1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
2 Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste.
3 I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer.
4 Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,
5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?
6 Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;
7 Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?
8 He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.
9 The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him.
10 His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.
11 His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.
12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;
13 Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth:
14 Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.
15 He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.
16 He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall slay him.
17 He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.
18 That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.
19 Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;
20 Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired.
21 There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.
22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.
23 When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.
24 He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through.
25 It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him.
26 All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.
27 The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.
28 The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.
29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.
1 Then answered H6030 Zophar H6691 the Naamathite, H5284 and said, H559
2 Therefore do my thoughts H5587 cause me to answer, H7725 and for this I make haste. H2363
3 I have heard H8085 the check H4148 of my reproach, H3639 and the spirit H7307 of my understanding H998 causeth me to answer. H6030
4 Knowest H3045 thou not this of old, H5703 since man H120 was placed H7760 upon earth, H776
5 That the triumphing H7445 of the wicked H7563 is short, H7138 and the joy H8057 of the hypocrite H2611 but for a moment? H7281
6 Though his excellency H7863 mount up H5927 to the heavens, H8064 and his head H7218 reach H5060 unto the clouds; H5645
7 Yet he shall perish H6 for ever H5331 like his own dung: H1561 they which have seen H7200 him shall say, H559 Where H335 is he?
8 He shall fly away H5774 as a dream, H2472 and shall not be found: H4672 yea, he shall be chased away H5074 as a vision H2384 of the night. H3915
9 The eye H5869 also which saw H7805 him shall see him no more; H3254 neither shall his place H4725 any more behold H7789 him.
10 His children H1121 shall seek to please H7521 the poor, H1800 and his hands H3027 shall restore H7725 their goods. H202
11 His bones H6106 are full H4390 of the sin of his youth, H5934 which shall lie down H7901 with him in the dust. H6083
12 Though wickedness H7451 be sweet H4985 in his mouth, H6310 though he hide H3582 it under his tongue; H3956
13 Though he spare H2550 it, and forsake H5800 it not; but keep it still H4513 within H8432 his mouth: H2441
14 Yet his meat H3899 in his bowels H4578 is turned, H2015 it is the gall H4846 of asps H6620 within H7130 him.
15 He hath swallowed down H1104 riches, H2428 and he shall vomit them up again: H6958 God H410 shall cast them out H3423 of his belly. H990
16 He shall suck H3243 the poison H7219 of asps: H6620 the viper's H660 tongue H3956 shall slay H2026 him.
17 He shall not see H7200 the rivers, H6390 the floods, H5104 the brooks H5158 of honey H1706 and butter. H2529
18 That which he laboured H3022 for shall he restore, H7725 and shall not swallow it down: H1104 according to his substance H2428 shall the restitution H8545 be, and he shall not rejoice H5965 therein.
19 Because he hath oppressed H7533 and hath forsaken H5800 the poor; H1800 because he hath violently taken away H1497 an house H1004 which he builded H1129 not;
20 Surely he shall not feel H3045 quietness H7961 in his belly, H990 he shall not save H4422 of that which he desired. H2530
21 There shall none of his meat H400 be left; H8300 therefore shall no man look H2342 for his goods. H2898
22 In the fulness H4390 H4390 of his sufficiency H5607 he shall be in straits: H3334 every hand H3027 of the wicked H6001 shall come H935 upon him.
23 When he is about to fill H4390 his belly, H990 God shall cast H7971 the fury H2740 of his wrath H639 upon him, and shall rain H4305 it upon him while he is eating. H3894
24 He shall flee H1272 from the iron H1270 weapon, H5402 and the bow H7198 of steel H5154 shall strike him through. H2498
25 It is drawn, H8025 and cometh out H3318 of the body; H1465 yea, the glittering sword H1300 cometh out H1980 of his gall: H4846 terrors H367 are upon him.
26 All darkness H2822 shall be hid H2934 in his secret places: H6845 a fire H784 not blown H5301 shall consume H398 him; it shall go ill H3415 with him that is left H8300 in his tabernacle. H168
27 The heaven H8064 shall reveal H1540 his iniquity; H5771 and the earth H776 shall rise up H6965 against him.
28 The increase H2981 of his house H1004 shall depart, H1540 and his goods shall flow away H5064 in the day H3117 of his wrath. H639
29 This is the portion H2506 of a wicked H7563 man H120 from God, H430 and the heritage H5159 appointed H561 unto him by God. H410
1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
2 Therefore do my thoughts give answer to me, Even by reason of my haste that is in me.
3 I have heard the reproof which putteth me to shame; And the spirit of my understanding answereth me.
4 Knowest thou `not' this of old time, Since man was placed upon earth,
5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the godless but for a moment?
