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Job Chapter
Fourteen
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JOB 14
Job
having turned himself from his friends to God
continues his address to him in
this chapter; wherein he discourses of the frailty of man
the shortness of his
life
the troubles that are in it
the sinfulness of it
and its limited
duration
beyond which it cannot continue; all which he makes use of with God
that he would not therefore deal rigorously with him
but have pity on him
and
cease from severely afflicting him
till he came to the end of his days
which
could not be long
Job 14:1; he
observes of a tree
when it is cut down to the root
yea
when the root is
become old
and the stock dies
it will
by means of being watered
bud and
sprout again
and produce boughs and branches; but man
like the failing waters
of the sea
and the decayed and dried up flood
when he dies
rises not
till
the heavens be no more
Job 14:7; and then
he wishes to be hid in the grave till that time
and expresses hope and belief
of the resurrection of the dead
Job 14:13; and goes
on to complain of the strict notice God took of his sins
of his severe
dealings with men
destroying their hope in life
and removing them by death;
so that they see and know not the case and circumstances of their children they
leave behind
and while they live have continual pain and sorrow
Job 14:16.
Job 14:1 “Man
who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble.
YLT
1Man
born of woman! Of few
days
and full of trouble!
Man that is born of a woman
.... Man
Adam; not the
first man
so called
for he was made and created out of the dust of the earth
and not born of a woman; the woman was made out of him
and not he of her;
"earthly man"
as Mr. Broughton translates it
as every descendant of
Adam is; as is the earth
such are they that are earthy
everyone of which is
born of a woman; yet not as opposed unto and distinguished from the heavenly
One
or the Lord from heaven
for he also as man was made and born of a woman:
this
though a proper description of all mankind
there being none but what are
born of a woman
see Matthew 11:11; yet
Job chiefly designs himself; for having spoken of his wasting circumstances in
which he was
in Job 13:28
goes on
in this to treat of his frailty and mortality
and to improve it into an
argument with God for pity and mercy
as appears from Job 14:3; where he
speaks of himself in the first person
as here in the third
and all along: he
may have respect in this clause to Eve
the mother of all living
from whom all
descend
and of whom
in a sense
they may be said to be born; or else to his
immediate parent
he and every man being born of a woman; no man
but the
first
ever came into the world in any other way; there is one that came into
the world without an earthly father
and that is our Lord Jesus Christ
but
none without a mother; nor lie
who indeed was born of a virgin
and so in an
extraordinary and miraculous manner; and this is observed
not so much on account
of natural descent
or to denote that
as being reckoned from the mother
she
having so great a concern in the production of man
conceiving
bearing
and
bringing him forth; nor to remark the sinfulness of nature
though one born of
a sinful woman must needs be so too
since this is expressed clearly in Job 14:4; but the
weakness and frailty of man; as is the creature that generates
such is that
that is generated; creatures born of strong ones are strong
and of weak ones
weak; a creature born of a lion is a strong one; and man
born of a woman
must
be weak and feeble
and no wonder he is short lived
as follows:
is of few days; or
"short of days"F3קצר ימים "brevis dierum"
Montanus
Schmidt
Michaelis
Schultens; so Beza
Vatablus
Drusius
Mercerus. ; comes short of
the days he might have lived
if man had never sinned
and comes short of the
days the first man did live
and which those before the flood generally lived
who most of them lived upwards of nine hundred years; whereas now
and ever
since the times of Moses
and about which Job lived
the days of the years of
man are but threescore and ten; and such are shorter of days still
who live not
more than half this time
who are cut off in the bloom and prime of life
the
days of whose youth are shortened
who die in their youth
or in their
childhood and infancy; and such especially are short of days who are carried
from the womb to the grave
or die as soon as born; and those that live the
longest
their days are but few
when compared with the days of eternity
or
with those men shall live in another world
either good men in heaven
or
wicked men in hell
which will be for ever; and especially with respect to God
with whom one day is as a thousand years
and a thousand years as one day
and
therefore the days and age of man are as nothing before him. Job has here also
a respect to himself
whose days in his own apprehension were very few
and
just at an end
and therefore craves pity and compassion
see Job 10:20; and what
aggravates the shortness of man's days is
as it follows:
and full of trouble; man is born to it
being
born in sin; sin and trouble go together
where there is sin there is trouble;
sin entered into the world
and death by it
with the numerous train of
afflictions and miseries which issue in it: all men have their troubles
some of
one sort
and some of another; wicked men are not indeed in trouble as other
men
as good men are; they have not the same sort of trouble
yet are not
exempt from all; they are "full of commotion"F4שבע רגז "satur
commotione"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Cocceius
Schmidt
Michaelis. disquietude and uneasiness
as the word signifies; they are
restless
and ever in motion; they are like the troubled sea
that cannot rest
but is continually casting up mire and dirt; some are of such tempers and
dispositions
that they cannot sleep unless they do mischief; and though they
are many of them prosperous in their worldly circumstances
there are others
that are reduced to poverty and distress
are attended with diseases and
disorders
pains and sores
and blaspheme that God that has power over them;
and these are of all men the most miserable
having no interest in God
in his
loving kindness
nor any enjoyment of his presence
and so nothing to support
them in
and carry them through their troubles; and though they are generally
without any sense of sin or danger
have no remorse of conscience
and their
hearts are hardened; yet at times they are "full of trembling"F5"Saturus
tremore"
Montanus; "satur trepidi tumultus"
Schultens.
as
some render the words; are seized with a panic through the judgments of God
that are upon them
or are coming upon them
or when death is made the king of
terrors to them: and good men they have their troubles; besides those in common
with others
they have inward troubles arising from the vanity of their minds
and thoughts
the impurity of their hearts
and the power of indwelling sin in
them
and especially from the breaking forth of it in words and deeds; from the
weakness of their graces
from the hidings of God's face
and the temptations
of Satan: in short
Job's meaning is
that men in the ordinary course of things
meet with so much trouble
that there is no need of any extraordinary
afflictions to be laid on them
such as his were.
Job 14:2 2 He comes forth like a
flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue.
YLT
2As a flower he hath gone
forth
and is cut off
And he fleeth as a shadow and standeth not.
