Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Is death final?The Hebrew Bible's wisdom literature and older narrative strata treat death as terminal — the dead go to Sheol, lose consciousness, and do not return.
Does hell exist?The Bible offers four mutually incompatible afterlife schemes.
Psalms 37:35-36(v5)I have seen the wicked in great power, spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil. But he passed away, and behold, he was not.…
Job 7:8(v9)The eye of him who sees me will see me no more. Your eyes will be on me, but I will not be.
Psalms 90:5(v8)You sweep them away as they sleep. In the morning they sprout like new grass.
Psalms 73:20(v8)As a dream when one wakes up, so, Lord, when you awake, you will despise their fantasies.
Isaiah 14:13-14(v6)You said in your heart, “I will ascend into heaven! I will exalt my throne above the stars of God! I will sit on the mountain of assembly,…
Show all 45 cross-references
Obadiah 1:3-4(v6)The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, who says in his heart, ‘Who…
Job 7:10(vv7, 9)He will return no more to his house, neither will his place know him any more.
Job 8:18(vv7, 9)If he is destroyed from his place, then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have not seen you.’
1 Kings 14:10(v7)therefore, behold, I will bring evil on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam everyone who urinates on a wall, he who is…
2 Kings 9:37(v7)and the body of Jezebel will be as dung on the face of the field on Jezreel’s land, so that they won’t say, “This is Jezebel.” ’ ”
Job 4:20(v7)Between morning and evening they are destroyed. They perish forever without any regarding it.
Job 14:10(v7)But man dies, and is laid low. Yes, man gives up the spirit, and where is he?
Job 18:5-6(v5)“Yes, the light of the wicked will be put out. The spark of his fire won’t shine. The light will be dark in his tent. His lamp above him…
Psalms 83:10(v7)who perished at Endor, who became as dung for the earth.
Genesis 11:4(v6)They said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let’s make a name for ourselves, lest we be…
Job 5:3(v5)I have seen the foolish taking root, but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
Job 8:12-13(v5)While it is yet in its greenness, not cut down, it withers before any other reed. So are the paths of all who forget God. The hope of the…
Job 18:18(v8)He will be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.
Job 20:7(v9)yet he will perish forever like his own dung. Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
Job 27:8(v5)For what is the hope of the godless, when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
Psalms 37:10(v9)For yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more. Yes, though you look for his place, he isn’t there.
Psalms 37:36(v9)But he passed away, and behold, he was not. Yes, I sought him, but he could not be found.
Psalms 73:18-20(v5)Surely you set them in slippery places. You throw them down to destruction. How they are suddenly destroyed! They are completely swept away…
Isaiah 29:7-8(v8)The multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all who fight against her and her stronghold, and who distress her, will be…
Jeremiah 8:2(v7)They will spread them before the sun, the moon, and all the army of the sky, which they have loved, which they have served, after which…
Acts 12:22-23(v5)The people shouted, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he didn’t give God the…
Exodus 15:9-10(v5)The enemy said, ‘I will pursue. I will overtake. I will divide the plunder. My desire will be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword. My…
Judges 16:21-30(v5)The Philistines laid hold on him and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with fetters of bronze; and he…
Esther 5:11-12(v5)Haman recounted to them the glory of his riches, the multitude of his children, all the things in which the king had promoted him, and how…
Esther 7:10(v5)So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath was pacified.
Job 8:19(v5)Behold, this is the joy of his way: out of the earth, others will spring.
Job 15:29-34(v5)He will not be rich, neither will his substance continue, neither will their possessions be extended on the earth. He will not depart out…
Job 27:3(v9)(for the length of my life is still in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils);
Job 27:13-23(v5)“This is the portion of a wicked man with God, the heritage of oppressors, which they receive from the Almighty. If his children are…
Job 27:21-23(v8)The east wind carries him away, and he departs. It sweeps him out of his place. For it hurls at him, and does not spare, as he flees away…
Psalms 18:10(v8)He rode on a cherub, and flew. Yes, he soared on the wings of the wind.
Psalms 103:15-16(v9)As for man, his days are like grass. As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone. Its place…
Daniel 4:11(v6)The tree grew, and was strong, and its height reached to the sky, and its sight to the end of all the earth.
Daniel 4:22(v6)it is you, O king, that have grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown, and reaches to the sky, and your dominion to the end of…
Amos 9:2(v6)Though they dig into Sheol, there my hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, there I will bring them down.
Matthew 7:21(v5)Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 11:23(v6)You, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to Hades. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in…
Matthew 13:20-21(v5)What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it; yet he has no root in himself, but…
Galatians 6:4(v5)But let each man examine his own work, and then he will have reason to boast in himself, and not in someone else.
James 4:16(v5)But now you glory in your boasting. All such boasting is evil.
45 distinct cross-references across this passage (47 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (18 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn v6His 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 Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv5–9Job 20:5 That the triumphing of the wicked [is]…
Job 20:5 That the triumphing of the wicked [is] short, and the joy of the hypocrite [but] for a moment?
