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Job Chapter
Twenty
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JOB 20
Zophar
and his friends
not satisfied with Job's confession of faith
he in his turn
replies
and in his preface gives his reasons why he made any answer at all
and was so quick in it
Job 20:1; and
appeals to Job for the truth of an old established maxim
that the prosperity
of wicked men and hypocrites is very short lived
Job 20:4; and the
short enjoyment of their happiness is described by several elegant figures and
similes
Job 20:6; such a
wicked man being obliged
in his lifetime
to restore his ill gotten goods
and
at death to lie down with the sins of his youth
Job 20:10; his sin
in getting riches
the disquietude of his mind in retaining them
and his being
forced to make restitution
are very beautifully expressed by the simile of a
sweet morsel kept in the mouth
and turned to the gall of asps in the bowels
and then vomited up
Job 20:12; the
disappointment he shall have
the indigent and strait circumstances he shall be
brought into
and the restitution he shall be obliged to make for the
oppression of the poor
and the uneasiness he shall feel in his own breast
are
set forth in a very strong light
Job 20:17; and it
is suggested
that not only the hand of wicked men should be upon him
but the
wrath of God also
which should seize on him suddenly and secretly
and would
be inevitable
he not being able to make his escape from it
and which would
issue in the utter destruction of him and his in this world
and that to come
Job 20:23. And the
chapter is
concluded with this observation
that such as before described is
the appointed portion and heritage of a wicked man from God
Job 20:29
Job 20:1 Then
Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:
YLT
1And Zophar the Naamathite
answereth and saith: --
Then answered Zophar the Naamathite
.... Notwithstanding the
sad distressed condition Job was in
an account of which is given in the
preceding chapter
enough to pierce a heart of stone
notwithstanding his
earnest request to his friends to have pity on him
and notwithstanding the
noble confession of his faith he had made
which showed him to be a good man
and the excellent advice he gave his friends to cease persecuting him
for
their own good
as well as for his peace; yet
regardless of these things
Zophar starts up and makes a reply
and attacks him with as much heat and passion
wrath and anger
as ever
harping upon the same string
and still representing
Job as a wicked man and an hypocrite;
and said
as follows.
Job 20:2 2 “Therefore my anxious
thoughts make me answer
Because of the turmoil within me.
YLT
2Therefore my thoughts cause
me to answer
And because of my sensations in me.
Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer
.... Or
"to return"F1ישיבוני
"reducunt me
q. d. in scenam"; Cocceius
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Drusius. and appear upon the stage again
and enter the lists once
more with his antagonist; he suggests as if he had intended to have said no
more in this controversy
but observing what Job had said last
could not
forbear replying: "therefore" because he had represented him and his
friends as cruel persecutors of him
as men devoid of all humanity
pity
and
compassion
and endeavoured to terrify them with the punishments of the sword
and the judgment of God to come; these occasioned many "thoughts" in
him
and those thoughts obliged him to give an answer; they came in so thick
and fast upon him
that out of the abundance
his heart suggested to him he
could not but speak
he was full of matter
and the spirit within him
the
impulse upon his mind
constrained him to make a reply; and he seems desirous
of having it understood that his answer proceeded from thought; that he did not
speak without thinking
but had well weighed things in his mind; and what he
was about to say was the fruit of close thinking and mature deliberation:
and for this I make haste; because his thoughts
crowded in upon him
he had a fulness of matter
an impulse of mind
promptitude and readiness to speak on this occasion
and for fear of losing
what was suggested to him
he made haste to give in his answer
perhaps
observing some other of his friends rising up before him. The Targum is
"because
my sense is in me;'
and
so other Jewish writersF2Ben Gersom
Bar Tzemach
Sephorno; and so
Montanus. ; be apprehended he had a right sense of things
and understood the
matter in controversy full well
and therefore thought it incumbent on him to
speak once more in it: GussetiusF3Ebr. Comment. p. 246. renders it
"because of my disquietude"; the uneasiness of his mind raised by
what Job had said
that he would have them know and consider there was a
judgment; and he intimates he had considered it
and was fearful that should he
be silent
and make no reply
God would condemn him in judgment for his
silence; and therefore he was in a hurry to make answer
and could not be easy
without it; and for his reasons for so doing he further explains himself in Job 20:3.
Job 20:3 3 I have heard the rebuke
that reproaches me
And the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.
YLT
3The chastisement of my
shame I hear
And the spirit of mine understanding Doth cause me to answer:
I have heard the check of my reproach
.... He took
it that Job had reproached him and his friends
by representing them as
hardhearted men
and persecuting him wrongly in a violent manner; and he had
observed the "check" or reproof given for it
by bidding them beware
of the sword
and lest the punishment of it should be inflicted on them; and if
that should not be the case
yet there was a righteous judgment they could not
escape. Now Zophar heard this
but could not hear it with patience; be could
not bear that he and his friends should be insulted
as he thought
in this
manner; and therefore it was he was in such baste to return an answer; though
someF4Schmidt. think he here pretends to a divine oracle
like that
which Eliphaz makes mention of in the beginning of this dispute
Job 4:12
&c.
which he had from God
and from which he had heard the "correction of
his reproach"F5מוסר כלמתי "correctionem ignominiae meae"
Pagninus
Montanus; so Schmidt
Michaelis.
or a full confutation of the thing Job had
reproached him with; and being thus divinely furnished
he thought it his duty
to deliver it:
and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer; or his
rational spirit
his natural understanding
furnished him at once with an
answer; he had such a clear insight into the controversy on foot
and such a
full view of it
that he thought himself capable of speaking very particularly
to the matter in hand
and to the conviction and confusion of Job; nay
his
conscience
or the spirit of his conscience
as Mr. Broughton renders it
not
only readily dictated to him what he should say
but obliged him to it; though
some think he meant the Holy Spirit of God
by which he would be thought to be
inspired; that he "out of his understanding"F6מבינתי "ex intelligentia mea"
Junius &
Tremellius
Piscator
Mercerus
Drusius
Schmidt
Michaelis.
enlightened by
him
caused him to answer
or would answer for him
or supply him with matter
sufficient to qualify him for it; and this he might observe to Job
in order to
raise his attention to what he was about to say.
