Proverbs 3:24-26(v18)When you lie down, you will not be afraid. Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet. Don’t be afraid of sudden fear, neither of…
Isaiah 58:8-10(v17)Then your light will break out as the morning, and your healing will appear quickly; then your righteousness shall go before you, and…
Psalms 37:6(v17)he will make your righteousness shine out like light, and your justice as the noon day sun.
Proverbs 4:18(v17)But the path of the righteous is like the dawning light that shines more and more until the perfect day.
Isaiah 65:16(v16)so that he who blesses himself in the earth will bless himself in the God of truth; and he who swears in the earth will swear by the God of…
Show all 43 cross-references
Psalms 3:5(v18)I laid myself down and slept. I awakened; for Yahweh sustains me.
Psalms 43:5(v18)Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him: my Savior, my helper, and my…
Isaiah 60:14(v19)The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you; and all those who despised you will bow themselves down at the soles of your…
Psalms 4:8(v18)In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you, Yahweh alone, make me live in safety.
Leviticus 26:6(v19)“ ‘I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and no one will make you afraid. I will remove evil animals out of the land,…
Psalms 45:12(v19)The daughter of Tyre comes with a gift. The rich among the people entreat your favor.
Ecclesiastes 5:20(v16)For he shall not often reflect on the days of his life; because God occupies him with the joy of his heart.
Isaiah 45:14(v19)Yahweh says: “The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you, and they will be…
Zechariah 14:6-7(v17)It will happen in that day, that there will not be light, cold, or frost. It will be a unique day which is known to Yahweh; not day, and…
Leviticus 26:5-6(v18)Your threshing shall continue until the vintage, and the vintage shall continue until the sowing time. You shall eat your bread to the…
Isaiah 54:4(v16)“Don’t be afraid, for you will not be ashamed. Don’t be confounded, for you will not be disappointed. For you will forget the shame of your…
Isaiah 54:9(v16)“For this is like the waters of Noah to me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah will no more go over the earth, so I have sworn…
Hosea 6:3(v17)Let’s acknowledge Yahweh. Let’s press on to know Yahweh. As surely as the sun rises, Yahweh will appear. He will come to us like the rain,…
Micah 7:8-9(v17)Don’t rejoice against me, my enemy. When I fall, I will arise. When I sit in darkness, Yahweh will be a light to me. I will bear the…
John 16:21(v16)A woman, when she gives birth, has sorrow because her time has come. But when she has delivered the child, she doesn’t remember the anguish…
Job 42:8-9(v19)Now therefore, take to yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and…
Psalms 112:4(v17)Light dawns in the darkness for the upright, gracious, merciful, and righteous.
Proverbs 19:6(v19)Many will entreat the favor of a ruler, and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.
Romans 5:3-5(v18)Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and…
Revelation 3:9(v19)Behold, I give some of the synagogue of Satan, of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but lie—behold, I will make them to come…
Genesis 26:26-31(v19)Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the captain of his army. Isaac said to them, “Why have you come…
Genesis 41:51(v16)Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, “For”, he said, “God has made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house.”
1 Chronicles 29:10(v17)Therefore David blessed Yahweh before all the assembly; and David said, “You are blessed, Yahweh, the God of Israel our father, forever and…
Job 7:6(v18)My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope.
Job 42:11-17(v17)Then came there to him all his brothers, and all his sisters, and all those who had been of his acquaintance before, and ate bread with him…
Psalms 92:14(v17)They will still produce fruit in old age. They will be full of sap and green,
Proverbs 14:32(v18)The wicked is brought down in his calamity, but in death, the righteous has a refuge.
Isaiah 12:1-2(v16)In that day you will say, “I will give thanks to you, Yahweh; for though you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you comfort…
Malachi 4:2(v17)But to you who fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings. You will go out, and leap like calves of the…
Revelation 7:14-17(v16)I told him, “My lord, you know.” He said to me, “These are those who came out of the great suffering.They washed their robes, and made them…
Genesis 9:11(v16)I will establish my covenant with you: All flesh will not be cut off any more by the waters of the flood. There will never again be a flood…
Job 6:15(v16)My brothers have dealt deceitfully as a brook, as the channel of brooks that pass away;
Job 22:11(v16)or darkness, so that you can not see, and floods of waters cover you.
