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Job Chapter
Six
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JOB 6
This
and the following chapter contain Job's answer to the speech of Eliphaz in the
two foregoing; he first excuses his impatience by the greatness of his
afflictions, which, if weighed by good and impartial hands, would be found to
be heavier than the sand of the sea, and which words were wanting to express, Job 6:1; and the
reason why they were so heavy is given, they being the arrows and terrors of
the Almighty, Job 6:4; and by
various similes he shows that his moans and complaints under them need not seem
strange and unreasonable, Job 6:5; and what
had been said not being convincing to him, he continues in the same sentiment
and disposition of mind, and wishes to be removed by death out of his miserable
condition, and gives his reasons for it, Job 6:8; and though
his case was such as required pity from his friends, yet this he had not from
them, but represents them as deceitful, and as having sadly disappointed him, and
therefore he neither hoped nor asked for anything of them, Job 6:14; and
observes that their words and arguments were of no force and weight with him,
but harmful and pernicious, Job 6:24; and in
his turn gives them some exhortations and instructions, and signifies that he
was as capable of discerning between right and wrong as they, with which this
chapter is concluded, Job 6:28.
Job 6:1 Then
Job answered and said:
YLT
1And Job answereth and
saith: --
But Job answered and said. Though Eliphaz thought
his speech was unanswerable, being, as he and his friends judged,
unquestionably true, and the fruit of strict, laborious, and diligent search
and inquiry; or, "then Job answered"F20ויען
"tunc respondit", Drusius. , as the same particle is rendered, Job 4:1; after he
had heard Eliphaz out; he waited with patience until he had finished his
discourse, without giving him any interruption, though there were many things
that were very provoking, particularly in Job 4:5; and when
he had done, then he made his reply; and this was no other than what every man
has a right unto, to answer for himself when any charge or accusation is
brought against him; when his character is attacked, or his good name, which is
better the precious ointment, is taken from him; and is what all reasonable
men, and the laws of all civilized nations, allow of.
Job 6:2 2 “Oh, that my grief were
fully weighed, And my calamity laid with it on the scales!
YLT
2O that my provocation were
thoroughly weighed, And my calamity in balances They would lift up together!
Oh that my grief were thoroughly weighed,.... Or,
"in weighing weighed"F21שקול ישקל "librando, libraretur", Cocceius, Schultens.
, most nicely and exactly weighed; that is, his grievous affliction, which
caused so much grief of heart, and which had been shown in words and gestures;
or his "wrath" and "anger"F23כעשי
"ira mea", Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius, Schmidt, &c. so the
Targum and Sept. , as others render it: not his anger against Eliphaz, as
Sephorno, but as before, meaning the same thing, his affliction; which either,
as he understood, was the fruit and effect of the wrath and anger of God, who
treated him as an enemy; or rather, that wrath, anger, and resentment raised in
his own mind by those afflictive providences, and which broke out in hot and
passionate expressions, and for which he was blamed as a foolish man, Job 5:2; or else
the "complaint"F24"Querela mea", Vatablus,
Mercerus. , the groans and moans he made under them; or the
"impatience"F25"Impatientia", Belgae, Castalio.
he was charged with in bearing of them; and now he wishes, and suggests, that
if they were well weighed and considered by kind and judicious persons, men of
moderation and temper, a great allowance would be made for them, and they would
easily be excused; that is, if, together with his expressions of grief, anger,
and impatience, his great afflictions, the cause of them, were but looked into,
and carefully examined, as follows:
and my calamity laid in the balances together! that is, his
affliction, which had a being, as the word signifies, as Aben Ezra observes,
was not through the prepossessions of fear as before, nor merely in fancy as in
many, or as exaggerated, and made greater than it is, which is often the case;
but what was real and true, and matter of fact; it was what befell him, had
happened to him, not by chance, but by the appointment and providence of God;
and includes all his misfortunes, the loss of his cattle, servants, and
children, and of his own health; and now to be added to them, the unkindness of
his friends; and his desire is, that these might be taken up, and put together
in the scales, and being put there, that the balances might be lifted up at
once, and the true weight of them taken; and the meaning is, either that all
his excessive grief, and passionate words, and extravagant and unwarrantable
impatience, as they were judged, might be put into one scale, and all his
afflictions in another, and then it would be seen which were heaviest, and what
reason there was for the former, and what little reason there was to blame him
on that account; or however, he might be excused, and not be bore hard upon, as
he was; to this sense his words incline in Job 23:2; or else
by his grief and calamity he means the same thing, his grievous afflictions,
which he would have put together in a pair of balances, and weighed against
anything that was ever so heavy, and then they would appear to be as is
expressed in Job 6:3; Job by all
this seems desirous to have his case thoroughly canvassed, and his conduct
thoroughly examined into, and to be well weighed and pondered in the scale of
right reason and sound judgment, by men of equal and impartial characters; but
he tacitly suggests that his friends were not such, and therefore wishes that
some third person, or other persons, would undertake this affair.
Job 6:3 3 For then it would be
heavier than the sand of the sea— Therefore my words have been rash.
YLT
3For now, than the sands of
the sea it is heavier, Therefore my words have been rash.
For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea,.... Or
"seas"F26ימים
"marium", Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Piscator, Michaelis,
Schultens. ; all sand is heavy in its own nature, Proverbs 27:3;
especially the sand of the sea, that which is immediately taken out of it; for
that on the shore is lighter, being dried by the winds and heat of the sun, but
the other is heavier, through the additional weight of water; and much more
especially how heavy must all the sand of the sea be, and of all the seas that
are in the world: yet Job suggests by this hyperbolical expression,
exaggerating his case, that his affliction was heavier than it all, a most
intolerable and insupportable burden; the afflictions of God's people are but
light when compared with what their sins deserve, with the torments of the
damned in hell, with the sufferings of Christ in their room and stead, and with
everlasting, happiness, the eternal weight of glory, 2 Corinthians 4:17;
but in themselves they are heavy, and press hard; they are so to flesh and
blood, and especially unless everlasting arms are put under men, and they are
supported and upheld with the right hand of God's righteousness; they are heavy
when attended with the hidings of God's face, and a sense of his wrath and
displeasure, which was Job's case, see Job 13:24; some
render "it more copious", or "numerous"F1יכבד "copiosior et gravior est", Michaelis; so
Schultens. , and indeed the word has this signification, as in Numbers 20:20; and
the metaphor is more frequently used to express a multitude, even what is
innumerable, Hosea 1:10; yet the
notion of heaviness best agrees with the preceding figure of weighing in
balances, and therefore at least is not to be excluded some learned men take in
both, as the sense of the word, the number of afflictions, and the bulk and
weight of them:
therefore my words are swallowed up; either by his friends,
as Kimchi, who heard them, and put a wrong construction on them, without
thoroughly examining the true sense of them; as men that swallow down their
food greedily, do not chew it, nor take the true taste of it, and so are no
judges whether it is good or bad; but this sense seems to have no connection
with what goes before; rather they were swallowed up by himself, and the
meaning either is, that such was the weight and pressure of his afflictions,
that he wanted words to express it; his words "failed" him, as the
Targum: or they "come short", as Mr. Broughton renders it; they were
not sufficient to set forth and declare the greatness of his troubles; or he
faltered in his speech, he could not speak out plainly and distinctly, because
of his grief and sorrow, see Psalm 77:4; what he
had said was delivered amidst sighs and sobs, through the heaviness of the
calamity on him; they were but half words, attended with groanings that could
not be uttered; by which he would signify, that though his friends had charged
him with speaking too much and too freely, he had not spoken enough, nor could
he, by reason of the greatness of his affliction; and also to excuse his
present answer, if it was not delivered with that politeness and fulness of
expression, with that eloquence and strength of reasoning and discoursing he at
other times was capable of: or rather the words may be rendered,
"therefore my words break out with heat"F2על־כן דברי לעו
"propterea verba mea aestuantia sunt", Schultens. ; in a vehement
manner, in a hot and passionate way I am blamed for; but this is to be imputed
to the burden of affliction and sorrow upon me, which, if considered, some
allowances would be made, and the charge be alleviated.
