A. M. CIR. 2484. B. C. CIR. 1520. 10 If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him? t 11 For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it? 12 For "vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt. W 13 If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him; 14 If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far way, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles. 15 For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear: a q Ch. 9. 12 & 12. 14. Rev. 3. 7.-r Or, make a change.-s Heb. who can turn him away? Ch. 9. 12-1 Psa. 10. 11, 14. & 35. 22. & 94. 11.-u Heb. empty.-v Psa. 73. 22 & 92. 6. Eccles. 3. 18. Rom. 1. 22-w Ch. 5. 8. & 22. 21.-x 1 Šain. 7. 3. Psa. 78. 8.-y Psa. 88. 9. & 143. 6.-z Psa. 101. 3.-a See Gen. 4. 5, 6. Ch. 22. 26. Psa. to his breadths, and comprehend the infinitude of his perfections! Verse 8. It is as high as heaven] High as the heavens, "These are thy glorious works, parent of good! How wondrous fair! thyself how wondrous then!" Verse 11. He knoweth vain men] No metey shave, "men of falsehood." He seeth wickedness] He sees as well what is in man as what man does: and of his actions and propensities he cannot be an indifferent spectator. Verse 12. For vain man would be wise] The original is difficult and uncertain, ve-ish nabub yillabeb, "And shall the hollow man assume courage," or Or, as Mr. Goode rather paraphrases pride himself?" it, Will he then accept the hollow-hearted person? The Chaldee gives two renderings:-An eloquent man shall become wiser in his heart, and the colt of the wild ass is born as the son of man. Or, The wise man shall ponder it; and the refractory youth, who at last becomes prudent, Coverdale: A bayne body shall make a great man. eraleth him self; and the son of man is like a wylde asse's foale. Houbigant translates thus:-A man who hath understanding will become prudent; but he who is as the wild ass hath no heart, i. e. sense. According to this critic, the meaning is this:-A man of sense, should he at any time transgress, will learn wisdom from it: but a man of a brutish mind, uncultivated, and unreflecting, will plunge yet deeper into iniquity. b 16 Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away: 17 And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning. e 18 And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety. 19 Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee. 20 But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and i their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost. 119. 6. 1 John 3. 21.-b Isai. 65. 16.-c Heb. shall arise above the noonday-d P It is man's duty to pray; it is God's prerogative to answer. Zophar, like all the rest, is true to his principle. Job must be a wicked man, else he had not been afflicted There must be some iniquity in his hand; and some wickedness tolerated in his family. So they all supposed. Verse 16. Because thou shalt forget thy misery! Thou shalt have such long and complete rest, that thou shalt scarcely remember thy labour. As waters that pass away] Like as the mountain floods which sweep every thing before them, houses, tents, cattle, and the produce of the field, and are speedily absorbed by the sandy plains over which they run-so shalt thou remember thy sufferings; they were wasting and ruinous for the time, but were soon over and gone. Verse 17. Thine age shall be clearer than the noon] The rest of thy life shall be unclouded prosperity. Thou shalt shine forth] Thou shalt be in this unclouded and heat to all around thee. state, as the sun in the firmament of heaven, giving light Thou shall be as the morning.] Thus the sun of thy prosperity shall arise, and shine more and more unto the perfect day. This is the image which the sacred writer employs; and it is correct and elegant. Verse 13. And thou shalt be secure] Thou shalt not fear any farther evils to disturb thy prosperity, for thou shalt have a well-grounded hope and confidence that thou shalt no more be visited by adversity. Yea, thou shalt dig] I believe this neither refers to digging his grave, nor to curiously investigating surrounding circumstances; but to the custom of digging for water in the places where they pitched their tents. It was a matter of high importance in Asiatic countries to find good wells of wholesome water; and they were frequently causes of contention among neighbouring chiefs, who sometimes stopped them up; and, at other times, seized them as their own. Through envy of Isaac's prosperity the Philistines stopped up all the wells which Abraham had digged, Gen. xxvi. 12-16. And we find the herdsmen of Gerar contending with Isaac's servants about the wells which the latter had digged: so that they were to a distance in order to dig and find quiet possession. obliged to abandon two of the chief of them, and remove See Gen. xxvi. 17-22. Zophar, in reference to all these sorts of contentions and petty wars about wells and springs, tells Job, that in the state of prosperity to which he shall be brought by the good providence of God, he shall dig, find wells of living water; none shall contend with him; and he shall rest in