Job 20:4 4 “Do you not know
this of old
Since man was placed on earth
YLT
4This hast thou known from
antiquity? Since the placing of man on earth?
Knowest thou not this of old
.... Or "from
eternity"F7מני עד
"ab aeterno"
Junius & Tremellius
Drusius
Codurcus
Schmidt
Michaelis.
from the beginning of time
ever since the world was; as if he
should say
if you are the knowing man you pretend to be
you must know this I
am about to observe; and if you do not know it
you must be an ignorant man
since it is an ancient truth
confirmed by all experience from the creation;
not that Job could know it so early
he was not the first man that was born
nor was he made before the hills
but was of yesterday
and comparatively knew
nothing; but the sense is
that this about to be delivered was an old
established maxim
of which there had been numerous instances
since man
or "Adam"
was placed upon earth; referring to the putting
of Adam in Eden to dress the garden
and keep it; and every man
ever since
is
placed on earth by the ordination
and according to the will of God
where and
for purposes he pleases: the instances Zophar might have in view are perhaps
the expulsion of our first parents out of paradise
the vagabond state of Cain
the destruction of the old world by a flood
and of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire
from heaven; which show that God
sooner or later
gives manifest tokens of his
displeasure at sin and sinners
by his punishment of them for it. What he means
is as follows.
Job 20:5 5 That the triumphing of the
wicked is short
And the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment?
YLT
5That the singing of the
wicked [is] short
And the joy of the profane for a moment
That the triumphing of the wicked is short
.... Their
outward prosperity and felicity
of which they make their boast
and in which
they glory and triumph for a while; at first Job's friends set out with this
notion
that the wicked never flourished and prospered
but it always went ill
with them in Providence; but being beat out of that
they own they may be for a
small time in flourishing and prosperous circumstances
but it is but for a
small time; which may be true in many instances
but it is not invariable and
without exception the case: the sense is
it is but a little while that they
are in so much mirth and jollity
and triumph over their neighbours
as being
in more advantageous circumstances than they; this is said in the original text
to be "from near"F8מקרוב
"de propinquo"
Pagninus
Montanus
&c. ; it is but a little
while ago when it began; and; as the Targum paraphrases it
it will be quickly
ended:
and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment; the word
"wicked"
in the former clause
may signify the same person here
called the "hypocrite"; but inasmuch as that signifies one restless
and troublesome
one that is ungodly
and destitute of the fear of God
that
has nothing in him but wickedness
who is continually committing it
and is
abandoned to it; it might be thought not to apply to the character of Job
whom
Zophar had in his view
and therefore this is added as descriptive of him: an
hypocrite is one who seems to be that he is not
holy
righteous
good
and
godly; who professes to have what he has not
the true grace of God
and
pretends to worship God
but does not do it cordially
and from right
principles; and who seeks himself in all he does
and not the glory of God: now
there may be a joy in such sort of persons; they may hear ministers gladly
as
Herod heard John
and receive the word with joy
as the stony ground hearers
did
Mark 6:20; they may
seem to delight in the ways and ordinances of God
and even have some tastes of
the powers of the world to come
and some pleasing thoughts and hopes of heaven
and happiness; as well as they triumph in and boast of their profession of
religion and performance of duties
and rejoice in their boastings
which is
evil; but then this is like the pleasures of sin
which are but for a season
or like the crackling of thorns under a pot
which make a great noise and
blaze
but soon over
Ecclesiastes 7:6;
and so their joy in civil as well as religious
things. It is possible Zophar
might be so ill natured as to have reference to Job's triumph of faith
Job 19:25; and by
this would suggest
that his faith in a living Redeemer
and the joy of it he
professed
would be soon over and no more; which shows what spirit he was of.
Job 20:6 6 Though his haughtiness
mounts up to the heavens
And his head reaches to the clouds
YLT
6Though his excellency go up
to the heavens
And his head against a cloud he strike –
Though his excellency mount up to the heavens
.... Though
in worldly grandeur and glory
he should arrive to such a pitch as the Assyrian
monarch was ambitious of
as to ascend into heaven
exalt his throne above the
stars of God
and be like the Most High; or be comparable to such a tree
by
which the greatness of Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom is expressed
the height
whereof reached unto heaven
Isaiah 14:12;
and his head reach unto the clouds; being lifted up with
pride
because of his greatness
and looking with contempt and scorn on others;
the Septuagint version is
"if his gifts ascend up to heaven"
&c. which well agrees with an hypocrite possessed of great gifts
and proud
of them; as Capernaum was highly favoured with external things
as the presence
of Christ
his ministry and miracles
and so said to be exalted unto heaven
yet
because of its impenitence and unbelief
should be brought down to hell
Matthew 11:23.
Job 20:7 7 Yet
he will perish forever like his own refuse; Those who have seen him will say
‘Where is he?’
YLT
7As his own dung for ever he
doth perish
His beholders say: `Where [is] he?'
Yet he shall perish for ever
like his own dung
.... Not only in this world
but in the world to come
both in
his outward substance here
and in his body in the grave
and in his soul to
all eternity
and that in the most shameful and disgraceful manner; he shall
perish in his own corruption
and like his own dung inevitably
which is never
returned to its place again: dead bodies were reckoned by the ancients as dung
and the carcasses of men are rather to be cast out than dungF9Heraclitus
apud Strabo. Geograph. l. 16. p. 539. ; and the Arabians used
to bury in
dunghills even their kingsF11Strabo
ib. ; to which someF12Pineda
in loc. think the allusion is:
they which have seen him shall say
where is he? such as
formerly gazed at him
in his prosperity
with wonder and amazement at his
grandeur and greatness
now being removed from his outward splendour
or from
the world
by death
ask where he is
not being able to see him in his former
lustre
nor in the land of the living; see Job 14:10.
