:
but the first of the words we render "white" always signifies
"spittle"; and some of the Jewish writersF6R. Issac in
Kimchi ibid. Ben Melech & Ben Gersom in loc; so some in Bar Tzemach;
"saliva sanitatis"
Gussetius
p. 260. call it the spittle of
soundness
or a sound man
which has no taste
in distinction from that of a
sick man
which has; and the latter word comes from one which signifies to
dream; and Jarchi observes
that some so understand it here; and the whole is
by some rendered
"is there any taste" or "savour in the spittle
of a dream" or "drowsiness"F7בריר
חלמות "in saliva somnolentiae"
Schultens.
? such as flows from a person asleep
or in a dream; and so may fitly express
the vain and empty words
as the Septuagint translate the phrase
of Job's
friends
in his esteem
which to him were no than the words of some idle and
dreaming person
or were like the dribble of a fool or madman
as David
mimicked
1 Samuel 21:13; and
it is observedF8Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. vol. 4. p. 670.
that the
word "spittle" is very emphatically used
since it useless in judging
of different tastes
and mixed with food
goes into nourishment
as the white
of an egg.
Job 6:7 7 My soul refuses to touch
them; They are as loathsome food to me.
YLT
7My soul is refusing to
touch! They [are] as my sickening food.
The things that my soul refused to touch are as my
sorrowful meat. Meaning either the above things
that which is unsavoury
and the
white of an egg
of any other food
which in the time of his prosperity he
would not touch with his fingers
much less eat
but now was glad of
and were
his constant food in his present sorrowful circumstances; the sense given by
some Jewish writersF9Jarchi & R. Mesallem in ib. is
that what
he disdained to touch or wipe his hands with formerly
he was glad to make use
of as a tablecloth to eat his bread of sorrow upon; but it rather intends the
insipid and disagreeable words of his friends
their doctrines
instructions
and exhortations they gave him
but were refused and rejected by him; and which
he before compares to unsavoury food
the white of an egg
or the spittle of a
dreaming man
or the dribble of a fool; and which were as much loathed and
nauseated by him
as his food that was "loathed" by himF11כדוי לחמי "ut fastidia
pannis mei"
Cocceius.
either because of his want of appetite
or
because of the badness of it
such as were corrupt and "rotten"
and
even as the "excrements" of foodF12"Velut excrement
um panis"
Neuman. apud Michael. ; those he refused to receive with as
much indignation as he could such sort of food offered him; and therefore we
find
that notwithstanding all that had been said to him
he continued in the
same sentiment and disposition of mind
to desire death rather than life
as
follows.
Job 6:8 8 “Oh
that I might have my
request
That God would grant me the thing that I long for!
YLT
8O that my request may come
That God may grant my hope!
And that I might have my request
.... Or that it
"might come"F13תבוא "ut
veniat"
V. L. Pagninus
Montanus
Schmidt
Michaelis; "utinam
veniret"
Schultens. ; that it might go up to heaven
enter there
and
come into the ears of the Lord
be attended to
admitted
and received by him
see Psalm 18:6; or come
to Job
be returned into his bosom
be answered and fulfilled; the same with
the desire that "cometh"
which is
when the thing desired is
enjoyed
Proverbs 13:12; or that
what he had requested would come
namely
death
which is sometimes represented
as a person that looks in at the windows
and comes into the houses of men
and
seizes on them
Jeremiah 9:21; and
this is what Job wishes for; this was his sole request; this was the thing
the
one thing
that lay uppermost in his mind
and he was most importunately
solicitous for:
and that God would grant me the thing that I long for! death
as the
following words explain it; this is not desirable by nature
but contrary to
it; it is itself a penal evil
the sanction and curse of the law; it is an
enemy
and a very formidable one
the king of terrors; and
though a very
formidable
one
is desired by good men from a principle of grace
and with
right views
to be rid of sin
and to be with Christ; yet it often is done by
persons in melancholy
sullen
and humorous fits
when they cannot have what
they would
as in Rachel
Elijah
and Jonah
Genesis 30:1; and
because of sore troubles and afflictions
which was the present case of Job;
though it must be said that it was not
as is frequently the case with wicked
men
through the horrors of a guilty conscience
which he was free of; and he
had faith
and hope of comfort in another world
and in some degree he
submitted to the will and pleasure of God; though pressed with too much
eagerness
importunity
and passion: and it may be observed
that Job did not
make request to men
to his servants
or friends about him
to dispatch him
as
Abimelech and Saul did; nor did he lay hands on himself
or attempt to do it
as Saul
Ahithophel
and Judas: the wretched philosophy of the stoics was not
known in Job's time
which not only makes suicide lawful
but commends it as an
heroic action; no
Job makes his
request to the God of his life
who had given
it to him
and had maintained it hitherto
and who only had a right to dispose
of it; he asks it as a favour
he desires it as a gift
he had nothing else to
ask
nothing was more or so desirable to him as death.
Job 6:9 9 That it would please God
to crush me
That He would loose His hand and cut me off!
YLT
9That God would please --
and bruise me
Loose His hand and cut me off!
Even that it would please God to destroy me
.... Not with
an everlasting destruction of body and soul; for destruction from the Almighty
was a terror to him
Job 31:23; but with
the destruction of the body only; not with an annihilation of it
but with the
dissolution of it
or of that union there was between his soul and body: the
wordF14ידכאני "me conterat"
V.