Job 22:27-29(v18)You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you. You will pay your vows. You will also decree a thing, and it will be established to…
Proverbs 31:7(v16)Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
Job 6:11(v18)What is my strength, that I should wait? What is my end, that I should be patient?
Luke 2:26-32(v17)It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. He came in the Spirit…
Colossians 1:27(v18)to whom God was pleased to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv16–19Job 11:16 Because thou shalt forget [thy] misery, [and]…
Job 11:16 Because thou shalt forget [thy] misery, [and] remember [it] as waters [that] pass away:
Ver. 16. Because thou shalt forget thy misery] There being no fear left, or footstep thereof remaining to renew thy grief, Gen 41:30. Remember thy former trouble thou shall, with thankfulness for a better condition now, but not otherwise; all the marks of former affliction shall be worn out. See Isa 65:13; Isa 65:16, so that thou shalt discount all the evil thou hast endured.
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And remember it as waters that pass away] As a land flood soon gone, as a light cloud quickly over; or as Noah’s flood, which that good man thought upon, when it was past, with thankfulness to God, offering sacrifice for his safety. So shalt thou, Job; and as a man seldom thinketh how much water passeth by his habitation by day and by night, or if he do, yet it is no trouble to his mind, no more shall the remembrance of former miseries be to thine.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv16–19Thou shalt be free from fear, because thy great…
Thou shalt be free from fear, because thy great and settled prosperity shall banish out of thy mind all those sad and irksome thoughts of thy former calamities, which naturally engender fears of the continuance or return of them. Persons blessed with eminent deliverances, and a happy settlement, are frequently said in Scripture to
forget their former sorrows, as Gen 41:51; Isa 54:4; Joh 16:21; not that they simply forget them, but because they have no sad or frightful remembrance of them; for remembering and forgetting in Scripture do not simply note acts of the mind, but also affections and practices suitable to them, as is well known.
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Remember it as waters that pass away; thou shalt remember them no more than men remember either a land-flood, which as it comes, so it goes away, suddenly, and leaves few or no footsteps or memorials behind it; or the waters of a river, which as soon as they are out of sight are out of mind, because of the new waters which immediately come in their stead.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv16–19Because thou shall forget thy misery,.... Former afflictions and…
Because thou shall forget thy misery,.... Former afflictions and distresses; having an abundance of prosperity and happiness, and long continued; and so, in process of time, the miseries and distresses before endured are forgotten; thus it was with Joseph in his advanced state, and therefore he called one of his sons Manasseh, Gen 41:51; and as it is with convinced and converted persons and believers in Christ, who, under first convictions and awakenings, are filled with sorrow and distress, on a view of their miserable estate by nature; but when Christ is revealed to them as their Saviour and Redeemer, and the love of God is shed abroad in their hearts, and they have faith and hope in Jesus, and a comfortable view of heaven and happiness, and eternal life, by him, they forget their spiritual poverty, and remember their misery no more, unless it be to magnify the riches of the grace of God; see Pro 31:6;
and remember it as waters that pass away; either the waters of the stream in a river, which, when gone, are seen and remembered no more or as waters occasioned by floods in the winter season, which when over, and summer is come, are gone and are no more discerned; and as they pass from the places where they were, so from the minds of men: or it may be respect is had to the waters of Noah's flood, which, according to the divine promise and oath, should no more go over the earth, Gen 9:15; and being past and gone, and no fear or danger of their returning, are forgotten.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv16–18As waters - Thou shalt remember it no more,…
As waters - Thou shalt remember it no more, than men remember a land-flood, which as it comes, so it goes away suddenly.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv16–18Verse 16. Because thou shalt forget thy misery] Thou…
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.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv16–18Job 11:16. Because thou shalt forget thy misery —…
Job 11:16. Because thou shalt forget thy misery — Thy happiness shall be so great that it shall blot out the remembrance of thy past miseries; and remember it as waters that pass away — Thou shalt remember it no more than men remember either a land-flood, which, as it comes, so it goes away suddenly, and leaves few or no marks or memorials behind it; or the waters of a river, which pass by in constant succession.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv16–19And remember it as waters that pass away -…