Job 20:8 8 He will fly away like a
dream
and not be found; Yes
he will be chased away like a vision of the
night.
YLT
8As a dream he fleeth
and
they find him not
And he is driven away as a vision of the night
He shall fly away as a dream
and shall not be found
.... Either as
a dream which is forgotten
as Nebuchadnezzar's was
and cannot be recovered;
or as the matter and substance of a dream
which
though remembered
is a mere
illusion; as when a hungry or thirsty man dreams he eats or drinks
but
awaking
finds himself empty
and not at all refreshed; what he fancied is fled
and goneF13 σκιας οναρ
ανθρωποι
Pindar. Pythia
Ode 8.
and indeed never had any
existence but in his imagination
Isaiah 29:8;
yea
he shall be chased away as a vision of the night; either the
same as a nocturnal dream
or what a man fancies he sees in his dream; or like
a mere spectre or apparition
which is a mere phantom
and
when followed and
pursued
vanishes and disappears; so such a man before described is chased out
of the world
and is seen in it no more
see Job 18:18; the
first clause
according to Sephorno
refers to the generation of the flood
and
the second to the slaying of the firstborn of Egypt in the night.
Job 20:9 9 The eye that saw
him will see him no more
Nor will his place behold him anymore.
YLT
9The eye hath not seen him
and addeth not. And not again doth his place behold him.
The eye also which saw him shall see him no more
.... In this
world
concerned in the affairs of life
and busy in worldly employments
and
especially in the grandeur he sometimes was
if not removed by death; but the
former sense seems most agreeable by what follows
neither shall his place any more behold him; the men of
his place
as Ben Gersom
those that lived in the same place he did; or he
shall not be seen
and known
and acknowledged any more as the master
owner
and proprietor of the house he formerly dwelt in; this seems to be taken from
Job's own words in Job 7:10. The above
Jewish commentator interprets this verse of Pharaoh and the Egyptians
whom
Moses and the Israelites would see no more
Exodus 10:29.
Job 20:10 10 His children will seek the
favor of the poor
And his hands will restore his wealth.
YLT
10His sons do the poor
oppress
And his hands give back his wealth.
His children shall seek to please the poor
.... In this
and some following verses the miserable state of a wicked man is described
and
which begins with his children
who are often visited in wrath for their
parents' sins
especially when they tread in their steps
and follow their
example; and it is an affliction to parents to see their children in distress
and particularly on their account
and even to be threatened with it. According
to our version
the sense of this clause is
that after a wicked man's death
his children shall seek to gain the good will and favour of the poor who have
been oppressed by him
that they may not reproach them
or take revenge on
them
or apply to the civil magistrate to have justice done them; but Jarchi
renders the words
"the
poor shall oppress or destroy his children;'
and
so the margin of our Bible
who
being enraged with the ill usage of their
parents
shall fall upon them in great wrath
and destroy them
Proverbs 28:3; and
the same Jewish writer restrains the words to the men of Sodom
who were
oppressive and cruel to the poor; or rather the sense is
that the children of
the wicked man shall be reduced to such extreme poverty
that they shall even
seek relief of the poor
and supplicate and entreat them to give them something
out of their small pittance; with which others in a good measure agree
who
render the words
"his children shall please
being poor"F14בניו ירצו דלים
"filii ejus placabunt
mendici"
Montanus. ; it shall be a pleasure
and satisfaction to those they have been injurious to
to see their children
begging their bread from door to door
see Psalm 109:5;
and his hands shall restore their goods: or "for
his hands"
&c.F15So the English annotator. ; and so are a
reason why his children shall be so reduced after his death as to need the
relief of others
because their parent
in his lifetime
was obliged to make
restitution of his ill gotten goods
so that in the end he had nothing to leave
his children at his death; for this restitution spoken of is not voluntary
but
forced. Sephorno thinks reference is had to the Egyptians lending jewels and
other riches to the Israelites
whereby they were obliged to repay six hundred
thousand men for their service.
Job 20:11 11 His bones are full of his
youthful vigor
But it will lie down with him in the dust.
YLT
11His bones have been full of
his youth
And with him on the dust it lieth down.
His bones are full of the sins of his youth
.... Man is
born in sin
and is a transgressor from the womb; and the youthful age is
addicted to many sins
as pride
passion
lust
luxury
intemperance
and
uncleanness; and these are sometimes brought to mind
and men are convinced of
them
and corrected for them
when more advanced in years; and if not stopped
in them
and reformed from them
they are continued in an old age; and the
effects of them are seen in bodily diseases
which a debauched life brings upon
them
not only to the rottenness and consumption of their flesh
but to the
putrefaction of their bones; though this may be understood of the whole body
the bones
the principal and stronger parts
being put for the whole
and
denote that general decay and waste which gluttony
drunkenness
and
uncleanness
bring into
see Proverbs 5:11; Some
interpret this of "secret" sinsF16עלומיו
"ejus occultis"
Montanus
Vatablus
Schmidt.
as the word is
thought to signify
which
if not cleansed from and pardoned
will be found and
charged on them
and be brought into judgment
and they punished for them
Psalm 90:8;
which shall lie down with him in the dust: to be in the
dust is to be in the state of the dead
to lie in the grave
where men lie down
and sleep as on a bed; and this is common to good and bad men
all sleep in the
dust of the earth
but with this difference
the sins of wicked men lie down
with them; as they live in sin
they die in their sins; not that their sins die
with them
and are no more
but they continue on them
and with them
and will
rise with them
and will follow them to judgment
and remain with them after
and the guilt and remorse of which will be always on their consciences
and is
that worm that never dies: of such it is said
that they "are gone down to
hell with their weapons of war"; with the same enmity against God
against
Christ
and his people
and all that is good
they had in their lifetime: and
"they have laid their swords under their heads"; in the grave
and
shall rise with the same revengeful spirit they ever had against the saints
see Revelation 20:8;
"but their iniquities shall be upon their bones"; both them
and the
punishment of them
Ezekiel 32:27. The
Jewish commentator last mentioned interprets the whole verse of Balaam
who
died at the age of thirty three
and whose prosperity died with him
he leaving
nothing to his children; and so he interprets the following verses of the curse
he was forced to hide
which he would gladly have pronounced
and of the riches
he received from Balak falling into the hands of the Israelites.