L. Pagninus
Montanus
Mercerus
Schmidt; so Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Michaelis
Schultens. used signifies to bruise and beat to pieces; his meaning
is
that his body
his house of clay in which he dwelt
might be crushed to pieces
and beat to powder
and crumbled into dust; and perhaps he may have regard to
his original
the dust of the earth
and his return to it
according to the
divine threatening
Genesis 3:19; a
phrase expressive of death; and so Mr. Broughton renders it
"to bring me
to the dust"
to "the dust of death"
Psalm 22:15
that he would let loose his hand
and cut me off! he had let
loose his hand in some degree already; he had given his substance and his body
into the hand of Satan; his own hand had touched him
but he had only gone skin
deep
as it were; he had smote him in his estate
in his family
and in the
outward parts of his body; but now he desires that he would stretch out his
hand further
and lift it up
and give a heavier stroke
and pierce him more
deeply; strike through his heart and liver
and "make an end" of him
as Mr. Broughton translates the word
and dispatch him at once; cut him off
like the flower of the field by the scythe
or like a tree cut down to its root
by the axe
or cut off the thread of his life
Isaiah 38:12.
Job 6:10 10 Then I would still have
comfort; Though in anguish I would exult
He will not spare; For I have not
concealed the words of the Holy One.
YLT
10And yet it is my comfort
(And I exult in pain -- He doth not spare
) That I have not hidden The sayings
of the Holy One.
Then should I yet have comfort
.... Either before death
and in the midst of all his pains and sorrows
being in view of it as near at
hand
and sure and certain; could he but be assured of its near approach
he
could exult in his afflictions; it would be an alleviation of his trouble
that
he should be soon out of it; and he would sit and sing upon the brink of
eternity
and say
"O death
where is thy sting! O grave
where is thy
victory?" 1 Corinthians 15:55;
his sufferings being just at an end
and being comfortably persuaded of a happy
future state
and a glorious resurrection
see Job 19:25; or after
death
when destroyed and cut off by it; and he hereby signifies as if he
expected no comfort on this side death and the grave; that is
no temporal
comfort
his comforts were gone
his substance
his children
and health
and
he had no hope of the restoration of them
Eliphaz had suggested; but he
believed
that though he now had his evil things
as Lazarus since
yet after death
should be comforted with the presence of God
in which is fulness of joy; with
the discoveries of his love
as a broad river to swish in; with a glory that
should be on him
and revealed in him
with which "the sufferings of this
present time are not worthy to be compared"
Romans 8:18; and
with the company of angels
and glorified saints
as well as be freed from all
bodily disorders and pains
and death itself
from all sin
and sorrow
from
Satan's temptations
divine desertions
doubts
and fears:
yea
I would harden myself in sorrow; meaning
either upon the first news of death's being near at hand
he would harden
himself against all pains and pangs of death; when those should beset him
around
and he should find trouble and sorrow through them
he would not regard
them
but most cheerfully and patiently bear them
and most courageously go
through them
not at all intimidated by them
or by death
and the most
terrible agonies of it: or "though I should be hot
burn"
or
"be burnt in sorrow" or "pain"F15ואסלדה "calefaciam"
Pagninus
Bolducius;
"flagrem"
Vatablus; "exaestuo"
Junius & Tremellius;
"urar"
Drusius
Mercerus; so Gersom
Kimchi
Peritsol
& Ben
Melech.
as some render it; or parched with pain
as Mr. Broughton; though I
should be still more and more inflamed with these burning ulcers upon me
or be
dried up with a burning fever
or my body cast into a fire
and be scorched and
burnt in the flames of it
I should not value it; I could bear the most
excruciating pains
and sharpest torments
could I but be assured I should die.
Some observe
that the word signifies to "leap"F16 ηλλομην
Sept. "saltarem
prae gaudio"; so some in Munster. ; and so the Septuagint render it; and
then the sense is
that he should leap for joy
as men do when they are
elevated at good news
or possess what is exceeding grateful to them
was it
certain to him he should die quickly; and so the Targum interprets it of
exultation. The word in the Arabic language
as a good judgeF17"Et
pede terram quatium cum exultatione"
Schultens. of it observes
is used
of the prancing and pawing of a horse
which makes the ground to shake; he
strikes with his foot
and which as done in the midst of a battle
mocking at
fear
at the rattling quiver
and glittering spear and shield
is most
beautifully described in Job 39:21 in like
manner
Job suggests
he should rejoice in the view of death
and mock at the
fear of it: or this may respect the happiness he should enjoy after death; for
in the Syriac and Arabic versions the words are rendered
"and I shall be
perfected in virtue"; and the word used has the signification of solidity
confirmation
stability
and perfection; and to this sense it is rendered by
someF18"Consolidescam"
Montanus; "corroboror"
Beza; so Aben Ezra.