safety, all the neighbouring chieftains Though man be born like a wild ass's colt] Is translated by Mr. Goode, Or shall the wild ass coll assume the cultivating friendship with him; see on chap. v. 23, 24. man? This is making a sense, but such as I fear the and that this is the meaning of the passage the following verse shows:-Thou shalt lie down, and none shall make original will never allow. There is no end to the translations of this verse, and conjectures relative to its meaning. thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee. Thou I shall conclude with the Vulgate: Vir vanus in super-shalt be in perfect security; no enemy shall molest thee, biam erigitur, et tanquam pullum onagri se liberum and many shall seek thy friendship, natum putat, "Vain man is puffed up with pride; and he supposes himself to be born free like the wild ass's colt." Man is full of self-conceit; and imagines himself born to act as he pleases, to roam at large, to be under no control, and to be accountable to none for his actions. Verse 13. If thou prepare thine heart] Make use of the powers which God has given thee, and be determined to seek him with all thy soul. Verse 20. The eyes of the wicked shall fail] They shall be continually looking out for help and deliverance; but their expectation shall be cut off. And they shall not escape] They shall receive the punishment due to their deserts; for God has his eye continually upon them, a U-manos abad minnehem, literally, And escape perishes from them. Flight from impending destruction is impossible. And stretch out thine hands toward him] Making fervent prayer and supplication, putting away iniquity out of thy hand, and not permitting wickedness to dwell in thy taber-hope an exhalation of breath." They retain their hope to nacle; then thou shalt lift up thy face without a blush, thou wilt become established, and have nothing to fear, ver. 14,15. There is a sentiment in Prov. xvi. 1. very similar to that in the 13th verse which we translate very improperly: To man are the preparations of the heart. .Leolam maarkey ub לאדם מערכי לב ,mihorn nautneh laalhorn- ומיהוה מענה לשון But from Jehovah is the answer to the tongue. And their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.] DMD Drive-tikivathem mapach nephesh, "And their the last; and the last breath they breathe is the final and eternal termination of their hope. They give up their hope and their ghost together: for a vain hope cannot enter into that place where shadow and representation exist not; all being substance and reality. And thus endeth Zophar the Naamathite, whose premises were in general good; his conclusions legitimate: but his application of them, to CHAPTER XII. Job reproves the boasting of his friends, and shows their uncharitableness toward himself, 1–5. Asserts that even the tabernacles of robbers prosper; and that, not withstanding, God is the governor of the world; a truth which is proclaimed by all parts of the creation, whether animate or inanimate, and by the revolutions which take place in states, 6-25. Amie L. Ok cir. 744. Ante U. C. cir. 767. said, thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: 8 Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. 9 Who knoweth not in all these that the hand AND Job answered and the peo- of the Loknoweth in all ple, and wisdom shall die with you. 3 But I have understanding as well as you; "I am not inferior to you; yea, who knoweth not such things as these? 4 P I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn. 5 He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease. 6 The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly, 7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach 1 Ch. 13 2-m Heb. a heart-n Heb. I fall not lower than you.➡o Heb, with whom are not such as these?-p Ch. 16. 10. & 17. 2, 6. & 21. 3. & 30. 1.-9 Psa. 91. 15-r Prov. 14. 2-5 Ch. 21. 7. Psa. 37. 1, 35. & 73. 11, 12 & 92. 7. Jer. 12. 1. Mal. 3. 15. Job's case, totally erroneous; because he still proceeded on the ground that Job was a wicked man, if not ostensibly, yet secretly; and that the sufferings he was undergoing were the means by which God was unmasking him to the view of men. But, allowing that Job had been a bad man, the exhortations of Zophar were well calculated to enforce repentance, and excite confidence in the divine mercy. Zophar seems to have had a full conviction of the all-governing providence of God; and that those who served him with an honest and upright heart would be ever distinguished in the distribution of temporal good. He seems, however, to think, that rewards and punishments were distributed in this life; and does not refer, at least very evidently, to a future state. Probably his information on subjects of divinity did not extend much beyond the grave: and we have much cause to thank God for a clearer dispensation. Deus nobis hæc otia fecit. God grant that we may make a good use of it. NOTES ON CHAPTER XII. Verse 2. No doubt but ye are the people] Doubtless ye are the wisest men in the world; all wisdom is concentrated in you; and when ye die there will no more be found on the face of the earth! This