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Job Chapter
Thirty
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JOB 30
Job
in this chapter sets forth his then unhappy state and condition
in contrast
with his former state of prosperity described in the preceding chapter: things
had taken a strange turn
and were just the reverse of what they were before;
he that was before in such high esteem and credit with all sorts of men
young
and old
high and low
rich and poor
now is had in derision by the meanest and
basest of men
whose characters are described
Job 30:1; and the
instances of their contempt of him by words and gestures are given
Job 30:9; he who
enjoyed so much ease of mind
and health of body
is now filled with distresses
of soul
and bodily diseases
Job 30:15; and he
who enjoyed so much of the presence of God
and communion with him
and of his
love and favour
was now disregarded
and
as he thought
cruelly used by him
who not only had destroyed his substance
but was about to bring him to the
grave
Job 30:20; all
which came upon him
though he had a sympathizing heart with the poor
and them
that were in trouble
and when he expected better things
Job 30:25; and he
close the chapter
lamenting his sad and sorrowful circumstances
Job 30:29.
Job 30:1 “But
now they mock at me
men younger than I
Whose fathers I disdained to
put with the dogs of my flock.
YLT
1And now
laughed at me
Have the younger in days than I
Whose fathers I have loathed to set With the
dogs of my flock.
But now they that are younger than I have me in derision
.... Meaning
not his three friends
who were men in years
and were not
at least all of
them
younger than he
see Job 15:10; nor were
they of such a mean extraction
and such low-lived creatures
and of such characters
as here described; with such Job would never have held a correspondence in the
time of his prosperity; both they and their fathers
in all appearance
were
both great and good; but these were a set of profligate and abandoned wretches
who
as soon as Job's troubles came upon him
derided him
mocked and jeered at
him
both by words and gestures; and which they might do even before his three
friends came to him
and during their seven days' silence with him
and while
this debate was carrying on between them
encouraged unto it by their behaviour
towards him; to be derided by any is disagreeable to flesh and blood
though it
is the common lot of good men
especially in poor and afflicted circumstances
and to be bore patiently; but to be so used by junior and inferior persons is
an aggravation of it; as Job was
even by young children
as was also the
prophet Elisha
2 Kings 2:23; see Job 19:18;
whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of
my flock; either to have compared them with the dogs that kept his flock
from the wolves
having some good qualities in them which they had not; for
what more loving or faithful to their masters
or more vigilant and watchful of
their affairs? or to set them at meat with the dogs of his flock; they were
unworthy of it
though they would have been glad of the food his dogs ate of
they living better than they
whose meat were mallows and juniper roots
Job 30:4; and would
have jumped at it; as the prodigal in want and famine
as those men were
would
fain have filled his belly with husks that swine did eat; but as no man gave
them to him
so Job disdained to give the meat of his dogs to such as those; or
to set them "over"F13עם כלבי "super canes"
Noldius
p. 739. No. 1825.
the dogs of his flock
to be the keepers of them
to be at the head of his
dogs
and to have the command of them; see the phrase in 2 Samuel 3:8; or
else to join them with his dogs
to keep his flock with them; they were such
worthless faithless wretches
that they were not to be trusted with the care of
his flock along with his dogs. It was usual in ancient times
as well as in
ours
for dogs to be made use of in keeping flocks of sheep from beasts of
prey
as appears from OrpheusF14De Lapidibus
Hypoth. ver. 53
54.
HomerF15Iliad. 10. ως κυνες
περι μηλα
&c. v. 183. & Iliad 12. v. 303.
TheocritusF16 χ' αμιν εστι κυων φιλοποιμνιος
&c. Idyll. 5. v. 106. & Idyll. 6. v. 9
10.
and other writers: and if
the fathers of those that derided Job were such mean
base
worthless
creatures
what must their sons be
inferior to them in age and honour
if any
degree of honour belonged to them?
Job 30:2 2 Indeed
what profit
is the strength of their hands to me? Their vigor has perished.
YLT
2Also -- the power of their
hands
why [is it] to me? On them hath old age perished.
Yea
whereto might the strength of their hands profit
me
.... For though they were strong
lusty
hale men
able to do
business
yet their strength was to sit still and fold their hands in their
bosoms
so that their strength was of no profit or avail to themselves or
others; they were so slothful and lazy
that Job could not employ them in any
business of his to any advantage to himself; and this may be one reason
among
others
why he disdained to set them with the dogs of his flock to keep it; for
the fathers seem to be intended all along to Job 30:8; though it
matters not much to which of them the words are applied
since they were like
father like son:
in whom old age was perished? who did not arrive to
old age
but were soon consumed by their lusts
or cut off for their sins; and
so the strength and labour of their hands
had they been employed
would have
been of little worth; because the time of their continuance in service would
have been short
especially being idle and slothful: some understand it of a
lively and vigorous old age
such as was in Moses; but this being not in them
they were unfit for business
see Job 5:26; or they
had not the endowments of old age
the experience
wisdom
and prudence of
ancient persons
to contrive
conduct
and manage affairs
or direct in the
management of them
which would make up for lack of strength and labour. Ben
Gersom
Bar Tzemach
and others
interpret the word of time
or the time of
life
that was perished or lost in them; their whole course of life
being
spent in sloth and idleness
was all lost time.
Job 30:3 3 They are
gaunt from want and famine
Fleeing late to the wilderness
desolate and waste
YLT
3With want and with famine
gloomy
Those fleeing to a dry place
Formerly a desolation and waste
For want and famine they were solitary
.... The
Targum interprets it
without children; but then this cannot be understood of
the fathers; rather through famine and want they were reduced to the utmost
extremity
and were as destitute of food as a rock
or hard flint
from whence
nothing is to be had
as the word signifies
see Job 3:7;
fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste: to search and
try what they could get there for their sustenance and relief
fleeing through
fear of being taken up for some crimes committed
or through shame
on account
of their miserable condition
not caring to be seen by men
and therefore fled
into the wilderness to get what they could there: but since men in want and
famine usually make to cities
and places of resort
where provision may be
expected; this may be interpreted not of their flying into the wilderness
though of their being there
perhaps banished thither
see Job 30:5; but of
their "gnawing"F17הערקים ציה "qui rodebant in solitudine"
V. L.
"rodentes siccitatem"
Schultens.
or biting the dry and barren
wilderness
and what they could find there; where having short commons
and
hunger bitten
they bit close; which
though extremely desolate
they were glad
to feed upon what they could light on there; such miserable beggarly creatures
were they: and with this agrees what follows.
Job 30:4 4 Who pluck mallow by the
bushes
And broom tree roots for their food.
YLT
4Those cropping mallows near
a shrub
And broom-roots [is] their food.
Who cut up mallows by the bushes
.... Which with the
Troglodytes were of a vast sizeF18Diodorus Siculus
l. 3. p. 175. ;
or rather "upon the bush"F19עלי שיח "super virgulto"
Montanus
Schultens;
"super arbustum"
Bochart. or "tree"; and therefore cannot
mean what we call mallows
which are herbs on the ground
and grow not on trees
or bushes; and
besides
are not for food
but rather for medicine: though
PlutarchF20In symposio septem sap. says they
were the food of the
meaner sort of people; so HoraceF21"-----me pascunt olivae. Me
cichorea levesque malvae". Carmin. l. 1. Ode. 31. & Epod. Ode. 2.
speaks of them as such; and the word in the original is near in sound to a
mallow; but it signifies something salt
wherefore Mr. Broughton renders it
"salt herbs"; so Grotius
such as might grow by the seaside
or in
salt marshes; and in Edom
or Idumea
where Job lived
was a valley of salt
see 2 Kings 14:7.