And remember it as waters that pass away - As calamity that has completely gone by, or that has rolled on and will return no more. The comparison is beautiful. The water of the river is borne by us, and returns no more. The rough, the swollen, the turbid stream, we remember as it foamed and dashed along, threatening to sweep everything away; but it went swiftly by, and will never come back. So with afflictions. They are soon gone. The most intense pain soon subsides. The days of sorrow pass quickly away. There is an outer limit of suffering, and even ingenuity cannot prolong it far. The man disgraced, and whose life is a burden, will soon die. On the checks of the solitary prisoner doomed to the dungeon for life, a “mortal paleness” will soon settle down, and the comforts of approaching death will soothe the anguish of his sad heart. The rack of torture cheats itself of its own purpose, and the exhausted sufferer is released. “The excess (of grief) makes it soon mortal.” “No sorrow but killed itself much sooner.” Shakespeare. When we look back upon our sorrows, it is like thinking of the stream that was so much swollen, and was so impetuous. Its waters rolled on, and they come not back again; and there is a kind of pleasure in thinking of that time of danger, of that flood that was then so fearful, and that has now swept on to come back no more. So there is a kind of peaceful joy in thinking of the days of sorrow that are now fled forever; in the assurance that those sad times will never, never recur again.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv17–19Brightness. Septuagint, "But thy prayer, like the day-star and…
Brightness. Septuagint, "But thy prayer, like the day-star and life, shall arise to thee from the south, or as at noon-day." Hebrew, "Thy age (Haydock) shall appear clearer than the noon-day, and darkness like the morning." Prosperity shall succeed, (Calmet) when thou shalt think all lost. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv16–19Just as when the stream runs dry (Job 6:17),…
Just as when the stream runs dry (Job 6:17), the danger threatened by its wild waves is forgotten (Isa 65:16) [UMBREIT].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv16–19b. Then the sorrows of the present shall be…
b. Then the sorrows of the present shall be forgotten in the brightness of future life, Job_11:16-17.
16. Waters that pass away — He probably alluded to Job’s figure, (Job_6:15-17.) His grief, now so tumultuous, shall subside as completely as the waters of the mountain torrents. Of the wadies, or beds of such torrents, which are perfectly dry in the summer, Wilson, in his Lands of the Bible, enumerates eighty-five; while Ritter in his Geography speaks of as many as two hundred. Note Job_6:16. The figure is strikingly appropriate. Affliction is not like the river that flows on forever, but is like a torrent that rages for a brief winter day, and vanishes with the rising of the summer sun. God’s love has ordained that “the excess of grief makes it soon mortal.” But we are not to forget the law of the human mind, that leads it to take pleasure in remembering sorrows when they have once gone beyond the power of return. The joys of heaven will be heightened by the remembrance of life’s troubles, and the retrospective vision will be none the less bright that we can still see the rivers through which we have passed, (Isa_43:2,) though they be but dim lines in the distant vista. A few lines in the spectrum suffice to tell the make of clouds and storms as they still sweep over the surface of the sun. Thus shall the clouds and storms of life appear when once we have entered our heavenly home.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv16–1916. because thou shalt forget] Or, for thou shalt…
16. because thou shalt forget] Or, for thou shalt forget trouble.
that pass away] that are passed away.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv17–18(17) Thine age shall be clearer than the noonday.—Rather,…
(17) Thine age shall be clearer than the noonday.—Rather, there shall arise for thee a lifetime brighter than the noonday; thou shalt soar on high; thou shalt be like the morning, which is conceived of as having wings (Psa_139:9). (Comp. Mal_4:2, of the Sun of Righteousness.) This is how we understand the word rendered thou shalt shine forth. Many take it as a substantive, meaning darkness, in which case we must render, though there be darkness, thou shalt be as the morning.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv16–19Because thou shalt forget thy misery. All thy past…
Because thou shalt forget thy misery. All thy past misery shall be clean swept away from thy remembrance, because of the happy condition whereto thou shalt be raised (see vers. 18, 19). "Sorrow"s memory" is not always "a sorrow still." And remember it as waters that pass away; i.e. remember it no more than a man remembers the shower that has passed away or the pool that is dried up.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn vv16–18Thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as…
Job_11:16
Thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away.