is a strong irony. Verse 3. I am not inferior to you] I do not fall short of any of you in understanding, wisdom, learning, and experience. Who knoweth not such things as these?] All your boasted wisdom consists only in strings of proverbs, which are in every person's mouth; and are no proof of wisdom and experience in them that use them. Verse 4. I am as one mocked of his neighbour] Though I am invoking God for help and salvation, yet my friends mock me in this most solemn and sacred work. But God answereth me. The just upright man is laughed to scorn.] This is a very difficult verse, on which no two critics seem to be agreed. Mr. Goode translates the 4th and 5th verses thus: Thus brother is become a laughing stock to his companions, For a vindication of this version I must refer to his notes. Coverdale gives at least a good sense. Thus he that calleth upon God, and whom God heareth, is mocked of his neighboure: the godly and innocent man is laughed to scorne. Godlynesse is a light despysed in the hertes of the rich; and is set for them to stomble upon. The fifth verse is thus rendered by Mr. Parkhurst ;-"A torch. of contempt, or contemptible link (see Isa. vii. 4. xl. 2, 3.) le-asetuth, to the splendours of the prosperous, (is he who is) ready (r: nacon, Job xv. 23. xviii. 12. Psa. xxxviii. 17.) to slip with his foot." The general sense is tolerably plain: but to emendations and conjectures there is no end. Verse 6. The tabernacles of robbers prosper] Those who live by the plunder of their neighbours are often found in great secular prosperity; and they that provoke God, by impiety and blasphemy, live in a state of security and affluence. These are administrations of providence which cannot be accounted for; yet the Judge of all the earth doth right. Therefore prosperity and adversity are no evidences of a man's spiritual state, nor of the place he holds in the approbation or disapprobation of God. 10 In whose hand is the "soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. 11 Doth not the ear try words? and the * mouth taste his meat? 12 With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding. 13 With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding. b 14 Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again; he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. 15 Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. t Numb. 16. 22 Dan. 5. 23. Acts 17. 28-u Or, life.-v Heb all flesh of man. w Ch. 34. 3.-x Heb. palate, Ch. 6. 30-y Ch. 32. 7.-z That is, with God—a Ch. 9. 4. & 36. 5-b Ch. 11. 10.- Isai. 222 Rev. 3. 7.-d Heb. upon.- 1 Kings 8. 35. & 17. 1.-f Gen. 7. 11. Verse 7. But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee] Mr. Goode's paraphrase here is very just: "Why tell ye me that the Almighty hath brought this calamity upon me? Every thing in nature; the beasts of the field, the fowls of heaven, every inhabitant of earth and sea, and every thing that befalls them, are the work of his hands; and every thing feels and acknowledges him to be the universal Creator and Controller. It is the common doctrine of all nature: but to apply it as ye would apply it to me, and to assert that I am suffering for being guilty of hypocrisy, is equally impertinent and impious. He ordains every thing in wisdom as well as in power: but why events happen as they happen, why good and evil are promiscuously scattered throughout nature or human life, ye are as ignorant of as myself." Verse 10. In whose hand is the soul of every living thing] nephesh col chai, "the soul of all life." And the breath of all mankind] wabɔ mm ve-ruach col besar, "and the spirit or breath of all flesh." Does not the first refer to the immortal soul, the principle of all intellectual life; and the latter to the breath, the grand means respiration, by which animal existence is continued? Verse 11. Doth not the ear try words?] All these are common-place sayings. Ye have advanced nothing new; ye have cast no light upon the dispensations of providence. Verse 12. With the ancient is wisdom] Men who have lived in those primitive times, when the great facts of nature were recent, such as the creation, fall, flood, confusion of tongues, migration of families, and consequent settlement of nations, had much knowledge from those facts; and their length of days, the many hundreds of years to which they lived, gave them such an opportunity of accumulating wisdom by experience, that they are deservedly considered as oracles. Verse 13. With him is wisdom and strength] But all these things come from GoD: he is the fountain of wisdom, and the source of power. He alone can give us unerring counsel, and understanding to comprehend and act profitably by it. See on ver. 16. Verse 14. He breaketh down] He alone can create; and he alone can destroy. Nothing can be annihilated but by the same power that created it. This is a most remarkable fact. No power, skill, or cunning of man, can annihilate the smallest particle of matter: man, by chemical agency, may change its form; but, to reduce it to nothing, belongs to God alone. In the course of his providence, God breaks down, so that it cannot be built up again. See