6 Though his height mount up to the heavens, And his head reach unto the clouds;
7 Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: They that have seen him shall say, Where is he?
8 He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: Yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.
9 The eye which saw him shall see him no more; Neither shall his place any more behold him.
10 His children shall seek the favor of the poor, And his hands shall give back his wealth.
11 His bones are full of his youth, But it shall lie down with him in the dust.
12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, Though he hide it under his tongue,
13 Though he spare it, and will not let it go, But keep it still within his mouth;
14 Yet his food in his bowels is turned, It is the gall of asps within him.
15 He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again; God will cast them out of his belly.
16 He shall suck the poison of asps: The viper's tongue shall slay him.
17 He shall not look upon the rivers, The flowing streams of honey and butter.
18 That which he labored for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down; According to the substance that he hath gotten, he shall not rejoice.
19 For he hath oppressed and forsaken the poor; He hath violently taken away a house, and he shall not build it up.
20 Because he knew no quietness within him, He shall not save aught of that wherein he delighteth.
21 There was nothing left that he devoured not; Therefore his prosperity shall not endure.
22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: The hand of every one that is in misery shall come upon him.
23 When he is about to fill his belly, `God' will cast the fierceness of his wrath upon him, And will rain it upon him while he is eating.
24 He shall flee from the iron weapon, And the bow of brass shall strike him through.
25 He draweth it forth, and it cometh out of his body; Yea, the glittering point cometh out of his gall: Terrors are upon him.
26 All darkness is laid up for his treasures: A fire not blown `by man' shall devour him; It shall consume that which is left in his tent.
27 The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, And the earth shall rise up against him.
28 The increase of his house shall depart; `His goods' shall flow away in the day of his wrath.
29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, And the heritage appointed unto him by God.
1 And Zophar the Naamathite answereth and saith: --
2 Therefore my thoughts cause me to answer, And because of my sensations in me.
3 The chastisement of my shame I hear, And the spirit of mine understanding Doth cause me to answer:
4 This hast thou known from antiquity? Since the placing of man on earth?
5 That the singing of the wicked `is' short, And the joy of the profane for a moment,
6 Though his excellency go up to the heavens, And his head against a cloud he strike --
7 As his own dung for ever he doth perish, His beholders say: `Where `is' he?'
8 As a dream he fleeth, and they find him not, And he is driven away as a vision of the night,
9 The eye hath not seen him, and addeth not. And not again doth his place behold him.
10 His sons do the poor oppress, And his hands give back his wealth.
11 His bones have been full of his youth, And with him on the dust it lieth down.
12 Though he doth sweeten evil in his mouth, Doth hide it under his tongue,
13 Hath pity on it, and doth not forsake it, And keep it back in the midst of his palate,
14 His food in his bowels is turned, The bitterness of asps `is' in his heart.
15 Wealth he hath swallowed, and doth vomit it. From his belly God driveth it out.
16 Gall of asps he sucketh, Slay him doth the tongue of a viper.
17 He looketh not on rivulets, Flowing of brooks of honey and butter.
18 He is giving back `what' he laboured for, And doth not consume `it'; As a bulwark `is' his exchange, and he exults not.
19 For he oppressed -- he forsook the poor, A house he hath taken violently away, And he doth not build it.
20 For he hath not known ease in his belly. With his desirable thing he delivereth not himself.
21 There is not a remnant to his food, Therefore his good doth not stay.
22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he is straitened. Every perverse hand doth meet him.
23 It cometh to pass, at the filling of his belly, He sendeth forth against him The fierceness of His anger, Yea, He raineth on him in his eating.
24 He fleeth from an iron weapon, Pass through him doth a bow of brass.
25 One hath drawn, And it cometh out from the body, And a glittering weapon from his gall proceedeth. On him `are' terrors.
