Don’t you know this from old time, since man was placed on earth,
that the triumphing of the wicked is short, the joy of the godless but for a moment?
Though his height mount up to the heavens, and his head reach to the clouds,
yet he will perish forever like his own dung. Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
He will fly away as a dream, and will not be found. Yes, he will be chased away like a vision of the night.
The eye which saw him will see him no more, neither will his place see him any more.
His children will seek the favor of the poor. His hands will give back his wealth.
His bones are full of his youth, but youth will lie down with him in the dust.
“Though wickedness is sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue,
though he spare it, and will not let it go, but keep it still within his mouth;
yet his food in his bowels is turned. It is cobra venom within him.
He has swallowed down riches, and he will vomit them up again. God will cast them out of his belly.
He will suck cobra venom. The viper’s tongue will kill him.
He will not look at the rivers, the flowing streams of honey and butter.
He will restore that for which he labored, and will not swallow it down. He will not rejoice according to the substance that he has gotten.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv6, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18 His purpose is to prove Job to be a…
His purpose is to prove Job to be a wicked man, and an hypocrite, because God punished him, and changed his prosperity into adversity.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv4–18 Job 20:4 Knowest thou [not] this of old, since…
Job 20:4 Knowest thou [not] this of old, since man was placed upon earth,
Ver. 4. Knowest thou not this of old] Whether Zophar intended his own conscience or not before, he here appealeth to Job’s; and secretly taxeth him of going against it, or, at least, of gross ignorance; knowest thou not this, which every one knoweth that is not a mere novice, and which is proved by the examples and experiences of all ages? to wit, Malis male esse, that it shall be ill with the wicked. This is a generally received maxim, and the histories of all ages do plainly and plentifully confirm it. Hinc collige, diligenter observanda esse, &c. (Merlin). Hence we may well gather, that God’s judgments against wicked persons are to be diligently observed out of the histories of all ages, both divine and human.
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Since man was placed upon the earth] Heb. Since he placed man upon the earth, viz. in that earthly paradise, the garden of Eden, planted for purpose of man’s pleasure; where, nevertheless, he stayed not one night, as some gather from Psa 49:12, but soon by his sin became like the beasts that perish ( pecoribus morticinis), that die of the murrain, saith Junius, and so are good for nothing. Cain for like cause was cast out, the old world drowned, Sodom and her sisters consumed with fire, &c. There cannot be one instance given to the contrary of that which is here affirmed, viz.
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 vv4–18 i.e. This which I am now about to say.…
i.e. This which I am now about to say. How canst thou,
thou, I say, who pretendest to such an exact and universal knowledge of men and things, be ignorant of so notorious a thing, which wicked men sensibly feel, and good men diligently observe, and all men are forced to acknowledge, one time or other?
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Of old, i.e. from the experience of all former ages.
Since man was placed upon earth, i.e. since the world was made, and there were any men to observe God’s government of it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v10 The instances here given of the miserable condition of…
The instances here given of the miserable condition of the wicked man in this world are expressed with great fulness and fluency of language, and the same thing returned to again and repeated in other words. Let us therefore reduce the particulars to their proper heads, and observe,
I. What his wickedness is for which he is punished.
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1. The lusts of the flesh, here called the sins of his youth (Job 20:11); for those are the sins which, at that age, people are most tempted to. The forbidden pleasures of sense are said to be sweet in his mouth (Job 20:12); he indulges himself in all the gratifications of the carnal appetite, and takes an inordinate complacency in them, as yielding the most agreeable delights. That is the satisfaction which he hides under his tongue, and rolls there, as the most dainty delicate thing that can be. He keeps it still within his mouth (Job 20:13); let him have that, and he desires no more; he will never part with that for the spiritual and divine pleasures of religion, which he has no relish or nor affection for. His keeping it still in his mouth denotes his obstinately persisting in his sin (he spares it when he should kill and mortify it, and forsakes it not, but holds it fast, and goes on frowardly in it), and also his re-acting of his sin by revolving it and remembering it with pleasure, as that adulterous woman (Eze 23:19) who multiplied her whoredoms by calling to remembrance the days of her youth; so does this wicked man here. Or his hiding it and keeping it under his tongue denotes his industrious concealment of his beloved lust. Being a hypocrite, his haunts of sin are secret, that he may save the credit of his profession; but he who knows what is in the heart knows what is under the tongue too, and will discover it shortly.
