Isaiah 61:10(v14)I will greatly rejoice in Yahweh! My soul will be joyful in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation. He has covered me…
Isaiah 59:17(v14)He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head. He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad…
Psalms 72:12(v12)For he will deliver the needy when he cries; the poor, who has no helper.
Psalms 132:9(v14)Let your priests be clothed with righteousness. Let your saints shout for joy!”
Proverbs 21:13(v12)Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor, he will also cry out, but shall not be heard.
Show all 51 cross-references
Proverbs 29:7(v16)The righteous care about justice for the poor. The wicked aren’t concerned about knowledge.
Numbers 10:31(v15)Moses said, “Don’t leave us, please; because you know how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and you can be our eyes.
Ephesians 6:14(v14)Stand therefore, having the utility belt of truth buckled around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
Job 27:6(v14)I hold fast to my righteousness, and will not let it go. My heart will not reproach me so long as I live.
Revelation 19:8(v14)It was given to her that she would array herself in bright, pure, fine linen: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Psalms 68:5(vv12, 16)A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
James 1:27(vv12, 16)Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself…
Exodus 22:22-24(v12)“You shall not take advantage of any widow or fatherless child. If you take advantage of them at all, and they cry at all to me, I will…
Isaiah 62:3(v14)You will also be a crown of beauty in Yahweh‘s hand, and a royal diadem in your God’s hand.
2 Corinthians 6:7(v14)in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
1 Thessalonians 5:8(v14)But since we belong to the day, let’s be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.
Deuteronomy 24:13(vv13–14)You shall surely restore to him the pledge when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his garment and bless you. It shall be…
Job 24:4(vv12, 16)They turn the needy out of the way. The poor of the earth all hide themselves.
Deuteronomy 10:18(v12)He executes justice for the fatherless and widow and loves the foreigner in giving him food and clothing.
Esther 2:7(v16)He brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter; for she had neither father nor mother. The maiden was fair and beautiful;…
Job 22:9(v13)You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
Job 31:18(v16)(no, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, I have guided her from my mother’s womb);
Job 31:19-20(v13)if I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or that the needy had no covering; if his heart hasn’t blessed me, if he hasn’t been warmed…
Psalms 82:2-4(v12)“How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?” “Defend the weak, the poor, and the fatherless. Maintain the rights…
Proverbs 24:11-12(v12)Rescue those who are being led away to death! Indeed, hold back those who are staggering to the slaughter! If you say, “Behold, we didn’t…
Proverbs 25:2(v16)It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
Isaiah 27:13(v13)It will happen in that day that a great trumpet will be blown; and those who were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and those who…
Matthew 11:5(v15)the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news…
2 Timothy 1:16-18(v13)May the Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain, but when he was in Rome,…
Philemon 1:7(v13)For we have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
Exodus 18:26(v16)They judged the people at all times. They brought the hard cases to Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
Deuteronomy 13:14(v16)then you shall inquire, investigate, and ask diligently. Behold, if it is true, and the thing certain, that such abomination was done among…
Deuteronomy 16:11(v13)You shall rejoice before Yahweh your God: you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, the Levite who is within…
Deuteronomy 17:8-10(v16)If there arises a matter too hard for you in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being…
Deuteronomy 26:5(v13)You shall answer and say before Yahweh your God, “My father was a Syrian ready to perish. He went down into Egypt, and lived there, few in…
1 Kings 3:16-28(v16)Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king, and stood before him. The one woman said, “Oh, my lord, I and this woman dwell in one…
Nehemiah 5:2-13(v12)For there were some who said, “We, our sons and our daughters, are many. Let us get grain, that we may eat and live.” There were also some…
Nehemiah 8:10-12(v13)Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared, for today is holy…
Job 22:5-9(v12)Isn’t your wickedness great? Neither is there any end to your iniquities. For you have taken pledges from your brother for nothing, and…
Job 31:17(v12)or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless has not eaten of it
Job 31:21(v12)if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, because I saw my help in the gate,
Psalms 67:4(v13)Oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you will judge the peoples with equity, and govern the nations on earth.
Proverbs 31:6-9(v13)Give strong drink to him who is ready to perish, and wine to the bitter in soul. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his…
Isaiah 65:14(v13)Behold, my servants will sing for joy of heart, but you will cry for sorrow of heart, and will wail for anguish of spirit.
Jeremiah 22:16(v12)He judged the cause of the poor and needy; so it was well, then. Wasn’t this to know me?” says Yahweh.
Acts 9:39-41(v13)Peter got up and went with them. When he had come, they brought him into the upper room. All the widows stood by him weeping, and showing…
Romans 13:14(v14)But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.
1 Corinthians 12:12-31(v15)For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. For in one…
2 Corinthians 9:12-14(v13)For this service of giving that you perform not only makes up for lack among the saints, but abounds also through much giving of thanks to…
Ephesians 5:1(v16)Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children.
Isaiah 28:5(v14)In that day, Yahweh of Armies will become a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty to the residue of his people,
51 distinct cross-references across this passage (55 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 vv12–14Because his adversaries did so much charge him with…
Because his adversaries did so much charge him with wickedness, he is compelled to render account of his life.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv12–16Job 29:12 Because I delivered the poor that cried,…
Job 29:12 Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and [him that had] none to help him.