Ver. 5. That the triumphing of the wicked is short] Heb. That the shouting of the wicked is from near, it is of no long standing, but like a blaze of thorns, that is quickly extinct, or as a bubble in the water, that is soon down; the pleasure of sin is but for a season. Huius sententiae exemptum habes in Goliath, saith Brentius here. An example of this sentence we have in Goliath, 1Sa 17:42-44; and another in his countrymen, the Philistines, who had twice beaten the Israelites, and taken the ark, 1Sa 5:1-12, but this triumph was soon at an end; and so was that of the Jews when they had crucified Christ, and now danced upon his grave, as the proverb is; but he arose in despite of them, and set up his trophies. Say that the triumph of the wicked should last as long as life, what is that to the Infinite? Punctum est quod vivimus, et puncto minus. But wicked men commonly die before their time, as Solomon phraseth it, Ecc 7:17; that is, by an untimely death, they live not half their days, Psa 55:23. God cuts them off, that others may live more quietly; and while they live, their comforts are not sincere, but mixed with many molestations. Little knoweth the world where their new shoes pinch them, as that Roman said. One little drop of an evil conscience can trouble a whole sea of the wicked man’s triumphs.
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The joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?] Zophar had a strong conceit that Job was but a hypocrite, one that was wicked before God in heart, notwithstanding his fair pretences and professions of piety, and should therefore be led forth with the workers of iniquity, Psa 125:5, as cattle led to the slaughter, or as bulls led to the altar, with garlands on their horns, and music by their sides, Act 14:13, but suddenly they feel and fall under the murdering axe. Such is the hypocrite’s joy, and Zophar would he should know so much, being sensible of this that himself was the party in speech; since his prosperity had ended in misery, and God had dashed all his comforts.
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 vv5–9Is short, Heb. is from near, i.e. from or…
Is short, Heb. is from near, i.e. from or for a little time; they have not long enjoyed it, and it will shortly vanish.
The joy of the hypocrite: this he adds by way of reflection upon Job, who though he did clear himself from gross wickedness, yet might be guilty of deep hyprocrisy.
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 vv5–9That the triumphing of the wicked is short,.... Their…
That the triumphing of the wicked is short,.... Their outward prosperity and felicity, of which they make their boast, and in which they glory and triumph for a while; at first Job's friends set out with this notion, that the wicked never flourished and prospered, but it always went ill with them in Providence; but being beat out of that, they own they may be for a small time in flourishing and prosperous circumstances, but it is but for a small time; which may be true in many instances, but it is not invariable and without exception the case: the sense is, it is but a little while that they are in so much mirth and jollity, and triumph over their neighbours, as being in more advantageous circumstances than they; this is said in the original text to be "from near" (h); it is but a little while ago when it began; and; as the Targum paraphrases it, it will be quickly ended:
and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment; the word "wicked", in the former clause, may signify the same person here called the "hypocrite"; but inasmuch as that signifies one restless and troublesome, one that is ungodly, and destitute of the fear of God, that has nothing in him but wickedness, who is continually committing it, and is abandoned to it; it might be thought not to apply to the character of Job, whom Zophar had in his view, and therefore this is added as descriptive of him: an hypocrite is one who seems to be that he is not, holy, righteous, good, and godly; who professes to have what he has not, the true grace of God, and pretends to worship God, but does not do it cordially, and from right principles; and who seeks himself in all he does, and not the glory of God: now there may be a joy in such sort of persons; they may hear ministers gladly, as Herod heard John, and receive the word with joy, as the stony ground hearers did, Mar 6:20; they may seem to delight in the ways and ordinances of God, and even have some tastes of the powers of the world to come, and some pleasing thoughts and hopes of heaven and happiness; as well as they triumph in and boast of their profession of religion and performance of duties, and rejoice in their boastings, which is evil; but then this is like the pleasures of sin, which are but for a season, or like the crackling of thorns under a pot, which make a great noise and blaze, but soon over, Ecc 7:6; and so their joy in civil as well as religious, things. It is possible Zophar might be so ill natured as to have reference to Job's triumph of faith, Job 19:25; and by this would suggest, that his faith in a living Redeemer, and the joy of it he professed, would be soon over and no more; which shows what spirit he was of.
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(h) "de propinquo", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.
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 v6Though - Though he be advanced to great dignity…
Though - Though he be advanced to great dignity and authority.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv6–8Verse 6. Though his excellency mount up to the…
Verse 6. Though his excellency mount up to the heavens] Probably referring to the original state of Adam, of whose fall he appears to have spoken, Job 20:4. He was created in the image of God; but by his sin against his Maker he fell into wretchedness, misery, death, and destruction.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn v6Job 20:6-9. Though his excellency mount up to the…
Job 20:6-9. Though his excellency mount up to the heavens — Though he be advanced to great dignity and authority in the world. He shall perish like his own dung — Which men cast away with contempt and abhorrence. They who have seen him — With admiration at his felicity; shall say, Where is he? — He is nowhere to be found; he is utterly gone and lost. He shall fly away as a dream — Which, for the present, affects the fancy, but hath nothing solid or permanent in it, for as soon as a man awakes all vanishes, and the remembrance of it is quickly lost. Neither shall his place any more behold him — That is, it shall not acknowledge or contain him. A figure called prosopopœia, as Job 7:10. Or, neither shall it (that is, the eye, last mentioned) behold him any more in his place.