26 All darkness is hid for his treasures, Consume him doth a fire not blown, Broken is the remnant in his tent.
27 Reveal do the heavens his iniquity, And earth is raising itself against him.
28 Remove doth the increase of his house, Poured forth in a day of His anger.
29 This `is' the portion of a wicked man from God. And an inheritance appointed him by God.
1 And Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,
2 Therefore do my thoughts give me an answer, and for this is my haste within me.
3 I hear a reproof putting me to shame; and [my] spirit answereth me by mine understanding.
4 Knowest thou [not] this, that of old, since man was placed upon earth,
5 The exultation of the wicked is short, and the joy of the ungodly man but for a moment?
6 Though his height mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds,
7 Like his own dung doth he perish for ever; they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?
8 He flieth away as a dream, and is not found; and is chased away as a vision of the night.
9 The eye which saw him shall [see him] not again; and his place beholdeth him no more.
10 His children shall seek the favour of the poor, and his hands restore his wealth.
11 His bones were full of his youthful strength; but it shall lie down with him in the dust.
12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth [and] he hide it under his tongue,
13 [Though] he spare it, and forsake it not, but keep it within his mouth,
14 His food is turned in his bowels; it is the gall of asps within him.
15 He hath swallowed down riches, but he shall vomit them up again: ùGod shall cast them out of his belly.
16 He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall kill him.
17 He shall not see streams, rivers, brooks of honey and butter.
18 That which he laboured for shall he restore, and not swallow down; its restitution shall be according to the value, and he shall not rejoice [therein].
19 For he hath oppressed, hath forsaken the poor; he hath violently taken away a house that he did not build.
20 Because he knew no rest in his craving, he shall save nought of what he most desired.
21 Nothing escaped his greediness; therefore his prosperity shall not endure.
22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits; every hand of the wretched shall come upon him.
23 It shall be that, to fill his belly, he will cast his fierce anger upon him, and will rain it upon him into his flesh.
24 If he have fled from the iron weapon, the bow of brass shall strike him through.
25 He draweth it forth; it cometh out of his body, and the glittering point out of his gall: terrors are upon him.
26 All darkness is laid up for his treasures: a fire not blown shall devour him; it shall feed upon what is left in his tent.
27 The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, and the earth shall rise up against him.
28 The increase of his house shall depart, flowing away in the day of his anger.
29 This is the portion of the wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed to him by ùGod.
1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered,
2 "Therefore do my thoughts give answer to me, Even by reason of my haste that is in me.
3 I have heard the reproof which puts me to shame; The spirit of my understanding answers me.
4 Don't you know this from old time, Since man was placed on earth,
5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, The joy of the godless but for a moment?
6 Though his height mount up to the heavens, And his head reach to the clouds,
7 Yet he shall perish forever like his own dung, Those who have seen him shall say, 'Where is he?'
8 He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: Yes, he shall be chased away like a vision of the night.
9 The eye which saw him shall see him no more, Neither shall his place any more see him.
10 His children shall seek the favor of the poor. His hands shall give back his wealth.
11 His bones are full of his youth, But youth shall lie down with him in the dust.
12 "Though wickedness is sweet in his mouth, Though he hide it under his tongue,
13 Though he spare it, and will not let it go, But keep it still within his mouth;
14 Yet his food in his bowels is turned. It is cobra venom within him.
15 He has swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again. God will cast them out of his belly.
16 He shall suck cobra venom. The viper's tongue shall kill him.
17 He shall not look at the rivers, The flowing streams of honey and butter.
18 That for which he labored he shall restore, and shall not swallow it down; According to the substance that he has gotten, he shall not rejoice.
19 For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor. He has violently taken away a house, and he shall not build it up.
20 "Because he knew no quietness within him, He shall not save anything of that in which he delights.
21 There was nothing left that he didn't devour, Therefore his prosperity shall not endure.
22 In the fullness of his sufficiency, distress shall overtake him: The hand of everyone who is in misery shall come on him.
23 When he is about to fill his belly, God will cast the fierceness of his wrath on him. It will rain on him while he is eating.
24 He shall flee from the iron weapon. The bronze arrow shall strike him through.
25 He draws it forth, and it comes out of his body. Yes, the glittering point comes out of his liver. Terrors are on him.
26 All darkness is laid up for his treasures. An unfanned fire shall devour him. It shall consume that which is left in his tent.
27 The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, The earth shall rise up against him.
28 The increase of his house shall depart; They shall rush away in the day of his wrath.
29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, The heritage appointed to him by God."
