| Back to Home Page | Back
to Book Index |
Job Chapter
Twenty-four
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JOB 24
This
chapter contains the second part of Job's answer to the last discourse of
Eliphaz, in which he shows that wicked men, those of the worst characters,
prosper in the world, and go through it with impunity; he lays down this as a
certain truth, that though no time is hid from God, yet they that are most
familiar with him, and know most of him, do not see, and cannot observe, any
days of his for judging and punishing wicked men in, this life, Job 24:1; and
instances in men guilty of injustice, violence, oppression, cruelty, and
inhumanity, to their neighbours, and yet God lays not folly to them, or charges
them with sin, and punishes them for it, Job 24:2; and in
persons that commit the most atrocious crimes in secret, such as murderers,
adulterers, and thieves, Job 24:13; he
allows that there is a curse upon their portion, and that the grave shall
consume them, and they shall be remembered no more, Job 24:18; and
because of their ill treatment of others, though they may be in safety and
prosperity, and be exalted for a while, they shall be brought low and cut off
by death, but generally speaking are not punished in this life, Job 24:21; and
concludes with the greatest assurance of being in the right, and having truth
on his side, Job 24:25.
Job 24:1 “Since
times are not hidden from the Almighty, Why do those who know Him see not His
days?
YLT
1Wherefore from the Mighty
One Times have not been hidden, And those knowing Him have not seen His days.
Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty,.... Which
seems to be an inference deduced from what he had said in Job 23:14; that
since all things are appointed by God, and his appointments are punctually
performed by him, the times of his carrying his purposes and decrees into
execution cannot be hidden from him; for, as he has determined what shall be
done, he has determined the time before appointed for the doing of them; as
there is a purpose for everything under the heavens, there is a time set for
the execution of that purpose, which must be known unto God that has fixed it;
for as all his works are known to him from the beginning, or from eternity, the
times when those works should be wrought must also be known to him. The Vulgate
Latin, version reduces the words to a categorical proposition, "times are
not hidden from the Almighty"; either temporal things, as Sephorno
interprets it, things done in time, or the times of doing those things; no sort
of time is hid from God; time respecting the world in general, its beginning,
duration, and end; all seasons in it, day and night, summer and winter,
seedtime and harvest, which are all fixed and settled by him; the several distinct
ages and periods of time, into which it has been divided; the old and new
world, the legal and Gospel dispensation, the various generations in it; the
four great monarchies of the world, their rise, and duration, and end, with all
other lesser kingdoms and states; time respecting the inhabitants of the world,
their coming into and passing out of it in successive generations, the time of
their birth, and of their death, and of adversity and prosperity, which
interchangeably take place during their abode in it; and particularly the
people of God, the time of their redemption by Christ, of their conversion by
the grace of God, and all their times of darkness, desertion, temptation, and
afflictions, and of peace, joy, and comfort; time, past and future, respecting
the church of God, and the state of it, and all things relative thereunto; and
the times of Israel's affliction in a land not theirs, four hundred years, and
of their seventy years' captivity in Babylon, were not hidden from the
Almighty, but foretold by him; the suffering times of the church under the New
Testament; the ten persecutions of it by the Roman emperors; the flight and
nourishment of it in the wilderness for a time, and times, and half a time; the
treading down of the holy city forty two months; the witnesses prophesying: in
sackcloth 1260 days; the killing of them, and their bodies lying unburied three
days and a half, and then rising; the reign of antichrist forty two months, at
the end of which antichristian time will be no more; the time of Christ's
coming to judgment, which is a day appointed, though unknown to men and angels,
and the reign of Christ on earth for a thousand years; all these times are not
hidden from, but known to the Almighty, even all time, past, present, and to come,
and all things that have been, are, or shall be done therein. Several Jewish
commentatorsF3Aben Ezra, Nachmanides, & Simeon Bar Tzemach.
interpret these words as an expostulation or wish, "why are not times
hidden?" &c. if they were, I should not wonder at it that those that
knew him do not know what shall be; but he knows the times and days in which
wicked men will do wickedness, why is he silent? Mr. Broughton, and othersF4מדוע משדי "quinam ab
omnipotente", Beza; so Junius & Tremellius. , render them, "why
are not", or "why should not times be hidden by the Almighty?"
that is, be hidden in his own breast from men, as they are; for the times and
seasons it is not for man to know, which God has put in his own power, Acts 1:6; as the
times of future troubles, of a man's death, and the day of judgment; it is but
right and fit, on many accounts, that they should be hid by him from them; but
others of later date translate the words perhaps much better, "why are not
certain stated times laid up", or "reserved by the
Almighty"F5"Quare ab omnipotente non sunt recondita in
poenam stata tempora", Schultens. ? that is, for punishing wicked men in
this, life, as would be the case, Job suggests, if it was true what his friends
had asserted, that wicked men are always punished here: and then upon this
another question follows, why
do they that know him not see his days? that know him
not merely by the light of nature, but as revealed in Christ; and that have not
a mere knowledge of him, but a spiritual and experimental one; who know him so
as to love him, believe in him, fear, serve, and worship him; and who have a
greater knowledge of him than others may have, and have an intimate
acquaintance and familiarity with him, are his bosom friends; and if there are
fixed times for punishing the wicked in this life, how comes it to pass that
these friends of God, to whom he reveals his secrets, cannot see and observe
any such days and times of his as these? but, on the contrary, observe, even to
the stumbling of the greatest saints, that the wicked prosper and increase in
riches. Job seems to refer to what Eliphaz had said, Job 22:19; which he
here tacitly denies, and proves the contrary by various instances, as follows.
Job 24:2 2 “Some remove
landmarks; They seize flocks violently and feed on them;
YLT
2The borders they reach, A
drove they have taken violently away, Yea, they do evil.
Some remove the
landmarks,.... Anciently set to distinguish one man's land from another, to
secure property, and preserve from encroachments; but some were so wicked as
either secretly in the night to remove them, or openly to do it, having power
on their side, pretending they were wrongly located; this was not only
prohibited by the law of God, and pronounced an accursed thing, Deuteronomy 19:14;
but was reckoned so before the law was given, being known to be such by the
light of nature, as what was now, and here condemned, was before that law was
in being; and so we find that this was accounted an execrable thing among the
Heathens, who had a deity they called Jupiter Terminalis, who was appointed
over bounds and landmarks; so Numa Pompilius appointed stones to be set as
bounds to everyone's lands, and dedicated them to Jupiter Terminalis, and
ordered that those that removed them should be slain as sacrilegious persons,
and they and their oxen devoted to destructionF6Dion. Halicarnass.