Job 6:4 4 For the arrows of the
Almighty are within me; My spirit drinks in their poison; The terrors of
God are arrayed against me.
YLT
4For arrows of the Mighty
[are] with me, Whose poison is drinking up my spirit. Terrors of God array
themselves [for] me!
For the arrows of the Almighty are within me,.... Which are
a reason proving the weight and heaviness of his affliction, and also of his
hot and passionate expressions he broke out into; which designs not so much outward
calamities, as famine, pestilence, thunder and lightning, which are called the
arrows of God, Deuteronomy 32:23;
all which had attended Job, and were his case; being reduced to extreme
poverty, had malignant and pestilential ulcers upon him, and his sheep
destroyed by thunder and lightning; and which were like arrows, that came upon
him suddenly, secretly, and at unawares, and very swiftly; these arrows flew
thick and first about, him, and stuck in him, and were sharp and painful, and
wounded and slew him; for he was now under slaying circumstances of Providence;
but rather these mean, together with his afflictions, the inward distresses,
grief, and anguish of his mind arising from them, being attended with a keen
sense of the divine displeasure, which was the case of David, and is expressed
in much the same language, Psalm 38:1; Job
here considers his afflictions as coming from God, as arrows shot from his bow;
and as coming from him, not as a father, in a way of paternal chastisement, and
love, dealing with him as a child of his, but accounting him as an enemy, and
setting him up as a mark or butt to shoot at, see Job 7:20; yea, not
only as the arrows of a strong and mighty man, expert in archery, who shoots
his arrows with great strength and skill, so that they miss not, and return not
in vain, see Psalm 120:4; but as
being the arrows of the Almighty, which come with force irresistible, with the
stretching and lighting down of his arm, and with the indignation of his anger
intolerable:
the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit; alluding to
the custom of some people, that used to dip their arrows in poison, or besmear
them with it; so the Persians, as Jarchi observes, and HeliodorusF3Ethiopic.
l. 9. c. 19. reports of the Ethiopians, that they dipped their arrows in the
poison of dragons, and which made them inflammatory, and raised such an heat,
and such burning pains, as were intolerable; and now, as such poison presently
infected the blood, and penetrated into and seized the animal spirits, and
inflamed and soon exhausted them; so the heat of divine wrath, and a sense of
it, which attended the arrows of God, his afflictions on Job, so affected him,
as not only to take away his breath, that he could not speak, as in Job 6:3, or rather,
as to cause those warm and hot expressions to break out from him, but even to
eat up his vital spirits, and leave him spiritless and lifeless; which was
Heman's case, and similar to Job's, Psalm 88:3,
the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me; the Lord is
sometimes compared to a man of war in arms, stirring up his wrath and jealousy,
Exodus 15:3; and in
this light he was viewed by Job, and so he apprehended him, as coming forth
against him, and which was terrible; and his terrors were like an army of
soldiers set in battle array, in rank and file, ready to discharge, or
discharging their artillery upon him; and which sometimes design the inward
terrors of mind, of a guilty conscience, the terrors of God's judgment here, or
of a future judgment hereafter, of death and hell, and eternal damnation,
through the menaces and curses of the law of God transgressed and broken; but
here afflictive providences, or terrible things in righteousness, which
surrounded him, attacked him in great numbers, and in a hostile military way,
with great order and regularity, and which were frightful to behold; perhaps
regard may be also had to those scaring dreams and terrifying visions he
sometimes had, see Job 7:14.
Job 6:5 5 Does the wild donkey bray
when it has grass, Or does the ox low over its fodder?
YLT
5Brayeth a wild ass over
tender grass? Loweth an ox over his provender?
Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over
his fodder? No, they neither of them do, when the one is in a good pasture,
and the other has a sufficiency of provender; but when they are in want of
food, the one will bray, and the other will low, which are tones peculiar to
those creatures, and express their mournful complaints; wherefore Job suggests,
that should he make no moan and complaint in his sorrowful circumstances, he
should be more stupid and senseless than those brute creatures: and he may have
some respect to the different circumstances of himself and his friends; he
himself, when he was in prosperity, made no complaints, as the wild ass brays not,
and the ox lows not, when they have both food enough; but now, being in
distress, he could not but utter his sorrow and trouble, as those creatures
when in lack of food; and this may serve as an answer to his different conduct
now and formerly, objected to him, Job 4:3; and so his
friends; they lived in great tranquillity and prosperity, as Aben Ezra
observes, and roared and grieved not, which doubtless they would, were they in
the same circumstances he was; though it became them, as things were, to have
uttered words of condolence to their friend in distress, instead of sharp
reproofs and hard censures.
Job 6:6 6 Can flavorless food be
eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
YLT
6Eaten is an insipid thing
without salt? Is there sense in the drivel of dreams?
Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt?.... As any
sort of pulse, peas, beans, lentiles, &c. which have no savoury and agreeable
taste unless salted, and so many other things; and are disagreeable to men, and
not relished by them, and more especially things bitter and unpleasant; and
therefore Job intimates, it need not seem strange that the wormwood and water
of gall, or the bread of adversity and water of affliction, he was fed with,
should be so distasteful to him, and he should show such a nausea of it, and an
aversion to it, and complain thereof as he did: though some apply this to the
words and speeches of Eliphaz, and his friends he represented, which with Job
were insipid and foolish talk, and very unsuitable and disagreeable to him,
yea, loathed and abhorred by him, not being seasoned with the salt of prudence,
grace, and goodness, see Colossians 4:6,
or is there any taste in the white of an egg? none at all.
The same things are designed by this as the former. Mr. Broughton renders it,
"the white of the yolk"; and Kimchi saysF4Sepher Shorash,
rad. חלם; so Ben Melech. it signifies, in the
language of the Rabbins, the red part of the yolk, the innermost part; but
others, from the use of the word in the Arabic language, interpret it of the
froth of milkF5Hottinger. Smegma Oriental. l. 1. c. 7. p. 152.