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Comfort from the future
Jobs misery was extreme, and it seemed as if he could never forget it. He never did forget the fact of it, but he did forget the pain of it. Nothing better can happen to our misery than that it should be forgotten in the sense referred to in our text; for then, evidently, it will be clean gone from us. It will be as it is when even the scent of the liquor has gone out of the cask, even when the flavour of the bitter drug lingers no longer in the medicine glass, but has altogether disappeared. If you look carefully at the connection of our text, I do not doubt that you will experience this blessed forgetfulness. When we are in pain of body, and depression of spirit, we imagine that we never shall forget such misery as we are enduring. And yet, by and by, God turns towards us the palm of His hand, and we see that it is full of mercy, we are restored to health, or uplifted from depression of spirit, and we wonder that we ever made so much of our former suffering or depression. We remember it no more, except as a thing that has passed and gone, to be recollected with gratitude.
I. I am not going to limit the application of the text to Job and his friends, for it has also a message for many of us at the present time; and I shall take it, first, with reference to the common troubles of life which affect believing men and women. These troubles of life happen to us all more or less. They come to one in one shape, and perhaps life thinks that he is the only man who has any real misery; yet they also come to others, though possibly in another form. The Lord of the pilgrims was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and His disciples must expect to fare even as their Master fared while here below; it is enough for the servant if he be as his lord. You, who are just now enduring misery, should seek to be comforted under it. Perhaps you will ask me, Where can we get any comfort? Well, if you cannot draw any from your present experience, seek to gather some from the past. You have been miserable before, but you have been delivered and helped. There has come to you a most substantial benefit from everything which you have been called to endure. Let us gather consolation also from the future. If, as the apostle truly says, No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous, recollect how he goes on to say, Nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away. How will that be?
1. Well, first, by the lapse of time. Time is a wonderful healer.
2. Ay, but there is something better than the lapse of years, and that is when, during a considerable time, you are left without trial. That is a sharp pain you are now enduring; but what if you should have years of health afterwards? Remember how Job forgot his misery when, in a short time, he had double as much of all that he possessed as he had before. There is wonderfully smooth sailing on ahead for some of you when you are once over this little stretch of broken water.
3. And besides the lapse of time, and an interval of rest and calm, it may be--it probably is the fact with Gods people--that He has in store for you some great mercies. When the Lord turns your captivity, you will be like them that dream; and you know what happens to men who dream. They wake up; their dream is all gone, they have completely forgotten it. So will it be with your sorrow. Be of good courage in these dark, dull times, for, mayhap this text is Gods message to thy soul, Thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away. It has bee so with many, many, many believers in the past. What do you think of Joseph sold for a slave, Joseph falsely accused, Joseph shut up in prison? But when Joseph found out that all that trial was the way to make him ruler over all the land of Egypt, and that he might be the means of saving other nations from famine, and blessing his fathers house, I do not wonder that he called his elder son Manasseh. What does that name mean? Forgetfulness--for God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my fathers house.
II. I should be greatly rejoiced if, in the second place, I might speak a cheering word to poor souls under distress on account of sin.
1. Well, now, I exhort you, first of all, to look to Christ, and lean on Christ. Trust in His atoning sacrifice, for there alone can a troubled soul find rest. There was never a man yet who, with all his heart, did seek the Lord Jesus Christ, but sooner or later found Him; and if you have been long in seeking, I lay it to the fact that you have not sought with a prepared heart, a thoroughly earnest heart, or else you would have found Him. But, perhaps, taking Zophars next expression, you have not stretched out your hands toward the Lord, giving yourself up to Him like a man who holds up his hands to show that he surrenders. Further, you may and you shall forget your misery, provided you fulfil one more condition mentioned by Zophar, and that is, that you are not harbouring any sin: If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles. Oh! you say, but how am I to do it? Christ will help you. Trust Him to help you. Oh, do see that you let not wickedness dwell in your tabernacles, you who are the people of God, and you who wish to be His, if you would have Zophars words to Job fulfilled in your experience, Then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear: because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away.
