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AN

AMENDED VERSION

THE BOOK OF JOB,

AN INTRODUCTION,

NOTES CHIEFLY EXPLANATORY.

BY GEORGE R. NOYES.

CAMBRIDGE :
PUBLISHED BY HILLIARD AND BROWN.
1827.

„ • -,v P^-ByMtad, Metcalf, 4- Co.
Fiomthe University Press cy"

INTRODUCTION.

The poem, which it is the design of this volume to illustrate, is,
in many respects, the most remarkable production of any age or
country. Though its antiquity is at least equal to that of the
most ancient monuments of Grecian genius, it has for its subject,
not the sanguinary exploits of half-civilized heroes, and the fierce
contentions of rival deities, but the providence of the one true

ERRATA.
Introduction— page v>line 8, for " Ch. i. 7." read Ch. i. ii.
— page vii, line 5 from the bottom, for " of an Arabian
into the mouth of a Jew," read oi a Jew into the mouth of an Arabian.

er he attempt to describe the residence of Him, ' who maintaineth
peace in his high places,' or ' the land of darkness and the shadow
of death ; ' the passions and pursuits of man, or the nature and
features of the animal creation ; the phenomena of the air and
the heavens, or the dark operations of the miner; he is ever
familiar with his subject, and seems to tell us of what his eyes
have seen, and his ears have heard.
What is most remarkable in a poem of so high antiquity, is
the skill with which all the delineations of the heart, and all the
descriptions of nature, are made subservient to the illustration of
one important moral subject. He has not merely given a succes
sion of isolated pictures, but a complete and regular poem, dis
tinguished by unity of design, and judicious arrangement.
It has been a much debated question, whether the Book of Job
should be considered as an epic, or a dramatic composition. But as
it contains no action, no variety of characters, and no scenes, but on-

INTRODUCTION.

The poem, which it is the design of this volume to illustrate, is,
in many respects, the most remarkable production of any age or
country. Though its antiquity is at least equal to that of the
most ancient monuments of Grecian genius, it has for its subject,
not the sanguinary exploits of half-civilized heroes, and the fierce
contentions of rival deities, but the providence of the one true
God, and the duty of man. Its language is the natural effusion of
a soul, full of the sublimest conceptions of the Author of nature,
and his glorious works, and of true sympathy with all that is
great, and amiable, and affecting in the character and condition
of man. The imagination of the author seems to have ranged
freely through every part ofthe universe, and to have enriched'
itself from almost every department of nature and of art. Wheth
er he attempt to describe the residence of Him, ' who maintaineth
peace in his high places,' or ' the land of darkness and the shadow
of death ; 7 the passions and pursuits of man, or the nature and
features of the animal creation ; the phenomena of the air and
the heavens, or the dark operations of the miner ; he is ever
familiar with his subject, and seems to tell us of what his eyes
have seen, and his ears have heard.
What is most remarkable in a poem of so high antiquity, is
the skill with which all the delineations of the heart, and all the
descriptions of nature, are made subservient to the illustration of
one important moral subject. He has not merely given a succes
sion of isolated pictures, but a complete and regular poem, dis
tinguished by unity of design, and judicious arrangement.
It has been a much debated question, whether the Book of Job
should be considered as an epic, or a dramatic composition. But as
it contains no action, no variety of characters, and no scenes, but on-

iv INTRODUCTION.
ly long discourses and proverbial maxims, having reference to a
moral question, it may more properly be regarded as a didactic
poem upon the ways of providence. Its main design is, not to
celebrate the character and fortunes of Job, but, by means of his ex
ample, to illustrate an important truth, and enforce an important duty.
The leading design of the poem is to establish the truth, that
CHARACTER IS NOT TO BE INFERRED FROM EXTERNAL CONDITION ;
and to enforce the duty of submission to the will of God.
The providence of God in regard to the distribution of good
and evil in this world, has been a perplexing subject to the minds
of men in every age. It must have been peculiarly embarrassing,
before 'life and immortality were brought to light by the gospel.'
lt may have been for the purpose of correcting prevalent errors
on the subject, that the author of this poem endeavours to show,
that, in the distribution of good and evil, God is influenced by
reasons, which man can neither discover, nor comprehend, and
not solely by the merit or demerit of his creatures ; that the
righteous are often afflicted, and the wicked prospered ; but that
this course of providence is perfectly consistent with wisdom,
justice, and goodness in the Deity, though man is unable to dis
cern the reasons of it ; that man is an incompetent judge of the
divine dispensations ; and that it is his duty, instead of rashly
daring to penetrate, or to censure, the counsels of his Creator, to
submit to his will, to reverence his character, and to obey his laws.
To accomplish this design, the poet takes an extreme case. He
introduces to the reader an inhabitant of Idumea, equally distin
guished by his piety, and his prosperity. He was pronounced by
the Searcher of hearts ' an upright and good man ; ' and he was
surrounded by a happy family, and was ' the most wealthy of all the
inhabitants of the East.'
If holiness of character could, in any case, be a security against
calamity, then must Job's prosperity have been lasting. Who ev
er had greater reason for expecting continued prosperity, the fa
vour of men, and the smiles of providence ? ' But when he looked
for good, evil came.' A single day produces a complete reverse
in his condition, and reduces him from the height of prosperity to
the lowest depths of misery. He is stripped of his possessions.
Of his herds, and his servants, some are driven away by robbers,
and some are destroyed by lightning. His children, a numerous

INTRODUCTION. v
family, for whom he had never forgotten to offer to God a morn
ing sacrifice, are buried under the ruins of their houses, which a
hurricane levels with the ground ; and, finally he is afflicted, in his
own person, with a most loathsome and dangerous disease.
Thus the best man in the world has become the most miserable
man in the world.
In this situation he is visited by three of his friends, whai not
being acquainted with what had occurred in heaven (Ch. i.ff.) in
regard to his sufferings, are naturally led to reflect on the cause
of them. A vehement complaint, extorted from him by the sever
ity of his afflictions, gives them occasion to express their minds.
They are represented as entertaining the opinion, that misery im
plies guilt ; and hence, instead of bringing him comfort and con
solation, they accuse him of having merited his misfortunes by se
cret wickedness; and exhort him to repentance, as if he were a
great sinner, suffering the just punishment of his crimes.
Job repels their insinuations with indignation, and firmly main
tains his innocence. He knows not why he suffers. He com
plains of severe treatment, and asserts that God afflicts equally the
righteous and the wicked. His friends are astonished at his ex
pressions, and undertake to vindicate the conduct of the Deity
towards him. They repeat with greater asperity their charges of
wickedness and impiety, and even go so far as to accuse him of
particular crimes. But the more they press their accusations, the
more confident is he in his assertions of his innocence. He ap
peals to God, as the witness of his sincerity ; denies the constancy,
and even frequency of his judgments upon wicked men ; and boldly
asks an opportunity of pleading his cause with his Creator, confi
dent that he should be acquitted before any righteous tribunal.
When both parties had become exasperated by the controversy,
instead of being convinced, a new speaker is introduced, as a sort
of umpire between them. He agrees with Job that misery is not to
be regarded as a punishment of past wickedness, and rebukes
his friends for condemning him without proof. But he censures
Job also fur too great confidence in his innocence, and for arro
gant and irreverent language to the Deity.
b

vi" INTRODUCTION.
At length the Supreme Being himself is represented as speak
ing from the midst of a tempest, and deciding the controversy in
favour of Job. In the first place, however, he reproves him for
his complaints, and convinces him of his inability to judge ofthe
divine counsels, and thus brings him to penitence and submission.
He then declares, that he, and not his friends, had spoken that
which was right in relation to the question in dispute ; calls him
repe%edly his servant ; appoints him to make intercession for his
friends ; and, as a compensation for his sufferings, restores him to
prosperity, two-fold greater than that, which he had before enjoyed.
But the Supreme Being does not explain to Job the cause of his
afflictions. It was sufficient condescension in the governour of the
world to undertake to convince him of his inability to judge of the
divine counsels. The reader is made acquainted with it, however,
in the introductory chapters. The poet there unveils to him. the
heavenly world, and lets him know, that the afflictions of Job
were appointed as a temporary trial of his virtue, in order to vin
dicate the judgment of Jehovah concerning him, and to prove
against all gainsayers the disinterestedness of his piety.
Such being the general design of the poem, it is of very little
importance, whether we regard Job as a real, or a fictitious char
acter. Truth may be illustrated, and duty enforced, by parable as
well as by historical fact. If, however, we regard some of the
circumstances ofthe life and fortunes of Job as liaving no histori
cal foundation, but rather as invented for the promotion of the
main design ofthe poem, there appears to be no good reason for
the supposition, that no such person as Job ever existed, and that
the poem has no foundation in fact. It would, in this case, be
unlike almost every ancient poem, with which we are acquainted.
There can be little doubt, moreover, notwithstanding the ingeni
ous explanation of Michaelis, that Ezekiel (xiv. 20.) and James
(v. ll.J regarded him as a real person.
On the other hand, it is altogether probable, that the language
and sentiments ofthe different disputants are drawn from the po
et's own resources ; and that the leading opinions only are found
ed in history. For who can believe that a man, brought to the
verge of the grave by a distressing disease, could have expressed
his thoughts and feelings extemporaneously in measured poetry,

INTRODUCTION. vii
which has been for so many ages the admiration of the: world? Or
that his friends should all happen to be poets, equally gifted with
himself, and able to converse with him in the same sublime style ?
Or that the result of their interview should be a perfect poem, re
markable for unity of design, and regular arrangement 1 As well
may we believe the Essay on Man to have been the hasty compo
sition of one in the last stage of a burning fever.
There has been much controversy respecting the country of
Job, or, in other words, the scene of the poem. The most prob
able opinion seems to be, that he was a native of Idumea, in Ara
bia Petrsea, bordering upon the tribe of Judah on the south, and
situated between Egypt and the land of the Philistines. See Lam.
iv. 21. Jer. xxv. 20. Some, however, suppose the land of Uz to
have been in the northern part of Arabia Deserta, near the Eu
phrates. Lowth, Dathe, Eichhorn, and Jahn adopt the former
opinion ; Spanheim, Grotius, Rosenmuller, and Gesenius, the latter.
The most general opinion is, that he lived in the time of the pa
triarchs, or before the time of Moses. Some, however, suppose
him to have lived in the time of David, or Solomon ; others, in
the time of the Babylonish captivity. It may be doubted whether
the poem contains any thing inconsistent with the manners of the
Arabians, for centuries after the time of the patriarchs.
Respecting the age, the name, and the country of the author
of the poem, there is equal uncertainty. Some suppose that he liv
ed before the settlement of the Israelites in the land of Canaan.
So Lowth, Eichhorn, Ilgen, and others. The principal argument
in favour of this opinion is the absence of allusions to the institu
tions, rites, and ceremonies, introduced by Moses, and to striking
events in the history of the Jewish nation. This argument would
be entirely satisfactory, if the characters, as well as the author, of
the poem, had been Hebrews. But as they were Arabians, upon
whom the laws ofthe Jews were not '. obligatory, it may be said,
that a writer of genius would not, at whatever period he may have
lived, have put the sentiments of ^h Arabia^into the mouth o&Oew.j
A second opinion is, that he lived at a period, when the Jewish
nation had made greater progress in knowledge and refinement,
than in the time of Moses. Rosenmuller thinks that this opinion is
supported by the similar modes of expression and reasoning, which

viii INTRODUCTION.
occur in the Psalms and Proverbs, and by the knowledge which is
exhibited, in chapter xxviii, and in the speech of Elihu, and of
the Deity. The perfection of the language, the regularity of the
structure, and the abstruse nature ofthe subject, ofthe poem, fa-
our this opinion. It is adopted by Luther, Grotius, Doederlein,
and others. Le Clerc, Warburton, and Stock maintain, that he
lived about the time of the Babylonish captivity.
In regard to the country of the writer, there seems to be more
ground, on which to rest an opinion. As the language of the po
em is Hebrew, and as it is written in the style of Hebrew poetry,
i. e. consisting of periods containing two short sentences, the lat
ter of which corresponds to the former, either as synonymous with
it, or as antithetical to it, or as agreeing with it in the number and
disposition of the words, the presumption is strong, that it was
written by a Hebrew. It is also difficult to account for its admis
sion into the canon of the Jewish Scriptures on any other supposi
tion. The Hebrews were jealous of their religious prerogatives.
Would they have admitted into their sacred volume a poem writ
ten by a foreigner ? The supposition that the author travelled or
resided a considerable time in Arabia, will account for the Arabian
images and words contained in it.
Respecting the name of the author there is of course a greater
diversity of opinion, than about the age, in which he lived. Lowth
attributes it to Job himself; Lightfoot and others, to Elihu ; some
of the rabbinical writers, as also Kennicott, Michaelis, and Good, to
Moses. Dathe also inclines to this opinion. Luther, Grotius, and
Doederlein, are inclined to regard it as the production of Solomon.
Warburton ascribes it to Ezra.*
To show the necessity of a new translation of the book of Job,
and of other parts of the Scriptures, the opinions of the soundest
English scholars, for the last hundred years, might be adduced.
But the obscure and unintelligible passages, which occur in al-
* For a. full discussion of the topics, upon which the preceding hints have been
offered, see the Introductions of Rosenmuller, Eichhorn, and particularly of Jahn,
who states the arguments for and against various opinions, with great clearness and
impartiality. A translation of an abridgment, made by himself, of his very valua
ble work, is proposed for publication by Prof. Turner of the Theological Seminary
of the Protestant Episcopal Cliurch, in New York;

INTRODUCTION. ix
most every page of the old version, are sufficient to convince
every intelligent reader, that it is not what it ought to be. In
truth, the toleration and support of the errors in the present
English version ofthe Scriptures, are a disgrace to the Christian
community. If the letters of Cicero, or of Pliny, should be pre
sented to the public, mangled by a division into chapters and
verses, and obscured by such a variety of errors, as are the letters
of St. Paul, they would be rejected with contempt from every li
brary in the country. And why should not ' the words of eternal
life' be presented to every teader in as intelligible and attractive a
style, as the imperfect lessons of human wisdom 1
The common version has, it is true, great merit, in several re
spects. No new translation can, or ought to succeed, which does
not essentially resemble it in language and style. For the excel
lence of its language, however, we are not, as is commonly sup
posed, indebted to king James's translators, but to the successive
translators of the Bible from the time of the first English version.
Much light has been shed upon the meaning of the sacred vol
ume, since the common version was made. The present transla
tor does not profess to have made discoveries. He has only at
tempted, by a careful study of the original, with the help of the
best commentaries and lexicons, to bring forward for common use
what has long existed, but has been locked up in ponderous folios,
or in ancient, or foreign languages. The notes are designed for
various classes of readers, and intended to be chiefly explanato
ry. But with respect to the more important alterations, it has
been thought best to give some of the reasons and authorities, on
which they were founded.
The following are some of the works, which have been consult
ed. Calvin's Discourses on Job, Mercier, Le Clerc, Grotius,
Poole, Patrick, Schultens, Scott, Dathe, Doederlein and Rosen-
muller's Commentaries, Walton's Polyglott, Ugen's Disserta
tion, and the translations of Heath, Stock, Good, Eichhorn, and
De Wette ; besides lexicons, and other subsidiary works. Scott,
from whose work many notes have been borrowed, was a dis
senting clergyman of Ipswich, in England, who died in the year
1775.

SYNOPSIS.
I. Historical Introduction in prose. Ch. I. II.
IL Controversy in verse. Ch. Ill — XLII. 7.
The speech of Job, in which he curses his birth-day, is succeeded by
I. The first series of controversy. Ch. IV — XIV.
L Speech of Eliphaz. Ch. IV. V.
2. Answer of Job. Ch. VI. VII.
3. Speech of Bildad. Ch. VIII.
4. Answer of Job. Ch. IX. X.
5. Speech of Zophar. Ch. XI.
6. Answer of Job. Ch. XII. XIII. XIV.
II. Second series of controversy. Ch. XV — XXI.
1. Speech of Eliphaz. Ch. XV.
¦ 2. Answer of Job. Ch. XVI. XVII.
3. Speech of Bildad. Ch. XVIII.
4. Answer of Job. Ch. XIX.
5. Speech of Zophar. Ch. XX.
6. Answer of Job. Ch. XXI.
HI. Third series of controversy. Ch. XXII— XXXI.
1. Speech of Eliphaz. Ch. XXII.
2. Answer of Job. Ch. XXIII. XXIV.
3. Speech of Bildad. Ch. XXV.
4. Answer of Job. Ch. XXVI— XXXI.
IV. The judgment of Elihu respecting the discussion. XXXII—
XXXVII.
V. The Speech of the Deity, which terminates the discussion.
XXXVIII— XLII. 7.
III. The conclusion in prose. Ch. XLII. 7. to the end.

JOB.

JOB.

CHAP. I. H. % .
1 In the land of Uz lived a man, whose name was Job.
He was an upright and good man, fearing God and departing
2 from evil. He had seven sons, and three daughters.
3 His substance was seven thousand sheep, three thousand
camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she-
asses, and a great number of servants ; so that he was the
most wealthy of all the inhabitants of the East.
4 Now it was the custom of his sons to make a feast in their
houses, each on his birth-day, and to send and invite their
5 three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And when the
days of feasting were ended, Job used to send for, and sanctify
them, and to rise up early in the morning and offer burnt-
offerings according to the number of them all ; for Job said,
It may be that my sons have sinned, and have renounced
God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.
6 Now on a certain day the sons of God came to present
themselves before Jehovah, and Satan also came among
7 them. And Jehovah said unto Satan, Whence comest
thou ? Then Satan answered Jehovah, and said, From wander-
8 ing over the earth, and walking up and down in it. And Jehovah
said unto Satan, Hast thou observed rny servant Job, that
I

2 JOB. Ch. I.
there is none like him in the earth, an upright and good man,
9 fearing God and departing from evil ? Then Satan answered
10 Jehovah, Is it for nought that Job feareth God ? Hast thou
not placed a hedge around him, and around his house, and
around all his possessions ? Thou hast prospered the work
1 1 of his hands, and his herds are greatly increased in the land.
But only put forth thine hand, and touch whatever he posses-
12 ses, and to thy face will he renounce thee,, And Jehovah said
unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power ; but
upon him lay not thine hand. So Satan went forth from the
presence of Jehovah.
13 Now on a certain day the sons and daughters of Job were
eating, and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house ;
14 when a messenger came to Job, and said, The oxen were
15 ploughing, and the asses feeding beside them, and the Sa-
beans fell upon them, and took them away ; the servants
also they slew with the edge of the sword ; and I alone
16 am escaped to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there
came also another, and said, The fire of God hath fallen
from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants,
and consumed them ; and I alone am escaped to tell thee.
17 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and
said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon
the camels, and carried them away ; the servants also they
slew with the edge of the sword ; and I alone am escaped
18 to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also
another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating,
19 and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house ; and, lo !
there came a great wind from the desert, and smote the four
corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and
20 they are dead ; and I alone am escaped to tell thee. Then
Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell
21 down upon the ground, and worshipped ; and said, Naked
came I forth from my mother's womb, and naked shall I re
turn thither. Jehovah gave, and Jehovah hath taken away ;

Ch. II. JOB. 3
22 blessed be the name of Jehovah. In all this Job sinned not,
and uttered nothing rash against Jehovah.
II. 1". Again there was a day when the sons of God came to
present themselves before Jehovah ; and Satan came also
2 among them to present himself before Jehovah. And Jeho
vah said unto Satan, Whence comest thou ? And Satan
answered Jehovah, and said, From wandering over the
3 earth, and walking up and down in it. Then said Jehovah
to Satan, Hast thou observed my servant Job, that there is
none like him upon the earth, an upright and good man, fear
ing God and departing from evil ? And still he holdeth fast
his integrity, although thou didst excite me against him to de-
4 stroy him without a cause. And Satan answered Jehovah,
and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath, will he
5 give for his life. But put forth now thine hand, and touch
his bone and his flesh, and to thy face will he renounce
6 thee. And Jehovah said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thy
hand ; but spare his life.
7 Then Satan went forth from the presence of Jehovah, and
smote Job with sore biles from the sole of his foot to his
8 crown. And he took a potsherd to scrape himself withal,
and sat down among the ashes.
9 Then said his wife to him, Dost thou still retain thine
10 integrity ? Renounce God, and die. But he said to her,
Thou talkest like one of the foolishVomen. What ! shall
we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not re
ceive evil i In all this Job sinned not with his lips.
1 1 And the friends of Job heard of all this evil that was come
upon him, and came each one from his home ; Eliphaz the
Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naama-
thite ; for they had agreed to come to mourn with him, and
12 to comfort him. And they lifted up their eyes at a distance,
and knew him not : then they raised tlieir voices, and wept,
and rent each one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their
13'heads towards heaven. And they sat down with him upon the

4 JOB. „ Ch. 111.
ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word
to him ; for they saw that his grief was very great.
CHAP. III.
1 At length Job opened his mouth, and cursed the day of
2 his birth. And Job exclaimed and said :
3 Perish tbe day in which I was born,
And the night which said, " A man child is brought forth !"
4 Let that day be darkness ;
Let not God regard it from above ;
Yea, let not the light shine upon it !
5 Let darkness and the shadow of death dishonour it ;
Let a cloud dwell upon it ;
Let the deadly heats of the day terrify it !
' 6 As for that night, let darkness seize upon it ;
Let it not rejoice among the days of the year ;
Let it not come into the number of the months !
7 O let that night be solitary ;
Let there be in it no Voice of joy ;
'8 Let the sorcerers of the day curse it,
Who are able to raise up the Leviathan !
9 Let the stars of its twilight be darkened ;
Let it long for light, and have none ;
•s Neither let it see the eyelids ofthe morning !
10 Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb,
And hid not trouble from mine eyes.
11 Why died I not at my birth ?
Why did I not expire when I came forth from the womb ?
12 Why did the lap receive me,
And why the breasts, that I might suck ?
13 For then should I have lain down and been quiet ;
I should have slept ; then had I been at rest,

Ch.IV. f, JOB. 5
14 With kings and counsellors of the earth, \
The repairers of desolated places ;
15 Or with princes that had gold,
And filled their houses with silver :
16 Or, as an hidden untimely birth, I had perished,
As infants which never saw the light.
17 There the wicked cease from troubling ; ,
There the weary are at rest.
18 There the prisoners rest together ;
They hear not the voice of the oppressor.
19 The small and the great are there,
And the servant is free from his master.
20 Why is light given to him that is in misery,
And life to the bitter in soul,
21 Who long for death, and it cometh not,
And dig for it more than for hid treasures ;
22 Who rejoice exceedingly,
Yea, exult, when they can find the grave ?
23 Why is light given to a man, from whom the way is hid,
And whom God hath hedged in ?
24 For my sighing cometh before I eat,
And my groans are poured out like water.
25 For that which I dreaded is come upon me ;
That which I greatly feared hath happened unto me.
26 I have no peace, nor quiet, nor respite ;
Misery u come upon me.
CHAP. IV. V.
1 Then spake Eliphaz the Temanite, and said :
2 If we assay to commune with thee, thou mayest be
offended ;
But who can refrain from speaking ?
3 Behold, thou hast admonished many,
Thou hast strengthened feeble hands ;

JOB. Ch.IV.
4 Thy words have upheld him that was falHng,
And thou hast given strength to feeble knees.
5 But now affliction is come upon thee, and thou faintest,
It toucheth thee, and thou art confounded.
6 Is not thy fear of God thy hope,
And the uprightness of thy ways thy confidence ?
7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished being innocent ?
Or where have the righteous been cut off?
8 I have seen that they, who plough iniquity,
And sow mischief, reap the same.
9 By the blast of God they perish,
And by the breath of his nostrils they are consumed.
10 The roaring of the Hon, and the voice of the fierce Hon3
And the teeth ofthe young lions, are made powerless.
1 1 The fierce lion perisheth for lack" of prey,
And the whelps of the Honess are scattered abroad.
12 Moreover an oracle was once secretly brought to me,
And mine ear caught a whisper thereof.
13 Amid thoughts in visions ofthe night,
When deep sleep falleth upon men,
14 A fear and a horror came upon me,
Which made all my bones to tremble ;
15 Then a spirit passed before my face;
The hair of my flesh rose on end ;
16 It stood still, but its form I could not discern ;
An image was before mine eyes,
And I heard a gentle breeze, and a voice :
17 " Shall mortal man be just before God ?
" Shall man be pure before his Maker ?
18 " Behold, he putteth no trust in his ministering spirits,
" And his angels he chargeth with frailty ;
19 " What then are they, who dwell in houses of clay,
" Whose foundation is in the dust,
" Who are consumed, as a garment by the moth !

