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Job Chapter
Twenty-seven
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JOB 27
Though
Job's friends were become silent
and dropped the controversy with him
he
still continued his discourse in this and the four following chapters; in which
he asserts his integrity; illustrates and confirms his former sentiments; gives
further proof of his knowledge of things
natural and divine; takes notice of
his former state of prosperity
and of his present distresses and afflictions
which came upon him
notwithstanding his piety
humanity
and beneficence
and
his freedom from the grosser acts of sin
both with respect to God and men
all
which he enlarges upon. In this chapter he gives his word and oath for it
that
he would never belie himself
and own that he was an hypocrite
when he was
not
but would continue to assert his integrity
and the righteousness of his
cause
as long as he lived
Job 27:1; for to be
an hypocrite
and to attempt to conceal his hypocrisy
would be of no advantage
to him
either in life
or in death
Job 27:7; and was
this his character and case
upon their principles
he could expect no other
than to be a miserable man
as wicked men are
who have their blessings turned
into curses
or taken away from them
and they removed out of the world in the
most awful and terrible manner
and under manifest tokens of the wrath and
displeasure of God
Job 27:11.
Job 27:1 Moreover
Job continued his discourse
and said:
YLT
1And Job addeth to lift up
his simile
and saith: --
Moreover Job continued his parable
.... Having finished his
discourse concerning the worlds and ways of God
and the display of his
majesty
power
and glory
in them
he pauses awhile
waiting for Zophar
whose
turn was next to rise up
and make a reply to him; but neither he
nor any of
his friends
reassumed the debate
but kept a profound silence
and chose not
to carry on the dispute any further with him; either concluding him to be an
obstinate man
not open to conviction
and on whom no impressions could be
made
and that it was all lost time and labour to use any argument with him; or
else being convicted in their minds that he was in the right
and they in the
wrong
though they did not choose to own it; and especially being surprised
with what he had last said concerning God and his works
whereby they perceived
he had great knowledge of divine things
and could not be the man they had
suspected him to be from his afflictions: however
though they are silent
Job
was not
"he added to take or lift up his parable"F1ויוסף שאת משלו
"et addidit assumere suam parabolam"
Pagninus
Montanus.
as the
words may be rendered; or his oration
as Mr. Broughton
his discourse; which
because it consisted of choice and principal things
which command regard and
attention
of wise
grave
serious
and sententious sayings
and some of them
such as not easy to be understood
being delivered in similes and figurative
expressions
as particularly in the following chapter
it is called his
parable; what are called parables being proverbial phrases
dark sayings
allegorical or metaphorical expressions
and the like; and which way of
speaking Job is here said to take
"and lift up"
which is an eastern
phraseology
as appears from Balaam's use of it
Numbers 23:7; and
may signify
that he delivered the following oration with great freedom
boldness
and confidence
and with a high tone and loud voice; to all which he
might be induced by observing
through the silence of his friends
that he had
got the advantage of them
and had carried his point
and had brought them to
conviction or confusion
or however to silence
which gave him heart and spirit
to proceed on with his oration
which he added to his former discourse:
and said; as follows.
Job 27:2 2 “As God lives
who
has taken away my justice
And the Almighty
who has made my soul
bitter
YLT
2God liveth! He turned aside
my judgment
And the Mighty -- He made my soul bitter.
As God liveth
.... Which is
an oath
as Jarchi observes
and is a form of one frequently used
see 2 Samuel 2:27; and
is used by God himself
who
because he can swear by no greater
swears by
himself
and by his life
which ever continues
as in Ezekiel 18:3; and
many other places; and so the Angel of the Lord
even the uncreated Angel
Daniel 12:7; and so
should men
when they swear at all
it should be in this manner
see Jeremiah 4:2;
though this ought not to be but in cases of moment and importance
for the
confirmation of the truth
and to put an end to strife
when it cannot be done
any other way than by an appeal to God; as was the present case with Job
it
being about hypocrisy
and want of integrity his friends charged him with; and
such a case can only be determined truly and fully by God
who is here
described as the living God
by whom men swear
in opposition to the idols of
the Gentiles
which are of gold
silver
wood
and stone
and without life and
breath
or to their deified heroes
who were dead men; but the true God is the
living God
has life in and of himself
and is the fountain of life to others
the author and giver of life
natural
spiritual
and eternal
and who himself
lives for ever and ever; and as such is the object of faith and confidence
of
fear and reverence
of love and affection; all which swearing by him supposes
and implies; it is a saying of R. Joshuah
as Jarchi on the place relates it
"that
Job from love served God
for no man swears by the life of a king but who loves
the king;'
the
object swore by is further described
who hath taken away my
judgment; not the judgment of his mind
or his sense of judging things
which remained with him quick and strong
notwithstanding his afflictions; nor
correction with judgment
which continued with him; but
as the Targum
paraphrases it
"he
hath taken away the rule of my judgment;'
that
is
among men
his substance
wealth
and riches
his former affluence and
prosperity
which while he enjoyed
he was reckoned a good man; but now all
this being taken away by the hand of God as it was
he was censured as a wicked
man
and even by his friends; or rather it is a complaint
that God had
neglected the judgment of him
like that of the church in Isaiah 40:27; that
he did not stir up himself to his judgment
even to his cause; did not
vindicate him
though he appealed to him; did not admit him to his judgment
seat
nor give his cause a hearing
and decide it
though he had most earnestly
desired it; nor did he let him know the reason of his thus dealing and
contending with him; yea
he afflicted him severely
though righteous and
innocent
in which Job obliquely reflects upon the dealings of God with him;
though he does not charge him with injustice
or break out into blasphemy of
him; yet this seems to be one of those speeches which God disapproved of
and
is taken notice of by Elihu with a censure
Job 34:5;
and the Almighty
who hath vexed my soul; with whom
nothing is impossible
and who could easily have relieved him from his
distresses; and who was "Shaddai"
the all-sufficient Being
who
could have supplied him with all things temporal and spiritual he wanted; yet
instead of this "vexed his soul" with adversity
with
afflictions very grievous to him
his hand touching and pressing him sore: or
"hath made my soul bitter"F2המר נפשי "affecit amaritudine animam meam"
Pagninus
Montanus
Mercerus
Michaelis; so Sept. ; dealt bitterly with him
as the
Almighty did with Naomi
1:20. Afflictions are
bitter things
they are like the waters of Marah
they are wormwood and gall
they cause bitter distress and sorrow
and make a man go and speak in the
bitterness of his soul; and these are of God
to whom job ascribes his
and not
to chance and fortune; they were bitter things God appointed for him and wrote
against him.
