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Job Chapter
Eighteen
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JOB 18
In
this chapter is Bildad's second reply to Job, in which he falls with great fury
upon him, very sharply inveighs against him, and very highly charges him; the
charges he brings against him are talkativeness and inattention to what was
said to him, Job 18:1; contempt
of his friends, impatience under his affliction, and pride and arrogance, as if
the whole world, the course of nature and providence, and God himself all must
give way to him, Job 18:3;
nevertheless, he is assured of the miserable state of a wicked man, sooner or
later, which is described by the extinction of his light of prosperity, Job 18:5; by the
defeat of his counsels, being ensnared in a net laid for him, Job 18:7; by the
terrible judgments of the sword, famine, and pestilence, by one or the other of
which he is brought to death, the king of terrors, Job 18:11; by the
destruction of his habitation and of his posterity, so that he has none to hear
his name, or perpetuate his memory, Job 18:15; by his
being driven out of the world, leaving no issue behind him, to the astonishment
of all that knew him, Job 18:18; and the
chapter is closed with this observation, that this is the common case of wicked
and irreligious persons, Job 18:21.
Job 18:1 Then
Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
YLT
1And Bildad the Shuhite
answereth and saith: --
Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said. Who, next to
Eliphaz, spoke before, and now in his turn attacks Job a second time, and more
roughly and severely than before; now he gives him no advice or counsel, nor
any instructions and exhortations for his good, nor suggests that it might be
better times with him again, as he had done before; but only heaps up charges
against him, and describes the miserable circumstances of a wicked man, as near
to Job's as he could; thereby endeavouring to confirm his former position, that
wicked men are punished of God, and to have this conclusion drawn from it, that
Job must needs be a wicked man, since he was so greatly afflicted.
Job 18:2 2 “How long till you
put an end to words? Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak.
YLT
2When do ye set an end to
words? Consider ye, and afterwards do we speak.
How long will it be ere ye make an end of words?.... Because
these words are expressed the plural number, some think more persons than one
are addressed, either Eliphaz and Job together, who are complained of as taking
up all the time, and having all the talk to themselves, that another could
scarce put in a word; Bildad could say this with a better grace, because his
discourses were but short; or else all his friends, whom he blames for not
stopping Job's mouth at once, and for lengthening out the dispute with him; as
if he should say, why are you so complaisant to him, to wait till he has done
speaking, before you reply? why do not you, without any ceremony, interrupt
him, and not suffer him to go on with his prate, a man that is so insufferably
rude as to reckon us all as beasts? and to what purpose is it to talk to such a
man, that is so hardened and incorrigible, so proud and conceited? it is all
labour in vain, and mere beating the air; it is high time to have done talking,
and to put an end to the dispute, when things are such a pass with him as they
are: or else the words are directed to Job, and his friends that were with him,
who might now and then speak a word in his behalf, though their words are not
recorded; or, however, by their looks or gestures might show their approbation
of Job's defences: that there were others present besides Job and his three
friends, it is probable; yea, it is certain that Elihu was present all the
while, but he was not altogether of Job's mind; nor does it appear that he had
any to take his part, for his brethren, acquaintance, kinsfolk, and familiar
friends, stood at a distance from him, and his maids and menservants used him
ill; and even his own wife was not very kind to him, as he declares in the
following chapter; wherefore it seems best of all to understand these words as
spoken to Job alone, the plural being used for the singular, according to the
idiom of the tongue in which they were spoken, and so are a charge of loquacity
against him for talking too much, and too long, unless it had been to better
purpose; and in like manner Bildad begins his first reply to Job, Job 8:2; a late
interpreter renders the words, "how long will you lay snares with
words"F5Schultens. ? use cautious words, set snares with words
to catch, lie upon the catch, and lay hold upon a word, and improve it to
disadvantage, which is imprudently or inadvertently dropped:
mark, and afterwards we will speak; or "let us
speak"F6ואהר נדבר
"et postea loquamur", Piscator, Mercerus, Cocceius. ; after we have
well considered things, got a right understanding of them, and thoroughly
digested them, and have well concerted things, and have thought very closely
what reply to make to them; and so the words are a tacit reflection of Bildad's
on his other two friends, that they spoke before they thought, and therefore
some things impertinently, which Job took the advantage of against them;
wherefore it would be right, for the future, to mark and consider things well
beforehand, and then speak, as they then would with greater propriety, and more
to the purpose: public speakers especially, or such who are engaged in public
service, or in a public dispute, should meditate beforehand what to say, lest
they deliver what is crude and undigested, and may be turned against them. Our
Lord indeed directed his disciples, when called before kings and, governors for
his sake, not to premeditate what they should answer; but that was an
extraordinary case, and they were promised to have extraordinary assistance,
whereby some great ends were to be answered, the confusion of their enemies, and
the confirmation of the Christian religion. But the words seem rather directed
to Job, and to carry in them a charge of inattention to what was said to him by
his friends; and therefore Bildad exhorts him to mark and observe what they
said to him, to listen attentively to that, and well consider it, and then it
would be an encouragement to them to proceed in discoursing with him. Job is
represented like some hearers, that stop their ears to the voice of the charmer
charming ever so wisely; or that are careless and inattentive to what they
hear, and let it pass, and never think of it more; whereas hearers of the word
should be swift to hear, and listen with attention, and take care that they let
not slip what they have heard, and that they meditate upon it in order to get
instruction by it, and when they hear in such a manner it is? a encouragement
to speak; or else the sense is, "act wisely"F7תבינו "diserte agatis", Schultens. , like an
honest man, and show yourself to be a wise man, a man of understanding, that
well weighs and considers things, and rightly takes them in, and receives
instruction by them, and talks like a sensible man: "then afterwards we
will speak"; or otherwise, if you go on to talk in the foolish manner you
do, it is to no purpose to carry on the dispute; the best way is to put an end
to it at once.
