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Job Chapter
Eleven
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JOB 11
In
this chapter Zophar the Naamathite
Job's third friend
attacks him
and the
with great acrimony and severity
and with much indecency; he charges him not
only with loquacity
and vain babbling
but with lying
and with scoffing at
God
and good men
Job 11:1; which he
attempts to support by some things Job had said
misrepresented by him
Job 11:4; and
wishes that God would take him in hand
and convince him of the wisdom of the
divine proceedings with him
and of his lenity and mercy to him
Job 11:5; and then
discourses of the unsearchableness of God in his counsels
and conduct; of his
sovereignty
and of his power
and of the vanity and folly of men
Job 11:7; and as
his friends before him
having insinuated that Job was guilty of some heinous
sin
or sins
and especially of hypocrisy
advises him to repentance and
reformation
and then it would be well with him; and he should enjoy much
comfort
peace
and safety
even to old age
Job 11:13; and
concludes it should go ill with the wicked man and the hypocrite
such as he
suggests Job was
Job 11:20.
Job 11:1 Then
Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:
YLT
1And Zophar the Naamathite
answereth and saith: --
Then answered Zophar the Naamathite
.... The third of Job's
friends
that came to visit him; see Gill on Job 2:11; and who
perhaps might be the youngest
since his turn was to speak last; and he appears
to have less modesty and prudence
and more fire and heat in him; than his
other friends; though he might be the more irritated by observing
that their
arguments were baffled by Job
and had no manner of effect on him
to cause him
to recede from his first sentiments and conduct:
and said; as follows.
Job 11:2 2 “Should not the multitude
of words be answered? And should a man full of talk be vindicated?
YLT
2Is a multitude of words not
answered? And is a man of lips justified?
Should not the multitude of words be answered?.... Zophar
insinuates
that Job was a mere babbler
a talkative man
that had words
but
no matter; said a great deal
but there was nothing in what he said; that his
words were but wind
yea
in effect that he was a fool
who is commonly full of
words
and is known by the multitude of them; and whereas he might think to
bear down all before him in this way
and to discourage persons from giving him
an answer; this Zophar suggests should not be the case
nor would he be
deterred hereby from giving one
which he now undertook: some supply it
as Bar
Tzemach
"should not a man of a multitude of words"F19הרב דברים "an abundans
verbis"
Beza; "an multus verbis"
Mercerus
so Kimchi & Ben
Melech; and most Hebrew writers take רב for an
adjective.
&c. a verbose man
a dealer in many words
and nothing else
should not he be "answered?" if he uses nothing but words
and there
is no argument in them
they seem not to deserve an answer
unless it be to
show the emptiness of them
expose a man's folly
and pull down his pride and
vanity:
and should a man full of talk be justified? or "a
man of lips"F20איש שפתים "vir labiorum"
Montanus
Beza
Drusius
Vatablus
Mercerus
Bolducius
Cocceius
Schmidt
Michaelis.
an eloquent man
or one that affects to be so; a man of a fine speech
who artfully colours
things
and makes a show of wisdom and truth
when there are neither in what he
says; is such a man to be justified? he would seem to be in his own eyes at
least
if not in the eyes of others
if not answered; he would be thought to
have carried his point
to have had the better of the argument
and to have got
the victory by dint of words and power of oratory; for this is not to be
understood of justification before God; for as no man is heard and accepted by
him for his "much speaking"
as was the opinion of the Heathens
so
neither are any justified on account of their many words
any more than their
many works; since
in a multitude of words there are often not only much folly
and weakness
but vanities and sins
Proverbs 10:19;
there is indeed a sense in which a man is justified by his words
Matthew 12:37; when
he confesses Christ
and professes to be justified by his righteousness
and
believes in that
and pleads it as his justifying righteousness; he is
justified by that righteousness; which is contained in the confession and
profession of his faith; but this is not here meant.
Job 11:3 3 Should your empty talk
make men hold their peace? And when you mock
should no one rebuke you?
YLT
3Thy devices make men keep
silent
Thou scornest
and none is causing blushing!
Should thy lies make men hold their peace?.... By which
he means
either lies in common
untruths wilfully told
which are sins of a
scandalous nature
which good men will not dare to commit knowingly; and to
give a man
especially such a man
the lie
is very indecent; and to charge a
man falsely with it is very injurious: or else doctrinal ones
errors in judgment
falsehoods concerning God and things divine; which not only are not of the
truth
for no lie is of the truth
but are against it; and indeed where the
case is notorious in either sense
men should not be silent
or be as men deaf
and dumb
as the wordF21So Ben Melech. signifies
as if they did not
hear the lies told them
or were unconcerned about them
or connived at them:
David would not suffer a liar to be near him
nor dwell in his house
Psalm 101:7; a
common liar ought to be reproved and rejected; and doctrinal liars and lies
should be opposed and resisted; truth should be contended for
and nothing be
done against it
but everything for it: it is criminal to be silent at either
sort of lies; nor should the bold and blustering manner in which they are told
frighten men from a detection of them
which perhaps is what may be hinted at
hereF23בדיך "jactantias tuas"
Cocceius. ; some render the wordsF24"Tuane argumenta mortales
consternabunt?" Codurcus.