Hinckeman. Praefat. ad Alcoran. p. 29. , which is very tasteless and insipid:
but the first of the words we render "white" always signifies
"spittle"; and some of the Jewish writersF6R. Issac in
Kimchi ibid. Ben Melech & Ben Gersom in loc; so some in Bar Tzemach;
"saliva sanitatis", Gussetius, p. 260. call it the spittle of
soundness, or a sound man, which has no taste, in distinction from that of a
sick man, which has; and the latter word comes from one which signifies to
dream; and Jarchi observes, that some so understand it here; and the whole is
by some rendered, "is there any taste" or "savour in the spittle
of a dream" or "drowsiness"F7בריר
חלמות "in saliva somnolentiae", Schultens.
? such as flows from a person asleep, or in a dream; and so may fitly express
the vain and empty words, as the Septuagint translate the phrase, of Job's
friends, in his esteem, which to him were no than the words of some idle and
dreaming person, or were like the dribble of a fool or madman, as David
mimicked, 1 Samuel 21:13; and
it is observedF8Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. vol. 4. p. 670. , that the
word "spittle" is very emphatically used, since it useless in judging
of different tastes, and mixed with food, goes into nourishment, as the white
of an egg.
Job 6:7 7 My soul refuses to touch
them; They are as loathsome food to me.
YLT
7My soul is refusing to
touch! They [are] as my sickening food.
The things that my soul refused to touch are as my
sorrowful meat. Meaning either the above things, that which is unsavoury, and the
white of an egg, of any other food, which in the time of his prosperity he
would not touch with his fingers, much less eat, but now was glad of, and were
his constant food in his present sorrowful circumstances; the sense given by
some Jewish writersF9Jarchi & R. Mesallem in ib. is, that what
he disdained to touch or wipe his hands with formerly, he was glad to make use
of as a tablecloth to eat his bread of sorrow upon; but it rather intends the
insipid and disagreeable words of his friends, their doctrines, instructions,
and exhortations they gave him, but were refused and rejected by him; and which
he before compares to unsavoury food, the white of an egg, or the spittle of a
dreaming man, or the dribble of a fool; and which were as much loathed and
nauseated by him, as his food that was "loathed" by himF11כדוי לחמי "ut fastidia
pannis mei", Cocceius. , either because of his want of appetite, or
because of the badness of it, such as were corrupt and "rotten", and
even as the "excrements" of foodF12"Velut excrement
um panis", Neuman. apud Michael. ; those he refused to receive with as
much indignation as he could such sort of food offered him; and therefore we
find, that notwithstanding all that had been said to him, he continued in the
same sentiment and disposition of mind, to desire death rather than life, as
follows.
Job 6:8 8 “Oh, that I might have my
request, That God would grant me the thing that I long for!
YLT
8O that my request may come,
That God may grant my hope!
And that I might have my request,.... Or that it
"might come"F13תבוא "ut
veniat", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Schmidt, Michaelis; "utinam
veniret", Schultens. ; that it might go up to heaven, enter there, and
come into the ears of the Lord, be attended to, admitted, and received by him,
see Psalm 18:6; or come
to Job, be returned into his bosom, be answered and fulfilled; the same with
the desire that "cometh", which is, when the thing desired is
enjoyed, Proverbs 13:12; or that
what he had requested would come, namely, death, which is sometimes represented
as a person that looks in at the windows, and comes into the houses of men, and
seizes on them, Jeremiah 9:21; and
this is what Job wishes for; this was his sole request; this was the thing, the
one thing, that lay uppermost in his mind, and he was most importunately
solicitous for:
and that God would grant me the thing that I long for! death, as the
following words explain it; this is not desirable by nature, but contrary to
it; it is itself a penal evil, the sanction and curse of the law; it is an
enemy, and a very formidable one, the king of terrors; and, though a very
formidable, one, is desired by good men from a principle of grace, and with
right views, to be rid of sin, and to be with Christ; yet it often is done by
persons in melancholy, sullen, and humorous fits, when they cannot have what
they would, as in Rachel, Elijah, and Jonah, Genesis 30:1; and
because of sore troubles and afflictions, which was the present case of Job;
though it must be said that it was not, as is frequently the case with wicked
men, through the horrors of a guilty conscience, which he was free of; and he
had faith, and hope of comfort in another world, and in some degree he
submitted to the will and pleasure of God; though pressed with too much
eagerness, importunity, and passion: and it may be observed, that Job did not
make request to men, to his servants, or friends about him, to dispatch him, as
Abimelech and Saul did; nor did he lay hands on himself, or attempt to do it,
as Saul, Ahithophel, and Judas: the wretched philosophy of the stoics was not
known in Job's time, which not only makes suicide lawful, but commends it as an
heroic action; no, Job makes his, request to the God of his life, who had given
it to him, and had maintained it hitherto, and who only had a right to dispose
of it; he asks it as a favour, he desires it as a gift, he had nothing else to
ask, nothing was more or so desirable to him as death.
Job 6:9 9 That it would please God
to crush me, That He would loose His hand and cut me off!
YLT
9That God would please --
and bruise me, Loose His hand and cut me off!
Even that it would please God to destroy me,.... Not with
an everlasting destruction of body and soul; for destruction from the Almighty
was a terror to him, Job 31:23; but with
the destruction of the body only; not with an annihilation of it, but with the
dissolution of it, or of that union there was between his soul and body: the
wordF14ידכאני "me conterat", V.
L. Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Schmidt; so Junius & Tremellius, Piscator,
Michaelis, Schultens. used signifies to bruise and beat to pieces; his meaning
is, that his body, his house of clay in which he dwelt, might be crushed to pieces,
and beat to powder, and crumbled into dust; and perhaps he may have regard to
his original, the dust of the earth, and his return to it, according to the
divine threatening, Genesis 3:19; a
phrase expressive of death; and so Mr. Broughton renders it, "to bring me
to the dust", to "the dust of death", Psalm 22:15,
that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! he had let
loose his hand in some degree already; he had given his substance and his body
into the hand of Satan; his own hand had touched him, but he had only gone skin
deep, as it were; he had smote him in his estate, in his family, and in the
outward parts of his body; but now he desires that he would stretch out his
hand further, and lift it up, and give a heavier stroke, and pierce him more
deeply; strike through his heart and liver, and "make an end" of him,
as Mr. Broughton translates the word, and dispatch him at once; cut him off
like the flower of the field by the scythe, or like a tree cut down to its root
by the axe, or cut off the thread of his life, Isaiah 38:12.
Job 6:10 10 Then I would still have
comfort; Though in anguish I would exult, He will not spare; For I have not
concealed the words of the Holy One.
YLT
10And yet it is my comfort,
(And I exult in pain -- He doth not spare,) That I have not hidden The sayings
of the Holy One.