Ver. 12. Because I delivered the poor that cried] Here are set forth the true causes of that great respect that was generally given Job; he was a good justicer, such as Jethro describeth, Exo 18:21. He hated, much more than did Mithridates, such as maliciously persecuted virtue forsaken of fortune. And as James V of Scotland was called the poor man’s king, so might Job well have been; for no sooner could a poor body cry to him for help but he relieved him, and rescued him out of the hands of his oppressor (Cassiodor.). Theodoric of old, and Gustavus, king of Swedes, of late, are famous for so doing (Mr Clark).
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And the fatherless, and him that had none, &c.] The fatherless and friendless, from whom he could not expect any reward. He was not of those who follow the administration of justice as a trade only, with an unquenchable and unconscionable desire of gain, but held out a constant course of integrity, and righted those whom others would have slighted.
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 vv12–16I delivered from his potent oppressor. They did not…
I delivered from his potent oppressor. They did not honour me for my great wealth or power, but for my impartial justice and pity to the afflicted, and courage in maintaining their cause and right against their mighty adversaries.
None to help him; none that would own or help them, partly because they were poor, and unable to recompense them for it; and partly because their enemies were great, and likely to crush both them and their helpers; which made Job’s virtue more glorious.
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 vv12–16Because I delivered the poor that cried,.... This honour…
Because I delivered the poor that cried,.... This honour and esteem he had not because of his grandeur and riches, because of his worldly wealth and substance, but because of the goodness of his disposition, and because of the good he did to men, his acts of pity and compassion to the poor, and of the justice he did to all men; the poor and the afflicted, when they cried to him for help, he delivered them out of the hands of their oppressors:
and the fatherless; the care and defence of which belongs to judges and civil magistrates, see Psa 82:1;
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and him that had none to help him; as the poor and fatherless seldom have; there is power on the side of the oppressors of them, but they have few or none to take their parts, and to be their comforters, Ecc 4:1; in these instances Job imitated God, and was a follower of him, as a dear child of his; who, when this and the other poor man cries unto him, he hears, saves, and delivers out of all their troubles; he is the helper, yea, the father of the fatherless, and the judge of the widow; and, when there is no help from men, he is a present help in times of need.
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 v14Put on, &c. - Perhaps he did not wear…
Put on, &c. - Perhaps he did not wear these: but his steady justice was to him instead of all those ornaments.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv12, 15, 16Verse 12. Because I delivered the poor that cried]…
Verse 12. Because I delivered the poor that cried] This appears to be intended as a refutation of the charges produced by Eliphaz, Job 22:5-10, to confute which Job appeals to facts, and to public testimony.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv13–15Job 29:13. The blessing of him that was ready…
Job 29:13. The blessing of him that was ready to perish — Who was in danger of losing his life or estate, by the malice and tyranny of wicked men; came upon me — Both he, and others for his sake, blessed me, and begged that God would bless me. I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy — For her great and unexpected deliverance. Widows are the common objects of injuries and oppressions, because they are generally unable to defend themselves from the violence of their oppressors, or to offend those who molest them.
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 vv12–16Because I delivered the poor that cried - This…
Because I delivered the poor that cried - This is spoken of himself as a magistrate or judge - for the whole description relates to that. The meaning is, that when the poor man, who had no means of employing counsel, brought his cause before him, he heard him and delivered him from the grasp of the oppressor. He never made an appeal to him in vain; compare Pro 21:13; Pro 24:11-12.
And the fatherless - The orphan who brought his cause before him. He became the patron and protector of those whose natural protectors - their parents - had been removed by death; compare the notes at Isa 1:17.
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And him that had none to help him - The poor man who had no powerful patron. Job says that, as a magistrate, he particularly regarded the cause of such persons, and saw that justice was done them - a beautiful image of the administration of justice in patriarchal times. This is the sense in which our translators understood this. But the parallelism seems rather to require that this should be applied to the fatherless who had no one to aid him, and the Hebrew, by understanding the ו (w) conjunctive as meaning “when,” will bear this construction. So it is understood by Rosenmuller, Umbreit, Herder, and Noyes.
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 v16Diligently, not passing sentence at random. I also endeavoured…
Diligently, not passing sentence at random. I also endeavoured to do justice to those who durst not make any complaint. The prince ought to have an eye to all things. (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 vv12–16The grounds on which Job was praised (Job 29:11),…
The grounds on which Job was praised (Job 29:11), his helping the afflicted (Psa 72:12) who cried to him for help, as a judge, or as one possessed of means of charity. Translate: "The fatherless who had none to help him."
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 vv12, 14, 1612. A most courteous reply to the cruel calumnies…
12. A most courteous reply to the cruel calumnies of Eliphaz, Job_22:6-9.
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 vv12, 14, 15, 1612. and him that had none to help him]…
12. and him that had none to help him] Perhaps, the fatherless, that had none to help him, only two classes being referred to, the “poor” and the “fatherless.”