"should thine iniquity frighten
men?" they are not so strong and nervous as to appear unanswerable
and
deter men from undertaking a reply unto them:
and
when thou mockest
shall no man make thee ashamed? here Job is
represented as a mocker of God
which is inferred from Job 10:3; and at
his friends
and the arguments they used
and the advice they gave
which is
concluded from his words in Job 6:25; and as
one hardened
who was not
and could not be made ashamed of what he had said
against either
by anything that had been offered for his reproof and
conviction: to make a mock of God
or a jest of divine things
or scoff at good
men
is very bad; indeed it is the character of the worst of men; and such
should be made ashamed
if possible
by exposing their sin and folly; and if
not here
they will be covered with shame hereafter
when they shall appear
before God
the Judge of all
who will not be mocked
and shall see the saints
at the right hand of Christ
whom they have jeered and scoffed at: but this was
not Job's true character; he was no mocker of God nor of good men; in this he
was wronged and injured
and had nothing of this sort to be made ashamed of.
Job 11:4 4 For you have said
‘My
doctrine is pure
And I am clean in your eyes.’
YLT
4And thou sayest
`Pure [is]
my discourse
And clean I have been in Thine eyes.'
For thou hast said
.... What follows is produced to support the
charge
especially of lying
which seems to be founded on what he had said in Job 6:10
my doctrine is pure; free from error
unadulterated
unmixed
not blended with Heathenish principles and human
doctrines; but tending to purity of heart and life
as every word of God
and
doctrine that comes from him
is pure
yea
very pure
like silver purified
seven times; and such was Job's doctrine which he "received" from
God
"took"F25לקחי
"doctrina aut oratio mea et sententia mente accepta"
Michaelis; so
Cocceius; "id quid ab aliis acceptum"
Drusius. up and professed
taught and delivered to others
so far as was agreeable to the will of God
and
the revelation he had then made: and it appears that Job had very clear and
sublime notions of God
of his being and perfections
of his works of nature
providence
and grace; of Christ his living Redeemer
of redemption and
justification by him
and of the resurrection of the dead; and had purer and
better notions of divine things than his friends had
and spoke better things
of God than they did
God himself being witness
Job 42:7; some
interpret this of the purity of his life and conversation: he is further
charged with saying:
and I am clean in thine eyes: speaking to God
as
Jarchi observes; and indeed so he was
and every believer is
in an evangelic
sense; as to the new man
which is created in righteousness and true holiness
is without sin
and cannot commit it; and as washed from all sin in the blood
of Christ
and as clothed with his righteousness
in which the saints are
faultless before the throne
and are unblamable and irreprovable in the sight
of God: but Zophar's meaning is
that Job had asserted that he was entirely
free from sin in himself
was wholly without it
and did not commit any; and
had appealed to God
as knowing it to be true; and which he seems to have
grounded on what he had said
Job 10:7; through a
mistake of his sense; which was not that he was free from sin entirely
but
from any gross notorious sin
or from a wicked course of living
and
particularly from the sin of hypocrisy
his friends suggested he was guilty of;
otherwise he confesses himself a sinner
and prays for the pardon of his sins
and disclaims perfection in himself; see Job 7:20; and
indeed there is no creature in itself clean in the sight of God
either angels
or men; every man is naturally unclean; no good man is without sin
without the
being
indwelling
and commission of it; nor will any truly gracious man say he
is; he knows otherwise
and acknowledges it; he that says he is must be an
ignorant man
or a vain and pharisaical man; yea
must not say the truth: some
have suspected the first part of the words to be Job's
"and I am
clean": and the other Zophar's explaining them; that is
"in thine
eyes"F26Vid. Schultens in loc. ; in his own apprehension
as if
he had a high and conceited opinion of himself.
Job 11:5 5 But oh
that God would
speak
And open His lips against you
YLT
5And yet
O that God had
spoken! And doth open His lips with thee.
But O that God would speak
.... To Job
and stop his
mouth
so full of words; convict him of his lies
reprove him for his mocks and
scoffs
and make him ashamed of them; refute his false doctrine and oppose it
and show him his folly and vanity in imagining it to be pure
and in conceit
thinking himself to be free from sin
and even in the sight of God himself:
Zophar seems by this wish to suggest
that what his friends had as yet spoke
had had no effect upon Job
and signified nothing; and that he despaired of
bringing him to any true sense of himself and his case
but that God only could
do it; and therefore he entreats he would take him in hand
and speak unto him;
as he had by his providences in afflicting him
so by his spirit in teaching
and instructing him; and he adds:
and open his lips against thee; or rather
"with
thee"
or "to thee"F1עמך μετα σου
Sept.
"tecum"
Pagninus
Montanus
Beza
Vatablus
Mercerus
Cocceius
Schmidt
Michaelis; "tibi"
V. L. "ad te"
Piscator. ;
converse with thee; speak out his mind freely; disclose the secrets of his
wisdom
as in Job 11:6
and that
for thy good; fully convince thee of thy sins
mistakes
and follies: for
notwithstanding all the heat and warmth of Zophar's spirit
yet
being a good
man
as it cannot be thought he should wilfully and knowingly slander Job
and
put a false gloss on his words
so neither could he desire any hurt or injury
to be done him
or that God would deal with him as an enemy; only convince and
reprove him for his sin
and justify himself and his own conduct
which he
imagined Job had arraigned.