Job 27:3 3 As long as my breath is
in me
And the breath of God in my nostrils
YLT
3For all the while my breath
[is] in me
And the spirit of God in my nostrils.
All the while my breath is in me
.... So long
the oath of God would be upon him
or he bound himself under it:
and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; which
signifies the same thing. The breath of a man is his spirit
and this is of
God
the Father of spirits; he first breathed into man the breath of life
and
he became a living soul or spirit
Genesis 2:7; it is
he that gives life and breath to every man
Acts 17:25
and
continues it as long as he pleases
which is a very precarious thing; for it is
in his nostrils
where it is drawn to and fro and soon and easily stopped; nor
will it always continue
it will some time not be
it will go forth
and then
man dies
and returns to the earth
Ecclesiastes 12:7;
but as long as there is breath there is life; so that to say this is the same
as to say
as long as I live
or have a being
Psalm 104:33; and
while that continued
Job looked upon himself under the oath he had taken by
the living God.
Job 27:4 4 My lips will not speak
wickedness
Nor my tongue utter deceit.
YLT
4My lips do not speak
perverseness
And my tongue doth not utter deceit.
My lips shall not speak wickedness
.... This is the thing he
swears to
this the matter of his oath
not only that he would not speak a
wicked word not anything corrupt
unsavoury
unchaste
profane
and idle nor
speak evil of his neighbours and friends or of any man; but that he would not
speak wickedly of himself
as he must do
if he owned himself to be a wicked
man and an hypocrite as his friends charged him
and they would have had him
confessed; but he swears he would not utter such wickedness as long as he had
any breath in him:
nor my tongue utter deceit; which respects the same
thing; not merely any fallacy or lie
or what might impose upon and deceive
another
which yet he was careful of; but such deceit and falsehood as would be
a belying himself
which would be the case should he say that he was devoid of
integrity and sincerity.
Job 27:5 5 Far be it from me That I
should say you are right; Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
YLT
5Pollution to me -- if I
justify you
Till I expire I turn not aside mine integrity from me.
God forbid that I should justify you
.... Not but
that he counted them righteous and good men God-ward; he did not take upon him
to judge their state
and to justify or condemn them with respect to their
everlasting condition; but he could not justify them in their censures of him
and say they did a right thing in charging him with wickedness and hypocrisy;
nor could he justify them in all their sentiments and doctrines which they had
delivered concerning the punishment of the wicked in this life
and the happiness
that attends all good men; and that a man by his outward circumstances may be
known to be either a good man or a bad man; such things as these he could not
say were right; for so to do would be to call evil good
and good evil; and
therefore he expresses his utmost abhorrence and detestation of showing his
approbation of such conduct as theirs towards him
and of such unbecoming
sentiments of God
and of his dealings
they had entertained; and to join in
with which would be a profanation and a pollution
as the word used by him
signifies; he could not do it without defiling his conscience
and profaning
truth:
until I die one will not remove my integrity from me; Job was an
upright man both in heart and life
through the grace of God bestowed on him;
and he continued in his integrity
notwithstanding the temptations of Satan
and his attacks upon him
and the solicitations of his wife; and he determined
through the grace of God to persist therein to the end of his life; though what
he chiefly means here is
that he would not part with his character as an
upright man
which he had always had
and God himself had bore testimony to; he
would never give up this till he gave up the ghost; he would never suffer his
integrity to be removed from him
nor remove it from himself by denying that it
belonged to him
which his friends bore hard upon him to do. So Jarchi
paraphrases it
"I
will not confess (or agree) to your saying
that I am not upright;'
the
phrase
"till I die"
seems rather to belong to the first clause
though it is true of both
and may be repeated in this.
Job 27:6 6 My righteousness I hold
fast
and will not let it go; My heart shall not reproach me as long as
I live.
YLT
6On my righteousness I have
laid hold
And I do not let it go
My heart doth not reproach me while I live.
My righteousness I hold fast
and will not let it go
.... Meaning
not his personal righteousness
or the righteousness of his works
as his
justifying righteousness before God
and for acceptance with him; which no man
that is convinced of the insufficiency of
as Job was
will hold fast
but
renounce
and desire
with the Apostle Paul
not to be found in it
Philemon 3:9.