proofs of this in the total political destruction of Nineveh, Babylon, Persepolis, Tyre, and other cities, which have been broken down never to be rebuilt; as well as the Assyrian, Babylonian, Grecian, and Roman empires, which have been dismembered, and almost annihilated, never more to be regenerated. He shutteth up a man] He often frustrates the best laid purposes, so that they can never be brought to good effect. Verse 15. He withholdeth the waters] This is, I think, an allusion to the third day's work of the creation, Gen. i. 9. And God said, Let the waters be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear. Thus the earth was drained, and the waters collected into seas, and bound to their particular places. Also he sendeth them out] Here is also an allusion to the flood; for, when he broke up the fountains of the great deep, then the earth was overturned 16 With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his. 17 He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools. 18 He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle. 19 He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty. 20 He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. 21 He poureth contempt upon princes, and I weakeneth the strength of the mighty. f Ver. 13.-g 2 Sam. 15. 31. & 17. 14, 23. Isai. 19 12 & 29. 14. 1 Cor. 1. 19. h Ch. 32. 9. Isai. 3. 1, 2, 3-i Heb. the lip of the faithful.-k Ps. 107. 40. Dan. 2. 21.- Or, looseth the girdle of the strong. Verse 16. With him is strength and wisdom] ein ty oz ve-tushiah, strength and sufficiency. Strength or power, springing from an exhaustless and infinite source of potency. In the thirteenth verse it is said, With him is wisdom and strength; but the expressions are not the same, on chocmeh u-geburah, intelligence and fortitude, and strength in action; the wisdom ever guiding the exertions of power; but here is strength or power in essence; and an eternal potentiality. With him is every excellence, in potentiâ and in esse. He borrows nothing; he derives nothing. As he is self-existent, so is he selfsufficient. We have had the word men tushiah before. See the note on chap. xi. ver. 6. The deceived and the deceiver are his] Some think this refers to the fall: even Satan, the deceiver or beguiler, and Adam and Eve, the deceived or beguiled, are his. Satan, as this book shows, cannot act without especial permission; and man, whom the seducer thought to make his own property for ever, is claimed as the peculium, or especial property of God, for the seed of the woman was then appointed to bruise the head of the serpent; and Jesus Christ has assumed the nature of man, and thus brought human nature into a state of fellowship with himself. Thus he who sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one, for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. Hebr. ii. 11. Verse 17. He leadeth counsellors away spoiled] The events of war are also in his hand. It is he who gives victory; through him even the counsellors, the great and chief men, are often led into captivity, and found among the spoils. And maketh the judges fools] He infatuates the judges. Does this refer to the foolish conduct of some of the Israelitish judges, such as Samson? Verse 18. He looseth the bond of kings] He takes away their splendid robes, and clothes them with sackcloth; or he dissolves their authority; permits their subjects to rebel and overthrow the state, to bind them as captives, and despoil them of all power, authority, and liberty. Many proofs of this occur in the Israelitish history, and in the history of the principal nations of the earth; and not a few in the history of Britain. Verse 19. He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty] What multitudes of proofs of this does the history of the world present! Even in the Jate disastrous war with the French Republic and Empire, which began in 1793, and did not terminate till 1814. How many princes, or rather priests on cohanim, have been spoiled of their power, influence, and authority; and how many mighty men, captains, generals, admirals, &c. have been overthrown! But supposing that the writer of the Book of Job lived, as some think, after the captivity, how many priests were led away spoiled, both from Israel and Judah; and how many kings and mighty men were overthrown in the disastrous wars between the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Jews! Verse 20. He removeth away the speech of the trusty] The faithful counsellor, and the eloquent orator, avail nothing: Quos Deus vult perdere, prius dementat, God infatuates those whom he is determined to destroy. The writer might have had his eyes on Isa. iii. 1-3. which the reader will do well to consult. The understanding of the aged] op zekonim, signifies the same here as our word elders, or eldermen; which include in themselves the two ideas of seniority, or considerably advanced age; and official authority. These can do no more to save a state which God designs to destroy, notwithstanding their great political wisdom and knowledge, than the child who can neither reason nor speak. Verse 21. He poureth contempt upon princes] nedibim, those of royal extraction; widely different from the on cohanim, mentioned ver. 19. m Dan. 2. 