1 Then Zophar the Naamathite made answer and said,
2 For this cause my thoughts are troubling me and driving me on.
3 I have to give ear to arguments which put me to shame, and your answers to me are wind without wisdom.
4 Have you knowledge of this from early times, when man was placed on the earth,
5 That the pride of the sinner is short, and the joy of the evil-doer but for a minute?
6 Though he is lifted up to the heavens, and his head goes up to the clouds;
7 Like the waste from his body he comes to an end for ever: those who have seen him say, Where is he?
8 He is gone like a dream, and is not seen again; he goes in flight like a vision of the night.
9 The eye which saw him sees him no longer; and his place has no more knowledge of him.
10 His children are hoping that the poor will be kind to them, and his hands give back his wealth.
11 His bones are full of young strength, but it will go down with him into the dust.
12 Though evil-doing is sweet in his mouth, and he keeps it secretly under his tongue;
13 Though he takes care of it, and does not let it go, but keeps it still in his mouth;
14 His food becomes bitter in his stomach; the poison of snakes is inside him.
15 He takes down wealth as food, and sends it up again; it is forced out of his stomach by God.
16 He takes the poison of snakes into his mouth, the tongue of the snake is the cause of his death.
17 Let him not see the rivers of oil, the streams of honey and milk.
18 He is forced to give back the fruit of his work, and may not take it for food; he has no joy in the profit of his trading.
19 Because he has been cruel to the poor, turning away from them in their trouble; because he has taken a house by force which he did not put up;
20 There is no peace for him in his wealth, and no salvation for him in those things in which he took delight.
21 He had never enough for his desire; for this cause his well-being will quickly come to an end.
22 Even when his wealth is great, he is full of care, for the hand of everyone who is in trouble is turned against him.
23 God gives him his desire, and sends the heat of his wrath on him, making it come down on him like rain.
24 He may go in flight from the iron spear, but the arrow from the bow of brass will go through him;
25 He is pulling it out, and it comes out of his back; and its shining point comes out of his side; he is overcome by fears.
26 All his wealth is stored up for the dark: a fire not made by man sends destruction on him, and on everything in his tent.
27 The heavens make clear his sin, and the earth gives witness against him.
28 The produce of his house is taken away into another country, like things given into the hands of others in the day of wrath.
29 This is the reward of the evil man, and the heritage given to him by God.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Job 20
Commentary on Job 20 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
1 Then began Zophar the Naamathite, and said:
2 Therefore do my thoughts furnish me with a reply,
And indeed by reason of my feeling within me.
3 The correction of my reproach I must hear,
Nevertheless the spirit of my understanding informeth me.
4 Knowest thou this which is from everlasting,
Since man was placed upon the earth:
5 That the triumphing of the evil-doer is not long,
And the joy of the godless is but for a moment?
All modern expositors take Job 20:2 as an apology for the opposition which follows, and the majority of them consider בּעבוּר as elliptical for בעבור זאת , as Tremell., Piscator, and others have done, partly (but wrongly) by referring to the Rebia mugrasch . Ewald observes: “ בעבור stands without addition, because this is easily understood from the כן in לכן .” But although this ellipsis is not inadmissible (comp. לכן = לכן אשׁר , Job 34:25; כעל , Isaiah 59:18), in spite of it Job 20:2 furnishes no meaning that can be accepted. Most expositors translate: ”and hence the storm within me” (thus e.g., Ewald); but the signification perturbatio animi , proposed by Schultens for חוּשׁי , after the Arab. ḥâš , is too remote from the usage of Hebrew. Moreover, this Arab. ḥâš signifies prop. to scare, hunt, of game; not, however: to be agitated, to storm, - a signification which even the corresponding Hebr. חוּשׁ , properare , does not support. Only a few expositors (as Umbreit, who translates: because of my storm within me) take בעבור (which occurs only this once in the book of Job) as praepos., as it must be taken in consideration of the infin. which follows (comp. Exodus 9:16; Exodus 20:20; 1 Samuel 1:6; 2 Samuel 10:3). Further, לכן (only by Umbreit translated by “yet,” after the Arab. lâkin , lâkinna , which it never signifies in Hebr., where ל is not = לא , but = ל with Kametz before the tone) with that which follows is referred by several expositors to the preceding speech of Job, e.g., Hahn: “under such circumstances, if thou behavest thus;” by most, however, it is referred to Job 20:3, e.g., Ew.: ” On this account he feels called upon by his thoughts to answer, and hence his inward impulse leaves him no rest: because he hears from Job a contemptuous wounding reproof of himself.” In other words: in consequence of the reproach which Job casts upon him, especially with his threat of judgment, Zophar's mind and feelings fall into a state of excitement, and give him an answer to which he now gives utterance. This prospective sense of לכן may at any rate be retained, though בעבור is taken as a preposition (wherefore ... and indeed on account of my inward commotion); but it is far more natural that the beginning of Zophar's speech should be connected with the last word of Job's. Job 20:2 may really be so understood if we connect חושׁי , not with Arab. ḥâš , חושׁ , to excite, to make haste (after which also Saad. and Aben-Ezra: on account of my inward hastening or urging), but with Arab. ḥs , to feel; in this meaning chsh is usual in all the Semitic dialects, and is even biblical also; for Ecclesiastes 2:25 is to be translated: who hath feeling (pleasure) except from Him (read ממנו )? i.e., even in pleasure man is not free, but has conditions fixed by God.