Job 18:3 3 Why are we counted as
beasts, And regarded as stupid in your sight?
YLT
3Wherefore have we been
reckoned as cattle? We have been defiled in your eyes!
Wherefore are we counted as beasts,.... This seems to refer
to Job 12:7; where Job
sends them to the beasts, to get knowledge and instruction; and therefore it
was concluded he reckoned them as such, and put them on a level with them, yea,
made them inferior to them; or to Job 17:4; where
they are represented as destitute of wisdom and understanding, and therefore it
is supposed were counted by Job no other than as beasts. Man, by the fall, is
indeed become like them, and some are more brutish than they, and all are
brutish as to spiritual knowledge and understanding; and those that are most
sensible of themselves are ready to acknowledge their ignorance, that they are
more brutish than any, and especially are as a beast before God; and particularly
with respect to knowledge of the methods of Providence, in regard to his
dealings with the righteous and wicked; see Psalm 73:22; and
which was the case in controversy between Job and his friends; but yet
self-sufficient persons do not care to have their understandings in anything
called in question, but like the Pharisees say, "are we blind also?" John 9:40; and take
it very hard that they should be reckoned like beasts, void of understanding,
when they are the people, and wisdom will die with them:
and reputed vile in your
sight? as wicked and profligate persons, the most abandoned of mankind,
such as are justly despised by good men, see Psalm 15:4; or
"unclean"F8נטמינו
"immundi", Drusius, Piscator, Michaelis; so Broughton. , filthy,
polluted, and defiled, as all men are by nature, and as they are in all the
powers and faculties of their souls; nor can they make themselves clean, their
hearts or their hands; nothing short of the grace of God, and blood of Christ,
can cleanse from sin; yet self-righteous persons think themselves clean and
pure when they are not washed from their sins, and take it ill of others to be
reputed unclean persons: or "shut"F9"Clausi
sumu", Montanus; "obturati sumus", Hebraei, in Mercer. , stopped
up, as the hearts of men are from God and Christ, and the true knowledge of
them, and divine things, until opened by him who has the key of the house of
David, and opens, and no man shuts; or "hidden"F11So the
Targum. , referring to Job 17:4; having a
covering over their hearts, and a vail over the eyes of their understandings,
so that the things of Providence were hid from them, as sometimes the things of
grace are from the wise and prudent; but to be thought that this was their case
is resented by Bildad.
Job 18:4 4 You who tear yourself in
anger, Shall the earth be forsaken for you? Or shall the rock be removed from
its place?
YLT
4(He is tearing himself in
his anger.) For thy sake is earth forsaken? And removed is a rock from its
place?
He teareth himself in his anger,.... Or "his
soul"F12נפשו "animam suam",
Pagninus, Montanus, &c. , meaning Job, and referring to what he had said in
Job 16:9; Now, says
Bildad, it is neither God nor man that tears you, it is you yourself;
representing Job as a madman, rending his clothes, tearing his flesh, and even
his very soul; for by his passion which he expressed, whether to God or his
friends, it did himself the most hurt, he broke his peace, and spoiled his comfort,
and ruined his health, and made himself the most unhappy of mankind, by giving
vent to his passion, to his wrath and anger, which slays and a man, Job 5:2; here a
charge of impatience is suggested, contrary to the character even of Job, James 5:11;
shall the earth be forsaken for thee? through fear
of thee, because of thy rage and fury; dost thou think that the inhabitants of
the earth will flee before thee, at thy storming, rage, and wrath? before God
none can stand when he is angry: there is no abiding his indignation when his
fury is poured out like fire, and persons of the greatest rank will flee to the
rocks and mountains to hide them from his face and fury; but what dost thou
think, or make thyself to be, to be as Deity, that the inhabitants of the earth
should flee fore thee, and forsake it? or when thou diest, dost thou think that
all the inhabitants of the earth will die with thee, and so it will be forsaken
for thy sake? taking the hint from what Job had said, Job 17:16; or dost
thou think thyself a man of so much importance and consequence in the earth
that when thou diest there will not be a man left of any worth and notice, that
all might as well die with thee? or will God drop the government of the world
on thy account? will he no more employ his care and providence in concerning
himself in the affairs of the world, but let all things go as they will, and so
the earth, as to his providential regards to it, be forsaken for thy sake? will
God neither do good to good men, nor punish bad men? which must be the case
according to thy doctrine; but will God counteract this method of his
providence, he has always taken in the earth, that thou mayest appear not to be
an evil man, as might be concluded from thine afflictions, but a good man
notwithstanding them?
and shall the rock be removed out of his place? which is not
usual, nor can it be done by man; it may be done by God, who touches the
mountains, and they smoke, and at whose presence they drop and move, as Sinai
did, and as the mountains and hills will flee away at the presence of the Judge
of all the earth, when he appears; but no such phenomenon can be expected upon
the presence and sight of a man; much less can God himself, who is often called
a Rock, and is immovable, unalterable, and unchangeable in his nature,
perfections, purposes, and the counsels of his will, be made to act contrary to
either of them, Deuteronomy 32:4;
nor will he do it for the sake of any man; he does all things after the counsel
of his own will; he takes a constant course in Providence, in the government of
the world, canst thou think that he will go out of his usual way for thy sake,
in punishing wicked men, and rewarding good men? you may as soon imagine that a
rock will be removed out of its place as the ordinary course of Providence will
be altered on thy account; to suppose this is presumption, pride, and
arrogance, which is what Bildad means to fasten upon Job.