2. The love of the world and the wealth of it. It is in worldly wealth that he places his happiness, and therefore he sets his heart upon it. See here, (1.) How greedy he is of it (Job 20:15): He has swallowed down riches as eagerly as ever a hungry man swallowed down meat; and is still crying, "Give, give." It is that which he desired (Job 20:20); it was, in his eye, the best gift, and that which he coveted earnestly. (2.) What pains he takes for it: It is that which he laboured for (Job 20:18), not by honest diligence in a lawful calling, but by an unwearied prosecution of all ways and methods, per fas, per nefas - right or wrong, to be rich. We must labour, not to be rich (Pro 23:4), but to be charitable, that we may have to give (Eph 4:28), not to spend. (3.) What great things he promises himself from it, intimated in the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter (Job 20:17); his being disappointed of them supposes that he had flattered himself with the hopes of them: he expected rivers of sensual delights.
3. Violence and oppression, and injustice in his poor neighbours, Job 20:19. This was the sin of the giants of the old world, and a sin that, as much as any, brings God's judgments upon nations and families. It is charged upon this wicked man, (1.) That he has forsaken the poor, taken no care of them, shown no kindness to them, nor made any provision for them. At first perhaps, for a pretence, he gave alms like the Pharisees, to gain a reputation; but, when he had served his turn by this practice, he left it off, and forsook the poor, whom before he seemed to be concerned for. Those who do good, but not from a good principle, though they may abound in it, will not abide in it. (2.) That he has oppressed them, crushed them, taken all advantages against them to do them a mischief. To enrich himself, he has robbed the spital, and made the poor poorer. (3.) That he has violently taken away their houses, which he had no right to, as Ahab took Naboth's vineyard, not by secret fraud, by forgery, perjury, or some trick in law, but avowedly, and by open violence.
II. What his punishment is for this wickedness.
1. He shall be disappointed in his expectations, and shall not find that satisfaction in his worldly wealth which he vainly promised himself (Job 20:17): He shall never see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter, with which he hoped to glut himself. The world is not that to those who love it, and court it, and admire it, which they fancy it will be. The enjoyment sinks far below the raised expectation.
2. He shall be diseased and distempered in his body; and how little comfort a man has in riches if he has not health! Sickness and pain, especially it they be in extremity, embitter all his enjoyments. This wicked man has all the delights of sense wound up to the height of pleasurableness; but what real happiness can he enjoy when his bones are full of the sins of his youth (Job 20:11), that is, of the effects of those sins? By his drunkenness and gluttony, his uncleanness and wantonness, when he was young, he contracted those diseases which are painful to him long after, and perhaps make his life very miserable, and, as Solomon speaks, consume his flesh and his body, Pro 5:11. Perhaps he was given to fight when he was young, and then made nothing of a cut or a bruise in a fray; but he feels it in his bones long after. But can he get no ease, no relief? No, he is likely to carry his pains and diseases with him to the grave, or rather they are likely to carry him thither, and so the sins of his youth shall lie down with him in the dust; the very putrefying of his body in the grave is to him the effect of sin (Job 24:19), so that his iniquity is upon his bones there, Eze 32:27. The sin of sinners follows them to the other side death.
