29 He shall not be rich, H6238 neither shall his substance H2428 continue, H6965 neither shall he prolong H5186 the perfection H4512 thereof upon the earth. H776
Though he heap up H6651 silver H3701 as the dust, H6083 and prepare H3559 raiment H4403 as the clay; H2563 He may prepare H3559 it, but the just H6662 shall put it on, H3847 and the innocent H5355 shall divide H2505 the silver. H3701
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. 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 He shall flee H1272 from the iron H1270 weapon, H5402 and the bow H7198 of steel H5154 shall strike him through. H2498 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. 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 The heaven H8064 shall reveal H1540 his iniquity; H5771 and the earth H776 shall rise up H6965 against him. 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
Hast thou marked H8104 the old H5769 way H734 which wicked H205 men H4962 have trodden? H1869 Which were cut down H7059 out of time, H6256 whose foundation H3247 was overflown H3332 with a flood: H5104 Which said H559 unto God, H410 Depart H5493 from us: and what can the Almighty H7706 do H6466 for them? Yet he filled H4390 their houses H1004 with good H2896 things: but the counsel H6098 of the wicked H7563 is far H7368 from me. The righteous H6662 see H7200 it, and are glad: H8055 and the innocent H5355 laugh them to scorn. H3932 Whereas H518 our substance H7009 is not cut down, H3582 but the remnant H3499 of them the fire H784 consumeth. H398
Be not thou afraid H3372 when one H376 is made rich, H6238 when the glory H3519 of his house H1004 is increased; H7235 For when he dieth H4194 he shall carry nothing away: H3947 his glory H3519 shall not descend H3381 after H310 him.
And G2532 I will say G2046 to my G3450 soul, G5590 Soul, G5590 thou hast G2192 much G4183 goods G18 laid up G2749 for G1519 many G4183 years; G2094 take thine ease, G373 eat, G5315 drink, G4095 and be merry. G2165 But G1161 God G2316 said G2036 unto him, G846 Thou fool, G878 this G5026 night G3571 thy G4675 soul G5590 shall be required G523 of G575 thee: G4675 then G1161 whose G5101 shall those things be, G2071 which G3739 thou hast provided? G2090 So G3779 is he that layeth up treasure G2343 for himself, G1438 and G2532 is G4147 not G3361 rich G4147 toward G1519 God. G2316
G1161 There was G2258 a certain G5100 rich G4145 man, G444 which G2532 was clothed G1737 in purple G4209 and G2532 fine linen, G1040 and fared G2165 sumptuously G2988 every G2596 day: G2250 And G1161 there was G2258 a certain G5100 beggar G4434 named G3686 Lazarus, G2976 which G3739 was laid G906 at G4314 his G846 gate, G4440 full of sores, G1669 And G2532 desiring G1937 to be fed G5526 with G575 the crumbs G5589 which G3588 fell G4098 from G575 the rich man's G4145 table: G5132 moreover G235 G2532 the dogs G2965 came G2064 and licked G621 his G846 sores. G1668 And G1161 it came to pass, G1096 that the beggar G4434 died, G599 and G2532 was carried G667 by G5259 the angels G32 into G1519 Abraham's G11 bosom: G2859 the rich man G4145 also G1161 G2532 died, G599 and G2532 was buried; G2290
For G1063 the sun G2246 is no sooner risen G393 with G4862 a burning heat, G2742 but G2532 it withereth G3583 the grass, G5528 and G2532 the flower G438 thereof G846 falleth, G1601 and G2532 the grace G2143 of the fashion G4383 of it G846 perisheth: G622 so G3779 also G2532 shall G3133 the rich man G4145 fade away G3133 in G1722 his G846 ways. G4197
Go to G33 now, G3568 ye rich men, G4145 weep G2799 and howl G3649 for G1909 your G5216 miseries G5004 that shall come upon G1904 you. Your G5216 riches G4149 are corrupted, G4595 and G2532 your G5216 garments G2440 are G1096 motheaten. G4598 Your G5216 gold G5557 and G2532 silver G696 is cankered; G2728 and G2532 the rust G2447 of them G846 shall be G2071 a witness G3142 against G1519 you, G5213 and G2532 shall eat G5315 your G5216 flesh G4561 as it were G5613 fire. G4442 Ye have heaped treasure together G2343 for G1722 the last G2078 days. G2250
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Job 15
Commentary on Job 15 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 15
SECOND SERIES.