Job 20:12 12 “Though evil is sweet in
his mouth
And he hides it under his tongue
YLT
12Though he doth sweeten evil
in his mouth
Doth hide it under his tongue
Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth
.... Which may
respect some particular sin
and by the context it seems to be the sin of
covetousness
or of getting riches in an unlawful way
which is very sweet and
pleasing to wicked men
while they are in such pursuits that succeed; and so
Mr. Broughton renders it by "wrong"; though it may be applied to sin
in general
which is "wickedness"
or an evilF17רעה "malum"
Pagninus
Montanus
Junius &
Tremellius
Piscator
&c.
being contrary to the pure and holy nature
will
and law of God; and it is evil in its effects on men
it having deprived
them of the image and glory of God
and exposed them to his wrath
to the
curses of his law
and to eternal deaths. Now this is "sweet" to an
unregenerate man
who minds and savours the things of the flesh
whose taste is
not changed
but is as it was from his birth
and who calls sweet bitter
and
bitter sweet; such a man has the same delight in sin as a man has in his food
drinks up iniquity like water
and commits sin with greediness; for it is
natural to him
he is conceived
born
and brought up in it; besides
some sins
are what are more particularly called constitution sins
which some are
peculiarly addicted to
and in which they take a peculiar delight and pleasure;
these are like the right hand or right eye
and they cannot be persuaded
at
any rate
to part with them:
though he hide it
under his tongue; not for the sake of concealing it
nor by denying
dissembling
or excusing it
but for the sake of enjoying more pleasure in it; as a
gluttonous man
when he has got a sweet morsel in his mouth
do not let it go
down his throat immediately
but rolls it under his tongue
that he may have
all the pleasure of it he can; so a wicked man devises sin in his heart
keeps
it on his mind
revolves it in his thoughts
and his meditation on it is sweet;
and he is so far from hiding it from others
that he openly declares it
freely
tells of it
and takes pleasure in so doing: "fools make a mock at
sin"; it is their diversion and recreation.
Job 20:13 13 Though
he spares it and does not forsake it
But still keeps it in his mouth
YLT
13Hath pity on it
and doth
not forsake it
And keep it back in the midst of his palate
Though he spare it
.... Not that
he feeds sparingly on it
for he eats of it freely and plentifully
with great
eagerness and greediness; it designs the gratefulness of it to him; he does not
spit it out as loathsome
having tasted of it
but retains it as sweet and
pleasant; he spares it as Saul did Agag
and as a man spares his only son; sin
being a child
a brat of a wicked man
and therefore it is dear unto him:
and forsake it not: as he never will
until he is fully
convinced of the evil of it
and it becomes exceeding sinful to him
and so
loathsome and disagreeable; and he is restrained from it by the grace of God
and enabled by it to desert it
for such an one only finds mercy
Proverbs 28:13;
but keep it still within his mouth; like an epicure
that
will not suffer his food quickly to go down his throat into his stomach
that
he may have the greater pleasure in tasting
palating
and relishing it; as
Philoxenus
who wished his throat as long as a crane's
that he might be the
longer in tasting the sweetness of what he ate and drank; so the wicked man
keeps sin within his mouth
not by restraining his mouth from speaking evil
rather by a non-confession of it
but chiefly by continuing and persisting in
it
that he might have all the pleasure and satisfaction he has promised
himself in it.
Job 20:14 14 Yet
his food in his stomach turns sour; It becomes cobra venom within him.
YLT
14His food in his bowels is
turned
The bitterness of asps [is] in his heart.
Yet his meat in his bowels is
turned
.... Or "his bread"F18לחמו
"panis ejus"
Pagninus
Montanus
Beza
Schmidt.
to which sin is
compared
being what the sinner lives in
and lives upon; what he strengthens
himself in and with
and by which he is nourished unto the day of slaughter
and by means of which he grows and proceeds to more ungodliness
though in the
issue he comes into starving and famishing circumstances; for this is bread of
deceit
and proves to be ashes and gravel stones; it promises pleasure
profit
liberty
and impunity
but is all the reverse; as meat turns in a man's stomach
when it does not digest in him
or rather his stomach turns against that
and
instead of its being pleasant and agreeable to him
it distresses him and makes
him uneasy; sin being compared to meat in the bowels
denotes the finishing of
in after it has been conceived in the mind
and completed in the act:
it is the gall of
asps within him; which is bitter
though not poison; which yet PlinyF19Nat.
Hist. l. 11. c. 37. suggests
but it seemsF20Scheuchzer. Physic.
Sacr. vol. 4. p. 711. Philosoph. Transact. abridged
vol. 2. p. 819. it is not
fact. Sin is an evil and bitter thing
and produces bitter sorrow
and makes
bitter work for repentance in good men
Jeremiah 2:19; and
fills with distress inexpressible and intolerable in wicked men
as in Cain and
Judas in this world
and with black despair
weeping
and gnashing of teeth
and dreadful horrors of conscience
in the world to come
to all eternity; the
effect of it is eternal death
the second death
inevitable and everlasting
ruin and destruction.
Job 20:15 15 He swallows down riches And
vomits them up again; God casts them out of his belly.