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 v14(14) I put on righteousness.—Comp. Isa_61:10; Isa_28:5; Isa_62:3; 2Ti_4:8;…
(14) I put on righteousness.—Comp. Isa_61:10; Isa_28:5; Isa_62:3; 2Ti_4:8; Jas_1:12; 1Pe_5:4; 1Th_2:19. His judgment, the result of his personal righteousness, was as a robe of honour and a crown of glory to him.
It clothed me.—Literally, it clothed itself with me. First, righteousness is the garment, and then he is the garment to righteousness. (Compare the expressions “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,” Rom_13:14, and 2Co_5:2-4, and the Hebrew of Psa_143:9, where “I flee unto thee to hide me” is, I have covered myself with thee, or, have hidden me with thee.) This is the Gospel truth of the interchange of sin and righteousness between Christ and the believer. He bears our sins; we are clothed with the robe of His righteousness.
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 vv12–16Because I delivered the poor that cried (compare the…
Because I delivered the poor that cried (compare the Instructions of Amen-em-hat: "Because I have made the afflicted ones free from their afflictions, so that their cries are heard no more" ("Records of the Past," vol. 2 p. 12). And again the Inscription of Ameni-Amenemha: "No little child have I injured; no widow have I oppressed; no fisherman have I hindered; no shepherd have I detained; no foreman have I taken from his gang to employ him in forced labour" (ibid., vol. 12:63). And the fatherless, and him that had none to help him (compare what is said of the ideal king in Psa_72:12-14, "He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall sabre the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight"). Championship of the poor was anciently regarded as characteristic of the wise, good, strong ruler.
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 vv12–16Because I delivered the poor that cried.
Job_29:12
Because I delivered the poor that cried.
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The use and application of wealth and authority
These words naturally lead us to reflect on the noble use and improvement this venerable person made of his former prosperity; to consider our own duty as represented to us in his example; and the proper objects of our compassion.
I. The proper use and application of wealth and authority. The distinctions which arise from power and subjection, from riches and poverty, from ease and affliction, appear so unequally and irregularly divided among men, and with so little regard to moral reasons, that by some superficial observers they have been formed into an objection against the wisdom and justice of God. But they execute a wise and regular scheme of providence; are necessary to preserve the order and economy of human society, and unite and endear mankind to one another. Wealth and authority must be acknowledged to distinguish us only as superior servants, appointed by our common Master, to do justice in the family and give everyone their meat in due season. We are not to imagine these favours are indulged us merely for our own sakes, to enable us to live in splendour and ease. The poor have a right and property in the abundance of those who are better supplied. Neither is any man farther justified in engrossing and hoarding up the common bounties of heaven, than may consist with this claim. These pleas of natural reason and justice religion has enforced with the authority of a positive command. With regard to the object, we are to observe, that both the obligations of the duty, and the measures prescribed to it, are under some limitations; for though our benevolence is required to be universal, yet our abilities are confined to a much narrower compass, and therefore oblige us to choice and distinction in the external applications of our charity. The motives that should prevail with us to comply with these great obligations, laid on us by justice and our religion, are that inward joy and complacency which flow back upon the soul from acts of mercy and liberality; and above all, those inestimable rewards which the Gospel has taught us to expect from these duties; pardon of sin here, and the eternal treasures of heaven hereafter.
II. The words allow us to take some inferior views into the account. While we are employed in the exercise of beneficence and charity, we appear in the venerable character of substitutes of God, commissioned by Him to reach down and distribute His blessings among our fellow subjects. On the returns of gratitude from the objects of our charity, and from the world who are witnesses of it, we are permitted to reflect with pleasure as a present encouragement designed by God to excite and reward our virtue. The other motive here proposed for our encouragement, the blessings of those whom we relieve, is in its nature properly religious; derives all its force from a conviction of our dependence on Providence, and the efficacy of human prayers. (J. Rogers, D. D.)