& Festus apud Sanctium in loc. Vid. Rycquium de Capitol. Roman. c. 14.
Ovid. Fasti, l. 2. : some render it, "they touch the landmarks"F7ישיגו "attigerunt", Pagninus, Bolducius;
"attingunt", Vatablus. , as if to touch them was unlawful, and
therefore much more to remove them:
they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof; not content
with a sheep or a lamb, they took away whole flocks, and that by force and
violence, openly and publicly, and slew them, and fed on them; or else took
them and put them into their own grounds, or such as they had got by
encroachments from others, where they fed them without any fear of men; which
shows the effrontery and impudence of them.
Job 24:3 3 They drive away the donkey
of the fatherless; They take the widow’s ox as a pledge.
YLT
3The ass of the fatherless
they lead away, They take in pledge the ox of the widow,
They drive away the ass of the fatherless,.... Who are
left destitute of friends, and have none to take care of them, and provide for
them; and who having one ass to carry their goods for them from place to place,
or to ride upon, which though a creature of no great worth, yet of some usefulness,
this they drove away from its pasture, or however from its right owner; and who
having but one, it was the more cruel and inhuman to take it from him, see, 2 Samuel 12:3;
they take the widow's ox for a pledge; or oxen, the
singular for the plural, with which her lands were ploughed, for a single ox
could be but of little service: some render it "a cow"F8שור "pro bove foemina, vacca", Bolducius. , by the
milk of which she and her family were chiefly supported, as many poor country
families are by the means of a good milch cow; and to take this, on which her
livelihood depended, and retain for a pledge, was very barbarous; when the law
concerning pledges took place among the Jews, in the times of Moses, which it
seems was in being before with others, whatsoever was useful to persons, either
to keep them warm, or by which they got their bread, were not to be taken, at
least not detained for a pledge, see Exodus 22:26.
Job 24:4 4 They push the needy off
the road; All the poor of the land are forced to hide.
YLT
4They turn aside the needy
from the way, Together have hid the poor of the earth.
They turn the needy out of the way,.... Either, in a moral
sense, out of the right way, the way of righteousness and truth, by their bad
examples, or by their threatenings or flatteries; or, in a civil sense, out of
the way of their livelihood, by taking that from them by which they got it; or,
in a literal sense, obliging them to turn out of the way from them, in a
supercilious and haughty manner, or causing them, through fear of them, to get
out of the way, that they might not meet them, lest they should insult them,
beat and abuse them, or take that little from them they had, as follows:
the poor of the earth hide themselves together; who are not
only poor in purse, but poor in spirit, meek, humble, and lowly, and have not
spirit and courage to stand against such oppressors, but are easily crushed by
them; these through fear of them hide themselves in holes and corners in a
body, in a large company together, lest they should fall into their cruel
hands, and be used by them in a barbarous manner, see Proverbs 28:28.
Job 24:5 5 Indeed, like wild
donkeys in the desert, They go out to their work, searching for food. The
wilderness yields food for them and for their children.
YLT
5Lo, wild asses in a
wilderness, They have gone out about their work, Seeking early for prey, A
mixture for himself -- food for young ones.
Behold, as wild asses in the desert,.... The word
"as" is a supplement, and may be omitted, and the words be
interpreted literally of wild asses, as they are by Sephorno, whose proper
place is in the wilderness, to which they are used, and where their food is
provided for them, and which they diligently seek for, for them and their
young; and so the words may be descriptive of the place where the poor hide
themselves, and of the company they are obliged to keep; but the Targum
supplies the note of similitude as we do; and othersF9Aben Ezra, Ben
Gersom, Bar Tzemach. observe it to be wanting, and so it may respect wicked men
before described, who may be compared to the wild asses of the wilderness for
their folly and stupidity, man being born like a wild ass's colt, Job 11:12; and for
their lust and wantonness, and for their rebellion against God and his laws,
and their unteachableness. Perhaps some regard may be had to the wild Arabs
that were in Job's neighbourhood, the descendants of Ishmael, called the wild
man, as he is in Genesis 16:12; who
lived by plunder and robbery, as these here:
they go forth to their work: of thieving and stealing,
robbing and plundering, as their trade, and business, and occupation of life,
and as naturally and constantly as men go to their lawful employment, and as if
it was one:
rising betimes for a prey; getting up early in a
morning to meet the industrious traveller on the road, and make a prey of him,
rob him of what he has about him; for they cannot sleep unless they do
mischief:
the wilderness yieldeth food for them, and for their
children; though they are lurking in a wilderness where no sustenance is
to be had, yet, by robbing everyone that passes by, they get enough for them
and their families: though some understand all this of the poor, who are
obliged to hide themselves from their oppressors, and go into the wilderness in
droves like wild asses, and as timorous and as swift as they in fleeing; and
are forced to hard service, and to rise early to earn their bread, and get
sustenance for their families; and who in the main are obliged to live on
berries and roots, and what a wild desert will afford; but the, word
"prey" is not applicable to the pains and labours of such industrious
people, wherefore the former sense is best; and besides, there seems to be one
continued account of wicked men.
Job 24:6 6 They gather their fodder
in the field And glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
YLT
6In a field his provender
they reap, And the vineyard of the wicked they glean.