YLT
15Wealth he hath swallowed
and doth vomit it. From his belly God driveth it out.
He hath swallowed down riches
.... Not his own
but
another's
which he has spoiled him of and devoured
with as much eagerness
pleasure
and delight
as a hungry man swallows down his food; having an
excessive and immoderate love of riches
and an insatiable desire after them
which make him stop at nothing
though ever so illicit
to obtain them; and
when he has got them into his possession
thinks them as safe as the food in
his belly
and never once dreams of refunding them
which yet he must do
as
follows:
and he shall vomit them up again; that is
make
restoration of them
not freely
but forcedly
with great reluctance
much pain
of mind
and gripes of conscience:
God shall cast them out of his belly; he shall
oblige him to cast them up again
by working upon his heart
making his mind
uneasy
loading his conscience with guilt
so that he shall have no rest nor
peace until he has done it; though they are as meat in his belly within him
they shall not remain with him; though they are in his house
in his coffers
or in his barns
they shall be fetched out from thence.
Job 20:16 16 He will suck the poison of
cobras; The viper’s tongue will slay him.
YLT
16Gall of asps he sucketh
Slay him doth the tongue of a viper.
He shall suck the poison of asps
.... Or "the head of
asps"F21ראש פתנים
"caput aspidum"
V. L. Montanus. ; for their poison lies in their
heads
particularly in their "teeth"F23Plin. Nat. Hist. l.
11. c. 37. Aelian. Hist. Animal. l. 9. c. 4. ; or rather is a liquor in the
gums
yellow like oilF24Philosoph. Transact. ut supra. (abridged
vol. 2. p. 819.) ; according to PlinyF25Ib. c. 62.
in copulation
the male puts his head into the mouth of the female
which she sucks and gnaws
off through the sweetness of the pleasure
then conceives her young
which eat
out her belly; this is to be understood not of the man's sin
then it would
have been expressed either in the past or present tense
as if that was sweet
unto him in the commission of it
sucked in like milk from the breast
or honey
from the honeycomb; such were his contrivances and artful methods
and the
success of them in getting riches
but in the issue proved like the poison of
asps
pernicious and deadly to him
which caused him to vomit them up again;
for poison excites vomiting: but of the punishment of his sin; for putting men
to death by the poison of asps was a punishment inflicted by some people upon
malefactors; and however
it is certain death
and immediately and quickly
dispatches
and without sense; so the wages of sin is death
and there is no avoiding
it
and it comes insensibly on carnal men; they are not aware of it
and in no
pain about it
until in hell they lift up their eyes as the rich man did:
the viper's tongue shall slay him; though it is with its
teeth it bites
yet
when it is about to bite
it puts out its tongue
and to
it its poison is sometimes ascribed; though it is saidF26Scheuchzer
ut supra
(Physic. Sacr. vol. 4.) p. 712. to be quite harmless
and therefore
not to be understood in a literal sense
but figuratively of the tongue of a
detractor
a calumniator and false accuser
such an one as Doeg; but cannot be
the sense here
since the fall of the person here described would not be by any
such means; but the phrase
as before
denotes the certain and immediate death
of such a wicked man; for the bite of a viper was always reckoned incurable
and issued in sudden death
see Acts 28:3.
Job 20:17 17 He will not see the
streams
The rivers flowing with honey and cream.
YLT
17He looketh not on rivulets
Flowing of brooks of honey and butter.
Verse 17
He shall not see the rivers
.... Of water
or meet
with any to assuage his thirst
which poison excites
and so makes a man wish
for water
and desire large quantities; but this shall not be granted the
wicked man; this might be illustrated in the case of the rich man in hell
who
desired a drop of cold water to cool his tongue
but could not have it
Luke 16:24; though
rather plenty of good things is here intended
see Isaiah 48:18; as
also the following expressions:
the floods
the brooks of honey and butter; or
"cream"; which are hyperbolical expressions
denoting the great
profusion and abundance of temporal blessings
which either the covetous rich
man was ambitious of obtaining
and hoped to enjoy
seeking and promising great
things to himself
which yet he should never attain unto; or else the sense is
though he had enjoyed such plenty
and been in such great prosperity as to have
honey and butter
or all temporal good things
flowing about him like rivers
and floods
and brooks; yet he should "see them no more"
so
Broughton reads the words; and perhaps Zophar may have respect to the abundance
Job once possessed
but should no more
and which is by himself expressed by
such like metaphors
Job 29:6; yea
even
spiritual and eternal good things may be designed
and the plenty of them
as
they often are in Scripture
by wine
and milk
and honey; such as the means of
grace
the word and ordinances
the blessings of grace dispensed and
communicated through them; spiritual peace and joy
called the rivers of
pleasure; the love of God
and the streams of it
which make glad his people;
yea
eternal glory and happiness
signified by new wine in the kingdom of God
and by a river of water of life
and a tree of life by it
see Isaiah 55:1; which
are what carnal men and hypocrites shall never see or enjoy; and whereas Zophar
took Job to be such a man
he may have a principal view to him
and object this
to the beatific vision of God
and the enjoyment of eternal happiness he
promised himself
Job 19:26. Bar
Tzemach observes
that these words are to be read by a transposition thus
"he shall not see rivers of water
floods of honey
and brooks of
butter".
Job 20:18 18 He will restore that for
which he labored
And will not swallow it down; From the proceeds of
business He will get no enjoyment.
YLT
18He is giving back [what] he
laboured for
And doth not consume [it]; As a bulwark [is] his exchange
and he
exults not.