He cometh forth like a flower
and is cut down
.... As the
flower comes from the earth
so does man; as it comes out of the stalk
so man
out of his mother's womb; as the flower flourishes for a while
and looks gay
and beautiful
so man while in youth
in health and prosperity. Job
doubtless
has respect to his own case before his troubles came upon him
when he was
possessed of all that substance
which made him the greatest man of the east;
when his children were like olive plants around his table
and his servants at
his command
and he in perfect health of body: and as a flower flourishes for a
little while
and then withers; no sooner is it come to its full blow
but
presently decays; such is the goodliness of man
it fades away whenever God
blows a blast upon it; yea
he is easily and quickly cut down by death
like a
beautiful flower cut with the knife
or cropped by the hand
or trampled upon
by the foot
see Psalm 103:15;
he fleeth also as a shadow
and continueth not; either as the
shadow of the evening
which is lost when night comes on; or the shadow on a
dial plate
which is continually moving on; or
as the Jewish Rabbins say
as
the shadow of a bird flying
which stays not
whereas the shadow of a wall
or
of a tree
continues: a shadow is an empty thing
without substance
dark and
obscure
variable and uncertain
declining
fleeting
and passing away; and so
fitly resembles the life of a man
which is but a vapour
a bubble
yea
as
nothing with God; is full of darkness
of ignorance
and of adversity
very
fickle
changeable
and inconstant
and at most but of a short continuance.
Job 14:3 3 And do You open Your eyes
on such a one
And bring me[a] to
judgment with Yourself?
YLT
3Also -- on this Thou hast
opened Thine eyes
And dost bring me into judgment with Thee.
And dost thou open thine eyes on such an one
.... So frail
and feeble
so short lived and sorrowful
so soon and easily cut down and
destroyed: and by opening of his eyes is not meant his providential care of
men; whose eyes indeed are everywhere
run to and fro throughout the earth
and
are careful of and provident for all sorts of men
which is very wonderful
Psalm 8:4; nor the
displays of his special grace and favour towards his own peculiar people
on
whom his eyes of love
grace
and mercy
are opened
and are never withdrawn
from them
which is marvellous lovingkindness; but the exercise of rigorous
justice in punishing
afflicting
and chastising with so much severity
as Job
thought to be his own case; the eyes of God
as he thought
were set on him for
evil
and not for good; he looked wistly on him
and in a very frowning manner;
he sharpened his eye upon him
as the phrase is
Job 16:9; and as
some render the wordF6פקחת עיניך "super illo acuis oculos tuos"
Cocceius;
"super hune apertos vibras oculos"
Schultens. here
looked narrowly
into all his ways
and watched every motion and every step he took
and pursued
him with great eagerness
and used him with great strictness in a way of
justice
which he
a poor
weak creature
was not able to bear; which sense is
confirmed by what follows:
and bringeth me into judgment with thee? by this it
appears Job has a view to himself all along
and to the procedure of God against
him
which he took to be in strict justice
and that was what he was not able
to bear; he was not a match for God
being such a frail
weak
sinful
mortal
creature; nor was God a man as he was
that they should come together in
judgment
or be fit persons to contend together upon the foot of strict
justice; sinful man can never be just with God upon this bottom
or be able to
answer to one objection or charge of a thousand brought against him; and
therefore
as every sensible man will deprecate God's entering into judgment
with him
so Job here expostulates with God why he should bring him into
judgment with him; when
as he fled to his grace and mercy
he should rather
show that to him than in a rigorous manner deal with him.
Job 14:4 4 Who can bring a clean thing
out of an unclean? No one!
YLT
4Who giveth a clean thing
out of an unclean? not one.
Who can bring a clean thing out of an clean?.... Either
produce a clean person from an unclean one: it is not to be expected that one
perfectly free from sin
should be generated by
or brought out of
one that is
defiled with it; which is the case of all men; the first man
though made
upright
sinned
and by sinning defiled himself
and all human nature in him:
and so those that immediately descended from him were polluted likewise
and so
on in all generations
every man being conceived and shaped in iniquity; so
that it is not possible that man that is born of a woman
sinful and unclean
should be clean himself
or be free from sin; by which it is manifest
that the
sinfulness of human nature is unavoidable; it is natural and necessary
and
cannot be otherwise
such being the case and circumstances of immediate
parents
from whom men descend; and that this is the case of all men that come
into the world by ordinary and natural generation; there is none righteous or
pure from sin: no
not one; and things being so
Job thought it hard that he should be
singled out
and so severely chastised
when the sinfulness of nature was from
and by his birth
and was natural and unavoidable
and when there was not a
single person on earth free from it. There never was but one instance of one
clean being brought out of an unclean person
and that was our Lord Jesus
Christ of the Virgin Mary; which was not in the ordinary way of generation
but
by a supernatural and extraordinary production of his human nature
through the
power of the Holy Ghost
whereby it escaped the original contagion and
pollution of mankind: or else
in consequence of this
the sense is
who can bring
forth or produce a good work from an impure person? or how can it be expected
that a man that is defiled with sin should do a good work perfectly pure? for
there is not even a just and good man that doth good and sinneth not; and much
less is it to be looked for
that men in a mere state of nature
that are as
they come into the world
sinful and impure
should ever be able to perform
good works; it may as well be thought that grapes are to be gathered of thorns
or figs of thistles; men must be born again
created in Christ Jesus
have
faith in him
and the Spirit of God in them
before they can do that which is
truly good from right principles
and with right views; and man at most and
best must be an imperfect creature
and deficient in his duty
and cannot bear
to be strictly examined
and rigorously prosecuted: or the meaning is
"who can make"F7מי יתן "quis potest facere?" V. L.
"dabit"
i.e. "faciet"
Vatablus; "sistet aut
efficiet"
Michaelis; "quis efficiet?" Cocceius. an unclean man
a clean one? "no
not one"; a man cannot make himself clean by
anything he can do
by his repentance and humiliation
by his good works
duties
and services; none can do this but God; and to this sense some render
the words
"who can--is there one"F8לא
אחד "nonne tu qui solus est?" V. L.
"annon unus?" sc. Mediator
Cocceius. ? there is
that is
God
he
can do it
and he only: though men are exhorted to cleanse themselves
this
does not suppose a power in them to do it; this is only designed to convince
them of the necessity of being cleansed
and to awaken a concern for it; and
such as are made sensible thereof will apply to God to purge them
and make
them clean
and create a clean heart within them: and this God has promised to
do
and does do; he sprinkles the clean water of his grace
and purifies the
heart by faith in the blood of Jesus
which cleanses from all sin
and is the
fountain opened to wash in for sin and uncleanness; the Targum is
"who
can give a clean thing out of a man that is defiled with sins
except God who
is one
and can forgive him?'
none
can pardon sin but God
or justify a sinner besides him; and he can do both in
a way of justice
upon the foot of the blood and righteousness of Christ.