3. He shall be disquieted and troubled in his mind: Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, Job 20:20. He has not that ease in his own mind that people think he has, but is in continual agitation. The ill-gotten wealth which he has swallowed down makes him sick, and, like undigested meat, is always upbraiding him. Let none expect to enjoy that comfortably which they have gotten unjustly. The unquietness of his mind arises, (1.) From his conscience looking back, and filling him with the fear of the wrath of God against him for his wickedness. Even that wickedness which was sweet in the commission, and was rolled under the tongue as a delicate morsel, becomes bitter in the reflection, and, when it is reviewed, fills him with horror and vexation. In his bowels it is turned (Job 20:14) like John's book, in his mouth as sweet as honey, but, when he had eaten it, his belly was bitter, Rev 10:10. Such a thing is sin; it is turned into the gall of asps, than which nothing is more bitter, the poison of asps (Job 20:16), than which nothing more fatal, and so it will be to him; what he sucked so sweetly, and with so much pleasure, will prove to him the poison of asps; so will all unlawful gains be. The fawning tongue will prove the viper's tongue. All the charming graces that are thought to be in sin will, when conscience is awakened, turn into so many raging furies. (2.) From his cares, looking forward, Job 20:22. In the fulness of his sufficiency, when he thinks himself most happy, and most sure of the continuance of his happiness, he shall be in straits, that is, he shall think himself so, through the anxieties and perplexities of his own mind, as that rich man who, when his ground brought forth plentifully, cried out, What shall I do? Luk 12:17.
4. He shall be dispossessed of his estate; that shall sink and dwindle away to nothing, so that he shall not rejoice therein, Job 20:18. He shall not only never rejoice truly, but not long rejoice at all. (1.) What he has unjustly swallowed he shall be compelled to disgorge (Job 20:15): He swallowed down riches, and then thought himself sure of them, and that they were as much his own as the meat he had eaten; but he was deceived: he shall vomit them up again; his own conscience perhaps may make him so uneasy in the keeping of what he has gotten that, for the quiet of his own mind, he shall make restitution, and that not with the pleasure of a virtue, but the pain of a vomit, and with the utmost reluctancy. Or, if he do not himself refund what he has violently taken away, God will, by his providence, force him to it, and bring it about, one way or other, that ill-gotten goods shall return to the right owners: God shall cast them out of his belly, while yet the love of the sin is not cast out of his heart. So loud shall the clamours of the poor, whom he has impoverished, be against him, that he shall be forced to send his children to them to soothe them and beg their pardon (Job 20:10): His children shall seek to please the poor, while his own hands shall restore them their goods with shame (Job 20:18): That which he laboured for, by all the arts of oppression, shall he restore, and shall not so swallow it down as to digest it; it shall not stay with him, but according to his shame shall the restitution be; having gotten a great deal unjustly, he shall restore a great deal, so that when every one has his own he will have but little left for himself. To be made to restore what was unjustly gotten, by the sanctifying grace of God, as Zaccheus was, is a great mercy; he voluntarily and cheerfully restored four-fold, and yet had a great deal left to give to the poor, Luk 19:8. But to be forced to restore, as Judas was, merely by the horrors of a despairing conscience, has none of that benefit and comfort attending it, for he threw down the pieces of silver and went and hanged himself. (2.) He shall be stripped of all he has and become a beggar. He that spoiled others shall himself be spoiled (Isa 33:1); for every hand of the wicked shall be upon him. The innocent, whom he has wronged, sit down by their loss, saying, as David, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked, but my hand shall not be upon him, Sa1 24:13. But though they have forgiven him, though they will make no reprisals, divine justice will, and often makes the wicked to avenge the quarrel of the righteous, and squeezes and crushes one bad man by the hand of another upon him. Thus, when he is plucked on all sides, he shall not save of that which he desired (Job 20:20), not only he shall not save it all, but he shall save nothing of it. There shall none of his meat (which he coveted so much, and fed upon with so much pleasure) be left, Job 20:21. All his neighbours and relations shall look upon him to be in such bad circumstances that, when he is dead, no man shall look for his goods, none of his kindred shall expect to be a penny the better for him, nor be willing to take out letters of administration for what he leaves behind him. In all this Zophar reflects upon Job, who had lost all and was reduced to the last extremity.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv4–18 Knowest thou not this of old,.... Or "from eternity"…