Job 11:6 6 That He would show you the
secrets of wisdom! For they would double your prudence. Know
therefore that God exacts from you Less than your iniquity deserves.
YLT
6And declare to thee secrets
of wisdom
For counsel hath foldings. And know thou that God forgetteth for
thee
[Some] of thine iniquity.
And that he would show thee the secrets of wisdom
.... Either of
sound doctrine
in opposition to his own doctrine he had such a vain opinion
of; and then he would see
as he thought
that it was not so pure as he
imagined it to be: the Gospel
and the doctrines of it
are the wisdom of God
the produce of it
and in which it is displayed; as in the doctrines of
election to grace and glory
of redemption by Christ
of justification by his
righteousness
and pardon by his blood; by which all the divine perfections are
glorified
the justice and holiness of God
as well as his grace and mercy: and
there are "secrets" or mysteries in this wisdom of God
1 Corinthians 2:6;
of mysterious doctrines
which
though revealed
yet the "modus"
or
manner of them
is not to be searched out and understood; such is the trinity
of Persons in the Godhead
the union of the two natures in Christ
the saint's
union to God and communion with him
the resurrection of the dead
&c. and
these and such like them are only shown by the Lord; men cannot come at them of
themselves
by their own natural reason and understanding; it is God that
reveals them
in his word
and by his spirit
and gives his people an
increasing knowledge of them
1 Corinthians 2:9;
or it may be rather the secrets of the wisdom of Divine Providence
in the
government of the world
and the ordering of all things in it according to the
counsel of God
may be here meant; there is a great display of the wisdom of
God in Providence
and there are secrets in it undiscoverable by creatures; his
ways are past finding out
they are in the deep waters
and his footsteps are
not known
nor to be traced; though sometimes he makes his judgments manifest
and his mind in them; and what he does now
which men know not
he shows them
hereafter; especially his own people
and particularly when in the sanctuary of
the Lord
and in the way of their duty
when everything appears right and
beautiful they before were ready to complain of; see Romans 11:33; and
then it is seen:
that they are double to that which is! or to
"wisdom"F2לתושיה
"sapientiae"
de Dieu
Schmidt
Michaelis; so the Targum. ; as the
word is rendered in Proverbs 2:7; that
is
to human wisdom; and then the sense is
that the secrets of divine wisdom
displayed
whether in the doctrines of grace or in the methods of Providence
being shown and made manifest
would appear to be "double"; that is
vastly
yea
infinitely to exceed the wisdom of men; and that these
which men
are apt to arraign as weak and wrong
are the effects of the highest wisdom
or
they then appear so "to a man of wisdom"F3"Viro
sapientiae"
Drusius. ; so the supply may be made
as is in Micah 6:9; or else
the sense is
were Job let in to the secret wisdom of God more
and into the
purity and holiness of his law
which some understand by "that which
is"
or "wisdom"
and render it "according to the law"F4"Secundum
legem vel ordinationem"
Vatablus. and see what that requires
and how
much short he comes of it
and what and how many were his transgressions and
violations of it; it then would be plain to him
that the punishment that God
in wisdom
and according to his righteous law
might inflict upon him
would be
double; or
greatly
yea
infinitely exceed those afflictions he was now
exercised with
and therefore he had no reason to complain; to which agrees
what follows:
know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine
iniquities deserve; or punishes
afflicts
or chastises
less
than the deserts of sin; see Ezra 9:13; some
render it
"God exacteth of thee something of thine iniquity";
so Junius and Tremellius; according to which version the sense is
that sins
are debts
and these many; and that payment of part of the debt of punishment
for them is only required
which is not truth; for
though there is a debt of
punishment due to justice for sin
yet it is not part of it only that is
required of the sinner
but the whole
if any; for indeed no part of it is
exacted of God's people
since the whole has been exacted of Christ
and he has
answered and paid the whole debt
and blotted out the handwriting against them;
wherefore the word used has rather the signification of forgetfulness
and may
be rendered
either "God hath caused"
or "suffered thee to
forget part of thine iniquity"F5כי
ישה לך אלוה
מעונך "oblivisci facit te Deus
aliquid de
iniquitate tua"
some in Mercer so Gersom & Ben Melech
&
Gussetius
p. 510. ; or thou couldest never say that thou wert clean in his
eye
and free from sin; or
"God himself has forgot part of thine
iniquity"F6"Quod obliviscatur tibi Deus ab iniquitate
tua"
Piscator; Vid. Gusset ib. ; in that he has afflicted thee so mildly
and with so much lenity; or
"hath forgotten thee for thine iniquity"F7"Quod
oblitus tui est propter iniquitatem tuam"
Pagninus
Mercerus. ; forsook
him
hid his face from him
laid his hand on him
and sorely chastised him
so
that he seemed to be forgotten by him
or he to forget to be gracious to him;
all which were owing to his sins
these were the causes of it; or
"will condemn
thee for thine iniquity"F8So some in Ben Melech. .
Job 11:7 7 “Can you search out the
deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?
YLT
7By searching dost thou find
out God? Unto perfection find out the Mighty One?