Jarchi says it is the same with what the Syrians in their language call
"kakuli"
which with them is a kind of pulse; but what the Turks at
this day call "kakuli" is a kind of salt herb
like to
"alcali"
which is the food of camelsF24Scheuchzer.
Physic. Sacr. vol. 4. p. 760. the Septuagint render the word by
"alima"; and
by several modern learned men
what is intended is
thought to be the "halimus" of Dioscorides
Galen
and Avicenna;
which is like unto a bramble
and grows in hedges and maritime places; the tops
of which
when young and tender
are eaten
and the leaves boiled for food
and
are eaten by poor people
being what soon filled the belly
and satisfied; and
seem to be the same the Moors call "mallochia"
and cry about the
streets
as food for the poor to buyF25lbid. vid. Reinesium de
Lingua Punic. c. 9. S. 20
21. : however it appears upon the whole to be the
tops or leaves of some sort of shrub
which Idumean people used to gather and
live upon. The following story is reported in the TalmudF26T. Bab.
Kiddushin
fol. 66. 1. concerning King Jannai
who
"went
to Cochalith in the wilderness
and there subdued sixty fortified towns; and
upon his return
he greatly rejoiced
and called all the wise men of Israel
and said unto them
our fathers ate "malluchim" (the word used in
this text of Job) at the time they were employed in building the sanctuary; so
we will eat "malluchim" on remembrance of our fathers; and they set
"malluchim" on tables of gold
and they ate;'
which
the gloss interprets herbs; the name of which
in the Syriac language
is
"kakuli"; the Targum is
who plucks up thorns instead of eatable
herbs. SomeF1David de Pomis Lexic. fol. 80. 3. render the word
"nettles"
see Job 30:7;
juniper roots for their meat
or "bread"F2לחמם "panis eorum"
Montanus
Michaelis
Schultens. ; with the roots of which the poor were fed in time of want
as
SchindlerF22Lexic. col. 1775. observes: that bread may be
and has
been made out of roots
is certain
as with the West Indians
out of the roots
of "ages" and "jucca"F3Pet. Martyr. de Angleria
decad. 1. l. 1. ; and in particular juniper roots in the northern countries
have been used for breadF4Olaus Magnus
de Ritu Gent. Septent. l.
12. c. 4. ; and there were a people in Ethiopia above Egypt
who lived upon
roots of reeds prepared
and were called "rhisophagi"F5Diod.
Sic. l. 3. p. 159.
"root eaters": some render the words
"or
juniper roots to heat"
or "warm with"F6"Ad
calefaciendum se"
Pagninus; so Kimchi
Sepher Shorash rad
חמם.
as the word is used in Isaiah 47:14; and
coals of juniper have in them a very great and vehement heat
see Psalm 120:3; but if
any part of the juniper tree was taken for this purpose
to warm with when
cold
one should think the branches
or the body of the tree
should be cut
down
rather than the roots dug up: another sense is given by someF7Hillerus
apud Schultens in loc.
that meat or bread is to be understood of the
livelihood these persons got by digging up juniper roots
and selling them:
there are others that think
that not the roots of juniper
but of "broom"F8שרש רתמים "radix
genistarum"
Michaelis
Schultens; so some in Mercerus
Drusius
&
Gussetius
p. 839.
are meant
whose rape
or navew
or excrescence from the
roots of it
seem to be more fit food. All this agrees with the Troglodytes
whom PlinyF9Nat. Hist. l. 37. c. 8. represents as thieves and
robbers
and
when pressed with famine
dig up herbs and roots: cutters of
roots are reckoned among the worst of men by ManethoF11Apotelesm. l.
5. v. 183. .
Job 30:5 5 They were driven out from
among men
They shouted at them as at a thief.
YLT
5From the midst they are
cast out
(They shout against them as a thief)
They were driven from among men
.... From
towns and cities
and all civil society
as unfit to be among them; not for any
good
it may be observed
but for crimes that they had done
like our felons
and transported persons:
they cried after them as after a thief; as they were
driven and run along
the people called after them
saying
there goes a thief;
which they said by way of abhorrence of them
and for the shame of them
and
that all might be warned and cautioned against them; and
generally speaking
such as are idle and slothful
and thereby become miserable
are pilferers and
thieves.
Job 30:6 6 They had
to live in the clefts of the valleys
In caves of the earth and the
rocks.
YLT
6In a frightful place of
valleys to dwell
Holes of earth and clefts.
To dwell in the cliffs of the valleys
.... Or
"brooks"F12נחלים
"torrentium"
Tigurine version
Pagninus
Montanus
&c.
in such
hollow places as were made by floods and streams of waters:
in caves of the earth
and in
the rocks; where they betook themselves for fear of men
and through shame
being naked and miserable not fit to be seen: Job has respect to the Horites
and Troglodytes
his neighbours
who dwelt in such places chiefly.
Job 30:7 7 Among the bushes they
brayed
Under the nettles they nestled.
YLT
7Among shrubs they do groan
Under nettles they are gathered together.
Among the bushes they brayed
.... Like wild asses; so
Sephorno
to which wicked men are fitly compared
Job 11:12; or they
"cried"
or "groaned"F13ינהקו
"clamabant"
Vatablus
Mercerus; so Ben Gerson; "gemebant"
Michaelis; so Broughton.
and "moaned" among the bushes
where they
lay lurking; either they groaned through cold
or want of food; for the wild
ass brays not but when in want
Job 6:5;
under the nettles they were gathered together; or
"under thistles"F14תחת חרול "sub carduis"
Vatablus.
as some
or
"under thorns"
asF15"Sub sentibus"
V. L.
"sub vepreto aliquo"
Tigurine version; "sub vepribus"
Cocceius; "sub spina"
Noldius
p. 193. Schultens. others; under
thorn hedges
where they lay either for shelter
or to hide themselves
or to
seize upon a prey that might pass by; and so were such sort of persons as in
the parable in Luke 14:23; it not
being usual for nettles to grow so high as to cover persons
at least they are
not a proper shelter
and much less an eligible one; though some render the
words
they were "pricked"F16יספחו
"pungebantur"
Junius & Tremellius; "se ulcerant"
Gussetius
p. 565. so Ben Gersom; "they smarted"
Broughton.
blistered and wounded
a word derived from this being used for the scab of
leprosy
Leviticus 13:6; and
so pustules and blisters are raised by the sting of nettles: the Targum is
"under
thorns they were associated together;'
under
thorn hedges
as before observed; and if the juniper tree is meant in Job 30:4
they
might be said to be gathered under thorns when under that; since
as PlinyF17Nat.
Hist. l. 16. c. 24. says
it has thorns instead of leaves; and the shadow of
it
according to the poetF18"Juniperi gravis umbra----"
Virgil. Bucolic. Eclog. 10.
is very noxious and disagreeable.