Job 14:5 5 Since his days are
determined
The number of his months is with You; You have appointed his
limits
so that he cannot pass.
YLT
5If determined are his days
The number of his months [are] with Thee
His limit Thou hast made
And he
passeth not over;
Seeing his days are determined
.... Or
"cut out"F9חרוצים "exacte
praefiniti sunt"
Tigurine version.
exactly and precisely
how many he
shall live
and what shall befall him every day of his life; whose life
because of the shortness of it
is rather measured by days than vents:
the number of his months are with thee; before him
in his sight
in his account
and fixed and settled by him:
thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; the
boundaries of his life the period of his days
beyond which he cannot go; the
term of man's life is so peremptorily fixed by God
that he cannot die sooner
nor live longer
than he has determined he should; as the time of a man's
birth
so the time of his death is according to the purpose of God; and all
intervening moments and articles of time
and all things that befall a man
throughout the whole course of his life
all fall under the appointment of God
and are according to his determinate will; and when God requires of man his
soul
no one has power over his spirit to retain it one moment; yet this
hinders not the use of means for the preservation and comfort of life
since
these are settled as well as the end
and are under the divine direction: the
word for bounds signifies sometimes "statutes"F11חקו "statuta ejus"
V. L. Mercerus
Schmidt. :
though not to be understood of laws appointed by God
either of a moral or
ceremonial nature; but here it signifies set
stated
appointed timesF12"Stata
tempora"
Beza. SenecaF13Consolat. ad Marciam
c. 20. says the
same thing;
"there
is a boundary fixed for every man
which always remains where it is set
nor
can any move it forward by any means whatsoever.'
Job 14:6 6 Look away from him that he
may rest
Till like a hired man he finishes his day.
YLT
6Look away from off him that
he may cease
Till he enjoy as an hireling his day.
Turn from him
that he may rest
.... From this short
lived afflicted man
whose days are limited
and will soon be at an end
meaning himself; not that he desires he would withdraw his gracious presence
nothing is more agreeable than this to a good man
and there is nothing he more
deprecates than the withdrawing of it; besides
this was Job's case
and one
part of his complaint
Job 13:24; nor to
withhold his supporting presence
or his providential care of him
without
which he could not subsist
but must die and drop into the dust; though some
think this is the sense
and render the words
"turn from him
that he may
cease"F14ויחדל "donec desinat
sc. esse vel vivere"
Piscator
Cocceius. ; to be
or to live
and so a
wish for death
that he might have rest in the grave from all his labours
pains
and sorrows; but rather the meaning is
that he would turn away from
afflicting him in this extraordinary
manner; since
according to the ordinary
course of things
he would meet with many troubles and afflictions
and had but
a little time to live
and therefore entreats he would take off his hand which
pressed him sorely
and grant him a little respite; or "look off from
him"F15שעה מעליו
"respice aliorsum ab eo"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Cocceius
Schmidt
Michaelis; so De Dieu
Schultens. ; not turn away his eye of
love
grace
and mercy
that is not reasonable to suppose; that was what he
wanted
that God would look upon him
and have compassion on him under his
affliction
and abate it; but that he would turn away his angry frowning
countenance from him
which he could not bear; he had opened his eyes upon him
Job 14:3; and
looked very sternly
and with great severity in his countenance
on him
and it
was very distressing
and even intolerable to him; and therefore begs that he
would take off his eye from him
that he might have rest from his adversity
that he might have some ease of body and mind
some intervals of peace and
pleasure: or "that he might cease"F16"Et
cesset"
Mercerus; "et desinat a malo suo"
Pagninus. from
murmuring
as Aben Ezra; or rather from affliction and trouble; not that he
expected to be wholly free from it in this life
for man is born to it
as he
full well knew; and the people of God have always their share of it
and which
abides and waits for them while in this world; but he desires he might be rid of
that very sore and heavy affliction now upon him; or "that it might
cease"F17"Et cesset afflictio"
Drusius; so the
Targum.
the affliction he laboured under
which would be the case if God
would turn himself
remove his hand
or look another way
and not so sharply
upon him:
till he shall accomplish as an hireling his day; an hireling
as if he should say
that is hired for any certain time
for a year
or more or
less
he has some relaxation from his labours
time for eating and sleeping to
refresh nature; or he has some time allowed him as a respite from them
commonly called holy days; or if he is hired only for a day
he has time for
his meals; and if his master's eye is off of him
he slackens his hand
and
gets some intermission from his labour; wherefore at least Job begs that God
would let him have the advantage of an hireling. Moreover
to "accomplish
his day"
is either to do the work of it
or to get to the end of it;
every man has work to do while in this world
in things natural
civil
and religious
and is the work of his day or generation
and what must be done while it is
day; and a good man is desirous of finishing it; to which the recompence of
reward
though it is not of debt
but of grace
is a great encouragement
as it
is to the hireling: or "till as an hireling he shall will"
or
"desire with delight and pleasureF18ירצה
"grato animo excipiet"
Tigurine version; "velit"
Montanus
Bolducius; "acceptum habeat"
Piscator; De Dieu
Michaelis.
his day"; that is
his day to be at an end
which he wishes and longs for;
and when it comes is very acceptable to him
because he then enjoys his rest
and receives his hire; so as there is a fixed time for the hireling
there is
for man on earth; and as that time is short and laborious
so is the life of
man; and at the close of it
the good and faithful servant of the Lord
like the
hireling
in some sense rests from his labours
and receives the reward of the
inheritance
having served the Lord Christ; which makes this day a grateful and
acceptable one to him
what he desires
and with pleasure waits for
being
better than the day of his birth; and especially when his life is worn out with
trouble
and he is weary of it through old age
and the infirmities thereof
those days being come in which he has no pleasure. Job therefore entreats that
God would give him some intermission from his extraordinary troubles
till his
appointed time came
which then would be as welcome to him as the close of the
day is to an hireling
see Job 7:1.
Job 14:7 7 “For there is hope for a
tree
If it is cut down
that it will sprout again
And that its tender shoots
will not cease.
YLT
7For there is of a tree
hope
if it be cut down
That again it doth change
That its tender branch doth
not cease.