Eyes to the blind
That is not egotism. It is not the utterance of a puffed-up spirit. Egotism is too frequently the child of the shallows. Rarely, if ever, does it issue out of a deep and troubled heart. Egotism flourishes best where profound sorrow is least known. And here is a man who is overwhelmed with sorrow. Death has darkened every window in his home, and he is burdened with the weight of an almost intolerable grief. This is no place in which to find light, egotistical speech. Whatever words this man may speak will be crushed out of him by the very burden of his grief. It is a man going into his yesterdays to find some solace for the sorrow of today. He is calling upon memory to provide a little hearts ease for his present bitter distress. Thrice happy the man who can call such memories to help him in the hour of his distress! The poor that cried, and the fatherless, and those ready to perish, and the widow and the lame and the blind still make their appeals in the land, and it is true today as ever that the only Christian response is the one that was made by the patriarch Job. I have noticed that controversy about the distressed and the unfortunate is often regarded as a substitute for their relief. Abstract discussions often result in misty speculations which only obscure ones personal duty. It is often the case that controversy abounds where sympathy should reign. Again and again we find this illustrated in the experiences of our Lord. You find controversialists discussing the abstract question why such and such a man was born blind, while the blind man himself was soliciting practical aid. I believe that there is a vast amount of suffering and distress which might be effectually checked by some rearrangement of our social and economic conditions. I do not think that in these matters legislation is altogether impotent. At any rate, we can see to it that legislation puts a premium upon virtue, and not upon vice. But when legislation has done its utmost, misfortune will still be with us. In the presence of these things, surrounded by them on every side, what is the Christian attitude? The attitude of the patriarch Job. Christianity is a gospel of compassion and practical help, and to be devoid of these things is to be altogether an alien from the commonwealth of Israel. This is not new. The youngest child in this assembly could tell us that Christianity without helpfulness is a great absurdity. But while we all know these things, the danger is that we have got the right ideas without the correspondingly right feelings. It is so easy to be orthodox in mind but heterodox in heart; to have Christian ideas, but non-Christian feelings. Our Christianity may be intelligent but not sympathetic. What we want is the orthodox feeling united to the orthodox thought. How is this to be attained? I do not think we shall ever have a really deep feeling for our fellow sufferers until we have deeply suffered too. You begin to pray for the sailors when your own boy is on the deep. When you have a crippled child what a heart you have for the maimed! It sometimes seems as though God cannot draw us together in common feeling without taking us through a common sorrow. There is nothing so welds hearts together. I know of nothing more pathetic in the life of Browning than the reconciliation of himself and the great actor Macready. They had been close and intimate friends, but for some trifle or other they quarrelled, and each went his own way, and for years their helpful intercourse was broken. Then came a great trouble. About the same time they lost their wives, and a little while after, as each was walking out in his loneliness in a quiet way in a London suburb, they suddenly met face to face, and Browning, with a great burst of emotion, seized his old friends hand, and said, Oh, Macready; and Macready, with an aching heart, replied, Oh, Browning. That was all they could say to each other, and in the fires of a great and common grief the two severed lives were welded again. But if we have not been deepened by suffering, we can do something to deepen ourselves. Let us get face to face with realities. First of all we can remember the old trite commonplace that truth is stranger than fiction. We can find more pitiful things to weep over in any one street in this city than in all the works of fiction which may issue from the press in the course of the year. I dont know what Christ will have to say to people who weep over their novels, but who never weep over the great cities as He did because of their distresses and their woes. (J. H. Jowett, M. A.)
Sympathy should be practical
An Italian coastguard officer reported a shipwreck to his Government in these words: We saw the wreck, and we attempted to give every assistance possible through the speaking trumpet. We shouted ourselves quite hoarse, and notwithstanding which next morning twenty corpses were washed ashore. A well-known Scotch professor used to tell this story, and add: Too much of our benevolence is of the speaking trumpet variety, and even this we boast about. The Samaritan of the New Testament represents the benevolence of which the world stands in greatest need.
Piety and riches
I. The text shows the nature of a truly righteous and powerful character, aided by great secular possessions. Job was very rich; he was also very pious
1. His impartial justice.
2. His broad charity.
3. His timely assistance of the needy.
4. His exemplary leadership.
In all these we see a truly powerful and noble character. Piety, charity, justice, grandly blended and exemplified. We see at least that there is no incompatibility between a holy character and vast secular wealth.
II. The text shows that the most perfect piety is no security against the loss of great secular abundance. Wealth may go, but piety shall remain.
III. The text shows that the rich pious man, being in danger of losing his wealth, should, while he possesses it, use it wisely. This should inspire us--
1. To promptitude and liberality in our gifts; and
2. To a right discretion of the objects we support. It would be difficult to estimate such a life as is here set forth. A rich good man abounds with resources of good in every direction of Gods glory and the welfare of man. And if so be that the wealth be taken from us, we never lose our piety, which is the far greater possession. (Thomas Colclough.)
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 v12Job Speaks of his Benevolence and the Honor Accorded…
Job Speaks of his Benevolence and the Honor Accorded Him
v. 12. Because I delivered the poor that cried, making a plea for assistance, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him, the orphan who had no helper, Job practised true benevolence, dispensed real charity.
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v. 13. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me, the forsaken and miserable ones blessed him with grateful wishes for the help he gave them; and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy, by the willing charity which he dispensed, relieving her of all her cares of this life.
v. 14. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me, putting it on as a robe, wearing it always, so that the proper holy conduct at all times was identified with him; my judgment was as a robe and a diadem, justice and fairness in all his dealings were his mantle and his turban, characterizing him before all men.
v. 15. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame, his charity and largess was so great as to make men forget their misfortunes, no matter whether these consisted even in lameness or blindness.
v. 16. I was a father to the poor, attending to the wants of the needy like a natural father; and the cause which I knew not I searched out, he made it his business to find out about the friendless in the community, in order to come to their assistance in anything they needed.
v. 17. And I brake the jaws of the wicked, of all the hard-hearted, who oppressed the poor, especially of unrighteous judges, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth, rescuing them from the power of the wicked, as out of the claws of beasts of prey. In this way had Job spent his days, dispensing benevolence on all sides.
v. 18. Then I said, I shall die in my nest, safe in the bosom of his family, and I shall multiply my days as the sand, dying in a ripe old age, after the grains of sand in the hour-glass of his life had fully run their course.