They reap everyone his corn in the field,.... Not the
poor, who are obliged to reap the corn of the wicked for them without any
wages, as some; but rather the wicked reap the corn of the poor; they are so
insolent and impudent, that they do not take the corn out of their barns by
stealth, but while it is standing in the field; they come openly and reap it
down, as if it was their own, without any fear of God or men: it is observed,
that the wordF11בלילו "migma
suum", Bolducius; "farraginem ejus vel suam", Tigurine
version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Michaelis. signifies a
mixture of the poorer sorts of corn, which is scarce anything better than food
for cattle; yet this they cut down and carry off, as forage for their horses
and asses at least. Some of the ancient versions, taking it to be two words,
render them, "which is not their own"F12 ουκ αυτων Sept. "non
suum", V. L. so the Targum, and Aben Ezra, Grotius, Codurcus. ; they go
into a field that is not theirs, and reap corn that do not belong to them, that
they have no right unto, and so are guilty of great injustice, and of doing
injury to others:
and they gather the vintage of the wicked; gather the
grapes off of the vines of wicked men, which are gathered, as the word
signifies, at the latter end of the year, in autumn; and though they belong to
wicked men like themselves, yet they spare them not, but seize on all that come
to hand, whether the property of good men or bad men; and thus sometimes one
wicked man is an instrument of punishing another: or "the wicked gather
the vintage"F13וכרם רשע ילקשו "et in vinea
(aliena) vindemiant impii", Tigurine version; "vineasque vindemiant
impii", Castalio. ; that is, of the poor; as they reap where they have not
sown, they gather of that they have not planted.
Job 24:7 7 They spend the night
naked, without clothing, And have no covering in the cold.
YLT
7The naked they cause to
lodge Without clothing. And there is no covering in the cold.
They cause the naked to lodge without clothing,.... That is,
such as are poorly clothed, thinly arrayed, have scarce anything but rags, and
yet so cruel the wicked men above described, that they take these away from the
poor, and even their bed clothes, which seem chiefly designed; so that they are
obliged to lodge or lie all night without anything upon them:
that they have no covering in the cold; neither in
the daytime, nor in the night, and especially the latter; and having no house
to go to, and obliged to lay themselves down upon the bare ground, had nothing
to cover them from the inclemency of the weather; for even in hot countries
nights are sometimes cold, and large dews fall, yea, sometimes it is a frost,
see Genesis 31:40.
Job 24:8 8 They are wet with the
showers of the mountains, And huddle around the rock for want of shelter.
YLT
8From the inundation of
hills they are wet, And without a refuge -- have embraced a rock.
They are wet with the showers of the mountains,.... They that
are without any clothes to cover them, lying down at the bottom of a hill or
mountain, where the clouds often gather, and there break, or the snow at the
top of them melts through the heat of the day; and whether by the one or by the
other, large streams of water run down the mountains, and the naked poor, or
such who are thinly clothed, are all over wet therewith, as Nebuchadnezzar's
body was with the dew of heaven, when he was driven from men, and lived among
beasts, Daniel 4:33,
and embrace the rock for want of a shelter; or
habitation, as the Targum; having no house to dwell in, nor any raiment to
cover them, they were glad to get into the hole of a rock, in a cave or den
there, and where some good men in former times were obliged to wander, Hebrews 11:38; and
whither mean persons, in the time and country in which Job lived, were driven
to dwell in, see Job 30:6.
Job 24:9 9 “Some snatch the fatherless
from the breast, And take a pledge from the poor.
YLT
9They take violently away
From the breast the orphan, And on the poor they lay a pledge.
They pluck the fatherless from the breast,.... Either on
purpose to starve it, which must be extremely barbarous; or to sell it to be
brought up a slave; or by obliging the mother to wean it before the due time,
that she might be the better able to do work for them they obliged her to. Mr.
Broughton renders the words, "of mischievousness they rob the fatherless";
that is, through the greatness of the mischief they do, as Ben Gersom
interprets it; or through the exceeding mischievous disposition they are of; of
which this is a flagrant instance; or
"they
rob the fatherless of what remains for him after spoilingF14משד "per devastationem", some in Munster;
"post vastationem", Tigurine version; so Nachmanides & Bar
Tzemach. ,'
or
devastation, through the plunder of his father's substance now dead, which was
exceeding cruel:
and take a pledge of the poor; either the poor himself,
or his poor fatherless children, see 2 Kings 4:1; or
what is "upon the poor"F15על עני "super inopem", Cocceius, Schultens; so Ben
Gersom. , as it may be rendered; that is, his raiment, which was commonly taken
for a pledge; and, by a law afterwards established in Israel, was obliged to be
restored before sunset, that he might have a covering to sleep in, Exodus 22:26; See
Gill on Job 22:6.
Job 24:10 10 They cause the poor
to go naked, without clothing; And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.
YLT
10Naked, they have gone
without clothing, And hungry -- have taken away a sheaf.
They cause him to go naked without clothing,.... Having
taken his raiment from him for a pledge, or refusing to give him his wages for
his work, whereby he might procure clothes to cover him, but that being
withheld, is obliged to go naked, or next to it:
and they take away the sheaf from the hungry; the Vulgate
Latin version renders it, "ears of corn", such as the poor man
plucked as he walked through a corn field, in order to rub them in his hand,
and eat of, as the disciples of Christ, with which the Pharisees were offended,
Luke 6:1; and which,
according to a law in Israel, was allowed to be done, Deuteronomy 23:25;
but now so severe were these wicked men to these poor persons, that they took
away from them such ears of corn: but it is more likely that this sheaf was
what the poor had gleaned, and what they had been picking up ear by ear, and
had bound up into a sheaf, in order to carry home and beat it out, and then
grind the corn of it, and make a loaf of it to satisfy their hunger; but so
cruel and hardhearted were these men, that they took it away from them, which
they had been all, or the greatest part of the day, picking up; unless it can
be thought there was a custom in Job's country, which was afterwards a law
among the Jews, that if a sheaf was forgotten by the owner, and left in the
field when he gathered in his corn, he was not to go back for it, and fetch it,
but leave it to the poor, Deuteronomy 24:19;
but these men would not suffer them to have it, but took it away from them; or
the words may be rendered, as they are by some, "the hungry carry the
sheaf"F16ורעבים נשאו
עמר "et famelici gestant manipulum",
Tigurine version, Mercerus; so Schultens, Michaelis. that is, of their rich
oppressive masters, who having reaped their fields for them, and bound up the
corn in sheaves, carry it home for them; and yet they do not so much as give
them food for their labour, or wages to purchase food to satisfy their; hunger,
and so dealt with them worse than the oxen were, according to the Jewish law,
which were not to be muzzled when they trod out the corn, but might eat of it, Deuteronomy 25:4.