though to different purposes; and after this suffering
state is over
the saints will be established
settled and perfected in all
virtue
in knowledge
holiness
and happiness: therefore
let him not spare; laying on his blows thicker and heavier
till he has beaten me to pieces
and utterly destroyed me
a petition the
reverse of David's
Psalm 39:13; his
desire is to have it done quickly and thoroughly
neither to spare him any
longer
nor abate in measure
but strike him immediately
and that effectually
so as to dispatch him at once:
for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One; that is
of
God
as someF20Vatablus
Tigurine version
Michaelis. supply it
whose name is holy
who is holy in his nature
and in all his works
and is
eminently glorious in the perfection of his holiness; for though there are holy
men and holy angels
there are none holy as the Lord: his "words" are
the doctrines delivered out by him concerning Christ the promised seed
and
salvation by him
which were spoken of by the mouth of all the prophets from
the beginning of the world
of which Job had knowledge
Job 19:25; see Genesis 3:15 Luke 1:70; and the
duties of religion enjoined men in those early times; which Sephorno refers to
the laws and commandments given to the sons of Noah; of which See Gill on Genesis 9:4; Here
everything is included
both with respect to doctrine and practice
then
revealed unto the sons of men
all which Job had a special regard unto: he
embraced
professed
and practised them; he did not hide them from himself
or
shut his eyes to the evidence of them
and smother within him the light he had;
nor did he conceal them from others
but communicated the knowledge of them
among his neighbours
as far as he could reach; he was not ashamed to profess
the true religion of God; he held fast
and did not deny the faith in the midst
of a dark and Heathenish country
and he lived up to his profession and
principles in his life and conversation: now having a testimony of a good
conscience within him
that he
through the grace of God
had acted a sincere
and upright part in the affair of religion
and having knowledge of a living
Redeemer
and faith in him
and in his justifying righteousness
he was not
afraid of death
come when it would
and in whatsoever shape: and whereas his
friends had suggested that he was a hypocrite and a wicked man
his conscience
bore witness to the contrary; and to let them know they were mistaken in him
he signifies
he was not afraid to die
yea
he desired it; he cared not how
soon he left the world
and appeared before God
the Judge of all
since the
truth of grace was in him
and the righteousness of Christ upon him
and he had
not
through the course of his profession of religion
departed wickedly from
his God
his truths and ordinances. SomeF21So Vatablus
Mercerus
Codurcus
Cocceius. read this in connection with the first clause
putting the
rest in a parenthesis: "this is yet my comfort (though or when I am burned
or parched with pain
and he spares not)
that I have not concealed the words
of the Holy One".
Job 6:11 11 “What strength do I have
that I should hope? And what is my end
that I should prolong my life?
YLT
11What [is] my power that I
should hope? And what mine end That I should prolong my life?
What is my strength
that I should hope?.... For a
perfect restoration of health
suggested by Eliphaz; since it was so sadly
weakened by the present affliction
which made death more desirable than life
lengthened out in so much weakness
pain
and sorrow; or "that I should
bear"F23כי איחל
οτι υπομενω
Sept.
"ut sustineam"
V. L.
such a weight and heavy load that lay upon
him
and crushed him
and to which his strength was not equal; or continue and
endureF24"Ut durem"
Junius & Tremellius. :
what is mine end
that I should prolong my life? what end can
be answered by living
or desiring a long life? His children were gone
and
none left to take care of and provide for; his substance was taken away from
him
so that he had not to support himself
nor to be useful to others
to the poor;
he had lost all power
authority
and influence
among men
and could be no
more serviceable by his counsel and advice
and by the administration of
justice and equity as a civil magistrate; and as to religious matters
he was
reckoned an hypocrite and a wicked man by his friends
and had lost his
character and interest as a good man; and so for him to live could answer no
valuable end
and
therefore
he desires to die; for what is here
and in Job 6:12 said
contain reasons of his above request.
Job 6:12 12 Is
my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh bronze?
YLT
12Is my strength the strength
of stones? Is my flesh brazen?
Is my strength the strength
of stones?.... Is it like such especially which are foundation and corner
stones that support a building? or like a stone pillar
that will bear a
prodigious weight? no
it is not:
or is my flesh of brass? is it made of brass? or
is it like to brass for hardness
or for sustaining any weight laid on it? it
is not; and
therefore
it cannot bear up under the ponderous load of
afflictions on it
but must sink and fail; it is but flesh and blood
and that
flesh like grass
weak and feeble; and
therefore
death is better than life
laden with such an insupportable burden.
Job 6:13 13 Is
my help not within me? And is success driven from me?
YLT
13Is not my help with me
And
substance driven from me?
Is my help in me?.... Or
"my defence"F25עזרתי בי "defensio mea penes me"
Junius et Tremellius
Piscator.
as some; is it not in my power to defend myself against the
calumnies and reproaches cast upon me? it is; and
though one have no help in
myself to bear my burdens
or extricate myself out of my difficulties
yet I
have the testimony of a good conscience within me
that supports me; and I have
the strength and force of reason and argument on my side
to defend me against
all objectors:
and is wisdom driven from me? either sound doctrine
the lawF26תושיה "lex"
Mercerus;
so Peritsol.
or
rather
the Gospel
the wisdom of God in a mystery
revealed
in the words of the Holy One before mentioned; or wisdom in the hidden part
the fear of God
which is wisdom
true grace in the heart
which
when once implanted
can never be driven out; or natural reason and understanding
of which he was
not bereaved; for
though his body was thus sorely afflicted
he retained his
reasoning and intellectual faculties. The words
in connection with the former
may be read
"what
if help is not with me
is wisdom also driven quite
from me?"F1So Cocceius and Schultens. does it follow
because I
am not able to help myself out of this afflicted and distressed condition in
which I am
that I am deprived of my reason? or be it that I am such a weak
impotent creature
and even distracted
as you take me to be
should I not then
rather be pitied than insulted? so someF2So De Dieu. connect the
words following.
Job 6:14 14 “To him who is afflicted
kindness should be shown by his friend
Even though he forsakes the fear
of the Almighty.
