Job 35:9(v19)“By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out. They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty.
Ecclesiastes 5:13-14(v20)There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm. Those riches perish by misfortune, and if…
Proverbs 14:31(v19)He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for his Maker, but he who is kind to the needy honors him.
Proverbs 22:22-23(v19)Don’t exploit the poor, because he is poor; and don’t crush the needy in court; for Yahweh will plead their case, and plunder the life of…
Ezekiel 22:29(v19)The people of the land have used oppression and exercised robbery. Yes, they have troubled the poor and needy, and have oppressed the…
Show all 31 cross-references
James 2:6(v19)But you have dishonored the poor man. Don’t the rich oppress you, and personally drag you before the courts?
James 2:13(v19)For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
James 5:4(v19)Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of those who reaped have…
Deuteronomy 28:33(v19)A nation which you don’t know will eat the fruit of your ground and all of your work. You will only be oppressed and crushed always,
1 Samuel 12:3-4(v19)Here I am. Witness against me before Yahweh, and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I…
1 Kings 21:19(v19)You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh says, “Have you killed and also taken possession?” ’ You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh says,…
Job 15:29(v21)He will not be rich, neither will his substance continue, neither will their possessions be extended on the earth.
Job 18:15(v19)There will dwell in his tent that which is none of his. Sulfur will be scattered on his habitation.
Job 18:19(v21)He will have neither son nor grandson among his people, nor any remaining where he lived.
Job 21:27-28(v19)“Behold, I know your thoughts, the plans with which you would wrong me. For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince? Where is the tent…
Job 22:6(v19)For you have taken pledges from your brother for nothing, and stripped the naked of their clothing.
Job 24:2-12(v19)There are people who remove the landmarks. They violently take away flocks, and feed them. They drive away the donkey of the fatherless,…
Job 31:13-22(v19)“If I have despised the cause of my male servant or of my female servant, when they contended with me, what then will I do when God rises…
Job 31:38-39(v19)If my land cries out against me, and its furrows weep together; if I have eaten its fruits without money, or have caused its owners to lose…
Psalms 10:18(v19)to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that man who is of the earth may terrify no more.
Psalms 12:5(v19)“Because of the oppression of the weak and because of the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says Yahweh; “I will set him in safety…
Ecclesiastes 4:1(v19)Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold, the tears of those who were oppressed, and they had no…
Ecclesiastes 5:8(v19)If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of justice and righteousness in a district, don’t marvel at the matter,…
Isaiah 5:7-8(v19)For the vineyard of Yahweh of Armies is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for justice, but,…
Isaiah 57:20-21(v20)But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it can’t rest and its waters cast up mire and mud. “There is no peace”, says my God, “for the…
Jeremiah 17:11(v21)As the partridge that sits on eggs which she has not laid, so is he who gets riches, and not by right. In the middle of his days, they will…
Lamentations 3:34(v19)To crush under foot all the prisoners of the earth,
Amos 4:1-3(v19)Listen to this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who tell their…
Micah 2:2(v19)They covet fields, and seize them; and houses, and take them away: and they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
Micah 2:9(v19)You drive the women of my people out from their pleasant houses; from their young children you take away my blessing forever.
Luke 16:24-25(v21)He cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue!…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (17 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn v21He shall leave nothing to his posterity.
He shall leave nothing to his posterity.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv19–21Job 20:19 Because he hath oppressed [and] hath forsaken…
Job 20:19 Because he hath oppressed [and] hath forsaken the poor; [because] he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;
Ver. 19. Because he hath oppressed and forsaken the poor]. Heb. Because he hath crushed or broken in pieces. The original word importeth (as one well observeth) tyrannical oppression without mercy or moderation, without ho or hold; some give full scope to their rage and wrath, they put neither bond nor bridle upon their covetousness and cruelty: such are characterized by this word.
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And forsaken the poor] Or, Left men poor; viz. by leaving them without a livelihood, and so as good as without life. A poor man in his house is like a snail in his shell; crush that, and you kill him. They which read it, And forsaken the poor, give us this good note, that as it is sinful to forsake the poor, though we have never oppressed them, Mat 25:35-36 (not to do justice is injustice, not to show mercy is cruelty, Mar 3:4), so to oppress, and then forsake them, is far more sinful.