Job 24:11 11 They press out oil within
their walls, And tread winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
YLT
11Between their walls they
make oil, Wine-presses they have trodden, and thirst.
Which make oil
within their walls,.... Not the poor within their own walls; as if the sense was,
that they made their oil in a private manner within the walls of their houses,
or in their cellars, lest it should be known and taken away from them; for such
cannot be thought to have had oliveyards to make oil of; rather within the
walls of their rich masters, where they were kept closely confined to their
work, as if in a prison; or within the walls and fences of their oliveyards,
where their olive presses stood; or best of all "within the rowsF17בין שור־תאם "inter
ordines", Mercerus, Piscator, Cocceius; so Sephorno, and some in Eliae
Tishbi, p. 241. of their olive trees", as the word
signifies, where having gathered the olives, they pressed out the oil in the
presses and this they did at noon, in the heat of the day, as the wordF18יצהירו "meridiati sunt", V. L. so Bolducius,
Schultens. for making oil is observed by some to signify, and yet had nothing
given them to quench their thirst, as follows:
and tread their
winepresses, and suffer thirst; after having gathered their grapes from
their vines for them, they trod them in the winepresses, and made their wine,
and yet would not allow them to drink of it to allay their thirst.
Job 24:12 12 The dying groan in the
city, And the souls of the wounded cry out; Yet God does not charge them
with wrong.
YLT
12Because of enmity men do
groan, And the soul of pierced ones doth cry, And God doth not give praise.
Men groan from out of the city,.... Because of the
oppressions and injuries done to them, so that not only the poor in the country
that were employed in the fields, and oliveyards, and vineyards, were used
exceeding ill; but even in cities, where not only are an abundance of people,
and so the outrages committed upon them, which made them groan, were done
openly and publicly, with great insolence and impudence, but where also courts
of judicature were held, and yet in defiance of law and justice were those
evils done, see Ecclesiastes 3:16;
and the soul of the wounded crieth out; that is, the
persons wounded with the sword, or any other instrument of vengeance, stabbed
as they went along the public streets of the city, where they fell, these cried
out vehemently as such persons do; so audacious, as well as barbarous, were
these wicked men, that insulted and abused them:
yet God layeth not folly to them; it is for the
sake of this observation that the whole above account is given of wicked men,
as well as what follows; that though they are guilty of such atrocious crimes,
such inhumanity, cruelty, and oppression in town and country, unheard of,
unparalleled, iniquities, sins to be punished by a judge, yet are suffered of
God to pass with impunity. By "folly" is meant sin, not lesser sins
only, little, foolish, trifling things, but greater and grosser ones, such as
before expressed; all sin is folly, being the breach of a law which is holy,
just, and good, and exposes to its penalty and curse; and against God the
lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy; and as it is harmful and
prejudicial, either to the characters, bodies, or estates of men, and
especially to their immortal souls; and yet God that charges his angels with
folly did not charge these men with it; that is, he seemed, in the outward
dealings of his providence towards them, as if he took no notice of their sins,
but connived at them, or took no account of them, and did not take any methods
in his providence to show their folly, and convince them of it, nor discover it
to others, and make them public examples, did not punish them, but let them go
on in them without control; and this Job observes, in order to prove his point,
that wicked men are not always punished in this life.
Job 24:13 13 “There are those who rebel
against the light; They do not know its ways Nor abide in its paths.
YLT
13They have been among
rebellious ones of light, They have not discerned His ways, Nor abode in His
paths.
They are of those that rebel against the light,.... The light
of nature, acting contrary to the dictates of their own consciences, in being
guilty of the inhumanity, barbarity, and cruelty they were chargeable with in
the above instances; or the light of the law, as the Targum; though as yet the
law of the ten commandments was not in being; or however was not known to these
persons; or against God himself, who is light, and in him no darkness at all,
is clothed with it, and is the Father of lights unto his creatures, the Light
of lights, and the Light of the world, from whom all light, natural, spiritual,
and eternal, springs, 1 John 1:5; which
is the sense of most of the Jewish commentatorsF19Aben Ezra, Ben
Gersom, Sephorno, Bar Tzemach. ; and every sin is a rebellion against God, and
betrays the enmity of the carnal mind to him, is an act of hostility against
him, and shows men to be enemies in their minds to him:
they know not the ways thereof; the ways of light, but
prefer the ways of darkness to them; or the ways of God, the ways of his
commandments, which he has prescribed for men, and directed them to walk in;
these they know not, are wilfully ignorant of, desire not the knowledge of
them, and will be at no pains to get any acquaintance with them; or they
approve not of them, they are not pleasing to them, and they choose not to walk
in them:
nor abide in the paths thereof; if at any time they are
got into the paths of light, truth, and righteousness, or in the ways of God's
commandments, and do a few good actions, they do not continue therein, but
quickly go out of the way again, leave the paths of righteousness to walk in
the ways of darkness, Proverbs 2:13. Some
interpreters understand these words entirely of natural light, and of men who
are like owls and bats that flee from the light, who are authors of the works
of darkness, and do what they do in the dark secretly, and hate the light, and
do not choose to come unto it, that their deeds may not be reproved; and so now
Job enters upon the account of another set of men different from the former,
who did what they did openly, in the face of the sun, and before all men; but
these he is now about to describe are such who commit iniquity secretly and
privately, and instances in the murderer adulterer, and thief, in Job 24:14.
Job 24:14 14 The murderer rises with
the light; He kills the poor and needy; And in the night he is like a thief.
YLT
14At the light doth the
murderer rise, He doth slay the poor and needy, And in the night he is as a
thief.
The murderer rising with the light,.... The light of the
morning, before the sun is risen, about the time the early traveller is set out
on his journey, and men go to distant markets to buy and sell goods, and the
poor labourer goes forth to his work; then is the time for one that is used to
commit robbery and murder to rise from his bed, or from his lurking place, in a
cave or a thicket, where he has lain all night, in order to meet with the above
persons: and so
killeth the poor and needy; takes away from them the
little they have, whether money or provisions, and kills them because they have
no more, and that they may not be evidence against him; it may be meant of the
poor saints and people of God, whom the wicked slay out of hatred to them:
and in the night is as a thief; kills privately,
secretly, at an unawares, as the thief does his work; or the "as"
here is not a note of similitude or likeness, but of reality and truth; and so
Mr. Broughton renders the words, "and in the night he will be as a
thief"; in the morning he is a robber on the highway, and a murderer; all
the day he is in his lurking place, in some haunt or another, sleeping or
carousing; and when the night comes on, then he acts the part of a thief; in
the morning he not only robs, but murders, that he may not be detected; at
night he only steals, and not kills, because men are asleep, and see him not.