Indeed the righteousness of his living Redeemer
which was his
and he might
call so
this he knew
and knew he should be justified by it
and which he laid
hold upon by faith in the strong exercise of it
and would not drop it
or
become remiss in it
but retain it
and constantly make mention of it
and
plead it as his justifying righteousness with God; but here he intends the
righteousness of his cause
which he always maintained strongly
and was
determined he ever would
and never give way
or let it drop
but continue to
affirm
that he was a righteous man
and that it was not for any
unrighteousness he had done to any man that God dealt thus with him; he had
wronged no man
he had done justice to all men
as well as he was not devoid of
the fear of God
and piety towards him; and this character of himself he would
never give up
but defend to the uttermost:
my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live; not that he
imagined he should or could live without sin
so that his conscience could
never charge
accuse
or upbraid him with it; for there is no man
let him live
a life ever so harmless and inoffensive to God and man
but his heart will
smite him
and condemn him for his sins committed in thought
word
and deed:
but Job's sense is
that he would never deny his integrity
or renounce the
righteousness of his cause
and own himself to be an insincere and unrighteous
man; should he do this
he should speak contrary to his own conscience
which
would accuse and reproach him for so saying
and therefore he was determined it
never should; for
as long as he lived
he neither could nor would say any such
thing. Some render the last phrase
"for my days"F3מימי "propter dies meos"
Munster; "vel
propter dies vitae meae"
Michaelis; "de diebus meis"
Schultens.
or "concerning" them; for my course of life
all my
days
so Jarchi; for that my heart shall not reproach me
as being conscious to
himself he had lived in all good conscience to that day
and trusted he ever
should; but the sense before given is best.
Job 27:7 7 “May my enemy be like the
wicked
And he who rises up against me like the unrighteous.
YLT
7As the wicked is my enemy
And my withstander as the perverse.
Let mine enemy be as the wicked
.... Job in this
and
some following verses
shows
that he was not
and could not
and would not be
a wicked man and an hypocrite
or however had no opinion and liking of such
persons; for whatever his friends might think of him
because he had said so
much of their outward prosperity in this world; yet he was far from approving
of or conniving at their wickedness and hypocrisy
or choosing them for his
companions
and joining with them in their actions
or imagining they were
really happy persons; so far from it
that he would not be in their condition
and circumstances for all the world: for if he was to wish a bad thing to the
greatest enemy he had
he could not wish him any worse than to be as a wicked
and unrighteous man; that is
to be a wicked and unrighteous man; which it is
impossible for a good man to wish
and indeed would be a needless wish
since
all that are enemies to good men
as such
must be wicked; and such were Job's
enemies
as the Chaldeans and Sabeans; but that they might be as such
in their
state and circumstances
or rather as they will be in the consequence of
things
most wretched and miserable; for they are always under the displeasure
of God
and hated by him; and whatever fulness they may have of the things of
this world
they have them with a curse
and they are curses to them
and their
end will be everlasting ruin and destruction; wherefore the Septuagint version
is
"as
the overthrow of the ungodly
and as the perdition of transgressors;'
though
some take this to be a kind of an ironic imprecation
and that by the wicked
man here
and unrighteous in the next clause
he means himself
whom his
friends reckoned a wicked and unrighteous man; and then the sense is
I wish
you all
my friends
and even the worst enemies I have
were but as wicked Job
is
as you call him; not that he wished they might be afflicted in body
family
and estate
as he was
but that they were as good men as he was
and
partook of as much of the grace of God as he did
and had the same integrity
and righteousness as he had
see Acts 26:29; and
such a wish as this
as it serves to illustrate his own character
so it
breathes charity and good will to others; and indeed it cannot be thought the
words are to be taken in such a sense as that he wished the same evils might be
retorted upon his enemies
whether open or secret
which they were the means of
bringing upon him
which was contrary to the spirit of Job
Job 31:29. Some
consider them not as an imprecation
but as a prediction
"mine enemy
shall be as the wicked"F5יהי כרשע איבי "erit ut impius
inimieus meus"
Pagninus
Montanus
Boldacius; so Junius & Tremellius
Broughton
& Ramban. ; and may have respect to his friends
who were so
ready to charge him with wickedness
and suggests that in the issue of thin;
they would be found
and not he
guilty of sin folly
and to have said the
things that were not right
neither of God
nor of him
which had its
accomplishment
Job 42:7;
and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous; which is but
another way of expressing the same thing; for an enemy
and one that rises up
against a man
is the same person; only this the better explains what enemy is
intended
even an open one
that rises up in an hostile manner
full of rage
and fury; and so a wicked and an unrighteous man are the same
and are
frequently put together as describing the same sort of persons
see Isaiah 55:7.
Job 27:8 8 For what is the hope of
the hypocrite
Though he may gain much
If God takes away his life?
YLT
8For what [is] the hope of
the profane
When He doth cut off? When God doth cast off his soul?
For what is the hope of the hypocrite
.... In
religion
who seems to be what he is not
a holy and righteous man; professes
to have what he has not
the grace of God; pretends to do what he does not
worship God sincerely and fervently
and does all he does to be seen of men;
though such a man may have an hope
as he has
of an interest in the divine
layout
and of eternal glory and happiness
what will it signify? what avail
will it be unto him? what will it issue in? Job was of the same mind in this
with Bildad and Zophar
that such a man's hope is as the spider's web
and as
the giving up of the ghost
Job 8:14; however
he may please himself with it in this life
it will be of no service to him at
death; for it is not like that of the true believer's
that is sure and
steadfast
and founded upon the perfect righteousness and sacrifice of Christ;
but upon his outward substance
fancying
that because God prospers him in this
world
he is highly in his favour
and shall enjoy the happiness of the world
to come; and upon his external profession of religion
and found of duties
performed by him
but he will find himself mistaken: though he hath gained;
great wealth and riches under a guise of religion
and by that means making
gain of godliness
and taking the one for the other; so the Targum
"because
he hath gathered the mammon of falsehood;'
and
also has great gifts
and a great deal of head knowledge
being able to talk of
and dispute about most points of religion
and so has gained a great name among
men both for knowledge and holiness
and yet all will not stand him in any
stead
or be of any advantage to him:
when God taketh away his soul? out of his body by
death
as a sword is drawn out of its scabbard
and which is as easily done by
him; or as a shoe is plucked off from the foot
as Aben Ezra
and what he has a
right to do
and will do it: and this taking it away seems to be in a violent
manner
though not by what is called a violent death
yet against the will of
the person; a good man is willing to die
is desirous of it
and gives up the
ghost cheerfully; but an hypocrite is not willing to die
being afraid of
death
and therefore his life or soul is taken from him without his consent and
will
and not in love but in wrath
as the latter part of this chapter shows.