Because he hath violently taken away] Violently and in open view, in an impudent manner. He pulleth down men’s houses, but never thinketh of repairing them; so some read this text. Let our depopulators look to it, who build themselves desolate places, and desire to live alone in the earth. This hath been noted as a great fault in our nation. And therefore Goropius thinketh that the English were called Angli because they were so good anglers, having skill to lay various baits when they fished for other men’s livings.
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 vv19–21By his oppression he brought men to utter poverty,…
By his oppression he brought men to utter poverty, and then forsook or left them in that forlorn estate, affording no mercy nor help to them. Or, some he made poor by his oppression, and others that were poor he suffered to perish for want of that relief which he should and might have afforded them; which is a crying sin in God’s sight, and one of those sins for which God destroyed Sodom, Eze 16:49, and therefore fitly mentioned here as one of the sins for which God punished this wicked man. Or, he oppresseth and leaveth poor, as Broughton renders it.
An house which he built not, i.e. which was none of his. Heb. he hath violently taken away an house, and (or but) did not build (or repair, as building is oft used) it, to wit, that house for his own use, i.e. he did not build or possess that house, as he intended to do, but was cut off by God’s hand before he could enjoy the fruit of his oppressions.
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 vv19–21Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor,....…
Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor,.... Having oppressed, crushed, and broken the poor to pieces, he leaves them so without pity and compassion for them, and without giving them any relief; he first by oppression makes them poor, or however poorer still, and then leaves them in such circumstances; for this does not suppose that he once was a favourer of them, and afforded them assistance in their necessities, and afterwards forsook them; but rather, as Ben Gersom gives the sense, he does not leave the poor until he has oppressed and crushed them, and then he does; Mr. Broughton's reading of the words agrees with the former sense, "he oppresseth and leaveth poor":
because he hath violently taken away an house which he built not; an house which did not belong to him, he had no property in or right unto, which, as he had not bought, he had not built; and therefore could lay no rightful claim unto it, and yet this he took in a violent manner from the right owner of it, see Mic 2:2; or "and", or "but shall not build it" (a), or "buildeth it not"; he took it away with an intention to pull it down, and build a stately palace in the room of it; but either his substance was taken from him, or he taken away by death before he could finish it, and so either through neglect, or want of opportunity, or of money, did not what he thought to have done.
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(a) "et non aedificabit eam", Pagninus, Montanus; "et non aedificat eam", Cocceius, Schultens; "non autem", Beza; "sed non", Schmidt, Michaelis.
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 vv20–21Belly - He shall have no peace in his…
Belly - He shall have no peace in his mind. Desired - Any part of his desirable things, but shall forfeit and lose them all.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv19–21Verse 19. He hath oppressed and hath forsaken the…
Verse 19. He hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor] Literally, He hath broken in pieces the forsaken of the poor; כי רצץ עזב דלים ki ritstsats azab dallim. The poor have fled from famine, and left their children behind them; and this hard-hearted wretch, meaning Job all the while, has suffered them to perish, when he might have saved them alive.
He hath violently taken away a house which he builded not] Or rather, He hath thrown down a house, and hath not rebuilt it. By neglecting or destroying the forsaken orphans of the poor, mentioned above, he has destroyed a house, (a family,) while he might, by helping the wretched, have preserved the family from becoming extinct.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv19–21Job 20:19. Because he hath oppressed and forsaken the…
Job 20:19. Because he hath oppressed and forsaken the poor — By his oppression he brought men to utter poverty, and then forsook them in that destitute state, affording them no mercy nor help. Or, the meaning is, He made some poor by his oppressions, and others, that were poor, he suffered to perish for want of that relief which he might have afforded them. He hath violently taken away a house, &c. — Namely, for his own use; which he builded not — Which was none of his.
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 vv19–21Because he hath oppressed - Margin, “crushed.” Such is…
Because he hath oppressed - Margin, “crushed.” Such is the Hebrew.