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 vv5, 6, 8, 9That the triumphing - The word “triumphing” here (רננה…
That the triumphing - The word “triumphing” here (רננה renânâh),” shouting, rejoicing” - such a shouting as people make after a victory, or such as occurred at the close of harvesting. Here it means that the occasion which the wicked had for rejoicing would be brief. It would be but for a moment, and he then would be overwhelmed with calamity or cut off by death.
Short - Margin, as in Hebrew “from near.” That is, it would be soon over.
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And the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? - This probably means, as used by Zophar, that the happiness of a hypocrite would be brief - referring to the happiness arising from the possession of health, life, property, friends, reputation. Soon God would take away all these, and leave him to sorrow. This, he said, was the regular course of events as they had been observed from the earliest times. But the “language” conveys most important truths in reference to the spiritual joys of the hypocrite at all times, though it is not certain that Zophar used it in this sense. The truths are these.
(1) There is a kind of joy which a hypocrite may have - the counterfeit of that which a true Christian possesses. The word “hypocrite” may be used in a large sense to denote the man who is a professor of religion, but who has none, as well as him who intentionally imposes on others, and who makes pretensions to piety which he knows he has not. Such a man may have joy. He supposes that his sins are forgiven, and that he has a well-founded hope of eternal life. He may have been greatly distressed in view of his sin and danger, and when he supposes that his heart is changed, and that the danger is passed, from the nature of the case he will have a species of enjoyment. A man is confined in a dungeon under sentence of death. A forged instrument of pardon is brought to him. He does not know that it is forged, and supposes the danger is past, and his joy will be as real as though the pardon were genuine. So with the man who “supposes” that his sins are forgiven.
(2) The joy of the self-deceiver or the hypocrite will be short. There is no genuine religion to sustain it, and it soon dies away. It may be at first very elevated, just as the joy of the man who supposed that he was pardoned would fill him with exultation. But in the case of the hypocrite it soon dies away. He has no true love to God; he has never been truly reconciled to him; he has no real faith in Christ; he has no sincere love of prayer, of the Bible, or of Christians and soon the temporary excitement dies away, and he lives without comfort or peace. He may be a professor of religion, but with him it is a matter of form, and he has neither love nor zeal in the cause of his professed Master. Motives of pride, or the desire of a reputation for piety, or some other selfish aim may keep him in the church, and he lives to shed blighting on all around him. Or if, under the illusion, he should be enabled to keep up some emotions of happiness in his bosom, they must soon cease, for to the hypocrite death will soon end it all. How much does it become us, therefore, to inquire whether the peace which we seek and which we may possess in religion, is the genuine happiness which results from true reconciliation to God and a well founded hope of salvation. Sad will be the disappointment of him who has cherished a hope of heaven through life, should he at last sink down to hell! Deep the condemnation of him who has professed to be a friend of God, and who has been at heart his bitter foe; who has endeavored to keep up the forms of religion, but who has been a stranger through life to the true peace which religion produces!
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 vv6–9Pride. Septuagint, "presents." (Haydock) --- Riches may be meant…
Pride. Septuagint, "presents." (Haydock) --- Riches may be meant by pride. (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 vv5–9the 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. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv5, 6, 7, 95. Hypocrite — Ungodly. Job’s triumphant faith is but…
5. Hypocrite — Ungodly. Job’s triumphant faith is but “the triumphing of the wicked,” and “the joy of the ungodly.” These are the rough, spiteful stones which Zophar hurls at the exultant confession chiseled upon the everlasting rock.
Moment — Literally, the twinkling of an eye. Compare 1Co_15:52. The Hebrew rega’h corresponds to our word moment. A moment, philologically, is simply a movement.
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 vv6–96. his excellency] Or, his height, or rising up…
6. his excellency] Or, his height, or rising up (Psa_89:9); cf. Isa_14:13-15, Obad. Job_20:4.
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 v5(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 Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv5–9That the triumphing of the wicked is short. (comp.…
That the triumphing of the wicked is short. (comp. Psa_37:35, 36 51:1-5 73:17-19, etc.) This is one of the main points of dispute between Job and his opponents. It has been previously maintained by Eliphaz (Job_4:8-11 Job_5:3-5 Job_15:21, Job_15:29) and by Bildad, (Job_8:11-19) as it is now by Zophar, and may be regarded as the traditional belief of the time, which scarcely any ventured to question. His own observation, however, has convinced Job that the fact is otherwise. He has seen the wicked "live, become old, and remain mighty in power"; (Job_21:7) he has seen them "spend their days in wealth," and die quietly, as "in a moment". (Job_21:13) In Job_24:2-24 he seems to argue that this is the general, if not universal, lot of such persons. Later on, however, in Job_27:13-23, he retracts this view, or, at any rate, greatly modifies it, admitting that usually retribution does even in this life overtake the wicked. And this seems to be the general sentiment of mankind. "Raro antecedentem scelestum, Deseruit pede poena claudlo. (Horace, "Od.," 3:2, ll. 31, 32.) There remains, however, the question whether the triumphing of the wicked can fairly be considered "short," and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment. When we consider the lives of Dionysius the elder, Sylla, Marius, Tiberius, Louis XIV, Napoleon, it is difficult to answer this question in the affirmative.