Job 30:8 8 They were
sons of fools
Yes
sons of vile men; They were scourged from the land.
YLT
8Sons of folly -- even sons
without name
They have been smitten from the land.
They were children of
fools
.... Their parents were fools
or they themselves were such;
foolish children
or foolish men
were they that derided Job; and their
derision of him was a proof of it: the meaning is not that they were idiots
or
quite destitute of reason and natural knowledge
but that they were men of
slender capacities; they were "Nabal like"
which is the word here
used of them; and
indeed
it may easily be concluded
they could not have much
knowledge of men and things
from their pedigree
education
and manner of
living before described; though rather this may signify their being wicked men
or children of such
which is the sense of the word "fool" frequently
in the Psalms of David
and in the Proverbs of Solomon; and men may be fools in
this sense
as having no understanding of divine and spiritual things
who yet
have wit enough to do evil
though to do good they have no knowledge:
yea
children of base men
or "men without a
name"F19בלי שם
"absque nomine"
Pagninus
Montanus
Vatablus; so Beza
Mercerus
Piscator
Drusius
Michaelis
Cocceius. ; a kind without fame
Mr. Broughton
renders it; an infamous generation of men
famous for nothing; had no name for
blood
birth
and breeding; for families
for power and authority among men
having no title of honour or of office; nor for wealth
wisdom
nor strength
for which some have a name; but these men had no name but an ill one
for their
folly and wickedness; had no good name
were of no credit and reputation with
men; and perhaps
strictly and literally speaking
were without a name
being a
spurious and bastardly breed; or living solitary in woods and deserts
in
cliffs and caves; they belonged not to any tribe or nation
and so bore no
name:
they are viler than the earth; on which they trod
and
who are unworthy to tread upon it; and out of which their vile bodies were
made
and yet were viler than that which is the basest of the elements
being
most distant from heaven
the throne of GodF20See Weemse's Observat.
Natural. c 3. ; they were not so valuable as some parts of the earth
the gold
and silver
but were as vile as the dross of the earth
and viler than that;
they were crushed and bruised
and "broken" more than the earth
as the
wordF21נכאו "contriti"
Montanus
Bolducius; so the Targum. signifies; they were as small and as
contemptible as the dust of the earth and the mire of the streets
and more so;
or than the men of the earth
as Aben Ezra observes
than the meanest and worst
and vilest of men: Mr. Broughton renders it
"banished from the
earth"; smitten
stricken
and driven out of the land where they had
dwelt
Job 30:5; whipped
out of it
as some translate the wordF23"Flagellati"
Schultens.
as vagabonds; as a lazy
idle
pilfering set of people
not fit to
be in human society; and by such base
mean
lowly people
were Christ and his
apostles ill treated; see Matthew 23:33.
Job 30:9 9 “And now I am their
taunting song; Yes
I am their byword.
YLT
9And now
their song I have
been
And I am to them for a byword.
And now am I their song
.... The subject of their
song
of whom they sung ballads about the streets
in public places
and at
their festivals and merriments
as Christ the antitype of Job was the song of
the drunkard
Psalm 69:12; see Lamentations 3:14;
or the meaning may be
they rejoiced in his afflictions and calamities
and
made themselves merry with them
which was cruel and inhuman
as David's
enemies did in his
and those abject
mean
base people
like those that
derided Job: and so the Edomites rejoiced over the children of Judah
in the
day of their destruction
and as the inhabitants of Popish countries will
rejoice over the witnesses when slain
and make merry
Psalm 35:15;
yea
I am their byword: all their talk was about
him continually
and at every turn would use his name proverbially for an
hypocrite
or a wicked man; and thus Christ
of whom Job was a type
became a
proverb in the mouth of the Jews
Psalm 69:11; and as
the Jews themselves now are with others
Jeremiah 24:9.
Job 30:10 10 They abhor me
they keep
far from me; They do not hesitate to spit in my face.
YLT
10They have abominated me
They have kept far from me
And from before me have not spared to spit.
They abhor me
.... As it is no wonder they should
since
his inward and most intimate friends did
Job 19:19; they
abhorred him
not for any evil in him; Job was ready enough to abhor that
himself
and himself for it
as he did when sensible of it
Job 42:6; but for
the good that was in him
spoken or done by him; which carried in it a reproof
to them they could not bear; see Amos 5:10; they
abhorred him also because of his present meanness and poverty
and because of
his afflictions and distresses; and particularly the diseases of his body; so
Christ was abhorred by the Scribes
Pharisees and elders of the people
the
three shepherds his soul loathed
and their soul abhorred him for his meanness
and for his ministry: and even by the whole nation of the Jews
by the body of
the people
particularly when they preferred Barabbas
a thief and a murderer
to him
Mark 15:7; see Zechariah 11:8;
they flee from me; as from some hideous monster
or infectious
person
as if he had the plague on him
or some nauseous disease
the stench of
which they could not bear; so Christ his antitype was used by: his people; when
they saw him in his afflictions they hid their faces from him
did not care to
look at him
or come nigh him
Isaiah 53:3;
and spare not to spit in my face; not in his presence
only
as some think
which is too low a sense
but literally and properly in
his face
when they vouchsafed to come near him; in this opprobrious way they
used him
than which nothing was a greater indignity and affront; and we need
not scruple to interpret it in this sense of Job
since our Lord
whose type he
was in this and other things
was so treated
Isaiah 50:6.
Job 30:11 11 Because He has loosed my[a] bowstring
and afflicted me
They have cast off restraint before me.
YLT
11Because His cord He loosed
and afflicteth me
And the bridle from before me
They have cast away.
Because he hath loosed my cord
.... Not his silver cord
for then he must have died immediately
Ecclesiastes 12:6;
though it may be understood of the loosening of his nerves through the force of
his disease
and the afflictions he endured from God and man
see Job 30:17; or
rather of the shattered state and condition of his family and substance; which
while he enjoyed
he had respect and reverence from men; but now all being
loosed
scattered
and destroyed
he was treated with derision and scorn; or
better still
of his power and authority as a civil magistrate
by which
as
with a cord
he bound many to subjection and obedience to him
and which
commanded reverence of him; but this being now loosed and removed from him
persons of the baser sort behaved in an insolent manner towards him; there is a
"Keri"
or a marginal reading of this clause
which we follow; but
the "Cetib"
or written text
is "his cord"; and so Mr.
Broughton renders it
"he hath loosed his string"; which he explains
of the string or rein of his government
that holdeth base men from striving
with the mighty
and which comes to the same sense; for the power and authority
Job had as a governor were of God
and which he had now loosened; the allusion
may be to the string of a bow
which being loosed
it cannot cast out the
arrow; and respect may be had to what Job had said
Job 29:20
"my
bow was renewed in my hand"; it then abode in strength
and its strength
was renewed; but now he had lost his power and strength
at least it was
greatly weakened
that he could not defend himself
nor punish the wicked:
and afflicted me; that is
God
who is also understood in the
preceding clause
though not expressed. Job's afflictions were many
and there
were second causes of them
who were the movers
instruments
and means of
them
as Satan
the Sabeans and Chaldeans
yet they were of God
as the
appointer
orderer
and sender of them; and so Job understood them
and always
as here ascribed them to him; wherefore there was a just cause for them
and an
end to be answered by them
and it became Job patiently to bear them
and to
wait the issue of them: now
on this account
the above persons were emboldened
and encouraged to use Job in the ill manner they did:
they have also let loose the bridle before me; the
restraints that were upon them when Job was in his prosperity
and had the
reins of government in his hand; these they now cast off
and showed no manner
of reverence of him
nor respect for him; and the bridle that was upon their
mouths
which kept them from speaking evil of him while he was in power
now
they slipped it from them
and gave themselves an unbounded liberty in
deriding
reproaching
and reviling him; see Psalm 39:1; and
this they did before him
in his presence and to his face
who before were mute
and silent.