Job 18:5 5 “The light of the wicked
indeed goes out, And the flame of his fire does not shine.
YLT
5Also, the light of the
wicked is extinguished. And there doth not shine a spark of his fire.
Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out,.... Or
"nevertheless"F13גם
"attamen, nihilominus", Cocceius, Schultens; so the Targum. ;
notwithstanding all this disregard and inattention to us, and contempt of us,
and all the rage, and wrath, and pride, and haughtiness discovered, as if the
laws of nature, and stated methods of Providence, must all give way to justify
a man in such circumstances as show him to be wicked; this will certainly be
his case, his "light shall be put out"; meaning not the light of his
eyes, or his corporeal light, which sometimes has been the case of wicked men,
as was of the Sodomites, since this, through accident, or old age, is common to
good and bad then; but rather moral light, the light of nature, with which
every man is enlightened that comes into the world; by which he can discern
things natural and civil, and in some degree things moral and religious, though
in a very dim manner; and which, when it is abused, may be taken away, and men
be given up to judicial blindness, and to a reprobate mind, a mind void of
sense and judgment. Cocceius thinks light of doctrine may be intended,
speculative and notional light and knowledge of divine things, as of God, and
his perfections, which may be more clearly discerned by revelation than by the
light of nature; and of Christ, his person, offices, and grace; and of the
Gospel, and each of the doctrines of it, which men may be enlightened into, and
yet be wicked men, as Balsam, and others; which knowledge may be lost, and
light put out, as in the man that had but one talent, and neglected it, and in
the idle shepherd, Matthew 25:29; to
which may be added the light of joy, or a flash of natural affections that
sometimes is to be observed in hypocritical persons, or notional professors,
which in time is lost, and comes to nothing, as in Herod and the stony ground
hearers, Mark 6:20; but as
for the true spiritual light, and experimental knowledge, that can never be
lost or put out, but shines more and more unto the perfect day: but it seems
best by "light" here to understand outward prosperity, for as
darkness is often put for adversity, so light for prosperity in civil things,
see Esther 8:16; but
then, though this in wicked men is often put out, and they are reduced to
distressed circumstances, yet not always; and it sometimes is the case of good
men, and was the case of Job, which Bildad had his eye upon, see Job 29:2;
and the spark of his fire shall not shine; all his
carnal reasonings, the effects of the light of nature, and all his schemes,
especially religious ones built upon them, shall all come to nothing, and be of
no effect or use unto him, see Isaiah 50:11; or
the sense is, that he shall be reduced to so low a condition in things civil,
that he shall have no light nor heat, nor joy and comfort, in this sense; no,
not so much as a spark of outward happiness shall be left him.
Job 18:6 6 The light is dark in his
tent, And his lamp beside him is put out.
YLT
6The light hath been dark in
his tent, And his lamp over him is extinguished.
The light shall the dark in his tabernacle,.... Not the
light of the eye, in the tabernacle of his body, rather the light of nature and
reason in him; and when that "light that is in a man becomes
darkness", as our Lord says, "how great is that
darkness!" Matthew 6:23; but best
of all it designs the light of prosperity in his house and family, which should
be quite obscured:
and his candle shall be put out with him; which
sometimes signifies the spirit of man, his rational soul, called "the
candle of the Lord", Proverbs 20:27;
which, though it dies not when man dies, yet its light is extinct with respect
to the things of this life, and all its thoughts and reasonings are no more about
civil matters, and the affairs of this world; in that sense this light is put
out, and those thoughts perish with him, Psalm 146:4; but
more frequently it is used for outward prosperity, which if it continues with a
man as long as he lives, as it often does, yet, when he dies, it ceases and is
no more; it does not descend with him into the grave, and he cannot carry it
into another world, but it is put out in "obscure darkness"; see Job 21:17.
Job 18:7 7 The steps of his strength
are shortened, And his own counsel casts him down.
YLT
7Straitened are the steps of
his strength, And cast him down doth his own counsel.
The steps of his strength shall be straitened,.... As a man
in health can take large and strong steps, and travel in the greatness of his
strength; so in prosperity he can and does take large steps in obtaining fame
and reputation among men, in amassing substance to himself, and towards
settling his family in the world; he is like one in a large place, and walks at
liberty, goes in and out at pleasure, and none can control him; he walks in
pride, and with an high and lifted up head, and with contempt of others, and
his will is his law, and he does as he pleases; but in adversity, as his
strength is weakened in the way, he cannot take the strides he did, his way is
hedged up with thorns, he is pressed on every side, and surrounded with
troubles, so that, let him turn himself which way he will, he can find no way
to escape:
and his own counsel shall cast him down; as
Ahithophel's and Haman's did, which issued in their ruin, 2 Samuel 17:23;
what wicked men sometimes plot and devise, with a view to their own good, and
the injury of others, proves the destruction of themselves; when they have
contrived to raise themselves upon the ruins of others, it has been the means
of casting them down from the state and condition they were in, instead of
raising to an higher, even down to desolation, and into the most miserable
circumstances.
Job 18:8 8 For he is cast into a net
by his own feet, And he walks into a snare.
YLT
8For he is sent into a net
by his own feet, And on a snare he doth walk habitually.