Now Job had an hope which bore him up under all his troubles
and which he
retained in the most killing and distressed circumstances
and which continued
with him
and supported him in the views of death and eternity
so that he
could look upon death
and into another world
with pleasure
and therefore
could be no hypocrite
see Job 13:15.
Job 27:9 9 Will God hear his cry When
trouble comes upon him?
YLT
9His cry doth God hear
When
distress cometh on him?
Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh
upon him? No
he will
not
he heareth not sinners
and such as regard iniquity in their hearts
Psalm 66:18; every
man has trouble more or less in this life
even the best of men; and generally
speaking they have the most
and wicked men the least; but when death comes
he
is a king of terrors to them
and they find sorrow and trouble; and especially
at the day of judgment
when they will cry for mercy; and hypocrites
as the
foolish virgins
will cry
"Lord
Lord
open unto us"
Matthew 25:11; but
when they call for mercy
the Lord will not answer
but laugh at their
calamity
and mock when their fear cometh
Proverbs 1:26; but
God hears the cries of his people when in
trouble
whether in
life
or
in
death
and is a present help unto them; and when
strength and heart fail
he
is their portion
and will be so for evermore; and though sometimes they think
he does not hear them
as Job sometimes complains
yet he makes it appear that
he does sooner or later
and so Job describes himself as one that "calleth
upon God
and he answereth him"
Job 12:4; and
therefore might conclude he was no hypocrite.
Job 27:10 10 Will he delight himself in
the Almighty? Will he always call on God?
YLT
10On the Mighty doth he
delight himself? Call God at all times?
Will he delight himself in the Almighty?.... That is
the hypocrite; no
he will not; he may seem to delight in
him
but he does not
truly and sincerely; not in him as the Almighty
or in his omnipotence
into
whose hands it is a fearful thing to fall
and who is able to destroy soul and
body in hell; nor his omniscience
who
searches and knows the hearts of all
men
and the insincerity of the hypocrite
covert to men soever he is; nor in
his holiness
which at heart he loves not; nor in his ways and worship
word
ordinances
and people
though he makes a show of it
Isaiah 58:2;
will he always call upon God? God only is to be called
upon
and it becomes all men to call upon him for all blessings
temporal and
spiritual; and this should be done in faith
with fervency
in sincerity and
uprightness of soul
and with constancy
always
at all times both of
prosperity and adversity; but an hypocrite does not
and cannot call upon God
in a sincere and spiritual manner; nor is he constant in this work
only by
fits and starts
when it is for his worldly interest and external honour so to
do. Now Job was one that delighted in God
was uneasy at his absence
longed
for communion with him
sought earnestly after him
frequently and constantly
called upon him
though he was wrongly charged with casting off the fear of
God
and restraining prayer before him
and therefore no hypocrite. Some
understandF6Schultens. all this as affirmed of the hypocrite
setting forth his present seeming state of happiness; as that he has a hope of
divine favour
and of eternal felicity; has much peace and tranquillity of mind
in life
and at death; is heard of God when trouble comes
and so gets out of
it
and enjoys great prosperity; professes much delight and pleasure in God
and his ways
and is a constant caller upon him
and keeps close to the
external duties of religion; and yet
notwithstanding all this
is in the
issue
when death comes
exceeding miserable
as the following part of the
chapter shows.
Job 27:11 11 “I will teach you about
the hand of God; What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
YLT
11I shew you by the hand of
God
That which [is] with the Mighty I hide not.