For there is hope of a tree
if it be cut down
that it will
sprout again
.... That is
if it be cut down to the root
and only the stump
of the root is left in the ground
as the tree in Nebuchadnezzar's dream
Daniel 4:15
yet
the owner of it may entertain a hope that it is not utterly destroyed
but will
bud out again; or "change"F19יחליף
"mutabit se"
Drusius; "conditionem suam"
Piscator. its
state and condition
and become flourishing again: or "renew"F20"Renovat
se"
Schmidt. itself; and its strength
and put out new shoots and
branches; either it will rise up into a new body
as the laurel
as PlinyF21Nat.
Hist. apud Pinedam in loc. relates
or produce new sprouts as the willow
alder
tree
and others; for this is not true of every tree
though it may be of many;
for it isF23Servius in Virgil. Aeneid. l. 3. p. 681. Plin. Nat.
Hist. l. 16. c. 33. reported of the cypress tree
when cut down
it never
sprouts out any more
unless in one place
in Aenaria; but since this is the
case of some
it is sufficient to Job's purpose:
and that the tender branch thereof will not cease; from shooting
out; or "its suckers will not cease"F24יונקתו
"sugensque ejus surculus"
Schultens. ; which may be observed
frequently to grow out of the roots of trees
even of those that are cut down
such as above mentioned.
Job 14:8 8 Though its root may grow
old in the earth
And its stump may die in the ground
YLT
8If its root becometh old in
the earth
And its stem doth die in the dust
Though the root thereof wax old in the earth
.... Lies long
there
and is become dry
and seems to be consumed
on which account there may
be the less hope of its flourishing:
and the stock thereof die in the ground; which may
make it still more improbable; for this is not to be understood with some
interpretersF25So Piscator and Cocceius. of the stock or trunk of
the tree cut down
and lying along on the earth
and in the dust of it; though
it may be observed
that even such a stock or trunk
separated from the root
and as it lies along
will sprout again
as particularly in elms: but it may
rather mean
since it is said to be "in the ground"
that part of the
stock or stump left in the ground
from whence the roots part and spread in the
earth; and even though this dies
or at least so seems
yet there being still
life and vigour in the roots
they send forth suckers.
Job 14:9 9 Yet
at the scent of water it will bud And bring forth branches like a plant.
YLT
9From the fragrance of water
it doth flourish
And hath made a crop as a plant.
Yet through the scent of
water it will bud
.... As soon as it smells it
or perceives it
is sensible of it
or partakes of its efficacy; denoting both how speedily
and how easily
at
once as it were
it buds forth through the virtue either of rain water that
descends upon it
or river water by which it is planted
or by any means
conveyed unto it; particularly this is true of the willow
which delights in
watery places; and
when it is in the circumstances before described
will by
the benefit of water bud out again
even when its stock has been seemingly
dead:
and bring forth boughs like a plant; as if it was a new
plant
or just planted; so the Vulgate Latin version
as "when it was
first planted"; or as a plant that sends forth many branches: the design
of this simile is to show that man's case is worse than that of trees
which
when cut down sprout out again
and are in the place where they were before; but
man
when he is cut down by death
rises up no more in the same place; he is
seen no more in it
and the place that knew him knows him no more; where he
falls he lies until the general resurrection; he rises not before without a
miracle
and such instances are very rare
and never either before or at the
resurrection
but by the omnipotence of God; whereas a tree
in the above
circumstances
sprouts out of itself
according to its nature
and in virtue of
a natural power which God has put into it; not so manF25"Mutat
terra vices-----nos ubi decidimus"
Horat. Carmin. l. 4. Ode 7. .
Job 14:10 10 But man dies and is laid
away; Indeed he breathes his last And where is he?
YLT
10And a man dieth
and
becometh weak
And man expireth
and where [is] he?
But man dieth
and wasteth away
.... All men
every man
"Geber"
the mighty man
the strong man; some die in their full
strength; the wise man
notwithstanding all his wisdom and knowledge
and even
skill in the art of medicine; the rich man
with all his riches
with which he
cannot bribe death
nor keep it off; the great and the honourable
emperors
kings
princes
nobles
all die
and their honour is laid in the dust; yea
good men die
though Christ has died for them; even those that are the most
useful and beneficial to men
the prophets of the Lord
and the ministers of
his word; and it is no wonder that wicked men should die
though they put the
evil day far from them
make an agreement with death
or bid it defiance
their
wickedness shall not deliver from it; all men have sinned
and death passes on
them
it is appointed for them to die; not their souls
which are immortal
but
their bodies
which return to dust
and are only the mortal part; death is a
disunion or separation of soul and body: and now when this is made
the body
"wasteth away" in the grave
and becomes rottenness
dust
and worms
and does not by the strength of nature spring up again
as a tree does; though
some understand
by an inversion of the phrases
a wasting before death through
diseases
as if the words were to be read
"but man wasteth away and
dieth"F26So the Tigurine version
Vatablus
and some in
Drusius; and some Hebrews in Ramban and Bar Tzemach. ; he is enervated by
sickness
his strength is weakened in the way
and when he dies there is none
left in him; he is cut offF1ויחלש
"exciditur"
Beza
Piscator
Mercerus; so Kimchi & Ben Gersom.
as some choose to render it
or cut down as a tree is; but then there is no
force or natural strength in him to rise again
as in a tree:
yea
man giveth up the ghost
and where is he? not in the
same place he was; not in his house and habitation where he lived; nor in his
family
and among his friends
with whom he conversed
nor in the world
and on
the earth where he did business; he is indeed somewhere
but where is he? his
body is in the grave; his soul
where is that? if a good man
it is in the
presence of God
where is fulness of joy; it is with Christ
which is far
better than to be here; it is with the spirits of just men made perfect; it is
in Abraham's bosom
feasting with him and other saints; it is in heaven
in
paradise
in a state of endless joy and happiness: if a wicked man
his soul is
in hell
in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone
with the devil and
his angels
and other damned spirits; in a prison
from whence there is no
release
and in the uttermost misery and distress
banished from the divine
Presence
and under a continual sense of the wrath of God.
Job 14:11 11 As
water disappears from the sea
And a river becomes parched and dries up
YLT
11Waters have gone away from
a sea
And a river becometh waste and dry.
As the waters fail from the
sea
.... the words may be rendered either without the as
and denote
dissimilitude
and the sense be
that the waters go from the sea and return
again
as with the tide:
and the flood decays and dries up; and yet is supplied
again with water: "but man lieth down
and riseth not again"
Job 14:12; or else
with the as
and express likeness; as the waters when they fail from the sea
or get out of lakes
and into another channel
never return more; and as a
flood
occasioned by the waters of a river overflowing its banks
never return
into it more; so man
when he dies
never returns to this world any more. The
Targum restrains this to the Red sea
and the parting of that and the river
Jordan
and the drying up of that before the ark of the Lord
and the return of
both to their places again.