Job 30:12 12 At my right hand
the rabble arises; They push away my feet
And they raise against me their ways
of destruction.
YLT
12On the right hand doth a
brood arise
My feet they have cast away
And they raise up against me
Their
paths of calamity.
Upon my right hand rise the youth
....
"Springeth"
as Mr. Broughton translates the word; such as were just
sprung into being
as it were; the wordF14פרחה
"pullities"
Schultens. seems to have the signification of young
birds that are not fledged; have not got their feathers on them
but are just
got out of the shell
as it were; and such were these young men: some render the
word the "flower"F15"Flos"
Schmidt
Michaelis.
; as if the flower of men
the chief and principal of them
were meant
such as
were Job's three friends
who are here distinguished from the mean and baser
sort before spoken of; but the word even in this sense signifies young men
who
are like buds and flowers just sprung out
or who are beardless boys
or whose
beards are just springing out; so the young priests are in the MisnahF16Misn.
Sanhedrin
c. 1. sect. 7. called "the flowers of the priesthood": now
such as these rose up
not in reverence to Job
as the aged before did
but in
an hostile way
to oppose
resist
reproach
and deride him; they rose up on
his right hand
took the right hand of him
as if they were his superiors and
betters; or they stood at his right hand
took the right hand to accuse him
as
Satan did at Joshua's; see Psalm 109:6;
they push away my feet; they brought heavy
charges and violent accusations against him
in order to cast him down
and
trample upon him; nor would they suffer him to stand and answer for himself; he
could have no justice done him
and so there was no standing for him. If this
was to be understood literally
of their pushing at him to throw him down to
the ground
or of an attempt trip up his heels
so that his feet were almost
gone
and his steps had well nigh slipped
it was very rude and indecent
treatment of him indeed:
and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction; as
in
besieging a town
mounts
forts
and batteries are raised to destroy it
so
those persons made use of all ways and means to destroy Job; or they trod upon
him
and made him as a path or causeway to walk upon
in order utterly to destroy
him. Mr. Broughton renders the words
"they cast upon me the causes of
their woe"
imputed all their calamities and miseries to him
reproached
him on that account
and now were resolved to revenge themselves on him.
Job 30:13 13 They break up my path
They
promote my calamity; They have no helper.
YLT
13They have broken down my
path
By my calamity they profit
`He hath no helper.'
They mar my path
.... Hindered him in the exercise of
religious duties; would not suffer him to attend the ways and worship of God
or to walk in the paths of holiness and righteousness; or they reproached his
holy walk and conversation
and treated it with contempt
and triumphed over
religion and godliness:
they set forward my calamity; added affliction to
affliction
increased his troubles by their reproaches and calumnies
and were
pleased with it
as if it was profitable as well as pleasurable to them
see Zechariah 1:15;
they have no helper; either no person of note
to join them
and
to abet
assist
and encourage them; or they needed none
being forward enough of themselves to give him all the distress and disturbance
they could
and he being so weak and unable to resist them; nor there is
"no helper against them"F17למו
"adversus illos"
Beza
Schmidt
Michaelis; so Noldius
p. 514. ;
none to take Job's part against them
and deliver him out of their hands
see Ecclesiastes 4:1.
Job 30:14 14 They come as broad
breakers; Under the ruinous storm they roll along.
YLT
14As a wide breach they come
Under the desolation have rolled themselves.
They came upon me as a wide breaking in of waters
.... As when a
wide breach is made in the banks of a river
or of the sea
the waters rush
through in great abundance
with great rapidity and swiftness; and with a force
irresistible; and in like manner did Job's enemies rush in upon him in great
numbers
overwhelming him in an instant
and he not able to oppose them; or as
when a wide breach is made in the wall of a city besieged
the besiegers pour
themselves in
and bear down all before them: and thus Job in a like violent
manner was run upon
and bore down by the persons before described:
in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me; as when a
breach is made in a bank of a river
or of the sea
the waters roll themselves
one wave and flood over another; or
as when a breach is made in a wall
"in the broken place they tumble"; as Mr. Broughton renders it; the
soldiers tumble one over another in haste
to get possession and seize the
plunder: in such like manner did Job's enemies roll themselves on him
in order
to crush and destroy him; and it may be rendered
"because of the
desolation"F18תחת שאה
"pro desolatione"
Pagninus
Montanus; "propter
vestalionem"
Noldius
p. 3. No. 1864.
because of bringing calamity on
him in order to make him desolate; they came pouring in upon him with all their
numbers
force
and strength
to bear him down
and crush him to the earth
as
grass may be rolled upon
and beaten down by heavy bodies.
Job 30:15 15 Terrors are turned upon
me; They pursue my honor as the wind
And my prosperity has passed like a
cloud.
YLT
15He hath turned against me
terrors
It pursueth as the wind mine abundance
And as a thick cloud
Hath my
safety passed away.
Terrors are turned upon me
.... Not the terrors of a
guilty conscience
for Job had a clear one
and held fast his integrity; nor
the terrors of a cursing and condemning law
for he knew he was justified by
his living Redeemer
and his sins forgiven for his sake; nor the terrors of
death
for that he had made familiar to him
and greatly desired it; nor the
terrors of a future judgment
for there was nothing he was more solicitous for
than to appear before the judgment seat of God
and take his trial there; but
the afflictions that were upon him from the hand of God that was turned on him
who now hid his face from him
and withheld the influences of his grace and
layout
and appeared as an enemy
and as a cruel one to him; the reason of all
which he knew not
and this threw him into consternation of mind
and filled
him with terror. SomeF19So some in Bar Tzemach in loc. read the
words
"my
glory is turned into terrors;'
instead
of being in the honour and glory
prosperity and happiness
he had been in
he
was now possessed of terrors and distresses of various kinds: others render the
words
"he is turned against me
as terrors"
or "into
terrors"
or "with them"F20ההפך
עלי בלהות "conversus
est contra me
sicut terrores"
Schmidt; "in meros terrores
vel cum
terroribus"
Michaelis. ; God cannot be turned or changed in his nature
in his will
counsel
purposes
and decrees
nor in his love and affection to
his people; but he may turn in the outward dispensations of his providence
according to his unchangeable will
as from evil to good
Jonah 3:9; so from
doing good to evil
Isaiah 63:10; this
is complained of by the church
Lamentations 3:3;
and deprecated by Jeremiah
Jeremiah 17:17; or
there is "a turn
terrors are upon me"; there was a very visible turn
in Job's affairs in many respects
in his health
substance
and family
and
particularly in this; while he was in his office as a civil magistrate
and in
all the glory of it
he was a terror to evil doers; and young men
when he
appeared
hid themselves for fear of him; but now those impudently rise up
against him
and are terrors to him: or there is an "overthrow"F21"Eversio"
Schultens.
an overturning of things
as of his civil and temporal affairs
so
of his spiritual ones; instead of that peace
serenity
and tranquillity of
mind he had enjoyed; now nothing but terror and distress of mind on account of
his afflictions and troubles:
they pursue my soul as the wind; terrors one after
another; they pursued him closely
with great swiftness
and with a force
irresistible
like the wind; they pursued his soul
his life
and threatened
the taking away of it: the word for soul is not the usual word for it; it
signifies "my principal one"
as in the margin
as the soul is the
principal part of man
the immortal breath of God
the inhabitant in the
tenement of the body
the jewel in the cabinet
immaterial and immortal
and of
more worth than the whole world; or "my princely one"
being of a
princely original
is from God
the Father of spirits
of a noble extract: Mr.