YLT
14To a despiser of his
friends [is] shame
And the fear of the Mighty he forsaketh.
To him that is afflicted pity should be showed from his
friend
.... An "afflicted" man is an object of pity
one that
is afflicted of God; either inwardly with a wounded spirit
with a sense of
God's displeasure
with divine desertions
with the arrows of the Almighty
sticking in him
the poison thereof drinking up his spirits; or outwardly with
diseases of body
with want of the necessaries of life
with loss of near
relations
as well as substance
which was Job's case; or afflicted by Satan
shot at
sifted and buffered by him
distressed by his temptations
suggestions
and solicitations; or afflicted by men
reproached and persecuted
for righteousness sake: in all such cases and circumstances "pity"
should be showed; which is an inward affection of the mind
a sympathy of
spirit
a sensible feeling of the afflictions of others
and which is expressed
by gestures
motions
and actions
as by visiting them in their affliction
speaking comfortably to them
and relieving their necessities according to
ability
and as the case requires: and this may be expected from a
"friend"
and what the law of friendship requires
whether it be in a
natural and civil sense
or in a religious and spiritual one; the union between
friends being so near and close
that they are
as it were
one soul
as David
and Jonathan were; and as the people of God
members of the same body are
so
that if one suffers
all the rest do
or should suffer and sympathize with it:
and though this duty is not always performed
at least as it should be
by
natural and spiritual friends
yet this grace is always shown by God
our best
of friends
who pities his children and by Christ
who is a friend that loves
at all times
a brother born for adversity
and that sticks closer than any
brother
and cannot but be touched with the feeling of the infirmities of his
friends. The words may be rendered
"to him that is melted"F3למס "liquefacto"
Vatablus
Mercerus
Beza; so
Ben Gersom. ; afflictions are like a furnace or refining pot for the melting of
metals
and are called the furnace of afflictions: and saints are the metal
which are put into it; and afflictions also are the fire
of fiery trials
which heat and melt
and by which means the dross of sin and corruption is
removed
and the graces of the spirit are tried and made the brighter; though
here it rather signifies the melting of the heart like wax or water through the
affliction
and denotes the anguish and distress
the trembling and fears
a
person is in through it
being overwhelmed and borne down by it
which was
Job's case: or "he that melts pity"
or "whose pity melts"
or "melts in pity to his friend
he forsakes"F4"Cujus
liquescit benignitas"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
"qui
misericordia erga amicum contabescit"
Schultens.
&c. that is
he
that fails in pity
is destitute of compassion
and shuts up the bowels of it
to his friend in distress
has not the fear of God before his eyes; and this
sense makes Job himself to be the friend in affliction
and Eliphaz
and those
with him
the persons that are deficient in their mercy
pity
and compassion.
Some render the wordsF5Mercerus
Vatablus
so Ben Gersom. Some
interpret it as a charge that he forsakes both mercy and the fear of the Lord;
so R. Simeon Bar Tzemach
Sephorno
and Ben Melech.
"should reproach be
cast on him that is afflicted
as that he forsakes the fear of the
Almighty?" the word for pity is so used in Proverbs 14:34; and
the reproach on Job was
that he had cast off the fear of God
Job 4:6. This
grieved him most of all
and added to his affliction
and of which he complains
as very cruel usage; and very cutting it was that he should be reckoned a man
destitute of the fear of God
and that because he was afflicted by him; though
rather the following words:
but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty
are a charge
upon his friend Eliphaz for not showing pity to him in his affliction
which
was tacitly forsaking the fear of God. Job here recriminates and retorts the charge
of want of the fear of God on Eliphaz himself; for to show mercy to an
afflicted friend is a religious act
a part of pure and undefiled religion
a
branch of the fear of God; and he that neglects it is so far wanting in it
and
acts contrary to his profession of God
of fear of him
and love to him; see James 1:26; or
"otherwise he forsakes"
&c.F6So Pagninus & Beza.
.
Job 6:15 15 My brothers have dealt deceitfully
like a brook
Like the streams of the brooks that pass away
YLT
15My brethren have deceived
as a brook
As a stream of brooks they pass away.
My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook
.... Meaning
his three friends
represented by Eliphaz
who were of the same sentiments with
him
and behaved towards Job as he did: these were his brethren not by birth by
blood nor by country
but by the profession of the same religion of the one
true and living God in opposition to the idolatrous people among whom they
dwelt; and this their relation to him is an aggravation of their perfidy and
treachery
unfaithfulness and deceit
by which is meant their balking and
disappointing him in his expectations; when they came to visit him as friends
he might reasonably expect they came to condole and sympathize with him
and
comfort him; but
instead of this they reproached him and grieved him
and were
miserable comforters of him; and this he illustrates by the simile of a
"brook"
which he enlarges upon in the following verses: these
friends and brethren of his he compares to a "brook"
not that was
fed by a spring which continues
but filled with falls of water and melting
snows from the hills
with which it is swelled
and looks like a large river for
a while
but when these fail it is soon gone; hereby representing his friends
in his state of prosperity
who looked big
and promised long and lasting
friendship
but proved
in time of adversity
unfaithful and deceitful; and so
it denotes the fickleness and inconstancy of their friendship:
and as the stream of brooks
they pass away: or
"pass by"F7יעברו
"praetereunt"
Mercerus
Schmidt; "transeunt"
Piscator
Cocceius
Michaelis.
as a stream of water
fed by many brooks
or flows of
water like unto many brooks
which run with great rapidity and force
and are
quickly gone and seen no more; thus his friends
as such
passed by him
and
were of no use to him any more than the priest and Levite were to the man that
fell among thieves
Luke 10:30.