Job 24:15 15 The eye of the adulterer
waits for the twilight, Saying, ‘No eye will see me’; And he disguises his
face.
YLT
15And the eye of an adulterer
Hath observed the twilight, Saying, `No eye doth behold me.' And he putteth the
face in secret.
The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight,.... Not of
the morning, which would not give him time enough to satiate his lust, but of
the evening, that he may have the whole night before him to gratify his impure
desires, and that these may be indulged in the most private and secret manner;
and having fixed the time in the evening with his adulteress, he waits with
impatience, and earnestly wishes and longs for its coming, and diligently looks
out for the close of day, and takes the first opportunity of the darkness of
the evening to set out on his adventure, see Proverbs 7:7; and
the "eye" is particularly observed, not only because that is the
instrument by which the twilight is discerned, and is industriously employed in
looking out for it, but is full of adultery, as the Apostle Peter expresses it,
2 Peter 2:14; it is
what is the inlet to this sin, the leader on to it, the caterer for it, and the
nourisher, and cherisher of it, see Job 30:1;
saying, no eye shall see me; no eye of man, which
such an one is careful to guard against; and especially the eye of the husband
of the adulteress, whose raging jealousy will not spare the adulterer, but take
revenge on him by an immediate dispatch of him. And few care to have it known
by any that they are guilty of this sin, because it brings dishonour and
reproach upon them, which cannot be wiped off: the fact of Absalom going in to
his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel, 2 Samuel 16:21, and
lying with them in the face of the sun, is the most notorious instance of this
kind to be read; usually both sexes choose the utmost secrecy. Potiphar's wife
took the opportunity to tempt Joseph when none of the men of the house were
within, Genesis 35:10; and
when Amnon intended to force his sister, he ordered all the men to be had out
of the room, 2 Samuel 13:9, and
moreover, the adulterer foolishly fancies that God sees him not, or at least is
not concerned about that; though there is no darkness where such workers of
iniquity can hide themselves from his all seeing eye, the darkness and the
light are both alike to him. These men are like the ostrich, which thrusting
its head into a thicket, as TertullianF20De Virgin, Veland. c. 17.
observes, fancies it is not seen; so children cover their faces, and, because
they see none, think that nobody sees them; and as weak and childish a part do
such act, who imagine that their evil deeds, done in the dark, are not seen by
him, before whom every creature is made manifest, and all things are naked and
open:
and disguiseth his face; puts a mask upon it,
that he may not be known by any he meets, when upon his amorous adventure, as
harlots used to cover themselves with a vail, Genesis 38:14.
Job 24:16 16 In the dark they break
into houses Which they marked for themselves in the daytime; They do not know
the light.
YLT
16He hath dug in the darkness
-- houses; By day they shut themselves up, They have not known light.
In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked
for themselves in the daytime,.... Which some understand of adulterers
last mentioned, who, having observed where beautiful women dwell, mark their
houses, and the way to them, and the best way into them, and in the dark get in
at windows, or by breaking open doors get to the persons they lust after; but
as such steps would be neither safe nor prudent, so they are not necessary;
such sort of persons get admittance in an easier way, either by bribing
servants, or by a previous agreement with the adulteress herself: rather this
is to be understood of the thief and his companions, before spoken of; or
designs another sort of thieves, such as are guilty of burglary, housebreakers,
who in the daytime go about and observe such houses as are full of money,
plate, and rich goods, see Job 3:15; and take
diligent notice of the way to them, and which is the best and easiest part to
get into them, and, perhaps, set on them a private mark that they may know
them; these they break up, the walls, or doors, or windows, and get in at them,
and rob, and plunder, and carry off all they can; the same sins were committed,
and the same methods of committing them were used, formerly as now; there was a
law in Israel concerning housebreaking, Exodus 22:2; and
our Lord alludes to it, Matthew 24:43. Some
render the words, "they seal up" or "shut up themselves in the
day"F21חתמו למו
εσφραγισαν εαυτους,
Sept. "includunt sese", some in Mercerus; so Drusius; "semet
sigillant", Schultens. ; in their caves, and dens, and lurking places, and
do not appear, and scarce ever see the light, and therefore it follows:
they know not the light; it is seldom or ever
seen by them, or they do not approve it, like it, and love it, being not for
their purpose; while it is light they can do nothing, that manifestly discovers
and betrays them, and therefore they hate it; and in a figurative sense they
know not, or do not approve of the light of nature, which checks and controls
such evil actions, and accuses them of them; nor the light of God's word, or
holy law, which forbids them, and therefore they despise it, and cast it away
from them, and will not be subject to it; nor God himself, who is light, and
against whom their carnal minds are enmity; and whatever knowledge they have of
him, or profess to have, in works they deny him, and live without him, as
atheists in the world.
Job 24:17 17 For the morning is the
same to them as the shadow of death; If someone recognizes them, They
are in the terrors of the shadow of death.
YLT
17When together, morning [is]
to them death shade, When he discerneth the terrors of death shade.
For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death,.... It is as
disagreeable, and as hateful, and as terrible to them as the grossest and
thickest darkness can be to others. The word יחדו is
to be rendered either "alike" or "altogether", and not
"even", as in our version: "the morning is to them equally"
or "together"F23Pariter, Pagninus, Montanus, &c. ;
that is, to the murderer, robber, thief, adulterer, and housebreaker, "as
the shadow of death"; alike disagreeable to them all; or "the shadow
of death is to them together" or "alike as the morning";
what the morning is to others, exceeding pleasant and delightful, that to them
is the shadow of death, or the darkest night; they love darkness rather than
light:
if one know them, they are in the terrors of the
shadow of death; they are frightened unto death, they are in as great terror as a
man is to whom death is the king of terrors; and who is sensible of the near
approach of it, the plain and manifest symptoms of it being upon him: this is
the case of the murderer, adulterer, and thief, when they are caught in the
fact; or are known by such who are capable of giving notice of them, detecting
them, and bearing witness against them: or "he", each and everyone of
these, "knows the terrors of the shadow of death"F24יכיר בלהות צלמות
"agnoscit terrores umbrae mortis", Mercerus, Cocceius; so Codurcus,
Schmidt. ; the darkest night, which strikes terrors into others, is known by
them, is delighted in by them, is familiar with them, and friendly to them, and
is as pleasing as the brightest day to others.