That which he laboured for shall he restore
.... This
explains what was before figuratively expressed by vomiting
Job 20:15; and is
to be interpreted either of that which another laboured for; so the Targum
paraphrases it
"another's
labour;'
and
Mr. Broughton renders it
"he shall restore what man's pain get": and
then the sense is
that that which another got by his labour
coming by some
means or another into the hand of this rapacious
covetous
wicked man
he
shall be obliged to restore to him again; or the hire of the labourer being
detained in his hands
he shall be forced to give it to him
as the Egyptians
by lending the Israelites their jewels of gold and silver
restored to them the
wages due to them for all their labour among them for many years; or else this
is to be understood of what the wicked man himself had laboured for
who with
much toil and labour
as well as trick and artifice
had got the wealth of
others into his hands; but should be obliged to make restoration of it again
and along with that also what he had laboured for
and had got even in an
honest and lawful way
the marathon of unrighteousness corrupting and marring
his whole substance:
and shall not swallow it down; or "not
have time to devour it"
as Mr. Broughton; he shall be obliged so soon to
restore it
that it shall be as if he had never had it; he shall have no
enjoyment of it
at least no comfort
pleasure
and satisfaction in it:
according to his substance shall the restitution be; the law of
Moses required
in some cases
fourfold
in others fivefold
and sometimes
sevenfold was exacted; and if a man had not sufficient to pay
all his
substance was to go towards payment
and by this means what he lawfully got
went along with that which was obtained in an illicit way
as before
see Exodus 22:1;
and he shall not rejoice therein; not in the
restitution he is forced to make
it being greatly against his will; nor in his
ill-gotten substance
at least but for a little while
as in Job 20:5; he shall
neither enjoy it nor have delight and pleasure in it
nor glory of it
as men
are apt to do; Mr. Broughton reads this in connection with the preceding clause
thus
"and
never rejoice in the wealth for which he must make recompense.'
Job 20:19 19 For he has oppressed and
forsaken the poor
He has violently seized a house which he did not build.
YLT
19For he oppressed -- he
forsook the poor
A house he hath taken violently away
And he doth not build
it.
Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor
.... Having
oppressed
crushed
and broken the poor to pieces
he leaves them so without
pity and compassion for them
and without giving them any relief; he first by
oppression makes them poor
or however poorer still
and then leaves them in
such circumstances; for this does not suppose that he once was a favourer of
them
and afforded them assistance in their necessities
and afterwards forsook
them; but rather
as Ben Gersom gives the sense
he does not leave the poor
until he has oppressed and crushed them
and then he does; Mr. Broughton's
reading of the words agrees with the former sense
"he oppresseth and
leaveth poor":
because he hath
violently taken away an house which he built not; an house which did not
belong to him
he had no property in or right unto
which
as he had not
bought
he had not built; and therefore could lay no rightful claim unto it
and yet this he took in a violent manner from the right owner of it
see Micah 2:2; or
"and"
or "but shall not build it"F1ולא יבנהו "et non
aedificabit eam"
Pagninus
Montanus; "et non aedificat eam"
Cocceius
Schultens; "non autem"
Beza; "sed non"
Schmidt
Michaelis.
or "buildeth it not"; he took it away with an intention
to pull it down
and build a stately palace in the room of it; but either his
substance was taken from him
or he taken away by death before he could finish
it
and so either through neglect
or want of opportunity
or of money
did not
what he thought to have done.
Job 20:20 20 “Because he knows no
quietness in his heart
[a] He will
not save anything he desires.
YLT
20For he hath not known ease
in his belly. With his desirable thing he delivereth not himself.
Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly
.... Or
happiness in his children
so some in Bar Tzemach; rather shall have no
satisfaction in his substance; though his belly is filled with hid treasure
it
shall give him no contentment; he shall be a stranger to that divine art
but
ever have a restless craving after more
which is his sin; but rather
punishment is here meant
and the sense is
that he shall have no quiet in his
conscience
no peace of mind
because of his sin in getting riches in an
unlawful way:
he shall not save of that which he desired; of his
desirable things
his goods
his wealth
his riches
and even his children
all
being gone
and none saved; respect may be had particularly to Job's case
who
was stripped of everything
of all his substance and his children.
Job 20:21 21 Nothing is left for him to
eat; Therefore his well-being will not last.
YLT
21There is not a remnant to
his food
Therefore his good doth not stay.
There shall none of his meat be left
.... Not in
his belly
all shall be cast up; none of his substance left for himself or
others; none of his riches for his children or heirs
all being consumed: or
this may respect either the profuseness or niggardliness of his living
that he
should live in great luxury himself
but take no care of the poor; or else keep
so mean a table
that there would be nothing left for the poor
not so much as
a few crumbs to fall from it; but the first sense seems best; though some
render the words
"there shall be none left for his meat"F2אין שריד לאכלו
"non erit superstes haeres qui ejus bonis fruetur"; so some in
Mercer. Drusius.
or his substance; he shall leave no children
have no heirs
all his family shall be cut off
see Job 18:19;
therefore shall no man look for his goods; for there
shall be none to look for them; or rather there shall be none to look for
all
being gone: a man in good circumstances of life
his heirs expect to enjoy much
at his death
but when he is stripped of all
as Job was
his relations and
friends are in no expectation of having anything at his death; and therefore do
not think it worth their while to look out
or make an inquiry whether there is
anything for them or not
see Job 20:28.
Job 20:22 22 In his self-sufficiency he
will be in distress; Every hand of misery will come against him.
YLT
22In the fulness of his
sufficiency he is straitened. Every perverse hand doth meet him.