HOMILIES BY R. GREEN Vers. 5-20. The temporary triumph of the wicked.
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Zophar now comes forth with wise words; but they are as arrows, slender, strong, and sharp, which, though drawn upon a strong bow, yet miss their mark. Only too true is his assertion of the brevity of the triumph of the evildoer, the momentary joy of the hypocrite; only too accurate his forcible setting forth of the state and portion of the ungodly. Job has to hear again cruel words. His patient faith has yet to be further tested; his final triumph is postponed.
I HIS HONOR IS TEMPORARY. If he raise himself so that "his head reach unto the clouds, yet he shall perish for ever;" "he shall fly away as a dream," so short is his grasp of any position of honour.
II HIS FAMILY PROSPERITY IS BUT BRIEF. The goods he has gained by his ungodliness "his hands shall restore," and his children crouch to appease the poor. Ill-gotten gain is held by uncertain hands. For a time the ungodly seems to prosper, but it is that he may be consumed out of his place.
III HIS LIFE IS WASTED AND PASSETH AWAY. Even his youthful vigour fails him. it shall speedily "lie down with him in the dust." The practice of wickedness brings punishment on hint who offends. The tendency of wrong-doing is ever to prey upon the strength of the life.
IV THE PLEASURES OF SIN TO HIM ABE BUT FOR A SEASON. Though he "hide" wickedness "under his tongue," though it be "sweet in his mouth," yet shall it be turned to "the gall of asps within him.
V THE POSSESSION OF RICHES IS PERMITTED ONLY FOR A BRIEF PERIOD. Though he swallow them down, "he shall vomit them up again." Nothing has permanence with him. Changes come over him from sources he cannot trace and certainly could not foresee. His toil is fruitless. "That which he laboured for shall he restore... he shall not rejoice therein." Wickedness eats into the strength and joy of life. It exposes life to innumerable evils and robs it of its chief good. The wicked man has no pledge of permanent blessing. "He shall not save of that which he desired." Truly "the triumphing of the wicked is short. R.G.
HOMILIES BY W.F ADENEY Ver. 5. The short triumphing of the wicked.
Zophar"s superficial view has truth in it as far as it goes. He is a man of the world, and he has kept his eyes open. What he has seen has been no illusion. It is not enough to explain the deeper mysteries of Job"s experience. Yet it has an obvious truth in it.
I THERE IS A TRIUMPHING OF THE WICKED.
1. This is seen in experience. Even Zophar, who finds it not exactly in accordance with his ideas of providence, still cannot but admit that it exists. A swindler fattens on the spoils of the robbery of widows and orphans. A Napoleon dominates Europe.
2. It is important to recognize the fact. We must make our theories accord with our experience and observation of the world. It is useless to comfort ourselves in the seclusion of our private meditation with an easy optimism, if this will not fit in with the events of everyday life. If we are not prepared to expect the triumph of the wicked, the sight of it will strike us with a shock of dismay.
3. The triumphing of the wicked does present a difficulty. It is contrary to our notion of justice. No doubt the narrow, conventional notion of the three friends was founded on a genuine sense of right and fitness. If there is to be no future judgment, and if this temporal state is typical of the whole course of life, here is an instance of gross injustice. We must therefore face it, and inquire what it means.
II THIS TRIUMPH IS SHORT. Zophar"s explanation is that the triumph will soon pass away, and will give place to overthrow and ruin.
1. This is seen on earth. As a rule, the swindler does not die rich. He usually outlives his gains. Great wickedness generally disappoints its owner. Napoleon finishing his career as an exile at St. Helena is typical of the most frequent end of a very bad course. But this is by no means a universal principle. The whole of a bad man"s life may be externally prosperous, right on to death.
2. This will be seen after death. We must extend our contemplation of the course of the wicked man. He dies, leaving wealth, pleasure, power, triumph, behind him. None of these can accompany him through the dark doors of death. He has laid up no treasures in the unseen world. There he is certainly beggared, and he has good ground for expecting the infliction of well meted punishment. His short earthly life, but a moment when compared to eternity, is over, and with it all his triumphing has ceased.
III THE SHORT TRIUMPH OF THE WICKED IS FALLACIOUS.
1. It is fallacious because its brevity is hidden. The foolish man who glories in it does not see how swiftly it is slipping away from him. A triumph which must soon give place to shame is not worth much to its owner.
2. It is fallacious because it gives no solid satisfaction. The wicked glee of triumphing in sin is quite superficial. Often its very excitement is only a result of restless discordant passions. It wears a bold front, but it covers a weary spirit. If there is a spark of conscience left there must be a haunting fear like the mummy at the Egyptian feast that spoils the pleasure.
IV THE ONLY ENDURING TRIUMPH IS THAT WHICH FOLLOWS A TRULY CHRISTIAN LIFE.
1. This is solid. It begins with victory over sin and self, our greatest enemies.
2. It is assured. It is brought about by the work of Christ; it is just sharing in his victory; and Christ must triumph.
3. I t is eternal. On earth there may be shame and humiliation, but in heaven Christians are called to the joy of victory to be "more than conquerors". W.F.A. (Rom_8:37)
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 v8He shall fly away as a dream.
Job_20:8
He shall fly away as a dream.