III. Now let me tell you how sweetly God can make a sinner forget his misery.
1. The moment a sinner believes in Jesus Christ with true heart and repentant spirit, God makes him forget his misery, first, by giving him a full pardon.
2. Next, he rejoices in all the blessings that God gives with His grace.
IV. This text will come true to the sickening, declining, soon-departing believer. If thou hast believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, and if thou art resting alone upon Him, recollect that, in a very short time, thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away. In a very, very, very short time, your suffering and sadness will all be over. I suppose the expression, waters that pass away, signifies those rivers which are common in the East, and which we meet with so abundantly in the south of France. They are rivers with very broad channels, but I have often looked in vain for a single drop of water in them. Then, perhaps you ask, what is the use of such rivers? Well, at certain times, the mountain torrents come rushing down, bearing great rocks, and stones, and trees before them, and then, after they have surged along the river bed for several days, they altogether disappear in the sea. Such will all the sorrows of fife and the sorrows even of death soon be to you, and to me also. They will all have passed away, and all will be over with us here. And then, you know, those waters that have passed away will never come back again. Thank God, we shall recollect our sorrows in heaven only to praise God for the grace that sustained us under them; but we shall not remember them as a person does who has cut his finger, and who still bears the scar in his flesh. We shall not recollect them as one does who has been wounded, and who carries the bullet somewhere about him. In heaven, you shall not have a trace of earths sorrow; you shall not have, in your glorified body, or in your perfectly sanctified soul and spirit, any trace of any spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v18You would be secure ... take your rest in…
You would be secure ... take your rest in safety
Zophar repeats the same idea for emphasis and describes the possibility. (See: Parallelism and Hypothetical Situations)
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would take your rest in safety
"Take your rest" here is an idiom for "rest." The phrase "in safety" can be expressed with the word "safely." AT: "would rest safely" (See: Idiom and Abstract Nouns)
Also you would lie down in rest ... your favor.
Zophar repeats the same idea for emphasis and describes the possibility. (See: Parallelism and Hypothetical Situations)
you would lie down in rest
The abstract noun "rest" can be expressed with the verb "rest." AT: "you would lie down and rest" (See: Abstract Nouns)
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv16–19 Job 11:16 Because thou shalt forget [thy] misery, [and]…
Job 11:16 Because thou shalt forget [thy] misery, [and] remember [it] as waters [that] pass away:
Ver. 16. Because thou shalt forget thy misery] There being no fear left, or footstep thereof remaining to renew thy grief, Gen 41:30. Remember thy former trouble thou shall, with thankfulness for a better condition now, but not otherwise; all the marks of former affliction shall be worn out. See Isa 65:13; Isa 65:16, so that thou shalt discount all the evil thou hast endured.
Read full note →
And remember it as waters that pass away] As a land flood soon gone, as a light cloud quickly over; or as Noah’s flood, which that good man thought upon, when it was past, with thankfulness to God, offering sacrifice for his safety. So shalt thou, Job; and as a man seldom thinketh how much water passeth by his habitation by day and by night, or if he do, yet it is no trouble to his mind, no more shall the remembrance of former miseries be to thine.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv16–19 Thou shalt be free from fear, because thy great…
Thou shalt be free from fear, because thy great and settled prosperity shall banish out of thy mind all those sad and irksome thoughts of thy former calamities, which naturally engender fears of the continuance or return of them. Persons blessed with eminent deliverances, and a happy settlement, are frequently said in Scripture to
forget their former sorrows, as Gen 41:51; Isa 54:4; Joh 16:21; not that they simply forget them, but because they have no sad or frightful remembrance of them; for remembering and forgetting in Scripture do not simply note acts of the mind, but also affections and practices suitable to them, as is well known.