Job 24:18 18 “They should be
swift on the face of the waters, Their portion should be cursed in the
earth, So that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards.
YLT
18Light he [is] on the face
of the waters, Vilified is their portion in the earth, He turneth not the way
of vineyards.
He is swift as the waters,.... Or "upon the
face of the waters"F25על פני מים "super faciem
aquarum", Mercerus, Bolducius, Beza, Drusius, Schultens. ; which some
interpret of another set and sort of wicked men, guilty of like crimes, not on
land, but upon the mighty waters; pirates, such that commit robberies upon the
high seas; who generally choose the swiftest vessels to run from place to place
for their prey, and to carry off their booty when pursued; whose manner of life
is detestable to other persons; and especially they are cursed by those on
land, who suffer by robbing the ships of their goods they send abroad; but
these men best like such a manner of life, and prefer it to any thing by land,
to agriculture or cultivation of vineyards, which they have no regard unto, as
is supposed to be intimated by the following clauses; but it is greatly to be
questioned whether there were any such persons, or that such practices obtained
so early as the time of Job. Schultens thinks Sodomites are meant, who are most
profuse to lust, and flow in it like water, plough the accursed field, by going
after strange flesh, and have no regard to lawful marriage, or honest wives,
comparable to vines and vineyards; but I should rather think those guilty of
the sin of Onan are meant, who have no regard to the propagation of posterity.
Others, as Ben Gersom are of opinion that this refers to the above persons,
murderers, adulterers, and thieves, Job 24:14; who,
being conscious of their crimes and due deserts, and in danger of being taken
up, and brought to just punishment, flee to the sea with all the haste they
can, take shipping, and go abroad into foreign parts; where they dwell in
desolate and uncultivated places of the earth, which are cursed, or nigh unto
cursing, and never more see pleasant fields, gardens, orchards, and vineyards:
though others suppose that these words describe the temper and disposition of
such wicked persons, who are unstable as water, carried about as any light
thing upon the water with every wind of temptation, run swiftly into evil, and
make haste to commit sin; though it seems best of all to interpret the words as
respecting the state of wicked men at death, who then pass away swiftly and
suddenly as gliding waters, and are "lighter" or swifter "than
the waters", as Mr. Broughton renders the words:
their portion is cursed in the earth; that part and
portion of the good things of this world they have is with a curse; their very
blessings are cursed, and what they leave behind has a curse entailed on it,
and in process of time is blasted, and comes to nothing; for, the curse of the
Lord is in the house of the wicked, Proverbs 3:33;
he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards; as in their
lifetime they had no regard to the way of good and righteous men, of whom
Jarchi in a mystical sense, interprets the vineyards; so at death they are
taken away from all their worldly enjoyments they set their hearts upon; their
places know them no more, and they no more see their fields, and vineyards, and
oliveyards, and take no more walks unto them nor in them.
Job 24:19 19 As drought and heat
consume the snow waters, So the grave[a] consumes
those who have sinned.
YLT
19Drought -- also heat --
consume snow-waters, Sheol [those who] have sinned.
Drought and heat consume the snow waters,.... Melt the
snow into water, and dry up that, which is done easily, quickly, and suddenly:
so doth the grave those
which have sinned; all have sinned, but some are more notorious sinners than
others, as those here meant; and all die and are laid in the grave, and are
consumed; hence the grave is called the pit of corruption and destruction,
because bodies are corrupted and destroyed in it, and which is the case of all,
both good and bad men; but the metaphor here used to express it by, of the consumption
of snow water by drought and heat, denotes either that the death of these
persons is sudden and violent, and in such a manner are brought to the grave,
consumed there; that they die a sudden death, and before their time, and do not
live out half the days, which, according to the course of nature, they might
have lived, or it was expected by them and others they would; whereas they are
"snatched away", as the word signifies, as suddenly and violently as
snow waters are by the drought and heat; or else that their death is quick,
quiet, and easy, as snow is quickly dissolved, and the water as soon and as
easily dried up by the drought and heat; they do not lie long under torturing
diseases, but are at once taken away, and scarce feel any pain; they die in
their full strength, wholly at ease and quiet; which sense well answers Job's
scope and design, see Job 21:23. Some
render the words, "in the drought and heat they rob, and in the snow
waters"F26ב "deficit"; so
some in Simeon, Bar Tzemach. ; that is, they rob at all times and seasons of
the year, summer and winter; and this is their constant trade and employ; they
are always at it, let the weather be what it will: and "they sin unto the
grave", or "hell"F1שאול חטאו "ad infernum usque peccarunt", Schmidt;
"usque ad sepulchrum", Mercerus; some in Drusius. ; they continue in
their wicked course of life as long as they live, until they are brought to the
grave; they live and die in sin.
Job 24:20 20 The womb should
forget him, The worm should feed sweetly on him; He should be
remembered no more, And wickedness should be broken like a tree.
YLT
20Forget him doth the womb,
Sweeten [on] him doth the worm, No more is he remembered, And broken as a tree
is wickedness.
