Job accused of divers sins. B. C. about 1520. Heb. graves. † Heb. watch in the heap. x Heb. 9. 27. + Heb. transgression? a ch. 35. 7. Ps. 16. 2. Luke 17. 10. Or, if he may be profitable, doth his good success depend thereon? b Ex. 22. 26, 27. Deut. 24. ch. 10, &c. 24. 3, 9. Ez. 18. 12. JOB. 6 For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and + Heb. strip-stripped the naked of their clothing. 7 Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. ped the clothes of the naked. He is exhorted to repent. glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn. 20 Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth. 21 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. 22 Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and Play up his words in thine heart. 23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. 24 Then shalt thou 'lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. B. C. about 1520. Or, estate. | Or, their ezcellency. That is, with God. o Is. 27. 5. P Ps. 119. 11. ch. 8. 5, 6. & 11. 13, 14. r 2 Chr. 1. 15. Or, on the dust. 25 Yea, the Almighty shall be thy I defence, and thou shalt have † plenty Or. gold. of silver. + Heb. silver of strength. 26 For then shalt thou have thy 'delight in the Almighty, and shalt ch. 27. 10. lift up thy face unto God. 27 Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. 28 Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee : and the light shall shine upon thy ways. X Is. 58. 14. t ch. 11. 15. u Ps. 50. 14. 15. Is. 56. 9. James 4. 6. 1 Pet. 5. 5. † Heb, him that hath loo eyes. 29 When men are cast down, then Prov. 29. 23. thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and * he shall save the humble person. 30 He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by Or. The inthe pureness of thine hands. CHAPTER XXIII. Job's answer: He longeth to plead his cause before God, 8 but cannot find him. 10 He comforteth himself in the omniscience of God; 13 but is troubled at the presence of him whose purpose is immutable. THEN Job answered and said, T2 Even today is my complaint 1 nocent shall deliver the island, Gen. | 18. 26, &c. bitter my stroke is heavier than + Heb. my my groaning. 3 Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat! 4 I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. 5 I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me. hand, a ch. 13. S. & 16. 21. & 57. 16. 6 Will he plead against me with b Is 27. 4, & his great power? No; but he would put strength in me. 7 There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge. C 8 Behold, I go forward, but he is ch. 9. 11. not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him : 9 On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he & Acts 1.7. & 27. 17. 16 For God maketh my heart soft, CHAPTER XXIV. Job sheweth that the wicked often go unpunished in a Punishment of the wicked. B. C. 13 They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the about 1520. ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof. 14 The murderer rising with the Ps. 10. 8. light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief. 15 The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me and disguiseth his face. ↳ Prov. 7. 9. his face in 16 In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they John 3. 20. know not the light. 17 For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death. 18 He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards. 19 Drought and heat † consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned. † Heb, violently take. 20 The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; 'he Prov. 10. 7. shall be no more remembered; and WHY, seeing times are not hid-wickedness shall be broken as a tree. den from the Almighty, do they Deut 19. 14. that know him not see his days? 2 Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof. | 5,10 "Or. feed them. 3 They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge. 4 They turn the needy out of the 4 Prov, 28. 28. way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together. + Heb. mingled corn, ur, dredge. + Heb. the wicked gath er the vintage. • Ex. 22. 28, 27. Deut. 24. 12, 13. eb. 22. 6. ! Lam. 4. 5. 7 They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold. 8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and 'embrace the rock for want of a shelter. 9 They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor. 10 They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry; 11 Which make oil within their walls, and tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst. 12 Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them. 23 Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways. 24 They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all others, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn. 25 And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth? CHAPTER XXV. Bildad replieth again: He sheweth that man cannot || Or, he trusteth not his own life. m Ps. 11. 4. Prov. 15. 3. +Heb. arenot. + Heb. closed up. a James 1. 17. God's power and majesty. B. C. about 1520. Or, with the inhabitants. a Ps. 139. 8, 11. b ch. 9. 8. c Prov. 30 4. d ch. 38. 8. + Heb. until e Ex. 14. 21. + Heb. pride. g Is. 27. 1. + Heb. added to take up. a ch. 34. 5. CHAPTER XXVI. JOB. Job's answer: He reproveth Bildad; 5 and speak The hope of the hypocrite. B. C. 8 For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when about 1520. God taketh away his soul? BHow hast thou helped him trouble cometh upon him? 9 Will God hear his cry when that is without power? how savest 10 Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God? e Matt. 16. 26. Luke 12. 20. 11 I will teach you by the hand Or, being in of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal. 12 Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus alto 4 To whom hast thou uttered words? the hand, &c. ! ch. 35. 12. Ps. 18. 41. & 109. 7. Prov. 1. 28. & 28. 9. Is. 1. 15. Jer. 14. 12. Ez. 8. 18. Mic. 3. 4. John 9. 31. James 4. 3. 13 This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of See ch. 22. 6 Hell is naked before him, and oppressors, which they shall receive destruction hath no covering. 10 He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end. 11 The pillars of heaven tremble, and are astonished at his reproof. 12 He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he 13 By his Spirit he hath garnished 14 Lo, these are parts of his ways; but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand? CHAPTER XXVII. Job purposeth to hold fast his integrity; 7 and shew- miserable end of the wicked. MO OREOVER Job continued his 2 As God liveth, who hath taken † Heb. made my soul bitter, Ruth 1. 20. 4. 27. That is, the breath which God gave him, Gen. 2. 7. b ch. 2. 9. & 13. 15. e ch. 2. 3. d Acts 24. 16. + Heb. from my days. 4 My lips shall not speak wicked- 6 My righteousness I hold fast, and 7 Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous. of the Almighty. 26, 27. h ch. 20, 29. Esth. 9. 10. 