Read full note →
Remember it as waters that pass away; thou shalt remember them no more than men remember either a land-flood, which as it comes, so it goes away, suddenly, and leaves few or no footsteps or memorials behind it; or the waters of a river, which as soon as they are out of sight are out of mind, because of the new waters which immediately come in their stead.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv16–19 Because thou shall forget thy misery,.... Former afflictions and…
Because thou shall forget thy misery,.... Former afflictions and distresses; having an abundance of prosperity and happiness, and long continued; and so, in process of time, the miseries and distresses before endured are forgotten; thus it was with Joseph in his advanced state, and therefore he called one of his sons Manasseh, Gen 41:51; and as it is with convinced and converted persons and believers in Christ, who, under first convictions and awakenings, are filled with sorrow and distress, on a view of their miserable estate by nature; but when Christ is revealed to them as their Saviour and Redeemer, and the love of God is shed abroad in their hearts, and they have faith and hope in Jesus, and a comfortable view of heaven and happiness, and eternal life, by him, they forget their spiritual poverty, and remember their misery no more, unless it be to magnify the riches of the grace of God; see Pro 31:6;
and remember it as waters that pass away; either the waters of the stream in a river, which, when gone, are seen and remembered no more or as waters occasioned by floods in the winter season, which when over, and summer is come, are gone and are no more discerned; and as they pass from the places where they were, so from the minds of men: or it may be respect is had to the waters of Noah's flood, which, according to the divine promise and oath, should no more go over the earth, Gen 9:15; and being past and gone, and no fear or danger of their returning, are forgotten.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv16–18 As waters - Thou shalt remember it no more,…
As waters - Thou shalt remember it no more, than men remember a land-flood, which as it comes, so it goes away suddenly.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv16–18 Verse 16. Because thou shalt forget thy misery] Thou…
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.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv16–18 Job 11:16. Because thou shalt forget thy misery —…
Job 11:16. Because thou shalt forget thy misery — Thy happiness shall be so great that it shall blot out the remembrance of thy past miseries; and remember it as waters that pass away — Thou shalt remember it no more than men remember either a land-flood, which, as it comes, so it goes away suddenly, and leaves few or no marks or memorials behind it; or the waters of a river, which pass by in constant succession.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv16–19 And remember it as waters that pass away -…
And remember it as waters that pass away - As calamity that has completely gone by, or that has rolled on and will return no more. The comparison is beautiful. The water of the river is borne by us, and returns no more. The rough, the swollen, the turbid stream, we remember as it foamed and dashed along, threatening to sweep everything away; but it went swiftly by, and will never come back. So with afflictions. They are soon gone. The most intense pain soon subsides. The days of sorrow pass quickly away. There is an outer limit of suffering, and even ingenuity cannot prolong it far. The man disgraced, and whose life is a burden, will soon die. On the checks of the solitary prisoner doomed to the dungeon for life, a “mortal paleness” will soon settle down, and the comforts of approaching death will soothe the anguish of his sad heart. The rack of torture cheats itself of its own purpose, and the exhausted sufferer is released. “The excess (of grief) makes it soon mortal.” “No sorrow but killed itself much sooner.” Shakespeare. When we look back upon our sorrows, it is like thinking of the stream that was so much swollen, and was so impetuous. Its waters rolled on, and they come not back again; and there is a kind of pleasure in thinking of that time of danger, of that flood that was then so fearful, and that has now swept on to come back no more. So there is a kind of peaceful joy in thinking of the days of sorrow that are now fled forever; in the assurance that those sad times will never, never recur again.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv17–19 Brightness. Septuagint, "But thy prayer, like the day-star and…
Brightness. Septuagint, "But thy prayer, like the day-star and life, shall arise to thee from the south, or as at noon-day." Hebrew, "Thy age (Haydock) shall appear clearer than the noon-day, and darkness like the morning." Prosperity shall succeed, (Calmet) when thou shalt think all lost. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv16–19 Just as when the stream runs dry (Job 6:17),…
Just as when the stream runs dry (Job 6:17), the danger threatened by its wild waves is forgotten (Isa 65:16) [UMBREIT].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv16–19 b. Then the sorrows of the present shall be…
b. Then the sorrows of the present shall be forgotten in the brightness of future life, Job_11:16-17.