And forsaken the poor - He has plundered them, and then forsaken them - as robbers do. The meaning is, that he had done this by his oppressive manner of dealing, and then left them to suffer and pine in want.
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He hath violently taken away an house which he builded not - That is, by overreaching and harsh dealings he has come in possession of dwellings which he did not build, or purchase in any proper manner. It does not mean that he had done this by violence - for Zophar is not describing a robber, but he means that he took advantage of the needs of the poor and obtained their property. This is often done still. A rich man takes advantage of the needs of the poor, and obtains their little farm or house for much less than it is worth. He takes a mortgage, and then forecloses it, and buys the property himself for much less than its real value, and thus practices a species of the worst kind of robbery. Such a man, Zophar says, must expect punishment - and if there is any man who has occasion to dread the wrath of heaven it is he.
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 vv20–21Them. Death will overtake him, like the rich man,…
Them. Death will overtake him, like the rich man, Luke xii. 20. (Calmet)
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 vv19–21oppressed--whereas he ought to have espoused their cause (Ch2…
oppressed--whereas he ought to have espoused their cause (Ch2 16:10).
forsaken--left helpless.
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house--thus leaving the poor without shelter (Isa 5:8; Mic 2:2).
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 vv19–2119. A house which he builded not — Literally,…
19. A house which he builded not — Literally, A house hath he plundered, but he shall not build it up. “House” is used collectively for houses. The prerogative of the wicked is, that they destroy; (Ecc_9:18;) for them there is no counterpart, such as of “building up.” He finally fails in all his desires and efforts, for they are founded in wrong.
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 vv19–2119. and hath forsaken] Abandoned them, after oppressing them,…
19. and hath forsaken] Abandoned them, after oppressing them, to their destitution. Thus, though joining house to house (Isa_5:8) and dispossessing the poor, the houses which he robs he shall not build up—as Is. says, Many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair without inhabitant (ch. Job_5:9).
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 vv19–21(19) Because he hath oppressed and forsaken . .…
(19) Because he hath oppressed and forsaken . . .—For these insinuations there was not a vestige of ground, but Job formally rebuts them in Job 31
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 vv19–21Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor.…
Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor. These charges are now for the first time insinuated against Job; later on, they are openly brought by Eliphaz. (Job_22:5-9) Job denies them categorically in Job_29:11-17. They seem to have been pure calumnies, without an atom of foundation. Because he hath violently taken away a house which he builded not. Another calumny, doubtless. Something like it was insinuated by Eliphaz in Job_15:28.
Vers. 19, 20. Oppressing the poor.
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This is a sin most frequently referred to in the Bible, a common wrong against which the prophets of Israel continually pretested with vehement indignation. Christ, usually mild and gentle, spoke in great anger of this wickedness. (Mat_23:14) St. James denounced it as not unknown among Christians. (Jam_5:4)
I THE SIN.
1. Its various forms. It is not always seen in the bare and open fashion of primitive times. The sheik exacts more than is due from his tribe, the Eastern landowner grinds down his fellaheen, the baron enslaves and robs his serfs, and we denounce the manifest wrong. But is not the same evil to be seen in the more decorous injustice of modern Western civilization? The great body of working men is now emancipated from the tyranny of past ages, and is able to assert itself and claim its rights. But below this powerful class is a mass of unskilled workers, the helpless men and women who crowd the lower quarters of great cities the really poor. When advantage is taken of the poverty of these miserable people to grind them down, they are being robbed. With us the sweating system takes the place of the old territorial oppression.
2. Its invariable wickedness. Is the modern commercial oppression one whit less guilty than the old lordly tyranny? The evil is more disguised with us; it is more difficult to bring it home to its authors; our complicated civilization hushes it up yet the cruelty and wickedness are as real as ever.
II THE PUNISHMENT. The writers of the Bible who denounced the sin of oppressing the poor continually threatened punishment to the guilty oppressors.
1. Direct loss. Zophar contemplates the actual loss of ill-gotten gains. This may happen in the present life. It will certainly occur at death. The oppressor can take none of the profits of his cruelty out of the world with him.