With לכן (used as in Job 42:3) Zophar draws an inference from Job's conduct, esp. from the turn which his last speech has taken, which, as ישׁיבוּני שׂעיפּי
(Note: Thus it is to be read according to the Masoretic note, ומלא לית (i.e., plene , as nowhere else), which occurs in Codd., as is also attested by Kimchi in his Gramm., Moznajim , p. 8; Aben-Ezra in his Gramm., Zachoth 1, b ; and the punctuator Jekuthiël, in his Darche ha-Nikkud (chapter on the letters יהוא ).)
affirms, urges him involuntarily and irresistibly forward, and indeed, as he adds with Waw explic.: on account of the power of feeling dwelling in him, by which he means both his sense of truth and his moral feeling, in general the capacity of direct perception, not perception that is only attained after long reflection. On שׂעיפי , of thoughts which, as it were, branch out, vid., on Job 4:13, and Psychol . S. 181. השׁיב signifies, as everywhere, to answer, not causative, to compel to answer. חוּשׁי is n. actionis in the sense of רגישׁתּי (Targ.), or הרגישׁי (Ralbag), which also signifies “my feeling ( αἴσθησις ),” and the combination חושׁי בי is like Job 4:21; Job 6:13. Wherein the inference consists in self-evident, and proceeds from Job 20:4. In Job 20:3 expression is given to the ground of the conclusion intended in לכן : the chastisement of my dishonour, i.e., which tends to my dishonour (comp. Isaiah 53:5, chastisement which conduces to our peace), I must hear (comp. on this modal signification of the future, e.g., Job 17:2); and in Job 20:3 Zophar repeats what he has said in Job 20:2, only somewhat differently applied: the spirit, this inner light (vid., Job 32:8; Psychol . S. 154, f ), answers him from the perception which is peculiar to himself, i.e., out of the fulness of this perception it furnishes him with information as to what is to be thought of Job with his insulting attacks, viz., (this is the substance of the השׁיב of the thoughts, and of the ענות of the spirit), that in this conduct of Job only his godlessness is manifest. This is what he warningly brings against him, Job 20:4 : knowest thou indeed (which, according to Job 41:1; 1 Kings 21:19, sarcastically is equivalent to: thou surely knowest, or in astonishment: what dost thou not know?!) this from the beginning, i.e., this law, which has been in operation from time immemorial (or as Ew.: hoccine scis aeternum esse , so that מני־עד is not a virtual adj., but virtual predicate-acc.), since man was placed ( שׂים infin., therefore prop., since one has placed man) upon the earth (comp. the model passage, Deuteronomy 4:32), that the exulting of the wicked is מקּרוב , from near, i.e., not extending far, enduring only a short time (Arab. qrı̂b often directly signifies brevis ); and the joy of the godless עדי־רגע , only for a moment, and continuing no longer?
6 If his aspiration riseth to the heavens,
And he causeth his head to touch the clouds:
7 Like his dung he perisheth for ever;
Those who see him say: Where is he?
8 As a dream he flieth away, and they cannot find him;
And he is scared away as a vision of the night.
9 The eye hath seen him, and never again,
And his place beholdeth him no more.
10 His children must appease the poor,
And his hands give up his wealth.
11 His bones were full of youthful vigour;
Now it is laid down with him in the dust.