For he is cast into a net by his own feet,.... He goes
into it of himself, incautious and imprudent; the counsels, schemes, and
methods he takes to hurt others, issue in his own ruin; the pit he digs for
them, he falls and sinks into himself; and the net which he has spread and hid
for others, in it is his own foot taken; and the ways and means he takes to do
himself good, to amass riches and advance his family, being illicit ones, prove
snares and nets unto him, those leading him into many foolish and hurtful
lusts, which bring him to perdition, Psalm 9:15; even
the various sins and transgressions he commits are snares unto him, by which he
is enticed and drawn in: for in "the transgression of an evil man there is
a snare", Proverbs 29:6;
these promise him peace, and pleasure, and liberty, but give neither; they are
nets in which he is entangled, and cords by which he is held, Psalm 9:15; into
which his own feet carry him: some render it, "he goes with a net at his
feet"F14כי שלח
ברשת ברגליו "nam it
cum reti in pedibus suis", Cocceius. , or with his feet in a net; he
cannot go where he would, or do as he pleases; he is restrained by the
providence of God; as the devils are held in chains, so the feet of wicked men
are entangled in a net, that they cannot move and act as they are desirous of:
and he walketh upon a snare: laid for him, and hidden
to him, and therefore walks on boldly and unconcerned, not being apprehensive
of any danger, though greatly exposed to it; he walks on as on firm and good
ground, and in a broad road, but destruction and misery are in his ways; yet he
walks on of himself willingly, and with all his strength, pleasing himself in
the path he treads, not dreaming of the mischief that awaits him; or "upon
a thicket"F15על שבכה
"in perplexo", Cocceius. of thorns and briers, his sins and
iniquities with which he is entangled, and out of which he cannot extricate
himself, or afflictive providences with which his way is hedged up; though the
former sense seems best; Mr. Broughton renders it, "a platted gin".
Job 18:9 9 The net takes him
by the heel, And a snare lays hold of him.
YLT
9Seize on the heel doth a
gin, Prevail over him do the designing.
The gin shall take him by the heel,.... And hold
him fast, so that he shall not be able to get away, especially out of such as
are set by God himself; for God has his nets, and snares, and gins for wicked
men, and such plenty of them, that he even is said to rain them on them; yea,
he himself is a gin and a snare unto them, and out of his hands there is no
escaping, wherefore it is a terrible thing to fall into them, see Ezekiel 12:13;
and the robber shall prevail
against him; either robbers literally taken, such as the Sabeans and
Chaldeans, to whom Bildad may have reference, who prevailed against Job, and
plundered him of his substance; and such as these, as the word signifies, are
"thirsty ones"F16צמים
"sitibundos", Montanus; "sitibundus", Tigurine version. ,
who thirst after the wealth and riches of men, and after their blood for the
sake thereof, bloodthirsty ones; Mr. Broughton renders it, "the
savage", barbarous, wild, and uncivilized, that lived in desert places,
and were like wild beasts, let their hair grow long, to make them look more
terrible and formidable, which some take to be the signification of the word,
and render it "horrid"F17"Horridus", Junius
& Tremellius, Cocceius, Schmidt. or terrible; see Gill on Job 5:5; or else
the devil may be meant, who is like a roaring lion, terrible and frightful, and
who, as he was a murderer from the beginning, so a thief and robber, that comes
to kill and destroy, and whom God suffers to prevail over the children of
disobedience, and in whom he works powerfully, being the strong man armed, that
has possession of them and their goods, and keeps them in peace; and who has
his snares, which he lays suited to the tempers and dispositions of men, and in
which they are taken alive, as beasts of prey, and are detained by him at his
pleasure, 2 Timothy 2:26.
Job 18:10 10 A noose is hidden
for him on the ground, And a trap for him in the road.
YLT
10Hidden in the earth is his
cord, And his trap on the path.
The snare is laid for him in the ground,.... Or
"hidden"F18טמון
"absconditus", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius,
&c. there; for, as Solomon says, "in vain the net is spread in sight
of any bird", Proverbs 1:17; and
in vain it is to lay a snare publicly in the sight or creature, it will not
then come near it, but shun and avoid it; and therefore it is laid underground,
or hid in the earth, or in some private place, where the creature it is
designed for may be thought to come, or into which it is decoyed; or "the
cord"F19חבלו "funis ejus",
Montanus, Tigurine version, Mercerus, Drusius, Cocceius, Schmidt. , that which
is fastened to the snare or net, and which the fowler holds in his hand, and
pulls with; as he finds occasion and opportunity offers; but this is hid as
much as possible, that it may not be seen:
and a trap for him in the way; in which he is used to
walk, by the roadside, or in it; Mr. Broughton renders it, "a pitfall on
the wayside", such as is dug for beasts to fall into and be taken. The
whole of this is designed to show how suddenly and secretly wicked men are
taken in nets, and snares, and gins, either of their own or others laying, and,
while they are crying "Peace, peace, sudden destruction comes upon
them"; see Ecclesiastes 9:12.
Job 18:11 11 Terrors frighten him on
every side, And drive him to his feet.
YLT
11Round about terrified him
have terrors, And they have scattered him -- at his feet.