I will teach you by the hand of God
.... To serve God
and
speak truth
says one of the Jewish commentatorsF7Simeon Bar
Tzemach. ; rather the works of God
and methods of his providence
with wicked
men and hypocrites; the wisdom of God in his dispensations towards them; the
reasons why he suffers them to live in outward prosperity and happiness
and
what in the issue will be their case and circumstances; wherefore some render
the words
"I will teach you the hand of God"
or
"of"
or "concerning the hand of God"F8ביד אל "manum Dei"
Beza
Cocceius; "de manu Dei"
Mercerus
Piscator
Drusius
Schmidt
Michaelis
Schultens. ; and so Mr. Broughton
of God
his hand; not his works
of nature which his hand had wrought
of which he had discoursed in the preceding
chapter; but his works of providence
and those more mysterious ones relating
to the afflictions of the godly
and the prosperity of the wicked. Job had been
a teacher and instructor of others in the times of his prosperity
and his
words had upheld
strengthened
and comforted many
Job 4:3; and he was
not the less qualified for
nor the less capable of such an office now in his
adversity
which had been a school to him
in which he had learned many useful
lessons himself
and so was in a better capacity of teaching others. Thus some
render the words
"I will teach you"
being in or "under the
hand of God"F9"In plaga Dei fortis versans"
Junius
& Tremellius. ; under his mighty hand
his afflicting
chastising hand
which had touched him
and pressed him sore
and yet had guided and instructed
him in many things
and particularly relating to the subject he proposed to
instruct his friends in; who
though they were men of knowledge
and in years
yet he apprehended needed instruction; and he undertook to give them some by
the good hand of God upon him
through his help and assistance
and under the
influences and teachings of his spirit. The Targum is
"I
will teach you by the prophecy of God;'
see
Ezekiel 1:3;
that which is
with the Almighty will I not conceal; meaning not the secret
purposes and decrees of God within himself
which cannot be known
unless he
reveals them; rather secret truths
which are not obvious to everyone
the
mysteries of the kingdom
the wisdom of God in a mystery
the knowledge of
which the Lord vouchsafes to some of his people in a very peculiar manner; though
the mysteries of Providence seem chiefly intended
which those that carefully
observe attain to an understanding of
so as to be capable of instructing
others; and indeed what is in reserve with God for men among his treasures
whether of grace or glory for his own peculiar people
or especially of wrath
and vengeance for wicked men and hypocrites
may be here designed; and whatever
knowledge men have of the mysteries of nature
providence
and grace
which may
be profitable unto others
and make for the glory of God
should not be
concealed from men
see Job 6:10.
Job 27:12 12 Surely all of you have
seen it; Why then do you behave with complete nonsense?
YLT
12Lo
ye -- all of you --
have seen
And why [is] this -- ye are altogether vain?
Behold
all ye yourselves have seen it
.... As they
were men of observation
at least made great pretensions to it
as well as of
age and experience
they must have seen and observed somewhat at least of the
above things; they must have seen the wicked
as David afterwards did
spreading himself like a green bay tree
and the hypocrites in easy and
flourishing circumstances
and good men labouring under great afflictions and pressures
and Job himself was now an instance of that before their eyes:
why then are ye thus altogether vain? or
"become vain in vanity"F11הבל תהבלו "vanitate vanescitis"
Pagninus
Junius
& Tremellius
Michaelis
Schultens; "vel evanescitis"
Montanus
Bolducius
Beza
Mercerus
Drusius
Piscator
Cocceius. ; so
exceeding vain
so excessively trifling
as to speak and act against the
dictates of their own conscience
against their own sense
and what they saw
with their own eyes
and advance notions so contrary thereunto; as to affirm
that evil men are always punished of God in this life
and good men are
succeeded and prospered by him; and so from Job's afflictions drew so vain and
empty a conclusion
that he must be a wicked man and an hypocrite.
Job 27:13 13 “This is the portion of a
wicked man with God
And the heritage of oppressors
received from the
Almighty:
YLT
13This [is] the portion of
wicked man with God
And the inheritance of terrible ones From the Mighty they
receive.
This is the portion of a wicked man with God
.... Not to be
punished in this life
but after death. This is what Job undertook to teach his
friends
and is the purport of what follows in this chapter. A wicked man is
not only one that has been so from the womb
and is openly and notoriously a
wicked man
but one also that is so secretly
under a mask of sobriety
religion
and godliness
and is an hypocrite
for of such Job speaks in the
context; and the portion of such a man is not what he has in this life
which
is oftentimes a very affluent one as to the things of this world
but what he
has after death
which is banishment from the presence of God
the everlasting
portion of his people
a part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone
the wrath of God to the uttermost
the second death
and a dwelling with devils
and wicked men
such as himself
even a portion with hypocrites
which of all
is the most dreadful and miserable
Matthew 24:51; and
this is "with God"
is appointed by him; for God has appointed the
wicked
the vessels of wrath
fitted by their sins for destruction to the day
of evil
to everlasting ruin and destruction; and it is prepared by him for
them
as for the devil and his angels
and for them it is reserved among his
treasures
even blackness of darkness
damnation
wrath
and vengeance:
and the heritage of oppressors
which they shall receive of
the Almighty; these are such who are either oppressors of the poor in their
natural and civil rights
taking from or denying to them what of right is their
due; or oppressors of the saints in their religious rights and privileges
furious persecutors of them; and who
being powerful
are terrible
as the word
signifies: there is an "heritage"
or an inheritance for those
which
is entailed upon them
and will descend unto them
as the firstborn of their
father the devil
as children of disobedience
and so of wrath
and like an
inheritance will endure: and this they "shall receive"; it is future
it is wrath to come
and it is certain there is no escaping it; it is their due
desert
and they shall receive it; it is in the hands of the almighty God
and
he will render it to them
and they shall most assuredly inherit it.
Job 27:14 14 If his children are
multiplied
it is for the sword; And his offspring shall not be
satisfied with bread.
YLT
14If his sons multiply -- for
them [is] a sword. And his offspring [are] not satisfied [with] bread.