Knowest thou not this of old,.... Or "from eternity" (g), from the beginning of time, ever since the world was; as if he should say, if you are the knowing man you pretend to be, you must know this I am about to observe; and if you do not know it, you must be an ignorant man, since it is an ancient truth, confirmed by all experience from the creation; not that Job could know it so early, he was not the first man that was born, nor was he made before the hills, but was of yesterday, and comparatively knew nothing; but the sense is, that this about to be delivered was an old established maxim, of which there had been numerous instances,
since man, or "Adam",
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was placed upon earth; referring to the putting of Adam in Eden to dress the garden, and keep it; and every man, ever since, is placed on earth by the ordination, and according to the will of God, where and for purposes he pleases: the instances Zophar might have in view are perhaps the expulsion of our first parents out of paradise, the vagabond state of Cain, the destruction of the old world by a flood, and of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire from heaven; which show that God, sooner or later, gives manifest tokens of his displeasure at sin and sinners, by his punishment of them for it. What he means is as follows.
(g) "ab aeterno", Junius & Tremellius, Drusius, Codurcus, 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 vv4, 6, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18 This - Which I am now about to say.…
This - Which I am now about to say. Since - Since the world was made.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18 Verse 4. Knowest thou not this of old] This…
Verse 4. Knowest thou not this of old] This is a maxim as ancient as the world; it began with the first man: A wicked man shall triumph but a short time; God will destroy the proud doer.
Since man was placed upon earth] Literally, since ADAM was placed on the earth; that is, since the fall, wickedness and hypocrisy have existed; but they have never triumphed long. Thou hast lately been expressing confidence in reference to a general judgment; but such is thy character, that thou hast little reason to anticipate with any joy the decisions of that day.
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 vv4, 6, 10, 11, 12, 15, 17, 18 Job 20:4-5. Knowest thou not this — Which I…
Job 20:4-5. Knowest thou not this — Which I am now about to say; of old — From the experience of all former ages; since man was placed upon the earth — Since the world was made, and there were any men to observe God’s government of it; that the triumphing of the wicked is short — Hebrew, מקרוב, mikarob, is from near, that is, from, or for a little time; they have not long enjoyed it, and it will shortly vanish. And the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment — This he adds by way of reflection upon Job, who, though he cleared himself of gross wickedness, yet, he judged, was guilty of deep hypocrisy.
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 vv4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 Knowest thou not this of old - That is,…
Knowest thou not this of old - That is, dost thou not know that this has always happened from the beginning of the world, or that this is the invariable course of events. His purpose is to show that it was the settled arrangement of Providence that the wicked would be overtaken with signal calamity. It was “so” settled that Job ought not to be surprised that it had occurred in “his” case. Zophar goes on to show that though a wicked man might rise high in honor, and obtain great wealth, yet that the fall would certainly come, and he would sink to a depth of degradation corresponding to the former prosperity.
Since man was placed upon earth - Since the creation; that is, it has always been so.
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 vv4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18 I know. Hebrew and Septuagint, "dost thou not know?"
I know. Hebrew and Septuagint, "dost thou not know?"
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 vv5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 the hypocrite--literally, "the ungodly" (Psa 37:35-36).
the hypocrite--literally, "the ungodly" (Psa 37:35-36).