Canst thou by searching find out God?.... God is
not to be found out by human search; that there is a God may be found out by
inquiring into the book of nature
by considering the creatures that are made
who all proclaim some first cause or maker of them
who is God; but then it
cannot be found out what God is
his nature
being
and perfections: an Heathen
philosopherF9Simonides
apud Cicero
de Nat. Deor. l. 1.
being
asked by a certain king what God was
required a day to give in his answer;
when that was up he desired a second
and still went on asking more; and being
demanded the reason of his dilatoriness
replied
the more he had considered
the question
the more obscure it was to him: the world by wisdom
or the wiser
part of the Heathen world
knew not God; though they knew there was one
they
knew not who and what he was; and therefore in some places altars were erected
to the unknown God
Acts 17:23
and
though some of the perfections of God may be investigated from the works of
nature
such as the power
wisdom
and goodness of God
Romans 1:19; yet
not all his perfections
such as his grace
mercy
&c. proclaimed and
displayed in Christ; nor indeed his counsels
purposes
and decrees
which lie
in his eternal mind
are the thoughts of his heart
the deep things of God
which none but the Spirit of God searches
knows
and reveals; and since
Zophar's request was
that God should show to Job "the secrets of
wisdom"
these may be meant here
either evangelical wisdom
the wisdom of
God in a mystery hid in his heart from everlasting
and the mysterious truths
and doctrines or it
things which eye has not seen
nor ear heard
nor has it
entered into the heart of man to conceive of; these are not to be found out by
human search
but are by the revelation of God; or else the reasons of the
proceedings of God in Providence
which are out of the reach of men
dark
intricate
mysterious
unsearchable
and past finding out:
canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? to the
uttermost of his nature and perfections; all his attributes
the last of them
and the extremity thereof: that God is perfect and entire
wanting nothing
and
is possessed of all perfections
may be found out
or otherwise he would not be
God; but his essence and attributes
being infinite
can never be traced and
comprehended by finite minds; there are some perfections of God we have no idea
of
but are lost in confusion and amazement as soon as we think of them and
reason about them
as his eternity and immensity particularly; for
when we
have rolled over in our minds millions and millions of ages
we are as far off
from eternity as when we began; and when we have pervaded all worlds
and every
space and place
we have got no further into immensity than at first; we are
confounded when we think of a Being without beginning and without bounds
unoriginated
and unlimited; yea
even it is but a small part of the works of
God in creation that is known by men
or of God in and by them; nay
by divine
revelation
which gives the clearest and most enlarged view of him
whereby he
has proclaimed his name
a God gracious and merciful
&c. yet it is only
his back parts that are shown
not his face; it is only through a glass
darkly
we now see; indeed
in the other world
we shall see him face to face
and as he is
yet then never comprehend his essence: and
after all
it is only
in Christ that God is to be found
to saving purposes; in him is the most
glorious display of him; being the brightness of his glory
and the express
image of his person; and not only all his perfections are in him
as a divine
Person
but they are glorified by him as Mediator; every step in salvation is
taken in Christ
and every blessing of grace comes through him; what of the
divine Presence and communion with God is enjoyed is by him; and he will be the
medium of the enjoyment of God
and of all the glory and happiness of the
saints in the world to come.
Job 11:8 8 They are
higher than heaven— what can you do? Deeper than Sheol— what can you know?
YLT
8Heights of the heavens! --
what dost thou? Deeper than Sheol! -- what knowest thou?
It is as high as
heaven; what canst thou do?.... Or
"is higher than the
heavens"F9גבהי שמים
"altior est altissimis coelis"
Junius & Tremellius. ; either the
wisdom of God and the secrets of it; the perfection of his wisdom
by which he
has made the heavens; or evangelical wisdom
hid in his heart
and which the
highest of creatures
the angels
come at the knowledge of only by revelation;
and therefore
what can man do to find it out
unless God reveals it? or wisdom
displayed in dark providences
which can never be accounted for until the
judgments of God are made manifest: or else
"he that is God"
as the Vulgate Latin version
is "higher than the heavens"; the
heaven is his throne on which he sits
and therefore he must be higher than
that; the heavens
and heaven of heavens
cannot contain him; he fills up the
infinite space beyond them; how is it possible therefore to find him out
to
comprehend him?
deeper than hell; what canst thou know? meaning
neither the grave nor the place of the damned
for both which "Sheol"
is sometimes used
but the centre or lowest part of the earth; there is a depth
in God
in his essence
in his thoughts
in his wisdom
displayed in nature
providence
and grace
that is unfathomable; we can know nothing of it but what
he is pleased to make known; see Psalm 92:5; the
Targum of the verse is
"in the height of heaven
what canst thou do? in
the law
which is deeper than hell
what canst thou know?'
Job 11:9 9 Their measure is
longer than the earth And broader than the sea.
YLT
9Longer than earth [is] its
measure
And broader than the sea.
The measure thereof is longer than the earth
and broader
than the sea. Length is generally ascribed to the earth
and width to the sea;
the ends of the earth are used for a great distance
and the sea is called the
great and wide sea; seeF11"Quid oceano longius inveriri
potest"
Cicero. Orat. 36. Psalm 72:1; but God
and his perfections
particularly his wisdom and understanding
are infinite
Psalm 147:5; and
will admit of no dimensions; as his love
so his wisdom
has an height which
cannot be reached
a depth that cannot be fathomed
and a length and breadth
immeasurable; see Ephesians 3:18;
from hence it appears that God is omniscient
omnipresent
and
incomprehensible; and since he is to be found in Christ
and in him only
it is
in vain for us to seek for him elsewhere: next the sovereignty of God is
discoursed of.