v. 19. My root was spread out by the waters, he had hoped that he would flourish like a tree plentifully watered, and the dew lay all night upon my branch, like the moisture which sustains the life of the desert plant.
v. 20. My glory was fresh in me, he thought he would always be given the honor which he then enjoyed, and my bow was renewed in my hand, the bow being a symbol of manliness and strength, which, he trusted, would always grow young again.
v. 21. Unto me men gave ear and waited, they paused for Job to speak first, his counsel being decisive, and kept silence at my counsel, not presuming to contradict him.
v. 22. After my words they spake not again, his solution of the matter under consideration being final; and my speech dropped upon them, as the refreshing rain does upon the dry soil eager for its fructifying power.
v. 23. And they waited for me as for the rain, to have his counsel come to them as such a gentle shower; and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain, the rain of early spring, which determines the richness of the harvest.
v. 24. If I laughed on them, they believed it not, literally, "when they had no confidence," when they were despondent about something, his cheering smile gave them new courage; and the light of my countenance they cast not down, could not darken; no matter how cheerless the prospect, they could not take the hopefulness out of Job’s heart nor the encouraging smile from his face.
v. 25. I chose out their way and sat chief, he took pleasure in attending their assemblies and in taking part in their affairs, and dwelt as a king in the army, assuming the leadership altogether naturally, as one that comforteth the mourners, with the encouragement which a true leader will give to those depending on him. Such was Job’s happiness and prosperity, and such were his hopes for the future in the days when he was an honored man in the community.
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 v14I put on righteousness, and it clothed me
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me
People often spoke of righteousness as if it were clothing. AT: "I did what was righteous, and it was like clothing that I put on" (See: Metaphor)
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my justice was like a robe and a turban
People often spoke of justice as if it were clothing. AT: "I did what was just, and it was like a robe and a turban on me" (See: Simile)
turban
a long cloth that men wrap around their heads and wear as a hat
I was eyes to blind people
This represents helping blind people. AT: "I was like eyes for blind people" or "I guided blind people" (See: Metaphor)
I was feet to lame people
This represents helping blind people. AT: "I was like feet for lame people" or "I supported lame people" (See: Metaphor)
I was a father to needy people
Here "I was a father" represents providing for people. AT: "I provided for needy people as a father provides for his children" (See: Metaphor)
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv14, 1629:14 Job described his righteousness in royal terms. A…
29:14 Job described his righteousness in royal terms. A robe is a common biblical image for righteousness (Ps 132:9; Isa 59:17; 61:10; Rom 13:14; Rev 19:8).
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv12–14 Because his adversaries did so much charge him with…
Because his adversaries did so much charge him with wickedness, he is compelled to render account of his life.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv12–16 Job 29:12 Because I delivered the poor that cried,…
Job 29:12 Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and [him that had] none to help him.
Ver. 12. Because I delivered the poor that cried] Here are set forth the true causes of that great respect that was generally given Job; he was a good justicer, such as Jethro describeth, Exo 18:21. He hated, much more than did Mithridates, such as maliciously persecuted virtue forsaken of fortune. And as James V of Scotland was called the poor man’s king, so might Job well have been; for no sooner could a poor body cry to him for help but he relieved him, and rescued him out of the hands of his oppressor (Cassiodor.). Theodoric of old, and Gustavus, king of Swedes, of late, are famous for so doing (Mr Clark).
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And the fatherless, and him that had none, &c.] The fatherless and friendless, from whom he could not expect any reward. He was not of those who follow the administration of justice as a trade only, with an unquenchable and unconscionable desire of gain, but held out a constant course of integrity, and righted those whom others would have slighted.
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 vv12–16 I delivered from his potent oppressor. They did not…
I delivered from his potent oppressor. They did not honour me for my great wealth or power, but for my impartial justice and pity to the afflicted, and courage in maintaining their cause and right against their mighty adversaries.
None to help him; none that would own or help them, partly because they were poor, and unable to recompense them for it; and partly because their enemies were great, and likely to crush both them and their helpers; which made Job’s virtue more glorious.
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 vv12–16 Because I delivered the poor that cried,.... This honour…
Because I delivered the poor that cried,.... This honour and esteem he had not because of his grandeur and riches, because of his worldly wealth and substance, but because of the goodness of his disposition, and because of the good he did to men, his acts of pity and compassion to the poor, and of the justice he did to all men; the poor and the afflicted, when they cried to him for help, he delivered them out of the hands of their oppressors:
and the fatherless; the care and defence of which belongs to judges and civil magistrates, see Psa 82:1;
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and him that had none to help him; as the poor and fatherless seldom have; there is power on the side of the oppressors of them, but they have few or none to take their parts, and to be their comforters, Ecc 4:1; in these instances Job imitated God, and was a follower of him, as a dear child of his; who, when this and the other poor man cries unto him, he hears, saves, and delivers out of all their troubles; he is the helper, yea, the father of the fatherless, and the judge of the widow; and, when there is no help from men, he is a present help in times of need.