Then should I yet have comfort,.... Either before death,
and in the midst of all his pains and sorrows, being in view of it as near at
hand, and sure and certain; could he but be assured of its near approach, he
could exult in his afflictions; it would be an alleviation of his trouble, that
he should be soon out of it; and he would sit and sing upon the brink of
eternity, and say, "O death, where is thy sting! O grave, where is thy
victory?" 1 Corinthians 15:55;
his sufferings being just at an end, and being comfortably persuaded of a happy
future state, and a glorious resurrection, see Job 19:25; or after
death, when destroyed and cut off by it; and he hereby signifies as if he
expected no comfort on this side death and the grave; that is, no temporal
comfort, his comforts were gone, his substance, his children, and health, and
he had no hope of the restoration of them, Eliphaz had suggested; but he
believed, that though he now had his evil things, as Lazarus since, yet after death
should be comforted with the presence of God, in which is fulness of joy; with
the discoveries of his love, as a broad river to swish in; with a glory that
should be on him, and revealed in him, with which "the sufferings of this
present time are not worthy to be compared", Romans 8:18; and
with the company of angels, and glorified saints, as well as be freed from all
bodily disorders and pains, and death itself, from all sin, and sorrow, from
Satan's temptations, divine desertions, doubts, and fears:
yea, I would harden myself in sorrow; meaning
either upon the first news of death's being near at hand, he would harden
himself against all pains and pangs of death; when those should beset him
around, and he should find trouble and sorrow through them, he would not regard
them, but most cheerfully and patiently bear them, and most courageously go
through them, not at all intimidated by them, or by death, and the most
terrible agonies of it: or "though I should be hot, burn", or
"be burnt in sorrow" or "pain"F15ואסלדה "calefaciam", Pagninus, Bolducius;
"flagrem", Vatablus; "exaestuo", Junius & Tremellius;
"urar", Drusius, Mercerus; so Gersom, Kimchi, Peritsol, & Ben
Melech. , as some render it; or parched with pain, as Mr. Broughton; though I
should be still more and more inflamed with these burning ulcers upon me, or be
dried up with a burning fever, or my body cast into a fire, and be scorched and
burnt in the flames of it, I should not value it; I could bear the most
excruciating pains, and sharpest torments, could I but be assured I should die.
Some observe, that the word signifies to "leap"F16 ηλλομην, Sept. "saltarem
prae gaudio"; so some in Munster. ; and so the Septuagint render it; and
then the sense is, that he should leap for joy, as men do when they are
elevated at good news, or possess what is exceeding grateful to them, was it
certain to him he should die quickly; and so the Targum interprets it of
exultation. The word in the Arabic language, as a good judgeF17"Et
pede terram quatium cum exultatione", Schultens. of it observes, is used
of the prancing and pawing of a horse, which makes the ground to shake; he
strikes with his foot, and which as done in the midst of a battle, mocking at
fear, at the rattling quiver, and glittering spear and shield, is most
beautifully described in Job 39:21 in like
manner, Job suggests, he should rejoice in the view of death, and mock at the
fear of it: or this may respect the happiness he should enjoy after death; for
in the Syriac and Arabic versions the words are rendered, "and I shall be
perfected in virtue"; and the word used has the signification of solidity,
confirmation, stability, and perfection; and to this sense it is rendered by
someF18"Consolidescam", Montanus; "corroboror",
Beza; so Aben Ezra. , though to different purposes; and after this suffering
state is over, the saints will be established, settled and perfected in all
virtue, in knowledge, holiness, and happiness: therefore
let him not spare; laying on his blows thicker and heavier,
till he has beaten me to pieces, and utterly destroyed me, a petition the
reverse of David's, Psalm 39:13; his
desire is to have it done quickly and thoroughly, neither to spare him any
longer, nor abate in measure, but strike him immediately, and that effectually,
so as to dispatch him at once:
for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One; that is, of
God, as someF20Vatablus, Tigurine version, Michaelis. supply it,
whose name is holy, who is holy in his nature, and in all his works, and is
eminently glorious in the perfection of his holiness; for though there are holy
men and holy angels, there are none holy as the Lord: his "words" are
the doctrines delivered out by him concerning Christ the promised seed, and
salvation by him, which were spoken of by the mouth of all the prophets from
the beginning of the world, of which Job had knowledge, Job 19:25; see Genesis 3:15 Luke 1:70; and the
duties of religion enjoined men in those early times; which Sephorno refers to
the laws and commandments given to the sons of Noah; of which See Gill on Genesis 9:4; Here
everything is included, both with respect to doctrine and practice, then
revealed unto the sons of men, all which Job had a special regard unto: he
embraced, professed, and practised them; he did not hide them from himself, or
shut his eyes to the evidence of them, and smother within him the light he had;
nor did he conceal them from others, but communicated the knowledge of them
among his neighbours, as far as he could reach; he was not ashamed to profess
the true religion of God; he held fast, and did not deny the faith in the midst
of a dark and Heathenish country, and he lived up to his profession and
principles in his life and conversation: now having a testimony of a good
conscience within him, that he, through the grace of God, had acted a sincere
and upright part in the affair of religion, and having knowledge of a living
Redeemer, and faith in him, and in his justifying righteousness, he was not
afraid of death, come when it would, and in whatsoever shape: and whereas his
friends had suggested that he was a hypocrite and a wicked man, his conscience
bore witness to the contrary; and to let them know they were mistaken in him,
he signifies, he was not afraid to die, yea, he desired it; he cared not how
soon he left the world, and appeared before God, the Judge of all, since the
truth of grace was in him, and the righteousness of Christ upon him, and he had
not, through the course of his profession of religion, departed wickedly from
his God, his truths and ordinances. SomeF21So Vatablus, Mercerus,
Codurcus, Cocceius. read this in connection with the first clause, putting the
rest in a parenthesis: "this is yet my comfort (though or when I am burned
or parched with pain, and he spares not), that I have not concealed the words
of the Holy One".
Job 6:11 11 “What strength do I have,
that I should hope? And what is my end, that I should prolong my life?
YLT
11What [is] my power that I
should hope? And what mine end That I should prolong my life?
What is my strength, that I should hope?.... For a
perfect restoration of health, suggested by Eliphaz; since it was so sadly
weakened by the present affliction, which made death more desirable than life
lengthened out in so much weakness, pain, and sorrow; or "that I should
bear"F23כי איחל
οτι υπομενω, Sept.
"ut sustineam", V. L. , such a weight and heavy load that lay upon
him, and crushed him, and to which his strength was not equal; or continue and
endureF24"Ut durem", Junius & Tremellius. :
what is mine end, that I should prolong my life? what end can
be answered by living, or desiring a long life? His children were gone, and
none left to take care of and provide for; his substance was taken away from
him, so that he had not to support himself, nor to be useful to others, to the poor;
he had lost all power, authority, and influence, among men, and could be no
more serviceable by his counsel and advice, and by the administration of
justice and equity as a civil magistrate; and as to religious matters, he was
reckoned an hypocrite and a wicked man by his friends, and had lost his
character and interest as a good man; and so for him to live could answer no
valuable end, and, therefore, he desires to die; for what is here, and in Job 6:12 said,
contain reasons of his above request.
Job 6:12 12 Is
my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh bronze?
YLT
12Is my strength the strength
of stones? Is my flesh brazen?
Is my strength the strength
of stones?.... Is it like such especially which are foundation and corner
stones that support a building? or like a stone pillar, that will bear a
prodigious weight? no, it is not:
or is my flesh of brass? is it made of brass? or
is it like to brass for hardness, or for sustaining any weight laid on it? it
is not; and, therefore, it cannot bear up under the ponderous load of
afflictions on it, but must sink and fail; it is but flesh and blood, and that
flesh like grass, weak and feeble; and, therefore, death is better than life
laden with such an insupportable burden.