Terrors shall make him afraid on every side,.... Make him
a "Magormissabib", or "terror on every side", as Pashur was
a terror to himself, Jeremiah 20:3, and
all his friends about him; these terrors may be either the terrors of the
judges of the earth upon wicked men, who are, or should be, a terror to
evildoers, and of whom wicked men are afraid, lest they should be taken and
punished by them; to this sense is the note of Sephorno: or else the terrors of
a guilty conscience, which drive a man to his wits' end, that he knows not what
to do, nor whither to go; these terrify him night and day, and make an hell
upon earth unto him; or the terrors of the righteous law of God broken by him,
its menaces and curses threatening him with death and everlasting damnation; or
the terrors of the judgments of God on earth, which by their forerunners appear
to be coming on it, by reason of which men's hearts fail for fear of them; or terrible
apprehensions of the wrath of God for sin, here and hereafter, together with
the terrors of death, which fall upon them, and of an awful judgment yet to
come. Now Bildad had observed, that Job had said some things concerning the
terrors he was sometimes possessed of, Job 6:4; and
therefore would suggest from hence that he must be a wicked man, since this is
the case of such; but it is easy to observe that good men are sometimes
surrounded with terrors as well as others, so that this is no proof of a man's
character and state, see Psalm 88:15;
and shall drive him to his feet; to take to his feet and
run, in order to get rid of his terrors if possible, but in vain; these cause
him not to run to God, to his feet, to the throne and footstool of his grace,
but from him, to the rocks and mountains to hide him from his wrath, though
there is no going from his spirit, nor fleeing from his presence; and terrors
will also have such an effect upon wielded men as to cause them to flee from
men, as in Cain, who not only went, from the presence of the Lord, but from the
society of men, and became a fugitive and vagabond, and afraid of everyone he
met with, lest he should kill him; and sometimes wicked men flee when none
pursue, and even at the sound of shaking leaf, Proverbs 28:1; or
"shall scatter him at his feet"F20הפצהו
"dispergent eum", Pagninus, Montanus, Beza, Mercerus, Piscator,
Schmidt. , either at the feet of the robber, or cause him to fall to the
ground, in the place where his feet stood. Mr. Broughton renders it,
"shall press him at his feet", shall follow at his heels, and keep
close to him wherever he goes, and overtake and seize him.
Job 18:12 12 His strength is starved, And
destruction is ready at his side.
YLT
12Hungry is his sorrow, And
calamity is ready at his side.
His strength shall be hungerbitten,.... Or "shall be
famine"F21רעב "fames",
Beza. , or hunger, that is, shall be weakened by it; famine is a sore evil, and
greatly weakens thee natural strength of men; want of food will soon bring down
the strength of the strongest man, when the stay and the staff, the sustenance
and support of man's nature is taken from him: many of the Jewish writers, by
"his strength", understand his children, who are, as Jacob said of
Reuben, his might, and the beginning of his strength, Genesis 49:3; and
when grown up are his protection and defence; and for these to be distressed
with hunger, or destroyed by famine, is a sore judgment; so the Targum
paraphrases it, his firstborn son; Jarchi interprets it, his son; and Ben
Gersom, his seed or offspring:
and destruction shall be ready at his side; or "to
his rib"F23לצלעו "costae
ejus", Montanus, Vatablus, Grotius, Schultens. ; that is, his wife, as the
Targum and Jarchi explain it, the Jews calling a man's wife his rib, because
the woman was originally made out of one of the ribs of man; and if this could
be thought to be the sense of the word here, and what is given by them of the
former clause, both make up a complete account of the destruction of a wicked
man's family, his wife and children: but rather it signifies some calamity,
distress, and trouble at hand, ready prepared for wicked men, just going to be
inflicted on them; for God has stores of vengeance for them, and has made ready
his bow, and prepared instruments and arrows of death and destruction for them,
as well as there is everlasting fire prepared, and blackness of darkness
reserved for them in the world to come; for it can hardly be thought that this
should be understood literally of any disease in the side, as the pleurisy,
&c. which is threatening, or any mortal wound or stab there, such as Joab
gave Amass under the fifth rib.
Job 18:13 13 It devours patches of his
skin; The firstborn of death devours his limbs.
YLT
13It consumeth the parts of
his skin, Consume his parts doth death's first-born.
It shall devour the strength of his skin,.... Or
"the bars of his skin"F24בדי עורו "vectes cutis suae", Tigurine version,
Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Schultens, Michaelis. , the strength and support
of his body, for which his skin may be put, as the bones; or "the branches
of his skin"F25"Ramos cutis", Montanus, Vatablus,
Drusius, Mercerus, Schmidt; "ramos corporis ipsius", Cocceius. , the
veins, which like so many branches run under, and may be seen through the skin:
now these, it, famine, or want of food, devours, and destroys the strength and
beauty of the skin, cause it to be black like an oven, Lamentations 4:8;
bring a man to a mere skeleton, to skin and bones, waste and consume the
members of his body, his flesh, and blood, and bones; the Targum, Jarchi, and
Aben Ezra, by "his bars" or "branches" understand his
children, which are his bars, the strength of him, and are to him as branches
to a tree, proceeding from him; and if we render it, as some do, he "shall
devour"F26יאכל "comedet",
Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus. , or "eat", that is, the wicked man, it
points to us the most horrible scene in a famine, which is shocking and
shuddering, and yet what has been, as in the sieges of Samaria and Jerusalem, a
parent's eating and devouring his own children, 2 Kings 6:28; but
rather the "it is the firstborn of death", in the next clause,
which is to be supplied from thence here:
even the firstborn
of death shall devour his strength; and so Mr. Broughton
translates the whole verse,
"a
strange death shall eat all the branches of his body, all its branches shall it
eat;'
which
the Targum interprets of the angel of death, him which has the power of death:
but rather it signifies not what presides over death, but what death first
produces, which are corruption and rottenness, dust and worms; these are the
firstborn of death, or the firstfruits and effects of it, and which devour and
destroy not the skin only, but the whole body and all its members: or "the
firstborn death"F1בכור מות "primogenita mors", V. L. ; death, which is a
firstborn, it is the firstborn of sin; sin is its parent, last conceives sin,
and that brings forth death; death is the child of sin, and is its firstborn,
and sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and this is what devours and
destroys the strength of men. Some understand by firstborn death a premature
one, death before the usual time or common course of nature; wicked men do not
live out half their days; and when they are taken off in their youth, in the
prime of their days and strength, and amidst all their wealth, riches, and
pleasures, this is the first, or firstborn death, as that is a secondary one
which is late, in the time of old age. This is the ingenious thought of Pineda;
but, perhaps, rather, as the firstborn is the chief and principal, so here may
be meant the chiefest of deaths, the most hard, cruel, and severe; the first of
those, that death has under it, which are principally the sword, famine,
pestilence, and the noisome beast, see Revelation 6:8; it
is commonly thought that famine is intended, spoken of in the context; but why
not rather some thing distinct from it, and particularly the pestilence? since
that is emphatically called death by the Jews, and in the passage last referred
to, and is the terror by night, and the arrow that flies by day, even the
pestilence that walks in darkness, and the destruction that wastes at noonday;
by means of which thousands and ten thousands of wicked men fall at the sides
of good men, when it does not affect them: and so may be the evil particularly
threatened to a wicked man here, see Psalm 91:5.