Broughton renders it my "nobility"
having princely rule and
government in the body; that using the members of the body as its instruments;
and especially it may be said to have such rule
when grace is implanted in it
as a ruling governing principle; and the Targum is
my principality or
government: it may be rendered
"my free"F23נדבתי "principalem meam"
Mercerus; "meam
principem"
Vatablus
Piscator; "meam spontaneam"
Pagninus
Montanus
Michaelis; "meam ultroneam"
Drusius; "generosum meam
spiritum"
Schultens.
liberal
ingenuous
and munificent one: Job had
such a generous and beneficent soul; but now all means of exercising generosity
and liberality were cut off from him; and particularly he had find a free
ingenuous one
as he was actuated by the free spirit of God
Psalm 51:12
where
this word is used; but now terrors pursuing him
a spirit of bondage unto fear
was brought upon him: someF24Schmidt. consider it as an apostrophe
to God
"thou pursues
my soul
O God"
&c. but rather the
meaning is
a distress or affliction pursued it
or everyone of the above
terrors:
and my welfare passeth away as a cloud; or "my
salvation"F25ישעתי "salus
mea"
Pagninus
Montanus
&c. ; not spiritual and eternal salvation
that was firm and stable
being fixed by the unalterable decree of God
secured
in the covenant of grace
and engaged for to be wrought out by his living.
Redeemer
and of which he had an application by the Spirit of God
and was
possessed of the blessings of it; and though the joys and comforts of it
and
views of interest in it
may go off for a while
yet Job seems to have had a
strong faith of interest in it
and a lively and well grounded hope of its
being his
Job 13:15; but his
temporal salvation
health
and happiness
were gone suddenly
swiftly
utterly
entirely
totally
as a cloud dissolved into rain
or dissipated by
the rays of the sun
or driven away with the wind
so as to be seen no more;
nor had he any hope of its being restored to him: some understand this
as
Sephorno
of the salvation with which he had saved others; but it was no more
in the power of his hands
and the remembrance of it was gone from those who
shared in it; see Hosea 6:4.
Job 30:16 16 “And now my soul is poured
out because of my plight; The days of affliction take hold of me.
YLT
16And now
in me my soul
poureth itself out
Seize me do days of affliction.
And now my soul is poured out upon me
.... Either in
prayer to God for help and deliverance; or rather he was dissolved as it were
in floods of tears
because of his distress and anguish; or his spirits were
sunk
his strength and courage failed
and his heart melted
and was poured out
like water; yea
his soul was pouring out unto death
and he was
as he
apprehended
near unto it; his body was so weakened and broken by diseases
that it was like a vessel full of holes
out of which the liquor runs away
apace; so his life and soul were going away from him
his vital spirits were
almost exhausted:
the days of affliction have taken hold upon me; afflictions
seize on good men as well as others
and on them more than others; and there
are certain times and seasons for them
appointed and ordered by the Lord; and
there is a limited time
they are not to continue always
only for some days
for a time
and but a little time
and then they will have an end; but till that
time comes
there can be no deliverance from them; being sent they come
coming
they seized on Job
they laid hold on him
they "caught" him
as Mr.
Broughton renders it
and held him fast
and would not let him go; nor could he
get clear of them till God delivered him
who only can and does deliver out of
them in his own time and way.
Job 30:17 17 My bones are pierced in me
at night
And my gnawing pains take no rest.
YLT
17At night my bone hath been
pierced in me
And mine eyelids do not lie down.
My bones are pierced in me in the night season
.... Such was
the force of his disease
that it pierced and penetrated even into his bones
and the marrow of them; and such the pain that he endured in the muscles and
tendons about them
and especially in the joints of them
that it was as if all
his bones were piercing and breaking to pieces; he was in a like condition the
sick man is described in Job 33:19; and as David
and Hezekiah were
Psalm 6:2; and what
aggravated his case was
that this was "in the night season"
when he
should have got some sleep and rest
but could not for his pain: some render
the words by supplying them thus; God
or the disease
or the pain
pierced my
bones in the night season; or "the night pierced my bones from me";
so Mr. Broughton; but rather they may be rendered
and the sense be
"in
the night season everyone of my bones pierce "the flesh" that is upon
me:'
his
flesh was almost wasted and consumed
through the boil and ulcers on him
and
he was reduced to a mere skeleton; and when he laid himself down on his bed
these pierced through his skin
and stuck out
and gave him exquisite pain:
and my sinews take no rest; being contracted; or his
nerves
as the word in the Arabic language signifies
as is observed by Aben
Ezra
Jarchi
Donesh
and others; which were loosened
and the animal spirits were
sunk
and he so low and dispirited
that he could get no rest: or the pulsatile
veins and arteries
as Ben Gersom and Elias LevitaF1In Tishbi
p.
67. So Lud. Capellus in loc.
in which the pulse beats
and which beats with
less strength when persons are asleep than when awake; but such was the force
of Job's disease
that it beat even in the night
when on his bed
so strongly
that he could take no rest for it; the pulse beats
as physicians sayF2Scheuchzer.
Physic. Sacr. vol. 4. p 764.
sixty times in a minute
and double the number
in a burning fever
and which might be Job's case. Some take the word in the
sense of fleeing or gnawingF3וערקי
"et rodentia mea"
Schultens; "fugientia membra mea"
so
some in Michaelis.
as it is used Job 30:3; and
interpret it either of his enemies
who pursued after him
and had no rest in
their beds
but went out in the night to inquire and hear what they could learn
concerning him and his illness
whether it was become greaterF4Vid.
Bar Tzemach in loc. ; or who devoured him by their calumnies and detractions
and could not sleep unless they did mischief to him; see Proverbs 4:16; or
of the worms with which his body was covered
and which were continually
gnawing
never rested
nor suffered him to take any rest; the Targum is
they
that gnash at me rest not.
Job 30:18 18 By great force my garment
is disfigured; It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
YLT
18By the abundance of power
Is my clothing changed
As the mouth of my coat it doth gird me.