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The dream of life
Job, in the text, speaks of life as a dream, a mere passing phantom of the brain.
I. A dream implies a dormancy in certain faculties of our nature. The flitting visions of the brain at night always imply the slumbering state of certain powers of the soul. The will has but little to do with the creations of the dream world. In what sense is the soul asleep? What are the faculties that lie dormant within us? There are those that consciously connect the spirit with the spiritual universe--God and moral responsibilities. But spiritual sleep is unnatural and injurious.
II. A dream fills the mind with illusive visions. The mind sees things in the dreams of the night that never will and that never can have any actual existence. Like dreams, our life here is full of fictions and fancies.
1. Mans notions as to what his life here will be are illusions.
2. Mans notions as to what constitutes the dignities and blessedness of life are illusions. Compare the worlds ideas of dignity with the dictates of common sense, the teaching of philosophy, to say nothing of the higher light of revelation. All notions of dignity and happiness are illusive which have not--
(1) To do more with the soul than the senses.
(2) To do more with the character than the circumstance.
(3) To do more with the present than the future.
(4) To do more with the absolute than with the contingent.
III. A dream is of very short duration. The night dreams of men are very brief, compared with the regular thoughts of their waking hours. Like a dream, life too is brief. This life dream will soon be over. (Homilist.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann1924 · Public DomainOn v6Zophar 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 translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv6, 8General Information:
General Information:
Zophar continues speaking to Job.
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Though his height reaches up to the heavens
"Though the wicked person's height reaches up to the heavens." The abstract noun "height" can be expressed with the adjective "tall." AT: "Though he is as tall as the heavens" (See: Abstract Nouns)
Though his height reaches up to the heavens
The wicked man's height represents either his reputation or his pride. Also, here "reaches up to the heavens" represents being very great. AT: "Though his reputation is great" or "Though his pride is great" (See: Metaphor)
his head reaches to the clouds
"and though his head is as high as the clouds." This also represents his reputation or pride being great. This means the same as the previous phrase. (See: Metaphor and Parallelism)
will perish permanently like his own feces
Feces mixes in with the ground and disappears. The reference to feces may also imply that the wicked person is worthless. AT: "will perish permanently like his feces, which completely disappears in the ground" (See: Simile)
will perish permanently like his own feces
If people are embarrassed about the word feces, translators may refer to something else that disappears completely. AT: "will disappear permanently like dust that the wind blows away" (See: Simile)
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v6 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 vv5–9 Job 20:5 That the triumphing of the wicked [is]…
Job 20:5 That the triumphing of the wicked [is] short, and the joy of the hypocrite [but] for a moment?
Ver. 5. That the triumphing of the wicked is short] Heb. That the shouting of the wicked is from near, it is of no long standing, but like a blaze of thorns, that is quickly extinct, or as a bubble in the water, that is soon down; the pleasure of sin is but for a season. Huius sententiae exemptum habes in Goliath, saith Brentius here. An example of this sentence we have in Goliath, 1Sa 17:42-44; and another in his countrymen, the Philistines, who had twice beaten the Israelites, and taken the ark, 1Sa 5:1-12, but this triumph was soon at an end; and so was that of the Jews when they had crucified Christ, and now danced upon his grave, as the proverb is; but he arose in despite of them, and set up his trophies. Say that the triumph of the wicked should last as long as life, what is that to the Infinite? Punctum est quod vivimus, et puncto minus. But wicked men commonly die before their time, as Solomon phraseth it, Ecc 7:17; that is, by an untimely death, they live not half their days, Psa 55:23. God cuts them off, that others may live more quietly; and while they live, their comforts are not sincere, but mixed with many molestations. Little knoweth the world where their new shoes pinch them, as that Roman said. One little drop of an evil conscience can trouble a whole sea of the wicked man’s triumphs.
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The joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?] Zophar had a strong conceit that Job was but a hypocrite, one that was wicked before God in heart, notwithstanding his fair pretences and professions of piety, and should therefore be led forth with the workers of iniquity, Psa 125:5, as cattle led to the slaughter, or as bulls led to the altar, with garlands on their horns, and music by their sides, Act 14:13, but suddenly they feel and fall under the murdering axe. Such is the hypocrite’s joy, and Zophar would he should know so much, being sensible of this that himself was the party in speech; since his prosperity had ended in misery, and God had dashed all his comforts.
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 vv5–9 Is short, Heb. is from near, i.e. from or…
Is short, Heb. is from near, i.e. from or for a little time; they have not long enjoyed it, and it will shortly vanish.
The joy of the hypocrite: this he adds by way of reflection upon Job, who though he did clear himself from gross wickedness, yet might be guilty of deep hyprocrisy.