2. Disappointment. In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits. Even without the loss of property difficulties will arise. The rich man may be murdered in his palace. Most oppressors live in fear. Trouble of mind mingles like gall in the sweetest cup of pleasures got by cruelty.
III THE CURE. Punishment is not cure. The fear of it may act as somewhat of a check. But we must go deeper for "the root of the matter" if we would cure it. Now undoubtedly in this case the root is not hard to find, for it is simply unmitigated selfishness. Therefore until men can be taught to substitute brotherliness for selfishness, oppression of the poor must continue. No social revolution, no legal enactment, no forcible change, can eradicate the evil. We must go for the cure of social evils to Christ. He is concerned with society as well as with the individual, and there is no hope for society until he is recognized as its Saviour and its Lord. Christianity instills brotherliness. No man can be a Christian who is destitute of this grace. Oppression of the poor belies the most sanctimonious profession of religion. We want to get back to the religion, of Christ, which made more of brotherliness than even of faith; the religion of St. Paul and St. John, which taught that love is the greatest thing in the world. W.F.A.
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 v19Because he hath oppressed, and hath forsaken the poor.
Job_20:19
Because he hath oppressed, and hath forsaken the poor.
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Social wickedness
What is it that excites all this Divine antagonism and judgment? Was the object of it a theological heretic? Was the man pronounced wicked because he had imbibed certain wrong notions? Was this a case of heterodoxy of creed being punished by the outpouring of the vials of Divine wrath? Look at the words again. His philanthropy was wrong. The man was wicked socially--wicked in relation to his fellow men. All wickedness is not of a theological nature and quality, rising upward into the region of metaphysical conceptions and definitions of the Godhead, which only the learned can present or comprehend; there is a lateral wickedness, a wickedness as between man and man, rich and poor, poor and rich young and old; a household wickedness, a market place iniquity. There we stand on solid rock. If you have been led away with the thought that wickedness is a theological conception, and a species of theological nightmare, you have only to read the Bible, in its complete sense, in order to see that judgment is pronounced upon what may be called lateral wickedness--the wickedness that operates among ourselves, that wrongs mankind, that keeps a false weight, and a short measure, that practises cunning and deceit upon the simple and innocent, that fleeces the unsuspecting,--a social wickedness that stands out that it may be seen in all its black hideousness, and valued as one of the instruments of the devil. There is no escape from the judgment of the Bible. If it pronounced judgment upon false opinions only, then men might profess to be astounded by terms they cannot comprehend: but the Bible goes into the family, the market place, the counting house, the field where the labourer toils, and insists upon judging the actions of men, and upon sending away the richest man from all his bank of gold, if he have oppressed and forsaken the poor. (Joseph Parker, D.D.)
.
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 v20There is nothing left that he did not devour
There is nothing left that he did not devour
This can be reworded with only one of the negatives. AT: "He devoured everything, and there is nothing left" or "There is nothing left because he devoured everything" (See: Double Negatives)
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There is nothing left that he did not devour
Here "devour" represents taking things for himself. AT: "There is nothing left that he did not take for himself" or "He took everything for himself, and there is nothing left" (See: Metaphor)
he will fall into trouble
"he will suddenly experience trouble"
the hand of everyone who is in poverty will come against him
Here "hand" represents power, and "hand ... will come against him" represents people attacking him. The abstract noun "poverty" can be expressed with the adjective "poor." AT: "everyone who is in poverty will attack him" or "everyone who is poor will attack him" (See: Metonymy and Abstract Nouns)
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v21 He shall leave nothing to his posterity.
He shall leave nothing to his posterity.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv19–21 Job 20:19 Because he hath oppressed [and] hath forsaken…
Job 20:19 Because he hath oppressed [and] hath forsaken the poor; [because] he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;
Ver. 19. Because he hath oppressed and forsaken the poor]. Heb. Because he hath crushed or broken in pieces. The original word importeth (as one well observeth) tyrannical oppression without mercy or moderation, without ho or hold; some give full scope to their rage and wrath, they put neither bond nor bridle upon their covetousness and cruelty: such are characterized by this word.