16. Waters that pass away — He probably alluded to Job’s figure, (Job_6:15-17.) His grief, now so tumultuous, shall subside as completely as the waters of the mountain torrents. Of the wadies, or beds of such torrents, which are perfectly dry in the summer, Wilson, in his Lands of the Bible, enumerates eighty-five; while Ritter in his Geography speaks of as many as two hundred. Note Job_6:16. The figure is strikingly appropriate. Affliction is not like the river that flows on forever, but is like a torrent that rages for a brief winter day, and vanishes with the rising of the summer sun. God’s love has ordained that “the excess of grief makes it soon mortal.” But we are not to forget the law of the human mind, that leads it to take pleasure in remembering sorrows when they have once gone beyond the power of return. The joys of heaven will be heightened by the remembrance of life’s troubles, and the retrospective vision will be none the less bright that we can still see the rivers through which we have passed, (Isa_43:2,) though they be but dim lines in the distant vista. A few lines in the spectrum suffice to tell the make of clouds and storms as they still sweep over the surface of the sun. Thus shall the clouds and storms of life appear when once we have entered our heavenly home.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv16–19 16. because thou shalt forget] Or, for thou shalt…
16. because thou shalt forget] Or, for thou shalt forget trouble.
that pass away] that are passed away.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv17–18 (17) Thine age shall be clearer than the noonday.—Rather,…
(17) Thine age shall be clearer than the noonday.—Rather, there shall arise for thee a lifetime brighter than the noonday; thou shalt soar on high; thou shalt be like the morning, which is conceived of as having wings (Psa_139:9). (Comp. Mal_4:2, of the Sun of Righteousness.) This is how we understand the word rendered thou shalt shine forth. Many take it as a substantive, meaning darkness, in which case we must render, though there be darkness, thou shalt be as the morning.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv16–19 Because thou shalt forget thy misery. All thy past…
Because thou shalt forget thy misery. All thy past misery shall be clean swept away from thy remembrance, because of the happy condition whereto thou shalt be raised (see vers. 18, 19). "Sorrow"s memory" is not always "a sorrow still." And remember it as waters that pass away; i.e. remember it no more than a man remembers the shower that has passed away or the pool that is dried up.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv16–18 Thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as…
Job_11:16
Thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away.
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Comfort from the future
Jobs misery was extreme, and it seemed as if he could never forget it. He never did forget the fact of it, but he did forget the pain of it. Nothing better can happen to our misery than that it should be forgotten in the sense referred to in our text; for then, evidently, it will be clean gone from us. It will be as it is when even the scent of the liquor has gone out of the cask, even when the flavour of the bitter drug lingers no longer in the medicine glass, but has altogether disappeared. If you look carefully at the connection of our text, I do not doubt that you will experience this blessed forgetfulness. When we are in pain of body, and depression of spirit, we imagine that we never shall forget such misery as we are enduring. And yet, by and by, God turns towards us the palm of His hand, and we see that it is full of mercy, we are restored to health, or uplifted from depression of spirit, and we wonder that we ever made so much of our former suffering or depression. We remember it no more, except as a thing that has passed and gone, to be recollected with gratitude.
I. I am not going to limit the application of the text to Job and his friends, for it has also a message for many of us at the present time; and I shall take it, first, with reference to the common troubles of life which affect believing men and women. These troubles of life happen to us all more or less. They come to one in one shape, and perhaps life thinks that he is the only man who has any real misery; yet they also come to others, though possibly in another form. The Lord of the pilgrims was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and His disciples must expect to fare even as their Master fared while here below; it is enough for the servant if he be as his lord. You, who are just now enduring misery, should seek to be comforted under it. Perhaps you will ask me, Where can we get any comfort? Well, if you cannot draw any from your present experience, seek to gather some from the past. You have been miserable before, but you have been delivered and helped. There has come to you a most substantial benefit from everything which you have been called to endure. Let us gather consolation also from the future. If, as the apostle truly says, No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous, recollect how he goes on to say, Nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away. How will that be?
1. Well, first, by the lapse of time. Time is a wonderful healer.
2. Ay, but there is something better than the lapse of years, and that is when, during a considerable time, you are left without trial. That is a sharp pain you are now enduring; but what if you should have years of health afterwards? Remember how Job forgot his misery when, in a short time, he had double as much of all that he possessed as he had before. There is wonderfully smooth sailing on ahead for some of you when you are once over this little stretch of broken water.