Job 6:13 13 Is
my help not within me? And is success driven from me?
YLT
13Is not my help with me, And
substance driven from me?
Is my help in me?.... Or
"my defence"F25עזרתי בי "defensio mea penes me", Junius et Tremellius,
Piscator. , as some; is it not in my power to defend myself against the
calumnies and reproaches cast upon me? it is; and, though one have no help in
myself to bear my burdens, or extricate myself out of my difficulties, yet I
have the testimony of a good conscience within me, that supports me; and I have
the strength and force of reason and argument on my side, to defend me against
all objectors:
and is wisdom driven from me? either sound doctrine,
the lawF26תושיה "lex", Mercerus;
so Peritsol. , or, rather, the Gospel, the wisdom of God in a mystery, revealed
in the words of the Holy One before mentioned; or wisdom in the hidden part,
the fear of God, which is wisdom, true grace in the heart, which, when once implanted,
can never be driven out; or natural reason and understanding, of which he was
not bereaved; for, though his body was thus sorely afflicted, he retained his
reasoning and intellectual faculties. The words, in connection with the former,
may be read, "what, if help is not with me, is wisdom also driven quite
from me?"F1So Cocceius and Schultens. does it follow, because I
am not able to help myself out of this afflicted and distressed condition in
which I am, that I am deprived of my reason? or be it that I am such a weak
impotent creature, and even distracted, as you take me to be, should I not then
rather be pitied than insulted? so someF2So De Dieu. connect the
words following.
Job 6:14 14 “To him who is afflicted,
kindness should be shown by his friend, Even though he forsakes the fear
of the Almighty.
YLT
14To a despiser of his
friends [is] shame, And the fear of the Mighty he forsaketh.
To him that is afflicted pity should be showed from his
friend,.... An "afflicted" man is an object of pity, one that
is afflicted of God; either inwardly with a wounded spirit, with a sense of
God's displeasure, with divine desertions, with the arrows of the Almighty
sticking in him, the poison thereof drinking up his spirits; or outwardly with
diseases of body, with want of the necessaries of life, with loss of near
relations, as well as substance, which was Job's case; or afflicted by Satan,
shot at, sifted and buffered by him, distressed by his temptations,
suggestions, and solicitations; or afflicted by men, reproached and persecuted
for righteousness sake: in all such cases and circumstances "pity"
should be showed; which is an inward affection of the mind, a sympathy of
spirit, a sensible feeling of the afflictions of others, and which is expressed
by gestures, motions, and actions, as by visiting them in their affliction,
speaking comfortably to them, and relieving their necessities according to
ability, and as the case requires: and this may be expected from a
"friend", and what the law of friendship requires, whether it be in a
natural and civil sense, or in a religious and spiritual one; the union between
friends being so near and close, that they are, as it were, one soul, as David
and Jonathan were; and as the people of God, members of the same body are, so
that if one suffers, all the rest do, or should suffer and sympathize with it:
and though this duty is not always performed, at least as it should be, by
natural and spiritual friends, yet this grace is always shown by God, our best
of friends, who pities his children and by Christ, who is a friend that loves
at all times, a brother born for adversity, and that sticks closer than any
brother, and cannot but be touched with the feeling of the infirmities of his
friends. The words may be rendered, "to him that is melted"F3למס "liquefacto", Vatablus, Mercerus, Beza; so
Ben Gersom. ; afflictions are like a furnace or refining pot for the melting of
metals, and are called the furnace of afflictions: and saints are the metal,
which are put into it; and afflictions also are the fire, of fiery trials,
which heat and melt, and by which means the dross of sin and corruption is
removed, and the graces of the spirit are tried and made the brighter; though
here it rather signifies the melting of the heart like wax or water through the
affliction, and denotes the anguish and distress, the trembling and fears, a
person is in through it, being overwhelmed and borne down by it, which was
Job's case: or "he that melts pity", or "whose pity melts",
or "melts in pity to his friend, he forsakes"F4"Cujus
liquescit benignitas", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, "qui
misericordia erga amicum contabescit", Schultens. , &c. that is, he
that fails in pity, is destitute of compassion, and shuts up the bowels of it
to his friend in distress, has not the fear of God before his eyes; and this
sense makes Job himself to be the friend in affliction, and Eliphaz, and those
with him, the persons that are deficient in their mercy, pity, and compassion.
Some render the wordsF5Mercerus, Vatablus, so Ben Gersom. Some
interpret it as a charge that he forsakes both mercy and the fear of the Lord;
so R. Simeon Bar Tzemach, Sephorno, and Ben Melech. , "should reproach be
cast on him that is afflicted, as that he forsakes the fear of the
Almighty?" the word for pity is so used in Proverbs 14:34; and
the reproach on Job was, that he had cast off the fear of God, Job 4:6. This
grieved him most of all, and added to his affliction, and of which he complains
as very cruel usage; and very cutting it was that he should be reckoned a man
destitute of the fear of God, and that because he was afflicted by him; though
rather the following words:
but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty, are a charge
upon his friend Eliphaz for not showing pity to him in his affliction, which
was tacitly forsaking the fear of God. Job here recriminates and retorts the charge
of want of the fear of God on Eliphaz himself; for to show mercy to an
afflicted friend is a religious act, a part of pure and undefiled religion, a
branch of the fear of God; and he that neglects it is so far wanting in it, and
acts contrary to his profession of God, of fear of him, and love to him; see James 1:26; or
"otherwise he forsakes", &c.F6So Pagninus & Beza.
.
Job 6:15 15 My brothers have dealt deceitfully
like a brook, Like the streams of the brooks that pass away,
YLT
15My brethren have deceived
as a brook, As a stream of brooks they pass away.
My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook,.... Meaning
his three friends, represented by Eliphaz, who were of the same sentiments with
him, and behaved towards Job as he did: these were his brethren not by birth by
blood nor by country, but by the profession of the same religion of the one
true and living God in opposition to the idolatrous people among whom they
dwelt; and this their relation to him is an aggravation of their perfidy and
treachery, unfaithfulness and deceit, by which is meant their balking and
disappointing him in his expectations; when they came to visit him as friends,
he might reasonably expect they came to condole and sympathize with him, and
comfort him; but, instead of this they reproached him and grieved him, and were
miserable comforters of him; and this he illustrates by the simile of a
"brook", which he enlarges upon in the following verses: these
friends and brethren of his he compares to a "brook", not that was
fed by a spring which continues, but filled with falls of water and melting
snows from the hills, with which it is swelled, and looks like a large river for
a while, but when these fail it is soon gone; hereby representing his friends
in his state of prosperity, who looked big, and promised long and lasting
friendship, but proved, in time of adversity, unfaithful and deceitful; and so
it denotes the fickleness and inconstancy of their friendship:
and as the stream of brooks
they pass away: or, "pass by"F7יעברו
"praetereunt", Mercerus, Schmidt; "transeunt", Piscator,
Cocceius, Michaelis. , as a stream of water, fed by many brooks, or flows of
water like unto many brooks, which run with great rapidity and force, and are
quickly gone and seen no more; thus his friends, as such, passed by him, and
were of no use to him any more than the priest and Levite were to the man that
fell among thieves, Luke 10:30.