14 If his children be multiplied, Deut. 28. 41. it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. 15 Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows Ps. 78. 64. shall not weep. 16 Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay; Ecc. 2. 26. 17 He may prepare it, but 'the just 1 Prov. 28. &, shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver. 18 He buildeth his house as a moth, and "as a booth that the keeper maketh. 19 The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not. 20 Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night. 21 The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth and as a storm hurleth him out of his place. 22 For God shall cast upon him, and not spare the would fain flee out of his hand. hath not seen : 8 The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. 9 He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots. 10 He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing. 11 He bindeth the floods + from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light. 12 But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? 13 Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. C 14 The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me. 15 It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. 16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. 17 The gold and the crystal cannot equal it and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. 18 No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. 19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. 20 Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? 21 Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. 22 Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our Job's former prosperity. and to depart from evil is understanding. CHAPTER XXIX. Job describeth his former prosperity and honourable condition; 14 his care for the poor; 18 and his expectation of continued happiness. B. C. about 1520. MOREOVER Job continued his take added parable, and said, 2 Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; to up. a See ch. 7.3. b ch. 18.6. Ps. 18. 28. 3 When his candle shined upon Or, lamp, my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness; 4 As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon Ps. 25. 14. my tabernacle ; d Gen. 49. 11. Deut. 32. 13. & 33. 24. ch. 20. 17. • Ps. 81. 16. 5 When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me; 6 When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured † me out† Heb. with rivers of oil; 7 When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street! 8 The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up. me. f ch. 21. 5. 9 The princes refrained talking, and flaid their hand on their mouth. 10 The nobles held their peace, † Heb. The and their tongue cleaved to the roof voice of the nobles was of their mouth. hid. 11 When the ear heard me, then it Ps. 137. 6. blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me: 15 I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. 16 I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out. 17 And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and † plucked the spoil out of his teeth. 18 Then I said, "I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand. Ps. 132. 9. Is. 59. 17. & 61. 10. Eph. 6. 14, &c. 1 Thess. 5. 8. k Num. 10. 31. 1 Prov. 29. 7. m Ps. 58. 6. Prov. 30. 14. Heb. the jaw teeth, or, the grinders. + Heb. cast. n Ps. 30. 6. o ch. 18. 16. P Ps. 1. 3. Jer. 19 My root was spread out by Heb. opened. the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch. 20 My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was † renewed in my hand. 21 Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel. 22 After my words they spake not again; and my speech dropped upon them. 17. 8. Heb. new. Heb. changed. q Gen. 49. 24. + Heb. of fewer days than I. Or, dark as the night. + Heb. yesternight. + Heb. holes. 24 If I laughed on them, they believed it not; and the light of my countenance they cast not down. 25 I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners. CHAPTER XXX. Job bemoaneth his altered state; 15 and sheweth the greatness of his sufferings. BUT UT now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock. 2 Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished? 3 For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness tin former time desolate and waste: 4 Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat. 5 They were driven forth from among men, (they cried after them as after a thief,) 6 To dwell in the clefts of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks. 7 Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together. 8 They were children of fools, yea, + Heb. men of children of base men: they were viler than the earth. no name. a ch. 17. 6. Ps. 35. 15. & 69. 12. Lam. 3. 14, 63. + Heb. and withhold not spittle from my face. 9 And now am I their song, yea, I am their by word. 10 They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face. Il Because he hath loosed my cord, b Num. 12. 14. and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me. Deut. 25. 9. Is. 50. 6. Matt. 26. 67. & 27, 30. c See ch. 12. 18. d ch. 19. 12. 12 Upon my right hand rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction. d His great sufferings. B. C. 19 He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes. about 1520. 20 I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not. 21 Thou art + become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest + thyself against me. 22 Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it, and dissolvest my substance. + Heb. turned to be cruel. + Heb. the strength of thy hand Or, wisdom. 23 For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house ap- Heb. 9. 27. pointed for all living. 24 Howbeit he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction. 25 Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor? h + Heb. heap. +Heb. for him that was hard of day. Ps. 35. 13, 14. Rom. 12. 15. 26 When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I wait-h Jer. 8. 15. ed for light, there came darkness. 27 My bowels boiled, and rested not the days of affliction prevented me. 2 For what portion of God is there ch. 20. 29. & from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high? 3 Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity? 4 Doth not he see my ways, and 2 Chr. 16. 9. count all my steps? 5 If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit ; 6 Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity. ch. S4. 21. Prov. 5. 21. & 15. 3. Jer. $2 19. + Heb. Let him weigh me in balances of justice. 7 If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after 4 See Num. mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands; e 8 Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out. 9 If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour's door; 10 Then let my wife grind unto 15. 39. Ecc. 11.9. Ez. 6.9. Matt. 5. 29. Lev. 26. 16. Deut. 28. 30, 38, &c. |