Job 6:16 16 Which are dark because of
the ice
And into which the snow vanishes.
YLT
16That are black because of
ice
By them doth snow hide itself.
Which are blackish by reason of the ice
.... When
frozen over
they look of a blackish colour
and is what is called a black
frost; and these either describe Job and his domestics
as someF8So
Michaelis. think whom Eliphaz and his two friends compared to the above streams
water passed away from
or passed by and neglected
and showed no friendship
to; who were in black
mournful and rueful circumstances
through the severe
hand of God upon them. The word is rendered
"those which mourn"
Job 5:11; or rather
the friends of Job compared to foul and troubled waters frozen over which
cannot be so well discerned
or which were black through being frozen
and
which describes the inward frame of their minds the foulness of their spirits
the blackness of their hearts
though they outwardly appeared otherwise
as
follows:
and wherein the snow is hid; or "on
whom the snow" falling
and lying on heaps
"hides"F9עלימו יתעלם שלג
"super quibus accumulatur nix"
Beza
"tegit se
q. d. multa
nive teguntur"
Drusius; "the frost is hidden by the snow"
so
Sephorno; or rather "the black and frozen waters".
or covers; so
Job's friends
according to this account
were
though black within as a black
frost yet white without as snow; they appeared
in their looks and words at
first as candid
kind
and generous
but proved the reverse.
Job 6:17 17 When it is warm
they
cease to flow; When it is hot
they vanish from their place.
YLT
17By the time they are warm
they have been cut off
By its being hot they have been Extinguished from their
place.
What time they wax warm they vanish
.... The ice and the
snow
which
when the weather becomes warm
they melt away and disappear; and
in like manner
he suggests his friends ceased to be friends to him in a time
of adversity; the sun of affliction having looked upon him
they deserted him
at least did not administer comfort to him:
when it is hot they are consumed out of their place; when it is
hot weather
and the sun has great strength then the waters
which swelled
through the floods and fall of rain and snow
and which when frozen
looked
black and big as if they had great depth in them
were quickly dried up
and no
more to be seen in the place where they were; which still expresses the short
duration of friendship among men
which Job had a sorrowful experience of.
Job 6:18 18 The
paths of their way turn aside
They go nowhere and perish.
YLT
18Turn aside do the paths of
their way
They ascend into emptiness
and are lost.
The paths of their way are turned aside
.... That is
the waters
when melted by the heat of the sun
and the warmth of the weather
run
some one way
and some another in little streams and windings
till they
are quite lost and the tracks of them are no more to be seen; denoting that all
appearance of friendship was quite gone
and no traces of it to be found:
they go to nothing
and perish: some of them are lost in
little meanders and windings about
and others are exhaled by the heat of the
sun
and go into "Tohu"
as the word is
into empty air; so vain and
empty
and perishing
were all the comforts he hoped for from his friends;
though some understand this of the paths of travellers in the deserts being
covered in the sand
and not to be seen and found; of which see PlinyF26Nat.
Hist. l. 6. c. 29. .
Job 6:19 19 The caravans of Tema look
The travelers of Sheba hope for them.
YLT
19Passengers of Tema looked
expectingly
Travellers of Sheba hoped for them.
The troops of Tema looked
.... A city in Arabia
so
called from Tema a son of Ishmael
Genesis 25:15;
these troops or companies were travelling ones
either that travelled to Tema
or that went from thence to other places for merchandise
see Isaiah 21:13;
these
as they passed along in their caravans
as the Turks their successors
now do
looked at those places where in the wintertime they observed large
waters frozen over
and covered with snow
and expected to have been supplied
from thence in the summer season
for the extinguishing of their thirst:
the companies of Sheba waited for them: another
people in Arabia
which went in companies through the deserts
where being in
great want of water for their refreshment
waited patiently till they came to
those places
where they hoped to find water to relieve them
which they had
before marked in the wintertime.
Job 6:20 20 They are disappointed
because they were confident; They come there and are confused.
YLT
20They were ashamed that one
hath trusted
They have come unto it and are confounded.
And they were confounded because they had hoped
.... When they
came to the places where they hoped to find water
finding none were ashamed of
their vain hope
and reflected upon themselves for being so foolish as to raise
their expectations upon such a groundless surmise:
they came thither
and were ashamed; which is the same thing
expressed in different words; and aptly enough describes Job's disappointment
in not meeting with that relief and comfort he expected from his friends
to
whom he makes application of all this in the following words.
Job 6:21 21 For now you are nothing
You
see terror and are afraid.
YLT
21Surely now ye have become
the same! Ye see a downfall
and are afraid.