22 Matt. 10. 25. 1 Cor. 4. 5.-n Psa. 107. 38. Isai. 9. 3. & 26. 15. o Heb. leadeth in.-p Psa. 107. 4, 40.-q Deut. 23. 29. Ch. 5. 14.-r Heb. wander. s Paa. 107. 27. Weakeneth the strength of the mighty] DpDN aphikim, the compact; the well-strung together; the nervous and sinewy. Perhaps there is a reference here to the crocodile, as the same term is appplied, chap. xl. ver. 13. to the compactness of his bones; and as no riphah meziich, which we translate weakeneth the strength, signifies more properly looseth the girdle, as the margin has properly rendered it, the reference seems still more pointed; for it is known that "the crocodile, from the shoulders to the extremity of the tail, is covered with large square scales, disposed like parallel girdles, fifty-two in number. In the middle of each girdle are four protuberances, which become higher as they approach the end of the tail, and compose four rows." See the quotation in Parkhurst, under the word pDN aphak. What is human strength against this? We may say as the Lord said, Job xl. 19. He that made him can make his sword to approach unto him. He alone can loose the girdles of this mighty one. Verse 22. He discovereth deep things out of darkness] This may either refer to God's works in the great deep, or to the plots and stratagems of wicked men; conspiracies that were deeply laid, well digested, and about to be produced into existence, when death, whose shadow had hitherto concealed them, is to glut himself with carnage. Verse 23. He increaseth the nations] Mr. Goode translates, He letteth the nations grow licentious. Pride, fulness of bread, with extensive trade and commerce, produce luxury; and this is ever accompanied with profligacy of manners. When, then, the cup of this iniquity is full, God destroys the nation, by bringing, or permitting to come, against it, a nation less pampered, more necessitous, and inured to toil. He enlargeth the nations] Often permits a nation to acquire an accession of territory; and afterward shuts them up within their ancient boundaries, and often contracts even those. All these things seem to occur as natural events, and the consequences of state intrigues, and such like causes; but when divine inspiration comes to pronounce upon them, they are shown to be the consequence of God's acting in his judgment and mercy; for it is by him that kings reign: it is he who putteth down one, and raiseth up another. Verse 24. He taketh away the heart of the chief] Suddenly deprives the leaders of great counsels, or mighty armies, of courage; so that, panic-struck, they flee when none pursueth; or are confounded when about to enter on the accomplishment of important designs. And causeth them to wander in a wilderness] A plain allusion to the journeyings of the Israelites in the deserts of Arabia, on their way to the promised land. Their chief, Aaron, had his courage all taken away, by the clamours of the people; and so made them a molten calf to be the object of their worship; which defection from God was the cause of their wandering nearly forty years on the trackless wilderness. The reference is so marked, that it scarcely admits of a doubt; yet Houbigant and some others have called it in question, and suppose that those chiefs or heads of families which led out colonies into distant parts are principally intended. It answers too well to the case of the Israelites in the wilderness, to admit of any other interpretation. Verse 25. They grope in the dark] The writer seems to have had his eye on those words of Moses, Deut. xxviii. 28, 29. The Lord shall smile thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: and thou shalt GROPE AT NOONDAY, as the BLIND GROPETH IN DARKNESS. And this also may refer to the unaccountable errors, transgressions, and judicial blindness, of the Israelites in their journeying to the promised land: but it will apply also to the state of wicked nations under judicial blindness. The writer is principally indebted for his imagery, and indeed for the chief expressions used here, to Psa. cvii. 27.-They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man. 39, CHAPTER XIII. Job defends himself against the accusations of his friends, and accuses them of endeavouring to pervert truth, 1-8. Threatens them with God's judgments, 9-12. Begs some respite, and expresses strong confidence in God, 13-19. He pleads with God, and deplores his severe trials and sufferings, 20-23. Ante I. OI. cir. 744. A. U. C. cir.767. Lomity heard and understood it. O, mine eye hath seen all this, mine 2 What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you. 3 Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God. 4 But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value. 5 0 that ye would altogether hold your peace; and it should be your wisdom. 6 Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips. 7 Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him? t Ch. 12 3-u Ch. 23. 3. & 31. 35.-v Ch. 6. 21. & 16. 2-w Prov. 17. 28-x Ch. 17. 5. & 32. 21. & 36. 4.-y Heb. Be silent from me.-z Ch. 18. 