In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits
.... For
though he may not only have a sufficient competency to live upon
but even a
fulness of temporal blessings
have as much as heart can wish
or more
even
good things
and plenty of them laid up for many years; yet amidst it all shall
be reduced to the utmost straits and difficulties
either through fear of
losing what he has
insomuch that his abundance will not suffer him to sleep in
the night
nor to enjoy an hour's pleasure in the day; or being so narrow
spirited
notwithstanding his fulness
that he cannot allow himself to eat of
the fruit of his labours
and rejoice therein; or fearing
notwithstanding all
his plenty
that he shall come to want and poverty; or rather while he is in
the most flourishing circumstances
and in the height of his prosperity
he is
suddenly
as Nebuchadnezzar was
dispossessed of all
and reduced to the utmost
extremity
Daniel 4:31; the
Targum is
"when
his measure is filled
he shall take vengeance on him:'
every hand of the wicked shall come upon him: or of the
labourer
as the Targum
the hire of whose labour he has detained
or has taken
away from him that which he laboured for; and so Broughton
"the
hand of the injured or grieved;'
such
as he had been injurious to
and had grieved by his oppressions of them; or
rather every troublesome wicked man
the hand of every thief or robber; respect
seems to be had to the hand of the Sabeans and Chaldeans
that had been on Job
and his substance.
Job 20:23 23 When
he is about to fill his stomach
God will cast on him the fury of His
wrath
And will rain it on him while he is eating.
YLT
23It cometh to pass
at the
filling of his belly
He sendeth forth against him The fierceness of His anger
Yea
He raineth on him in his eating.
When he is about to
fill his belly
.... Either in a literal sense
when he is about to take an
ordinary meal to satisfy nature; or in a figurative sense
when he is seeking
to increase his worldly riches
and his barns and coffers
and endeavouring to
get satisfaction therein:
God shall cast the fury of
his wrath upon him; or "send it out on him"F3ישלח בו "mittet in
eum"
Pagninus
Montanus
Schmidt; so Mercerus
Piscator. ; out of the
treasures of it
which are laid up with him
Deuteronomy 32:34;
into his conscience
and fill him with a dreadful sense and apprehension of it
and that with great force and violence
and cast it
and pour it on him like
fire
or any scalding liquor
which is very terrible and intolerable. This
intends the indignation of God against sin
and his just punishment of it
according to the rigour of his justice; sometimes it is only a little wrath and
displeasure he shows
he does not stir up all his wrath; but here it is threatened
he will cast it
and pour it in great plenty
even "the fury" of it
in the most awful and terrible manner:
and shall rain it upon him while he is eating; signifying
that the wrath of God shall be revealed from heaven against him
from whence
rain comes; that it shall fall on him from above
unseen
suddenly
and at an
unawares
and come with a force and violence not to be resisted
and in great
abundance and profusion. The allusion seems to be to the raining of fire and
brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah
the inhabitants of which were indulging
themselves in gratifying the flesh
when that judgment came upon them
Luke 17:28; and so
it was with the Israelites
when they sinned against God in the wilderness
Psalm 78:30;
perhaps Zophar may glance at Job's children being slain while they were eating
and drinking in their elder brother's house
Job 1:18. Some
render it
"upon his food"F4בלחומו
"in cibum illius"
Tigurine version. ; his meat
a curse going along
with it
while he is eating it
his table becoming a snare unto him; or upon
his wealth and riches
he is endeavouring to fill his belly or satisfy himself
with; and others
"upon his flesh"
as the Targum; or "into his
flesh"; as Broughton
and so many of the Jewish commentatorsF5Aben
Ezra
Ben Gersom
Bar Tzemach; "in carne ejus"
Pagninus
Montanus;
"super carnem ejus"
Beza; "in carnem ejus"
Drusius
Mercer
Schmidt. meaning his body
filling it with diseases
so that there is
no soundness in it
but is in pain
and wasting
and consuming; and Job's case
may be referred to
his body being full of boils and ulcers.
Job 20:24 24 He will flee from the iron
weapon; A bronze bow will pierce him through.
YLT
24He fleeth from an iron
weapon
Pass through him doth a bow of brass.
He shall flee from the iron weapon
.... The sword
for fear
of being thrust through with it; the flaming sword of justice God sometimes
threatens to take
and whet
and make use of against ungodly men; the sword of
God
as Bar Tzemach observes
is hereby figuratively expressed; fleeing from
it
or an attempt to flee from it
shows guilt in the conscience
danger
and a
sense of it
and a fear of falling into it
and yet there is no escaping the
hand of God
or fleeing from his presence:
and the bow of steel shall
strike him through; that is
an arrow out of a bow
made of steel or brass
of which
bows were formerly made
and reckoned the strongest and most forcible
see Psalm 18:34;
signifying
that if he should escape the dint of a weapon
a sword or spear
used near at hand
yet
as he fled
he would be reached by one that strikes at
a distance
an arrow shot from a bow; the sense is
that
if a wicked man
escapes one judgment
another will be sure to follow him
and overtake him and
destroy him
see Isaiah 24:17.
Job 20:25 25 It is drawn
and comes out
of the body; Yes
the glittering point comes out of his gall. Terrors come
upon him;
YLT
25One hath drawn
And it
cometh out from the body
And a glittering weapon from his gall proceedeth. On
him [are] terrors.
It is drawn
and cometh out of the body
.... That is
the arrow with which a wicked man is stricken through; either it is drawn
and
comes out of the quiver
as Broughton; or rather is drawn out of the body of a
wicked man
being shot into it
and that in order that he may be cured of his
wound if possible
but to no purpose
since it follows:
yea
the glittering sword cometh out of his gall; being thrust
into it
which being pierced and poured out
is certain and immediate death
see Job 16:13. Some
render it
yea
"the glittering sword out of his gall
he shall go
away"
or "is gone"F6יהלך
"abibit e vivis"; so some in Michaelis; "abit"
Schultens.
; that is
he shall die
or is a dead man
there is no hope of him
when the
arrow has transfixed his body
and the sword has penetrated into his gall
and
divided that:
terrors are upon him; the terrors of death
the plain symptoms of it being upon him; the terrors of an awful judgment
which follows after it; the terrors of the dreadful sentence of condemnation
that will then be pronounced
"go
ye cursed"
&c. and the terrors
of hell and eternal death
signified by utter darkness
unquenchable fire
and
the never ceasing torments of it. Some by them understand devils
those
terrible spirits which haunt wicked men in their dying moments
and are ready
to carry them to the lake which burns with fire and brimstone
where they are
to be companions with them for ever. The word is sometimes used of gigantic
persons
who are sometimes terrible to others; and since these are mentioned
along with weapons of war
Bar Tzemach interprets them of men of strength and
power
men of war or soldiers
whose fear falls on others.