Job 15:1-35. Second Speech of Eliphaz.
2. a wise man—which Job claims to be.
vain knowledge—Hebrew, "windy knowledge"; literally, "of wind" (Job 8:2). In Ec 1:14, Hebrew, "to catch wind," expresses to strive for what is vain.
east wind—stronger than the previous "wind," for in that region the east wind is the most destructive of winds (Isa 27:8). Thus here,—empty violence.
belly—the inward parts, the breast (Pr 18:8).
4. fear—reverence for God (Job 4:6; Ps 2:11).
prayer—meditation, in Ps 104:34; so devotion. If thy views were right, reasons Eliphaz, that God disregards the afflictions of the righteous and makes the wicked to prosper, all devotion would be at an end.
5. The sophistry of thine own speeches proves thy guilt.
6. No pious man would utter such sentiments.
7. That is, Art thou wisdom personified? Wisdom existed before the hills; that is, the eternal Son of God (Pr 8:25; Ps 90:2). Wast thou in existence before Adam? The farther back one existed, the nearer he was to the Eternal Wisdom.
8. secret—rather, "Wast thou a listener in the secret council of God?" The Hebrew means properly the cushions of a divan on which counsellors in the East usually sit. God's servants are admitted to God's secrets (Ps 25:14; Ge 18:17; Joh 15:15).
restrain—Rather, didst thou take away, or borrow, thence (namely, from the divine secret council) thy wisdom? Eliphaz in this (Job 15:8, 9) retorts Job's words upon himself (Job 12:2, 3; 13:2).
9. in us—or, "with us," Hebraism for "we are aware of."
10. On our side, thinking with us are the aged. Job had admitted that wisdom is with them (Job 12:12). Eliphaz seems to have been himself older than Job; perhaps the other two were also (Job 32:6). Job, in Job 30:1, does not refer to his three friends; it therefore forms no objection. The Arabs are proud of fulness of years.
11. consolations—namely, the revelation which Eliphaz had stated as a consolatory reproof to Job, and which he repeats in Job 15:14.
secret—Hast thou some secret wisdom and source of consolation, which makes thee disregard those suggested by me? (Job 15:8). Rather, from a different Hebrew root, Is the word of kindness or gentleness addressed by me treated by thee as valueless? [Umbreit].
12. wink—that is, why do thy eyes evince pride? (Pr 6:13; Ps 35:19).
13. That is, frettest against God and lettest fall rash words.
14. Eliphaz repeats the revelation (Job 4:17) in substance, but using Job's own words (see on Job 14:1, on "born of a woman") to strike him with his own weapons.
15. Repeated from Job 4:18; "servants" there are "saints" here; namely, holy angels.
heavens—literally, or else answering to "angels" (see on Job 4:18, and Job 25:5).
16. filthy—in Arabic "sour" (Ps 14:3; 53:3), corrupted from his original purity.
drinketh—(Pr 19:28).
17. In direct contradiction of Job's position (Job 12:6, &c.), that the lot of the wicked was the most prosperous here, Eliphaz appeals (1) to his own experience, (2) to the wisdom of the ancients.
18. Rather, "and which as handed down from their fathers, they have not concealed."
19. Eliphaz speaks like a genuine Arab when he boasts that his ancestors had ever possessed the land unmixed with foreigners [Umbreit]. His words are intended to oppose Job's (Job 9:24); "the earth" in their case was not "given into the hand of the wicked." He refers to the division of the earth by divine appointment (Ge 10:5; 25:32). Also he may insinuate that Job's sentiments had been corrupted from original purity by his vicinity to the Sabeans and Chaldeans [Rosenmuller].