The womb shall forget him,.... His mother that bore
him; or his wife, by whom he had many children; or his friend, as Gersom, who
had a tender and affectionate respect for him; these all, and each of them,
either because of his wicked life and infamous death, care not to speak of him,
but bury him in oblivion; or because of his quiet and easy death, are not
distressed with it, but soon forget him; unless this is to be understood of the
womb of the earth, in which being buried, he lies forgotten, to which the next
clause agrees; though some interpret it of God himself the word having the
signification of mercyF2רחם
"misericordia", V. L. "miseratio", Montanus, Bolducius; so
Tigurine version, Grotius. ; who, though mercy itself, is rich and abundant in
it, yet has no mercy for, nor shows any favour to, such men; but they lie in
the grave among those whom he remembers no more in a way of grace and favour, Psalm 85:5;
the worm shall feed sweetly on him; for being brought to the
grave at once, without any wasting distemper, is a fine repast for worms, his
breasts being full of milk, and his bones moistened with marrow, and full of
flesh; or "the worm is sweet unto him"F3מתקו "dulcescit ei", Beza, Piscator;
"suavis", Cocceius; so Michaelis, Schultens. ; he feels no pain by
its feeding on him, and so the sense is just the same with that expression,
"the clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him", Job 21:33;
he shall be no more remembered; with any mark of honour
and respect; his memory shall rot with him, while the righteous are had in
everlasting remembrance; or rather dying a common death, and not made a public
example of:
and wickedness shall be broken as a tree; that is,
wicked men, who are wickedness itself, extremely wicked, and are like to a
tree, sometimes flourishing in external prosperity, having an affluence of the
things of this world, and always like barren and unfruitful trees, with respect
to grace and good works; these, when the axe of death is laid to the root of
them, they are cut down, and their substance comes to nothing, and their
families are destroyed, and so they become like trees struck with thunder and
lightning, and broken into ten thousand shivers; or as the trees in Egypt were
broken to pieces by the plague of hail, Exodus 9:25.
Job 24:21 21 For he preys on the barren
who do not bear, And does no good for the widow.
YLT
21Treating evil the barren
[who] beareth not, And [to] the widow he doth no good,
He evil entreateth the barren, that beareth not,.... Here Job
returns, to give some further account of the sins of some wicked men, who
prosper in this world, and go through it with impunity; and speaks of such that
use their wives ill because they are barren, upbraid them with it, and are
churlish to them on account of it; or use them ill that they may be barren, and
bear no children, having no pleasure in them, as not in vineyards, before, Job 24:18; and some
interpret this of deflowering virgins, who never bore children, and of using
methods to make them abortive, when with child; the word we translate
"evil entreateth" sometimes signifies joining to, or being a
companion of others, as in Proverbs 13:20;
hence various senses are given; some, he joins himself to a barren woman, that
he may have no children, being not desirous of any; others, he, joins himself
to, and is a companion of harlots, who are commonly barren: and like the
prodigal, spends his substance among them. Some interpreters take this verse
and Job 24:22; as
expressive of the punishment of wicked men: so Mr. Broughton renders the words,
"he adjoineth the barren"F4רעה עקרה "consociat ei sterilem", Junius &
Tremellius. , and gives the sense of them thus; God sends after him a barren
wife, that he shall have no help by children; but, though a numerous offspring
has been reckoned an outward happiness, and not to have any an infelicity, yet
it has been the case of many good men and women to be childless; wherefore love
and hatred are not known hereby: besides, such a sense is contrary to the scope
and design of Job, which is to prove that wicked men often go unpunished in
this life; wherefore, rather the meaning is, that a wicked man uses ill such,
who having not only lost their husbands, but having been barren, and so
childless, have none to take their part, and to protect and defend them from
the abuses of such men; the Targum renders the word, "he breaketh",
and so some understand itF5Pagninus, Montanus, Bolducius, Piscator,
Mercerus, Drusius. ; he breaketh the barren, tears them to pieces, ruins and
destroys them, as to their outward substance, because they have no children to
help them; with which agrees what follows,
and doth not good to the widow; does not make her glad
and cheerful, as Job did, who made the widow's heart to sing for joy, Job 29:13; does not
relieve and assist her when in distress, either by counsel and advice, or by
administering to her necessities; but, on the contrary, afflicts and oppresses
her; takes her ox, or her raiment, for a pledge, and plunders her house, and
devours the substance of it; for more is intended than is expressed.
Job 24:22 22 “But God draws the
mighty away with His power; He rises up, but no man is sure of life.
YLT
22And hath drawn the mighty
by his power, He riseth, and none believeth in life.
He draweth also the mighty with his power,.... Such a
wicked man not only maltreats the weak, the helpless, and the defenceless, but
even attacks the mighty and powerful; such as are in great power and authority,
and abound in wealth and riches, only somewhat inferior in both to himself:
wherefore, by his superior force, he draws them to be of his party, to join
with him in acts of rapine and violence, oppression and cruelty; or he draws
them by power or policy, or by both, as the wicked man does the poor with his
net, Psalm 10:9; and so
makes a prey of him and his substance. Some understand this of the punishment
of wicked men, and interpret it, as Jarchi does, of God's drawing him to
punishment; God sometimes does indeed draw and hurl the mighty from their
seats; though they are set in high, yet in slippery places, and are brought
down to destruction in a moment; and he will draw them all to his judgment seat
hereafter, whether they will or not, and send them into everlasting punishment;
but the former sense is best:
he riseth up, and no man is sure of life; he rises up
in the morning:, either from his bed, or from his lurking place, where he was
all night with a murdering intention, and no man he meets with is safe, but in
the utmost danger of his life, Job 24:14; or, he
rises in the world to great power and dignity, and increases in wealth and
riches, which he abuses to the hurt of others; so that they flee from him and
hide themselves, not caring to trust their life with him, Proverbs 28:28; or
he riseth up against a man in an hostile way, and against whomsoever he does,
they are in the utmost jeopardy, and cannot be secure of their lives; though
this also is by some interpreted as the punishment of a wicked man, who, when
he rises in the morning, "trusteth not his own life"F6יאמין בחייו "non fidit suae
vitae", Tigurine version, Piscator; so V. L. , as the words may be
rendered, and as they are in the margin of our Bibles; but his life is in
suspense, being surrounded with a thousand dangers, and has no assurance of it,
and is in continual fear, and often fears where no fear is; see Deuteronomy 28:66;
or, if a man rises up against him, the wicked tyrant and cruel oppressor, he
the tyrant is not sure of his life but may be slain by him that rises up
against him; but the former sense is best.
Job 24:23 23 He gives them security,
and they rely on it; Yet His eyes are on their ways.
YLT
23He giveth to him
confidence, and he is supported, And his eyes [are] on their ways.