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 vv5–9 That the triumphing of the wicked is short,.... Their…
That the triumphing of the wicked is short,.... Their outward prosperity and felicity, of which they make their boast, and in which they glory and triumph for a while; at first Job's friends set out with this notion, that the wicked never flourished and prospered, but it always went ill with them in Providence; but being beat out of that, they own they may be for a small time in flourishing and prosperous circumstances, but it is but for a small time; which may be true in many instances, but it is not invariable and without exception the case: the sense is, it is but a little while that they are in so much mirth and jollity, and triumph over their neighbours, as being in more advantageous circumstances than they; this is said in the original text to be "from near" (h); it is but a little while ago when it began; and; as the Targum paraphrases it, it will be quickly ended:
and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment; the word "wicked", in the former clause, may signify the same person here called the "hypocrite"; but inasmuch as that signifies one restless and troublesome, one that is ungodly, and destitute of the fear of God, that has nothing in him but wickedness, who is continually committing it, and is abandoned to it; it might be thought not to apply to the character of Job, whom Zophar had in his view, and therefore this is added as descriptive of him: an hypocrite is one who seems to be that he is not, holy, righteous, good, and godly; who professes to have what he has not, the true grace of God, and pretends to worship God, but does not do it cordially, and from right principles; and who seeks himself in all he does, and not the glory of God: now there may be a joy in such sort of persons; they may hear ministers gladly, as Herod heard John, and receive the word with joy, as the stony ground hearers did, Mar 6:20; they may seem to delight in the ways and ordinances of God, and even have some tastes of the powers of the world to come, and some pleasing thoughts and hopes of heaven and happiness; as well as they triumph in and boast of their profession of religion and performance of duties, and rejoice in their boastings, which is evil; but then this is like the pleasures of sin, which are but for a season, or like the crackling of thorns under a pot, which make a great noise and blaze, but soon over, Ecc 7:6; and so their joy in civil as well as religious, things. It is possible Zophar might be so ill natured as to have reference to Job's triumph of faith, Job 19:25; and by this would suggest, that his faith in a living Redeemer, and the joy of it he professed, would be soon over and no more; which shows what spirit he was of.
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(h) "de propinquo", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.
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 v6 Though - Though he be advanced to great dignity…
Though - Though he be advanced to great dignity and authority.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv6–8 Verse 6. Though his excellency mount up to the…
Verse 6. Though his excellency mount up to the heavens] Probably referring to the original state of Adam, of whose fall he appears to have spoken, Job 20:4. He was created in the image of God; but by his sin against his Maker he fell into wretchedness, misery, death, and destruction.
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 v6 Job 20:6-9. Though his excellency mount up to the…
Job 20:6-9. Though his excellency mount up to the heavens — Though he be advanced to great dignity and authority in the world. He shall perish like his own dung — Which men cast away with contempt and abhorrence. They who have seen him — With admiration at his felicity; shall say, Where is he? — He is nowhere to be found; he is utterly gone and lost. He shall fly away as a dream — Which, for the present, affects the fancy, but hath nothing solid or permanent in it, for as soon as a man awakes all vanishes, and the remembrance of it is quickly lost. Neither shall his place any more behold him — That is, it shall not acknowledge or contain him. A figure called prosopopœia, as Job 7:10. Or, neither shall it (that is, the eye, last mentioned) behold him any more in his place.
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 vv5, 6, 8, 9 That the triumphing - The word “triumphing” here (רננה…
That the triumphing - The word “triumphing” here (רננה renânâh),” shouting, rejoicing” - such a shouting as people make after a victory, or such as occurred at the close of harvesting. Here it means that the occasion which the wicked had for rejoicing would be brief. It would be but for a moment, and he then would be overwhelmed with calamity or cut off by death.
Short - Margin, as in Hebrew “from near.” That is, it would be soon over.
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And the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? - This probably means, as used by Zophar, that the happiness of a hypocrite would be brief - referring to the happiness arising from the possession of health, life, property, friends, reputation. Soon God would take away all these, and leave him to sorrow. This, he said, was the regular course of events as they had been observed from the earliest times. But the “language” conveys most important truths in reference to the spiritual joys of the hypocrite at all times, though it is not certain that Zophar used it in this sense. The truths are these.
(1) There is a kind of joy which a hypocrite may have - the counterfeit of that which a true Christian possesses. The word “hypocrite” may be used in a large sense to denote the man who is a professor of religion, but who has none, as well as him who intentionally imposes on others, and who makes pretensions to piety which he knows he has not. Such a man may have joy. He supposes that his sins are forgiven, and that he has a well-founded hope of eternal life. He may have been greatly distressed in view of his sin and danger, and when he supposes that his heart is changed, and that the danger is passed, from the nature of the case he will have a species of enjoyment. A man is confined in a dungeon under sentence of death. A forged instrument of pardon is brought to him. He does not know that it is forged, and supposes the danger is past, and his joy will be as real as though the pardon were genuine. So with the man who “supposes” that his sins are forgiven.
(2) The joy of the self-deceiver or the hypocrite will be short. There is no genuine religion to sustain it, and it soon dies away. It may be at first very elevated, just as the joy of the man who supposed that he was pardoned would fill him with exultation. But in the case of the hypocrite it soon dies away. He has no true love to God; he has never been truly reconciled to him; he has no real faith in Christ; he has no sincere love of prayer, of the Bible, or of Christians and soon the temporary excitement dies away, and he lives without comfort or peace. He may be a professor of religion, but with him it is a matter of form, and he has neither love nor zeal in the cause of his professed Master. Motives of pride, or the desire of a reputation for piety, or some other selfish aim may keep him in the church, and he lives to shed blighting on all around him. Or if, under the illusion, he should be enabled to keep up some emotions of happiness in his bosom, they must soon cease, for to the hypocrite death will soon end it all. How much does it become us, therefore, to inquire whether the peace which we seek and which we may possess in religion, is the genuine happiness which results from true reconciliation to God and a well founded hope of salvation. Sad will be the disappointment of him who has cherished a hope of heaven through life, should he at last sink down to hell! Deep the condemnation of him who has professed to be a friend of God, and who has been at heart his bitter foe; who has endeavored to keep up the forms of religion, but who has been a stranger through life to the true peace which religion produces!