If the exaltation of the evil-doer rises to heaven, and he causes his head to reach to the clouds, i.e., to touch the clouds, he notwithstanding perishes like his own dung. We are here reminded of what Obadiah, Job 20:4, says of Edom, and Isaiah, Isaiah 14:13-15, says of the king of Babylon. שׂיא is equivalent to נשׂיא , like שׂוא , Psalms 89:10 = נשׂוא ; the first weak radical is cast away, as in כּילי = נכילי , fraudulentus , machinator , Isaiah 32:5, and according to Olsh. in שׁיבה = ישׁיבה , 2 Samuel 19:33. הגּיע is to be understood as causative (at least this is the most natural) in the same manner as in Isaiah 25:12, and freq. It is unnecessary, with Ew., Hirz., and Hlgst., after Schultens, to transl. כגללו , Job 20:7 , according to the Arab. jlâl (whence the name Gelâl-ed-dîn ): secundum majestatem suam , or with Reiske to read בגללו , in magnificentia sua , and it is very hazardous, since the Hebrew גלל has not the meaning of Arab. jll , illustrem esse . Even Schultens, in his Commentary , has retracted the explanation commended in his Animadv., and maintained the correctness of the translation, sicut stercus suum (Jer. sicut sterquilinium ), which is also favoured by the similar figurative words in 1 Kings 14:10 : as one burneth up (not: brushes away) dung ( הגּלל ), probably cow-dung as fuel, until it is completely gone. גּללו (or גּללו with an audible Shevâ ) may be derived from גּלל , but the analogy of צללו favours the primary form גּל (Ew. §255, b ); on no account is it גּלל . The word is not low, as Ezekiel 4:12, comp. Zephaniah 1:17, shows, and the figure, though revolting, is still very expressive; and how the fulfilment is to be thought of may be seen from an example from 2 Kings 9:37, according to which, “as dung upon the face of the field shall it be, so that they cannot say: this is Jezebel.”
(Note: In Arabic, gille ( גּלּה ) and gelle ( גּלּה ) is the usual and preferred fuel (hence used as synon. of hhattab ) formed of the dung of cows, and not indeed yoke-oxen ( baqar 'ammâle ), because they have more solid fodder, which produces no material for the gelle, but from cattle that pasture in the open fields ( baqar bat.tâle ), which are almost entirely milking cows. This dung is collected by women and children in the spring from the pastures as perfectly dry cakes, which have the green colour of the grass. Every husbandman knows that this kind of dung - the product of a rapid, one might say merely half, digestion, even when fresh, but especially when dry - is perfectly free from smell. What is collected is brought in baskets to the forming or pressing place ( mattba'a , מטבּעה ), where it is crumbled, then with water made into a thick mass, and, having been mixed with chopped straw, is formed by the women with the hand into round cakes, about a span across, and three fingers thick. They resemble the tanners' tan-cakes, only they are not square. Since this compound has the form of a loaf it is called qurss (which also signifies a loaf of bread); and since a definite form is given to it by the hand, it is called ttabu' ( טבּוּע ), collective ttêbâbi' , which צפוּעי ( צפיעי ), Ezekiel 4:15, resembles in meaning; for ssaf' , צפע (cogn. ssafhh , צפח ), signifies to beat anything with the palm of the hand. First spread out, then later on piled up, the gelle lies the whole summer in the mattba'a . The domes ( qubeb ) are not formed until a month before the rainy season, i.e., a circular structure is built up of the cakes skilfully placed one upon another like bricks; it is made from six to eight yards high, gradually narrowed and finished with a vaulted dome, whence this structure has its name, qubbe ( קבּה ). Below it measures about eight or ten paces, it is always hollow, and is filled from beneath by means of an opening which serves as a door. The outside of the qubbe is plastered over with a thick solution of dung; and this coating, when once dried in the sun, entirely protects the building, which is both storehouse and store, against the winter rains. When they begin to use the fuel, they take from the inside first by means of the doorway, and afterwards (by which time the heavy rains are over) they use up the building itself, removing the upper part first by means of a ladder. By the summer the qubbe has disappeared. Many large households have three or four of these stores. Where walled-in courts are spacious, as is generally the case, they stand within; where not, outside. The communities bordering on the desert, and exposed to attacks from the Arabs, place them close round their villages, which gives them a peculiar appearance. When attacked, the herds are driven behind these buildings, and the peasants make their appearance between them with their javelins. Seetzen reckons the gelle among the seven characteristics of the district of Haurân ( Basan ).