4. 40—Again, they are diminished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow. He POURETH CONTEMPT UPON PRINCES, and CAUSETH THEM TO WANDER IN THE WILDERNESS, where there is NO WAY. 8 Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God? 9 Is it good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him? 10 He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons. 11 Shall not his excellency make you afraid? and his dread fall upon you? 12 Your remembrances are like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay. 13 Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will. 14 Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and a put my life in mine hand? b e 15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. a 1 Sam. 28. 21. Psa. 119. 109.-b Psa. 23. 4. Prov. 14. 32.-c Ch. 27. 5.-d Heb. prove, or argue. 4 I may observe here that a silent man is not likely to be a fool: for a fool will be always prating; or, according to another adage, a fool's bolt is soon shot. The Latins have the same proverb, Vir sapit qui pauca loquitur, A wise man speaks little. Solomon was its author, than there is, that it was the composition of Moses. But, whenever Job lived, whether before Abraham, or after Moses, the book was not written till the time of Solomon, if not later. But as to the sayMr. Goode has some judicious reflections on this chap-ing in question, it is a general apophthegm, and may be ter; particularly on ver. 13-22. "It should be observed," found among the wise sayings of all nations. says he, "that the entire passage has a reference to the machinery of a regular and political government; and that its general drift is to imprint on the mind of the hearer the important doctrine that the whole of the constituent principles of such a government, its officers and institutions; its monarchs and princes; its privy counsellors, judges, and ministers of state; its chieftains, public orators, and assembly of elders; its nobles, or men of hereditary rank; and its stout robust peasantry, as we should express it in the present day; nay, the deep designing villains that plot in secrect its destruction; that the nations themselves, and the heads or sovereigns of the nations; are all, and equally in the hands of the Almighty; that with him human pomp is poverty, human excellence turpitude, human judgment error, human wisdom folly, human dignities contempt, human strength weakness." NOTES ON CHAPTER XIII. Verse 1. Lo, mine eye hath seen all this] Ye have brought nothing new to me; I know those maxims as well as you: nor have you any knowledge of which I am not possessed. Verse 3. Surely I would speak to the Almighty] ulam, O that, I wish I could speak to the Almighty! Verse 5. Hear now my reasoning] The speeches in this book are conceived as if delivered in a court of justice, different counsellors pleading against each other. Hence most of the terms are forensic. Verse 7. Will ye speak wickedly for God?] In order to support your own cause, in contradiction to the evidence which the whole of my life bears to the uprightness of my heart, will ye continue to assert that God could not thus afflict me, unless flagrant iniquity were found in my ways? for it is on this ground alone that ye pretend to vindicate the providence of God. Thus ye tell lies for God's sake; and thus ye wickedly contend for your Maker. Verse 8. Will ye accept his person?] Do you think to act by him as you would by a mortal; and, by telling lies in his favour, attempt to conciliate his esteem! Verse 9. Is it good that he should search you out?] Would it be to your credit if God should try your hearts, and uncover the motives of your conduct. Were you tried as I am, how would you appear? I desire to reason with God.] He speaks here in reference to the proceedings in a court of justice. Ye pre- Do ye so mock him?] Do ye think that you can detend to be advocates for God, but ye are forgers of lies: Oceive him; and by flattering speeches bring him to your that God himself would appear! Before him I could soon terms, as you would bring an undiscerning empty mortal prove my innocence of the evils of which ye charge me. like yourselves! Verse 4. Ye are forgers of lies] Ye frame deceitful arguments: ye reason sophistically, and pervert truth and justice, in order to support your cause. Physicians of no value.] Ye are as feeble in your reasonings as ye are inefficient in your skill. Ye can neither heal the wound of my mind, nor the disease of my body. In ancient times every wise man professed skill in the healing art; and probably Job's friends had tried their skill on his body as well as on his mind. He therefore had, in his argument against their teaching, a double advantage:-Your skill in divinity and physic is equal: in the former ye are forgers of lies; in the latter, you are good-for-nothing physicians. I can see no reason to depart from the general meaning of the original to which the ancient versions adhere. The Chaldee says, "Ye are idle physicians; and, like the mortified flesh which is cut off with the knife, so are the whole of you." The imagery in the former clause is chirurgical, and refers to