Ch. V. JOB. 7
20 " Between morning and evening are they destroyed ;
" They perish for ever, and none regardeth it.
21 " The excellency that is in them is torn away ;
" They die before they have become wise."
V. 1 Call now, see if any one will answer thee ;
To which of the holy ones wilt thou look ?
2 Verily wrath destroys the fool,
And repining consumes the weak man.
3 I have seen the impious taking root,
But soon I pronounced his habitation accursed.
4 His children were far from safety,
They were oppressed at the gate, and there was none to
deliver them.
5 His harvest the hungry devoured,
Carrying it even through the thorns,
And the thirsty swallowed up his substance.
6 For affliction cometh not from the dust,
Neither doth trouble spring up from the ground ;
7 Behold, man is born to trouble,
As the sparks fly upward.
8 I would look unto God ;
And unto God would I commit my cause ;
9 Who doth great things and unsearchable ;
Yea, marvellous things without number.
10 Who giveth rain upon the earth,
And sendeth water upon the fields ;
11 Who placeth the lowly in high places,
And restoreth the afflicted to prosperity ;
12 Who disappointed] the devices of the crafty,
So that their hands cannot perform their enterprises ;
13 Who taketh the wise in their own craftiness,
And bringeth to nought the counsels of the deceitfuL
14 They meet with darkness in the daytime ;
They grope at noon as if it were night.

JOB. Ch. VI.
15 So he saveth the persecuted from their mouth,
The oppressed from the hand of the mighty ;
16 So the poor hath hope,
And iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth ;
Therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.
18 For he bruiseth, and bindeth up ;
He woundeth, and his hands make whole.
19 He will deliver thee in six troubles,
Yea, in seven shall no evil touch thee.
20 In famine he will redeem thee from death*
And in war from the power of lhe sword.
21 Thou shalt be safe from the scourge ofthe tongue,
And shalt not be afraid of destruction, when it cometh.
22 At devastation and famine thou shalt laugh,
And shalt not be afraid of the wild beasts of the land.
23 For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field,
Yea, the beasts of the forest shall be at peace with thee.
24 Thou shalt find also that thy habitation is in peace;
Thou shalt visit thy dwelling, and not be disappointed.
25 Thou shalt see thy descendants numerous,
And thine offspring as the grass of the earth.
26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in full strength,
As a shock of corn gathered in its season.
27 Lo ! this we have searched out ; so it is ;
Hear it, and lay it up in thy mind.
CHAP. VI. VII.
1 Then Job answered and said :
2 O that my grief were weighed thoroughly !
That my calamities were put together in the balance !
3 Verily they would be heavier than the sand of the sea ;
On this account my words were rash.

Ch. VI. JOB. 9
4 For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me ;
Their poison drinketh up my spirit :
The terrors of God set themselves in array against me.
5 Doth the wild ass bray in the midst of grass ?
Or loweth the ox over his fodder ?
6 Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt ?
Is there any taste in the white of an egg ?
7 That, which my soul abhorred to touch,
Hath become my loathsome food.
8 O that I might have my request,
And that God would grant me that which I long for 1
9 That it would please God to destroy me, »
That he would let loose his hand, and make an end of me !
10 Yet it shall still be my consolation,
Although I am consumed with pain, and He doth not spare,
That I have not neglected the commands of the Holy One.
1 1 What is my strength, that I should wait,
And what mine end, that I should be patient ?
12 Is my strength the strength of stones f
Or is my flesh brass ?
13 Alas, there is no help for me !
Defiverance hath fled from me !
14 To the afflicted kindness should be shewn by a friend,
Else he casteth off the fear of the Almighty.
15 But my brethren- are faithless like a brook;
They pass away Hke streams of the valley,
16 Which are turbid by reason of the melted ice,
And the snow, which hides itself in them.
17 As soon as they become warm, they vanish ;
When the heat cometh, they are dried up from their place.
18 The caravans turn aside to them on their way,
They go up into the desert, and perish.
2

10 JOB. Ch. VD.
19 The companies of Tema look for them,
The caravans of Sheba expect to see them ;
20 They are ashamed that they have relied on them ;
They come to the place, and are confounded.
21 So ye also are nothing ;
Seeing my calamity, ye shrink back.
22 Have I said, Bring me gifts ?
Or, Give a ransom for me out of your substance ?
23 Or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand ?
Or, Rescue me from the hand of the mighty ?
24 Convince me, and I will hold my peace ;
Cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
25 How powerful are the words of truth !
But what do your reproaches prove ?
26 Do ye mean to censure words ?
The words of a desperate man are but wind.
27 Truly ye spread a net for' the fatherless ;
Ye dig a pit for your friend.
28 Look now upon me, I pray you ;
See if I appear false before you.
29 Return, I pray, and let there be no unfairness ;
Return again, and my righteousness shall still be manifest.
30 Is there iniquity on my tongue ?
Cannot my taste discern that which is sinful ?
VII. 1 Is there not a hard service for man upon earth ?
Are not his days as the days of an hireling ?
2 As a servant panteth for the shade,
And as an hireling looketh for the reward of his labour,
3 So am I made to possess months of affliction,
And wearisome nights are appointed unto me.
4 If I lie down, I say,
" When shall I arise, and the night be gone ? "
And I am full of restlessness until the dawning of the day.

Ch. VII. JOB. 11
5 My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust ;
My skin heals, and breaks out anew.
6 My days are swifter than the weaver's shuttle ;
They pass away without hope.
7 O remember that my life is wind ;
That mine eye shall no more see good.
8 The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more ;
Thine eyes shall look for me, but I shall not be.
9 As the cloud dissolveth and wasteth away,
So he that goeth down to the grave shall arise no more.
10 No more shall he return to his house,
And his dwelling place shall know him no more.
1 1 Therefore I will not restrain my mouth ;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit,
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I a sea, or a sea-monster,
That thou settest a watch over me ?
13 When I say, " My bed shall relieve me,
My couch shall ease my complaint,"
14 Then thou scarest me with dreams,
And terrifiest me with visions ;
15 So that my soul chooseth strangling,
Yea, even death, rather than my life.
16 I am wasting away ; I shall not live alway ;
Let me alone, for my days are a vapour.
17 What is man, that thou shouldst make account of him,
And that thou shouldst fix thy mind upon him ?
18 That thou shouldst visit him every morning,
And prove him every moment ?
19 How long ere thou wilt look away from me,
And let me alone, till I have time to breathe ?
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to thee, O thou Inspec
tor of men !
Why hast thou set me up as thy mark,
So that I have become a burden to myself?

12 JOB. Ch. VIII.
21 And why dost thou not pardon my transgression,
And take away mine iniquity ?
22 Soon shall I sleep in the dust ;
Thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.
CHAP. VIIL
1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said :
2 How long wilt thou speak such things ?
How long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong
wind ?
3 Will God pervert judgment ?
Or the Almighty pervert justice ?
4 As thy children sinned against him,
He hath given them up to their transgression.
5 But if thou wouldst seek early unto God,
And make thy supplication to the Almighty ;
6 If thou wert pure and upright,
Surely he would yet arise for thee,
And prosper the abode of thy righteousness ;
7 So that thy beginning should be small,
And thy latter end very great.
8 For inquire, I pray thee, ofthe former age,
And prepare thyself to examine their forefathers ;
9 (For we are of yesterday and know nothing,
Our days upon the earth being but a shadow) ;
10 They will instruct thee, and counsel thee,
And utter words from the understanding.
1 1 " Can the paper-reed grow up without mire ?
" Can the bulrush grow without water ?
12 " While it is yet in its greenness, and' is not cut down,
" It withereth before any other' herb.
13 " Such is the fate of all that forget God ;
" So perisheth the hope of the ungodly.

Ch. IX. JOB. 13
14 " His expectation shall come to nought, -f
" And his trust shall prove a spider's web.
15" He shall lean upon his house, and it shall not stand ;
" He shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure.
16 " He is green before the sun,
" And his branches shoot forth in his garden ;
17 " His roots are entwined about the fountain,
" And he seeth the place of stones ;
18 " Yet shall he be utterly destroyed from his place ;
" Yea, it shall deny him, saying, ' I never saw thee.'
19 " Lo, such is the joy of his course !
" And others shall spring up in.his place."
20 Behold, God will not cast away an upright man ;
Nor will he strengthen the hands of evil-doers.
21 He will yet fill thy mouth with laughter,
And thy lips with gladness ;
22 They that hate thee shall be clothed with' shame,
And the dwelling-place of the wicked shall come to nought.
CHAP. IX. X.
I Then Job answered,, and- said :
2 Of a truth, I know that it is so ;
How can man be just before God ?
3 If he choose to contend with him,
He cannot answer him to one charge of a thousand.
4 He is excellent in wisdom, mighty in strength y
Who hath hardened himself against him, and prospered ?
5 He removeth the mountains, and they know it not ;
He overturneth them in his anger.
6 He shaketh the earth out of her place,
And the pillars thereof tremble.
7 He commandeth the sun, and it riseth not,
And sealeth up the stars.

14 JOB. Ch. IX.
8 He alone spreadeth out the heavens,
And walketh upon the high waves of the sea.
9 He made Arcturus, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the secret chambers of the South.
10 He doth great things past finding out,
Yea, wonderful things without number.
11 Lo ! he goeth by me, but I see him not,
He passeth on, but I perceive him not.
12 Lo ! he taketh away ; who can hinder him ?
Who will say unto him, What dost thou ?
13 God will not turn away his anger ;
The proud helpers are brought low before him.
14 How much less shall I be able to answer him,
And to choose out words to reason with him ?
1 5 Though I were innocent, I would not answer him ;
I would cast myself on the mercy of my judge.
16 Should I call, and he make answer to me,
I could not believe that he had listened to my voice ;
17 He, that breaketh me with a tempest,
And multiplieth my wounds without cause !
18 That will not suffer me to take my breath,
But filleth me with bitterness !
19 If I look to strength, " Lo ! here am I," [saith he,]
If to justice, " Who shaH summon me to trial ?"
20 Though I am upright, my own mouth wul condemn me,
Though I am innocent, it will prove me perverse.
21 Though I am righteous, I shaU not know my own soul;
I shall condemn my life.
22 One thing, therefore, I will declare ;
He destroyed! the righteous and the wicked afike.
23 When the scourge bringeth sudden destruction,
He laugheth at the sufferings of the innocent.
24 The earth is given into the hands of the wicked ;
He covereth the face of the judges thereof;
If it be not he, who is it ?

Ch. X. JOB. 15
25 My days have been swifter than the courier ;
They have fled away ; they have seen no good.
26 They have gone by like the swift ships ;
Like the eagle, darting upon his prey.
27 If I say, I will forget my lamentation ;
I will change my countenance, and take courage,
28 Still am 1 in dread of the multitude of my sorrows ;
For I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.
29 I shall be found guilty ;
Why then should I labour in vain ?
30 If I wash myself in snow,
And cleanse my hands with lie,
31 Still wilt thou plunge me into the mire,
So that my own clothes will abhor me.
32 For He is not a man, as I am, that I may contend with
him,
And that we may go together into judgment ;
33 There is no umpire between us,
Who may lay his hand upon us both.
34 Let him take from me his rod,
And not dismay me with his terrors,
35 Then wul I speak, and not be afraid of him ;
For I am not conscious of guilt.
X. 1 I am weary of my life ;
I will give myself up to complaint ;
I wiH speak in the bitterness of my soul.
2 I will say unto God, Do not condemn me ;
Shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.
3 Is it a pleasure to thee to oppress,
And to despise the work of thine hands,
And to shine upon the counsels of the wicked ?
4 Hast thou eyes of flesh,
Or seest thou as man seeth,

16 JOB. Ch. X.
5 Are thy days as the days of man,
Are thy years as the days of a mortal,
6 That thou inquirest after my iniquity,
And searchest after my sin,
7 Though thou knowest that I am not guilty,
And that none can deliver from thy hand ?

8 Thy hands did make me, and fashion me
In every part ; and wilt thou destroy me ?
9 O remember that thou hast moulded me as clay,
And shalt bring me into dust again.
10 Thou didst pour me out as milk,
And curdle me as cheese ;
11 With skin and flesh didst thou clothe me,
And strengthen me with bones and sinews ;
12 Thou didst grant me life and favour,
And thy providence hath preserved my spirit ;
13 Yet these things thou didst lay up in thy heart ;
I know that this vvas in thy mind.
14 If I have sinned, thou keepest it in memory concerning me,
And wilt not acquit me of my iniquity.
15 If I am wicked — woe unto me !
Yet if righteous, I dare not Hft up my head ;
I am full of confusion, beholding my affliction ;
16 If I lift it up, thou huntest me as a lion,
And again shewest thyself terrible unto me.
17 Thourenewest thy witnesses against me,
And increasest thine anger towards me ;
New hosts continually rise up against me.
18 Why then didst thou bring me forth from the womb ?
I should have perished, and no eye had seen me ;
19 I should be as though I had not been ;
I should have been borne from the womb to the grave.

Ch. XI. JOB. 17
20 Are not my days few ? O spare then,
And let me alone, that I may be at ease a Httle while,
21 Before I go — whence I shall not return —
To the land of darkness, and the shadow of death,
22 The land of darkness, like the night of the shadow of death,
Where is no order, and where the light is darkness.
CHAP. XI.
1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said :
2 Shall not the babbler receive an answer ?
ShaU the man of words be justified ?
3 ShaU thy lies make men hold their peace ?
Shalt thou mock, and none put thee to shame ?
4 Thou sayest, My speech is pure ;
I am clean in thine eyes, [O God.]
- 5 But O that God would speak,
And open his Hps against thee ;
6 That he would shew thee the secrets of his wisdom,
Wisdom far higher than thou canst comprehend !
Then shouldst thou know that God forgiveth many of
thine iniquities. «
7 Canst thou search out the secret counsels of God ?
Canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection ?
8 'T is high as heaven, what canst thou do ?
Deeper than heU, what canst thou know ?
9 The measure thereof is longer than the earth,
And broader than the sea.
10 If He apprehend, and bind, and bring to trial,
Who shaU oppose him ?
1 1 For he knoweth the unrighteous ;
He seeth iniquity, when they do not observe it.
12 But vain man wiU be wise,
When the wild ass's colt becomes a man.
3

13

JOB. Ch. XII.
13 i If thou prepare thy heart,
And stretch out thy hands towards him ;
14 If thou put away iniquity from thy hand,
And let not wickedness dwell in thy habitation,
15 Then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot ;
Yea, thou shalt be steadfast, and have no fear.
16 For thou shalt forget thy misery,
Or remember it as waters, that have passed away.
17 Thy life shall be brighter than the noon day ;
Now thou art in darkness, thou shalt then be as the morning.
18 Thou shalt be secure, because there is hope ;
Now thou art disappointed, thou shalt then rest in safety.
19 Thou shalt He down, and none shall make thee afraid;
And many shall make suit unto thee.
20 But the eyes of the wicked shall be wearied out ;
They shall find no refuge ;
There hope is but a breath.
CHAP. XII. XIII. XIV.
1 Then Job answered and said :
2 No doubt ye are the people,
And wisdom will die with you !
3 But 1 have understanding as well as you ;
I am not inferior to you ;
Yea, who knoweth not such things as these ?
4 I am become a laughing stock to my neighbour ;
I, who call upon God, that he would answer me !
The innocent and upright man is held in derision !
5 He, that is ready to slip with his feet,
Is as a cast-away torch, in the eyes of the prosperous.
6 The tabernacles of robbers are in prosperity,
And they who provoke God are secure ;
Into their hands God bringeth abundance.

Ch. XII. JOB. 19
7 But ask now the beasts, and they will teach thee ;
Or the fowls of the air, and they will tell thee ;
8 Or speak to the earth, and it will instruct thee ;
And the fishes of the sea will declare unto thee ;
9 Who among all these doth not know
That the hand of Jehovah hath made these things ?
10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind.
1 1 Doth not the ear prove words,
As the mouth tasteth meat ?
12 With the aged is wisdom,
And with length of days is understanding.
13 Witli Him are wisdom and strength ;
With him counsel and understanding.
14 Lo ! he puUeth down, and shall it not be rebuilt ;
He bindeth a man, and he shall not be set loose.
15 Lo ! he withholdeth the waters, and they are dried up;
He sendeth them forth, and they desolate the earth.
16 With him are strength and wisdom ;
The deceived and the deceiver are his.
17 He leadeth counsellors away captive,
And judges he reduceth to madness.
18 He dissolveth the authority of kings,
And bindeth their loins with a cord.
19 He leadeth princes away captive,
And overthroweth the mighty.
20 He sealeth up the Hps of the eloquent,
And taketh away wisdom from the elders.
21 He poureth contempt upon princes,
And weakeneth the strength of the mighty.
22 He revealeth deep things out of darkness,
And bringeth to Hght the shadow of death.
23 He exalteth nations, and destroyeth them ;
He enlargeth nations, and reduceth them.

20 JOB. Ch. XIII.
24 He taketh away the understanding of the great men ofthe
earth,
And causeth them to wander in a wilderness, where is no
path :
25 They grope in the dark without light ;
He maketh them stagger like a drunken man.
XIII.l Lo, all this mine eye hath seen ;
Mine ear hath heard and understood it.
2 What ye know, I know also ;
I am not inferior to you.
3 But O that I might speak with the Almighty !
O that I might reason with God !
4 For ye are forgers of Hes ;
Physicians of no value, aU of you !
5 O that ye would altogether hold your peace !
This, truly, would be wisdom in you.
6 Hear, I pray you, my arguments ;
Attend to the pleadings of my lips.
7 Will ye speak with unfairness for God ?
Will ye speak deceitfully for him ?
8 Will ye accept his person ?
Will ye contend earnestly for God ?
9 Will it be well for you, if he search you thoroughly ?
Can ye deceive him as one may deceive a man ?
10 Surely he will rebuke you,
If ye secredy have respect to persons.
1 1 Doth not his majesty make you afraid,
And his dread fall upon you ?
12 Your maxims are lighter than dust ;
Your arguments are fortresses of clay.
13 Hold your peace, and let me speak,
And then come upon me what wiU !

Ch. XIV. JOB. 21
14 Come what wul — I wiU carry my flesh in my teeth,
And put my life in my hand.
15 Lo, he slayeth me, and I have no hope !
Yet will I justify my ways before him.
16 This also shall be my defence ;
For an unrighteous man wiU not come before him.
17 Hear attentively my words,
And give ear to my declaration.
18 Behold, 1 have now ordered my cause ;
I know that I shall be found innocent.
19 Who is he that can justly accuse me ?
For then would I hold my peace, and die !
20 Only vouchsafe unto me two things,
Then will I not hide myself from thy presence.
21 Withdraw thy hand from me,
And let not thy terrors make me afraid ;
22 Then call upon me, and I will answer ;
Or I wiU speak, and answer thou me.
23 How many are my iniquities and sins ?
Make me to know my faults and transgressions.
24 Wherefore dost thou hide thy face,
And account me as thine enemy ?
25 Wilt thou break the driven leaf?
Wilt thou pursue the dry stubble ?
26 For thou writest bitter things against me,
And makest me inherit the sins of my youth.
27 Yea, thou puttest my feet in the stocks ;
Thou watchest all my paths ;
Thou drawest a mark about my feet.
28 And I, Uke an abandoned thing, shall,; waste away ;
Like a garment, which is moth-eaten.
XIV.l Man, that is born of woman,
Is of few days, aud fuU of trouble.

22 JOB. Ch. XIV.
2 He cometh forth as a flower, and is cut down ;
He fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.
3 And dost thou fix thine eyes upon such an one ?
And dost thou bring me into judgment with thee ?
4 Who can produce a clean thing from an unclean ?
Not one.
5 Seeing that his days are determined,
And the number of his months with thee,
And that thou hast appointed him bounds, which he cannot
pass,
6 O turn thine eyes from him, and let him rest,
Till he shall, like a hireling, have completed his day.
i 7 There is hope for a tree,
If it be cut down, that it will sprout again ;
And that its tender branches will not fail ;
8 Though its root may have grown old in the earth,
And though its trunk be dead upon the ground,
9 At the scent of water it will bud,
And put forth boughs, like a young plant.
10 But man dieth, and he is gone for ever !
Man expireth, and where is he ?
1 1 The waters fail from the lake,
And the stream drieth up, and disappears ;
12 So man lieth down, and riseth not :
Till the heavens be no more he shall not awake,
Nor be roused from his sleep.
13 O that thou wouldst hide me in the grave ;
That thou wouklst conceal me till thy wrath be past ;
That thou wouldst appoint a time, when thou wilt remem
ber me !
I 14 If a man die, can he live again ?
AU the days of my hard service would I wait,
TiU my change should come..

Ch. XV. JOB. 28
15 Call upon me, and I will answer thee !
Have compassion upon the work of thy hands !
16 For now thou numberest my steps ;
Thou watchest over my sins.
17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag ;
Yea, thou addest unto mine iniquity.
18 As, the falling mountain disappears,
And the rock is removed from its place,
19 As the waters wear away stones,
Aud the floods wash away the dust of the earth,
So thou destroyest the hope of man.
20 Thou prevailest against him continually, and he perisheth ;
Thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
21 His sons come to honour, but he knoweth it not ;
Or they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not.
22 But his flesh shall have pain for himself alone ;
For himself alone shall his soul mourn.
CHAP. XV.
1 Then answered EUphaz the Temanite, and said :
2 Should a wise man answer with arguments of wind ?
Or fill his bosom with the east wind ?
3 Should he argue with vain talk,
And with words, which are of no value ?
4 Behold, thou makest the fear of God a vain thing,
And discouragest prayer before him.
5 Thine own mouth proclaimeth thine iniquity,
Though thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.
6 Thine own mouth condemneth thee,yand not I ;
Thine own Hps testify against thee.
7 Art thou the first man that was born ?
Wast thou formed before the hills ?