Job 6:16 16 Which are dark because of
the ice, And into which the snow vanishes.
YLT
16That are black because of
ice, By them doth snow hide itself.
Which are blackish by reason of the ice,.... When
frozen over, they look of a blackish colour, and is what is called a black
frost; and these either describe Job and his domestics, as someF8So
Michaelis. think whom Eliphaz and his two friends compared to the above streams
water passed away from, or passed by and neglected, and showed no friendship
to; who were in black, mournful and rueful circumstances, through the severe
hand of God upon them. The word is rendered, "those which mourn", Job 5:11; or rather
the friends of Job compared to foul and troubled waters frozen over which
cannot be so well discerned, or which were black through being frozen, and
which describes the inward frame of their minds the foulness of their spirits
the blackness of their hearts, though they outwardly appeared otherwise, as
follows:
and wherein the snow is hid; or "on
whom the snow" falling, and lying on heaps, "hides"F9עלימו יתעלם שלג
"super quibus accumulatur nix", Beza, "tegit se, q. d. multa
nive teguntur", Drusius; "the frost is hidden by the snow", so
Sephorno; or rather "the black and frozen waters". , or covers; so
Job's friends, according to this account, were, though black within as a black
frost yet white without as snow; they appeared, in their looks and words at
first as candid, kind, and generous, but proved the reverse.
Job 6:17 17 When it is warm, they
cease to flow; When it is hot, they vanish from their place.
YLT
17By the time they are warm
they have been cut off, By its being hot they have been Extinguished from their
place.
What time they wax warm they vanish,.... The ice and the
snow, which, when the weather becomes warm, they melt away and disappear; and
in like manner, he suggests his friends ceased to be friends to him in a time
of adversity; the sun of affliction having looked upon him, they deserted him,
at least did not administer comfort to him:
when it is hot they are consumed out of their place; when it is
hot weather, and the sun has great strength then the waters, which swelled
through the floods and fall of rain and snow, and which when frozen, looked
black and big as if they had great depth in them, were quickly dried up, and no
more to be seen in the place where they were; which still expresses the short
duration of friendship among men, which Job had a sorrowful experience of.
Job 6:18 18 The
paths of their way turn aside, They go nowhere and perish.
YLT
18Turn aside do the paths of
their way, They ascend into emptiness, and are lost.
The paths of their way are turned aside,.... That is,
the waters, when melted by the heat of the sun, and the warmth of the weather,
run, some one way, and some another in little streams and windings, till they
are quite lost and the tracks of them are no more to be seen; denoting that all
appearance of friendship was quite gone, and no traces of it to be found:
they go to nothing, and perish: some of them are lost in
little meanders and windings about, and others are exhaled by the heat of the
sun, and go into "Tohu", as the word is, into empty air; so vain and
empty, and perishing, were all the comforts he hoped for from his friends;
though some understand this of the paths of travellers in the deserts being
covered in the sand, and not to be seen and found; of which see PlinyF26Nat.
Hist. l. 6. c. 29. .
Job 6:19 19 The caravans of Tema look,
The travelers of Sheba hope for them.
YLT
19Passengers of Tema looked
expectingly, Travellers of Sheba hoped for them.
The troops of Tema looked,.... A city in Arabia, so
called from Tema a son of Ishmael, Genesis 25:15;
these troops or companies were travelling ones, either that travelled to Tema,
or that went from thence to other places for merchandise, see Isaiah 21:13;
these, as they passed along in their caravans, as the Turks their successors
now do, looked at those places where in the wintertime they observed large
waters frozen over, and covered with snow, and expected to have been supplied
from thence in the summer season, for the extinguishing of their thirst:
the companies of Sheba waited for them: another
people in Arabia, which went in companies through the deserts, where being in
great want of water for their refreshment, waited patiently till they came to
those places, where they hoped to find water to relieve them, which they had
before marked in the wintertime.
Job 6:20 20 They are disappointed
because they were confident; They come there and are confused.
YLT
20They were ashamed that one
hath trusted, They have come unto it and are confounded.
And they were confounded because they had hoped,.... When they
came to the places where they hoped to find water, finding none were ashamed of
their vain hope, and reflected upon themselves for being so foolish as to raise
their expectations upon such a groundless surmise:
they came thither, and were ashamed; which is the same thing
expressed in different words; and aptly enough describes Job's disappointment
in not meeting with that relief and comfort he expected from his friends, to
whom he makes application of all this in the following words.
Job 6:21 21 For now you are nothing, You
see terror and are afraid.
YLT
21Surely now ye have become
the same! Ye see a downfall, and are afraid.
For now ye are nothing,.... Once they seemed to
be something to him; he thought them men wise, good, and religious, kind,
bountiful, and tenderhearted; but now he found them otherwise, they were
nothing to him as friends or as comforters in his distress; the
"Cetib", or Scripture, is, as we read, and is followed by many; but the
marginal reading is, "now ye are to it"F1כי עתה היי־תאם
לו "certe nunc fuistis illi", Bolducius; so
Michaelis; "certe nunc estis similes illi", Pagninus, Vatablus,
Mercerus. ; that is, ye are like to it, the brook whose waters he had been
describing; so Jarchi interprets it; Mr. Broughton very agreeably takes in
both, "so now ye are become like that, even nothing"; as that
deceitful brook is no more, nor of any use to travellers fainting through
thirst; so ye are like that, of no use and advantage to me in my affliction:
ye see my casting down; from a state of
prosperity to a state of adversity; from a pinnacle of honour, from being the
greatest man in the east, a civil magistrate, and the head of a flourishing
family, to the lowest degree of disgrace and dishonour; from wealth and riches
to want and poverty; as well as saw the inward dejection of his mind, through
the poisoned arrows of the Almighty within him:
and ye are afraid; of the righteous judgments of God, taking
these calamities to be such, and fearing the same or the like should fall on
them, should they keep him company; or however should they patronize and defend
him; and afraid also of being too near him, lest his breath, and the smell of
him, should be infectious, and they should catch a distemper from him; or lest
he should be expensive and troublesome to them.
Job 6:22 22 Did I ever say, ‘Bring something
to me’? Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth’?
YLT
22Is it because I said, Give
to me? And, By your power bribe for me?
Did I say, bring unto me?.... Or, "give unto
me"F2הבו לי
"date mihi", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius, Cocceius,
Michaelis. ; did I invite you to come to me, and bring in your hands presents
for me, to support me under my necessitous circumstances?
or give a reward for me of your substance? did I ever
ask anything of you? if I had, it would have been but your duty to have given
freely to me in my deplorable circumstances; and it might have been expected
you would have given without asking, seeing my necessities so great: or did I
desire you to communicate out of the great wealth and abundant riches you are
possessed of to others on my behalf, to plead my cause among men, and to get a
favourable sentence upon me, that I might not be traduced as a wicked man by
censorious tongues? had I ever been troublesome to you in any respect, you
might have been provoked to use me ill; but since nothing of this kind has ever
been requested of you, you might have forborne ill language and hard words;
which are often given to beggars; for when a man is fallen to decay, and
becomes troublesome by his importunity, twenty things are raked up by his
friends against his character; as that he has been lazy and indolent, or lavish
and extravagant, &c. to save their money, and excuse them from acts of
charity; but this was not the case here.