Job 14:12 12 So man lies down and does
not rise. Till the heavens are no more
They will not awake Nor be
roused from their sleep.
YLT
12And man hath lain down
and
riseth not
Till the wearing out of the heavens they awake not
Nor are roused
from their sleep.
So man lieth down
.... Or "and"
or "but man
lieth down"F2ואיש "et vir"
Pagninus
Montanus
Beza
Schmidt; "at vir"
Cocceius. ; in the grave
when he dies
as on a bed
and takes his rest from all his labours
toil and
troubles
and lies asleep
and continues so till the resurrection morn:
and riseth not; from off his bed
or comes not out of his
grave into this world
to the place where he was
and to be engaged in the
affairs of life he was before
and never by his own power; and whenever he will
rise
it will be by the power of God
and this not till the last day
when
Christ shall appear in person to judge the world; and then the dead in Christ
will rise first
at the beginning of the thousand years
and the wicked at the
end of them:
till the heavens be no more
they shall not awake
nor be
raised out of their sleep; for so the words are to be read
not in
connection with those that go before
but with the last clauses; though the
sense is much the same either way
which is
that those who are fallen asleep
by death
and lie sleeping in their graves
and on their beds
these shall
neither awake of themselves
nor be awaked by others
"till the heavens be
no more"; that is
never
so as to awake and arise of themselves
and to
this natural life
and to be concerned in the business of it; which sometimes
seems to be the sense of this phrase
see Psalm 89:29
Matthew 5:18; or
as
some render it
"till the heavens are wore out"
or "waxen
old"F3עד בלתי
"donec atteratur eoelum"
V. L. so some in Bar Tzemach
though
disapproved of by him as ungrammatical. ; as they will like a garment
and be
folded up
and laid aside
as to their present use
Psalm 102:26; or
till they shall vanish away
and be no more
as to their present form
quality
and use
though they may exist as to substance; and when this will be the case
as it will be when the Judge shall appear
when Christ shall come a second time
to judge the world; then the earth and heaven will flee away from his face
the
earth and its works shall be burnt up
and the heavens shall pass away with
great noise; and then
and not till then
will the dead
or those that are
asleep in their graves
be awaked by the voice of the archangel
and the trump
of God
and they shall be raised from their sleepy beds
awake and arise
some
to everlasting life
and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Job 14:13 13 “Oh
that You would hide
me in the grave
That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past
That You
would appoint me a set time
and remember me!
YLT
13O that in Sheol Thou
wouldst conceal me
Hide me till the turning of Thine anger
Set for me a limit
and remember me.
And that thou wouldest hide me in the grave
.... The house
appointed for all living
which some understand by the "chambers" in Isaiah 26:20; The
cemeteries or dormitories of the saints
where they lie and sleep until the
indignation of God against a wicked world is over and past; or in Hades
the
state of the dead
where they are insensible of what is done in this world
what calamities and judgments are on the inhabitants of it
and so are not
affected and grieved with these things; or in some cavern of the earth
in the
utmost recesses of it
in the very centre thereof
if possible; his wish is
to
be buried alive
or to live in some subterraneous place
free from his present
afflictions and misery
than to be upon earth with them:
that thou wouldest keep me secret; so that no eye should
see him
that is
no human eye; for he did not expect to be hid from the sight
of God
be he where he would
before whom hell and destruction
or the grave
are and have no covering; and not only be secret
but safe from all trials and
troubles
oppressions and oppressors; especially as he may mean the grave where
the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest; the keys of which
Christ keeps in his hands
and locks and unlocks
and none but him; and where
he has laid up his jewels
the precious dust of his saints and where they and
that will be preserved as hidden treasure:
until thy wrath be past; either with respect to
others
an ungodly world
to punish whom God sometimes comes out of his place
in great wrath and indignation; and to prevent his dear children and people
from being involved in common and public calamities
he takes them away beforehand
and hides them in his chambers
Isaiah 26:19; or
with respect to himself
as to his own apprehension of things
who imagined
that the wrath of God was upon him
being severely afflicted by him; all the
effects of which he supposed would not be removed until he was brought to the
dust
from whence he came
and until his body was changed at the resurrection;
till that time there are some appearances of the displeasure of against sin:
and then follows another petition
that thou wouldest appoint me a set time
and remember me; either for
his going down to the grave
and being hid there
for which there is an
appointed time; for as that is the place appointed for man
it is appointed for
man to go unto it
and the time when
as appears from Job 14:5; or his
coming out of the grave
for his resurrection from thence
which also is fixed
even the last day
the day God has appointed to judge the world in
righteousness by Christ at which time the dead will be raised; though of that
day and hour no man knows: unless he should mean a time for deliverance from
his afflictions which also is set; for God
as he settles the bounds of an
affliction
how far it should go
and no farther
so likewise the time when it
should end; and either of these Job might call a remembering of him
who
thought himself in his present case
as a dead man
out of mind
as those that
lie in the grave
remembered no more.
Job 14:14 14 If a man dies
shall he
live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait
Till my change
comes.
YLT
14If a man dieth -- doth he
revive? All days of my warfare I wait
till my change come.