24 JOB. Ch. XV.
• 8 Hast thou listened in the council of God ?
* And hast thou drunk in wisdom to thyself?
9 What dost thou know that we know not also ?
What dost thou understand, that is a secret to us ?
, 10 With us are the aged and hoary-headed ;
Much older than thy father.
11 Dost thou despise these precious consolations,
And our words so full of kindness to thee ?
12 Why doth thy passion carry thee away ?
And what meaneth this winking of thine eyes ?
13 For against God hast thou vented thy passion,
And uttered such words from thy mouth.
14 What is man, that he should be pure,
And he that is born of woman, that he should be innocent ?
15 Behold, he putteth no trust in his ministering spirits,
And the heavens are not pure in his sight ;
16 Much less abominable and polluted man,
Who drinketh iniquity as water !
17 Hear me, and I wiU shew thee,
And that which I have seen wiU I declare ;
18 Which the wise have related from their fathers ;
And have not kept concealed ;
19 To whom alone the land was given,
And amongst whom not a stranger wandered.
20 " All his days the wicked man is in pain ;
" And the number of his years is hidden from the oppressor.
21 " A fearful sound is in his ears ;
" In prosperity the destroyer cometh upon him.
22 " He hath no hope that he shaU escape from darkness ;
" The sword lieth in wait for him.
23 " He wandereth about for bread ;
" He knoweth that a day of darkness is at hand.

Ch. XVI. JOB. 25
24 " Distress and anguish fill him with dread ;
" They prevail against him like a king ready for the batde.
25 " Because he stretched forth his hand against God,
" And bade defiance to the Almighty,
26 " And ran against him with outstretched neck,
" And with the thick bosses of his buckler;
27 " Because he covered his face with fatness,
" And gathered fat upon his loins,
28 " Therefore shall he dwell in desolate cities,
" In houses that are deserted,
" That are ready to become heaps.
29 " He shall not be rich ; his substance shall not endure,
" And his possessions shall not be extended upon the earth.
30 " He shall not escape from darkness,
" And the flame shall dry up his branches ;
" Yea, by the breath of His mouth shall he be taken away.
31 " Let no man be deceived, and trust in vanity,
" For vanity shall be his recompense.
32 " He shall come to his end before his time,
" And his branch shall not be green.
33 " He shall cast his unripe fruit like the vine,
" And shed his blossoms like the olive-tree.
34 " The house of the unrighteous shall be desolate,
" And fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery.
35 " They conceive mischief, and bring forth misery,
" And their breast deviseth deceit."
CHAP. XVI. XVII.
1 But Job answered and said :
2 Of such things as these I haye heard enough J
Miserable comforters are ye all !
3 ShaU there be no end to words of wind ?
What emboldeneth thee that thou answerest ?
4

26 JOB. Ch. XVI.
' 4 I also might speak like you,
«' If ye were now in my place ;
I might string together words against you,
And shake my head at you.
5 But I would strengthen you with my mouth,
And the consolation of my lips should assuage your grief.
6 If I speak, my grief is not assuaged,
And if I forbear, it doth not leave me. <
7 For now He hath quite exhausted me ; —
Thou hast desolated all my house !
, 8 Thou hast cast me into fetters, which bear witness against
me;
My leanness riseth up and testifieth against me to my face.
9 His anger pursueth, and teareth me in pieces ;
He gnasheth upon me with his teeth ;.
Mine adversary sharpeneth his eyes upon me.
10 They gape for me with their jaws ;
In scorn they smite me on the cheek ;
With one consent they assemble against me.
1] God bath given me a prey to the unrighteous,
And deHvered me into the hands of the wicked.
12 1 was at ease, but he hath crushed me ;
. ,H.e hath seized me by the neck, and dashed me in pieces ;
He hath set me up for his mark.
1 3 His arrows encompass me around ;
He pierceth my reins, and doth not spare ;
He poureth out my gall upon the ground.
14 He breaketh me with breach upon breach;
He rusheth upon me like a warrior.
15 I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin,
And covered my head with dust.

Ch. XVII. JOB. 27
16 My face is red with weeping,
And upon mine eyelids is the shadow of death ;
17 Yet is there no injustice in my hands,
And my prayer hath been pure.
18 0 earth, cover not thou my blood,
And let there be no hiding-place for my cry !
19 Yet now, behold, my witness is in heaven,
And he that knoweth me is on high.
20 My friends have me in derision,
But mine eye poureth out tears unto God.
21 O that one might contend with God,
As a man contendeth with his neighbour ! \
22 For when a few years shall have passed,
I shall go the way whence I shall not return. i
XVH.l My breath is exhausted ;
My days are at an end ; ,
The grave is ready for me.
2 Are not revilers before me ?
And doth not mine eye dwell upon their provocations ?
3 Give a pledge, I pray thee ; put me in a surety with thee ;
Who is there that wiU strike hands with me ?
4 Behold, thou hast blinded their understanding ;
Therefore thou wilt not suffer them to prevail.
5 He that delivers up his friend as a prey,
The eyes of his children shall fail.
6 He hath made me a byword for the people ;
Yea, I have become their abhorrence.
7 Mine eye, therefore, is dim with sorrow,
And aU my limbs are as a shadow.
8 Upright men wiU be astonished at this,
And the innocent will rouse themselves against the wicked.

28 JOB. Ch. XVIII.
9 The righteous will also hold on his way,
* And he that hath clean hands will gather strength.
10 But as for you all, return, I pray,
And I shall not find one wise man among you.
11 My days are at an end ;
My projects are broken off,
Even the best hopes of my heart,
12 Night hath become day unto me ;
My light bordereth on darkness.
13 Yea, I look to the grave as my home ;
I have made my bed in darkness.
14 I say to corruption, Thou art my father !
And to the worm, My mother ! and my sister !
1 5 Where then are my hopes ?
Yea, my hopes, who shall see them ?
16 They must go down to the bars ofthe grave;
Yea, we shaU descend together into the dust !
CHAP- XVIII.
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered, and said :
2 When will ye make an end of words ?
Understand, and then we will speak.
3 Why are we accounted as brutes,
And reputed vile in your sight ?
4 Thou that tearest thyself in thine anger !
Must the earth be deserted for thee,
And the rock removed from its place ?
5 Behold ! the Hght of the wicked shall be put out,
And the flame of his fire shall not shine.
6 Light shall become darkness in his tabernacle,
And his lamp over him shall be extinguished.
7 The steps of his strength shall be straitened,
And his own counsel shall cast him down.

Ch. XIX. JOB. 29
8 He is brought into the net by his own feet, ,
And he walketh upon toils.
9 The springe layeth hold of him by the heel,
And the snare holdeth him fast.
10 A net is secretly laid for him on the ground,
And a trap for him in the pathway.
1 1 Terrours assail him on every side,
And pursue him at his heels.
12, His strength is wasted by hunger,
And ruin is present at his side.
13 His Hmbs are consumed ;
Yea, his limbs are devoured by the first-born of death.
14 His confidence is torn away from his tabernacle,
And he is brought before the king of terrours.
1 5 Terrour dwells in the tabernacle, no longer his ;
Brimstone is scattered upon his habitation.
16 His roots below are dried up,
And his branches above are withered.
17 His memory perisheth from the. earth,
And he hath no name in the street.
18 He is thrust from light into darkness,
And driven out of the world.
19 He hath no son, nor kinsman amongst his people,
Nor survivor in his dwelHngplace.
20 They, that come after him, shaU be amazed at his fate,
As they of his own time were struck with horrour.
21 Such is the dwelling of the unrighteous man ;
Such is the place of him that feareth not God.
CHAP. XIX.
1 But Job answered, and said :
2 How long wiU ye vex my soul,
And break me in pieces with your words ?

30 JOB. Ch. XIX.
3 These ten times have ye reviled me ;
* Without shame ye would strike me dumb !
4 And be it, indeed, that I have erred ;
Mine errour abideth with myself.
5 Will ye, indeed, triumph over me,
And allege my disgrace against me ?
6 Know then, that it is God, who hath brought me low ;
He hath encompassed me with his net.
7 Behold, I complain of my wrongs, but receive no answer ;
I cry aloud, but obtain no justice.
8 He hath fenced up my way so that I cannot pass,
And hath set darkness in my paths.
9 He hath stripped me of my glory,
And taken the csown from my head.
10 He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone !
He hath torn up my hope like a tree.
11 He kindleth his anger against me,
And counteth me as one of his enemies.
12 His troops advance against me ;
They throw up for themselves a way to me,
And encamp around my dwelling.
¦ 13 My brethren he hath put far from me,
And mine acquaintance are wholly estranged from me.
14 My kinsfolk have forsaken me,
And my bosom friends have forgotten me.
15 -The inmates of ray house, yea, my own maidservants, re
gard me as a stranger ;
I am an alien in their eyes.
16 1 call my servant, and he makes me no answer ;
With my own mouth do I entreat him.
17 My breath is become loathsome to my wife,
And my sighing to the children of my body.
¦ 18 Even young children despise me ;
I rise up, and they speak against me.
19 All my intimate friends abhor me,
And they whom I loved are turned against me.

Ch. XX. JOB. 31
20 My bones cleave to my flesh and my skin,
And I have scarcely escaped with the skin of my teeth*
21 Have pity upon me, O ye my friends, have pity upon me,
For the hand of God hath smitten me.
22 Why do ye persecute me like God,
And not rest satisfied with my flesh ?
23 O that my words were now written !
O that they were inscribed in a register !
24 That with an iron pen, and with lead,
They were engraven upon the rock forever ! —
25 Yet I know that my Vindicator liveth,
And will stand up at length on the earth ;
26 And although with my skin this body be wasted away,
Yet in my flesh shall I see God.
27 Yea, I shall see him my friend ;
My own eyes, and not another's, shall behold him ;
For this my soul panteth within me.
28 Since ye say, " How may we persecute him,
And find grounds of accusation against him ? "
29 Be ye afraid of the sword ;
For malice is a crime for the sword ;
Know ye, that vengeance awaits you.
CHAP. XX.
1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said :
2 My thoughts impel me to reply,
And the ardour which is within me.
3 I have heard thy injurious rebuke,
And my understanding enableth me to answer.
4 Knowest thou not, that from the days of old,
From the time when man was placed upon the earth,

32 JOB. Ch. XX.
5 The triumphing of the wicked hath been short,
And the joy of the impious but for a moment ?
6 Though his greatness mount up to the heavens,
And his head reach unto the clouds,
7 Yet shall he perish forever, and be mingled with dust ;
They who saw him shall say, Where is he ?
8 He shall flee away like a dream, and shall not be found,
Yea, he shall disappear like a vision of the night.
9 The eye also which saw him shall see him no more,
And his place shall never more behold him.
10 His sons shall seek the favour of the poor,
And their hands shall give back his wealth.
1 1 His bones are full of youth,
But they shaU sink with him into the dust.
12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth,
Though he hide it under his tongue^
13 Though he cherish it, and wiU not part with it,
And keep it fast in his mouth ;
14 Yet his meat shall be changed within him,
And become to him the poison of asps.
15 He hath glutted himself with riches,
And he shall throw them up again ;
Yea, God shaU cast them out of him.
16 He shaU suck the poison of asps ;
The tongue of the viper shall destroy him.
17 He shall never see the flowing streams,
And the rivers of milk and honey.
18 The fruits of his labour he shall restore, and shaU not en
joy them ;
It is substance to be given back, and he shaU not rejoice
therein.
19 Because he hath oppressed and abandoned the poor,
And. seized upon the house which he did not build ;

Ch. XXI. JOB. 33
20 Because his avarice was insatiable,
He shaU save nothing, which he desired.
21 Because nothing escaped his greediness,
His prosperity shall not endure.
22 In the fulness of his abundance he shall be brought low ;
Every kind of misery shall come upon him.
23 He shah, indeed, have wherewith to fill Himself;
God shall send upon him the fury of his anger,
And rain it down upon him for his food.
24 He fleeth from the iron weapon,
But the bow of brass shall pierce him through.
25 He draweth the arrow, and it cometh forth from his body,
Yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall.
Terrors are upon him ;
26 Every calamity is treasured up for him.
A fire, unkindled, shall consume him ;
It shah consume whatever is left in his tabernacle.
27 The heavens shaU reveal his iniquity,
And the earth shall rise up against him.
28 The substance of his house shall disappear ;
It shall flow away in the day of His wrath.
29 Such is the portion of the wicked man from God,
And the mheritance decreed to him by the Almighty.
CHAP. XXI.
1 But Job answered, and said :
2 Hear attentively my words ;
And let this be instead of your consolations.
3 Bear with me, that I may speak ;
And after I have spoken, mock on.
4 Is my complaint concerning man ?
Why then should I not be angry ?
5

34 JOB. Ch. XXI.
5 Look upon me, and be astonished ;
And lay your hand upon your mouth.
6 When I think of it, I am confounded ;
Trembling taketh hold of my flesh. 4
7 Why is it that the wicked live,
Grow old, yea, become mighty in substance ?
8 Their children are established around them,
And their offspring before their eyes.
9 Their houses are in peace, without fear,
Aid the rod of God is not upon them.
10 Their bull gendereth, and refuseth not ;
Their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.
1 1 They send forth their little ones like a flock,
And their children dance.
12 They sing to the timbrel and harp,
And rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
13 They spend their days in prosperity,
And in a moment go down to the grave.
14 And yet they say unto God, "Depart from us !
" We desire not the knowledge of thy ways-!
15" Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him ?
" And what will it profit us, if we pray unto him ? "
16 [Thou sayest,] " Lo, their prosperity is not secure in
their hands !
" Far from me be the conduct of the wicked ! "
17 How often happens it, that the lamp of the wicked is put
<*, out,
And that destruction cometh upon them,
And that He dispenseth to them tribulations in his anger ?
18 How often are they as stubble before the wind,
Or as chaff, which the whirlwind carrieth away ?
19 " But, [say ye,] God layeth up his iniquity for his chil
dren."
Let him requite the offender, and let him feel it !

Ch. XXI. JOB. 35
20 Let his own eyes see his destruction ;
And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty !
21 For what careth he for his house after him,
When the number of his own months is completed ?
22 Who then shall impart knowledge to God ?
To him that judgeth the spirits above ?
23 One dieth in the fulness of his prosperity,
Being wholly at ease and quiet ;
24 His sides are fuU of fat,
And his bones moistened with marrow.
25 Another dieth in bitterness of soul,
And hath never tasted pleasure ;
26 Alike they lie down in the dust, ,
And the worms cover them.
27 Behold ! I know your thoughts,
And the opinions, by which ye wrong me.
28 Ye will say, " Where is the house of the oppressor,
"And where the dwellingplaces of the wicked ?"
29 Have ye never inquired of travellers,
And do ye not know their testimony,
30 That the wicked is spared in the day of destruction,
And that he escapes in the day of wrath ?
31 Who will charge him with his conduct to his face,
And who will requite him for the evil he hath done ?
32 Even this man is borne with honour to the grave ;
Yea, he still survives upon his tomb.
33 The sods of the valley are sweet unto him,
And he draweth all men after him,
As multitudes without number have gone before him.
34 Why then do ye offer your vain consolations ?
Your answers continue false.

5 JOB. Ch. XXII.
CHAP. XXII.
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered, and said :
2 Can a man, then, be profitable to God,
As by his wisdom he may be profitable to himself?
3 Is it an advantage to the Almighty that thou art righteous ?
Or a gain to him, that thou canst justify thy ways ?
4 Will he contend with thee because he feareth thee ?
Will he enter with thee into judgment ?
5 Hath not thy wickedness been great ?
Have not thine iniquities been numberless ?
6 Thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother unjustly,
And stripped the poor of their clothing.
7 Thou hast refused a draught of water to the weary,
And withholden bread from the hungry.
8 But the man of power had the land,
And the honourable man dwelt in it.
9 Thou hast sent widows away empty,
Aid broken the arms of the fatherless.
10 Therefore snares are round about thee,
And sudden fear confounds thee.
1 1 Or darkness, through which thou canst not see,
And floods of water cover thee.
12 Is not God in the height of heaven ?
And behold the stars, how high they are !
13 Hence thou sayest, " What doth God know ?
" Can he govern behind the thick darkness ?
14 " Dark clouds are a veil to him, and he cannot see ;
" And he walketh upon the arch of heaven."
15 Wilt thou take the old way,
Which wicked men have trodden,
16 Who were cut down before their time,
And whose foundations were swept away by a flood ?

Ch. XXIII. JOB. 37
17 Who said unto God, " Depart from us !"
And, " What doth the Almighty do for us ? "
18 And yet he fiUed their houses with good' things ! —
Far from me be the conduct of the wicked !
19 The righteous see their fate, and rejoice,.
And the innocent hold them in derision.
20 " Truly our adversary is destroyed,
" And fire hath consumed his abundance ! "
21 Be reconciled to him, and thou shalt have peace ;
Thus shall prosperity return to thee.
22 Receive, I pray thee, instruction from his mouth,
And lay up his words in thine heart.
23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up ;
If thou put away iniquity from thy tabernacle,
24 Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust,
And the gold of Ophir as stones of the brook.
25 Then shall the Almighty be thy gold ;
Yea, treasures of silver unto thee ;
26 For then shalt thou have dehght in the Almighty,
And shalt lift up thy face unto God.
27 Thou shalt pray unto him, and he shall hear thee,
And thou shalt perform thy vows.
28 The purpose, which thou formest, shall prosper with thee
And Hght shall shine upon thy ways.
29 When men are cast down, thou shalt say, " There is exalt
ation ! "
And the humble person he will save.
30 He will deUver even him, that is not innocent ;
The purity of thy hands shall save him.
CHAP. XXIII. XXIV7.
1 Then Job answered, and said :
2 Still is my complaint bitter*;
But my wound is deeper than my groaning.

38 JOB. Ch. XXIII.
3 O that I knew where I might find him !
That I might go before his throne !
4 I would order my cause before him,
And fill my mouth with arguments :
5 I would know what he would answer me,
And understand what he would say unto me.
6 Would he contend with me with his mighty power ?
'¦ Jl No ! He would have regard unto me.
7 There an upright man would contend with him,
And I should be fully acquitted by my judge.
8 But, behold, I go forward, and he is not there ;
And backward, but I cannot perceive him ;
9 To the left, where he worketh, but I cannot behold him ;
He hideth himself on the right, and I cannot see him.
10 But he knoweth the way which I take ;
He trieth me, and I shall come forth as gold.
11 My feet have trodden in his steps ;
His way I have kept, and have not turned aside from it.
12 1 have not neglected the precepts of his Hps ;
The words of his mouth I have treasured up in my bosom.
13 But he is of one mind, and who can turn him ?
And what he desireth, that he doeth.
14 He performed) that which is appointed for me ;
And many such things are in his mind !
15 Therefore I am in terror on account of him ;
When I consider I am afraid of him.
16 For God maketh my heart faint;
Yea, the Almighty terrifieth me ;
17 Because I was not taken away before darkness came;
And he hath not hidden darkness from mine eyes.

Ch. XXIV. JOB. 39
XXIV.l Why is not the condition of men hidden from the
Almighty,
Or his judgments seen by them that serve him ?
2 They remove landmarks ;
They take away flocks by violence, and pasture them.
3 They drive away the ass of the fatherless,
And take the widow's ox for a pledge.
4 They turn the needy out of the way ;
The poor of the land hide themselves together.
5 Behold, Uke wild asses of the desert they go forth to their
work;
In the morning they go in quest of prey ;
The wilderness supplieth food for them and for their
children.
6 In the fields they reap the harvest,
And gather the vintage of the oppressor.
7 They lodge naked, without clothing,
And without covering from the cold.
8 They are drenched with the mountain showers,
And embrace the rock for want of shelter.
9 The fatherless are torn from the breast,
And the garment of the needy is taken for a pledge.
10 They go naked, without clothing,
And carry the sheaf hungry.
1 1 They make oil within their walls,
And tread the wine-vat, yet suffer thirst.
12 From the city men groan,
And the wounded cry aloud ;
And God regardeth not their prayer !
1 3 Others hate the Hght ;
They know not its ways,
And abide not in its paths.

40 JOB. Ch. XXIV.
14 With the light ariseth the murderer ;
He killeth the poor and needy ;
In the night he is a thief.
15 The eye of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight;
He saith, " No eye will see me,"
And putteth a mask upon his face.
16 In the dark they break into houses ;
In the daytime they shut themselves up ;
They avoid the Hght.
1 7 The morning is to them the very shadow of death ;
They are familiar with the terrors of midnight.darkness.
18 They are swift as the skiff upon the waters ;
They have an accursed portion in the earth ;
They come not near the vineyards.
19 As drought and heat consume the snow waters,
So doth the grave the wicked.
20 His own mother forgetteth him ;
The worm is sweet unto him ;
He is no more remembered ;
The unrighteous man is broken Hke a tree.
21 He oppresseth the barren, that hath not borne,
And doth not good to the widow.
22 He taketh away the mighty by his power ;
He riseth up, and no one is sure of life.
23 God giveth them security, in which they trust,
And his eyes are upon their ways.
24 They are exalted, — in a little while they are gone !
They are brought low, and die, like all others ;
Cut off, like ripened ears of corn.
25 If it be not so, who will, confute me,
And shew my discourse to be worthless ?

Ch. XXV. JOB. 41
CHAP. XXV.
1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said :
2 Dominion and fear are with Him ;
He maintaineth peace in his high places.
3 Is there any numbering of his armies ?
And upon whom doth not his light arise ?
4 How then can man be righteous before God ?
Or how can he be pure, that is born of woman ?
5 Behold ! even the moon shineth not,
And the stars are not pure in his sight.
6 How much less man, a worm !
And the son of man, a reptile !
CHAP. XXVI.
1 Then Job answered, and said :
2 How hast thou helped the weak,
And strengthened the feeble arm ?
3 How hast thou counselled the ignorant ?
And what wonderful wisdom hast thou shewn ?
4 To whom hast thou uttered these words,
And whose spirit spake through thee ?
5 Departed spirits beneath tremble ;
The waters, and their inhabitants.
6 Hades is naked before him ;
And Destruction hath no covering.
7 He stretcheth out the North over empty space,
And hangetli the earth upon nothing.
8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds,
And the cloud is not rent under them.
6

42 JOB. Ch. XXVII.
9 He covereth the face of his throne,
And spreadeth his clouds upon it.
10 He hath drawn a circular bound upon the waters,
To the confines of Hght and darkness.
1 1 The pillars of heaven tremble,
And are confounded at his rebuke.
12 By his power he stirreth up the sea,
And by his wisdom he smiteth its pride.
13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens ;
His hand hath formed the Northern Serpent.
14 Lo ! these are but the borders of his works ;
How faint the whisper we have heard of him !
But the thunder of his power who can understand ?
CHAP. XXVII. XXVIII.
1 Moreover Job continued his discourse, and said,
2 As God liveth, who hath rejected my cause,
And the Almighty, who hath afflicted my soul ;
3 As long as I have life within me,
And the breath imparted by God in my nostrils,
4 Never shall my Hps speak falsehood,
Nor my tongue utter deceit.
5 God forbid that I should acknowledge you to be just ;
To my last breath wiU I assert my integrity.
6 I will hold fast my innocence, and not let it go ;
My heart reproacheth me for no part of my life.
7 May mine enemy be as the wicked,
And he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous !
8 For what is the hope of the wicked, when God bringeth
him to the grave,
And taketh away his soul ?
9 Will he listen to his cry,
When trouble cometh upon him ?