Job 6:23 23 Or, ‘Deliver me from the
enemy’s hand’? Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of oppressors’?
YLT
23And, Deliver me from the
hand of an adversary? And, From the hand of terrible ones ransom me?
Or, deliver me from the enemies' hand?.... Or,
"out of the hand of straitness"F3מיד
צר "e manu tribulatoris, vel
tribulationis", Vatablus. ; out of tribulation and difficulties with which
he was pressed on every side:
or redeem me from the hand of the mighty? fetch back
his cattle out of the hands of the Sabeans and Chaldeans, either by force of
arms, as Abraham brought back Lot, and all his goods, when taken and carried
away by the four king's, or by giving a ransom price for them. Job had asked no
such favour of them; he had not troubled them with any such suits, and
therefore they had no reason to use him in the manner they did, as he
apprehended; it would be soon enough to flout and fling at him when he applied
to them for any relief.
Job 6:24 24 “Teach me, and I will hold
my tongue; Cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
YLT
24Shew me, and I -- I keep
silent, And what I have erred, let me understand.
Teach me, and I will hold my tongue,.... Job having made his
defence, and which he thought a sufficient one to acquit him of the charge
against him; yet to show that he was not stubborn and flexible, but was open to
conviction, and ready to attend and hearken to what might be further said,
desires to be taught and instructed in the way of his duty; suggesting that,
upon being convinced of his mistakes, he should ingenuously acknowledge them:
good men are desirous of being taught both of God and men; they are not above
instruction, or think themselves wiser than their teachers; they are willing to
receive knowledge, not only from their superiors, but from their equals, and even
from those that are inferior to them, as Job from his friends, though they had
been unkind to him, and bore very hard upon him; and he promises that while
they were speaking he would be silent, and not noisy, and clamorous, nor
interrupt nor contradict them; but would patiently and attentively listen to
what they said, and seriously consider it, and weigh it well in his mind; and,
should he be convinced thereby, would no longer continue his complaints unto
God, nor murmur at his providences; and would cease reflecting on them his
friends, and no more charge them with deceit, perfidy, and unkindness; and by
his silence would acknowledge his guilt, and not pertinaciously stand in an
evil matter, but lay his hand on his mouth; hold his tongue, as our English phrase
is, a GraecismF26 κρατων της
γλωσσης, Aelian. Var. Hist. l. 2. c. 2. ; that is, be silent, as
in Hebrew; and even take shame to himself, and in this way confess his
iniquity, and do so no more:
and cause me to understand wherein I have erred; not that he
allowed that he was in an error; for all that he says, both before and after,
shows that he thought himself free from any; only, that whereas there was a
possibility that he might be in one, he should be glad to have it pointed out;
for he would not willingly and obstinately continue therein: error is common to
human nature; the best of men are liable to mistakes; and those are so frequent
and numerous, that many of them escape notice; "who can understand his
errors?" Psalm 19:12;
wherefore wise and good men will esteem it a favour to have their errors
pointed out to them, and their mistakes rectified; and it becomes men of
capacity and ability to take some pains to do this, since he that converts one
that has erred, whether in principle or practice, saves a soul from death, and
covers a multitude of sins; James 5:19; Job is
desirous, that if he had imbibed or uttered any error in principle, any thing
unbecoming the Divine Being, contrary to his perfections, or to the holy
religion which he professed, or was guilty of any in practice, in his conduct
and behaviour, especially under the present providence, that it might be
clearly made out unto him, and he should at once frankly and freely own it,
retract and relinquish it.
Job 6:25 25 How forceful are right
words! But what does your arguing prove?
YLT
25How powerful have been
upright sayings, And what doth reproof from you reprove?
How forcible are right words!.... That are according
to right reason; such as may be called strong reasons, or bony arguments, as in
Isaiah 41:21; there
are strength and weight in such words, reasonings, and arguments; they bring
evidence and conviction with them, and are very powerful to persuade the mind
to an assent unto them, and have great influence to engage to a profession or
practice of what they are used for; such are more especially the words of God,
the Scriptures of truth, the doctrines of the Gospel; these are right words,
see Proverbs 8:6; they
are not contrary to right reason, although above it; and are agreeably to
sanctified reason, and received by it; they are according to the perfections of
God, even his righteousness and holiness, and according to the law of God, and
in no wise repugnant to it, which is the rule of righteousness; and they are
doctrines according to godliness, and are far from encouraging licentiousness;
and they are all strictly true, and must be right: and there is a force and
strength in those words; they come with weight, especially when they come in
demonstration of the Spirit and power of God; they are mighty, through God, for
the pulling down the strong holds of sin, Satan, and self, and for the bringing
of men to the obedience of Christ; to the quickening dead sinners, enlightening
dark minds, softening hard hearts; renewing, changing, and transforming men
into quite another temper and disposition of mind they formerly had; for the
comforting and relieving souls in distress, and saints under affliction; and
have so very wonderful an influence on the lives and conversations of those to
whom they come, not in word only, but in power and in the Holy Ghost, as to
teach them to deny all sin and ungodliness, and to live soberly, righteously,
and godly: or, "how forcible are the words of an upright man!"F1So
Aquila apud Drusium. that is, sincere, impartial, and faithful; which Job
suggests his friends were not: some think Job has respect to his own words, and
render the clause, "what hardness", or "harshness", have
"right words!"F2מה נחרצו "quid duritiei habent verba rectitudinis",
Schmidt; so Luther. Such as he believed his own were, and in which there were
nothing hard and harsh, sharp and severe, or which might give just offence;
such as his cursing the day in which he was born, or charging his friends with
treachery and deceit: but rather he tacitly reflects upon the words and
arguments of his friends; intimating, that though there is force and strength
in right words, theirs were neither right nor forcible, but partial and unjust,
and weak and impotent; which had no strength of reasoning in them, nor carried
any conviction with them, as follows:
but what doth your arguing reprove? their arguments they had
used with him had no strength in them; they were of no avail; they did not
reprove or convince of any evil he had been guilty of, or any mistake he had
made; they were weak, impertinent, and useless, and fell with no weight upon
him, nor wrought any conviction in him.
Job 6:26 26 Do you intend to rebuke my
words, And the speeches of a desperate one, which are as wind?
YLT
26For reproof -- do you
reckon words? And for wind -- sayings of the desperate.