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 vv4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 4. Knowest thou this — This gives the only…
4. Knowest thou this — This gives the only sign of a reply that either he or his friends deign to make to the grand confession of faith, I know, etc. (Job_19:25-27.) Zophar regarded Job as a consummate hypocrite, and worthy of fiercest rebuke, rather than of “the communion of saints.” In this lies, probably, their profound silence with regard to Job’s proposed inscription on the rock. Or, if Zophar reply at all, it is to remind Job that the coming of the Goel shall be to take vengeance on the wicked, such as Job, (Job_20:26,) and hence the greater reason why he should repent. Job’s wisdom is not “from eternity,” nor does it date back to the creation of man, as is evident from his not knowing that the triumphing of the wicked is short. The question is intensely ironical. Job knows so much of what will take place after death, and yet knows nothing of this world. He knows that God cares for “the dust” of such hypocrites as he, and yet does not know that the triumphing of the wicked is for a moment. If with his “understanding” he grasp the eternity to come, he must have been from eternity himself.
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 vv4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 4–10. The prosperity of the wicked is brief
4–10. The prosperity of the wicked is brief
4. Knowest thou not this old] i. e. knowest thou not this to be or to have been of old, lit. from for ever. “This” which is from of old and from the time man has been upon the earth is the fact that the felicity of the wicked is brief (Job_20:5). On “hypocrite” see ch. Job_8:13.
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 vv5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 (5) The triumphing of the wicked is short.—He affirms…
(5) The triumphing of the wicked is short.—He affirms that the destruction of the wicked is not only certain, but speedy. (Comp. Psa_103:16 and Job_7:8; Job_7:10.)
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 vv4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 Knowest thou not this of old, since man was…
Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth? These words scarcely "imply cognizance of the record (of the creation of man) in Genesis," as Canon Cook suggests; but they do imply belief in a creation of man, not an evolution; and in the existence of a continuous tradition, extending from that time to Job"s. The passage is among those which make for the high antiquity of the book.
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 vv4, 8, 11, 12 That the triumphing of the wicked is short.
Job_20:4-5
That the triumphing of the wicked is short.
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The triumph of the wicked
The words of the text are indisputably true, though misapplied. In the world there is, alas! very often a triumphing of the wicked. Sometimes We see it on a grand scale, as in the cases of Pharaoh, or of Nero. Sometimes we see it on a small scale. There is great mystery in this apparent triumph of evil. Many a suffering saint has been perplexed by this feature of the Divine government (Psa_23:1-6).
I. Some thoughts as to why the wicked should be allowed to triumph for a season.
1. God is a God of patience and long-suffering. He does not cut short the day of grace, even of the most ungodly, but gives them space for repentance. And even if this is of no avail, yet it is a display of His own attributes, and leaves the impenitent more completely without excuse.
2. This triumph may be permitted for a time, as a chastisement to His people, or to His world. God uses the wicked as unconscious instruments in executing His will, and especially in inflicting chastisement on His backsliding people.
II. There is another, and how different a triumph, the triumph of the Christian. His triumph is not over the weak and suffering, but over the strong--the world, the flesh, the devil. (George Wagner.)
The triumphing of the wicked short
I. The triumph mentioned. The term used by Zophar is of very general meaning. It signifies the joy which is displayed by the conqueror on account of the successes which have attended him. It is to be understood as referring to the boast which ungodly men often make of their achievements. The term applies to the general conduct of all those who set Gods laws at defiance, and by their life show who take pleasure in the ways of sin. The enjoyment of transgression is the triumph of ungodliness.
II. The shortness of the triumphs of man.
1. In regard to the object itself. It is a conquest which circumstances put into their hands. But see how unstable is war.
2. The expression is also true as it regards the term of human life. The period allotted to man, even the longest period, is only a small portion of time. Death will soon overtake the ungodly, and put a final termination to all his plans and purposes; he will hurry the soul before the Judge of quick and dead, to give account of the deeds done in the body. Then will appear the value of the one thing needful. This subject teaches the people of God not to despond, not to judge or conclude that the wicked are happy, because they seem to prosper and triumph. It teaches the believer the obligations under which he lies to God for grace--grace which has enlightened his mind--grace which has led him to Christ, to believe in Him, and find mercy and peace--grace which has guided his steps, and enabled him to bear patiently all the ills of life, in the hope of a triumph forever. (F. Rogers Blackley.)