Job 11:10 10 “If He passes by
imprisons
and gathers to judgment
Then who can hinder Him?
YLT
10If He pass on
and shut up
and assemble
Who then dost reverse it?
If he cut off
.... The horns
power
dominion
and
authority of the wicked; or the spirits of princes
or kingdoms and states
whole nations
as he did the seven nations of Canaan; or families
as Job's
his servants
and his children; or particular persons
by diseases
or by
judgments
by famine
sword
and pestilence; there is none can hinder him; he
will do what he pleases: or
as others render it
"if he changes"F12אם יחלוף "si permutet
proprie"
Mercerus
Heb. "si mutabit locum"
Piscator. ; if he
makes revolutions in governments
changes in families
and in the estates of
men
as in Job's; or changes men's countenances by death
and sends them out of
time into eternity
there is no opposing him: or
"if he passes
through"F13"Si transmeabit"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator; "si pervadat"
Cocceius; "si transiverit"
Michaelis.
as the word is sometimes used; see Isaiah 8:8; if he
comes out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth
and goes through
a kingdom and nation
making or suffering to be made devastations everywhere
as he went through the land of Egypt and smote all the firstborn in it
there
is no stopping him: or
"if he passes on"F14"Si
abierit"
Schmidt.
or "from" hence
or goes away; see 1 Samuel 11:3; or
departs from a people or particular person
even his own people
and hides his
face from them
and is long
at least as they think
before he returns; who can
behold him
or find him out
or cause him to show himself? see Job 23:3; or
"if he subverts"F15"Si subverterit omnia"
V. L.
and overturns things
or should reduce the world and all things in it to a
chaos
as at the deluge
or as he overturned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
or should set on fire the whole course of nature
and burn up the whole world
and all in it
and reduce it to ashes
as he will; there is none can stay his
hand
and obstruct him in his designs and measures:
and shut up; should he do so; shut up in a civil sense
either in a prison
as Gersom
or in the hands of an enemy
by giving them unto them
to be
enclosed and straitened by them
there is none can deliver; Psalm 31:8; or to
shut them up as he did Noah in the ark
by protecting them by his power and
providence
and so appear to be on their side
and for them; who then can be
against them? or what does it signify if any are
if the Lord shuts them up and
keeps them close? or in a spiritual sense
if he concludes men in sin
and
shuts them up in unbelief
and under the law; who but himself can set them
free? or
if good men are shut up in their frames
and straitened in their
souls
that they cannot come forth in the lively exercise of grace
and free
discharge of duty; there is no opening for them till he pleases
Psalm 88:8
or gather together
then who can hinder him? either
gathers them into one place
in a civil sense; or in a gracious manner
with
great mercies and everlasting kindness to himself
to have communion with him;
to his son
to participate of the blessings of his grace
and to his church and
people
to enjoy all spiritual privileges with them; or
gathers men at and by
death; see Job 34:14; and as
he will gather them at the last day
even all nations
before him
the tares
and burn them and his wheat
and put them into his garner; and when he does any
and every of these things
who can hinder him or turn him back from doing what
he pleases: Job says much the same in Job 9:12; the
Targum is
"if
he passes through and shuts up the heavens with clouds
and gathers armies
who
can turn him back?"
Job 11:11 11 For He knows deceitful
men; He sees wickedness also. Will He not then consider it?
YLT
11For he hath known men of
vanity
And He seeth iniquity
And one doth not consider [it]!
For he knoweth vain men
.... Or
"men of
vanity"F16מתי שוא
"homines vanitatis"
Vatablus
Drusius
Bolducius
Mercerus
Schmidt
Michaelis.
as all men are; men of low degree are vanity
and men of high
degree a lie
and they are both lighter than vanity
Psalm 62:9; and the
Lord knows them
and knows them to be so; he knows all men
and all that is in
them; he knows the vanity of their minds
and the vain thoughts that are in
them; all their vain and idle words
and their vain lives and conversations;
and therefore it is no wonder he does the above things at his pleasure:
he seeth wickedness also; the wickedness of their
hearts and lives
their secret and open wickedness
their wicked thoughts
words
and actions; or
"men of wickedness"; even wicked men; they
are all seen by him; nothing is or can be hid from him; he is God omniscient
the searcher of the hearts and trier of the reins of the children of men:
will he not then consider it? so as to punish or
correct for it? he will: or
"he does not consider"F17ולא יתבונך "et non
cousiderat"
Cocceius; "et non advertit"
Schmidt. ; he seems as
if he did not; as if he took no notice of wicked men
and of their wickedness
because he does not immediately punish or correct for it; or
he has no need to
take any time to consider thereof
he sees and knows at once what it is
and
what men are: Gersom reads this clause in connection with the former; "he
sees the men of wickedness"
and him who does "not
consider" the ways of the Lord; or
the man does not consider that God
sees him; so Ben Melech.
Job 11:12 12 For an empty-headed man
will be wise
When a wild donkey’s colt is born a man.
YLT
12And empty man is bold
And
the colt of a wild ass man is born.