Ch. XXVIII. JOB. 43
10 Can he delight himself in the Almighty,
And caU at all times upon God ?
11 I wiH teach you concerning the hand of God ;
That which is with the Almighty 1 will not conceal, i
12 Behold ! ye yourselves have all seen it ;
Why then do ye cherish such vain thoughts ? ^_ I
13 This is the portion of the wicked man from God ;
The inheritance, wliich oppressors receive from the Al
mighty.
14 If his children be multiphed, it is for the sword ;
And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
15 Those of them that escape shall be buried by Death,
And then- widows shall not bewail them.
16 Though he heap up silver as dust,
And procure raiment as clay, —
17 He may procure, but the righteous shall wear it,
And the innocent shaU share the silver.
18 He buildeth his house like the moth,
Or like the shed, which the watchman maketh.
19 The rich man lieth down, and is not buried ;
In the twinkling of an eye he is taken away.
20 Terrors pursue him like a flood ;
A tempest stealethhim away in the night.
21 The East wind carrieth him away, and he perisheth ;
Yea, it hurleth him out of his place.
22 God sendeth his arrows at him, and doth not spare ;
He would fain escape from his hand.
23 Men clap their hands at him,
And hiss him out of his place.
XXVIII. 1 Truly there is a vein for silver,
And a place for gold which men refine.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth,
And stone is melted into copper.
if

A.

44 JOB. Ch. XXVHI.
3 Man putteth an end to darkness ;
He searcheth to the lowest depths,
Even to the stone of darkness and the shadow of death.
4 From the foot of the mountain they open a passage ;
Unsupported by the feet
They descend, they move away from men.
5 The earth, out of which cometh bread,
Is torn up underneath, as it were by fire.
6 Her stones are the place of sapphires,
And her dust is gold for man.
7 The path thereto no bird knoweth,
And the vulture's eye hath not seen it ;
8 The fierce wild beast hath not trodden it ;
The lion hath not passed over it.
9 Man layeth his hand upon the rock ;
He upturneth mountains from their roots.
10 He causeth streams to break out among the rocks,
And his eye seeth every precious thing ;
11 He stoppeth the oozing of the streams,
And bringeth hidden things to Hght.
12 But where shaU wisdom be found ?
And where is the place of understanding ?
13 Man knoweth not the price thereof;
Nor can it be found in the land of the Hving.
14 The deep saith, It is not in me ;
And the sea saith, It is not with me.
15 It cannot be gotten for gold,
Nor shall silver be weighed out as the price thereof.
16 It cannot be purchased with the gold of Ophir,
With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
17 Gold and crystal are not to be compared with it ;
Nor can it be purchased with jewels of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral, or of crystal,
For wisdom is more precious than pearls.

Ch. XXIX. JOB. 45
19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
Nor can it be purchased with the purest gold.
20 Whence then cometh wisdom ?
And where is the place of understanding ?
21 Since it is hidden from the eyes of all the living,
And kept close from tlie fowls of the air.
22 Destruction and Death say,
We have heard of its fame with our ears.
23 God only knoweth the way to it ; i
He only knoweth its dwelling-place.
24 For he seeth to the ends of the earth,
And surveyeth all things under the whole heaven.
25 When he gave the winds their weight,
And adjusted the waters by measure ;
26 When he prescribed laws to the rain,
And a path to the glittering thunderbolt ;
27 Then did he see it, and make it known ;
He established it, and searched it out ;
28 But he said unto man,
Behold ! the fear of the Lord, that is thy wisdom,
And to depart from evil, thy understanding.
CHAP. XXIX. XXX. XXXI.
1 Moreover Job continued his discourse, and said
2 O that I were as in months past,
In the days when God was my guardian !
3 When his lamp shone over my head,
And when by its Hght I walked through darkness !
4 As I was in the days of my youth,
When I communed with God in my tabernacle ;
5 When the Almighty was yet with me,
And my children were around me ;

46 JOB. Ch. XXIX.
6 When I washed my steps in milk,
And the rock poured me out rivers of oil !
7 When I went forth to the gate through the city,
And took my seat in the street,
8 The young men saw me, and hid themselves,
And the aged arose, and stood.
9 The princes refrained from speaking,
And laid their hand upon their mouth.
10 The nobles held their peace,
And their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.
11 When the ear heard me, it blessed me ;
And when the eye saw me, it bore witness to me.
12 For I delivered the poor, when they cried,
And the fatherless, who had none to help him.
13 The blessing of the forsaken came upon me,
And I caused the heart of the widow to rejoice.
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me ;
And justice was my robe, and diadem.
15 1 was eyes to the blind ;
And feet was I to the lame ;
16 I was a father to the poor,
And the cause of the unknown I searched out.
17 And I brake the teeth of the wicked,
And plucked the spoil from his jaws.
18 Then said I, " I shall die in my nest ;
" I shall multiply my days as the sand.
19 " My root is spread abroad to the waters,
" And the dew lodgeth on my branches.
20 " My glory is fresh with me,
" And my bow gathers strength in my hand."
21 To me men gave ear, and waited,
And kept silence for my counsel.

Ch. XXX. JOB. 47
22 To my words they made no reply,
When my speech dropped down upon them.
23 They waited for me as for the rain ;
Yea, they opened their mouths wide as for the latter rain,
24 If 1 smiled upon them, they believed it not ;
Nor did they cause the light of my countenance to fall.
25 When I came among them, I sat as chief;
I dwelt as a king in the midst of an army ;
As a comforter amongst mourners.
XXX.l But now they, that are younger than I, hold me in de
rision,
Whose fathers I should have disdained to place with the
dogs of my flock.
2 For of what use to me were their hands,
When their strength was wasted away ?
3 For want and famine they were solitary ;
They fled into the wilderness,
Into dark and desolate places.
4 They gathered mallows amongst the bushes,
And the root of the broom was their bread.
5 They were driven from the society of men ;
There was a cry after them as after a thief.
6 They dwelt in awful valleys,
In caves of the earth and of rocks.
7 Amongst the bushes they uttered their cries ;
Under the thorns were they gathered together.
8 Worthless and despicable,
They were driven out of the land.
9 And now I am become their song ;
Yea, I am their by-word.
10 They abhor me, they stand aloof from me ;
They forbear not to spit in my face.
1 1 They loosen the reins, and afflict me ;
They cast off the bridle before me.

48 JOB. Ch. XXX.
12 On my right hand rise up their brood ;
They trip up my feet ;
They raise up ways for my destruction.
13 They break up my path ;
They hasten my fall ; —
They, that had no helper !
14 They come upon me as through a wide breach ;
Through the ruins they rush in upon me.
15 Terrors are turned upon me ;
They pursue my prosperity like the wind,
And my welfare passeth away like a cloud.
16 And now my soul is poured out in grief;
The days of affliction assail me.
17 By night my bones are pierced with pain,
And my sinews have no rest.
18 Through the violence ofthe disease my garment is chang
ed ;
It bindeth me about like the collar of my coat.
19 He hath cast me into the mire,
And I am become like dust and ashes.
20 I call upon Thee, but thou dost not hear me ;
I stand up before thee, but thou regardest me not.
21 Thou art become cruel to me ;
With thy strong hand thou dost persecute me.
22 Thou liftest me up, and causest me to ride upon the wind,
And meltest away my strength.
23 I know that thou wilt bring me to death ;
To the house appointed for all the Hving.
24 When He stretcheth out his hand, prayer availeth nothing ;
When He bringeth destruction, vain is the cry for help.
25 Did not I weep for him that was in trouble ?
Was not my soul grieved for the poor ?

Ch. XXXI. JOB. 49
/ 26 But when I looked for good, then evil came ;
, When I looked for light, then came darkness.
27 My bowels boil, and rest not ;
Days of anguish have come upon me.
28 I am black, but not by the sun ;
I stSnd up, and utter my cries in the congregation.
29 I am a brother to the jackal, ;
And a companion to the ostrich.
30 My skin is become black upon me,
And my bones burn with heat.
31 My harp also is tuned to mourning,
And my pipe to notes of grief.
XXXI. 1 I made a covenant with mine eyes
That I would not gaze upon a maid.
2 For what would be my portion from God who is above,
And my inheritance from the Almighty on high ?
3 Is not destruction appointed for the wicked,
And ruin for the workers of iniquity ?
4 Doth not He see my ways,
And number all my steps ?
5 If I have walked with falsehood,
And if my foot hath hasted to deceit,
6 Let him weigh me in an even balance,
And let God know my integrity !
7 If my steps have turned aside from the way,
And my heart foUowed mine eyes,
Or if any stain have cleaved to my hand,
8 Then may I sow, and another eat,
And what I plant, may it be rooted up !
9 If my heart have been enticed by a woman,
Or if I have laid wait at my neighbour's door,
10 Then let my wife grind for another,
And let other men bow down upon her !
7

50 JOB. Ch. XXXI.
1 1 For this were a heinous crime ;
Even a transgression to be punished by the judges ;
12 Yea, it were a fire, that would consume to destruction,
And root out all mine increase.
13 If I have refused justice to my manservant or maid
servant,
When they had a controversy with me,
14 What shall I do, when God riseth up,
And when he visiteth, what shaU I answer him ?
1 5 Did not he, that made me, make him ?
Did not one fashion us in the womb ?
16 Have I refused the poor their desire,
Or caused the eyes of the widow to fail r
17 Have I eaten my morsel alone,
And forbid the fatherless to partake of it ?
18 Nay, from my youth he grew up with me, as with a father ;
And I have assisted the widow from my mother's womb.
19 If I have seen any one perish for want of clothing,
Or any poor man without covering ;
20 If his loins have not blessed me,
And he have not been warmed with the fleece of my
sheep ; J
21 If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless,
When I saw my help at the gate,
22 Then may my shoulder fall from the blade,
And mine arm be broken at the socket !
23 For destruction from God was a terror unto me,
And by his majesty I was restrained.
24 If I have made gold my trust,
Or said to the fine gold, " Thou art my confidence."
25 If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,
And my hand had found abundance ;

Ch. XXXI. JOB. 51
26 If I have beheld the sun in his splendour,
Or the moon advancing in brightness,
27 And my heart have been secretly enticed,
And my mouth have kissed my hand, —
28 This also were a crime to be punished by the judge ;
For I should have denied the God, who is above.
29 Have I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me,
Or exulted when evil came upon him ?
30 Nay, I have not suffered my lips to sin.
By imprecating a curse upon his life.
31 Have not "the men of my tabernacle exclaimed,
" Who is there that hath not been satisfied with his meat ?"
32 The Stranger did not lodge in the street ;
I opened my doors to the traveller.
33 Have I, Hke Adam, hidden my transgressions,
Concealing my iniquity in my bosom,
34 Then let me be confounded before the great multitude !
Let the contempt of families cover me with shame !
Yea, let me keep silence ! let me never appear abroad '
35 O that there were one, who would hear me !
Here is my signature, let the Almighty accuse me ;
Yea, let mine adversary write down his charge.
36 Verily I would wear it upon my shoulder ;
I would bind it upon me as a crown.
37 I would disclose to him all my steps ;
I would approach him Hke a prince.
38 If my land cry out against me,
And its furrows bewail together ;
39 If I have eaten of its fruits without payment.
And afflicted the soul of its owners,
40 Let thistles grow instead of wheat,
And nightshade instead of barley !
The words of Job are ended.

52 JOB. Ch. XXXII.
CHAP. XXXII. XXXIII.
1 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was
2 righteous in his own eyes. Then was kindled the wrath of
EHhu, the son of Barachel, the Buzite, of the family of Ram ;
against Job was his wrath kindled, because he had pronounced
3 himself righteous, rather than God. Against his three friends
also was his wrath kindled, because they had npt found an an-
4 swer, and yet had condemned Job. Now Elihu had waited
till Job had spoken, because they were older than himself.
5 But when EHhu saw that there was no answer in the mouth
6 of these three men, his wrath was kindled. Then spake
Elihu, the son of Barachel, the Buzite, and said :
I am young, and ye are very old ;
Therefore I was afraid,
And durst not make known to you my opinion.
7 I said " Days should speak,
" And multitude of years should teach wisdom."
8 But it is the divine spirit in man,
Even the inspiration of the Almighty, that giveth under
standing.
9 Great men are not always wise,
Nor do the aged always understand what is right.
10 Therefore, I pray, listen unto me ;
I also will declare my opinion.
1 1 Behold I have waited for your words,
I have listened to your arguments,
Whilst ye searched out what to say ;
12 Yea, I have attended to you ;
And behold, none of you hath refuted Job,
Nor answered his words.
13 Say not, then, " We have found out wisdom ;
" God hath thrust him down, not man."

Ch. XXXIII. JOB. 53
14 Now he hath not directed his discourse against me, i
And I wiU not answer him with your speeches.
15 They were confounded ! they answered no more !
They could say nothing !
16 1 waited, but they spake not ;
They stood still ; they answered no more !
17 Therefore will I answer, on my part;
I also will shew my opinion.
1 8 For I am full of matter ;
The spirit within constraineth me.
19 Behold, my bosom is as wine that hath no vent ;
Like bottles of new wine, it is bursting.
20 I will speak, that I may be relieved ;
I will open my Hps and answer.
21 I will not respect any man's person,
Nor will I flatter any man.
22 For I am afraid to flatter,
Lest my Maker should soon take me away.
XXXIII. 1 Hear, therefore, my discourse, I pray thee, O Job,
And attend unto aU my words.
2 Behold, I am opening my mouth ;
My tongue is speaking in my palate. I
3 My words shall be in the uprightness of my heart ;
My lips shaU utter knowledge plainly.
4 The spirit of God made me,
And the breath of the Almighty gave me Hfe •
5 If thou art able, answer me ;
Set thy reasons in order before me ; stand up.
6 Behold, I am Hke thee before God ;
I also was formed of clay.
7 Behold, my terror cannot dismay thee,
, Nor can my hand be heavy upon thee.

54 JOB. Ch. XXXIII.
8 Surely thou hast said in my hearing y
I have heard the sound of thy words :
9 "I am pure, and without transgression ;
" I am clean, and there is no iniquity in me. ,
10 " Behold, he seeketh causes of hostiUty against me ;
" He regardeth me as his enemy.
11 "He putteth my feet in the stocks ;
" He watcheth all my paths."
12 Behold, in this thou art not right ; I will answer thee ;
Surely God is greater than man ;
13 Why then dost thou contend with Him,
Who giveth no account of any of his doings ?
14 For God speaketh once,
Yea, twice, when man regardeth it not ;
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falleth upon men,
In slumberings upon the bed ;
16 Then he openeth the ears of men,
And impresseth upon them admonition ;
17 That he may turn man from his purpose,
And remove pride from man.
18 Thus he saveth his soul from the pit,
And his life from perishing by the sword.
19 He is chastened also with pain upon his bed,
And the disorder of his bones is violent.
20 So that his mouth abhorreth bread,
And his taste the choicest meat.
21 His flesh is consumed, that it cannot be seen,
And his bones, that were invisible, are naked.
22 Yea, his soul draweth near to the grave,
And his life to the destroyers.
23 But if there be with him a messenger,
An interpreter, one of a thousand,
Who may shew unto man his duty,

Ch. XXXIV. JOB. 55
24 Then will God be gracious unto him, and say,
" Save him from going down to the pit,
" I have found a ransom."
25 His flesh shall become fresher than a child's ;
He shall return to the days of his youth.
*~26 He shall pray to God, and he will be favourable to him,
*.¦ ^J Aid permit him to see his face with joy,
•*iAnd restore unto man his innocence.
27 He shall sing amongst men, and say,
" 1 sinned, I acted perversely,
" Yet hath he not requited me for it ;
28 " He hath delivered me from going down to the grave,
" And mine eyes behold the Hght."
29 Lo ! all these things doeth God
Time after time with man,
30 That he may bring him back from the grave,
To enjoy the light of the living.
31 Mark well, O Job, hearken unto me ;
Keep silence, and I will speak.
32 Yet if thou^hast any thing to say, answer me ;
Speak ; for I desjre to hold thee innocent ;
33 But if not, do thou listen to me ;
Keep silence, and I wiU teach thee wisdom.
CHAP. XXXIV.
1 And Elihu proceeded, and said :
2 Hear my words, ye wise men !
Give ear unto me, ye that have knowledge !
3 For the ear trieth words,
As the mouth tastedi meat.
4 Let us examine for ourselves what is right ;
Let us know amongst ourselves what is true.

56 JOB. Ch. XXXIV.
5 Job hath said, " I am innocent,
" And God refuseth me justice.
6 " Though I am innocent, I am made a Har ;
" My wound is incurable, though I am free from trans
gression."
7 Where is the man like Job,
Who drinketh impiety Uke water ;
8 Who goeth in company with evil-doers,
And walketh with wicked men ?
9 For he hath said, " A man profiteth nothing
" By delighting himself in God."
10 Wherefore hearken to me, ye men of understanding !
Far be iniquity from God !
Yea, far be injustice from the Almighty !
1 1 For what a man hath done he will requite him,
And render to every one according to his deeds.
12 Surely God wiU not do iniquity,
Nor wiU the Almighty pervert justice.
13 Who hath given him the charge-of the earth,
Or who hath created the whole world ?
14 Should he set his heart against man,
He would take back his spirit, and bis breath ;
15 All flesh would then expire togethej ;
Yea, man would return to the dust.
16 If thou hast understanding, hear this ;
Give ear to the voice of my words.
17 Shall he, that hateth justice, govern ?
Wilt thou then condemn the just and mighty One ?
18 Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked,
Or to princes, Ye are unrighteous ?
19 How much less to him that accepteth not die person of
princes,
Nor regardeth the rich more than the poor ?
For they are all the work of his hands.

Ch. XXXIV. JOB. 37
20 In a moment they die ; yea, at midnight
Doth a people tremble, and pass away ;
And the mighty are destroyed by a hand unseen.
21 For his eyes are upon the ways of men ;
He seeth all their steps.
22 There is no darkness, nor shadow of death,
Where evil doers may hide themselves.
23 He hath no need of a long inquiry,
Wj . When a man cometh into judgment before him ;
24 He dasheth in pieces the mighty without process,
And setteth up others in their stead.
25 For he knoweth their works ;
He bringeth night upon them, and they are crushed.
26 On account of their wickedness he smiteth them,
In the presence of many beholders.
27 Because they turned away from him,
And had no regard to his ways,
28 And caused the cry of the poor to come before him ;
For he heareth the cry of the oppressed.
29 When he giveth rest, who can cause trouble ?
And when he hideth his face, whether from nations, or
from individuals,
Who can behold him ?
30 Thus he removeth wicked rulers from their thrones,
That they may not be snares to the people.
31 Surely thou shouldst say unto God,
" I have received chastisement ; I will no more offend ;
32 " What I see not, teach thou me ;
"If I have done iniquity, I wiU do so no more."
33 Shall he recompense according to thy mind,
Because thou refusest, or because thou choosest, and not
he?
Speak, if thou hast aught to say.
8

58 JOB. Ch. XXXV.
34 Men of understanding,
Wise men, who may hear me, will say,
35 " Job hath spoken without knowledge,
" And his words were without wisdom."
36 My desire is, that Job may be fuUy tried
For answering Uke wicked men.
37 For he hath added impiety tohis sin ;
He hath clapped his hands amongst us,
And multiplied words against God.
CHAP. XXXV.
1 Moreover EHhu proceeded, and said :
2 Dost thou then think this to be right ?
Thou hast said, " I am more righteous than God."
3 For thou askest, " What advantage have I ?
" What have I gained more than if I had sinned ?"
4 I will answer thee,
And thy companions with thee.
5 Look up to the heavens, and see ;
And behold the clouds, which are high above thee.
6 If thou sinnest, what dost thou, against him ?
If thy transgressions be multipHed, how dost thou injure
him ?
7 If thou art righteous, what dost thou give him ?
Or what receiveth he at thine hand ?
8 Thy wickedness injures a man Hke thyself;
And thy righteousness profits the son of man.
9 The oppressed cry out on account of their wrongs ;
They cry aloud on account of the arm of the mighty ;
10 But none saith, " Where is God my maker,
" Who in the night of affliction giveth songs ;

Ch. XXXVI. JOB. 59
11 " Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth,
" And maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven ? "
12 Then they cry aloud on account of the arrogance of the
wicked,
But he giveth no answer.
13 For God will not hear the vain supplication,
Nor will the Almighty regard it.
14 Much less, when thou sayest, " I cannot see him ! "
Justice is with him, only wait thou for him !
15 But now because he hath not visited in his anger,
Nor taken strict note of trarisgtessions,
16 Job hath opened his mouth rashly,
And multiplied words without knowledge.
CHAP. XXXVI. XXXVH.
1 Elihu also proceeded, and said :
2 Bear with me a Httle while, that I may shew thee ;
For I have yet arguments in behalf of God.
3 I will bring my knowledge from afar,
And assert the justice of my Maker.
4 Truly my words shall not be false ;
A man of sound knowledge is before thee. j l
5 Behold, God is mighty, but despiseth not any ;
He is excellent in strength and wisdom.
6 He suffereth not the wicked to prosper,
But rendereth justice to the oppressed.
7 He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous,
But with kings upon the throne
He estabHsheth them for ever, and they are exalted.
8 And if they be bound in fetters,
And holden in the cords of affliction,
9 Then sheweth he them their deeds,
And how they have set him at defiance by their transgres
sions ;

60 JOB. Ch. XXXVI.
10 He also openeth their ears to admonition,
And commandeth them to return from iniquity ;
1 1 If they obey, and serve him,
They spend their days in prosperity,
And their years in pleasures.
12 But if they obey not, they perish by the sword ;
They die in their own folly.
13 The corrupt in heart treasure up wrath ;
They cry not to God, when he bindeth them.
14 They die in their youth ;
They close their lives with the unclean.
15 But he delivereth the poor in their distress ;
He openeth their ears in affliction.
3 6 He will bring thee also from the narrow strait,
To a broad place, remote from danger,
And the provision of thy table shall be full of fatness.
17 But if thou incur the guilt of the wicked, —
Know that guilt and punishment follow each other.
18 For with Him is wrath ; beware lest he take thee away by
his stroke,
So that a great ransom shaU not save thee.
19 WiU He esteem thy riches ?
No ! neidier thy gold, nor all the abundance of thy
wealth.
20 Desire not earnestly the night,
When the people are taken away from their place.
21 Take heed, turn not thine eyes to iniquity ;
For this hast thou preferred to affliction.
22 Behold, God is exalted by his power ;
What potentate is like him ?
23 Who hath prescribed to him his way ?
Or who can say to him, " Thou hast done wrong J' *
24 Forget not to magnify his work,
Which men celebrate with songs.