If a man die
.... This is said not as if it was a matter
of doubt
he had before asserted it; as sure as men have sinned
so sure shall
they die; nothing is more certain than death
it is appointed by God
and is
sure; but taking it for granted
the experience of all men
and the instances
of persons of every age
rank
and condition
testifying to it; the Targum
restrains it to wicked men
"if
a wicked man die:'
shall he live again? no
he shall not live in
this earth
and in the place where he was
doing the same business he once did;
that is
he shall not live here; ordinarily speaking
the instances are very
rare and few; two or three instances there have been under the Old Testament
and a few under the New; but this is far from being a general and usual case
and never through the strength of nature
or of a man's self
but by the mighty
power of God: or it may be answered to affirmatively
he shall live again at
the general resurrection
at the last day
when all shall come out of their
graves
and there will be a general resurrection of the just
and of the
unjust; some will live miserably
in inexpressible and eternal torments
and
wish to die
but cannot
their life will be a kind of death
even the second
death; others will live comfortably and happily an endless life of joy and
pleasure with God; Father
Son and Spirit
angels and glorified saints: hence
in the faith of this is the following resolution
all the days of my appointed time will I wait
till my change come; there is an
appointed time for man on earth when he shall be born
how long he shall live
and when he shall die
see Job 7:1; or
"of my warfare"F4צבאי
"quibus nunc milito"
V. L. "militiae maae"
Montanus
Tigurine version
Drusius
Codurcus
Michaelis
Schultens. for the life of man
especially of a good man
is a state of warfare with many enemies
sin
Satan
and the world; at the end of which there will be a "change"; for not
a change of outward circumstances in this life is meant; for though there was
such a change befell Job
yet he was
especially at this time
in no
expectation of it; and though his friends suggested it to him
upon his
repentance and reformation
he had no hope of it
but often expresses the
contrary: but either a change at death is meant; the Targum calls it a change
of life
a change of this life for another; death makes a great change in the
body of a man
in his place here
in his relations and connections with men
in
his company
condition
and circumstances: or else the change at the
resurrection
when this vile body will be changed
and made like unto Christ's;
when it will become an incorruptible
glorious
powerful
and spiritual body
which
is now corruptible
dishonourable
weak
and natural; and
till one or other of
these should come
Job is determined to wait
to live in the constant
expectation of death
and to be in a readiness and preparation for it; in the
mean while to bear afflictions patiently
and not show such marks of impatience
as he had done
nor desire to die before God's time
but
whenever that should
come
quietly and cheerfully resign himself into the hands of God; or this may
respect the frame and business of the soul in a separate state after death
and
before the resurrection
believing
hoping
and waiting for the resurrection of
the body
and its union to it
see Psalm 16:10.
Job 14:15 15 You shall call
and I will
answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands.
YLT
15Thou dost call
and I -- I
answer Thee; To the work of Thy hands Thou hast desire.
Thou shall call
and I will answer thee
.... Either at
death
when the soul of than is required of him
and he is summoned out of time
into eternity
and has sometimes previous notice of it; though not by a
prophet
or express messenger from the Lord
as Hezekiah had
yet by some
disease and distemper or another
which has a voice
a call in it to expect a
remove shortly; and a good man that is prepared for it
he answers to this call
readily and cheerfully; death is no king of terrors to him
he is not reluctant
to it
yea
desirous of it; entreats his dismission in peace
and even longs
for it
and rejoices and triumphs in the views of it: or else at the
resurrection
when Christ shall call to the dead
as he did to Lazarus
and
say
Come forth; and when they shall hear his voice
even the voice of the
archangel
and shall answer to it
and come forth out of their graves
the sea
death
and the grave
being obliged to deliver up the dead that are therein;
though some think this refers to God's call unto him in a judicial way
and his
answers to it by way of defence
as in Job 13:22; but the
other sense seems more agreeable to the context:
thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands; meaning his
body
which is the workmanship of God
and a curious piece of workmanship it
is
wonderfully and fearfully made
Psalm 139:14
and
curiously wrought; and though it may seem to be marred and spoiled by death
yet God will have a desire to the restoration of it at the resurrection to a
better condition; even the bodies of his people
and that because they are
vessels chosen by him
given to his Son
redeemed by his blood
united to his
person
and sanctified by his Spirit
whose temples they are
and in whom he
dwells: wherefore upon these considerations it may be reasonably supposed that
Father
Son
and Spirit
have a desire to the resurrection of the bodies of the
saints
and in which they will have a concern; and from which it may be
concluded it will be certainly effected
since God is a rock
and his work is
perfect
or will be
both upon the bodies and souls of his people; and the work
of sanctification will not be properly completed on them until their vile
bodies are changed
and made like to the glorious body of Christ; which must be
very desirable to him
who has such a special love for them
and delight in
them. Some render the words with an interrogation
"wilt thou desire to
destroy the work of thine hands"F5תכסף
"perdere desiderabis?" Pagninus
Vatablus. ? surely thou wilt not;
or
as Ben Gersom
"is
it fit that thou shouldest desire to destroy the work of thine hands?'
surely
it is not becoming
it cannot be thought that thou wilt do it; but the former
sense is best.
Job 14:16 16 For now You number my
steps
But do not watch over my sin.
YLT
16But now
my steps Thou
numberest
Thou dost not watch over my sin.
For now thou numberest my steps
.... Or "but
now"F7כי עתה
"at nunc"
Piscator.
at this present time thou seemest to have no
desire to me
or affection for me
but the reverse. Job was in a pretty good
frame of mind a little before
having in view his last change
and the glorious
resurrection; but on a sudden he returns to his former complaints of God
and
here of the rigour and strictness of his justice in marking his steps
and
correcting him for his sin; so very uncertain are the best of frames: the
outward conversation of men
whether good or bad
is often in Scripture
expressed by walking
and the actions of men
good or evil
are the steps taken
therein; here they signify evil ones
irregular steps
steps out of the way of
God's commandments
aberrations
strayings from thence
false steps; these Job
supposed God not only had knowledge of
as he has of all the ways
paths
and
goings of men
but took very exact notice of his wrong steps; looked very
narrowly to his paths
as in Job 13:27; and
strictly marked them; yea
told them one by one
that he might miss none
and
make up a large account
which he put down in his book
in order to produce
against him; in which Job was mistaken: he thought God dealt with him as he
does with wicked men
whose evil actions are not only known and observed
but
are counted and put down in the book of his remembrance
which will be opened
at the last day
and produced against them; but God has blotted out of his book
the sins of his people
and will remember them no more; he has a book of
remembrance for their good works
words
and thoughts
but none for their evil
ones:
dost thou not watch over my sin? of error
infirmity
and
weakness; observe it
mark it in a strict and rigorous way
which
when God
does
who can stand before him? or "watch for my sin?" Daniel 9:14 as
Jeremiah's enemies watched for his halting; so Job here represents God very
wrongly
as if he watched for an opportunity against him
to take the advantage
of it
and severely chastise him: or "thou dost not wait for my sin"F8לא תשמור על
חטאתי "non differes punitionem meam"
Pagninus
; that is
the punishment of it as many of the Jewish writersF9Jarchi
Gersom
Bar Tzemach. carry the sense; which is
that God did not defer the
punishment of sin
or give him any respite or breathing time
but as soon as
ever he committed any offence
immediately
at once
he was rough with him
and
used him with great severity. Aben Ezra inserts the word "only"
as
explanative of the meaning of the words
thus
"thou watchest only over my
sin"
or dost not mark and observe anything but my sins; not my good
deeds
only my evil ones; which is a wrong charge
for God takes notice of the
good works of his people
and rewards them in a way of grace
though not of
debt
as well as of their evil works
and chastises for them in a fatherly way:
others render the words to this sense
what is not
or of no moment or
consequence
thou keepest for me in mind and memory
as sinF11So
Schultens. ; that which is not sin
or at least not known to me to be sin
or
however something very trifling
scarce to be called a sin
yet I am dealt with
for it as if a very heinous one; or I am afflicted for I know not what
or
which is all one
for what is not known to me. Some take the words to be a
petition
"do not observe my sin"F12"Nec serves
id
est
observes peccatum meum"; some in Mercerus. ; or mark it strictly
or
keep it in mind
or reserve it against another time
but hide thy face from it
and remember it no more
nor never against me.