For vain man would be wise
.... Or
"hollow"F18נבוב
"concavus"
Montanus; "cavus"
Drusius; "vacuus"
Pagninus
Beza
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Michaelis.
empty man;
empty of all that is good
though full of all unrighteousness; without God
the
knowledge
love
and fear of him; without Christ
the knowledge of him
faith
in him
and love to him; destitute of the Spirit
and of his grace
having no
good thing in him: yet such a man "would be wise"; not desirous of
true wisdom
but would be thought to be wise; he in conceit thinks himself that
he is very wise
and he would fain have others think so of him; or is
or
"may"
or "will be wise"F19ילבב
"fiat vel fit cordatus"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator; so
Broughton
Beza. ; may be made wise by the chastisements of God through
afflictions
being sanctified to him by the grace of God; though he is a vain
man
and also is what is after said of him; afflicting dispensations are
sometimes teaching ones
and in the school of afflictions many useful lessons
are learnt
whereby men become wiser; see Psalm 94:12; though
some understand the word in a very different sense
and interpret it bold
audacious
proud
and haughty; man takes heartF20"In superbiam
erigitur"
V. L. "audaciam sumit"
Schmidt.
and lifts up
himself against God
stretches his hand
and hardens his heart against him:
though man be born like a wild ass's colt; foolish and
stupid
without understanding of divine and spiritual things; given to lust and
wantonness
to serve divers lusts and pleasures; not subject to the yoke of the
law of God
stubborn
refractory
and untameable
but by the grace of God; the
ass
and especially the wild ass
and the colt of one
being a very stupid
creature
and a very lustful and wanton one
chooses to be free
will not bear
the yoke
but ranges about in desert places; see Job 39:5; some
render the words
"and a wild ass's colt is"
or "may be born a
man"F21"Pullus onager homo nascitur"
Cocceius
Schmidt; "nascatur"
Schultens. ; that is
one that is by his first
birth
and by his life and conversation
like a wild ass's colt
is or may be
born again
and be made a new man
as Jarchi also interprets it
and so become
a wise
knowing
and good man
which is a great truth; but whether the truth in
this text
is not so clear: the Targum seems to incline this way;"a
refractory
youth that grows wise shall become a great man.'
Job 11:13 13 “If you would prepare your
heart
And stretch out your hands toward Him;
YLT
13If thou -- thou hast
prepared thy heart
And hast spread out unto Him thy hands
If thou prepare thine heart
and stretch out thine hands towards
him. In this and the following verses Zophar proceeds to give some
advice to Job; which
if taken
would issue in his future happiness
but
otherwise it would be ill with him; he advises him to pray to God with an heart
prepared for such service; so some render the last clause in the imperative
"stretch out thine handsF23"Expande ad eum manus
tuas"
De Dieu. towards him"; that is
towards God; for
though not
expressed
is implied
whose immensity
sovereignty
and omniscience
Zophar
had been discoursing of; and
though stretching out the hands is sometimes a
gesture of persons in distress and mournful circumstances
thereby signifying
their grief and sorrow
and of others in great danger
in order to lay up
anything for safety; and of conquered persons resigning themselves up into the
hands of the conqueror; and of such who are desirous of being in friendship
alliance
and association with others; yet it is also sometimes used as for the
whole of religious worship
Psalm 44:20; so
particularly for prayer
Psalm 88:9; and
this was what all Job's friends advised him to
to humble himself before God
to pray for the forgiveness of his sins
and for the removal of his afflictions
and deliverance from them; see Job 5:8; in order
to which it is proper the "heart should be prepared"; as it is
requisite it should be to every good work by the grace of God so to this: and
then may it be said to be prepared for such service
when the spirit of God is
given as a spirit of grace and supplication
whereby the heart is impressed
with a sense of its wants
and so knows what to pray for; and arguments and fit
words are put into the mind and mouth
and it knows how to pray as it should;
and is enabled to approach the throne of grace with sincerity
fervency
and in
the exercise of faith
being sprinkled from an evil conscience by the blood of
Jesus
and resigned to the divine will
in all its petitions it is directed to
make: now this is the work of God
to prepare the heart; the preparation of the
heart
as well as the answer of the tongue
is from the Lord; he is prayed to
for it
and it is affirmed he will do it
Proverbs 16:1; but
it is here represented as if it was man's act
which is said not to suggest any
power in man to do it of himself; at least this is not the evangelic sense of
such phrases; for Zophar might be of a more legal spirit
and not so thoroughly
acquainted with the evangelic style; but this might be said
to show the
necessity of such a preparation
and to stir up to a concern for it
and to
expect and look for it from and by the grace of God.
Job 11:14 14 If iniquity were in
your hand
and you put it far away
And would not let wickedness dwell
in your tents;
YLT
14If iniquity [is] in thy
hand
put it far off
And let not perverseness dwell in thy tents.