For now ye are nothing
.... Once they seemed to
be something to him; he thought them men wise
good
and religious
kind
bountiful
and tenderhearted; but now he found them otherwise
they were
nothing to him as friends or as comforters in his distress; the
"Cetib"
or Scripture
is
as we read
and is followed by many; but the
marginal reading is
"now ye are to it"F1כי עתה היי־תאם
לו "certe nunc fuistis illi"
Bolducius; so
Michaelis; "certe nunc estis similes illi"
Pagninus
Vatablus
Mercerus. ; that is
ye are like to it
the brook whose waters he had been
describing; so Jarchi interprets it; Mr. Broughton very agreeably takes in
both
"so now ye are become like that
even nothing"; as that
deceitful brook is no more
nor of any use to travellers fainting through
thirst; so ye are like that
of no use and advantage to me in my affliction:
ye see my casting down; from a state of
prosperity to a state of adversity; from a pinnacle of honour
from being the
greatest man in the east
a civil magistrate
and the head of a flourishing
family
to the lowest degree of disgrace and dishonour; from wealth and riches
to want and poverty; as well as saw the inward dejection of his mind
through
the poisoned arrows of the Almighty within him:
and ye are afraid; of the righteous judgments of God
taking
these calamities to be such
and fearing the same or the like should fall on
them
should they keep him company; or however should they patronize and defend
him; and afraid also of being too near him
lest his breath
and the smell of
him
should be infectious
and they should catch a distemper from him; or lest
he should be expensive and troublesome to them.
Job 6:22 22 Did I ever say
‘Bring something
to me’? Or
‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth’?
YLT
22Is it because I said
Give
to me? And
By your power bribe for me?
Did I say
bring unto me?.... Or
"give unto
me"F2הבו לי
"date mihi"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Drusius
Cocceius
Michaelis. ; did I invite you to come to me
and bring in your hands presents
for me
to support me under my necessitous circumstances?
or give a reward for me of your substance? did I ever
ask anything of you? if I had
it would have been but your duty to have given
freely to me in my deplorable circumstances; and it might have been expected
you would have given without asking
seeing my necessities so great: or did I
desire you to communicate out of the great wealth and abundant riches you are
possessed of to others on my behalf
to plead my cause among men
and to get a
favourable sentence upon me
that I might not be traduced as a wicked man by
censorious tongues? had I ever been troublesome to you in any respect
you
might have been provoked to use me ill; but since nothing of this kind has ever
been requested of you
you might have forborne ill language and hard words;
which are often given to beggars; for when a man is fallen to decay
and
becomes troublesome by his importunity
twenty things are raked up by his
friends against his character; as that he has been lazy and indolent
or lavish
and extravagant
&c. to save their money
and excuse them from acts of
charity; but this was not the case here.
Job 6:23 23 Or
‘Deliver me from the
enemy’s hand’? Or
‘Redeem me from the hand of oppressors’?
YLT
23And
Deliver me from the
hand of an adversary? And
From the hand of terrible ones ransom me?
Or
deliver me from the enemies' hand?.... Or
"out of the hand of straitness"F3מיד
צר "e manu tribulatoris
vel
tribulationis"
Vatablus. ; out of tribulation and difficulties with which
he was pressed on every side:
or redeem me from the hand of the mighty? fetch back
his cattle out of the hands of the Sabeans and Chaldeans
either by force of
arms
as Abraham brought back Lot
and all his goods
when taken and carried
away by the four king's
or by giving a ransom price for them. Job had asked no
such favour of them; he had not troubled them with any such suits
and
therefore they had no reason to use him in the manner they did
as he
apprehended; it would be soon enough to flout and fling at him when he applied
to them for any relief.
Job 6:24 24 “Teach me
and I will hold
my tongue; Cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
YLT
24Shew me
and I -- I keep
silent
And what I have erred
let me understand.
Teach me
and I will hold my tongue
.... Job having made his
defence
and which he thought a sufficient one to acquit him of the charge
against him; yet to show that he was not stubborn and flexible
but was open to
conviction
and ready to attend and hearken to what might be further said
desires to be taught and instructed in the way of his duty; suggesting that
upon being convinced of his mistakes
he should ingenuously acknowledge them:
good men are desirous of being taught both of God and men; they are not above
instruction
or think themselves wiser than their teachers; they are willing to
receive knowledge
not only from their superiors
but from their equals
and even
from those that are inferior to them
as Job from his friends
though they had
been unkind to him
and bore very hard upon him; and he promises that while
they were speaking he would be silent
and not noisy
and clamorous
nor
interrupt nor contradict them; but would patiently and attentively listen to
what they said
and seriously consider it
and weigh it well in his mind; and
should he be convinced thereby
would no longer continue his complaints unto
God
nor murmur at his providences; and would cease reflecting on them his
friends
and no more charge them with deceit
perfidy
and unkindness; and by
his silence would acknowledge his guilt
and not pertinaciously stand in an
evil matter
but lay his hand on his mouth; hold his tongue
as our English phrase
is
a GraecismF26 κρατων της
γλωσσης
Aelian. Var. Hist. l. 2. c. 2. ; that is
be silent
as
in Hebrew; and even take shame to himself
and in this way confess his
iniquity
and do so no more:
and cause me to understand wherein I have erred; not that he
allowed that he was in an error; for all that he says
both before and after
shows that he thought himself free from any; only
that whereas there was a
possibility that he might be in one
he should be glad to have it pointed out;
for he would not willingly and obstinately continue therein: error is common to
human nature; the best of men are liable to mistakes; and those are so frequent
and numerous
that many of them escape notice; "who can understand his
errors?" Psalm 19:12;
wherefore wise and good men will esteem it a favour to have their errors
pointed out to them
and their mistakes rectified; and it becomes men of
capacity and ability to take some pains to do this
since he that converts one
that has erred
whether in principle or practice
saves a soul from death
and
covers a multitude of sins; James 5:19; Job is
desirous
that if he had imbibed or uttered any error in principle
any thing
unbecoming the Divine Being
contrary to his perfections
or to the holy
religion which he professed
or was guilty of any in practice
in his conduct
and behaviour
especially under the present providence
that it might be
clearly made out unto him
and he should at once frankly and freely own it
retract and relinquish it.