Gh. XXXVII. JOB. 61
25 All mankind gaze upon it ;
Mortals behold it from afar.
26 Behold, God is great ; we cannot know him,
Nor search out the number of his years.
27 Lo, he draweth up the drops of water,
Which form rain from his vapour ;
28 The clouds pour it down,
And distil it upon man in abundance.
29 Who can understand the spreading of his clouds,
And the rattling of his pavilion. ,
30 Behold, he spreadeth around himself his light,
And he covereth the bottom of the sea.
31 By these he punisheth nations,
And by these he giveth food in abundance.
32 In both hands he holds the lightning ;
He commissions it against an enemy ;
33 He makes known his purpose against man,
And the herds and plants of the earth.
XXXVII. 1 At this my heart trembleth,
And is moved out of its place.
2 Hear, O hear the sound of his voice,
And the noise, which issiieth from his mouth.
3 He sendeth it through the whole heavens,
And his Hghtning to the ends of the earth.
4 After it a voice roareth,
He thundereth with the voice of his majesty,
And restraineth not the tempest, when his voice is heard.
5 God thundereth marvellously with his voice ;
Great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.
6 For he saith to the snow, " Be thou on the earth ;"
Likewise to the rain, even the rains of his might.
7 He sealeth up the hand of every man,
^ That all his labourers may acknowledge him.

62 JOB. Ch. XXXVII.
8 Then the beasts" go into dens,
And abide in their caverns.
9 Out of the South cometh the whirlwind,
And cold out of the North.
10 By the breath of God ice is formed,
And the broad waters are made solid.
1 1 He causeth the clouds to descend in rain,
And his Hghtning scattereth the mists.
12 He leadeth them about by his wisdom,
That they may execute his commands throughout the
world ;
13 Whether he cause them to come for punishment,
Or for his earth, or for mercy.
14 Give ear unto this, O Job !
Stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.
15 Dost thou know when God ordained them,
And caused the lightning of his cloud to flash ?
16 Dost thou understand the balancing of the clouds,
The wondrous works of him that is perfect in wisdom ?
17 How thy garments become warm,
When he maketh the earth sultry by his south wind ?
18 Canst thou Hke him spread out the sky,
Firm Hke a molten mirror ?
19 Teach us what we shall say to him,
For we cannot address him by reason of darkness.
20 If I speak, will it be told him ?
Verily if a man speak to him, he will be consumed.
21 Men cannot look upon the light,
When it is bright in the skies,
When the wind hath passed over them, and made them
clear,
22 And a golden splendour cometh from the firmament,r*=
But with God is terrible majesty !

Ch. XXXVIII. JOB. 63
23 The Almighty, we cannot find him out ;
He is exceUent in power and justice,
Perfect in righteousness, but he giveth no account of his
doings.
24 Therefore let men fear him,
Whom none of the men of wisdom can behold.
CHAP. XXXVIII. XXXIX.
1 Then spake Jehovah to Job out of the whirlwind, and
said :
2 Who is this, that darkeneth my counsels by words with
out knowledge ?
3 Gird up thy loins Uke a man ;
v I wiU ask thee, and answer thou me.
4 Where wast thou, when I laid the foundations of the earth ?
Declare, since thou hast such knowledge !
5 Who fixed its dimensions, since thou knowest !
Or who stretched out the Une upon it ?
6 Upon what were its foundations fixed ?
And who laid its corner stone,
7 When the morning stars sang together,
And aU the sons of God shouted for joy ?
8 Who shut up the sea with doors,
When it burst forth as from the womb ?
9 When I made the clouds its mantle,
And thick darkness its swaddHng-band ;
10 When I appointed its bounds,
And fixed its bars and doors ;
11 And said, Thus far shalt thou come, and no farther ;
Here shaU thy proud waves be stayed !
12 Hast thou ever commanded the morning,
Or caused the day-spring to know its place, —

64 JOB. Ch. XXXVIII.
13 That they should lay" hold of the ends of the earth,
And shake the wicked out of it ?
14 It is changed as wax by the seal ;
And all things stand forth as in rich apparel.
15 But from the wicked their light is withheld,
And the high raised arm is broken.
16 Hast thou penetrated to the springs of the sea,
And walked through the recesses of the deep ?
17 Have the gates of death been disclosed to thee,
And' hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Hast thou discovered the breadth of the earth?
Declare, since thou knowest it all !
19 Where is the way to the abode of Ught ?
And darkness, where is its dwellingplace,
20 That thou mayest lead each of them to its boundary,
And know the paths to its mansion ?
21 Surely thou knowest ! for thou wast then born !
And the number of thy years is great !
22 Hast thou entered the storehouses of the snow,
Or seen the treasures of the hail ?
23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble,
Against die day of battle and war.
24 Where is the way, by which light is distributed,
And the east wind let loose upon the earth ?
25 Who hath prepared a channel for the rain,
And a path for the glittering thunderbolt,
26 To give rain to the land without an inhabitant,
To the wilderness, where is no man ;
27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground,
And cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth ?

«

Ch. XXXVIII. JOB. 65
28 Who is the father of the rain ?
And who hath begotten the drops of the dew ?
29 Out of whose womb came the ice ?
And who hath gendered the hoar frost of heaven ?
30 The waters are hid as under stone,
And the face of the deep becometh solid.
31 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of the Pleiades,
Or loosen the bands of Orion ?
32 Canst thou lead forth Mazzaroth in its season,
Or guide Arcturus with his sons ?
33 Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens ?
Hast thou appointed their dominion over the earth ?
34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds,
So that abundance of waters will cover thee ?
35 Canst thou send forth lightnings ? Will they go ?
WiU they say to thee, " Here we are ?"
36 Who hath imparted understanding to clouds,
And given to meteors intelligence ? !
37 Who numbereth the clouds in wisdom ?
And who poureth out the bottles of heaven,
38 When the dust is formed into a solid mass,
And the clods cleave fast together ?
39 Canst thou hunt prey for the lioness,
Or satisfy the hunger of the young lions,
40 When they couch in their dens,
And He in wait in the thicket ?
41 Who provided! for the raven his food,
When his young ones cry unto God,
While they wander about without food ?
XXXIX. 1 Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of die
rock bring forth ?
Or hast thou observed the labour of the hinds ?
9

66 JOB. Ch. XXXIX.
2 Canst thou number the months they fulfil ?
Knowest thou the season when they bring forth ?
3 They bow themselves ; they bring forth their young ;
They are deHvered from their pangs.
4 Their young ones are strong ; they grow up in the fields ;
They go away, and return not to them.
5 Who hath sent forth the wild ass free ?
Who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass ?
6 Whose house I have made the wilderness,
And the barren land his dwellingplace.
7 He scorneth the tumult of the city,
And regardeth not die clamours of the driver;
8 The range of the mountains is his pasture ;
He seeketh after every green thing.
9 Will the buffalo consent to serve thee ?
WiU he remain through the night at thy crib ?
10 Canst thou bind the buffalo with the harness to the furrow?
Or will he harrow the vaUeys after thee ?
1 1 Wilt thou rely upon him because his strength is great,
And commit thy labour to him ?
12 Wilt thou trust him to bring in thy grain,
And gather in thy harvest ?
13 The wing of the ostrich moveth joyfully ;
She hath the wings and feathers of the stork ;
14 She leaveth her eggs on the ground ;
She warmeth them in the dust,
15 And forgetteth that the foot may crush them,
And that the wild beast may break them.
16 She is cruel to her young, as if they were not hers ;
She careth not that her labour is in vain ; ,!•#
17 Because God hath denied her wisdom,
And hath not given her understanding.

Ch. XL. JOB. , 67
18 Yet when she Hfteth herself up,
She laugheth at the horse, and his rider.
19» Hast thou given the horse strength?
Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder ?
20 Hast thou taught him to bound like the locust ?
How terrible the noise of his nostrils !
21 He paweth in the vaUey ; he exulteth in his strength,
And rusheth into the midst of arms.
22 He laugheth at fear ; he trembleth not,
And turneth not back from the sword.
23 Against him ratdeth the quiver,
The glittering spear, and the lance.
24 With rage and fury he devoured! the ground ;
He standeth not still, when the trumpet soundeth.
25 He saith among the trumpets, Aha ! Aha !
And snuffeth the battle afar off;
The thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26 Is it by thy Wisdom that the hawk flieth,
And spreadeth his wings toward the south ?
27 Doth the eagle soar at thy command,
And build his nest on high ?
28 He dwelleth and lodgeth upon the rock,
Upon the crag of the rock, and the mountain- top.
29 From thence he espieth his prey ;
His eyes discern it from afar.
30 His young ones suck up blood,
And where the slain are, there is he.
CHAP. XL. XLI.
1 Moreover Jehovah spake unto 'Job; and. said :
2 Will the censurer of the Almighty yet contend with him ?
WiU the reprover of God yet answer ?

6» JOB. Ch. XL.
/ 3 Then Job answered Jehovah, and said ;
4 Behold, I am vile ! what can I answer thee ? —
I will lay my hand upon my mouth.
5 Once have I spoken, but I will not speak again;
Yea, twice, but I will say no more.
6 Then spake Jehovah to Job out of the whirlwind, and said.
7 Gird up now thy loins Hke a man ;
I wiU ask thee, and answer thou me.
8 Wilt thou disannul my judgment ?
Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest appear righteous ?
9 Hast thou an arm like God's ?
Or canst thou thunder with a voice Hke his ?
10 Deck thyself with majesty and exceUency,
And array thyself in splendour and glory. v
11 Let loose the fury of thy wrath ;
Look upon every proud one, and abase him.
12 Look upon every proud one, and bring him low ;
Yea, break the wicked in pieces.
13 Hide them in the dust together ;
Cover their faces in darkness ;
14 Then, indeed, will I confess to thee,
That thine own right hand can save thee.
15 Behold the riverhorse, which I have made, as well as
thyself;
He feedeth on grass like the ox.
16 Behold, what strength is in his loins !
And what vigour in the muscles of his belly !
17 He bendeth his tail, Hke the cedar,
And the sinews of his thighs are twisted together.
18 His bones are pipes of brass,
And his limbs are bars of iron.

Ch. XLI. JOB. 69
19 He is chief among the works of God,
He, that made him, gave him his scythe.
20 For the mountains supply him with food,
Where aU the beasts of the field play.
21 He reposeth under the lote-trees ;
In the covert of reeds, and in the fens, i
22 The lote-trees cover him with their shadow,
And the wiUows of the brook compass him about.
23 The stream overflowed!, but he fleeth not ;
He is unmoved though the Jordan rush against his mouth.
24 Can one take him by open force,
Or pierce his nose with a snare ?
XLI. 1 Canst thou draw forth the leviathan with a hook,
Or press down his tongue with a cord ?
2 Canst thou put a rope into his nose,
Or pierce his cheek with a ring ?
3 WiU he make many intreaties to thee ?
WiU he speak soft words to thee ?
4 Will he make a covenant with thee,
That thou mayest take him as thy servant forever?
5 Wilt thou play with him, as with a bird ?
Or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens ?
6 WiU thy companions make a feast over him ?
Will they divide him among the merchants ?
7 Canst thou fiU his skin with barbed irons,
Or his head with fishspears ?
8 Do but lay thy hand upon him, —
Thou wilt never remember the battle !
9 Behold, his hope is vain !
Is he not cast down at the very sight of him !

70 JOB. Ch. XLI.
10 None is so fierce that he dare stir him up,
Who then is he, that can stand before me ?
11 Who hath done me a favour, that I should repay him ?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
12 I wiU not be silent concerning his limbs,
And his strength, and the beauty of his armour.
13 Who can remove his garment?
Who will approach his jaws ?
14 Who will open the doors of his face ?
The rows of his teeth are terrible.
15 His pride is in his strong bucklers,
Which are united with each other, as with a close seal.
16 One is fitted to another,
So that no air can come between them.
17 They cleave fast to each other,
They are compact, and cannot be separated.
18 When he sneezeth, the Hght sparkleth,
And his eye. s are Hke the eyelids of the morning.
19 Out of his mouth go firebrands,
And sparks of fire leap forth.
20 From his nostrils issueth smoke, as from a seething pot, or
caldron.
21 His breath kindleth coals ;
And a flame issueth from his mouth.
22 In his neck dwelleth Strength,
And Terror danceth before him.
23 The muscles of his flesh are compacted together ;
They are firm upon him, and cannot be moved.
24 His heart is as hard as a stone ;
Yea, as hard as the nether-millstone.
25 When he riseth up, the mighty are afraid ;
Yea, they are distracted with terror.
26 The sword of him that assaileth him cannot stand ;
The spear, the dart, nor the javeHn.

Ch. XLII. JOB. - 71
27 He regardeth iron al straw,
And brass as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make him flee ;
Slingstones to him are stubble ;
29 Clubs are accounted by him as straw ;
He laugheth at the shaking of the spear.
30 Under him are sharp potsherds ;
He spreadeth out harrows upon the 'mire.
31 He maketh the deep to boil like a caldron ;
He maketh the sea Hke a pot of ointment.
32 Behind him he leaveth a shining path ;
One would think the deep to be hoary.
33 Upon the earth there is not his Hke ;
He is made without fear,
34 He despiseth every high thing ;
He is king over all the sons of pride-
CHAP. XLII.
1 Then Job answered Jehovah, and said :
2 I know that thou canst do every thing,
And that no purpose of thine can "be hindered.
3 Who is he, that darkeneth thy counsels by words without
knowledge ?
Thus have I uttered what I understood not ;
Things too wonderful. 'for me, which I knew not.
4 Hear thou then, I beseech thee, and I will speak ;
I wiU ask thee, and do thou instruct me.
5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear,
But now mine eye seeth thee ;
6 Wherefore I abhor myself,
And repent in dust and ashes.

72 , JOB. Ch. XLII.
7 And when Jehovah had spoken these words unto Job, he
said to Eliphaz the Temanite, " My wrath is kindled against
thee, and against thy two friends ; for ye have not spoken
8 concerning me that which is right, as hath my servant Job.
Take, therefore, seven bullocks, and seven rams, and go to my
servant Job, and offer for yourselves a burnt-offering, and my
servant Job shall pray for you ; (for^ to him will I have re
gard ;) lest I deal with you according to your foUy. For ye
have not spoken concerning me that which is right, as hath
my servant Job."
9 So Eliphaz, the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zo
phar the Naamathite, went and did as Jehovah commanded
10 them ; and Jehovah had regard to the prayer of Job. And
Jehovah restored the prosperity of Job, when he had prayed
for his friends, and Jehovah gave him twice as much as he
11 had before. Then came unto him all his brethren, and aU
his sisters, and all his former acquaintances, and ate bread
with him in his house ; and condoled with him, and com*
forted him over all the evil, which Jehovah had brought
upon him ; and every one gave him a piece of money, and
every one an earring of gold.
12 Thus Jehovah blessed the latter end of Job more than the
beginning ; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand
camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses.
1 3 He had also seven sons, and three daughters. And he called
14 the name of the first Jemima, of the second, Kezia, and of
15 the third, Kerenhappuch. And in all the land were no
women found so beautiful as the daughters of Job ; and their
father gave them an inheritance among their brethren-
16 And Job lived after this a hundred and forty years, and saw
17 his sons, and. his sons' sons, even four generations. Then
Job died, being old, and satisfied with days.
END.

NOTES OJV JOB.

10

NOTES.

CHAP. I. II.

In these chapters is contained a brief account of the excellent
character, and flourishing condition of Job ; — of the afflictions de
creed in heaven to be sent upon him, and the design of those
afflictions, viz. to prove the disinterestedness and firmness of his
integrity and piety ; — of the actual occurrence of these afflictions,
and of Job's conduct under them ; — and of the visit of three of his
friends to mourn with him and comfort him.
The character of this introduction, so far as it relates to the
upper world, is thus given by Scott. " This is not history, but
a piece of allegorical scenery. The noble instruction, which it
veileth, is ; that God governs the world by the instrumentality
of second causes, that the evils of human life are under his direc
tion, and that the afflictions of good men are appointed by him
for the" illustration of their virtue, and for advancing, by that
means, the honour of religion." The learned Mr Poole also
observes, " You must not think that these things were really done,
. . . but it is only a parabolical representation of that great
truth, that God by his wise and holy providence doth govern all
the actions of men and devils to his own ends."
Ver. 3. — three thousand camels : The Arabs used these animals
in war, in their caravans, and for food. One of their ancient
poets, whose hospitality grew into a proverb, is reported to have
killed yearly, in a certain month, ten camels every day, for the
entertainment of his friends. Scott, from Schultens and Pococke.

4 NOTES. Ch. I.
Ver. 5. — and renounced God in their hearts, i. e. been un
mindful of him, dismissed him from their thoughts, or withheld
the reverence and homage, which are his due. It is hardly cred
ible that Job suspected his children of cursing God. He was only
apprehensive lest the gaiety of a festival had made them forget
God, and neglect his service and worship. The term 1p3 gener
ally signifies to bless. It was the term of salutation between friends
at meeting, and parting. See Gen. xxviii. 3. xlvii. 10. In the
latter use of it, it corresponded to the English phrase to bid fare
well to, and, like that, came to be used in a bad sense for to re
nounce, to abandon, to dismiss from the mind, to disregard. It may
imply disregard, neglect, renunciation, or abhorrence, according to
the connexion in which it is used. Xalgeiv in Greek, and valere in
Latin are used in the same way. Thus Eurip. Med. 1044.
Ov dijt syaye" xca,gho ^ovXevfiara.
And Cicero in a letter to Atticus, (VIII. 8.) in which he com
plains of the disgraceful flight of Pompey, applies to him a quo
tation from Aristophanes ; notla xalgeiv slnwv zm xaXai, bidding
farewell to honour, he fled to Brundisium. Another instance of
this use of valere is in Ter. And. IV. 2. 14. Valeant, qui inter
nos dissidium volunt. Also in Cic. de Nat. Deor. I. 44. near
the end ; Deinde si maxime talis est Deus, ut nulla gratia, nulla
hominum caritate teneatur, valeat ! See Schultens and Rosenmul.
Ver. 6. — sons of God : i. e. the angels. See ch. xxxviii. 7.
Dan. iii. 25. 28.
Satan : There has been a question whether by the person de
nominated Satan in this chapter is denoted the malignant spirit, the
enemy of God and man, otherwise called the Devil ; or one of the
sons of Gdd, a faithful, but too suspicious, servant of Jehovah.
The latter opinion is adopted by Dathe, Eichhorn, Ilgen, and
others. Their views are briefly as follows : The supreme Being
is represented as holding a deliberative council for the purpose of
considering the state of his dominions. In accommodation to
the conceptions of the age, the representation is borrowed from
the patriarchal form of government, in which the patriarch was
accustomed to call together the leading members of the fam-

Ch. I. NOTES. 5
ily, and to assign them their duties and employments. Into this
council Satan, a zealous servant of Jehovah, to whom had been
assigned the honourable office of visiting different parts of the
earth, for the purpose of observing the conduct of Jehovah's sub
jects, and of bringing information respecting the state of his
dominions, makes his appearance with his brethren on his return
from his mission. Such is the piety of Job, that it has attracted
the special regard of Jehovah ; so that he is led to put the ques
tion to Satan, whether, in the course of his journey, he had ob
served that illustrious example of human virtue. Satan, who, from
his recent observation of man's selfishness and depravity, may be
supposed to have lost all faith in the reality and genuineness of
any virtue, of which man may exhibit the appearance, replies,
that he doubts whether Job himself serves Jehovah from a dis
interested motive ; — that his integrity and piety arose rather from
the love of a good estate, than from love of his Maker. The sus
picious character ascribed to Satan, say these critics, is a very
proper attribute of a censor of morals, and necessary in order that
he may distinguish genuine piety from specious hypocrisy. In
regard to the calamities, which he inflicted upon Job, he did
nothing contrary to the will of Jehovah, and is not more deser
ving of censure than any minister of state who executes the com
mands of his sovereign.
This view of the subject has been defended by some critics,
because they could not easily account for the presence of the Devil
in heaven amongst the angels of God, and for his free conversation
with Jehovah ; by others, because they regarded the belief in the
Devil, as having had no existence amongst the Jews, until their
return from the Babylonish captivity, and consequently as incon
sistent with their opinion of the high antiquity of the poem.
In regard to the agency of Satan, it is observed by Scott that
Job himself, and the other human speakers in the poem, constantly
represent his calamities as the immediate act of God. They,
therefore had no idea of this evil being, nor of his agency in hu
man affairs. He is never once mentioned throughout the poem.
Ver. 11. — wiU he renounce thee. The phrase is stronger here
than in verse 5. It imports an utter and public renunciation of
religion, as a vain thing. Scott.