By the great force of my disease is my garment changed
.... Either
the colour of it
through the purulent matter from his ulcers running down upon
it
or penetrating through it; or by reason of it he was obliged to shift himself
and to have a change of raiment very frequently; or the supplement
"of my
disease"
may be left out
and the sense be
with great force
through
main strength
and with much difficulty
his garment was changed
was got off
from him
sticking so close to him
and another put on:
it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat; his disease
encompassed him about on all sides as the collar or edge of his coat
encompassed his neck
and cleaved as close
and was as tight unto him as that
and threatened him perhaps with a suffocation or strangling; see Job 7:15; the
allusion is to garments used in the eastern countries
which were only open at
top and bottom; at the top there was a hole to put the head through when put
on
and a binding about it
and a button to it
or some such thing
which kept
it tight about the neck; see Exodus 28:32.
Job 30:19 19 He has cast me into the
mire
And I have become like dust and ashes.
YLT
19Casting me into mire
And I
am become like dust and ashes.
He hath cast me into the mire
.... As Jeremiah was
literally; here it is to be understood in a figurative sense; not of the mire
of sin
into which God casts none
men fall into it of themselves
but of the
mire of affliction and calamity; see Psalm 40:2; and
which Job here ascribes to God; and whereby he was in as mean
abject
and
contemptible a condition
as if he had been thrown into a kennel
and rolled in
it; and he speaks of it as an act of God
done with contempt of him
and
indignation at him
as he apprehended it. Some Jewish writersF5Vid.
Jarchi & Bar Tzemach in loc. interpret it
"he taught me in the
mire"
or "it taught me"; his disease
his ulcers taught him to
sit down in the mire
or in the midst of ashes
Job 2:8; but though
this reading might admit of a good sense
as that Job was taught
as every good
man is
many useful lessons in and by afflictions; yet it seems to be a sense
foreign from the words:
and I am become like dust and ashes; a phrase by which
Abraham expresses his vileness
meanness
and unworthiness in the sight of God
Genesis 18:27; Job
through the force of his disease
looked like a corpse
or one half dead
and
was crumbling and dropping into the dust of death and the grave
and looked
livid and ash coloured; and even in a literal sense was covered with dust and
ashes
when he sat among them
Job 2:8; though
here it chiefly respects the miserable
forlorn
and contemptible condition in
which he was.
Job 30:20 20 “I cry out to You
but You
do not answer me; I stand up
and You regard me.
YLT
20I cry unto Thee
And Thou
dost not answer me
I have stood
and Thou dost consider me.
I cry unto thee
and thou dost not hear me
.... Which
added greatly to his affliction
that though he cried to the Lord for help and
deliverance
yet he turned a deaf ear to him; and though he heard him
as
undoubtedly he did
he did not answer him immediately; at least not in the way
in which he desired and expected he would: crying is expressive of prayer
and
supposes distress
and denotes vehemence of spirit:
I stand up; in prayer
standing being a prayer gesture
as many observe from
Jeremiah 15:1; See
Gill on Matthew 6:5; or he
persisted in it
he continued praying
was incessant in it
and yet could
obtain no answer; or this signifies silence
as someF6Jarchi
Ben
Gersom
and Bar Tzemach. interpret it; he cried
and then ceased
waiting for
an answer; but whether he prayed
or whether he was silent
it was the same
thing:
and thou regardest me not; the word "not"
is not in this clause
but is repeated from the preceding
as it is by Ben
Gersom and others; but some read it without it
and give the sense either thus
thou considerest me whether it is fit to receive my prayer or not
so Sephorno;
or to renew my strokes
to add new afflictions to me
as Jarchi and Bar
Tzemach; or thou lookest upon me as one pleased with the sight of me in such a
miserable condition
so far from helping me; wherefore it follows.
Job 30:21 21 But
You have become cruel to me; With the strength of Your hand You oppose me.
YLT
21Thou art turned to be fierce
to me
With the strength of Thy hand
Thou oppresest me.
Thou art become cruel to me
.... Or
"turned"
or "changed"F7תהפך
"mutatus es"
V. L. Tigurine version; "versus es"
Beza
Piscator; so Drusius
Cocceius
Vatablus
Michaelis
Mercerus
Schultens.
to
be cruel to me. Job suggests that God had been kind and gracious to him
both
in a way of providence
and in showing special love and favour to him
in a
very distinguishing manner; but now he intimates his affections were changed
and altered
and these were alienated from him
and his love was turned into an
hatred of him; this is one of the unbecoming expressions which dropped from his
lips concerning God; for the love of God to his people is never changed; it
remains invariable and unalterable
in all dispensations
in every state and
condition into which they come; there may be some of God's dispensations
towards them
which may have the appearance of severity in them; and he may
make use of instruments to chastise them
which may use them cruelly; but even
then his heart yearns towards them
and
being full of compassion
delivers out
of their hands
and saves them
Jeremiah 30:14;
with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me; God has a
strong hand and arm
and none like him
and sometimes he puts forth the strength
of it
and exerts his mighty power in afflicting his people
and his hand
presses them sore
and they can scarcely stand up under it; and then it becomes
them to humble themselves under the mighty hand of God
and patiently bear it;
and sometimes they take him to be their adversary
an enemy unto them
and
filled with hatred of them
indignation against them
setting himself with all
his might and main to ruin and destroy them; and this is a sad case indeed
to
have such apprehensions of God
though unjust ones; for
as if God be for us
who shall be against us? so if he be against us
it signifies little who is for
us; for there is no contending with him
Job 9:3.
Job 30:22 22 You lift me up to the wind
and cause me to ride on it; You spoil my success.
YLT
22Thou dost lift me up
On
the wind Thou dost cause me to ride
And Thou meltest -- Thou levellest me.
Thou liftest me up to the wind
.... Of affliction and
adversity
to be carried up with it
and tossed about by it
as chaff or
stubble
or a dry leaf
being no more able to stand up against it than such
things are to oppose the wind; though some interpret this of God's lifting him
up in his state of prosperity
in which he was very visible and conspicuous to
all
and enjoyed much light and comfort; but then he raised him to such an
estate
with a view to cast him down
and that his fall and ruin might be the
greater; and so this is observed as a proof of his being become cruel to him:
thou causest me to ride upon it; seemingly in
great pomp and state
but in great uncertainty and danger
being at best in a
slippery place
in very fickle circumstances
as the event showed; or rather
the sense is
that he was swiftly carried into destruction
as if he rode on
the wings of the wind to it
and was hurried thither at once
as soon as he was
taken up with the tempest of adversity:
and dissolvest my substance; his outward substance
his wealth and riches
his family
and the health of his body
all which as it
were melted away
or were carried away as with a flood; and so as the metaphor
of a tempestuous wind is used in the former clause
here that of an overflowing
flood
which removed from him what seemed to be the most solid and substantial:
the word is sometimes used for wisdom
and even sound wisdom
Proverbs 2:7;
wherefore some have interpreted it of his being at his wits' end
of losing his
reason and understanding
and which were at least disturbed and confounded by
his afflictions; but his discourses and speeches show the contrary
and he
himself denies that wisdom was driven from him
Job 6:13.
Job 30:23 23 For I know that You
will bring me to death
And to the house appointed for all
living.
YLT
23For I have known To death
Thou dost bring me back
And [to] the house appointed for all living.