the sewing together, or connecting, the divided sides of wounds: for topheley, which we translate forgers, comes from taphal, to fasten, tie, connect, sew together. And I question whether Do topheley, here may not as well express SURGEONS, as ND rophey in the latter clause express PHYSICIANS. Ye are CHIRURGEONS of falsity, and worthless PHYSICIANS. Verse 5. Hold your peace; and it should be your wisdom.] In Prov. xvii. 28. we have the following apophthegm, "Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips a man of understanding." There is no reason to say that Solomon quotes from Job: I have already expressed my opinion that the high antiquity attributed to this book is perfectly unfounded; and that there is much more evidence that Verse 10. He will surely reprove you] You may expect not only his disapprobation, but his hot displeasure. Verse 11. His dread fall upon you?] The very apprehension of his wrath is sufficient to crush you to nothing. Verse 12. Your remembrances are like unto ashes] Your memorable sayings are proverbs of dust. This is properly the meaning of the original :-D Zicroneycem mishley epher. This he speaks in reference to the ancient and reputedly wise sayings which they had so copiously quoted against him. Your bodies to bodies of clay.] This clause is variously translated:-your swelling heaps are swelling heaps of mire. That is, your highflown speeches are dark, involved, and incoherent:-they are all sound, no sense; great swelling words, either of difficult or no meaning, or of no point as applicable to my case. Verse 13. Hold your peace] You have perverted righteousness and truth, and your pleadings are totally irrelevant to the case; you have travelled out of the road; you have left law and justice behind you: it is high time that you should have done. Let come on me what will.] I will now defend myself against you, and leave the cause to its issue. Verse 14. Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth] A proverbial expression. I risk every thing on the justice of my cause. I put my life in my hand, I Sam. xxviii. 21. I run all hazards: I am fearless of the consequences. Verse 15. Though he slay me] I have no dependence but God; trust in him alone. Should he even destroy my life by this affliction, yet will I hope that when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. In the common printed Hebrew text we have н lo aiyachel, I will 25 Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble? e Ch. 33. 6. Isai. 50. 8.-f Ch. 9. 31. & 33. 7.-g Psa. 39. 10.-h Deut. 32. 20. Pa. 13. 1. & 44. 24. & 98. 14. Isai. 8. 17.—i Dent. 32. 42. Ruth 1. 21. Ch. 16. 9. & 19. 11. & 33. 10. Lam. 2. 5.-k Isai. 42. 3.-1 Ch. 20. 11. Psa. 25. 7.-in Ch. 33. 11.-n Heb, observest.-o Heb. roots.—p Gen. 3. 17, 18, 19. 1 Cor. 10. 13-q Heb. short of days. 26 For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth. 27 m Thou puttest, my feet also in the stocks, and "lookest narrowly unto all my paths; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet. 28 And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is moth-eaten. CHAPTER XIV. The shortness, misery, and sinfulness of man's life, 1-4. The unavorable necessity AN that is P born of a woman is of Ante cir 767. 2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down; he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. 3 And dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? 4 w Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. r Ch. 5. 7. Fccles. 2. 23-8 Or, labour.-t Ch. 8. 9. Psa. 90. 5, 6, 9, & 102 11. &, 103. 15. & 144. 4. Isi. 40. 6. James 1. 10, 11. & 4. 14. 1 Pet. 1. 24-u Ps. 141. 3. y Psa. 143. 2.- Heb. Who will gine?-x Gen. 5. 3. Psa. 51. 5. John 3. 6. Rom. 5. 12 Ephes. 2. 3. NOT hope: but the Vulgate, Syriac, Arabic, and Chaldee, Verse 27. Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks] have read, lo, HIM, instead of N lo, NOT; with twenty-bassad, "in a clog," such as was tied to the feet of slaves, nine of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS. and the Complutensian and Antwerp Polyglotts. Our translators have followed the best reading. Coverdale renders the verse thus: Lo, there is nether comforte ner hope for me, yf he wil slave me. But I will maintain mine own ways] I am so conscious of my innocence, that I fear not to defend myself from your aspersions, even in the presence of my Maker. Verse 16. He also shall be my salvation] He will save me, because I trust in him. A hypocrite] A wicked man shall never be able to stand before him. I am conscious of this; and were I, as you suppose, a secret sinner, I should not dare to make this appeal. Verse 19. Behold now, have ordered] I am now ready to come into court; and care not how many I have to contend with, provided they speak truth. Verse 19. Who is he that will plead with me?] Let my accuser, the plaintiff, come forward; I will defend my cause against him. I shall give up the ghost.] I shall cease to breathe. Defending myself will be as respiration to me; or, while he is stating his case, I will be so silent as scarcely to appear to breathe. to prevent them from running away. This is still used in