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 v14 Put on, &c. - Perhaps he did not wear…
Put on, &c. - Perhaps he did not wear these: but his steady justice was to him instead of all those ornaments.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv12, 15, 16 Verse 12. Because I delivered the poor that cried]…
Verse 12. Because I delivered the poor that cried] This appears to be intended as a refutation of the charges produced by Eliphaz, Job 22:5-10, to confute which Job appeals to facts, and to public testimony.
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 vv13–15 Job 29:13. The blessing of him that was ready…
Job 29:13. The blessing of him that was ready to perish — Who was in danger of losing his life or estate, by the malice and tyranny of wicked men; came upon me — Both he, and others for his sake, blessed me, and begged that God would bless me. I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy — For her great and unexpected deliverance. Widows are the common objects of injuries and oppressions, because they are generally unable to defend themselves from the violence of their oppressors, or to offend those who molest them.
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 vv12–16 Because I delivered the poor that cried - This…
Because I delivered the poor that cried - This is spoken of himself as a magistrate or judge - for the whole description relates to that. The meaning is, that when the poor man, who had no means of employing counsel, brought his cause before him, he heard him and delivered him from the grasp of the oppressor. He never made an appeal to him in vain; compare Pro 21:13; Pro 24:11-12.
And the fatherless - The orphan who brought his cause before him. He became the patron and protector of those whose natural protectors - their parents - had been removed by death; compare the notes at Isa 1:17.
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And him that had none to help him - The poor man who had no powerful patron. Job says that, as a magistrate, he particularly regarded the cause of such persons, and saw that justice was done them - a beautiful image of the administration of justice in patriarchal times. This is the sense in which our translators understood this. But the parallelism seems rather to require that this should be applied to the fatherless who had no one to aid him, and the Hebrew, by understanding the ו (w) conjunctive as meaning “when,” will bear this construction. So it is understood by Rosenmuller, Umbreit, Herder, and Noyes.
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 v16 Diligently, not passing sentence at random. I also endeavoured…
Diligently, not passing sentence at random. I also endeavoured to do justice to those who durst not make any complaint. The prince ought to have an eye to all things. (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 vv12–16 The grounds on which Job was praised (Job 29:11),…
The grounds on which Job was praised (Job 29:11), his helping the afflicted (Psa 72:12) who cried to him for help, as a judge, or as one possessed of means of charity. Translate: "The fatherless who had none to help him."
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 vv12, 14, 16 12. A most courteous reply to the cruel calumnies…
12. A most courteous reply to the cruel calumnies of Eliphaz, Job_22:6-9.
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 vv12, 14, 15, 16 12. and him that had none to help him]…
12. and him that had none to help him] Perhaps, the fatherless, that had none to help him, only two classes being referred to, the “poor” and the “fatherless.”
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 v14 (14) I put on righteousness.—Comp. Isa_61:10; Isa_28:5; Isa_62:3; 2Ti_4:8;…
(14) I put on righteousness.—Comp. Isa_61:10; Isa_28:5; Isa_62:3; 2Ti_4:8; Jas_1:12; 1Pe_5:4; 1Th_2:19. His judgment, the result of his personal righteousness, was as a robe of honour and a crown of glory to him.
It clothed me.—Literally, it clothed itself with me. First, righteousness is the garment, and then he is the garment to righteousness. (Compare the expressions “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,” Rom_13:14, and 2Co_5:2-4, and the Hebrew of Psa_143:9, where “I flee unto thee to hide me” is, I have covered myself with thee, or, have hidden me with thee.) This is the Gospel truth of the interchange of sin and righteousness between Christ and the believer. He bears our sins; we are clothed with the robe of His righteousness.
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 vv12–16 Because I delivered the poor that cried (compare the…
Because I delivered the poor that cried (compare the Instructions of Amen-em-hat: "Because I have made the afflicted ones free from their afflictions, so that their cries are heard no more" ("Records of the Past," vol. 2 p. 12). And again the Inscription of Ameni-Amenemha: "No little child have I injured; no widow have I oppressed; no fisherman have I hindered; no shepherd have I detained; no foreman have I taken from his gang to employ him in forced labour" (ibid., vol. 12:63). And the fatherless, and him that had none to help him (compare what is said of the ideal king in Psa_72:12-14, "He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall sabre the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight"). Championship of the poor was anciently regarded as characteristic of the wise, good, strong ruler.
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 vv12–16 Because I delivered the poor that cried.
Job_29:12
Because I delivered the poor that cried.
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The use and application of wealth and authority
These words naturally lead us to reflect on the noble use and improvement this venerable person made of his former prosperity; to consider our own duty as represented to us in his example; and the proper objects of our compassion.