It appears that Ezekiel 4:12. - where the prophet is allowed the usual cow-dung, the flame of which has no smell whatever, and its ashes, which smoulder for a long time, are as clean as wood ashes, instead of the cakes ( גּללי ) of human dung - is to be explained according to this custom. My fellow-travellers have frequently roasted mushrooms ( futtr ) and truffles ( faq' , פּקע ) in the early spring in the glowing ashes of the gelle . On the other hand, it would be an error to infer from this passage that the Semites made use of human dung for fuel; the Semites (including the Nomads) are the most scrupulously particular people respecting cleanliness. According to the above, Zephaniah 1:17 may be explained: “their flesh shall become like dung,” i.e., be burned or destroyed like dung. And also we understand the above passage in the book of Job, “as his heap of dung-cakes shall he be consumed away,” exactly like 1 Kings 14:10 : “I will burn (take away) the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man burneth the dung-cakes until they are consumed,” The suff. in כּגללו refers to the habitation of the evil-doer, above whose grovelling joy the high dome of the dung-cakes rises, which, before one becomes aware of it, has disappeared; and throughout the description of the sudden destruction of the evil-doer, 1 Kings 14:8, 1 Kings 14:9, the reader must keep the figure of this dome and its disappearing before his mind. If it be objected that by such a rendering כּגלליו would be expected, 1 Kings 14:10 shows that גּלל ( גּל ) was also used as a collective, and the Arabic gelle is never used in any other way, which is the more remarkable, as one from the first regards its termination as the “Arab. t of unity.” My attendants on my journey from Damascus (where there is no gelle , and consequently the word is not used) always took it so, and formed the plural gellât and the collective gilel , and were always laughed at and corrected: say Arab. aqrâts jllt or tbâbî' jllt! - Wetzst.)
The continuation here, Job 20:7 , is just the same: they who saw him ( partic. of what is past, Ges. §134, 1) say: where is he? As a dream he flieth away, so that he is not found, and is scared away ( ידּד Hoph., not ידּד Kal ) as a vision of the night ( חזּיון everywhere in the book of Job instead of חזון , from which it perhaps differs, as visum from visio ), which one banishes on waking as a trick of his fancy (comp. Psalms 73:20; Isaiah 29:7.). Eyes looked upon him ( שׁזף only in the book of Job in this signification of a fixed scorching look, cogn. שׁדף , adurere , as is manifest from Song of Solomon 1:6), and do it no more; and his place ( מקומו construed as fem., as Genesis 18:24; 2 Samuel 17:12, Cheth .) shall not henceforth regard him ( שׁוּר , especially frequent in the book of Job, prop. to go about, cogn. תור , then to look about one). The futt . here everywhere describe what shall meet the evil-doer. Therefore Ewald's transl., “his fists smote down the weak,” cannot be received. Moreover, חפניו , which must then be read instead of בּנין , does not occur elsewhere in this athletic signification; and it is quite unnecessary to derive ירצּוּ from a רצּה = רצּץ (to crush, to hurl to the ground), or to change it to ירצּוּ (Schnurrer) or ירצּצוּ (Olsh.); for although the thought, filios ejus vexabunt egeni (lxx according to the reading θλάσειαν , and Targ. according to the reading ירעעוּן ), is not unsuitable for Job 20:10 , a sense more natural in connection with the position of bnyw, and still more pleasing, is gained if רצּה is taken in the usual signification: to conciliate, appease, as the Targ. according to the reading ירעוּן (Peschito-word for ἀποκαταλλάσσειν ), and Ges., Vaih., Schlottm., and others, after Aben-Ezra, Ralbag, Merc.: filii ejus placabunt tenues, quos scilicet eorum pater diripuerat, vel eo inopiae adigentur, ut pauperibus sese adjungere et ab illis inire gratiam cognantur. Its retributive relation to Job 20:19 is also retained by this rendering. The children of the unfeeling oppressor of the poor will be obliged, when the tyrant is dead, to conciliate the destitute; and his hands, by means of his children, will be obliged to give back his property, i.e., to those whom his covetousness had brought to beggary ( און , exertion, strength, Job 18:7, then as hown, and synon. חיל , wealth, prob. from the radical meaning to breathe, which is differently applied in the Arabic aun , rest, and haun , lightness). Carey thinks that the description is retrospective: even he himself, in his lifetime, which, however, does not commend itself, since here it is throughout the deceased who is spoken of. As in Job 20:9, so now in Job 20:11 also, perf . and fut . interchange, the former of the past, the latter of the future. Jerome, by an amalgamation of two distinct radical significations, translates: ossa ejus implebuntur (it should be impleta erant ) vitiis adolescentiae ejus , which is to be rejected, because עלוּם , Psalms 90:8, is indeed intended of secret sin, but signifies generally that which is secret (veiled). On the contrary, עלוּמים , Job 33:25, certainly signifies adolescentia (Arab. gulûmat ), and is accordingly, after lxx, Targ., and Syr., to be translated: his bones were full of youthful vigour. In Job 20:11 , תּשׁכּב , as Job 14:19, can refer to the purely plural עצמותיו , but the predicate belonging to it would then be plur. in Job 20:11 , and sing. in Job 20:11 ; on which account the reference to עלוּמו , which is in itself far more suitable, is to be preferred (Hirz., Schlottm.): his youthful vigour, on which he relied, lies with him in the dust (of the grave).