Job 6:25 25 How forceful are right
words! But what does your arguing prove?
YLT
25How powerful have been
upright sayings
And what doth reproof from you reprove?
How forcible are right words!.... That are according
to right reason; such as may be called strong reasons
or bony arguments
as in
Isaiah 41:21; there
are strength and weight in such words
reasonings
and arguments; they bring
evidence and conviction with them
and are very powerful to persuade the mind
to an assent unto them
and have great influence to engage to a profession or
practice of what they are used for; such are more especially the words of God
the Scriptures of truth
the doctrines of the Gospel; these are right words
see Proverbs 8:6; they
are not contrary to right reason
although above it; and are agreeably to
sanctified reason
and received by it; they are according to the perfections of
God
even his righteousness and holiness
and according to the law of God
and
in no wise repugnant to it
which is the rule of righteousness; and they are
doctrines according to godliness
and are far from encouraging licentiousness;
and they are all strictly true
and must be right: and there is a force and
strength in those words; they come with weight
especially when they come in
demonstration of the Spirit and power of God; they are mighty
through God
for
the pulling down the strong holds of sin
Satan
and self
and for the bringing
of men to the obedience of Christ; to the quickening dead sinners
enlightening
dark minds
softening hard hearts; renewing
changing
and transforming men
into quite another temper and disposition of mind they formerly had; for the
comforting and relieving souls in distress
and saints under affliction; and
have so very wonderful an influence on the lives and conversations of those to
whom they come
not in word only
but in power and in the Holy Ghost
as to
teach them to deny all sin and ungodliness
and to live soberly
righteously
and godly: or
"how forcible are the words of an upright man!"F1So
Aquila apud Drusium. that is
sincere
impartial
and faithful; which Job
suggests his friends were not: some think Job has respect to his own words
and
render the clause
"what hardness"
or "harshness"
have
"right words!"F2מה נחרצו "quid duritiei habent verba rectitudinis"
Schmidt; so Luther. Such as he believed his own were
and in which there were
nothing hard and harsh
sharp and severe
or which might give just offence;
such as his cursing the day in which he was born
or charging his friends with
treachery and deceit: but rather he tacitly reflects upon the words and
arguments of his friends; intimating
that though there is force and strength
in right words
theirs were neither right nor forcible
but partial and unjust
and weak and impotent; which had no strength of reasoning in them
nor carried
any conviction with them
as follows:
but what doth your arguing reprove? their arguments they had
used with him had no strength in them; they were of no avail; they did not
reprove or convince of any evil he had been guilty of
or any mistake he had
made; they were weak
impertinent
and useless
and fell with no weight upon
him
nor wrought any conviction in him.
Job 6:26 26 Do you intend to rebuke my
words
And the speeches of a desperate one
which are as wind?
YLT
26For reproof -- do you
reckon words? And for wind -- sayings of the desperate.
Do ye imagine to reprove words
.... Or with words; with
bare words
without any force of reasoning and argument in them? put a parcel
of words together without any sense or meaning
or however without any cogency
in them
and think to run me down with them? or is your scheme and device only
and which you pursue
to catch at and lay hold on some words of mine uttered in
my distress
and make me an offender for a word
or for a few words
supposing
they have been rashly and passionately spoken? have ye no facts to charge me
with
before or since these calamities befell me? is the charge of hypocrisy
and want of the fear of God to be supported by producing some hasty
expressions
without pointing at one single action in my life and conversation?
and the speeches of one that is desperate
which are as
wind? that is
do ye imagine to reprove them? or
are; your thoughts
wholly and solely intent on them? are these only the strong reasons you have to
produce to fix the sin of hypocrisy upon me? for by him that is
"desperate" he means himself; not that he despaired of his
everlasting salvation; he was far from despair; he was a strong believer
and
determined that
though he was slain
he would trust in the Lord; he was well
assured he should be justified
both here and hereafter; and full well knew
that his Redeemer lived
and that though he died
he should rise again and be
happy in the vision of God for ever: but he despaired of a restoration to
outward happiness
which Eliphaz had suggested
should he behave well; but
alas! his condition was forlorn and miserable
and there was no hope with him
of being better; his children were dead
his substance in the hands of robbers
his health so extremely bad that he had no expectation of a recovery to his
former state; and therefore it was very unkind and ungenerous to lay hold upon
and aggravate the speeches of such an one
and improve them against him; and
especially as they were only "for refreshment"F3לרוח "ad respirium"
Schultens.
as some choose
to render the words
see Job 32:20; they
were uttered to give vent to his sorrow and grief
and not with any ill design
against God or men; or the sense of the whole is
that they imagined that their
words were right and fit to reprove with
and that there were force and
strength in them
and had a tendency to work conviction and bring to
confession; but as for the words of Job
they treated them "as wind";
as idle
vain
and empty
and useless and fruitless as the wind.
Job 6:27 27 Yes
you overwhelm the
fatherless
And you undermine your friend.
YLT
27Anger on the fatherless ye
cause to fall
And are strange to your friend.