For I know that thou wilt bring me to death
.... Quickly
and by the present affliction upon him; he was assured
as he thought
that
this was the view and design of God in this providence
under which he was to
bring him to death and the grave; that he would never take off his hand till he
had brought him to the dust of death
to that lifeless dust from whence he had
his original; otherwise
that he would he brought thither
sooner or later
was
no great masterpiece of knowledge; every man knows this will be the case with
him as with all; death is become necessary by sin
which brought it into the
world
and the sentence of it on all men in it
and by the decree and
appointment of God
by which it is fixed and settled that all should die; and
this is confirmed by all experience in all ages
a very few excepted
only two
persons
Enoch and Elijah
Genesis 5:24
sometimes the death of persons is made known to them by divine revelation
as
to Aaron and Moses
Numbers 20:12; and
sometimes it may be gathered to be nigh from the symptoms of it on the body; from
growing diseases
and the infirmities of old age; but Job concluded it from the
manner of God's dealing with him
as he thought in wrath and indignation
determining to make an utter end of him:
and to the house appointed for all living; the grave
which
is the house for the body when dead to be brought unto and lodged in; as the
"house not made with hands
eternal in the heavens"
2 Corinthians 5:1
is for the soul in its separate state
until the resurrection morn; which house
or grave is man's "long home"
Ecclesiastes 12:5;
and this is prepared and appointed for all men living
since all must die; and
all that die have a house or grave
though that is sometimes a watery
and not
an earthy one; however the dust of everybody has a receptacle provided for it
where it is reserved until the time of the resurrection
and then it is brought
forth
Revelation 20:13;
and this is by divine appointment; the word used signifies both an appointed
time and place
and is often used of the Jewish solemnities
which were fixed
with respect to both; and also of the people or congregation that attended
them; the grave is the general rendezvous of mankind
and both the time when
and the place where the dead are gathered and brought unto it are fixed by the
determinate will and counsel of God.
Job 30:24 24 “Surely He would not
stretch out His hand against a heap of ruins
If they cry out when He
destroys it.
YLT
24Surely not against the heap
Doth He send forth the hand
Though in its ruin they have safety.
Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave
.... Or
"verily"F8אך "verum"
Mercerus; profecto
Drusius
Bolducius; "sane"
Tigurine version.
truly he will not
&c. I am well assured he never will
meaning either he
never would stretch out his hand to shut up the grave; or rather keep it shut
and prevent Job from going down into it; or to open it
and fetch him out of it
when in it: God is indeed able to do either of these
and has done it;
sometimes
when persons are brought as it were to the gates of death and the
grave
he says to them
Return; yea
when they are brought to the dust of
death
he prevents them going into the grave
by restoring them to life before
carried thither
as the Shunammite's son
2 Kings 4:32;
Jairus's daughter
Mark 5:41; and the
widow's son of Nain
even when he was carrying to his grave
Luke 7:12; some
have been laid in the grave
and God has stretched out his hand
and raised
them up again; as the man that was laid in Elisha's grave
2 Kings 13:21
and
Lazarus after he had lain in the grave some days
John 11:39; but
such things are not usually done; in common
when a man dies
and is laid in
the grave
he rises not again
till the heavens be no more; and this Job was
persuaded would be his case:
though they cry in his destruction; that is
though the
friends and relations of the sick person
or the poor that he has been kind and
bountiful unto
should cry unto God
while he is destroying him by the diseases
upon him
and which threaten him with destruction
that he would spare his
useful and valuable life; yet he is inexorable
and will not hear
but go on
with what he intends to do
and takes him off by death
and lays him in the
grave
"the pit of destruction"
Psalm 55:23
so
called because it wastes and consumes bodies laid in it; and when once laid
there
all cries for a restoration to life again are vain and fruitless. Some
take these words as expressed in a way of solace
as if Job comforted himself
with this thought under his present afflictions
that
when once he was brought
to death and the grave
there would be an end of all his sorrow; the hand of
the Lord
that was now stretched out on him in a terrible way
would be no
longer stretched out on him; he would then cease to afflict him
and he should
be where the weary are at rest; and so the last clause is read with an
interrogation
"is there any cry"
or "do any cry
in his
destruction?"F9אם בפידו
להן שוע "aut clamant
aliqui post obitum suum?" Tigurine version; "si in contritione ejus
eis clamor?" Montanus
Bolducius. ; no
when death has done its office
and the body is laid in the grave
there is no more pain nor sorrow
nor
crying; all tears are wiped away
and there is no more sense of afflictions and
sufferings; they are all at an end. Mr. Broughton renders these words as to the
sense the same
and as in connection with the following ones
"and prayed
I not when plague was sent? when hurt came to any
thereupon cried I not?"
and so do some othersF11Junius & Tremellius. .
Job 30:25 25 Have I not wept for him
who was in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor?
YLT
25Did not I weep for him
whose day is hard? Grieved hath my soul for the needy.
Did not I weep for him that was in trouble?.... In
outward trouble
whether personal in his own body
or in his family
or in his
worldly affairs
or from wicked men
the men of the world; or in inward
trouble
in soul trouble
on account of indwelling sin
the breakings forth of
it
the lowness of grace
as to exercise
the hidings of God's face
and the
temptations of Satan: or "for him that is hard of day"F12לקשה יום "ob durum
die"
Montanus
Mercerus
Drusius; "cui dura crant tempora"
Junius & Tremellius; "ei cui durus dies"
Cocceius. ; with whom
times are hard
the days are evil
with respect either to things temporal or
spiritual; now Job had a sympathizing heart with such persons; he wept with
them that wept; his bowels yearned towards them; he felt their sufferings and
their sorrows
which is a Godlike frame of soul; for God
in all the
afflictions of his people
is afflicted; a disposition of mind like that of the
living Redeemer
who cannot but be touched with the feeling of the infirmities
of saints
having been in all points tempted as they; and is a fruit of the
Spirit of God
and very becoming the relation the saints stand in to one
another
being members of the same body
and of each other; and therefore
when
one member suffers
all the rest should sympathize with it
and
being
brethren
should be loving
pitiful
and courteous to each other; and should
consider that they also are in the body
and liable to the same distresses
whether outward or inward:
was not my soul grieved for the poor? in general
and
especially for the Lord's poor
for such in all ages have been chosen and
called by him; for these Job was grieved at heart
when he saw their distress
through poverty; and he not only expressed his concern for them by tears and
words
but by distributing liberally to their necessities
Job 31:17; and by
which he showed his grief was real
hearty
and sincere
as here expressed; his
soul was grieved
and he was sorry at his very heart for them: some render the
words
"was not my soul like a pool of water?"F13עצמה "restagnavit"
some in Mercerus. not only
his head and his eyes
as Jeremiah's on another account
but his soul melted
and flowed like water with grief for them; and others
as Mr. Broughton
"did not my soul burn for the poor?" with sorrow for them
and an
ardent desire to relieve them; see 2 Corinthians 9:12;
now this was the frame of Job's mind in the time of his prosperity
very
different from that in Amos 6:4; and was
certain and well known; he could appeal to all that knew him for the truth of
it
it being what
none could deny that had any knowledge of him; yea
he could
appeal to an omniscient God
he was now speaking to
for the truth of it; nay
it is delivered in the form of an oath
"if I did not weep"
&c.F14אם לא בכיתי
"si non deflevi"
Tigurine version; "si non flevi"
Piscator.
as in Job 31:16.