If iniquity be in thine hand
.... For
as the heart
must be prepared for the stretching out of the hand in prayer to God
so it is
not any hand that is to be stretched out or lifted up unto God; not hands full
of blood
or defiled with sin
but holy hands; see Isaiah 1:15
1 Timothy 2:8; it
is not said
if iniquity be in thine heart
or on thy conscience
put it far away; for sin cannot be put away out of the
heart
it will have a place there as long as we live; though it should not be
regarded
cherished
and nourished there; if so
God will not hear prayer
Psalm 66:18; and
nothing can put away or remove afar off guilt from the conscience but the blood
of Jesus; which
being sprinkled
purifies the heart and purges the conscience
from dead works; but it is said
if it is in thine hand
which is the
instrument of action
and may signify the commission of sin
and a series and
course of sinning
which Job's friends suspected he was privately guilty of;
and therefore advise him to leave off such a sinful course
and abstain from
all appearance of evil
and live a holy and godly conversation:
and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles; in any room
or apartment of his house; some restrain this
and iniquity in the former clause
to ill gotten goods
obtained by rapine and oppression
which he is advised to
restore to those that had been injured by him; but there is no need to limit it
to any sin: besides
wickedness may be put for wicked men
and the sense be
that
as he should not indulge to any iniquity himself
so neither should he
suffer wicked men to dwell in his house
but make a general reformation in
himself and in his family.
Job 11:15 15 Then surely you could lift
up your face without spot; Yes
you could be steadfast
and not fear;
YLT
15For then thou liftest up
thy face from blemish
And thou hast been firm
and fearest not.
For then shall thou lift up thy face without spot
.... Either
before men
being in all good conscience
walking in all the commandments and
ordinances of the Lord
blameless
exercising a conscience void of offence
towards God and men; and so be able to say as Samuel did
"whose ass have
I taken?" &c. 1 Samuel 12:3; or
rather before God
as in Job 21:26; using an
holy boldness and an humble confidence with him at the throne of grace
in the
view of the blood
righteousness
and sacrifice of his living Redeemer he had
knowledge of
as every true believer may; who
though he is not without spot in
himself
yet
being washed in the blood of Christ
and clothed in his
righteousness
he is all fair
and without spot or wrinkle
or any such thing;
and may stand before the throne without fault
and appear before God
and in
his sight
unblamable and irreprovable:
yea
thou shalt be steadfast: firm and solid
rooted
and grounded in the love of God; having a firm persuasion of interest in it
and that nothing shall separate from it; being built on the foundation of
Christ
and established in the exercise of faith on him; the affections being
steady towards him
and fixedly set on divine and heavenly things; continuing
steadfast in the doctrines of grace
and not carried about with strange
doctrines
or every wind of doctrine; as well as constant and immovable in the
work of the Lord
always employed in his service
and doing his will
from
which nothing can move; not reproach
affliction
and persecution; and to be
thus steady and fixed is a great privilege:
and shalt not fear; evil tidings of evil times; of wars and
rumours of wars
famine
pestilence
earthquakes
and other judgments; of
changes and revolutions in kingdoms and states
or of what is coming upon the
world
according to promise and prophecy
the heart being fixed and well
established
trusting in the Lord; nor be afraid of evil men or devils
or any
enemies whatever
nor of death
the king of terrors
that being one of the
believer's blessings
and a friend of his; nor of hell and damnation
or the
second death
or wrath to come; from all which the saints are secure.
Job 11:16 16 Because you would forget your
misery
And remember it as waters that have passed away
YLT
16For thou dost forget
misery
As waters passed away thou rememberest.
Because thou shall forget thy misery
.... Former
afflictions and distresses; having an abundance of prosperity and happiness
and long continued; and so
in process of time
the miseries and distresses
before endured are forgotten; thus it was with Joseph in his advanced state
and therefore he called one of his sons Manasseh
Genesis 41:51; and
as it is with convinced and converted persons and believers in Christ
who
under first convictions and awakenings
are filled with sorrow and distress
on
a view of their miserable estate by nature; but when Christ is revealed to them
as their Saviour and Redeemer
and the love of God is shed abroad in their
hearts
and they have faith and hope in Jesus
and a comfortable view of heaven
and happiness
and eternal life
by him
they forget their spiritual poverty
and remember their misery no more
unless it be to magnify the riches of the
grace of God; see Proverbs 31:6;
and remember it as
waters that pass away; either the waters of the stream in a river
which
when gone
are seen and remembered no more or as waters occasioned by
floods in the winter season
which when over
and summer is come
are gone and
are no more discerned; and as they pass from the places where they were
so from
the minds of men: or it may be respect is had to the waters of Noah's flood
which
according to the divine promise and oath
should no more go over the
earth
Genesis 9:15; and
being past and gone
and no fear or danger of their returning
are forgotten.
Job 11:17 17 And your life would
be brighter than noonday. Though you were dark
you would be like the
morning.
YLT
17And above the noon doth age
rise
Thou fliest -- as the morning thou art.