Yea
ye overwhelm the fatherless
.... Meaning himself; who
was like a fatherless child
stripped of all his mercies
of his children
his
substance
and his health; and was in a most miserable
helpless
and forlorn
condition; and
moreover
deprived of the gracious presence and visible
protection of his heavenly Father
being given up for a while into the hands of
Satan; and now it was unkind and barbarous to overwhelm such a man
who was
overwhelmed with overmuch sorrow already: or
"ye cause to fall upon the
fatherless"; either their wrath and anger
as the Targum and many othersF4אף "iram"
Vatablus
Mercerus
Cocceius; so
Jarchi and Sephorno. instead of doing him justice; or a wall
or any such
thing
to crush him
as Aben Ezra; or a lot
as Simeon bar Tzemach; see Joel 3:3; or rather
a net
or a snare to entrap him in
seeking to entangle him in talk
so Mr.
Broughton
which agrees with what follows:
and ye dig a pit for your friend; contrive
mischief against him; sought to bring him to ruin; and which is aggravated by
his having been their old friend
with whom they lived in strict friendship
and had professed much unto
and still pretended to have respect for; the
allusion is to digging of pits for the catching of wild beasts: some render it
"ye feast upon your friend"F5תכרו
"epulamini"
Piscator; so Beza
Gussetius. ; so the word is used in 2 Kings 6:23; this
sense is taken notice of by Aben Ezra and Bar Tzemach; and then the meaning is
you rejoice at the misery of your friend; you mock him and that
and insult him
in his distress
with which the Septuagint version agrees; which was cruel
usage.
Job 6:28 28 Now therefore
be pleased
to look at me; For I would never lie to your face.
YLT
28And
now
please
look upon
me
Even to your face do I lie?
Now therefore be content
.... Or
"may it now please you"F6ועתה הואילו "sed nunc placeat vebis"
Schmidt. ; Job
addresses them in a respectful manner
and entreats them they would be so kind
as to look favourably on him
and entertain better thoughts of him; and give a
fresh and friendly hearing of his case
when he doubted not he should be
acquitted by them of the charge of iniquity
and that his cause would appear to
be a righteous one:
look upon me: upon my countenance; and see if you can
find any traces of fear and falsehood
of dishonesty and hypocrisy
of shame
and blushing; and observe if there is not all the appearance of an honest mind
of a good conscience within
that has nothing to fear from the strictest
examination; or look upon my body
covered all over with boils and ulcers
and
see if there is not occasion for those expressions of grief
and those heavy
complaints that I have made; or rather
look upon me with an eye of pity and
compassion
with affection
favour
and benevolence
and not bear so hard upon
me:
for it is evident unto you if I lie; or
it is
"before your faces"F7על פניכם "coram facie vestra"
Bolducius
Schultens;
Ben Melech interprets it
"by your life if I lie"
as being an oath.
; should I attempt to deceive you by telling you a parcel of lies
you would
soon discern the falsehood in my countenance; you would easily find it out in
my words
which would issue in my shame and confusion; I could not expect to go
undetected by men of such sagacity and penetration; but I am not afraid of the
most diligent scrutiny that can be made into my words and actions.
Job 6:29 29 Yield now
let there be no
injustice! Yes
concede
my righteousness still stands!
YLT
29Turn back
I pray you
let
it not be perverseness
Yea
turn back again -- my righteousness [is] in it.
Return
I pray you
.... From the
ill opinion you have of me
and from your hard censures
and entertain other
sentiments concerning me: or it may be
upon these words of Job his friends
might be rising up as usual to take their leave of him
and break off
conversation with him; and therefore he entreats they would return to their
seats
and resume the debate
and give a friendly hearing of his case:
let it not be iniquity; either let it not be
reckoned an iniquity to return and go on hearing his case; or he entreats that
they would take care not to sin in their anger and resentment against him
nor
go on to charge him with iniquity: or it may be rendered
"there is no
iniquity"F8אל תהי
עולה "non erit iniquitas"
Beza
Mercerus;
"nulla"
Schultens. ; that is
it should be found that there was no
such iniquity in him as he was charged with; not that he was free from all sin
which no man is
but from that which his friends judged he was guilty of
hypocrisy:
yea
return again; he most earnestly importunes them to return
and patiently hear him out:
my righteousness is in it; in the whole of this
affair before them
and which was the matter of controversy between them;
meaning
not his justifying righteousness before God
but the righteousness of
his cause before men; he doubted not but
when things were thoroughly searched
into
that his righteousness would be as clear as the light
and his judgment
as the noonday; that he should appear to be a righteous man
and his cause a
just one; and should stand acquitted and free from all charges and imputations.
Job 6:30 30 Is there injustice on my
tongue? Cannot my taste discern the unsavory?
YLT
30Is there in my tongue
perverseness? Discerneth not my palate desirable things?
Is there iniquity in my
tongue?.... Meaning in his words; either those which he uttered when he
cursed the day on which he was born
or in charging his friends with unkindness
and falsehood; otherwise the tongue is a world of iniquity
and the best of men
are apt to offend both God and men in word:
cannot my taste discern perverse things? which is to
be understood not of his natural taste
which very probably through his disease
might be greatly vitiated
and incapable of relishing his food as in time of
health
and of distinguishing good from bad; but of his intellectual taste
or
of his sense and reason
his rational and spiritual taste; he had his senses
exercised to discern good and evil; he could distinguish between right and
wrong that was said or done
either by himself or others; be had the use of his
rational powers and faculties
and therefore not to be treated as a mad or
distracted man
but as one capable of carrying on a conversation
of opening
his true case
and defending himself; see Job 12:11.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》