Job 18:14 14 He is uprooted from the
shelter of his tent, And they parade him before the king of terrors.
YLT
14Drawn from his tent is his
confidence, And it causeth him to step to the king of terrors.
His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle,.... That
which his confidence was placed in, his wealth and riches, his family,
particularly his children, in all which he placed his confidence of future
prosperity and happiness; these should be all taken away from him, and his
house cleared of them all; or his good, sound, and healthful constitution, on
account of which he promised himself long life, this he should be deprived of,
and it should be taken out of the tabernacle of his body; or his hope and confidence
of eternal happiness in another world, this should perish, and be as the giving
up of the ghost: or the words may be rendered, "he shall be rooted out of
his tabernacle which was his confidence"F2Michaelis. ;
that is, his soul shall be taken out of his body by death, in which it dwelt as
in a tabernacle, and where he hoped to have had a long continuance; death is a
rooting of a man out of it, and even out of the world, see Psalm 52:5;
and it shall bring him to the king of terrors; either
famine, by which his strength is weakened, or destruction that is at his side,
or the firstborn of death, or his vain confidence: or this may be the sense,
"thou (O God) wilt bring him", or "cause him to go to the king
of terrors"F3De Dieu. ; to death; all men are brought unto it,
but not all unto it as a king of terrors; as good men, such as Simeon, the
Apostle Paul, and others, but wicked men. Death is a king: it reigns, it has a
large empire, even the whole world; its subjects are numerous, all, high and
low, rich and poor, great and small; and the duration of its reign is long, it
reigned from Adam to Moses, from Moses to the coming of Christ, and from thence
to this day, and will to the end of the world, and it reigns with an
irresistible power: and this king is a king of terrors to wicked men; it is, as
AristotleF4Ethic. l. 3. c. 9. calls it, the most terrible of
terribles; it is terrible to nature, being a dissolution of it; and it must be
terrible to mere natural men, who have nothing to support them under it, and no
views beyond the grave to comfort them, and cause them to go cheerful through
it; but, on the other hand, have not only the bitterness of death to endure, but
have terrible apprehensions of a future judgment that comes after it. Some
render it, "the king of darkness"F5למלך
בלהות "ad regem caliginum", Cocceius. ,
extreme darkness, blackness of darkness, utter darkness, which wicked men at
death are brought unto. Jarchi interprets it of the king of demons, the devil;
and to be brought to him is to be brought to hell and eternal damnation: so
some render it, "terrors shall bring him to his king"F6Schmidt.
, the devil; or rather "terrors shall come upon him like a king"F7"Instar
regis", Schultens; "quasi rex", V. L. , in a very grand,
powerful, and formidable manner.
Job 18:15 15 They dwell in his tent who
are none of his; Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling.
YLT
15It dwelleth in his tent --
out of his provender, Scattered over his habitation is sulphur.
It shall dwell in his tabernacle,.... What shall dwell in
it is not said; there are various conjectures about it, and different
supplements are made; the Targum is,
"his
wife shall dwell in a tabernacle not his;'
and
to the same purpose Jarchi; as if it was one part of the punishment of a wicked
man, that he should leave a widow behind him, and no house of his own for her
to dwell in; but this is the case of the widows of many good men, who
themselves, in their lifetime, have no houses of their own, and some no certain
dwelling places, yea, have lived in caves and dens of the earth; the mother of
our Lord, who seems to have been a widow at his death, was taken by one of his
disciples to his own home, which shows she had none of her own. The Vulgate
Latin version is,
"his
neighbours shall dwell in his tabernacle;'
which
some understand of their coming into it after his death, to mourn and bewail
him; but as such a visit of his family upon his decease cannot be called
dwelling, so this is rather a benefit and favour to his family, than a
distress: rather it may signify, that such neighbours whom he had oppressed,
and who hated him for his tyranny and cruelty, now should dwell in his house;
what he had built, strangers should inhabit, which is a punishment of sin and
sinners, Deuteronomy 28:30.