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 vv6–9 Pride. Septuagint, "presents." (Haydock) --- Riches may be meant…
Pride. Septuagint, "presents." (Haydock) --- Riches may be meant by pride. (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 vv5–9 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 vv5, 6, 7, 9 5. Hypocrite — Ungodly. Job’s triumphant faith is but…
5. Hypocrite — Ungodly. Job’s triumphant faith is but “the triumphing of the wicked,” and “the joy of the ungodly.” These are the rough, spiteful stones which Zophar hurls at the exultant confession chiseled upon the everlasting rock.
Moment — Literally, the twinkling of an eye. Compare 1Co_15:52. The Hebrew rega’h corresponds to our word moment. A moment, philologically, is simply a movement.
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 vv6–9 6. his excellency] Or, his height, or rising up…
6. his excellency] Or, his height, or rising up (Psa_89:9); cf. Isa_14:13-15, Obad. Job_20:4.
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 v5 (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 vv5–9 That the triumphing of the wicked is short. (comp.…
That the triumphing of the wicked is short. (comp. Psa_37:35, 36 51:1-5 73:17-19, etc.) This is one of the main points of dispute between Job and his opponents. It has been previously maintained by Eliphaz (Job_4:8-11 Job_5:3-5 Job_15:21, Job_15:29) and by Bildad, (Job_8:11-19) as it is now by Zophar, and may be regarded as the traditional belief of the time, which scarcely any ventured to question. His own observation, however, has convinced Job that the fact is otherwise. He has seen the wicked "live, become old, and remain mighty in power"; (Job_21:7) he has seen them "spend their days in wealth," and die quietly, as "in a moment". (Job_21:13) In Job_24:2-24 he seems to argue that this is the general, if not universal, lot of such persons. Later on, however, in Job_27:13-23, he retracts this view, or, at any rate, greatly modifies it, admitting that usually retribution does even in this life overtake the wicked. And this seems to be the general sentiment of mankind. "Raro antecedentem scelestum, Deseruit pede poena claudlo. (Horace, "Od.," 3:2, ll. 31, 32.) There remains, however, the question whether the triumphing of the wicked can fairly be considered "short," and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment. When we consider the lives of Dionysius the elder, Sylla, Marius, Tiberius, Louis XIV, Napoleon, it is difficult to answer this question in the affirmative.
HOMILIES BY R. GREEN Vers. 5-20. The temporary triumph of the wicked.
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Zophar now comes forth with wise words; but they are as arrows, slender, strong, and sharp, which, though drawn upon a strong bow, yet miss their mark. Only too true is his assertion of the brevity of the triumph of the evildoer, the momentary joy of the hypocrite; only too accurate his forcible setting forth of the state and portion of the ungodly. Job has to hear again cruel words. His patient faith has yet to be further tested; his final triumph is postponed.
I HIS HONOR IS TEMPORARY. If he raise himself so that "his head reach unto the clouds, yet he shall perish for ever;" "he shall fly away as a dream," so short is his grasp of any position of honour.
II HIS FAMILY PROSPERITY IS BUT BRIEF. The goods he has gained by his ungodliness "his hands shall restore," and his children crouch to appease the poor. Ill-gotten gain is held by uncertain hands. For a time the ungodly seems to prosper, but it is that he may be consumed out of his place.
III HIS LIFE IS WASTED AND PASSETH AWAY. Even his youthful vigour fails him. it shall speedily "lie down with him in the dust." The practice of wickedness brings punishment on hint who offends. The tendency of wrong-doing is ever to prey upon the strength of the life.
IV THE PLEASURES OF SIN TO HIM ABE BUT FOR A SEASON. Though he "hide" wickedness "under his tongue," though it be "sweet in his mouth," yet shall it be turned to "the gall of asps within him.
V THE POSSESSION OF RICHES IS PERMITTED ONLY FOR A BRIEF PERIOD. Though he swallow them down, "he shall vomit them up again." Nothing has permanence with him. Changes come over him from sources he cannot trace and certainly could not foresee. His toil is fruitless. "That which he laboured for shall he restore... he shall not rejoice therein." Wickedness eats into the strength and joy of life. It exposes life to innumerable evils and robs it of its chief good. The wicked man has no pledge of permanent blessing. "He shall not save of that which he desired." Truly "the triumphing of the wicked is short. R.G.
HOMILIES BY W.F ADENEY Ver. 5. The short triumphing of the wicked.
Zophar"s superficial view has truth in it as far as it goes. He is a man of the world, and he has kept his eyes open. What he has seen has been no illusion. It is not enough to explain the deeper mysteries of Job"s experience. Yet it has an obvious truth in it.
I THERE IS A TRIUMPHING OF THE WICKED.