If his children be multiplied
.... As it is possible
they may; this is one external blessing common to good men and bad men. Haman
that proud oppressor
left ten sons behind him
and wicked Ahab had seventy
Esther 9:12
it is for the sword; for them that
kill with the sword
as the Targum; to be killed with it
as in the two
instances above; Haman's ten sons were slain by the sword of the Jews
Esther 9:13
and
Ahab's seventy sons by the sword of Jehu
or those he ordered to slay them
2 Kings 10:7. The
children of such wicked persons are oftentimes put to death
either by the
sword of the enemy
fall in battle in an hostile way
which is one of God's
four sore judgments
Ezekiel 14:21; or
leading a most wicked life
commit such capital crimes as bring them into the
hand of the civil magistrate
who bears not the sword in vain
but is the
minister of God
a revengeful executioner of wrath on wicked men; or else they
die by the sword of the murderer
being brought into the world for such
and
through their riches become their prey
Hosea 9:13; or if
neither of these is the case
yet they at last
let them prosper as they will
fall a sacrifice to the glittering sword of divine justice
whetted and drawn
in wrath against them; the sword of the enemy seems chiefly intended:
and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread; such of them
as die not by the sword shall perish by famine
which is another of God's sore
judgments; though this may respect the grandchildren of wicked men
whom God
visits to the third and fourth generation; the Targum paraphrases it
his children's
children
and so Sephorno; to which agrees the Vulgate Latin version: the sense
is
that the posterity of such wicked men
when they are dead and gone
shall
be so reduced as to beg their bread
and shall not have a sufficiency of that
for the support of nature
but shall die for want of food.
Job 27:15 15 Those who survive him
shall be buried in death
And their[a] widows
shall not weep
YLT
15His remnant in death are
buried
And his widows do not weep.
Those that remain of him
.... Of the wicked man
after his death; or such that remain
and have escaped the sword and famine:
shall be buried in death: the pestilence
emphatically
called death by the Hebrews
as by us the mortality
see Revelation 6:8.
This is another of God's sore public judgments wicked men
and is such a kind
of death
by reason of the contagion of it
that a person is buried as soon as
dead almost
being infectious to keep him; and so Mr. Broughton translates the
words
"his
remnant shall be buried as soon as they are dead;'
or
the disease of which such die being so very infectious sometimes
no one dares
to bury them for fear of catching it
and so they lie unburied; which some take
to be the sense of the phrase
either that they shall be hurried away to the
grave
and so not be embalmed and lie in state
and have an honourable and
pompous funeral
or that they shall have none at all
their death will be all
the burial they shall have: or else the sense is
they shall die such a death
as that death shall be their grave; and they shall have no other
as the men of
the old world that were drowned in the flood
Genesis 7:23; and
Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea
Exodus 15:4; and
Korah
Dathan
and Abiram
who were swallowed up in the earth
Numbers 16:27; and
such as are devoured by wild beasts; and if this last could be thought to be
meant
we have all the four sore judgments of God in this verse and Job 27:14
sword
famine
pestilence
and evil beasts
see Ezekiel 14:21
and his widows shall not weep; leaving more than one
behind him
polygamy being frequent in those times; or else these are his sons'
wives
left widows by them
as Bar Tzemach thinks
they being the persons
immediately spoken of
dying by various deaths before mentioned; but whether
they be his widows
or theirs
they shall weep for neither of them; either
because they themselves will be cut off with them; or their husbands dying
shameful deaths
lamentation would be forbidden; or they would not be able to
weep through the astonishment and stupor they should be seized with at their
death; or having lived such miserable and uncomfortable lives with them
they
should be so far from lamenting their death
that they should
as Jarchi
interprets it
rejoice at it; the Septuagint version is
"no
one shall have mercy on their widows.'
Job 27:16 16 Though he heaps up silver
like dust
And piles up clothing like clay—
YLT
16If he heap up as dust
silver
And as clay prepare clothing
Though he heap up silver as the dust
.... Which
as
it denotes the great abundance of it collected together
so it expresses the
bias and disposition of such a man's mind
that he cannot be content without
amassing great quantities of it
and also his diligence and success therein
see 1 Kings 10:27;
and prepare raiment as the clay; not merely
for use
but
pomp and show
to fill his wardrobes with; and formerly
raiment was part of
the treasure of great men: the phrase signifies that he might have such a
variety of raiment
and such large quantities of it
that he would value it no
more than so much clay; or else that his riches
consist of what it would
would be both polluting and troublesome to him; the Septuagint version reads
"gold" instead of "raiment"
as in Zechariah 9:3
where like expressions are used of Tyre.
Job 27:17 17 He may pile it up
but the just will wear it
And the innocent will divide the silver.
YLT
17He prepareth -- and the
righteous putteth [it] on
And the silver the innocent doth apportion.
He may prepare it
.... Raiment; beginning
with that first which was mentioned last
which is frequent in the Hebrew and
eastern languages; such things may be done
and often are
by wicked men:
but the just shall put it on; the wicked man will
either have no heart
or have no time
to wear it
at least to wear it out
and
so a just man shall have it
as the Israelites put on the raiment of the
Egyptians
which they begged or borrowed
and spoiled them of
Exodus 12:35; and
oftentimes so it is in Providence
that the wealth of wicked men is by one
means or another transferred into the families of good men
who enjoy it
and
make a better use of it
Proverbs 13:22;
and the innocent shall divide the silver; have a part
of it at least
or divide the whole between his children
or give a part of it
to the poor; so money that is ill gotten
or ill used
is taken away
and put
into the hands of one that will have mercy on the poor
and liberally
distribute it to them
Proverbs 28:8.
Job 27:18 18 He builds his house like a
moth
[b] Like a
booth which a watchman makes.
YLT
18He hath built as a moth his
house
And as a booth a watchman hath made.