12 If wickedness tasted sweet in his mouth,
He hid it under his tongue;
13 He carefully cherished it and did not let it go,
And retained it in his palate:
14 His bread is now changed in his bowels,
It is the gall of vipers within him.
15 He hath swallowed down riches and now he spitteth them out,
God shall drive them out of his belly.
16 He sucked in the poison of vipers,
The tongue of the adder slayeth him.
The evil-doer is, in Job 20:12, likened to an epicure; he keeps hold of wickedness as long as possible, like a delicate morsel that is retained in the mouth (Renan: comme un bonbon qu'on laisse fondre dans la bouche ), and seeks to enjoy it to the very last. המתּיק , to make sweet, has here the intransitive signification dulcescere , Ew. §122, c . הכחיד , to remove from sight, signifies elsewhere to destroy, here to conceal (as the Piel , Job 6:10; Job 15:18). חמל , to spare, is construed with על , which is usual with verbs of covering and protecting. The conclusion of the hypothetical antecedent clauses begins with Job 20:14; the perf . נהפּך (with Kametz by Athnach ) describes the suddenness of the change; the מרורת which follows is not equivalent to למרורת (Luther: His food shall be turned to adder's gall in his body ), but Job 20:14 expresses the result of the change in a substantival clause. The bitter and poisonous are synonymous in the ancient languages; hence we find the meanings poison and gall (Job 20:25) in מררה , and ראשׁ signifies both a poisonous plant which is known by its bitterness, and the poison of plants like to the poison of serpents (Job 20:16; Deuteronomy 32:33). חיל (Job 20:15) is property, without the accompanying notion of forcible acquisition (Hirz.), which, on the contrary, is indicated by the בּלע . The following fut. consec. is here not aor., but expressive of the inevitable result which the performance of an act assuredly brings: he must vomit back the property which he has swallowed down; God casts it out of his belly, i.e., (which is implied in בּלע , expellere ) forcibly, and therefore as by the pains of colic. The lxx, according to whose taste the mention of God here was contrary to decorum, trans. ἐξ οἰκίας (read κοιλίας , according to Cod. Alex. ) αὐτοῦ ἐξελκύσει αὐτὸν ἄγγελος (Theod. δυνάστης ). The perf., Job 20:15 , is in Job 20:16 changed into the imperf. fut. יינק , which more strongly represents the past action as that which has gone before what is now described; and the ασυνδέτως , fut. which follows, describes the consequence which is necessarily and directly involved in it. Psalms 140:4 may be compared with Job 20:16 , Proverbs 23:32 with Job 20:16 . He who sucked in the poison of low desire with a relish, will meet his punishment in that in which he sinned: he is destroyed by the poisonous deadly bite of the serpent, for the punishment of sin is fundamentally nothing but the nature of sin itself brought fully out.
17 He shall not delight himself in streams,
Like to rivers and brooks of honey and cream.
18 Giving back that for which he laboured, he shall not swallow it;
He shall not rejoice according to the riches he hath gotten.
19 Because he cast down, let the destitute lie helpless;
He shall not, in case he hath seized a house, finish building it.
20 Because he knew no rest in his craving,
He shall not be able to rescue himself with what he most loveth.
As poets sing of the aurea aetas of the paradise-like primeval age: Flumina jam lactis, jam flumina nectaris ibant ,
(Note: Ovid, Metam . i. 112, comp. Virgil, Ecl. iv. 30:
Et durae quercus sudabant roscida mella ;