6 NOTES Ch. H.
Ver.  16. fire of God: i. e, lightning: which has a similar
appellation in Eurip. Med. 144.
Ai, al4 did fiov xs<jpaA«s (pXb§ ovgavia
Bait).
Ver. — 20. rent his mantle, and shaved his head : The custom of
rending the mantle, as an expression of grief, is said to prevail at
the present day in Persia., and, like that of shaving the head, to
have been common amongst several nations of antiquity. Herod
otus (II. 26) remarks that the latter was the practice of all
nations except the Egyptians, in cases of mourning.
Ver. 21. — my mother's womb : i. e. the womb of the earth, the
universal mother ; for he speaks of returning thither. The same
figure is found in several languages. See Cic. de Nat. Deor.
II. 26.
Ch. II. Ver. 4. Skin for skin : This is a proverbial expression,
importing, as is generally supposed, that any man will give the
skin or life of another, whether animal or man, to save his own.
Ver. 7. It is generally supposed that Job was afflicted with
that species of leprosy called elephantiasis, the elephant disease ;
so called from its swelling the mouth, legs, and feet to an enormous
size, although the body at the same time is emaciated. The
pain is said not to be very great, but there is a great debility of
the system, and great uneasiness and grief. See Jahn's ArchEeol-
ogy. § 189.
Ver. 9. Renounce God, and die. i. e. since you must die.
Since your exemplary piety has been of no use to you, give it up ;
renounce God ; desist from your idle prayers and praises, and look
to death, as the only termination of your miseries ; — the only fruit
of your virtue, which you will ever receive. Schultens.
But, perhaps, the common meaning of the verb ^p.a, to bless, has
as good a claim to reception, as that which we have adopted in
the text. According to this rendering, Job's wife ironically ex
horts him to go on blessing God, since he, received such precious
returns for it. Bless God, and die. i. e. Bless God ever so much,
thou wilt die after all. Or as Poole has it, "I see thou art set upon
blessing God ; thou blessest God for giving, and thou blessest

Ch. II. NOTES, 7
God for taking away, and thou art still blessing God for thy loath
some and tormenting diseases, and he rewards thee accordingly ;
giving thee more and more of that kind of mercy, for which thou
blessest and praisest him. Go on, therefore, in this thy pious and
generous course, and die as a fool dieth, and carry this reputation
to thy grave, that thou hadst not common sense in thee to discern
between good and evil, between thy friends and thy foes." So
Ovid, Amor. L. III. Eleg. ix. 35.
Cum rapiantmala fata bonos, (ignoscite fasso)
Sollicitor nullos esse putare Deos.
Vive pius, moriere pius. Cole sacra, colentem
Mors gravis a templis in cava busta trahet.
In the Septuagint version is inserted a passage, of which the fol
lowing is a translation. Ver. 9. "And after much time had elapsed,
his wife said unto him, how long wilt thou persevere, saying,
' Behold, I will wait a little while, cherishing the hope of my re
covery 1 ' Behold, thy memorial hath disappeared from the earth,
The sons and the daughters, the pains and toils of my womb,
with these I have struggled to no purpose. Even thou thyself
sittest amongst loathsome worms, passing the night in the open
air ; while I, a wanderer and a drudge from house to house and
from place to place, watch the sun till his going down, that I
may rest from the toils and afflictions, which now oppress me.
Utter then some blasphemy against the Lord, and die." Whence
this passage originated, it is impossible to say. Dathe, with aston
ishing sagacity, suggests that it might have been added by some
person, who thought it incredible that an angry woman could be
content with saying so little on the occasion, as in the Hebrew is
ascribed to the wife of Job. If, however, any should think this
theory unsound, they may suppose that it was written by some
person by way of paraphrase in the margin of his bible, and that
the transcriber of the manuscript, seeing it in the margin, supposed
it to be a part of the text accidentally omitted, and so inserted
it in the place, where it now stands.
Ver. 10. In all this Job sinned not with his lips. The author
repeats this circumstance a second time, in order to excite the
attention of the reader to what follows, viz. the conduct of Job

8 NOTES Ch. II.
with respect to his reverence for the Deity, and the changes which
accumulated misery might produce in his temper and behaviour.
Accordingly we find that another still more severe trial of his
patience yet awaits him, and which, indeed, as the writer seems
to intimate, he scarcely appears to have sustained with equal firm
ness ; namely, the unjust suspicions, the bitter reproaches, and the
violent altercations ef his friends. Lowth.
Ver. 12. 13. When they saw him, at the distance at which they
could formerly recognise him without difficulty, disease had so
altered his appearance, that at first sight they knew him not.
The expression of his grief resembles in several circumstances
that of Achilles, when informed of the death of Patroclus. Iliad,
xviii. 21—27. A sudden horror shot through all the chief,
And wrapt his senses in the cloud of grief;
Cast on the ground, with furious hands he spread
The scorching ashes o'er his graceful head ;
His purple garments, and his golden hairs,
Those he deforms with dust, and these he tears :
On the hard soil hie groaning breast he threw,
And rolled and grovelled, as to earth he grew. Pope.
Seven days was the customary time of mourning amongst the
Orientals. See Gen. 1. 10. 1 Sam. xxxi. 13. and Ecclesiasticus,
xxii. 12. Seven days do men mourn for him that is dead. It is
not meant that they remained in the same place and posture for
the space of seven days, but that they mourned with him during
that time, in the usual way.
— and none spake a word unto him : Poole remarks that the
meaning probably is, that no one spake a word to him about his
afflictions, and the causes of them. The reason of this silence
was, partly, their grief and amazement on account of his afflicted
condition ; partly, because they knew not what to say to him ; for
though they had ever esteemed him a good man, and had come on
purpose to comfort him, yet when they saw the greatness of his
misery, they concluded that he was suffering the punishment of
his sins ; and that the displeasure of God was manifested against

Ch. III. NOTES. 9
him ; so that they could not comfort him as they intended, and
yet were unwilling to increase his sufferings by those reproofs,
and exhortations, which they thought that he needed. Thus they
kept silence, till the passionate exclamation of Job, in the next
chapter, gave them occasion to speak their minds.
CHAP. III.
At the end of the seven days of mourning, when no hopes of
recovery from his afflicted condition were entertained by Job, and
not a word of consolation had been offered by his friends, he un
burdens his heart in the strongest language of complaint, lamen
tation, and despair. He curses the day of his birth, and longs
for death, as the only refuge from his miseries.
The poet has secured the sympathy of the reader in favour of
Job by the introductory chapters upon the cause of his afflictions,
and by the declaration of Jehovah that he was " an upright and
good man ; " so that in this place, and throughout the poem, we
are more inclined to pity him for his afflictions, than to censure
him for his irreverent language. It is evident, as Bishop Lowth
remarks, that the intemperate complaints, the vehement and per
verse attestations of his innocence, the murmurs against the di
vine providence, which his tottering virtue afterwards permits,
are to be considered merely as the consequences of momentary
passion, and not as the ordinary effects of his settled character
and manners. They prove him, at the very worst, not an irrelig
ious man, but a'man possessed of integrity, and too confident of
it ; a man oppressed with almost every imaginable evil, both cor
poral and mental, and hurried beyond the limits of virtue by the
strong influence of pain and affliction.
Ver. 3. And the night, &c ; The birth of a son was one of three
great occasions of festivity among the Arabians. The other two
were the birth of a foal of a valued race, and the rising up of a
poetical genius in any of their tribes. When an Arabian gave his
daughter in marriage to a person whom he approved, he used
the benediction, ' Facilis sit tibi partus, et masculos parias, non
feminas.' Pococke. Spec. Hist. Arab. pp. 160. 337.
11

10 NOTES. Ch. III.
" We find an extraordinary similarity with the imprecations, which
Job uttered upon the day of his birth, even to the particular ex
pressions, (see especially ver. 10 — 14.) in the poem of a Mahom
etan Arab of modern times, who had hardly read the book of Job.
Malek en Nasser Daud, prince of some tribes in Palestine, from
which he had, however, been driven after many adverse fortunes,
died in a village near Damascus in the year 1258. When the cru
saders had desolated his country, he deplored its misfortunes and
his own in a poem, from which Abulfeda (Annals, p. 560) has quot
ed the following passage. ' Oh that my mother had remained
single all the days of her life ! That God had determined no lord
or consort for her ! Or that, when he had destined her to an ex
cellent, mild, and wise prince, she had been one of those, whom
he created barren ; that she might never have known the happy
intelligence, that she had borne a man or woman ! Or that, when
she had carried me under her heart, I had lost my life at my birth ;
and if I had been born, and had seen the light, that when the
congratulating people hastened on their camels, I had been gath
ered to my fathers ! ' " Burder's Oriental Customs, No. 490.
Ver. 5. — shadow of death : That is, thick darkness : Or, a
black and dark shadow, like that of the place of the dead : Or, dark
ness so gross and palpable, as, by it horrors and damps, to take away
the lives of men. Poole, —deadly heats of the day : i. e. intoler
able sultriness, which causes pestilence. So Gesenius, who de
rives 'TIPS' from *1D3, to burn. Some writers suppose that there
is a reference here to the poisonous wind Samum, or Sarnie],
which is feared in the hottest months of summer. " Men as well
as animals are suffocated by this wind. For, during a great heat,
a current of air often comes, which is still hotter ; and when men
and animals are so exhausted that they almost faint away with the
the heat, it seems that this little addition quite deprives them of
breath. When a man is suffocated by this wind, or, as they say,
when his heart is burst, blood is said to flow from his nose and
ears two hours after death. The body is said to remain long
warm, to swell, to turn blue and green, and if the arm or leg is
taken hold of to raise it up, the limb is said to come off." Bur-

Ch.IH. NOTES. U
ber's Oriental Customs, No. 176. Otherwise, the bitterness, or
the misfortunes of the day : 3 being considered only as the particle
of emphasis, as it is often used.
Ver. 6. Let it not rejoice : 'in.' the future, by Apocope, from rnn,
See Ges.
Ver. 7. O let that night be solitary ! That is, Let none assemble
to converse, or to rejoice, in that night : The Arabs had their
meetings for conversation in the night ; and among the eastern
nations in general, the night was devoted to festivity. It is so
still among the Moors in Barbary. See Pococke in carm. Togr. p.
106. Matt. xxv. 1. &c. Shaw's Travels, p. 203. 4to. Scott.
The word ilB^l, which I have rendered solitary, occurs, in the
Scriptures, only in Ch. xv. 34, xxx. 3, and Is. xlix. 21. Some
eminent critics think it should be rendered barren, or unfruitful,
and that the meaning is, May there be no births in that night !
Ver. 8. Who are able to raise up the leviathan. In all other
parts of the sacred writings, in which the word JJViS occurs, it
denotes an animal ; most probably, the crocodile. Nearly all
the ancient versions, and nearly all the modern critics, consider it
as the name of an animal here. The verse probably refers to a
class of persons, who were supposed to have the power of making
any day fortunate or unfortunate, to control future events, and even
to raise the most terrific monsters from the deep, for the gratifi
cation of their own malice, or that of others. Balaam, whom
Balak sent for to curse Israel, affords evidenpe of the existence
of a class of persons who were supposed to be capable of produc
ing evil by their imprecations. See Numb. xxii. 10, 11. Job
calls upon the most powerful of these sorcerers to assist him in
cursing the day of his birth.
Ver. 9. Neither let it see the eyelids of the morning ! This is
the literal version, and contains an image too beautiful to be
thrown away. So Soph. Antig. 104.
itpavd-ti? nor, w x Qvoiaq
Ujiiqag (Hitfttoov, Jtqxul-
wv vntq Qee&Qiav fiolovou.

12 NOTES. Ch. DI.
So in Milton's Lycidas :
 'ere the high lawns appeared
Under the opening eyelids of the dawn,
We drove afield.'
The sun, when above the horizon, is called by the poets the eye
of day ; hence his earliest beams, before he is risen, are the eye
lids, or eye-lashes, of the morning.
Ver. 12. Why did the lap receive me ? Why did the officious
midwife receive me, and lay me upon her lap, and not suffer me
to fall to the ground and perish 1 " Or it may refer to the father,
as it was usual for him to take the child upon his knees as soon as
it was born. Gen. 1.23." Burder. See also Jahn's Ant. § 161 .
Ver. 14. The repairers of desolated places. This circumstance
is mentioned to show their wealth, grandeur, and glory. See Is.
Iviii. 12, lxi. 4. Ezek. xxxvi. 10. For themselves is so nearly
pleonastic that it may be omitted. See Stuart's Gram. § 210.
n. 3.
Ver. 18. With this description compare the passage in Seneca,
ad Marciam 20. " Mors omnibus finis, multis remedium, qui-
busdam votuni : haec servitutem . invito domino remittit ; hasc
captivorum catenas levat ; haec a carcere reducit, quos exire im-
perium impotens vetuerat ; h^ec.exulibus, in patriam semper ani-
mum oculosque tendentibus, ostendit, nihil interesse inter quos
quisque jaceat ; ha^c ubi res communes fortuna male divisit, et
aaquo jure genitos alium alii donavit, extequat omnia : haec est,
quae nihil quidquam alieno fecit arbitrio ; haec est, in qua nemo
humilitateni suam sensit; haec est,, quae nulli paruit."
Ver. 23. — -from whom the way is hid &c : That is, who knows
not which way to turn himself; who can see no way of escape from
the miseries, which, in the latter clause of the verse, are repre
sented as surrounding him, as with a high wall or hedge.
Ver. 24. My sighing cometh before I eat: So Juv. Perpetua
anxietas, nee mensae tempore cessat. Schultens renders the
clause, My sighing cometh like my food. See note on ch. iv. 19.

Ch. IV. NOTES. 13
Ver. 26. The translation of these words in the present tense
is perfectly consistent with the Hebrew idiom. See Stuart's
Gram. § 192. So Castalio,
Infelix, inquietus, irrequietus,
Invasus sum atrociter.
CHAP. iv. v:
In these chapters Eliphaz, one of the three friends who had
come to comfort Job, is represented as constrained by his intemper
ate language to express those sentiments, and vent those suspicions,
which the view of his miserable condition had suggested, and
which from pity and delicacy had been hitherto suppressed. The
inhumanity of Eliphaz and the other friends of Job, which by many
is thought irreconcilable with the principles of human nature,
serves to introduce and help forward the discussion of the moral
question, which it was the main design of the poem to illustrate.
He reproves Job's impatience, and exhorts him not to give way
to grief and despondency, but to put in practice those lessons, which
he had so often recommended vto others. He then advances the
doctrine, which he and his friends maintain throughout the poem,
that misery implies guilt ; and insinuates that the wickedness of
Job was the cause of his*present afflictions. 2 — 11. In support
of his views he brings forward a revelation, which he professes to
have formerly received in a vision. This revelation asserts the
exceeding imperfection of human virtue, the absolute rectitude of
God, and the impiety of arraigning the justice of his moral
government. The oracle itself is therefore excellent. It is the
application of it, in which Eliphaz is mistaken. He has erroneous
notions of what the justice of God requires. He supposes that
it implies that all suffering must be the punishment of sin; and
he seems to condemn Job not only for his actual complaints, 'but
also for not regarding and acknowledging his afflictions to be the
merited punishment of his transgressions. 12 — 21.
In ch. v. he is more direct, as well as more severe, in hid cen
sures, and exhorts Job to humble himself before God, and repent
of his sins. He assures him that, by such a course, he may regain
his former prosperity.

14 NOTES. Ch. IV.
Ver. 5. But now affliction is come : I have thought it best to
supply the word affliction, instead of using the pronoun it without
an antecedent. The sentiment is similar to that in Terence,
And. II. i. 9.
Facile omnes, cum valemus, recta consilia segrotie damus.
Ver. 6. Is not thy fear &c : So the verse is rendered by Durell,
Doederlein, Dathe, Eichhorn, and De Wette. These words may
be understood as a friendly admonition to Job to recollect his
religious principles, and to support himself by the clearness of
his conscience. On the other hand, they may import that nogood
man would fall into despair under affliction, as he had done. There
is an appearance of art in this ambiguity. Scott.
As the substantive verb is understood, some critics prefer to
render it thus :
Was not thy fear of God thy hope ?
And the uprightness of thy ways thine expectation ?
i. e. Did not thy piety and integrity spring from the hope of re
ward—from a regard to thine own interest, rather than from the
love of God ? So Mercer, and Castalio, whose version is,
Nimirum tantum religionis, quantum expectationis ;
Quantum spei, tantum habebas nftegritatis morum.
This corresponds with the question of Satan "Is it for nought
that Job feareth God ? " Rosenmuller and Le Clerc adopt the ver
sion of Mercer, but suppose the meaning to be, " You were led,
it seems, by your opinion of your piety and integrity to cherish
high hopes and expectations. But you were deceived. Your
piety and integrity were not genuine, as is proved by your present
afflictions. For remember," &c.
Ver. 7, 8. These expressions, also, may be understood as a
consolatory argument to confirm the hope which conscious integ
rity should inspire, " Good men are sometimes chastised severely
for their crimes, but not destroyed ; calamities which end in
destruction are the • portion of the wicked only." On the other
hand, his meaning may be ; " Calamities like yours being the lot
of wicked men only, some wickedness of yours must needs have

Ch. V NOTES. 15
brought these calamities upon you ;" here then we have another
instance of artful ambiguity." Scott.
Ver. 10. Unjust and rapacious men are in Scripture frequently
called lions. See Ps. xxxiv. 10. Iviii. 6.
Ver. 16. — a gentle breeze : So the Sept. avqav xal (ptovijv tjxovov.
and so most of the critics ; et vocem quasi auree lenis audivi.
Vulgate. i
Ver. 19. Who are consumed as a garment by the moth. Lit.
They consume them, as the moth consumes a garment. So Ros.
who remarks, after Schultens and Noldius, that the particle rJJjS
often has the meaning as, like, tanquam. Thus 1 Sam. i. 16.
' Regard not thy servant as a daughter of Belial.' The Sept. has
it, (xt/to? iqonov, and the old Vulg. tanquam tinea. The Vulg.
sicut a tinea. Comp. ch. xiii. 28. Is. 1. 9. li. 8.
Ver. 20. Between morning and evening : The meaning is, They
live scarcely a single day. See Ex. xviii. 14. Isa. xxxviii. 12.
It is not the frequent occurrence of death in the course of a day,
but the shortness of man's life, that is meant to be expressed. So
Pindar, Pyth. viii. 135.
E-jiupsgoi. tl dstgig ; xi SJ ov tig ,¦
Smag ovag dv&Qtanoi.
Beings of a day ! What is man ? What is he not ?
He's the dream of a shadow !
— and none regardeth it. The destruction of mankind by death
is not regarded, or minded, by the rest of the creation. This is
only a rhetorical way of representing how insignificant a creature
man is, compared with the higher orders of beings. Scott and
Le Clerc.
Ch. V. Ver. 1. This verse is explained by Cocceius, as follows.
CaU now ; i, e. in jus voca ; call the Deity to account, bring
thy action against him. See if any one icill answer thee ; i. e.
See if the Deity will condescend to enter into a judicial contro
versy with thee, and give an account of, his dealings towards
thee. To which of the holy ones wilt thou look 1 \. e. whom

16 NOTES. Ch. V.
amongst the heavenly host wilt thou persuade to be thine advo
cate, or to take thy part in a controversy with the Almighty 1 The
words call and answer are used in this judicial sense in chap. xiii.
22, xiv. 15. and in other places. Rosenmuller explains it, " Summon
the Deity to trial, if you think it best, and call for the advocates of
your cause ; see if there be any one that will answer you, i. e.
comply with your request, and consent to be your advocate ; see
if there be any man, or angel, who will justify you, and who will
not rather confess that his goodness is as nothing before the infinite
holiness of God." Grotius and others suppose that Eliphaz, having
triumphantly produced a divine revelation in support of his views
respecting the conduct of Job, calls upon him to bring forward
something of the same kind in his defence, if he could, — to call
and see if any of the heavenly spirits would answer him, and give
a revelation in, his favour.
Ver. 2. Verily wrath destroys the fool : Wrath and repining
hasten the destruction of the foolish man, either by preying upon
his spirits, or by drawing down severe punishment from the Al
mighty upon him.
Ver. 3. I pronounced his habitation accursed, i. e. I predicted
his downfal. See Gerard's Inst. § 88?. Or, I actually witness
ed the sudden ruin of his fortunes, and pronounced his habitation
accursed. This would make the passage similar to that in Ps.
xxxvii. 35, 36.
Ver. 4. — at the gate : i. e. in the courts of justice, which used
to be held at the gates of cities. See Jahn's Archaeol. § 247.
Ver. 5. — thirsty : D'sx for rrxny, from xpy according to most
of the ancient versions. Others, robbers, from any. Ges. sup
poses it to be a noun, as in ch. xviii. 9, denoting a snare, metaph.
destruction. Ver. 6. For affliction cometh not, &,c. : The meaning appears
to be, The afflictions of life are not to be ascribed to chance,
or to merely natural causes, but to the will of Heaven.
Ver. 7. Behold, man is born to trouble : i. e. Men are born
under a law, which subjects them to sorrow as soon as they be-

Ch. VI. NOTES. 17
come transgressors. Bishop Patrick's paraphrase is, " God hath
made it as natural for man to suffer, (having offended him) as it
is for the sparks to fly upward."
Ver. 15. — oppressed : This version is obtained by altering the
points 3"i.np (from the sword) to 3"JP^, hophal participle from 31H.
This amendment of the text is adopted by Durell, Michaelis,
Dathe, Doederlein, Eichhorn, and others.
Ver. 16. — iniquity stoppeth her mouth : That is, Unrighteous
and insidious oppressors are confounded, and struck dumb, when
they see their schemes frustrated, and find themselves entangled
in the snares, which they have laid for others. See Fs. cvii.
41, 42.
Ver. 23. For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field:
That is, Thou shalt be secure from injury from the stones in walk
ing, journeying, &c. See Ps. xci. 11, 12. Or, Thy field shall be
free from stones, which would make it barren.
Ver. 24. — and not be disappointed. That is, Thou shalt find all
thy household affairs in such a condition, as meets thy best wishes
and expectations. CHAP. VI. VII.
In reply to the harsh censures and insinuations of Eliphaz, Job
justifies the boldness of his complaints by the severity of the
afflictions, which extorted them from him. 2-13. He complains
of the unkindness of his friends in pronouncing him guilty be
cause he was miserable, and in coming to him with reproaches,
instead of consolations. 14-23. He requests them to treat him
with fairness ; to examine his case, and not to condemn him on
account of his miserable condition. 24-30. He proceeds to speak
of the miseries and of the shortness of human life, from which he
passes to his own condition, and expostulates with the Deity
upon the greatness of his afflictions, and their long continuance.
Ch. vii.
Ver. 2. — my grief: That is, my distress, or my affliction. He
wishes that his afflictions, together with the distress of mind caused
by them, might be put into one scale, and weighed against the sand
12

18 NOTES. Ch. VI.
of the sea in the other. This is only a poetical way of saying
that they were insupportable. — rash : See Ges. Lexicon upon njn
Ver. 4. For the arrows : His distress, arising from his other
afflictions as well as his disease, is compared to that of a person
shot with poisoned arrows. — drinketh up my spirit. So Soph.
Trachin. 1061. thus translated by Cic. Tusc. Disp. II. 8.
Hsc me irretivit veste furiali inscium,
Qwe, lateri inhserens, morsu lacerat viscera,
Urgensque graviter pulmonum haurit spiritus;
Jam decolorem sanguinem omnem exsorbuit.
See also Luc. Phars. IX. 741. In the poem of Zohair, the
third of the Moallakat, or those transcribed in golden characters,
and suspended from the temple at Mecca on account of their ex
cellence, we meet with the same image. " Tlieir Javelins had
no share in drinking the blood of Naufel." Burder.
Ver. 5. Doth the wild ass bray &c. As the lower animals do not
complain by braying and lowing, when they have plenty of food,
so neither should I complain, were it not for the insupportable
weight of my afflictions.
Ver. 6, 7. Can that which is unsavoury &c. Men usually com
plain of their food, when it is unsavoury ; but how much greater
reason have I to complain, when I am obliged to bear those afflic
tions, at the very thought of which I used to shudder. Some critics,
however, suppose that he here lashes Eliphaz for his harangue
on the blessings of patience, and characterizes his discourse as in
sipid, impertinent, and disgusting.
Ver. 9. — let loose his hand: This term is borrowed from archery,
and is expressive of an arrow, which being drawn to the head in
a well strung bow, and the hand suddenly taken away, flies with
great rapidity to the mark aimed at. Burder.
Ver. 10. Although I am consumed with pain, and He doth not
spare : So Le Clerc, Rosl and De Wette, who derive "l|?D from
the Chaldaic l|?D, to burn. For a critical defence of this render
ing, see Ros. upon the passage. Gesenius renders it thus :