Job 14:17 17 My transgression is
sealed up in a bag
And You cover[b] my
iniquity.
YLT
17Sealed up in a bag [is] my
transgression
And Thou sewest up mine iniquity.
My transgression is sealed up in a bag
.... Denoting
either the concealment of it
as in Hosea 13:12; not
from God; nor in such sense sealed up as sin is by the sacrifice and
satisfaction of Christ
who has thereby removed it out of the sight of divine
justice; so that when it is sought for it shall not be found
nor any more
seen
which is the sense of the phrase in Daniel 9:24; where
the words
"to make an end of sin"
may be rendered
to "seal them
up"; but this Job would not have complained of; he means it was hid as in
a bag from himself
or he knew not what it was; the transgression was sealed up
from him
he was entirely ignorant of and unacquainted with what it was for
which he was severely afflicted: or else his sense is
that God had taken
strict notice of his transgressions
and had
as it were
put them up in a bag
and set a seal upon it
that none might be lost
but might be ready to be
produced against him another day; in allusion
as it is thought
to bills of
indictment put up in bags sealed
to be brought into courts of judicature at a
proper time
for which they are reserved:
and thou sewest up mine iniquity; in the bag in which it
is sealed; not only did he seal up the bag
but sewed a cloth over it thus
sealed
for greater security: or "thou sewest to mine iniquity"F13ותטפל על עוני
"assuis iniquitati meae"
Piscator; "et adjungis ad iniquitatem
meam"
Beza.
or adds iniquity to iniquity
as in Psalm 69:27; as
arithmeticians do
who add one number to another until it becomes a great sum;
thus God
according to Job
tacked and joined one sin to another
till it became
one large heap and pile
reaching to the heavens
and calling for vengeance;
or
as Sephorno interprets it
joined sins of ignorance to sins of presumption;
or rather sewed or added the punishment of sin to sin
or punishment to
punishment; the Targum is
"my
transgression is sealed up in a book of remembrances
and thou hast joined it
to my iniquities.'
Job 14:18 18 “But as a mountain
falls and crumbles away
And as a rock is moved from its place;
YLT
18And yet
a falling mountain
wasteth away
And a rock is removed from its place.
And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought
.... Job here
returns to his former subject of the irreparable state of man at death
which
he illustrates by various other similes
as before; and first by a
"mountain falling"
which may be supposed
and has been fact
and
when it does
it "comes to nought"; it crumbles into dust
and where
it falls there it lies
and never rises up to a mountain
or to the height it
had
any more; or it "withers"F14יבול
"marceseit"
Tigurine version
Mercerus; "emarcescit"
Schultens.
as some render it
the plants
herbs
and trees that grow upon it
wither away
see Nahum 1:4; or
"it is dissolved"
or "flows"F15"Diffluit"
Cocceius
Schmidt
Michaelis.
and spreads itself over the face of the green
earth it covers
and destroys with its dust and sand
which is never more
gathered up to form a mountain again; so man
like unto a mountain
as kingdoms
and states
and kings and princes
and great men are; the Targum instances in
Lot; as a man may be said to be
that is in good health of body
and in
prosperous circumstances in his family; when he falls
as he does by death
which is expressed by falling
2 Samuel 3:38; he
comes to nought
he is not any more in the land of the living
nor in the place
and circumstances in which he was before:
and the rock is removed out of his place; from the
mountain
of which it was a part; or elsewhere
by earthquakes
by force of
winds
or strength of waters; and which
when once removed
is never returned
to its place any more; so man
who in his full strength seems like a rock
immovable
when death comes
it shakes and moves him out of his place
and that
never knows him any more.
Job 14:19 19 As
water wears away stones
And as torrents wash away the soil of the
earth; So You destroy the hope of man.
YLT
19Stones have waters worn
away
Their outpourings wash away the dust of earth
And the hope of man Thou
hast destroyed.
The waters wear the stones
.... Either by continual
running in them
or constant dropping upon themF16"Gutta cavat
lapidem"
Ovid. de Ponto
l. 4. ; and the excavations or hollow places
they: make are never filled up again
these impressions are never effaced
nor
the stones reduced to their ancient form; so man
though he may have the
strength of stones
yet the waters of afflictions will gradually wear him away
and bring him to the dust of death
and where he must lie till the heavens be
no more:
thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of
the earth; herbs
plants
and trees
which a violent inundation of water
tears up by the roots
and carries away
and they are never restored to their
places any more. The word ספיחיה
which we render
"the things which grow out"
the spontaneous productions of the
earth
as in Leviticus 25:5.
Aben Ezra interprets of floods of water; and so Schultens
from the use of the
wordF17"effudit"
Golius
col. 1182. Castel. col. 2590. in
the Arabic language
translates it
"their effusions"; that is
the
effusions of waters before mentioned
the floods and inundations of them
overflow
"and wash away the dust of the earth"; not only that which
is on the surface of it
the soil of it; but
as the same learned man observes
they plough and tear up the earth itself
and carry it away
and it is never
repaired; so men at death are carried away as with a flood
and are no more
see Psalm 90:5;
and or "so"F18"Sic"
Vatablus
Drusius
Mercerus
Schultens; "ita"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator; it answers to כן
Aben Ezra
Gersom. .
thou destroyest the hope of man
not the hope of a good
man about his eternal state
and of enjoying eternal happiness; which is the
gift of God's grace
which is without repentance
never revoked
called in
or
taken away or destroyed; it is built upon the promise of God
who cannot lie;
it is founded on the person
blood
and righteousness of Christ; and though it
may be brought low
it is never lost; the hope of carnal men in an arm of
flesh
in the creature and creature enjoyments
is indeed destroyed; and so is
the hope of external professors of religion
that is formed on their own works
of righteousness
and profession of religion; but of this Job is not speaking
but of the hope of man of living again in this world after death; for this is a
reddition or application of the above similes used to illustrate this point
the irreparable state of man at death
so as that he shall never return to this
life again
and to the same state and circumstances of things as before; and
next follows a description of death
and the state of the dead.