3. And besides the lapse of time, and an interval of rest and calm, it may be--it probably is the fact with Gods people--that He has in store for you some great mercies. When the Lord turns your captivity, you will be like them that dream; and you know what happens to men who dream. They wake up; their dream is all gone, they have completely forgotten it. So will it be with your sorrow. Be of good courage in these dark, dull times, for, mayhap this text is Gods message to thy soul, Thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away. It has bee so with many, many, many believers in the past. What do you think of Joseph sold for a slave, Joseph falsely accused, Joseph shut up in prison? But when Joseph found out that all that trial was the way to make him ruler over all the land of Egypt, and that he might be the means of saving other nations from famine, and blessing his fathers house, I do not wonder that he called his elder son Manasseh. What does that name mean? Forgetfulness--for God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my fathers house.
II. I should be greatly rejoiced if, in the second place, I might speak a cheering word to poor souls under distress on account of sin.
1. Well, now, I exhort you, first of all, to look to Christ, and lean on Christ. Trust in His atoning sacrifice, for there alone can a troubled soul find rest. There was never a man yet who, with all his heart, did seek the Lord Jesus Christ, but sooner or later found Him; and if you have been long in seeking, I lay it to the fact that you have not sought with a prepared heart, a thoroughly earnest heart, or else you would have found Him. But, perhaps, taking Zophars next expression, you have not stretched out your hands toward the Lord, giving yourself up to Him like a man who holds up his hands to show that he surrenders. Further, you may and you shall forget your misery, provided you fulfil one more condition mentioned by Zophar, and that is, that you are not harbouring any sin: If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles. Oh! you say, but how am I to do it? Christ will help you. Trust Him to help you. Oh, do see that you let not wickedness dwell in your tabernacles, you who are the people of God, and you who wish to be His, if you would have Zophars words to Job fulfilled in your experience, Then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear: because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away.
III. Now let me tell you how sweetly God can make a sinner forget his misery.
1. The moment a sinner believes in Jesus Christ with true heart and repentant spirit, God makes him forget his misery, first, by giving him a full pardon.
2. Next, he rejoices in all the blessings that God gives with His grace.
IV. This text will come true to the sickening, declining, soon-departing believer. If thou hast believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, and if thou art resting alone upon Him, recollect that, in a very short time, thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away. In a very, very, very short time, your suffering and sadness will all be over. I suppose the expression, waters that pass away, signifies those rivers which are common in the East, and which we meet with so abundantly in the south of France. They are rivers with very broad channels, but I have often looked in vain for a single drop of water in them. Then, perhaps you ask, what is the use of such rivers? Well, at certain times, the mountain torrents come rushing down, bearing great rocks, and stones, and trees before them, and then, after they have surged along the river bed for several days, they altogether disappear in the sea. Such will all the sorrows of fife and the sorrows even of death soon be to you, and to me also. They will all have passed away, and all will be over with us here. And then, you know, those waters that have passed away will never come back again. Thank God, we shall recollect our sorrows in heaven only to praise God for the grace that sustained us under them; but we shall not remember them as a person does who has cut his finger, and who still bears the scar in his flesh. We shall not recollect them as one does who has been wounded, and who carries the bullet somewhere about him. In heaven, you shall not have a trace of earths sorrow; you shall not have, in your glorified body, or in your perfectly sanctified soul and spirit, any trace of any spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v18 You would be secure ... take your rest in…
You would be secure ... take your rest in safety
Zophar repeats the same idea for emphasis and describes the possibility. (See: Parallelism and Hypothetical Situations)
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would take your rest in safety
"Take your rest" here is an idiom for "rest." The phrase "in safety" can be expressed with the word "safely." AT: "would rest safely" (See: Idiom and Abstract Nouns)
Also you would lie down in rest ... your favor.
Zophar repeats the same idea for emphasis and describes the possibility. (See: Parallelism and Hypothetical Situations)
you would lie down in rest
The abstract noun "rest" can be expressed with the verb "rest." AT: "you would lie down and rest" (See: Abstract Nouns)
translationWords
hope
rest
fear
favor
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.