Though it be given
him to be in safety,.... Or "he gives him"F7יתן לו "dat ei",
Piscator, Mercerus, i.e., Deus, Beza, Drusius, Michaelis. , that is, it is God
gives the wicked man to be in safety, notwithstanding all his wickedness; for
Job, having described the wicked man, now represents him as in the greatest prosperity:
safety is of God in every respect, not only the safety of good men, both in a
way of providence and in a way of grace, but even of bad men; those are often
preserved from the incursions and depredations of others, and their goods are
kept, and they possess them in peace, and they dwell secure and confidently
without care. The Vulgate Latin version is widely different,
"God
gives him place of repentance, and he abuses it to pride;'
though
the Targum somewhat agrees with it,
"he
gives to him repentance, that he may trust, or be confident and be supported:'
so
God gave space to repent to the old world; to whose case some Jewish writers
apply the context, see Genesis 6:3;
whereon he resteth; being in prosperity and safety, he trusts
to it, and depends upon it it will ever be the case; he has much goods laid up
for many years, and therefore sings "requiem" to his soul, saying,
"take thine ease"; tomorrow will be as this day, and much more
abundant; things will always be as they are, or better:
yet his eyes are upon their ways; or, "and
his eyes"F8ועיניהו "et
ejus", Pagninus, Montanus, Bolducius, Beza, Cocceius, Schultens. , that
is, the eyes of God, which are upon all men, good and bad, and upon all their
ways and works; these are upon the wicked man and all his courses; not to
punish him now for his sins; for, though he sees all his wicked actions, not
one escapes his notice, yet he lays not folly to him, nor charges him with it,
nor inflicts punishment on him for it; nay, his eyes are upon him to prosper
and succeed him in all he does; which is the usual sense of the phrase, unless
where there is an explanation, or anything said to show the contrary; see Deuteronomy 11:12.
Some give a different sense of the words, as that such that fear the wicked man
give him gifts, that they may be in safety, in which they trust; or he gives
them his hand, or his word, or both, that they shall be, on which they rely;
but his eyes are upon them, watching their ways and works, to take every
opportunity and advantage against them; but the former is best.
Job 24:24 24 They are exalted for a
little while, Then they are gone. They are brought low; They are taken out of
the way like all others; They dry out like the heads of grain.
YLT
24High they were [for] a
little, and they are not, And they have been brought low. As all [others] they
are shut up, And as the head of an ear of corn cut off.
They are exalted for a little while,.... To seats of honour,
to places of profit and trust, to great wealth and riches, to be highly
esteemed among men, and to have a large affluence of the good things of life;
see Malachi 3:15;
though this exaltation, dignity, and glory, wealth and riches, last but for a
little time, this life at longest being but short, like a vapour that appears,
and soon vanishes away; and then all a man's honours and glory, riches and
substance, are at an end, who is soon cut down as the grass, and withers as the
green herb, Psalm 37:2; but as
this pretty much falls in with the sentiment of Zophar, or seems to do so, Job 20:5; rather
this phrase, "for a little while", may be joined with what follows,
"a little while, and they are gone";
but are gone; out of the world, to their own place, and
death puts an end to all their prosperity, to all their outward enjoyments,
which yet they retain till death: or "they are not"F9ואיננו "et non ipse", Montanus, Bolducius;
"et non sunt", Schultens. ; in the land of the living, in their
houses and shops, and places of trade and commerce; they are no more about
their business, and in their callings of life, nor in the possession of their
worldly estates; the places which knew them know them no more; and this comes
to pass in a very little time; their honour is short lived, and their earthly
portion is not forever:
and brought low; not diminished in their substance in life,
nor lessened in their honour and grandeur, nor are brought into poverty and
disgrace; but are brought at last to death, and laid low in the grave, and are
fed upon by worms, and reduced to rottenness and dust:
they are taken out of the way, as all others; out of the
world, by death, and out of the way of others; who come in their room, and were
hoping for their death, and waiting for their posts of honour, and places of
profit, or for their worldly estates; and out of the way of doing more
mischief, and especially to good men; or they are "closed" or
"shut up"F11יקפצו
"claudentur", Pagninus, Montanus; "clauduntur", Piscator. ;
that is, in the grave, where they lie imprisoned until the resurrection morn,
and out of which prison none can release themselves; nor will they be released,
until Christ, who has the keys of the grave, unlocks it, and sets the prisoners
free; but then all this is no other than what befalls the rest of mankind; all
die, and must die, and all are brought to the grave, and laid in that, and shut
up in it, which is the house appointed for all living:
and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn; when they are
fully ripe at harvest time; it being usual in some places, as I have somewhere
read, when they gather their corn, only to cut off the ears of corn at the top,
which is very easily and quickly done; and so this may denote the quiet and
easy death of wicked men, and when they are come to a full age, and are like a
shock of corn in its season, Job 5:26.
Job 24:25 25 “Now if it is not so,
who will prove me a liar, And make my speech worth nothing?”
YLT
25And if not now, who doth
prove me a liar, And doth make of nothing my word?
And if it be not so now,.... If this
is not the case of men of such wicked lives as above described, do not prosper
in the world, and increase in riches, and do not pass through the world with
impunity, and die quietly, in the full possession of their honour and wealth:
who will make me a liar? where is the man? let
him stand forth and appear, and disprove what has been said, and make out the
doctrine delivered to be false doctrine, and a lie; for no lie is of the truth:
and make my speech nothing worth; vain, useless, and
unprofitable; truth is valuable, like gold, silver and precious stones; but
error is as wood, hay, and stubble, and nothing worth, yea, to be detested and
rejected: or let him make what I have said to stand "for nothing"F12לאל "ad nihilum", Pagninus, Montanus; so Junius
& Tremellius, Piscator, Mercerus, Cocceius, Michaelis, Schultens. ; let him
show, if he can, that it is impertinent, and not to the purpose, that it does
not prove the point for which it is brought: thus Job was willing to have what
he had said tried by every method that could be made use of, that it might
appear whether what he had said was true or false, worthy to be regarded, or
worthless; and he here bids defiance to his friends, or to any other, and
triumphs over them, as having gained his point; and, as it appears by the
sequel, he had, at least in a great measure, and however with respect to this
matter, that good men are afflicted in this life, and wicked men prosper; of
which there are many instances,
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)