And the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment.
Against hypocrisy
Prejudice or passion will miserably warp the judgment. It will hide from us what we know not, and cause us to pervert what we do know. This is exemplified in the friends of Job. Job had hinted to them the evil and danger of their conduct (Job_19:28-29). And Zophar, irritated at the caution, replies with great severity. His words, however, though misapplied, suggest to us two very important truths respecting sinners.
I. Their prosperity is transient. Of sinners, some make no profession of religion, and others a false profession. Each of these characters may enjoy, for a while, great prosperity the profane are often exalted to places of dignity and power. They prosper in all their labours for wealth and preferment. They triumph, as though no evil should ever happen unto them (Psa_73:3-12). Hypocrites also frequently are held in estimation (Rev_3:1). They are objects of envy to many an humble and contrite soul. They will boast of experiences which might well be coveted. And even attain considerable heights of joy (Mat_13:20). But their prosperity will be of short duration. The hypocrite shall have a period put to his dissimulation. He shall soon appear in his proper character (Deu_32:35). In comparison of eternity, the duration of his joy will be but a moment.
II. their ruin will be tremendous. The ungodly will in due time be visited for their offences. They will then perish.
1. To their own eternal shame.
2. To the astonishment of all that knew them. The question Where is he? refers primarily to the utter extinction of the ungodly. Address--Know you not this? Know you not that this has been so from the beginning of the world? Does not the Word of God assert that it shall be ill with the wicked? (Isa_3:11; Psa_9:17.) Does not the most authentic history in the world prove it to have been so? (Sketches of Sermons.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v6 Zophar Pictures the End of the Ungodly
Zophar Pictures the End of the Ungodly
v. 6. Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, that is, his ambitious plans, his exaltation in rank and power, and his head reach unto the clouds, the ungodly apparently gaining all that his heart desires;
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v. 7. yet he shall perish forever like his own dung, spurned, falling into decay, and forgotten; they which have seen him shall say, Where is he? He will have disappeared so utterly and quickly that his vanishing will occasion surprise.
v. 8. He shall fly away as a dream and shall not be found, just as fleeting, just as perishable; yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night, scared away like a phantom before God’s mighty intervention.
v. 9. The eye also which saw him shall see him no more, even a careful scanning would yield no results, since God’s removal of the wicked would not leave a trace behind; neither shall his place any more behold him.
v. 10. His children shall seek to please the poor, that is, they will be obliged to do that by God’s judgment, God will compel them to pay out to them, and his hands shall restore their goods, through his children, who would be under compulsion to give back the wealth, the money, which he had taken from the poor by his wicked exactions.
v. 11. His bones are full of the sin of his youth, they were indeed full of the vigor of youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust, all the strength and vigor of his body will be laid in the grave.
v. 12. Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue, holding evil in his mouth like a sweet-tasting morsel,
v. 13. though he spare it and forsake it not, sparing it to prolong his enjoyment of it, but keep it still within his mouth, retaining it against his palate, persisting in the lustful enjoyment of his wickedness,
v. 14. yet his meat in his bowels is turned, the food of wickedness which he finally swallows, it is the gall of asps within him, the venom of serpents in his intestines.
v. 15. He hath swallowed down riches, all the possessions which he gained by his wicked grasping, and he shall vomit them up again, unable to retain what he had so eagerly appropriated; God shall cast them out of his belly, administering an emetic to him, forcing him to disgorge his ill-gotten wealth.
v. 16. He shall suck the poison of asps, this will turn out to be the effect upon him; the viper’s tongue shall slay him, his punishment will come upon him as quickly as the striking of one of the very venomous serpents of the Arabian desert, whose sting is almost immediately fatal.
v. 17. He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter, the wicked would get no opportunity to delight in, to enjoy, brooks, creeks, rivers of honey and cream, he would be given no opportunity to enjoy his prosperity.