Job 14:20 20 You prevail forever
against him
and he passes on; You change his countenance and send him away.
YLT
20Thou prevailest [over] him
for ever
and he goeth
He is changing his countenance
And Thou sendest him
away.
Thou prevailest for ever against him
.... God is a
more than a match for man
in anything
in everything; there is no contending
with him
or standing against him
he is stronger than he
and always prevails;
there is no withstanding any disease
and the force of it
when he sends it; it
is a messenger and servant of his
it goes at his command
and does what he
bids it do; and all the art and power of man cannot resist it
or hinder what
God would have done by it; and so death itself is irresistible; what is
stronger than death? it is a king that reigns with a despotic power; it reigns
irresistibly
victoriously
and triumphantly; it prevails over all men
in all
ages
and will do to the end of the world; no man has power over his spirit to
retain it one moment
when death comes to separate it from the body: and this
prevalence of God by death over men will be for ever; the grave is man's long
home
to which he is brought by death
and he will never return from it more
to come again into this world
and be about the business of it as now;
and he passeth; out of the world
and is seen no more in
it; death is a going the way of all flesh
a departure out of this life
and to
it man never usually returns more; he goes to Hades
to the invisible place
and makes his appearance no more here; see Psalm 37:35;
thou changest his countenance; at death; the
forerunners of death will change a man's countenance
pains
and diseases of
body; by these God makes man's beauty to consume like the moth; the fear of
death will change a man's countenance
as the handwriting on the wall did
Belshazzar's
Daniel 5:9; even
such who have out-braved death
and pretended to have made a covenant and
agreement with it
yet when the king of terrors is presented to them
they are
seized with a panic
their hearts ache
and their countenances turn pale; but
oh! what a change is made by death itself
which for this reason is represented
as riding on a pale horse; Revelation 6:8;
when the rosy florid looks of man are gone
his comeliness turned into
corruption
his countenance pale and meagre
his eyes hollow and sunk
his nose
sharp pointed
his ears contracted
and jaws fallen
and his complexion altered
and still more when laid in the grave
and he is turned to rottenness
dust
and worms:
and sendeth him away; giveth him a dismission
from this world; sendeth him out of it
from his house
his family
friends
and acquaintance: his birth is expressed often by his coming into the world
and his death by going out of it; for here he has no continuance
no abiding
no rest; and yet there is no departure till God gives him dismission by death
then he sends him away from hence; some in wrath
whom he sends to take up
their abode with devils and damned spirits; others in love
to prevent their
being involved in evils coming upon the earth
and to be in better company
with God and Christ
with angels
and the spirits of just men made perfect:
Maimonides interprets this of AdamF18Moreh Nevochim
par. 1. c. 2.
p. 5.
who
when he changed the object of his countenance
and looked on the
forbidden fruit
was sent out of paradise.
Job 14:21 21 His sons come to honor
and he does not know it; They are brought low
and he does not perceive it.
YLT
21Honoured are his sons
and
he knoweth not; And they are little
and he attendeth not to them.
His sons come to honour
.... Or "are
multiplied"F19יכבדו πολλων γενομενων
Sept.
"multiplicabuntur"
Vatablus
Bolducius.
see Nahum 3:15; their
families increase like a flock
become very numerous
which was reckoned a
great blessing; or "become heavy"F20"Multi vel graves
sunt"
Drusius; "graves erunt et onusti"
Mercerus. ; being
loaded with gold and silver
with riches and honour
raised to great grandeur
and dignity
and possessed of much wealth and large estates:
and he knoweth it not; the man whose
countenance is changed and sent away into another world; for the dead know
nothing of the affairs of this life; a good man indeed after death knows more
of God and Christ
of the doctrines of grace
and mysteries of Providence; but
he knows nothing of the affairs of his family he has left behind: some
understand this of a man on his death bed while alive
who
when he is told of
the promotion of his sons to honour
or of the increase of their worldly
substance
takes no notice of it; either being deprived of his senses by the
disease upon him; or through the greatness of his pains and agonies
or the
intenseness of his thoughts about a future state
does not notice what is told
him
nor rejoice at it; which in the time of health would have been pleasing to
him: but the first sense seems best:
and they are brought low
that is
his sons; or
"are diminished"F21יצערו ολιγοι γενωνται
Sept.
"minuuntur
numero pauci sunt"
Drusius. ; lessened in their numbers
one taken off after another
and so his family decreases; or they come into low
circumstances of life
are reduced in the world
and brought to straits and
difficulties
to want and poverty:
but he perceiveth it not of them; he is not
sensible of their troubles
and so not grieved at them; see Isaiah 63:16; or
when he is told of them on his death bed
he does not take notice of them
or
regard them
having enough to grapple with himself
and his mind intent on his
everlasting state
or carried above them in the views of the love
grace
and
covenant of God; see 2 Samuel 23:5.
Job 14:22 22 But his flesh will be in
pain over it
And his soul will mourn over it.”
YLT
22Only -- his flesh for him
is pained
And his soul for him doth mourn.'
But his flesh upon him shall have pain
.... Either he
shall be chastened with strong pains on his sick and dying bed; which is the
reason why he neither rejoices at the happiness of his family
nor is
distressed at their misfortunes; having so much pain in his flesh and bones to
endure himself; or
as GussetiusF24Ebr. Comment. p. 605. renders it
"for this" his flesh and soul shall have pain and grief while he
lives
because he cannot know how it will be with his family when he is dead;
but rather this is to be understood of a man when dead; and so it is a
continuation of the description of death
or of the state of the dead; thus
Aben Ezra interprets it of his flesh upon him
that is
his body shall melt
away
rot and corrupt
meaning in the grave; so the word is used of marring and
destroying
in 2 Kings 3:19
to
which the Targum inclines
"but
his flesh
because of worms upon him
shall grieve;'
and
so Jarchi
troublesome is the worm to a dead man as a needle in quick flesh;
pain and grief are by a prosopopoeia or personification attributed to a dead
body; signifying
that could it be sensible of its case
it would be painful
and grievous to it:
and his soul within him shall mourn; either while he lives
because of his afflictions and terrors
the days being come in which he has no
pleasure
and the time of death drawing nigh; or his dead body
as the word is
used in Psalm 16:10; said
to mourn by the same figure; or his soul
because of his body being dead; or
rather his breath
which at death fails and pines awayF25תאבל "emarcida luget"
Schultens. .
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)