Ch. VI. NOTES. 19
Yet this is still my consolation,
Yea, in unsparing anguish I exult.
That &c.
Dathe has it :
Yet it should still be my consolation,
Yea, I would exult in anguish, though He should not spare,
For I have not &c.
The name of the Supreme Being is often omitted in this book,
and the pronoun made to supply its place. In such cases the pro
noun is printed, in this version, with a capital letter. This corres
ponds to the custom in Scotland, where they say, " May His will
be done !" " May His name be praised !" without an antecedent
to the pronoun. So in Scott's Black Dwarf, near the end of
ch. vii.
" O, my child, before you run on danger let me hear you but
say, His will be done !"
" Urge me not, mother — not now." He was rushing out, when,
looking back, he observed his grandmother make a mute attitude
of affliction. He returned hastily, threw himself into her arms,-
and said " Yes, mother, I can say His will be done, since it will
comfort you."
" May He go forth — may He go forth with you, my dear bairn ;
and O, may He give you cause to say on your return, His name be
praised !
Ver. 11. Or what mine end, that I should be patient ? That is,
How distant mine end 1 How long have I to live ? Quantus est vi
tas meae modus. Am I not so much exhausted, and brought so
near my end, as to have reason to be impatient 1 Mercier. For
the rendering, that I should be patient, see Schultens, who has
ably defended this meaning of the phrase, or Ges. upon ^x. So
also the Vulg. Syr. and Arab, versions, Quis finis mens, ut pa-
tienter agam ? Others explain the question What is mine end, as
meaning " What is the limit of my strength 1 How long will my
strength last 1 Others, What end is there to be to my miseries, &c. 1
Ver. 13. D^n is used as an adverb of exclamation in this, and
other passages. See Ges. In the Vulg. ecce ! For the render-

20 NOTES. Ch. VI.
ing deliverance, see Ges. So the Sept. ^orjd-uu Ss an c/iov anwtiv.
Arab, salus.
Ver. 14. Else: The particle 1 is so rendered in the common
version, in Ps. li. 8. Thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it.
Ver. 13-20. But my brethren &c. This simile is exquisitely
beautiful, considered as a description of a scene of nature in the
deserts of Arabia. But its principal beauty lies in the exact
correspondence or all its parts to the thing it is intended to rep
resent. The fulness, strength, and noise of these temporary
streams in winter answers to the large professions made to him by
these men in his prosperity. The drying up of the waters, at the
approach of summer, resembles the failure of their friendship in
his affliction. And the confusion of the thirsty caravans, on
finding the streams vanished, strongly illustrates his feelings, dis
appointed as he was of the relief he expected in these men's
friendly counsels. Scott. Schultens observes, that the Arabs
compare a treacherous friend to one of these torrents, and hence
say, ' I put no trust in the flowing of thy torrent ;' and, ' O tor
rent, thy flowing subsides.*
Ver. 16. Which are turbid &c. I have here supplied the word
incited, and .somewhat altered the structure of the verse. — hides
itself in them. i. e. melts, and flows into them. Scott observes that
these streams are first formed by the autumnal rains. The warmth
and rains of the spring, melting the ice and snow on the moun
tains, increase them. They then rush down into the valleys, in a
large body of turbid water, and assume the appearance of deep
rivers. The beds of these winter rivers are also called torrents.
Bishop Pococke saw several of them perfectly dry, in his journey
to Mount Sinai in the month of April. See Pococke's Travels,
Vol. I. p. 139-141.
Ver. 18. The caravans &.c. i. e. The caravans turn aside to
them with the expectation of finding a supply of water, but are dis
appointed, and obliged to pursue their journey without a supply in
the desert, where they perish with thirst. Thus it agrees, in its
general meaning, with the following verses. The word nfn^ts,

Ch. VII. NOTES. 21
caravans, is the same, which is rendered troops in the next verse,
in the common version. This explanation of the verse is satis
factorily supported by Schultens, who is followed by Ros. and
De Wette.
Ver. 25. What do your reproaches prove ? That is, What guilt
do they convict me of 1
Ver. 26. Do ye mean to censure words ? That is, Do ye think
it reasonable to carp at mere words, extorted from me by extreme
misery ? You ought to consider that a man in the extremity of
misery utters many inconsiderate expressions, which ought not to
be severely reprehended, but rather laid to the account of human
infirmity, and regarded as idle wind. So De Dieu, Dathe, Ros.
Ver. 27. Truly ye spread &c. The expressions in this verse are
proverbial, and refer to the cruelty of his friends in bringing un
founded charges against his moral character.
Ver. 28. Look now upon me, I pray you : He may be understood
literally, as requesting them to look in his face, and see if he be
trayed any signs of falsehood or guilt ; or, figuratively, as request
ing them to be more favourable to him, and to give him a hear
ing, and thus to see whether he should be found false or guilty.
Ver. 29. Return &c. i. e. to the discussion.
Ver. 30. Is there iniquity : That is, Is there any falsehood or
wickedness in what I have said, or am about to say 1 Have not I
the capacity of distinguishing right from wrong, and truth from
falsehood, as well as yourselves, and if I had said or done any
thing wrong, should I not be conscious of it 1
Ch. VII. Ver. 1. Is there not a hard service : The word N3S is
rendered warfare, in Is. xl. 2. in the common version. The
Vulg. Syr. and Arab, render it so in this verse. But I . think
with Mercier and Ges. fhat the more general signification agrees
better with the context. The same word is used to denote the
service of the Levites, Numb. iv. 4.
Ver. 5. My skin heals &c. So Ros. Ges. De Wette.

22 NOTES Ch. VII.
Ver. 7. O remember : He here turns to the Deity, and pleads
the shortness of life, as a reason why he should be relieved from
his sufferings. In v. 9, 10. he urges, for the same reason, the
certainty, that he should not return to life.
Ver. 8. Thine eyes shall look for me : See note on ver. 22.
Ver. 12. Am I a sea &c. He complains that God treated him
as though he were some furious tyrant, whom only the most severe
inflictions could restrain from exceeding the bounds of justice, and
spreading destruction among mankind. ' Am I as fierce and dan
gerous as the raging sea, or as some strong and ungovernable sea-
monster, both,of which must be restrained by great exertions, and
watched with unceasing vigilance, lest they should spread destruc
tion and death.' Michaelis thinks that by the sea Job meant the
Nile, which, when it rises beyond a certain height, becomes an
inundation and causes immense damage. Schultens quotes Arabs-
jab, an Arabic poet, who calls Tamerlane "a vast sea, swallowing
up every thing." Burder observes, " Crocodiles are very ter
rible to the inhabitants of Egypt ; when, therefore, they appear,
they watch them with great attention, and take proper precautions
to secure them, so that they may not be able to avoid the deadly
weapons afterwards used to kill them. To these watchings and
those deadly after-assaults, I apprehend Job refers."
Ver. 14. — scarest me udth dreams. So Ovid. Ex. Pont. I. n. 43.
At puto, ci!im requies, medecinaque publica curae
Somnus adest, solitis nox venit orba malis.
Somnia me terrent veros imitantia casus ,
Et vigilant sensus in mea damna mei.
Ver. 15. — rather than my life. Lit. rather than my bones, i. e.
than the wretched skeleton, which is nearly all that is left of me.
Ver. 16. I am wasting away : The Hebrew word, thus render
ed, is translated melt away, in the common version, in Ps. Iviii.
7. The Arab, according to Walton, is, Jam viribus defectus sum.
Ver. 17, 18. Job suggests, that it was beneath the character of
the infinite God to bestow so much time and attention, and such
vigilant inspection upon so insignificant a being as man ; and

Ch. VH. NOTES. 23
this for no other purpose than to mark and punish all his defects
and failures.
Ver. 19. — look away from me : That is, — turn away thine
angry countenance from me, or cease to afflict me. So xiv. 6.
" This is a metaphor drawn from combatants, who never take
their eyes off from their antagonists." Schultens. — till I have
time to breathe. I have substituted this for the proverb, which is
literally rendered in the common version, and which has been re^
tained in Arabia to the present day, by which they understand,
' Give me leave to rest after my fatigue.' There are two instances
(quoted by Schult. in loe.) in Harriraes's Narratives, entitled
the Assembly. One is of a person, who, when eagerly pressed to
give an account of his travels, answered with impatience, " Let
me swallow down my spittle, for my journey hath fatigued me."
The other instance is of a quick return made to one, who used
that proverb, " Suffer me," said the person importuned, "to
swallow down my spittle ; " to which his friend replied, " You
may, if you please, swallow down even the Tigris and Euphrates."
i. e. You may take what time you please. Burder.
Ver. 20. If I have sinned, &c. That is, ' Suppose, for a moment,
that I have sinned, yet as I can have done thee no injury, as my
sins cannot have affected thy safety or happiness, I see not why
I should be treated with such severity, and even set up for a mark,
at which thou mayst shoot thine arrows.' The particle nx, if, is
often understood. The Sept. has supplied it here, si sya> r\u,a,gtov.
So the Arab, and Syr. What have I done to thee ? i. e. What
injury have I done to thee ? The verb T\W% signifies to do an in
jury, in Ex. xiv. 11. Gen. xix. 8. xxii. 12. This sentiment agrees
better with the context, and is also found in ch. xxxv. 6. O thou
Inspector of men ? i. e. O thou that watchest men strictly, and
markest all, their sins. Dr Kennicott renders it, O thou spy upon
men ! The work 1VJ inspector, is rendered watchman, in 2 Kings
xvii. 9. in the common version ; and, in ch. xxvii. 18. of this
poem, it denotes the watchman of a vineyard, The Sept. has it,
o iniatdfievog tbv vovv tmv av&gotmoy. The same sentiment is ex
pressed in ch. x. 6. xiii. 27. and elsewhere. The word might be

24 NOTES. Ch. VIII.
rendered preserver, in another connexion, since a person sometimes
watches a thing for its preservation ; but not properly here, where
the Deity is represented as the avenger of sin. So that I have
become a burden to myself? The Sept. renders the two last lines,
Why hast thou set me up for thy mark,
And why have I become a burden to thee ?
The Hebrew copy, from which they translated, had -"pSj) instead
of ~hVT. The Masoretas also place this amongst the eighteen pas
sages, which they say were altered by transcribers, as containing
something irreverent to the Deity. But as the received text is
supported by all the versions except the Sept. and by all the Hebrew
manuscripts hitherto examined, it may be retained, notwithstand
ing the intrinsic probability that the Sept. has preserved the true
reading. Ver. 22. Soon shall I sleep in the dust : He urges the shortness
of the term of life, which yet remained to him, as a reason why
he should be relieved from his afflictions ; and he intimates, in the
latter clause of the verse, that death would, as it were, put it out
of the power of the Deity to favour him, should he relent and be
inclined to mercy, since he should be no longer in existence. So
Castalio explains it, " Nisi mihi in hac vita benefacias et condones,
non erit post mortem locus." So Poole, " When thou shalt dili
gently seek for me, that thou mayst show favour to me, thou wilt
find that I am dead and gone, and so wilt lose thy opportunity.
Help, therefore, speedily." CHAP. VIII.
In this chapter Bildad, another of Job's professed friends, comes
forward as a disputant, interrupting him in his discourse, and re
proving him with severity for the boldness of his language in re
gard to his afflictions, and for his firm protestations of his inno
cence, as if he had thereby called in question the justice of the
Deity. He holds the opinion that, under the government of a being
infinitely wise and good, afflictions cannot take place, unless for
the purposes of vindictive justice. Hence he asserts, that the
children of Job had perished on account of their wickedness,

Ch. VIII. NOTES. 25
although he had no grounds for the assertion but their ruin. He
tells Job that if he were in reality the devout and upright man he
professed to be, he would again be restored to prosperity. He
quotes a passage from an ancient poem, representing by striking
images the miserable condition of the wicked, and holds out to
Job the hope of the renewed favour of God, as the reward of re
pentance. These exhortations to repentance, addressed, as they
were, to one, whom Jehovah had pronounced an upright and good
man, are to be regarded as an indirect mode of charging him with
perverseness and guilt. Thus it appears that Bildad agrees with
Eliphaz in the opinion that misery is a decisive proof of wicked
ness. Ver. 2. — like a strong wind? The same figure is found in
Aristoph. Ran. 872. Tvcpwg yag ixflalvEiv nagaoxsvd^tui. A tem
pest of words is preparing to burst forth. So in Sil. Italicus,
XI. 581. — qui tanta superbo
Facta sonas ore, et spumanti turbine perflas
Ignorantum aures.
Ver. 6. — abode of thy righteousness. That is, the abode where
thou shalt dwell, a righteous man. Bildad insinuates, says Schul-
tens, that the dwelling of Job had hitherto been the abode of
wickedness. Ver. 7. So that thy beginning should be small : That is, Thy for
mer prosperity shall appear small, compared with that, which thou
shalt hereafter enjoy, if thou art pure and righteous. So the Sept.
"Marai ta jih ngaitoi aov oXlya. So Castalio, " Adeo ut fuerit tua
prior conditio tenuis, prae ut posterior ampliftcabitur." Thus
the poet puts into the mouth of Bildad a reference, undesigned on
his part, to what is afterwards recorded to have taken place in the
fortunes of Job : God blessed the latter end of Job more than the
beginning. Bildad had no prophetic anticipation of this, but
merely utters a general promise, naturally suggested by the subject ;
while the writer intended that it should refer to the subsequent
history of Job. The skill of the poet is manifested in this way
in several passages, and reminds one of the admirable use made
of this expedient to give interest and pathos to their compo-
13

26 NOTES. Ch. VIII.
sitions by the most celebrated Greek dramatists, as by Sophocles,
for instance, in his Oedipus Tyrannus.
Ver. 11. — paper-reed: nuitvgoq, Sept. See Ges. Weare en
tertained here, says Mr. Scott, with a specimen of the manner of
conveying moral instructions, in the oldest times of the world.
They couched their observations in pithy sentences, or wrapped
them in concise similitudes ; and cast them into metre to fix them
in the memory. Bp. Lowth mentions the words of Lamech to
his two wives, (Gen. iv. 23, 24.) as the oldest example of this
kind on record.
Ver. 17. — -fountain. So b J is rendered in the old Geneva ver
sion, and in the common version, in Cant. iv. 12. It is men
tioned, as contributing to the flourishing growth of the tree. —
and it seeth ihe place of stones, i. e. taketh deep root in the
earth. Thus the verse denotes the flourishing, and apparently
durable, condition of the wicked man. So Mercier, Doed. Ges.
See Ps. i. 3. xxxvii. 35. Jer. xvii. 8.
Ver. 18. The particle DS<, translated if in the common ver
sion, is often used for emphasis, or asseveration, and, according to
the connexion, may be rendered, truly, indeed, yea, yet, behold !
lo ! &c. or occasionally omitted. See Noldius in verb.
Ver. 19. — in his place. Lit. from the earth, or soil, from which
the tree was removed. Thus others shall fill the place and enjoy
the wealth of the wicked man, who is taken away. See xxviii. 16.
and Eccles. ii. 18. So Merc. Ros. But Dathe and Eichhorn, And
yet others shall spririg up in his place ! i. e. Other wicked
men, not deterred by his dreadful fate, shall take . his place, and
follow his example.
Ver. 21. Instead of i])_, until, it is better to alter the point, and
read "iy, yet. So Houb. Michaelis, De Wette.

Ch. IX. NOTES. 27
CHAP. IX.
In reply to Bildad, who had charged him with virtually denying
the justice of God, Job remarks that he knows full well the great
ness and holiness of God, and the weakness of man ; that no
one can be pronounced innocent in a controversy with a being
so far his superior ; and that it is idle to contend vvith one, who is
infinite in strength, and wisdom. 1-3. But he maintains that in
the distribution of happiness and misery God is an absolute sover
eign, influenced by no consideration but that of his own inscru
table and irresistible will ; that his afflictions therefore, ought not
to be attributed to the justice of God, but rather to be ranked
with those acts of Providence, which confound all our reasonings.
4-14. He says, that though he is conscious of no guilt, which
should draw down upon him the afflictions which he suffered, yet
he will not attempt to defend himself before the majesty of God ;
that he is weak ; that the contest is unequal ; that, were his
cause ever so just, he could not hope to prevail ; that though he
is conscious of innocence, yet in a controversy with God he
should be compelled to renounce his consciousness, and with his
own mouth to condemn a life, spent in the practice of virtue.
14-21. (It may be observed here, that when Job asserts his in
nocence, he does not lay claim to entire freedom from fault. He
means only that he is innocent of the charges of secret crimes,
brought against him by his friends ; that he is free from uncommon
guilt, whieh his friends held to be the cause of his great misery;
that he is, in fine, a sincere, upright man.) He affirms that mis
ery, far from being a proof of uncommon guilt, is equally the
portion of the righteous and of the wicked. 22-24. Passing to
the contemplation of his own misery, he asserts that his right
eousness avails him nothing ; that his cause cannot be brought
to a fair trial, and that the majesty and power of God reduce him
to silence. 25-35. Then with great earnestness and pathos he
expostulates with the Deity on account of his severity to the
work of his own hands, continues to assert his innocence, and
urges the shortness of the term of life, which yet remained to him,
as a reason, why he should be relieved from his miseries. Ch. x.

28 NOTES. Ch. IX.
In regard to apparent inconsistences in the language of Job, it
may be observed here, that he is represented as agitated by various
contending emotions. Fear and hope, despair and confidence,
the spirit of submission and of bold complaint, by turns have
possession of his mind, and, as either predominates, it gives of
course a character to his language. Truth in the exhibition of
opposite feelings and passions requires some inconsistency in lan
guage and sentiment. Disregard to this obvious truth led Dr Ken
nicott to propose some alterations of the text, which, if adopted,
would greatly injure the poem.
Ver. 3. If he choose : i. e. if man choose to enter into contro
versy with God.
Ver. 5. He removeth the mountains, and they know it not :
This a Heb. idiom, meaning, He removeth them suddenly, or un
expectedly ; as it were, before they i. e. the mountains are aware
of it. So in Ps. xxxv. 8. where, in the Hebrew, the expression
' at unaivares, is ' let him not know.' Schultens remarks that the
same idiom occurs frequently in the Coran.
Ver. 6. — the pillars thereof : The earth is represented as an
edifice, supported by pillars, resting on foundations, having a cor
ner stone, &c. Se ch. xxxviii. 4, 5, 6. Earthquakes seem to
make these pillars tremble.
Ver. 7. He commandeth Sfc. Some suppose the allusion is to
the effects of an eclipse : Others, to those of a continued storm, as
in Acts xxvii. 20 ; and others, that he asserts that light and dark
ness depend upon God ; that, if he forbid, the sun and the stars
cease to shine.
Ver. 8. — walketh upon the high waves : The Egyptian hiero
glyphic for what was not possible to be done, was a man walking
on the water. Burder.
Ver. 9. Arcturus, Orion, Pleiades. The Hebrew names are
Ash, Chesil, and Chimah. See note upon ch. xxxviii. 31, 32.
secret chambers of the south, i. e. the remotest regions of the
south, the constellations of which are invisible to the inhabitants
of the northern hemisphere.

Ch. IX. NOTES. 29
Ver. 11. This verse may, and perhaps should, be rendered
as follows : Lo ! he falleth upon me, but I see him not,
He rusheth against me, but I perceive him not.
The Hebrew words "I3JJ and ^Sn are used in the Scriptures in
both senses, as any one may see by consulting Ges., and the
passages to which he refers. The rendering of the common
version, which I retain, will suit the connexion nearly as well
as this, if we understand the meaning to be, ' God is invisible to
me, and therefore I cannot possibly avoid the wounds, which he
may choose to inflict upon me.' It may, however, be understood as
a general account of the manner in which God works. He
is invisible, however near us ; though constantly performing the
most wonderful operations around us, he cannot be seen.
Ver. 13. God will not turn away his anger : That is, on account
of any opposition, which may be made to it. Dei irrevocabilis
ira est. Castalio.
Ver. 15. J would not answer : The word is used in a judicial
sense, and means, ' I would not undertake to make my defence.'
Ver. 16. Should 1 call, and he make answer to me : The words
N?pT and rujj are supposed by Schultens, and by most critics since
his time, to be used in a judicial sense. " Si in jus vocarem, ut
actor, et responderet mihi compellatus, seque sisteret." If, as
plaintiff, I should summon him to trial, and he should make answer,
and consent to stand as defendant, I could scarcely believe it ;
for although I am conscious of uprightness, yet, from the severe
afflictions under which I suffer, I have reason to conclude that he
will act no other part towards me than that ofi an absolute sover
eign, who will give no account of his doings.
Ver. 19. If 1 look to strength Sfc. This mode of rendering
the verse, adopted by Ros. and De Wette, appears to be the best.
See Jer. xlix. 19. 1. 44. If, however, we adopt the various read
ing, found in the Sept. and Syr. 1 instead of \ we may translate,
If I look to strength, lo, he is strong !
If to justice, who shall summon him to trial ?

30 NOTES. Ch. IX.
Thus Dathe and Eichhorn render the verse.
Ver. 20. 21. Though I am upright fyc : The meaning probably
is, Though I am conscious of no guilt, and though my cause is
just, yet, were I as pure as an angel, I should not be able to sustain
myself, and make good my defence before the brightness of the
divine majesty ; notwithstanding the testimony of my conscience,
I should be obliged to confess ignorance of my own soul, and con
demn my life, although spent in the practice of virtue and piety.
So Castalio, Schultens, and Rosenmuller.
Ver. 24. — cover eth the face of the judges: Either, God treats
them as condemned malefactors, overwhelming them with calam
ities, disgrace, and ruin, himself being one example of this melan
choly truth. Scott. See 2 Sam. xv. 30. Est. vii. 8. Jer. xiv. 3.
Is. xxii. 17. Mark xiv. 65. Thus the meaning of the verse will be,
" God commonly advances wicked men to honour and power, and
casts down men of true worth and virtue from their seats." Or,
to cover the face of the judges may have the same meaning as the
phrase to blind their eyes, so that they are partial, unjust, and
oppressive. If it be not He, who is it ? So the Sept, u Ss /if
avxoq soxi, xk ioriv ,- If it be not God, who doth the strange things,
which I have mentioned, who is it, that doth them ?
Ver. 25. My days have been swifter than the courier; 8fc.
Time and enjoyment, that are succeeded by great misery, appear
as an instant that is past. The depth of his present affliction
makes him forget his former prosperity, and to say that he had
seen no good during his life. " The common pace of travelling in
the east is very slow. Camels go little more than two miles an
hour. Those, who carried messages in haste, moved very differ
ently. Dromedaries, a sort of camel which is exceedingly swift,
are used for this purpose ; and Lady M. W. Montague asserts,
that they far outrun the swiftest horses. Lett. II. 65. There are
also messengers who run on foot, and who sometimes go an hun
dred and fifty miles in less than twenty-four hours ; with what
energy then might Job say, My days are swifter than the courier.
Instead of passing away with a slowness of motion like that of
a caravan, my days of prosperity have disappeared with a swift
ness like that of a messenger carrying dispatches." Harrier.