1. This is seen in experience. Even Zophar, who finds it not exactly in accordance with his ideas of providence, still cannot but admit that it exists. A swindler fattens on the spoils of the robbery of widows and orphans. A Napoleon dominates Europe.
2. It is important to recognize the fact. We must make our theories accord with our experience and observation of the world. It is useless to comfort ourselves in the seclusion of our private meditation with an easy optimism, if this will not fit in with the events of everyday life. If we are not prepared to expect the triumph of the wicked, the sight of it will strike us with a shock of dismay.
3. The triumphing of the wicked does present a difficulty. It is contrary to our notion of justice. No doubt the narrow, conventional notion of the three friends was founded on a genuine sense of right and fitness. If there is to be no future judgment, and if this temporal state is typical of the whole course of life, here is an instance of gross injustice. We must therefore face it, and inquire what it means.
II THIS TRIUMPH IS SHORT. Zophar"s explanation is that the triumph will soon pass away, and will give place to overthrow and ruin.
1. This is seen on earth. As a rule, the swindler does not die rich. He usually outlives his gains. Great wickedness generally disappoints its owner. Napoleon finishing his career as an exile at St. Helena is typical of the most frequent end of a very bad course. But this is by no means a universal principle. The whole of a bad man"s life may be externally prosperous, right on to death.
2. This will be seen after death. We must extend our contemplation of the course of the wicked man. He dies, leaving wealth, pleasure, power, triumph, behind him. None of these can accompany him through the dark doors of death. He has laid up no treasures in the unseen world. There he is certainly beggared, and he has good ground for expecting the infliction of well meted punishment. His short earthly life, but a moment when compared to eternity, is over, and with it all his triumphing has ceased.
III THE SHORT TRIUMPH OF THE WICKED IS FALLACIOUS.
1. It is fallacious because its brevity is hidden. The foolish man who glories in it does not see how swiftly it is slipping away from him. A triumph which must soon give place to shame is not worth much to its owner.
2. It is fallacious because it gives no solid satisfaction. The wicked glee of triumphing in sin is quite superficial. Often its very excitement is only a result of restless discordant passions. It wears a bold front, but it covers a weary spirit. If there is a spark of conscience left there must be a haunting fear like the mummy at the Egyptian feast that spoils the pleasure.
IV THE ONLY ENDURING TRIUMPH IS THAT WHICH FOLLOWS A TRULY CHRISTIAN LIFE.
1. This is solid. It begins with victory over sin and self, our greatest enemies.
2. It is assured. It is brought about by the work of Christ; it is just sharing in his victory; and Christ must triumph.
3. I t is eternal. On earth there may be shame and humiliation, but in heaven Christians are called to the joy of victory to be "more than conquerors". W.F.A. (Rom_8:37)
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 v8 He shall fly away as a dream.
Job_20:8
He shall fly away as a dream.
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The dream of life
Job, in the text, speaks of life as a dream, a mere passing phantom of the brain.
I. A dream implies a dormancy in certain faculties of our nature. The flitting visions of the brain at night always imply the slumbering state of certain powers of the soul. The will has but little to do with the creations of the dream world. In what sense is the soul asleep? What are the faculties that lie dormant within us? There are those that consciously connect the spirit with the spiritual universe--God and moral responsibilities. But spiritual sleep is unnatural and injurious.
II. A dream fills the mind with illusive visions. The mind sees things in the dreams of the night that never will and that never can have any actual existence. Like dreams, our life here is full of fictions and fancies.
1. Mans notions as to what his life here will be are illusions.
2. Mans notions as to what constitutes the dignities and blessedness of life are illusions. Compare the worlds ideas of dignity with the dictates of common sense, the teaching of philosophy, to say nothing of the higher light of revelation. All notions of dignity and happiness are illusive which have not--
(1) To do more with the soul than the senses.
(2) To do more with the character than the circumstance.
(3) To do more with the present than the future.
(4) To do more with the absolute than with the contingent.
III. A dream is of very short duration. The night dreams of men are very brief, compared with the regular thoughts of their waking hours. Like a dream, life too is brief. This life dream will soon be over. (Homilist.)
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 vv6, 8 General Information:
General Information:
Zophar continues speaking to Job.
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Though his height reaches up to the heavens
"Though the wicked person's height reaches up to the heavens." The abstract noun "height" can be expressed with the adjective "tall." AT: "Though he is as tall as the heavens" (See: Abstract Nouns)
Though his height reaches up to the heavens
The wicked man's height represents either his reputation or his pride. Also, here "reaches up to the heavens" represents being very great. AT: "Though his reputation is great" or "Though his pride is great" (See: Metaphor)
his head reaches to the clouds
"and though his head is as high as the clouds." This also represents his reputation or pride being great. This means the same as the previous phrase. (See: Metaphor and Parallelism)
will perish permanently like his own feces
Feces mixes in with the ground and disappears. The reference to feces may also imply that the wicked person is worthless. AT: "will perish permanently like his feces, which completely disappears in the ground" (See: Simile)
will perish permanently like his own feces
If people are embarrassed about the word feces, translators may refer to something else that disappears completely. AT: "will disappear permanently like dust that the wind blows away" (See: Simile)
translationWords
heaven
perish
dung
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 v7 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.