Aben Ezra supplies it thus, a strange or evil beast shall dwell in it, as they
do in desolate places; and it is frequently given as a sign and token of
desolation in countries, cities, and palaces, that they are become the
habitations of wild and savage creatures, see Isaiah 13:19; but
it seems best to supply it from the context, either thus, famine, hunger, want
of food, shall dwell in it; poverty and want shall come like an armed man into
it, and take possession; there shall appear all the marks and signs of penury
and distress; or destruction ready at his side shall take up its abode in it,
and it shall be called the house of destruction, as a certain city is called
the city of destruction, because devoted to it, Isaiah 19:18; or
the firstborn of death, some deadly disease, as the pestilence; or death
itself, the king of terrors, who is sometimes represented as a person coming up
into the windows of a palace, and entering it, and cutting off great numbers;
so that it goes ill with him that is left in a tabernacle, where he has his
habitation, Jeremiah 9:21; or
terror, as Ben Gersom; everyone of the terrors before mentioned, so that no
body will care to dwell in it, but forsake it as an haunted house: in short,
from the whole it may be gathered, that the curse of God should alight upon it,
and remain in it, as it does in the house of the wicked; the same with the
flying roll in the vision of Zechariah, the curse of God's righteous law, which
enters into the house of the thief and perjurer, and consumes it, Proverbs 3:33; the
reason follows,
because it is none of his; not by right, being
bought or built with mammon of unrighteousness, with money not honestly got,
and therefore shall not prosper; or because it is no longer his, he being taken
from it by death, the king of terrors, and that not knowing or owning him any
more as its master or proprietor, and therefore strangers shall dwell in it; or
because there is none that shall be after him, because he shall have none left,
or he shall have no survivorF8So Syr. Ar & Schmidt. , all his
family being taken away by death; and therefore nothing but desolation and
destruction shall be seen in it, see Amos 6:9;
brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation; that is, his
house should be burnt down by lightning, which is often sulphurous, and
sometimes very sensibly has the smell of brimstone in itF9Plin. Nat.
Hist. l. 35. c. 35. . Bildad may refer either to the fire of heaven that
destroyed Job's sheep, which was of this kind; or rather to the destruction of
Sodom and Gomorrah, by a shower of fire and brimstone from heaven, a fact well
known in those times. Moreover, brimstone scattered upon the wicked man's
dwelling place may denote the desolation of it, that it should lie in ruins,
and be unfit to be inhabited; and the desolation of places is sometimes
signified by their being salt, brimstone and burning pitch, Deuteronomy 29:23;
yea, this may be carried further, and denote the eternal damnation of all in
his house, seeing the burning of Sodom with brimstone was an example to ungodly
men suffering the vengeance of eternal fire, Judges 1:7; and
which is sometimes expressed by brimstone, and a lake burning with fire and
brimstone, Revelation 20:10.
SomeF11Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. vol. 4. p. 709, 710. think respect
is had to the purifying of houses with sulphur, to drive away demons, and remove
impurity, to make them fit to dwell inF12Vid. Plin. Nat. Hist. l.
35. c. 15. Theocrit. Idyll. 25. ver. 95. Homer. Odyss. 22. prope finem. ; and
others think it refers to the burning of sulphur in houses at funerals, to
testify and exaggerate mourningF13Vid. Menochium de Repub. Heb. l.
8. c. 6. col. 792. .
Job 18:16 16 His roots are dried out
below, And his branch withers above.
YLT
16From beneath his roots are
dried up, And from above cut off is his crop.
His roots shall be dried up beneath,.... Wicked men are
sometimes compared to trees; to trees of the wood, barren, and unfruitful; to
trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; and sometimes to
green bay trees, very flourishing for a while, and which on a sudden perish,
and come to nothing, see Song of Solomon 2:3,
Judges 1:12; and
such a simile is here used; and by his roots may be meant his family, from
whence he sprung, which now should be extinct with him, see Isaiah 11:1; or his
substance, which being greatly increased, he seemed to take root in the earth,
and not only to be in a prosperous, but in a stable settled condition; but now,
like Ephraim, he should be smitten, and his root dried up; all his wealth, and
all the resources of it, should be exhausted, be no more, see Jeremiah 12:2;
and above shall his branch be cut off; his children
that sprung from him, as branches from a tree, and were his glory and beauty,
these should be cut off; referring no doubt in both clauses to Job's present
circumstances, whose root in the time of his prosperity was spread out by the
waters, but now dried up, and on whose branches the dew lay all night, but now
cut off, Job 29:19; so the
Targum,
"his
children shall be cut off out of the earth, and from heaven his destruction
shall be decreed;'
both
clauses signify the utter destruction of the family of the wicked man, root and
branch, see Malachi 4:1. It is
a beautiful description of a tree struck with thunder and lightning, and burnt
and shattered to pieces, and agrees with Job 18:15.
Job 18:17 17 The memory of him perishes
from the earth, And he has no name among the renowned.[a]
YLT
17His memorial hath perished
from the land, And he hath no name on the street.
His remembrance shall perish from the earth,.... Not only
are the wicked forgotten of God in heaven, and are as the slain he remembers no
more, unless it be to pour out his wrath upon them, and punish them for their
sins, for which great Babylon will come up in remembrance before him; but of
men on earth, and in the very places where they were born, and lived all their
days, Ecclesiastes 8:10;
yea, those places, houses and palaces, towns and cities, which they have built
to perpetuate their memory among men, perish and come to nought, and their
memorial with them, Psalm 9:5;
and he shall have no name in the street; much less in
the house of God, still less in heaven, in the Lamb's book of life; so far from
it, that he shall have none on earth, no good name among men; if ever his name
is mentioned after his death, it is with some brand of infamy upon him; he is
not spoken of in public, in a court of judicature, nor in any place of commerce
and trade, nor in any concourse of people, or public assembly of any note,
especially with any credit or commendation; such is the difference between a
good man and a wicked man, see Proverbs 11:7.
Job 18:18 18 He is driven from light
into darkness, And chased out of the world.
YLT
18They thrust him from light
unto darkness, And from the habitable earth cast him out.