He buildeth his house as a moth
.... Which builds its
house in a garment by eating into it
and so destroying it
and in time eats
itself out of house and home
and however does not continue long in it
but is
soon and easily shook out
or brushed off; so a wicked man builds himself an
house
a stately palace
like ArcturusF12כעש
"quasi Arcturi"
Junius & Tremellius; so Aben Ezra. ; so some
render the words from Job 9:9
a palace
among the stars
an heavenly palace and paradise
and expects it will continue
for ever; but as he builds it with the mammon of unrighteousness
and to the
prejudice and injury of others
and with their money
or what was due to them
so by his sins and iniquities he brings ruin and destruction upon himself and his
family
so that his house soon falls to decay
and at least he and his
posterity have but a short lived enjoyment of it. This may be applied in a
figurative sense to the hypocrite's hope and confidence
which is like a
spider's web
a moth eaten garment
and a house built upon the sand; the
Septuagint version here adds
"as a spider"
Job 8:13;
and as a booth that the keeper maketh; either a
keeper of sheep
who sets up his tent in a certain place for a while
for the
sake of pasturage
and then removes it
to which the allusion is
Isaiah 38:12; or a
keeper of fruit
as the Targum
of gardens and orchards
that the fruit is not
stolen; or of fig trees and vineyards
as Jarchi and Bar Tzemach
which is only
a lodge or hut pitched for a season
until the fruit is gathered in
and then
is taken down
see Isaiah 1:8; and it
signifies here the short continuance of the house of the wicked man
which he
imagined would continue for ever
Psalm 49:11.
Job 27:19 19 The rich man will lie
down
But not be gathered up;[c] He opens
his eyes
And he is no more.
YLT
19Rich he lieth down
and he
is not gathered
His eyes he hath opened
and he is not.
The rich man shall lie down
but he shall not be gathered
.... That is
the wicked rich man; and the sense is
either he shall lie down upon his bed
but shall not be gathered to rest
shall get no sleep
the abundance of his
riches
and the fear of losing them
or his life for them
will not suffer him
to compose himself to sleep; or else it expresses his sudden loss of them
he
"lies down" at night to take his rest
"and it is not
gathered"
his riches are not gathered or taken away from him
but remain
with him:
he openeth his eyes: in the morning
when he
awakes from sleep:
and it is not; by one providence or
another he is stripped of all substance; or rather this is to be understood of
his death
and of what befalls him at that time: death is often in Scripture
signified by lying down
sleeping
and taking rest
as on a bed
see Job 14:10; rich men
die as well as others; their riches cannot profit them
or be of any avail to
them to ward off the stroke of death
and their death is miserable; he is
"not gathered"
or "shall not gather"F13ויאסף "nihil secum auferet"
V. L.
he cannot
gather up his riches
and carry it with him
Psalm 49:15
1 Timothy 6:7;
"he openeth his eyes" in another world
"and it is not"
his riches are not with him; or
as the Vulgate Latin version
"he shall
find nothing"; or rather the meaning is
he is "not gathered";
to his grave
as Jarchi and Ben Gersom; and so Mr. Broughton
"he is not
taken up"
that is
as he interprets it
to be honestly buried. He is not
buried in the sepulchres of his ancestors
which is often in Scripture
signified by a man being gathered to his people
or to his fathers; but here it
is suggested
that
notwithstanding all his riches
he should have no burial
or
what is worse than that
when he dies he should not be gathered to the
saints and people of God
or into God's garner
into heaven and happiness:
"but he openeth his eyes"; in hell
as the rich man is said to do
and finds himself in inexpressible torment: "and he is not"; on
earth
in his palace he built
nor among his numerous family
friends
and
acquaintance
and in the possession of his earthly riches
but is in hell in
the most miserable and distressed condition that can be conceived of. Some
think this last clause respects the suddenness of his death
one "opens
his eyes"
and looks at him
"and he is not"; he is dead
in the
twinkling of an eye
and is no more in the land of the living; but the former
sense is best.
Job 27:20 20 Terrors overtake him like
a flood; A tempest steals him away in the night.
YLT
20Overtake him as waters do
terrors
By night stolen him away hath a whirlwind.
Terrors take hold on him as waters
.... The terrors of
death
and of an awful judgment that is to come after it; finding himself
dying
death is the king of terrors to him
dreading not only the awful stroke
of death itself
but of what is to follow upon it; or rather these terrors are
those that seize the wicked man after death; perceiving what a horrible
condition he is in
the terrors of a guilty conscience lay hold on him
remembering his former sins with all the aggravating circumstances of them; the
terrors of the law's curses lighting upon him
and of the wrath and fury of the
Almighty pouring out on him and surrounding him
and devils and damned spirits
all about him. These will seize him "as waters"
like a flood of
waters
denoting the abundance of them
"terror on every side"
a
"Magormissabib"
Jeremiah 20:3
will
he be
and coming with great rapidity
with an irresistible force
and without
ceasing
rolling one after another in a sudden and surprising manner:
a tempest stealeth him away in the night; the tempest
of divine wrath
from which there is no shelter but the person
blood
and
righteousness of Christ; this comes like a thief
suddenly and unexpectedly
and steals the wicked man out of this world; or rather from the judgment seat
and carries him into the regions of darkness
of horror and black despair
where he is surrounded with the aforesaid terrors; this is said to be in the
night
to make it the more shocking and terrible
see Luke 12:19; and may
have respect to that blackness that attends a tempest
and to that blackness of
darkness reserved for wicked men
Judges 1:13.
Job 27:21 21 The east wind carries him
away
and he is gone; It sweeps him out of his place.