I. The proper use and application of wealth and authority. The distinctions which arise from power and subjection, from riches and poverty, from ease and affliction, appear so unequally and irregularly divided among men, and with so little regard to moral reasons, that by some superficial observers they have been formed into an objection against the wisdom and justice of God. But they execute a wise and regular scheme of providence; are necessary to preserve the order and economy of human society, and unite and endear mankind to one another. Wealth and authority must be acknowledged to distinguish us only as superior servants, appointed by our common Master, to do justice in the family and give everyone their meat in due season. We are not to imagine these favours are indulged us merely for our own sakes, to enable us to live in splendour and ease. The poor have a right and property in the abundance of those who are better supplied. Neither is any man farther justified in engrossing and hoarding up the common bounties of heaven, than may consist with this claim. These pleas of natural reason and justice religion has enforced with the authority of a positive command. With regard to the object, we are to observe, that both the obligations of the duty, and the measures prescribed to it, are under some limitations; for though our benevolence is required to be universal, yet our abilities are confined to a much narrower compass, and therefore oblige us to choice and distinction in the external applications of our charity. The motives that should prevail with us to comply with these great obligations, laid on us by justice and our religion, are that inward joy and complacency which flow back upon the soul from acts of mercy and liberality; and above all, those inestimable rewards which the Gospel has taught us to expect from these duties; pardon of sin here, and the eternal treasures of heaven hereafter.
II. The words allow us to take some inferior views into the account. While we are employed in the exercise of beneficence and charity, we appear in the venerable character of substitutes of God, commissioned by Him to reach down and distribute His blessings among our fellow subjects. On the returns of gratitude from the objects of our charity, and from the world who are witnesses of it, we are permitted to reflect with pleasure as a present encouragement designed by God to excite and reward our virtue. The other motive here proposed for our encouragement, the blessings of those whom we relieve, is in its nature properly religious; derives all its force from a conviction of our dependence on Providence, and the efficacy of human prayers. (J. Rogers, D. D.)
Eyes to the blind
That is not egotism. It is not the utterance of a puffed-up spirit. Egotism is too frequently the child of the shallows. Rarely, if ever, does it issue out of a deep and troubled heart. Egotism flourishes best where profound sorrow is least known. And here is a man who is overwhelmed with sorrow. Death has darkened every window in his home, and he is burdened with the weight of an almost intolerable grief. This is no place in which to find light, egotistical speech. Whatever words this man may speak will be crushed out of him by the very burden of his grief. It is a man going into his yesterdays to find some solace for the sorrow of today. He is calling upon memory to provide a little hearts ease for his present bitter distress. Thrice happy the man who can call such memories to help him in the hour of his distress! The poor that cried, and the fatherless, and those ready to perish, and the widow and the lame and the blind still make their appeals in the land, and it is true today as ever that the only Christian response is the one that was made by the patriarch Job. I have noticed that controversy about the distressed and the unfortunate is often regarded as a substitute for their relief. Abstract discussions often result in misty speculations which only obscure ones personal duty. It is often the case that controversy abounds where sympathy should reign. Again and again we find this illustrated in the experiences of our Lord. You find controversialists discussing the abstract question why such and such a man was born blind, while the blind man himself was soliciting practical aid. I believe that there is a vast amount of suffering and distress which might be effectually checked by some rearrangement of our social and economic conditions. I do not think that in these matters legislation is altogether impotent. At any rate, we can see to it that legislation puts a premium upon virtue, and not upon vice. But when legislation has done its utmost, misfortune will still be with us. In the presence of these things, surrounded by them on every side, what is the Christian attitude? The attitude of the patriarch Job. Christianity is a gospel of compassion and practical help, and to be devoid of these things is to be altogether an alien from the commonwealth of Israel. This is not new. The youngest child in this assembly could tell us that Christianity without helpfulness is a great absurdity. But while we all know these things, the danger is that we have got the right ideas without the correspondingly right feelings. It is so easy to be orthodox in mind but heterodox in heart; to have Christian ideas, but non-Christian feelings. Our Christianity may be intelligent but not sympathetic. What we want is the orthodox feeling united to the orthodox thought. How is this to be attained? I do not think we shall ever have a really deep feeling for our fellow sufferers until we have deeply suffered too. You begin to pray for the sailors when your own boy is on the deep. When you have a crippled child what a heart you have for the maimed! It sometimes seems as though God cannot draw us together in common feeling without taking us through a common sorrow. There is nothing so welds hearts together. I know of nothing more pathetic in the life of Browning than the reconciliation of himself and the great actor Macready. They had been close and intimate friends, but for some trifle or other they quarrelled, and each went his own way, and for years their helpful intercourse was broken. Then came a great trouble. About the same time they lost their wives, and a little while after, as each was walking out in his loneliness in a quiet way in a London suburb, they suddenly met face to face, and Browning, with a great burst of emotion, seized his old friends hand, and said, Oh, Macready; and Macready, with an aching heart, replied, Oh, Browning. That was all they could say to each other, and in the fires of a great and common grief the two severed lives were welded again. But if we have not been deepened by suffering, we can do something to deepen ourselves. Let us get face to face with realities. First of all we can remember the old trite commonplace that truth is stranger than fiction. We can find more pitiful things to weep over in any one street in this city than in all the works of fiction which may issue from the press in the course of the year. I dont know what Christ will have to say to people who weep over their novels, but who never weep over the great cities as He did because of their distresses and their woes. (J. H. Jowett, M. A.)
Sympathy should be practical
An Italian coastguard officer reported a shipwreck to his Government in these words: We saw the wreck, and we attempted to give every assistance possible through the speaking trumpet. We shouted ourselves quite hoarse, and notwithstanding which next morning twenty corpses were washed ashore. A well-known Scotch professor used to tell this story, and add: Too much of our benevolence is of the speaking trumpet variety, and even this we boast about. The Samaritan of the New Testament represents the benevolence of which the world stands in greatest need.