the West Indies, among slave-dealers; and is there called the pudding, being a large collar of iron, locked round the ankle of the unfortunate man. Some have had them twenty pounds weight: and, having been condemned to carry them for several years, when released, could not walk without them! A case of this kind I knew:-The slave had learnt to walk well with his pudding: but, when taken off, if he attempted to walk, he fell down; and was obliged to resume it occasionally, till practice had taught him the proper centre of gravity, which had been so materially altered by wearing so large a weight; the badge at once of his oppression, and of the cruelty of his task masters! And looked narrowly] Thou hast seen all my goings out and comings in: and there is no step I have taken in life with which thou art unacquainted. Thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet.] Some understand this as the mark left on the sole of the foot by the clog or the owner's mark, indented on this clog; or, thou hast pursued me as a hound does his game, by the scent. Verse 28. And he, as a rotten thing] I am like a vessel made of skin; rotten, because of old age; or like a garment corroded by the moth. So the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic understood it. The word he may refer to himself. NOTES ON CHAPTER XIV. Verse 1. Man-born of a woman] There is a delicacy in the original not often observed: Adam Verse 20. Only do not two things unto me] These two things are the following:-1. Withdraw thine hand far from me. Remove the heavy affliction which thy hand has inflicted. 2. Let not thy dread make me afraid. Terrify me not with dreadful displays of thy majesty. The reasons of this request are sufficiently evident;-1.yelud ishah, "Adam born of a woman, few of days, and How can a man stand in a court of justice and plead for full of tremour." Adam, who did not spring from woman, his life, when under grievous bodily affliction? Withdraw but was immediately formed by God, had many days, for thy hand far from me. 2. Is it to be expected that a man he lived nine hundred and thirty years: during which can be sufficiently collected, and in self-possession to plead time neither sin nor death had multiplied in the earth, as for his life, when he is overwhelmed with the awful ap- they were found in the days of Job. But the Adam who pearance of the judge, the splendour of the court, and the springs now from woman, in the way of ordinary genevarious ensigns of justice? Let not thy dread make me ration, has very few years. Seventy, on an average, being afraid. the highest term, may be well said to be few in days; and all matter of fact shows that they are full of fears and apprehensions, rogez, cares, anxieties, and tremours. He seems born not indeed to live, but to die; and by living, he forfeits the title to life. Verse 22. Then call thou] Begin thou first to plead, and I will answer for myself: or, I will first state and defend my own case, and then answer thou me. Verse 23. How many are mine iniquities] Job being permitted to begin first, enters immediately upon the subject; and as it was a fact that he was grievously afflicted, and this his friends asserted was in consequence of grievous iniquities, he first desires to have them specified. What are the specific charges in this indictment? To say I must be a sinner to be thus afflicted, is saying nothing; tell me what are the sins, and show me the proofs. Verse 24. Wherefore hidest thou thy face] Why is it that I no longer enjoy thy approbation. Holdest me for thine enemy?] Treatest me as if I were the vilest of sinners. Verse 25. Wilt thou break a leaf] Is it becoming thy dignity to concern thyself with a creature so contemptible? Verse 26. Thou writest bitter things against me] The indictment is filled with bitter or grievous charges; which, if proved, would bring me to bitter punishment. The iniquities of my youth.] The levities and indiscretions of my youth I acknowledge;-but is this a ground to form charges against a man, the integrity of whose life is unimpeachable? Verse 2. He cometh forth like a flower] This is a frequent image both in the Old and New Testament writers: I need not quote the places here, as the readers will find them all * in the margin. He fleeth also as a shadow] Himself, as he appears among men, is only the shadow of his real, substantial, and eternal being. He is here compared to a vegetable; he springs up, bears his flower, is often nipped by disease, blasted by afflictions, and at last cut down by death. The bloom of youth, even in the most prosperous state, is only the forerunner of hoary hairs, enfeebled muscles, impaired senses, general debility, anility, and dissolution! All these images are finely embodied, and happily expressed in the beautiful lines of a very nervous and correct poet, too little known, but whose compositions deserve the first place among what may be called the minor pocts of Britain. See at the end of the chapter. Verse 3. Dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one] The whole of this chapter is directed to God alone; in no part of it does he take any notice of his friends. |