YLT
21Take him up doth an east
wind
and he goeth
And it frighteneth him from his place
The east wind carrieth him away
.... Which is very strong
and powerful
and carries all before it; afflictions are sometimes compared to
it
Isaiah 27:8; and
here either death
accompanied with the wrath of God
which carries the wicked
man
sore against his will
out of the world
from his house
his family
his
friends
his possessions
and estates
and carries him to hell to be a
companion with devils
and share with them in all the miseries of that dreadful
state and place. The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions render it
"a
burning wind"
such as are frequent in the eastern countries
which carry
a man off at once
so that he has only time at most to say
I burn
and
immediately drops down dead
as Thevenot
and other travellers
relate; which
is thus described;
"it
is a wind called "Samiel"
or poison wind
a very hot one
that
reigns in summer from Mosul to Surrat
but only by land
not upon the water;
they who have breathed that wind fall instantly dead upon the place
though
sometimes they have time to say that they burn within. No sooner does a man die
by this wind but he becomes as black as a coal; and if one take him by his leg
arm
or any other place
his flesh comes from the same
and is plucked off by
the hand that would lift him upF14Thevenot's Travels into the
Levant
par. 2. B. 1. ch. 12. p. 54. :'
and
again
it is observed
that in Persia
if a man
in June or July
breathes in
certain hot south winds that come from the sea
he falls down dead
and at most
has no more time than to say he burnsF15Thevenot's Travels into the
Levant
par. 2. B. 3. ch. 5. p. 135. . Wicked men are like chaff and stubble
and they can no more resist death than either of these can resist the east
wind; and they are as easily burnt up and consumed with the burning wind of
God's wrath as they are by devouring flames; and though wicked men and
hypocrites may think all will be well with them if they have but time to say
Lord have mercy on us; they may be carried off with such a burning wind
or
scorching disease
as to be able only to say
that they burn
and not in their
bodies only
but in their souls also
feeling the wrath of God in their
consciences: or this may have respect to the devouring flames of hell they are
surrounded with upon dying
or immediately after death
see Isaiah 33:14;
and he departeth; out of the world
not willingly
but
whether he will or not
he must depart; or rather he will be bid to depart
and
he will depart from the bar of God
from his presence
into everlasting fire
prepared for the devil and his angels:
an as a storm hurleth him out of his place: this is done
either at death
when as a storm hurls a tree
or any other thing
out of its
place
so is the sinner forced out of his place in a tempestuous manner
through the power and wrath of God
so that his place knows him no more; and he
is hurried into hell and everlasting destruction
just as the sinning angels
were hurled out of heaven
and cast down into hell
and there will be no place
found in heaven for them any more; or rather this will be his case at judgment
which immediately follows
where the wicked shall not stand
or be able to
justify themselves
and make their case good; but with the storm of divine
wrath and vengeance shall be hurled from thence
and go
being driven
into everlasting
punishment.
Job 27:22 22 It hurls against him and
does not spare; He flees desperately from its power.
YLT
22And it casteth at him
and
doth not spare
From its hand he diligently fleeth.
For God shall cast upon him
and not spare
.... Cast his
sins upon him
which will lie as an intolerable weight upon his conscience; and
his wrath upon him
which being poured out like fire
he will not be able to
bear it; and deserved punishment on him
which
like a talent of lead
will
bear him down to the lowest hell; and this will be done without showing any
mercy at all; for
though the wicked have much of sparing mercy in this world
they have none in the next; there is sparing mercy now
but none in hell; God
that spared not the angels that sinned
nor the old world
nor Sodom and
Gomorrah
will not spare them
2 Peter 2:4; he
that made them will have no mercy on them; and he that formed them will show
them no favour:
he would fain flee out of his hands; in whose hands he is
not as all men are
being the works of his hands
and supported by him; much
less as his people are
secure there; but in his hands as an awful and terrible
Judge
condemning him for his sins
and sentencing him to everlasting
punishment; and a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living and
almighty God: there is no getting out of them
though "fleeing
he
flees"
as the phrase is
with all his might and main
with all the swiftness
he can; it is all to no purpose; he is where he was
and must continue in the
torment and misery he is in to all eternity; his worm of conscience will never
die
nor the fire of divine wrath be ever quenched; though he will desire death
ten thousand times over
he shall not find it
it shall flee from him
Revelation 9:6.
Job 27:23 23 Men
shall clap their hands at him
And shall hiss him out of his place.
YLT
23It clappeth at him its
hands
And it hisseth at him from his place.
Men shall clap their hands at
him
.... In a way of joy and triumph
scorn and derision
see Lamentations 2:15;
either at the time of his death
being glad they are rid of him
Psalm 52:5; or
rather hereafter
to all eternity
while the wrath and vengeance of God is
pouring on him; and this will be done by all righteous men evermore; not
pleasing themselves with the shocking scene
nor indulging any evil passion in
them
from which they will be entirely free; but rejoicing in the glory of
divine justice
which will be displayed in the everlasting destruction of
wicked men
see Revelation 18:20;
and this need not be restrained to good men only
but ascribed to angels also;
for it may be rendered impersonally
"hands shall be clapped at him";
or joy be expressed on this occasion by all in heaven
angels and saints
who
will all approve and applaud the divine procedure against wicked men as right
and just; yea
this may express the glorying of divine justice
and its triumph
in the condemnation and destruction of sinners;
and shall hiss him out of his place; from the bar and
tribunal of God
where he stood and was condemned; and
as he goes to
everlasting punishment
expressing abhorrence and detestation of him and his
crimes
and as pleased with the righteous judgment of God upon him. Now this is
the wicked man's portion
and the heritage he shall have of God at and after
death
though he has been in flourishing circumstances in life; all which Job
observes
to show that he was no friend nor favourer of wicked men
nor thought
well of them and their ways
though he observed the prosperity they are attended
with in their present state; and as for himself
he was not
and would not
be
such a wicked man
and an hypocrite
on any account whatever
since he was sure
he must then be miserable hereafter
to all intents and purposes.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)