Read full note →
And forsaken the poor] Or, Left men poor; viz. by leaving them without a livelihood, and so as good as without life. A poor man in his house is like a snail in his shell; crush that, and you kill him. They which read it, And forsaken the poor, give us this good note, that as it is sinful to forsake the poor, though we have never oppressed them, Mat 25:35-36 (not to do justice is injustice, not to show mercy is cruelty, Mar 3:4), so to oppress, and then forsake them, is far more sinful.
Because he hath violently taken away] Violently and in open view, in an impudent manner. He pulleth down men’s houses, but never thinketh of repairing them; so some read this text. Let our depopulators look to it, who build themselves desolate places, and desire to live alone in the earth. This hath been noted as a great fault in our nation. And therefore Goropius thinketh that the English were called Angli because they were so good anglers, having skill to lay various baits when they fished for other men’s livings.
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 vv19–21 By his oppression he brought men to utter poverty,…
By his oppression he brought men to utter poverty, and then forsook or left them in that forlorn estate, affording no mercy nor help to them. Or, some he made poor by his oppression, and others that were poor he suffered to perish for want of that relief which he should and might have afforded them; which is a crying sin in God’s sight, and one of those sins for which God destroyed Sodom, Eze 16:49, and therefore fitly mentioned here as one of the sins for which God punished this wicked man. Or, he oppresseth and leaveth poor, as Broughton renders it.
An house which he built not, i.e. which was none of his. Heb. he hath violently taken away an house, and (or but) did not build (or repair, as building is oft used) it, to wit, that house for his own use, i.e. he did not build or possess that house, as he intended to do, but was cut off by God’s hand before he could enjoy the fruit of his oppressions.
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 vv19–21 Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor,....…
Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor,.... Having oppressed, crushed, and broken the poor to pieces, he leaves them so without pity and compassion for them, and without giving them any relief; he first by oppression makes them poor, or however poorer still, and then leaves them in such circumstances; for this does not suppose that he once was a favourer of them, and afforded them assistance in their necessities, and afterwards forsook them; but rather, as Ben Gersom gives the sense, he does not leave the poor until he has oppressed and crushed them, and then he does; Mr. Broughton's reading of the words agrees with the former sense, "he oppresseth and leaveth poor":
because he hath violently taken away an house which he built not; an house which did not belong to him, he had no property in or right unto, which, as he had not bought, he had not built; and therefore could lay no rightful claim unto it, and yet this he took in a violent manner from the right owner of it, see Mic 2:2; or "and", or "but shall not build it" (a), or "buildeth it not"; he took it away with an intention to pull it down, and build a stately palace in the room of it; but either his substance was taken from him, or he taken away by death before he could finish it, and so either through neglect, or want of opportunity, or of money, did not what he thought to have done.
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(a) "et non aedificabit eam", Pagninus, Montanus; "et non aedificat eam", Cocceius, Schultens; "non autem", Beza; "sed non", Schmidt, Michaelis.
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 vv20–21 Belly - He shall have no peace in his…
Belly - He shall have no peace in his mind. Desired - Any part of his desirable things, but shall forfeit and lose them all.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv19–21 Verse 19. He hath oppressed and hath forsaken the…
Verse 19. He hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor] Literally, He hath broken in pieces the forsaken of the poor; כי רצץ עזב דלים ki ritstsats azab dallim. The poor have fled from famine, and left their children behind them; and this hard-hearted wretch, meaning Job all the while, has suffered them to perish, when he might have saved them alive.
He hath violently taken away a house which he builded not] Or rather, He hath thrown down a house, and hath not rebuilt it. By neglecting or destroying the forsaken orphans of the poor, mentioned above, he has destroyed a house, (a family,) while he might, by helping the wretched, have preserved the family from becoming extinct.
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 vv19–21 Job 20:19. Because he hath oppressed and forsaken the…
Job 20:19. Because he hath oppressed and forsaken the poor — By his oppression he brought men to utter poverty, and then forsook them in that destitute state, affording them no mercy nor help. Or, the meaning is, He made some poor by his oppressions, and others, that were poor, he suffered to perish for want of that relief which he might have afforded them. He hath violently taken away a house, &c. — Namely, for his own use; which he builded not — Which was none of his.