He shall be driven from light into darkness,.... Either
from the light of outward prosperity, formerly enjoyed by him, into the
darkness of adversity; or rather from the light of the living, the light of the
present life, to the darkness of death, and the grave, the land of darkness,
and of the shadow of death, Job 10:21; and even
into utter darkness, blackness of darkness, the darkness of hell, eternal
darkness; opposed to the light of the divine Presence, and the inheritance of
the saints in light, possessed by them to all eternity; which the wicked man is
deprived of, and will have no share in, but shall be driven from the presence
of God, and by him; for so the words may be rendered, "they shall drive
him"F14יהדפוה "expellent
eum", Pagninus, Montanus; so Tigurine version, Vatablus, Mercerus,
Drusius, Schultens, Cocceius, Schmidt. , God, Father, Son, and Spirit; God by
the east wind and storm of his wrath shall carry him away, and hurl him out of
his place, and shall cast the fury of his wrath on him, and not spare, nor
shall he flee out of his hands, though he fain would, Job 27:21; or the
angels, good or bad, shall drive him into endless torments, or shall, by the
divine order, take him and cast him into outward darkness, where are weeping,
wailing, and gnashing of teeth; thus are the wicked driven against their will,
and must go whether they will or not, and, like beasts to the slaughter, are
driven in their wickedness, in order to suffer the punishment due unto it, when
the righteous hath hope in his death, Proverbs 14:32;
and chased out of the world; or cast out of it, as an
unclean or excommunicated person, of which the word here is sometimes usedF15ינדהו "excommunicabunt cum", Schmidt, Michaelis;
so Codurcus. ; and not only chased out of his own place, out of his own house,
and out of his own country, but even out of the world, so as to have no place
any more in it, see Job 20:8.
Job 18:19 19 He has neither son nor
posterity among his people, Nor any remaining in his dwellings.
YLT
19He hath no continuator, Nor
successor among his people, And none is remaining in his dwellings.
He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people,.... Neither
son, nor son's son, or grandson; so the Targum, Jarchi, and Bar Tzemach; that
is, he shall be childless, and have no heirs, successors, or survivors, to
inherit his estate, bear and perpetuate his name among the people of his
country, city, or neighbourhood. Bildad respects no doubt the present case of
Job, who had lost all his children; but he was mistaken if he thought he should
die so, for he had after this as many children as he had before:
nor any remaining in his dwellings; being all dead, or fled
from them, through the terror, desolation, and destruction in them. Aben Ezra
and Bar Tzemach interpret them places in which he was a sojourner or stranger;
and Mr. Broughton, nor remnant in his pilgrimage.
Job 18:20 20 Those in the west are
astonished at his day, As those in the east are frightened.
YLT
20At this day westerns have
been astonished And easterns have taken fright.
They that come after him shall be astonished at his day,.... At the
day of his calamity and distress, ruin and destruction, see Psalm 37:13; it
would be extremely amazing to them how it should be, that a man who was in such
flourishing and prosperous circumstances, should be brought at once, he and his
family, into such extreme poverty, and into such a distressed and forlorn
condition; they should be, as it were, thunderstruck at it, not being able to account
for it: by these are meant such as are younger than the wicked man, and that
continue longer than he, yet upon the spot when his calamity befell; or else
posterity in later times, who would be made acquainted with the whole affair,
and be surprised at the relation of it:
as they that went before were affrighted; not that
lived before the times of the wicked man, for they could not see his day, or be
spectators of his ruin, and so be frightened at it; but his contemporaries, who
are said to be those that went before, not with respect to the wicked man, but
with respect to younger persons or posterity that were after; so Bar Tzemach
interprets it, which were in his time, or his contemporaries; and Mr.
Broughton,
"the
present took an horror;'
a
late learned commentatorF16Schultens. renders the words, western and
eastern; as if all people in the world, east and west, would be amazed and
astonished at the sudden and utter destruction of this wicked man.
Job 18:21 21 Surely such are the
dwellings of the wicked, And this is the place of him who does
not know God.”
YLT
21Only these [are]
tabernacles of the perverse, And this the place God hath not known.
Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked,.... As before
described; as that the light should be dark in them; a wicked man's confidence
should be rooted out of them; everything shocking and dreadful should dwell in
them; brimstone should be scattered on them, they should be utterly consumed,
and none remaining in them, Job 18:6. The
Targum represents these as the words of the persons astonished and frightened,
who at the sight of such a dismal spectacle should utter them, prefacing them
thus,
"and
they shall say, but these are the dwellings, &c.'
and this is the place of him that knoweth not God; the place
that he shall be driven to when chased out of the world, even a place of
darkness and misery, Job 18:18; or
"this is the case of him that knoweth not the Omnipotent", as Mr.
Broughton translates the words; that is, which is above described in the
several particulars of it; this is sooner or later the case of every wicked
man, as Bildad supposed it now was Job's case, at least in part, or would be
hereafter: one "that knows not God", is the periphrasis of a wicked
man, that has no knowledge of God, at least no practical knowledge of him, that
lives without God in the world, or like an atheist; such shall be punished with
everlasting destruction by him, see 2 Thessalonians 1:8;
either one whom "God knows not"F17לא
ידע אל "quem non
agnoscit Deus fortis", Junius. , so some render the words; for though God
by the perfection of his omniscience knows all men, good and bad, yet there are
some he knows not so as to approve of, love, and delight in, see Matthew 7:23; or
rather that have no knowledge of God, who though they may know there is a God,
yet do not worship and glorify him as God; and though they may profess to know
him, yet in works they deny him, and however have no spiritual and experimental
knowledge of him; do not know him in Christ, as the God of all grace, and as
their God in him; they do not know him, so as to love him, fear, worship, and
obey him.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)