Piety and riches
I. The text shows the nature of a truly righteous and powerful character, aided by great secular possessions. Job was very rich; he was also very pious
1. His impartial justice.
2. His broad charity.
3. His timely assistance of the needy.
4. His exemplary leadership.
In all these we see a truly powerful and noble character. Piety, charity, justice, grandly blended and exemplified. We see at least that there is no incompatibility between a holy character and vast secular wealth.
II. The text shows that the most perfect piety is no security against the loss of great secular abundance. Wealth may go, but piety shall remain.
III. The text shows that the rich pious man, being in danger of losing his wealth, should, while he possesses it, use it wisely. This should inspire us--
1. To promptitude and liberality in our gifts; and
2. To a right discretion of the objects we support. It would be difficult to estimate such a life as is here set forth. A rich good man abounds with resources of good in every direction of Gods glory and the welfare of man. And if so be that the wealth be taken from us, we never lose our piety, which is the far greater possession. (Thomas Colclough.)
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 v12 Job Speaks of his Benevolence and the Honor Accorded…
Job Speaks of his Benevolence and the Honor Accorded Him
v. 12. Because I delivered the poor that cried, making a plea for assistance, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him, the orphan who had no helper, Job practised true benevolence, dispensed real charity.
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v. 13. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me, the forsaken and miserable ones blessed him with grateful wishes for the help he gave them; and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy, by the willing charity which he dispensed, relieving her of all her cares of this life.
v. 14. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me, putting it on as a robe, wearing it always, so that the proper holy conduct at all times was identified with him; my judgment was as a robe and a diadem, justice and fairness in all his dealings were his mantle and his turban, characterizing him before all men.
v. 15. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame, his charity and largess was so great as to make men forget their misfortunes, no matter whether these consisted even in lameness or blindness.
v. 16. I was a father to the poor, attending to the wants of the needy like a natural father; and the cause which I knew not I searched out, he made it his business to find out about the friendless in the community, in order to come to their assistance in anything they needed.
v. 17. And I brake the jaws of the wicked, of all the hard-hearted, who oppressed the poor, especially of unrighteous judges, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth, rescuing them from the power of the wicked, as out of the claws of beasts of prey. In this way had Job spent his days, dispensing benevolence on all sides.
v. 18. Then I said, I shall die in my nest, safe in the bosom of his family, and I shall multiply my days as the sand, dying in a ripe old age, after the grains of sand in the hour-glass of his life had fully run their course.
v. 19. My root was spread out by the waters, he had hoped that he would flourish like a tree plentifully watered, and the dew lay all night upon my branch, like the moisture which sustains the life of the desert plant.
v. 20. My glory was fresh in me, he thought he would always be given the honor which he then enjoyed, and my bow was renewed in my hand, the bow being a symbol of manliness and strength, which, he trusted, would always grow young again.
v. 21. Unto me men gave ear and waited, they paused for Job to speak first, his counsel being decisive, and kept silence at my counsel, not presuming to contradict him.
v. 22. After my words they spake not again, his solution of the matter under consideration being final; and my speech dropped upon them, as the refreshing rain does upon the dry soil eager for its fructifying power.
v. 23. And they waited for me as for the rain, to have his counsel come to them as such a gentle shower; and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain, the rain of early spring, which determines the richness of the harvest.
v. 24. If I laughed on them, they believed it not, literally, "when they had no confidence," when they were despondent about something, his cheering smile gave them new courage; and the light of my countenance they cast not down, could not darken; no matter how cheerless the prospect, they could not take the hopefulness out of Job’s heart nor the encouraging smile from his face.
v. 25. I chose out their way and sat chief, he took pleasure in attending their assemblies and in taking part in their affairs, and dwelt as a king in the army, assuming the leadership altogether naturally, as one that comforteth the mourners, with the encouragement which a true leader will give to those depending on him. Such was Job’s happiness and prosperity, and such were his hopes for the future in the days when he was an honored man in the community.
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 v14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me
People often spoke of righteousness as if it were clothing. AT: "I did what was righteous, and it was like clothing that I put on" (See: Metaphor)
Read full note →
my justice was like a robe and a turban
People often spoke of justice as if it were clothing. AT: "I did what was just, and it was like a robe and a turban on me" (See: Simile)
turban
a long cloth that men wrap around their heads and wear as a hat
I was eyes to blind people
This represents helping blind people. AT: "I was like eyes for blind people" or "I guided blind people" (See: Metaphor)
I was feet to lame people
This represents helping blind people. AT: "I was like feet for lame people" or "I supported lame people" (See: Metaphor)
I was a father to needy people
Here "I was a father" represents providing for people. AT: "I provided for needy people as a father provides for his children" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
righteous
clothe
just
robe
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 vv14, 16 29:14 Job described his righteousness in royal terms. A…
29:14 Job described his righteousness in royal terms. A robe is a common biblical image for righteousness (Ps 132:9; Isa 59:17; 61:10; Rom 13:14; Rev 19:8).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.