v. 18. That which he labored for shall he restore, being obliged to give it back to those from whom he has wrested it, and shall not swallow it down, not enjoy it; according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein, that is, in the same ratio as he heaped up his property by forbidden means his enjoyment in it would be diminished, he must lack the enjoyment which he had promised himself in them.
v. 19. Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor, first crushed and then abandoned the defenseless, because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not, not being able to fit out and to arrange the houses which he gained by unjust means,
v. 20. surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, rest in the seat of his gluttony and avarice, he shall not save of that which he desired, literally, "with his most valued treasure he shall not escape. " The allusion is probably to the fact that Job had been stripped of all he had.
v. 21. There shall none of his meat be left, literally, "there is nothing remaining to his food," that is, nothing escaped his greediness; therefore shall no man look for his goods, his ill-gotten prosperity will not endure.
v. 22. In the fullness of his sufficiency, while he has more than he needs for his actual wants, while he is surfeited with good things, he shall be in straits, poverty and distress will take hold on him; every hand of the wicked shall come upon him, the wretched people who were abused by him will inflict vengeance on him for the violence which they had suffered.
v. 23. When he is about to fill his belly, or, "That it may serve for the filling of his belly," that for once the wicked may have enough and more than enough, God shall cast the fury of His wrath upon him, as it glows with a white heat, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating, with his food, so that he consumes the fire of God’s wrath with every meal.
v. 24. He shall flee from the iron weapon, while the wicked flees from the iron armor, and the bow of steel shall strike him through, the arrow from a brass bow will pierce him.
v. 25. It is drawn and cometh out of the body, the wicked himself drawing the arrow of God out of his body, in order to save his life, if possible; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall, for he himself removes the gleaming steel; terrors are upon him, as he realizes that his doom is upon him.
v. 26. All darkness shall be hid in his secret places, is saved up to strike that which he has hoarded, that is, every kind of calamity will descend upon the precious things which he fondly believed to be safe; a fire not blown shall consume him, that is, such a fire as requires no human agency to keep it alive, a supernatural fire; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle, the fire of God devouring that which still remains after former calamities have passed by.
v. 27. The heaven shall reveal his iniquity, they do so at all times, God Himself witnessing against him; and the earth shall rise up against him, all creation testifying the fact that he merits destruction.
v. 28. The increase of his house shall depart, all that he has garnered, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath, when the divine wrath will descend upon him.
v. 29. This is the portion of a wicked man from God, that which is assigned to him, what he must finally expect, and the heritage appointed unto him by God. In the end the wicked has nothing but misery and wretchedness for his portion. In the entire discourse it is evident that Zophar has Job in mind and wants him to apply the statements to himself. The sneering insinuations in similar cases are intended to cut the victim to the quick.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17 General Information:
General Information:
Zophar continues speaking with Job.
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Do you not know this fact from ancient times ... for a moment?
Zophar uses a rhetorical question to cause Job to think deeply about what he will now say. This can be translated as a statement. AT: "Surely you know what has been true since the ancient times ... for a moment." (See: Rhetorical Question)
the triumph of a wicked man is short
The abstract noun "triumph" can be expressed with the verbs "triumph" or "celebrate." AT: "the wicked man triumphs only a short time" or "the wicked person celebrates for only a little while" (See: Abstract Nouns)
the joy of a godless man lasts only for a moment
The abstract noun "joy" can be expressed with the verb "rejoice" or the adjective "happy." The word "moment" is an exaggeration to emphasize that the time is very short. AT: "a godless man rejoices for only a moment" or "the godless man is happy for only a very short time" (See: Abstract Nouns and Hyperbole and Generalization)
translationWords
God
evil
joy
godly
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 vv7, 10, 14, 17 20:7 thrown away like their own dung: Cp. 1…
20:7 thrown away like their own dung: Cp. 1 Kgs 14:9-11; 2 Kgs 9:36-37; Ps 83:10; Jer 8:1-2.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.