And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday
.... That is
the remainder of his days; the latter part of his life
which was yet to come
should be no more attended with the darkness of adversity; but the light of prosperity
should shine upon him
and exceed the light of the sun at noonday: the phrase
is expressive of the wonderful change there should be in his state and
circumstances; see Isaiah 58:10;
thou shall shine forth; like the rising sun
or
as when it breaks forth out of a cloud; in a temporal sense
it may be
understood of his enjoying health
wealth
and friends
the candle of the Lord
shining upon him
as in days past; and in a spiritual sense
of his being
favoured with the light of God's countenance
the Sun of righteousness rising
upon him
with healing in his wings; the graces of the Spirit being brightened
and in lively exercise
and a large share of spiritual light and knowledge
being given: the word used has a contrary sense
and signifies darkness and
obscurity
and may be rendered "although thou art"
or hast been
or
mayest "be dark"F24תעפה
"tenebresces"
Montanus
Drusius
Mercerus; to the same sense
Tigurine version
Cocceius
Schmidt
Schultens; so Ben Melech. ; under dark and
afflictive providences
as he had been
and still was and in darkness of soul
under the hidings of God's face: yet
thou shall be as the morning; whose light breaks forth
suddenly
and makes everything gay and cheerful; especially a morning without
clouds
when it is bright and clear
and is increasing more and more: by this
metaphor is signified
that Job would at once emerge out of his darkness
afflictions
and trouble
and have abundance of joy and comfort
which would be
increasing in every sense; see Proverbs 4:18.
Job 11:18 18 And you would be secure
because there is hope; Yes
you would dig around you
and take your rest
in safety.
YLT
18And thou hast trusted
because their is hope
And searched -- in confidence thou liest down
And thou shall be secure
.... From coming into
like darkness
difficulties
and distress again
and from every evil and enemy;
nothing shall come nigh to disturb and hurt
nothing to be feared from any
quarter
all around: or "shalt be confident"F25ובטחת "et confides"
Mercerus
Piscator
Schmidt;
"et habebis fiduciam"
V. L. ; have a strong faith and full assurance
of it
in the love of God
in the living Redeemer
and in the promises which
respect the life that now is
and that which is to come:
because there is hope; of the mercy of God
of
salvation by Christ
and of eternal glory and happiness
as well as of a
continuance of outward prosperity; faith and hope mutually assist each other;
faith is the substance of things hoped for
and hope of better and future
things on a good foundation encourages faith and confidence:
yea
thou shalt dig about thee; to let in
stakes for the pitching and fixing of tents to dwell in
and for more
commodious pasturage; or for wells of water
for the supply both of the family
and the flocks; or rather
for ditches and trenches to secure from thieves and
robbers
or for drains to carry off floods of water:
and thou shalt take thy rest
in safety; lie down on the bed and sleep in the night season in peace and
quietness
having nothing to fear; being well entrenched
and secure from
depredations and inundations; and
more especially being hedged about and
protected by the power and providence of God; see Psalm 3:5; the
Targum is
"thou
shall prepare a grave
and lie down
and sleep secure.'
Job 11:19 19 You would also lie down
and no one would make you afraid; Yes
many would court your
favor.
YLT
19And thou hast rested
And
none is causing trembling
And many have entreated thy face;
Also thou shall lie down
and none shall make thee afraid
.... Either
lie down on his bed
as before
or by his flocks
and where they lie down
and
none should disturb him or them; not thieves and robbers
such as the Chaldeans
and Sabeans had been to him
nor lions
bears
and wolves;
yea
many shall make suit unto thee; make their
supplications
present their requests and petitions for relief under
necessitous circumstances
or for protection from the injuries and insults of
others; as the poor and needy
the widow and fatherless
had done to him in
times past
when in his prosperity
and when he was a friend unto them
and the
father of them; see Proverbs 19:6; or
"the great onesF26רבים "magnates"
Vatablus
Bolducius. shall make suit to thee"; to have his favour and
friendship
his counsel and advice
his company and conversation; he should be
applied unto and courted by men of all sorts
which would be no small honour to
him; see Psalm 45:12.
Job 11:20 20 But the eyes of the wicked
will fail
And they shall not escape
And their hope—loss of life!”
YLT
20And the eyes of the wicked
are consumed
And refuge hath perished from them
And their hope [is] a
breathing out of soul!
But the eyes of the wicked shall fail
.... Either
through grief and envy at Job's prosperity
and with looking for his fall into
troubles again; or rather through expectation of good things for themselves
and for deliverance out of trouble
but all in vain; see Lamentations 4:17;
and they shall not escape; afflictions and calamities
in this life
nor the righteous judgment
nor wrath to come: or
"refuge
shall perish from them"F1ומנוס אבד מנהם "et refugium
peribit ab eis"
Pagninus
Montanus
Bolducius; "perfugium"
Junius & Tremellius; "effugium"
Mercerus
Cocceius
Schmidt
Schultens.
; there will be none to betake themselves unto for safety; in vain will they
seek it from men; refuge will fail them
and no man care for them; and in vain
will they fly to rocks and mountains to fall upon them:
and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost; it is with
them as when a man is just expiring
and it is all over with him
and there is
no hope of his reviving; so the hope of wicked men is a dying hope
a lost
hope; it is not hope
but despair; their hope is gone
and they are lost and
undone; and if they retain their hope in life
when they come to die they have
none; though the righteous has hope in his death
their hope dies with them
if
not before them: or
"their hope is the giving up of the ghost"F2"Spes
vel expectatio eorum est
vel erit efflatio animae"
Mercerus
Cocceius. ;
all they have to hope and wish for is death
to relieve them from their present
troubles and agonies they are in; and sometimes are left amidst their guilt
despair
and horror
to destroy themselves: now Zophar by all this would
suggest
that should not Job take his advice
he would appear to be such a
wicked man
whose eyes would fail for his own help
and would not escape the
judgments of God here and hereafter
and would die without hope
in black
despair; or at least without any hope that would be of any avail.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》