Job 30:26 26 But when I looked for
good
evil came to me; And when I waited for light
then came darkness.
YLT
26When good I expected
then
cometh evil
And I wait for light
and darkness cometh.
When I looked for good
.... As he
thought he might reasonably expect it
since he had shown such a sympathizing
spirit to persons in trouble
and such pity and mercy to the poor: in the time
of his prosperity
he looked for a continuance of the good things he enjoyed
and expected to have had them for many years to come
and to have died in the
possession of them
Job 29:18; and even
in his adversity
though he had received evil things at the hand of God
which
he took patiently; yet at first he did not think they would always continue
but that there would be a turn of affairs
and he should again receive good at
his hands; and he had been looking for it
as good men have reason to expect
it; since God is good and does good
and especially to his own people
and has
laid up goodness for them that fear him
and such an one Job was; and has
promised good things unto them
both temporal and spiritual; for godliness and
godly men have the promise of this life
and of that which is to come: but Job
was disappointed in his expectation; for
says he
then evil came unto me
the evil of affliction
one upon the back of another
even when in the height of his prosperity; and
since repeated evil
new afflictions
came upon him by the appointment
order
and direction of God:
and when I waited for light; for the light of outward
prosperity
such as he had formerly enjoyed; and for the light of God's
countenance
which he most earnestly sought after
and longed for
and was in a
waiting posture for it
as good men have reason to be; since light is sown for
them in the purposes and decrees of God
in his counsel and covenant
in his
Gospel
and the promises of it; and therefore should wait for the springing of
it up
as the husbandman does for the springing up of the corn sown in the
earth
and lying under the clods; and seeing that to the upright there arises
light in darkness; and though God hides his face from them
for a moment
he
will have mercy on them
and therefore should wait his time to be gracious to
them; but Job had waited long
and
as he thought
to no purpose: for
there came darkness; the darkness of
adversity
still thicker and darker
and no appearance of spiritual light and
favour
or any discoveries of the love of God to him
or enjoyment of his
presence; see Jeremiah 8:15.
Job 30:27 27 My heart is in turmoil and
cannot rest; Days of affliction confront me.
YLT
27My bowels have boiled
and
have not ceased
Gone before me have days of affliction.
My bowels boiled
and
rested not
.... All contained within him
his heart
lungs
and liver
in a
literal sense
through a violent fever burning within him; or figuratively
being under great distress and trouble
by reason of his afflictions
outward
and inward
see Jeremiah 4:19;
the days of affliction prevented me; came sooner upon him
than he thought; he did not expect the evil days to come
and the years draw
nigh in which he should have no pleasure
until he was more advanced in years
and the time of his dissolution was at hand; they came at once
and unawares
upon him
when he looked not for them: some render the word "met me"F15קדמני "occurrerunt mihi"
Piscator
Cocceius.
unexpectedly; or rather
they "rushed upon me"F16"Incursarunt
me"
Schultens.
in an hostile way; came in troops
and invaded and
surrounded him
see Job 19:12.
Job 30:28 28 I go about mourning
but
not in the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.
YLT
28Mourning I have gone
without the sun
I have risen
in an assembly I cry.
I went mourning without
the sun
.... So overwhelmed with grief
that he refused to have any
comfort from
or any advantage by the sun; hence Mr. Broughton renders it
"out of the sun"; he did not choose to walk in the sunshine
but out
of it
to indulge his grief and sorrow the more; or he went in black attire
and wrapped and covered himself with it
that he might not see the sun
or
receive any relief by it: or "I go black
but not by the sun"F17בלא חמה "non propter
solem"
Vatablus; "non a sole"
Junius & Tremellius
Drusius
Mercerus; "non ob solem"
Piscator. ; his face and his skin
were black
but not through the sun looking upon him and discolouring him
as
in Song of Solomon 1:6;
but through the force of his disease
which had changed his complexion
and
made him as black as a Kedarene
or those that dwell in the tents of Kedar
Song of Solomon 1:5;
and he also walked without the sun of righteousness arising on him
with
healing in his wings
which was worst of all:
I stood up
and I cried in the congregation: either in the
congregation of the saints met together for religious worship
where he cried
unto God for help and deliverance
and for the light of his countenance
Job 30:20; or such
was the extreme anguish of his soul
that when a multitude of people got about
him to see him in his distressed condition
he could not contain himself
but
burst out before them in crying and tears
though he knew it was unbecoming a
man of his age and character; or he could not content himself to stay within
doors and soothe his grief
but must go abroad and in public
and there
expressed with strong cries and tears his miserable condition.
Job 30:29 29 I am a brother of jackals
And a companion of ostriches.
YLT
29A brother I have been to
dragons
And a companion to daughters of the ostrich.
I am a brother to dragons
and a companion to owls. Or ostriches
as the Targum
Septuagint
Vulgate Latin
Syriac
and Arabic versions; either he was obliged to dwell with such persons as were
comparable to these creatures for their devouring words
hissing noise
and
venomous speeches
or for want of compassion
and for their cruelty
as David
is said to be among lions
Psalm 57:4; or
also
he was like unto them
being solitary and alone
all his friends and
acquaintance standing at a distance from him
as these creatures love lonesome
and desolate places; or because of the wailing and howling noise they make
to
which his mournful notes bore some resemblance; see Gill on Micah 1:8; or
because
when these creatures cry and howl
and make a noise
no mercy is shown
to them
none pities or regards them; and so it was with him; though he stood
and cried in ever so public a manner
none had any compassion on him.
Job 30:30 30 My skin grows black and
falls from me; My bones burn with fever.
YLT
30My skin hath been black
upon me
And my bone hath burned from heat
My skin is black upon me
.... Either
through deep melancholy
as may be observed in persons of such a disposition
through grief and trouble; or rather through the force of his disease
the
burning ulcers and black scabs with which he was covered
as the Jews were
through famine
in their captivity
Lamentations 4:8;
and my bones are burnt with heat; with the heat of a
burning fever; which not only made his inwards boil
but reached to his bones
and dried up the marrow of them. Galen saysF18Apud Bartholin. de
Cruce
sect. 12. p. 107. that bones may become so dry as to be crumbled into
sand: the Syriac version is
"my
bones are burnt as his who is in a hot wind;'
such
as were common in the eastern countries
which killed men at once
and they
became as black as a coalF19See Gill on Job 27:21. .
Job 30:31 31 My harp is turned
to mourning
And my flute to the voice of those who weep.
YLT
31And my harp doth become
mourning
And my organ the sound of weeping.
My harp also is turned to mourning
.... Which he
used
as David
either in religious worship
expressing praise to God thereby
or for his recreation in an innocent way; but now it was laid aside
and
instead of it
nothing was heard from him
or in his house
but the voice of
mourning:
and my organ into the voice of them that weep; another
instrument of music
which had its name from the pleasantness of its sound
and
was of early use
being first invented by Jubal
Genesis 4:21; but
not that we now so call
which is of late invention: those instruments which
Job might have and use
both in a civil and in a religious way
were now
through afflictions
become useless to him
and neglected by him; or these
expressions in general may signify
that
instead of mirth and joy he was wont
to have
there were nothing now to be heard but lamentation and woe; see Lamentations 5:15.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)