20. travaileth—rather, "trembleth of himself," though there is no real danger [Umbreit].
and the number of his years, &c.—This gives the reason why the wicked man trembles continually; namely, because he knows not the moment when his life must end.
21. An evil conscience conceives alarm at every sudden sound, though it be in a time of peace ("prosperity"), when there is no real danger (Le 26:36; Pr 28:1; 2Ki 7:6).
22. darkness—namely, danger or calamity. Glancing at Job, who despaired of restoration: in contrast to good men when in darkness (Mic 7:8, 9).
waited for of—that is, He is destined for the sword [Gesenius]. Rather (in the night of danger), "he looks anxiously towards the sword," as if every sword was drawn against him [Umbreit].
23. Wandereth in anxious search for bread. Famine in Old Testament depicts sore need (Isa 5:13). Contrast the pious man's lot (Job 5:20-22).
knoweth—has the firm conviction. Contrast the same word applied to the pious (Job 5:24, 25).
ready at his hand—an Arabic phrase to denote a thing's complete readiness and full presence, as if in the hand.
24. prevail—break upon him suddenly and terribly, as a king, &c. (Pr 6:11).
25. stretcheth … hand—wielding the spear, as a bold rebel against God (Job 9:4; Isa 27:4).
26. on his neck—rather, "with outstretched neck," namely, that of the rebel [Umbreit] (Ps 75:5).
upon … bucklers—rather, "with—his (the rebel's, not God's) bucklers." The rebel and his fellows are depicted as joining shields together, to form a compact covering over their heads against the weapons hurled on them from a fortress [Umbreit and Gesenius].
27. The well-nourished body of the rebel is the sign of his prosperity.
collops—masses of fat. He pampers and fattens himself with sensual indulgences; hence his rebellion against God (De 32:15; 1Sa 2:29).
28. The class of wicked here described is that of robbers who plunder "cities," and seize on the houses of the banished citizens (Isa 13:20). Eliphaz chooses this class because Job had chosen the same (Job 12:6).
heaps—of ruins.
29. Rather, he shall not increase his riches; he has reached his highest point; his prosperity shall not continue.
perfection—rather, "His acquired wealth—what he possesses—shall not be extended," &c.
30. depart—that is, escape (Job 15:22, 23).
branches—namely, his offspring (Job 1:18, 19; Ps 37:35).
dry up—The "flame" is the sultry wind in the East by which plants most full of sap are suddenly shrivelled.
his mouth—that is, God's wrath (Isa 11:4).
31. Rather, "let him not trust in vanity or he will be deceived," &c.
vanity—that which is unsubstantial. Sin is its own punishment (Pr 1:31; Jer 2:19).
32. Literally, "it (the tree to which he is compared, Job 15:30, or else his life) shall not be filled up in its time"; that is, "he shall be ended before his time."
shall not be green—image from a withered tree; the childless extinction of the wicked.
33. Images of incompleteness. The loss of the unripe grapes is poetically made the vine tree's own act, in order to express more pointedly that the sinner's ruin is the fruit of his own conduct (Isa 3:11; Jer 6:19).
34. Rather, The binding together of the hypocrites (wicked) shall be fruitless [Umbreit].
tabernacles of bribery—namely, dwellings of unjust judges, often reprobated in the Old Testament (Isa 1:23). The "fire of God" that consumed Job's possessions (Job 1:16) Eliphaz insinuates may have been on account of Job's bribery as an Arab sheik or emir.
35. Bitter irony, illustrating the "unfruitfulness" (Job 15:34) of the wicked. Their conceptions and birthgivings consist solely in mischief, &c. (Isa 33:11).
prepareth—hatcheth.