Job 20:26 26 Total darkness is
reserved for his treasures. An unfanned fire will consume him; It shall go ill
with him who is left in his tent.
YLT
26All darkness is hid for his
treasures
Consume him doth a fire not blown
Broken is the remnant in his
tent.
All darkness shall be hid in his secret places
.... In such
places of secrecy
where he may promise himself safety
he shall find more
calamities of all sorts; or every kind of judgments shall find him out
and
come upon him
sometimes signified by darkness
see Isaiah 8:22; or
utter darkness
the blackness of darkness; everlasting wrath
ruin
and
destruction
are laid up and reserved in God's secret places for him
and lie
hid among his treasures of vengeance
which he in due time will bring forth
from thence
and punish the guilty sinner with
Judges 1:13; or all
this shall be because of secret sins
as Ben Gersom interprets it; and so Mr.
Broughton renders the words
"for his store"; that is
for the store
of his sins
as he explains it
which
however privately and secretly
committed
shall be brought into judgment; and there the hidden things of
darkness will be brought to light
and sentence pass upon men for them:
a fire not blown shall consume him; not blown by man
but by
God himself; which some understand of thunder and lightning
such as fell on
Job's sheep and servants
and consumed them
and which may be glanced at; and
others of some fiery distemper
a burning fever
hot ulcers
carbuncles
&c. such as were at this time on Job's body; but the Targum
better
of the
fire of hell; and so many of the Jewish commentatorsF7Jarchi
Sephorno
and others.
as well as Christian; the Septuagint version renders
it
"unquenchable fire"; and so Mr. Broughton; and such the fire of
hell is said to be
Matthew 3:12
&c. and which is a fire kindled by the breath of the Lord
like a stream of
brimstone
Isaiah 30:33;
it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle; not only it
shall go ill with the wicked man himself
but with those he leaves behind him
that dwell in the house he formerly lived in
with his posterity; God sometimes
punishing the iniquities of the fathers upon the children.
Job 20:27 27 The heavens will reveal
his iniquity
And the earth will rise up against him.
YLT
27Reveal do the heavens his
iniquity
And earth is raising itself against him.
The heaven shall reveal his iniquity
.... Either
God the Maker and Possessor of heaven
who dwells there
and is sometimes so
called
Daniel 4:25; who sees
and knows all things
even those that are most secret
as well as more openly
committed
and will make all manifest
sooner or later; or else the angels of
heaven
the inhabitants of it
so the Targum; who in the last day will be
employed in gathering out of Christ's kingdom all that offend
and do iniquity
Matthew 13:41; or
the judgments of God descending from heaven
or appear there
and are owing to
it; such as drowning the old world by opening the windows of heaven
Genesis 7:11; the
burning of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire and brimstone from thence
Genesis 19:24; and
the destruction of persons by thunder
2 Samuel 22:15
and
lightning
1 Samuel 2:10
and
the like; which judgments falling upon men
show them to be guilty of crimes
deserving of the wrath of God
see Romans 1:18;
and the earth shall rise up against him; when that
becomes barren for the sins of men
and nothing but things hurtful to man rise
up out of it; when it discloses the blood of murdered persons
and will at last
give up the wicked dead that are buried in it; the Targum is
"the inhabitants of the earth;' and
may be interpreted of their enmity
opposition
and hostility.
Job 20:28 28 The increase of his house
will depart
And his goods will flow away in the day of His wrath.
YLT
28Remove doth the increase of
his house
Poured forth in a day of His anger.
The increase of his house shall depart
.... Either
his children or his substance. Some interpret it
as KimchiF8Sepher
Shorash. rad. יבל. observes
of the walls of his
house
because of what follows
"they shall flow away"
&c. as if
he should say
the stones of his house shall fall down
and his habitation
shall be destroyed
according to Micah 1:6; where a
dilapidation is expressed by a flow
or pouring down of stones:
and his goods shall flow
away in the day of his wrath; in the day of the wrath of God upon him
which will come upon him like water split on the ground
of no more use and
service to him; the Targum interprets it of oil and wine
which shall flow away
and cease
and so Mr. Broughton renders it
"fruits for his house";
all desirable and useful ones
see Revelation 18:14.
Job 20:29 29 This is the portion
from God for a wicked man
The heritage appointed to him by God.”
YLT
29This [is] the portion of a
wicked man from God. And an inheritance appointed him by God.
This is the portion of a wicked man from God
.... All
before related
and which is very different from the portion of a good man
which is God himself
both here and hereafter; the wicked man has indeed his
portion from God
which he has assigned him
but his portion is not himself;
nor is it with him
nor with his people
but it is at most and best in this
life
and but a worldly one
and hereafter will be with devils and damned
spirits; and a dreadful portion it is to be banished from the presence of God
to all eternity
and take up an everlasting abode with such company:
and the heritage appointed unto him by God; it is not
only a portion allotted to him
but an inheritance to abide continually with
him; and this by the irreversible decree and appointment of God
who has
foreordained ungodly men to condemnation
and made
appointed
and reserved
them to the day of wrath and destruction. Some choose to render the clause
"and the inheritance of his word or wordsF9נחלת
אמרו "haereditas eloquii ejus"
Pagninus
Montanus; "verborum ejus"
V. L. "impie dictorum ejus"
Codurcus. is unto him by God"; that is
punishment shall be inflicted upon
him
and continue with him as an inheritance
because of his words
his
indecent words
hard speeches and blasphemies uttered by him; referring
as it
is thought
to the words which had dropped from the lips of Job.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)