Do ye imagine to reprove words,.... Or with words; with
bare words, without any force of reasoning and argument in them? put a parcel
of words together without any sense or meaning, or however without any cogency
in them, and think to run me down with them? or is your scheme and device only,
and which you pursue, to catch at and lay hold on some words of mine uttered in
my distress, and make me an offender for a word, or for a few words, supposing
they have been rashly and passionately spoken? have ye no facts to charge me
with, before or since these calamities befell me? is the charge of hypocrisy
and want of the fear of God to be supported by producing some hasty
expressions, without pointing at one single action in my life and conversation?
and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as
wind? that is, do ye imagine to reprove them? or, are; your thoughts
wholly and solely intent on them? are these only the strong reasons you have to
produce to fix the sin of hypocrisy upon me? for by him that is
"desperate" he means himself; not that he despaired of his
everlasting salvation; he was far from despair; he was a strong believer, and
determined that, though he was slain, he would trust in the Lord; he was well
assured he should be justified, both here and hereafter; and full well knew
that his Redeemer lived, and that though he died, he should rise again and be
happy in the vision of God for ever: but he despaired of a restoration to
outward happiness, which Eliphaz had suggested, should he behave well; but,
alas! his condition was forlorn and miserable, and there was no hope with him
of being better; his children were dead, his substance in the hands of robbers,
his health so extremely bad that he had no expectation of a recovery to his
former state; and therefore it was very unkind and ungenerous to lay hold upon
and aggravate the speeches of such an one, and improve them against him; and
especially as they were only "for refreshment"F3לרוח "ad respirium", Schultens. , as some choose
to render the words, see Job 32:20; they
were uttered to give vent to his sorrow and grief, and not with any ill design
against God or men; or the sense of the whole is, that they imagined that their
words were right and fit to reprove with, and that there were force and
strength in them, and had a tendency to work conviction and bring to
confession; but as for the words of Job, they treated them "as wind";
as idle, vain, and empty, and useless and fruitless as the wind.
Job 6:27 27 Yes, you overwhelm the
fatherless, And you undermine your friend.
YLT
27Anger on the fatherless ye
cause to fall, And are strange to your friend.
Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless,.... Meaning himself; who
was like a fatherless child, stripped of all his mercies, of his children, his
substance, and his health; and was in a most miserable, helpless, and forlorn
condition; and, moreover, deprived of the gracious presence and visible
protection of his heavenly Father, being given up for a while into the hands of
Satan; and now it was unkind and barbarous to overwhelm such a man, who was
overwhelmed with overmuch sorrow already: or, "ye cause to fall upon the
fatherless"; either their wrath and anger, as the Targum and many othersF4אף "iram", Vatablus, Mercerus, Cocceius; so
Jarchi and Sephorno. instead of doing him justice; or a wall, or any such
thing, to crush him, as Aben Ezra; or a lot, as Simeon bar Tzemach; see Joel 3:3; or rather
a net, or a snare to entrap him in, seeking to entangle him in talk, so Mr.
Broughton, which agrees with what follows:
and ye dig a pit for your friend; contrive
mischief against him; sought to bring him to ruin; and which is aggravated by
his having been their old friend, with whom they lived in strict friendship,
and had professed much unto, and still pretended to have respect for; the
allusion is to digging of pits for the catching of wild beasts: some render it,
"ye feast upon your friend"F5תכרו
"epulamini", Piscator; so Beza, Gussetius. ; so the word is used in 2 Kings 6:23; this
sense is taken notice of by Aben Ezra and Bar Tzemach; and then the meaning is,
you rejoice at the misery of your friend; you mock him and that, and insult him
in his distress, with which the Septuagint version agrees; which was cruel
usage.
Job 6:28 28 Now therefore, be pleased
to look at me; For I would never lie to your face.
YLT
28And, now, please, look upon
me, Even to your face do I lie?
Now therefore be content,.... Or,
"may it now please you"F6ועתה הואילו "sed nunc placeat vebis", Schmidt. ; Job
addresses them in a respectful manner, and entreats them they would be so kind
as to look favourably on him, and entertain better thoughts of him; and give a
fresh and friendly hearing of his case, when he doubted not he should be
acquitted by them of the charge of iniquity, and that his cause would appear to
be a righteous one:
look upon me: upon my countenance; and see if you can
find any traces of fear and falsehood, of dishonesty and hypocrisy, of shame
and blushing; and observe if there is not all the appearance of an honest mind,
of a good conscience within, that has nothing to fear from the strictest
examination; or look upon my body, covered all over with boils and ulcers, and
see if there is not occasion for those expressions of grief, and those heavy
complaints that I have made; or rather, look upon me with an eye of pity and
compassion, with affection, favour, and benevolence, and not bear so hard upon
me:
for it is evident unto you if I lie; or, it is
"before your faces"F7על פניכם "coram facie vestra", Bolducius, Schultens;
Ben Melech interprets it, "by your life if I lie", as being an oath.
; should I attempt to deceive you by telling you a parcel of lies, you would
soon discern the falsehood in my countenance; you would easily find it out in
my words, which would issue in my shame and confusion; I could not expect to go
undetected by men of such sagacity and penetration; but I am not afraid of the
most diligent scrutiny that can be made into my words and actions.
Job 6:29 29 Yield now, let there be no
injustice! Yes, concede, my righteousness still stands!
YLT
29Turn back, I pray you, let
it not be perverseness, Yea, turn back again -- my righteousness [is] in it.
Return, I pray you,.... From the
ill opinion you have of me, and from your hard censures, and entertain other
sentiments concerning me: or it may be, upon these words of Job his friends
might be rising up as usual to take their leave of him, and break off
conversation with him; and therefore he entreats they would return to their
seats, and resume the debate, and give a friendly hearing of his case:
let it not be iniquity; either let it not be
reckoned an iniquity to return and go on hearing his case; or he entreats that
they would take care not to sin in their anger and resentment against him, nor
go on to charge him with iniquity: or it may be rendered, "there is no
iniquity"F8אל תהי
עולה "non erit iniquitas", Beza, Mercerus;
"nulla", Schultens. ; that is, it should be found that there was no
such iniquity in him as he was charged with; not that he was free from all sin,
which no man is, but from that which his friends judged he was guilty of,
hypocrisy:
yea, return again; he most earnestly importunes them to return
and patiently hear him out:
my righteousness is in it; in the whole of this
affair before them, and which was the matter of controversy between them;
meaning, not his justifying righteousness before God, but the righteousness of
his cause before men; he doubted not but, when things were thoroughly searched
into, that his righteousness would be as clear as the light, and his judgment
as the noonday; that he should appear to be a righteous man, and his cause a
just one; and should stand acquitted and free from all charges and imputations.
Job 6:30 30 Is there injustice on my
tongue? Cannot my taste discern the unsavory?
YLT
30Is there in my tongue
perverseness? Discerneth not my palate desirable things?
Is there iniquity in my
tongue?.... Meaning in his words; either those which he uttered when he
cursed the day on which he was born, or in charging his friends with unkindness
and falsehood; otherwise the tongue is a world of iniquity, and the best of men
are apt to offend both God and men in word:
cannot my taste discern perverse things? which is to
be understood not of his natural taste, which very probably through his disease
might be greatly vitiated, and incapable of relishing his food as in time of
health, and of distinguishing good from bad; but of his intellectual taste, or
of his sense and reason, his rational and spiritual taste; he had his senses
exercised to discern good and evil; he could distinguish between right and
wrong that was said or done, either by himself or others; be had the use of his
rational powers and faculties, and therefore not to be treated as a mad or
distracted man, but as one capable of carrying on a conversation, of opening
his true case, and defending himself; see Job 12:11.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》