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 vv19–21 Because he hath oppressed - Margin, “crushed.” Such is…
Because he hath oppressed - Margin, “crushed.” Such is the Hebrew.
And forsaken the poor - He has plundered them, and then forsaken them - as robbers do. The meaning is, that he had done this by his oppressive manner of dealing, and then left them to suffer and pine in want.
Read full note →
He hath violently taken away an house which he builded not - That is, by overreaching and harsh dealings he has come in possession of dwellings which he did not build, or purchase in any proper manner. It does not mean that he had done this by violence - for Zophar is not describing a robber, but he means that he took advantage of the needs of the poor and obtained their property. This is often done still. A rich man takes advantage of the needs of the poor, and obtains their little farm or house for much less than it is worth. He takes a mortgage, and then forecloses it, and buys the property himself for much less than its real value, and thus practices a species of the worst kind of robbery. Such a man, Zophar says, must expect punishment - and if there is any man who has occasion to dread the wrath of heaven it is he.
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 vv20–21 Them. Death will overtake him, like the rich man,…
Them. Death will overtake him, like the rich man, Luke xii. 20. (Calmet)
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 vv19–21 oppressed--whereas he ought to have espoused their cause (Ch2…
oppressed--whereas he ought to have espoused their cause (Ch2 16:10).
forsaken--left helpless.
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house--thus leaving the poor without shelter (Isa 5:8; Mic 2:2).
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 vv19–21 19. A house which he builded not — Literally,…
19. A house which he builded not — Literally, A house hath he plundered, but he shall not build it up. “House” is used collectively for houses. The prerogative of the wicked is, that they destroy; (Ecc_9:18;) for them there is no counterpart, such as of “building up.” He finally fails in all his desires and efforts, for they are founded in wrong.
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 vv19–21 19. and hath forsaken] Abandoned them, after oppressing them,…
19. and hath forsaken] Abandoned them, after oppressing them, to their destitution. Thus, though joining house to house (Isa_5:8) and dispossessing the poor, the houses which he robs he shall not build up—as Is. says, Many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair without inhabitant (ch. Job_5:9).
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 vv19–21 (19) Because he hath oppressed and forsaken . .…
(19) Because he hath oppressed and forsaken . . .—For these insinuations there was not a vestige of ground, but Job formally rebuts them in Job 31
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 vv19–21 Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor.…
Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor. These charges are now for the first time insinuated against Job; later on, they are openly brought by Eliphaz. (Job_22:5-9) Job denies them categorically in Job_29:11-17. They seem to have been pure calumnies, without an atom of foundation. Because he hath violently taken away a house which he builded not. Another calumny, doubtless. Something like it was insinuated by Eliphaz in Job_15:28.
Vers. 19, 20. Oppressing the poor.
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This is a sin most frequently referred to in the Bible, a common wrong against which the prophets of Israel continually pretested with vehement indignation. Christ, usually mild and gentle, spoke in great anger of this wickedness. (Mat_23:14) St. James denounced it as not unknown among Christians. (Jam_5:4)
I THE SIN.
1. Its various forms. It is not always seen in the bare and open fashion of primitive times. The sheik exacts more than is due from his tribe, the Eastern landowner grinds down his fellaheen, the baron enslaves and robs his serfs, and we denounce the manifest wrong. But is not the same evil to be seen in the more decorous injustice of modern Western civilization? The great body of working men is now emancipated from the tyranny of past ages, and is able to assert itself and claim its rights. But below this powerful class is a mass of unskilled workers, the helpless men and women who crowd the lower quarters of great cities the really poor. When advantage is taken of the poverty of these miserable people to grind them down, they are being robbed. With us the sweating system takes the place of the old territorial oppression.
2. Its invariable wickedness. Is the modern commercial oppression one whit less guilty than the old lordly tyranny? The evil is more disguised with us; it is more difficult to bring it home to its authors; our complicated civilization hushes it up yet the cruelty and wickedness are as real as ever.
II THE PUNISHMENT. The writers of the Bible who denounced the sin of oppressing the poor continually threatened punishment to the guilty oppressors.
1. Direct loss. Zophar contemplates the actual loss of ill-gotten gains. This may happen in the present life. It will certainly occur at death. The oppressor can take none of the profits of his cruelty out of the world with him.
2. Disappointment. In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits. Even without the loss of property difficulties will arise. The rich man may be murdered in his palace. Most oppressors live in fear. Trouble of mind mingles like gall in the sweetest cup of pleasures got by cruelty.
III THE CURE. Punishment is not cure. The fear of it may act as somewhat of a check. But we must go deeper for "the root of the matter" if we would cure it. Now undoubtedly in this case the root is not hard to find, for it is simply unmitigated selfishness. Therefore until men can be taught to substitute brotherliness for selfishness, oppression of the poor must continue. No social revolution, no legal enactment, no forcible change, can eradicate the evil. We must go for the cure of social evils to Christ. He is concerned with society as well as with the individual, and there is no hope for society until he is recognized as its Saviour and its Lord. Christianity instills brotherliness. No man can be a Christian who is destitute of this grace. Oppression of the poor belies the most sanctimonious profession of religion. We want to get back to the religion, of Christ, which made more of brotherliness than even of faith; the religion of St. Paul and St. John, which taught that love is the greatest thing in the world. W.F.A.
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 v19 Because he hath oppressed, and hath forsaken the poor.
Job_20:19
Because he hath oppressed, and hath forsaken the poor.
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Social wickedness
What is it that excites all this Divine antagonism and judgment? Was the object of it a theological heretic? Was the man pronounced wicked because he had imbibed certain wrong notions? Was this a case of heterodoxy of creed being punished by the outpouring of the vials of Divine wrath? Look at the words again. His philanthropy was wrong. The man was wicked socially--wicked in relation to his fellow men. All wickedness is not of a theological nature and quality, rising upward into the region of metaphysical conceptions and definitions of the Godhead, which only the learned can present or comprehend; there is a lateral wickedness, a wickedness as between man and man, rich and poor, poor and rich young and old; a household wickedness, a market place iniquity. There we stand on solid rock. If you have been led away with the thought that wickedness is a theological conception, and a species of theological nightmare, you have only to read the Bible, in its complete sense, in order to see that judgment is pronounced upon what may be called lateral wickedness--the wickedness that operates among ourselves, that wrongs mankind, that keeps a false weight, and a short measure, that practises cunning and deceit upon the simple and innocent, that fleeces the unsuspecting,--a social wickedness that stands out that it may be seen in all its black hideousness, and valued as one of the instruments of the devil. There is no escape from the judgment of the Bible. If it pronounced judgment upon false opinions only, then men might profess to be astounded by terms they cannot comprehend: but the Bible goes into the family, the market place, the counting house, the field where the labourer toils, and insists upon judging the actions of men, and upon sending away the richest man from all his bank of gold, if he have oppressed and forsaken the poor. (Joseph Parker, D.D.)
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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 v20 There is nothing left that he did not devour
There is nothing left that he did not devour
This can be reworded with only one of the negatives. AT: "He devoured everything, and there is nothing left" or "There is nothing left because he devoured everything" (See: Double Negatives)
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There is nothing left that he did not devour
Here "devour" represents taking things for himself. AT: "There is nothing left that he did not take for himself" or "He took everything for himself, and there is nothing left" (See: Metaphor)
he will fall into trouble
"he will suddenly experience trouble"
the hand of everyone who is in poverty will come against him
Here "hand" represents power, and "hand ... will come against him" represents people attacking him. The abstract noun "poverty" can be expressed with the adjective "poor." AT: "everyone who is in poverty will attack him" or "everyone who is poor will attack him" (See: Metonymy and Abstract Nouns)
translationWords
know
save
devour
prosper
hand
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v20 20:20 Like the grave or death (Prov 27:20; 30:15-16),…
20:20 Like the grave or death (Prov 27:20; 30:15-16), the wicked are always greedy and never satisfied (Eccl 5:19; Isa 57:20-21; Hab 2:5).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.