Ch. IX. NOTES. 31
Ver. 27. 28. If I say, Sfc : That is, If I resolve within my
self that I will cease complaining, and endeavour to be more
cheerful, I find all such endeavours vain ; for if my griefs be sus
pended for a short time, yet my fears continue ; for thou, O God,
wilt not clear my innocence, by removing those afflictions, which
make them judge me guilty of some great crime. Poole.
Ver. 29. I shall be found guilty, Sfc; That is, Whether I be
holy or wicked, if I dispute with thee, I shall be found guilty.
Why then should I trouble myself with clearing mine innocency.
Poole. Or, I must pass for a wicked person ; I am treated as such
by God, and condemned by man. All my labour, therefore, to
clear myself will be to no purpose.
Ver. 30. If I wash, Sfc ; By washing himself &c. and clean
sing his hands, &c. he asserts the purity of his heart, and
innocence of his life. Thus Zophar understood him, " Thou
hast said, " My speech is pure ; I am clean in thine eyes." The
Psalmist also declares his own integrity in terms somewhat sim
ilar ; I" have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in
innocency. Ver. 31. Still wilt thou plunge me fyc. The meaning is, that
his calamities would cause him to be looked upon by all his intimate
friends as an abominable wretch, smitten of God, and accursed. No
protestations of innocence, no appeals, no defence whatever, could
overcome that prejudice against him. — my own clothes : This
circumstance is added, I imagine, as a heightening of the image
of impurity ; to represent more strongly the infamy, with which
his character was blackened by his overthrow. Scott.
Ver. 32. For he is not Sfc. That is, He is infinitely superior to
me in majesty and power, so that I cannot venture to answer him,
i. e. to debate my cause with him, or to answer his allegations
against me ; neither can we go together into judgment, i. e. meet
each other face to face, and plead upon equal terms before a su
perior and indifferent judge.
Ver. 33. Who may lay his hand upon us both. i. e. who may
have authority and power to control either of us, who shall ex-

32 NOTES. Ch. X.
eeed the limits of propriety in the controversy, and also to oblige us
to stand to his decision.
Ver. 34. — his rod : i. e. my present afflictions. — his terrors :
i. e. the terror of his majesty and power.
Ver. 35. — and not be afraid of him ; i. e. as an opponent
in a judicial controversy. I should not fear but that I should be
able to make good my cause, and prove my innocence. For I
am not conscious of guilt. Lit. For I am not so with myself, i. e.
as to have any reason to fear the result of debating my cause
with him upon equal terms. So Schult. Le Clerc. Ros. ov yag
ovvsmazttfiai s/iuvxig adixov. Sept.
Ch. X. Ver. 1. — give myself up fife. Lit. let loose complaint
upon myself.
Ver. 2. Do not condemn me; That is, Do not pronounce me guilty,
and punish me with such severity, without showing me where
in I have offended, and what I have done to deserve my sufferings.
Ver. 4-7. Hast thou Sfc. The origin of our knowledge is from
sensation. We judge by appearances. Sensual passions bias
our judgment. , Human life is short. We are obliged to study
characters in order to know them ; and are prone to use violent
means to force confession from suspected persons. But none of
these imperfections can belong to an Eternal Being. God there
fore had no need of such methods to discover whether Job was a
wicked man. This is the argument in these verses. Scott.
Schultens supposes that by eyes of flesh are meant eyes of envy,
as if Job had said, Was I, on account of my prosperity, an object of
envy even to thee ? But it is as well to understand the phrase to
express fallibility and imperfeotion. The same critic supposes the
unchangeableness of the Deity to be referred to in the question,
Are thy days as the days of a mortal ? As if Job had said, Art
thou fickle and inconstant, a friend to day, a foe tomorrow &,c 1
But this is not a very obvious sense of the words, though it well
suits the context.

Ch. X. NOTES. 33
Ver. 8. Thine hands did make me : His argument now is, that
it looks like caprice to bestow great skill and labour on a work,
and then, on a sudden, and without just cause, dash it in pieces.
This is what he meant also in verse 3. Is it a pleasure to thee . . .
to despise the work of thy hands ? Scott.
Ver. 9. O remember fyc*. Here he pleads the common mortality.
He must soon die, as all other men ; what occasion then for so
much torture to dispatch him 1 Scott.
Ver. 10-12. The argument, in these verses, is taken from God's
creating and providential goodness towards him, as not being
consistent with his present treatment of him. Scott.
Ver. 13. Yet these things thou didst lay up in thy heart ; By
these things he means his calamities ; and insinuates that God had
given him being with a secret purpose to make him miserable ;
and had advanced him so high in order to render his fall the more
terrible. Scott. — in thy mind ; literally, with thee ; a phrase
repeatedly used in this book, and in other parts of scripture, to
denote what was in the mind of God, i. e. what was his in
tention, or purpose. See chap. xiv. 5. xxiii. 14. Ps. 1. 11.
John xvii. 5.
Ver. 15. If I am wicked, as my friends suppose me, then am
I indeed undone ! yet though I am righteous, I derive no benefit
from it. It is all one, whether I am good or bad. — beholding my
affliction, nsp is in the infinitive absolute, the finite verb being
understood ; So Merc. Ros. See also Stuart's Gram. § 199. Or,
as Gesenius calls it, a verbal adjective.
Ver. 16. If I lift it up : literally, If it be lifted up : So Ges.
Eich. Dath. Si attollam me :' Arab, and Syr. — thou huntest me
as a lion. The allusion, in this and the following verse, is to that ¦
manner of hunting the lion, wherein the hunters, armed with,
spears and javelins, formed themselves in a ring about the beast,
and threw their weapons at him one after another. By this im
age Job represents, in lively colours, the violent and rapid succes
sion of his calamities. Scott. Another explanation is, " Thou
huntest me, as a furious lion pursues his prey ; but, whereas the
14

34 NOTES. Ch. X.
lion tears his prey speedily, and so ends its torments, thou renewest
my calamities again and again. So Mercier, Poole, Ros.
Ver. 17. Thou renewest thy witnesses ; i. e. thy judgments —
my afflictions, which my friends regard as an evidence of wicked
ness. New hosts : lit. changes and a host, by the figure Hen-
diadys, for hosts constantly recruited. Or, changes may mean
afflictions ; and the sense may be, a host of afflictions. According
to the former rendering, new hosts figuratively denote miseries
constantly succeeding each other. Exercitus immutas contra me.
Arab, and Syr.
Ver. 18. 19. Why then fyc. But for thine agency I should have
perished, unseen and unknown, and have avoided ray present
misery and disgrace. So in Euripides Troad. 631. Andromache
exclaims, To pr) ytrio-d-ai xto 3-avslv Vaov Xsyai'
Tov £rp> Se Xvngtog xguooor ioti xax&wuv.
AXyti yag ovSsv xwr xaxav yaxrrjtisrog'
O S svxvxr\oag, ig xo Svarvxh nsadiv,
Wvxrjv aXaxai T7js ndgoi& iVTigaUag.
Kslrrj 8 ojioliag, wansg ovx iSovace <pH>g,
Ti-dvrjxs, xovSh oiSs tav aur^? xaxwv.
Ver. 20. Are not my days few ? 4?c. That is, my life is short
and hastens apace to an end. Do not then continue my afflictions
to the last moment of my existence. Let the very short term of
life, which remains to me, be a season of rest and enjoyment.
Ver. 21. 22. Before I go — whence I shall not return — These
verses contain a descriptien of sheol, or hades, the place of the
dead. So Sen. Here. Furens, 861.
Stat chaos densum, tenebraeque turpes,
Et color noctis malus, ac silentis
Otium mundi, vacuaeque nubes.
Sera nos illo referat senectiis.
Nemo ad id sero venit, unde nunquam,
Cum semel venit, potuit reverti.

Ch. XI. NOTES. 35
CHAP. XI.
In this chapter Zophar the Naamathite, the third of Job's
friends, comes forward in reply to him. He censures him with
severity, as guilty of using vain, arrogant, and irreverent language
in his bold protestations of his innocence, and in his loud com
plaints of unkind treatment from the Almighty. 1-4. He speaks
of the unfathomable counsels, and infinite knowledge ofthe Deity,
and, like his predecessors in the controversy, intimates plainly that
the sufferings of Job were the punishment of wickedness, which
the Deity had seen in him, and of which he might easily con
vict him. 5—12. He assures him that, if he would put away his
wickedness, he might hope to regain his former prosperity ; at the
same time threatening him with severe judgments, if he should
continue in his sins.
Ver. 3. Shall thy lies : i. e. thy false assertions respecting thine
innocence, and concerning the ways of providence.
Ver. 4. Thou sayest, My speech, or discourse, is pure ; For
thou pretendest not to have offended in word or deed, and that God
himself can find no reason to condemn thee. Patrick. See x.
7. Instead of my speech the Sept. renders my deeds, and the Syr.
my course of life ; But npS is not used in this sense in other parts of
Scripture. See Ges.
Ver. 6. Wisdom far higher than ( thou canst comprehend! I
have taken the liberty to paraphrase what I suppose to be the
literal meaning, For he has twice as much wisdom ; i. e. as thou
canst comprehend, or, as thou possessest. See Ros. Ges. God
forgiveth many of thine iniquities. With Ros. and Ges. I take
n$J in the sense to forget. God causeth thee to forget of thine
iniquities, i. e. forgiveth a part of them.
Ver. 7. — secret counsels of God? See Ipn in Ges. secretum
Dei. Arab, inquisitionem Dei. Syr.
Ver. 8. Deeper than hell, i. e. than sheol or hades, the place
of the dead without distinction of character. See note upon
xxvi. 6.
Ver. 10. If He apprehend, and bind, and bring to tried. So
Eich. De Wette. Ros. The judgments of God upon the wicked

36 NOTES Ch. XL
are here represented by figurative language drawn from the arrest,
imprisonment, and trial of a criminal. The word L7Tij?l',:» ren
dered and bring to trial, means, literally, and gather together, as
in the common version ; it refers to the ancient custom of gather
ing an assembly of the people for the trial of a criminal. See
Prov, v. 14. Ezek. xvi. 39, 40. xxiii. 46. Who shall oppose
him ? i. e. Who can turn him from his purpose by force, or by
argument. Ver. 11. He seeth iniquity, when they do not observe it. The
words }}i3JV vh\ have been explained in a great variety of ways.
I suppose the verb to refer, by an enallage of number, to the un
righteous, in the preceding line, or to man understood; and that
the meaning is, that God sees iniquities of which the thoughtless
and wicked person, who commits them, has no knowledge. In
this, as in the next verse, I suppose Zophar to make general re
marks with particular reference to the case of Job, who had so
boldly asseited his innocence. Eichhorn renders the clause, He
seeth iniquities, which no one else observes ; and Michaelis and
Doederlein, He seeth secret iniquities ; ra xginxa xijg aSixlag. Ros.
He seeth iniquity, but they have no understanding. Cocceius,
He seeth iniquity without attending to it, i. e. without any effort
of attention, — without looking carefully for it. Dathe, He seeth
iniquity, though he may not seem to observe it..
Ver. 12. But vain man fyc. So Le Clerc and Ges. This was
probably a proverbial apophthegm, designed to express the per-
versenesss and folly, which are engrained in the heart of man,
and to divest himself of which is almost as difficult as for the colt
of the wild ass to assume the properties of humanity. It was
probably intended, in this case, as a censure of the supposed per
verseness of Job. Mercier, Ros. and De Wette adopt a different
version, expressing the same general meaning, viz.
But vain man is destitute of wisdom,
Since man is born a wild ass's colt.
They suppose 33V to be used in a privative sense, as the word
is used in Piel in Cant. iv. 9. " Thou hast deprived me of my
heart; as it were, Thou hast hearted me. Upon which Gesen.

Ch. XI. NOTES. 37
remarks, that there is no instance, in which the privative signifi
cation of Piel is transferred to Niphal. Schujtens and Dathe
render, Let then vain man be wise,
And the wild ass's colt become a man.
According to this version, the loild ass's colt is used figuratively
for a perverse and obstinate man.
Ver. 15. Then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot ; He
describes the happy change of his condition by its effects in his
countenance ; contrasting his present dejected face, sullied and
disfigured by terror, grief, and tears, with the look he shall then
assume, erect, firm, and clear as the polished mirror. He may
refer to the words of Job, x. 15. I dare not lift up my head.
Scott. Ver. 1 7. Now thou art in darkness : So Merc. Schult. Ges.
ch. x. 22. Amos. iv. 13. The Chald. has it, Obscuritas ten-
ebrarum quasi lux matutina erit. The Syr. Et caligo sicut aurora
erit. Ver. 18. Thou shalt be secure fyc. That is, Thou shalt feel
secure that thy prosperity will be permanent, on account of the
bright hopes, which present themselves. Now thou art disappoint
ed Spc : See Ges. The Sept. has it. ix Ss (isgijivrig xal cpgovt ISog
avaqtavuxai sigrrtj.
Ver. 19. Thou shalt lie down Sfc. A metaphor borrowed from
flocks, lying down in the pastures. As in Ps. xxiii. He maketh
me to lie down in green pastures. Merc. Schult.
Ver. 20. But the eyes of the wicked shall be wearied out . i. e.
by anxiously looking for relief from their miseries. Theirhope is but
abreath. W$) n3D, a puff of breath, which passes away in a mo
ment without recovery. So Le Clerc, Doed. Ros. Or the ren
dering ofthe common version maybe retained, meaning, They
expect no deliverance from their miseries but in death.

38 NOTES. Ch. XII.
CHAP. XII. XIII. XIV.
Job begins his reply to Zophar, and his other friends, with a
severe sarcasm upon the airs of superiority, which they had as
sumed ; and complains that he had become the object of their
contempt, for no other reason than his miserable condition. 1-5.
He reasserts his opinion respecting the point in dispute, maintain
ing that the worst of men, far from receiving the punishmenu
which they deserve, often live in the enjoyment of ease and
prosperity. 6. They had spoken to him of the wisdom and
power of God, as if he were entirely ignorant of the subject.
Hence he is led to say that what they had advanced on this topic
is trite and obvious ; and to discourse upon the power and
providence of God in a style of eloquence well suited to make
them ashamed of their pretensions to superior intelligence. This
discourse may be designed to illustrate generally the power and
wisdom of God, as contrasted with the weakness of man ; and also
to show that, in the distribution of good and evil, God acts from his
sovereign will and pleasure alone, and not, as the opponents of
Job contended, from a regard to the merit or demerit of men ; that
he treats the righteous and the wicked alike ; and consequent
ly, that nothing which he or they might advance on the subject
of the wisdom and power of God could prove him guilty ; or
that his misery was the punishment of his sins. 7-25. He longs to
transfer his cause from partial and misjudging man to the omnis
cient and righteous judge, confident that, if he could have an op
portunity of pleading his cause before him, he should not fail to
vindicate his innocence, xiii. 1-3. He accuses his friends of par
tiality and injustice ; of taking part against him from selfish motives,
and a slavish fear of God's power, rather than from honest convic
tion, and a disinterested regard to God's honour. 4-11. With the
most earnest protestations of innocence, the most fervent appeals
to the Deity in regard to the justice of his cause, and the most
pathetic description of his sufferings, he closes ch. xiii. He then
proceeds to give an affecting view of the miseries of human life,
especially insisting upon the shortness of it, as a reason why man
should be exempted from constant and extraordinary sufferings.

Ch. XII. NOTES. 39
xiv. 1-6. He complains that man's condition is worse than that
of the vegetable creation ; since the plants, when the hand of
death has apparentiy been upon them, come forth again with ren
ovated beauty ; but that to pass from a life of wretchedness to the
never-ending sleep of death is a condition too hard to be borne.
He intimates that if he had the hope of a second life, he might be
encouraged to bear with patience his heavy load of afflictions, in
the hope that, at some future time, a favourable change in his condi
tion might take place. But not entertaining this hope, he implores
the Deity to grant him a trial, so that his true character may
appear before he dies ; and earnestly expostulates with the Deity
on account of his dealings towards him. 7-20.
This chapter, as well as many passages scattered through the
poem, renders it highly probable, either that Job had no belief in
the resurrection of the dead, or in a future state of existence
equally desirable with the present life ; or, that the author of the
poem excluded from it all regard to a future state, as inconsistent
' with its general plan and design. It contains several assertions
of man's utter annihilation. It is true, that if we make some '
allowance for the language of strong emotion in wliich he expres- /
ses himself, we may suppose that he had some vague notions of/
the existence of the disembodied spirit in the interior of the earth,
such, for instance, as prevailed amongst the ancient Greeks ; an
existence wholly undesirable, and offering no equivalent for the
loss of present enjoyments, and of the present life. But the lan
guage of this chapter appears to be wholly inconsistent with tlie
supposition that he had any expectation of a desirable existence
after death. It was reserved for the Prince of life, the author
and finisher of our faith, to bring the glad tidings of great joy to
the aching hearts of men — to bring life and immortality to light.
Some critics have endeavoured to lessen the force of Job's
express denials of a future life, in this chapter, by the remark that
he only meant that he could not hope to live again in the present
world ; but that he might still have believed that he should exist
hereafter in a better world. I admit that a second life in this
world was what he intended to deny ; but I think it was because
the idea of a desirable existence in any other place had never

40 NOTES. Ch. XII.
entered his mind. Heaven he evidently regards as the abode of
Jehovah and his angels alone ; and hades as a place of gloom
and horrour. If, as he asserts, the hope of living again in this
world would have afforded him consolation and comfort under his
afflictions, then surely the hope of a happier state of being than
the present life, might have afforded him still greater comfort and
consolation. How can it possibly be accounted for, that he should
sink into despair because he could not hope to enjoy the doubtful
good of living again in this world of sin and misery, whilst, at
the same time, he believed in the existence of a world of happi
ness and purity, to which the righteous were to be admitted ? See
note upon Ch. xix. 25.
Ver. 1. — the people : i. e. the only rational people; ye have
engrossed all the wisdom in the world, and all others are mere
brutes, or fools.
Ver. 4. I, who call upon God, that he toould answer me ! i. e.
I, who am so conscious of my uprightness, that I am not afraid to
appeal to God, and to desire that my cause may be brought to tri
al, and that the Deity would bring his charges against me, and
show me the reasons of my afflictions. The words call and an
swer, or at least the latter, being used in a judicial sense, as in
ix. 16. xiii. 22. xxxi. 35. Dathe, however, gives the same trans
lation as the preceding, but understands the words in their com
mon acceptation. Schultens has it, " I, who call upon God. i. e.
for trial, and am ready to answer him ! In regard to the change of
persons in the Heb., see Ges. Heb. Gram. § 217. n. 3. Rosen
muller supposes that Job, in reference to the assurances of his
friends, that if he would call upon God, he would be delivered
from his calamities, exclaims,
A man that is become a laughing stock to his neighbour,
as I am,
Call upon God, and have an answer from him !
The innocent and upright man is held in derision.
Ver. 5. He that is ready to slip 6fc. i. e. A man in adversity is
despised by the prosperous, as a torch, which is valued while it af-

Ch. XH. NOTES. 41
fords a bright light, but is thrown away as a nuisance, when its
flame is extinguished.
Ver. 7-9. These verses are, probably, to be regarded as a con
tinuation of verse 3 ; the intermediate verses being parenthetical.
In reference to the discourse of Zophar, who had spoken, with
considerable parade, of the wisdom of God, and had affected to
consider Job as ignorant of it, or as having called it in question,
he remarks that what Zophar wished to teach him was so obvious,
that it was known to the lower animals, and might be learned from
them. They knew that God created the world by his wisdom,
and that he governed it with absolute dominion. Schultens, De
Wette, Mercier, Cocceius, and Ros. adopt the same general view
of the passage. Others suppose the meaning to be, that in the
distribution of happiness and misery, God is so far from having
a regard to moral distinctions, that even of the lower animals the
mischievous and rapacious fare well, while the useful and gentle
meet with harsh treatment from man, or are the prey of the rapa
cious of their own kind.
Ver. 9. Who among all these : i. e. these irrational creatures.
They are represented in the preceding verses, as teaching, de
claring, fyc. and in this verse as knowing the wisdom and power of
God. — hath made these things ; i.. e. the heaven and earth and all
things therein, to which Job may be supposed to have directed
the attention of his hearers by the motions of his hands, or of his
eyes. So Schult. and Cocc. Thus Job declares that the wisdom
of God is so plain, that all nature, as it were, feels and acknowl
edges it ; but he means to deny that this has any thing to do with
the question of his guilt or innocence.
Ver. 11. 12. Doth not the ear Sfc. i. e. As the palate distin
guishes the sweet from the bitter, so the ear, or rather the mind
by the ear, discerns truth and falsehood in discourse ; and wisdom
is the attribute of age and experience. The connexion and ap
plication of these proverbial maxims are by no means so clear as
their general meaning. It is probable that he means by them, to
censure his friends for not hearing and weighing his observations
with more candour and impartiality. In verse 13th, Rosenmuller
15

42 NOTES. Ch. XII.
supposes that he alludes to his own age, as a reason why he should
be heard with more attention and deference. See xv. 10. Others,
that he refers to the age of his friends, as a reason why he should
expect better things of them, than to have his reasoning misunder
stood and perverted ; or, as a reason why they should hear the
following discourse with attention and candour. See ch. xxxiv. 3.
Ver. 14. Lo ! he putteth down fyc. None can repair what he
tears down, whether houses, castles, or cities. He bindeth fyc. i. e.
None can extricate the man, whom he casts into difficulties and
straits. Patrick. See ch. xxxvi. 8.
Ver. 15. Lo ! he withholdeth the waters : whether from the
clouds, or springs. — and they are dried up. The waters may be
said, in a popular sense, to be dried up, when they cease to exist
in their fountains, and when the heavens seem to be changed into
brass, and the earth into iron, according to the expression in Deut.
xxviii. 23. — he sendeth them forth. This clause describes an inun
dation, such as might happen, in Job's country, from the torrents
caused by too great an abundance of rain. Scott.
Ver. 16. The deceived and the deceiver t A proverbial expres
sion, says Gesenius, denoting every description of men. — are his;
i. e. all alike depend upon him for their powers ; the subtle and
the weak are alike subject to his control, and subservient to the
purposes of his providence.
Ver. 17. He leadeth counsellors away captive : Statesmen, who
promised themselves success and .victory, as the result of their
plans, he disappoints and leads into captivity ; and judges he de
prives of their peculiar attribute, reason or discernment. Or,
judges may denote rulers, whom he infatuates, and leads to the
adoption of measures, which end in their own ruin.
Ver. 18. He dissolveth 8rc. i. e. He dethroneth kings, and
leadeth them, bound in chains, into servitude. So Mer. Schult.
Ges. But Dathe, renders the verse,
He looseth the girdle of kings,
And he encircleth their loins with a belt.
i. e. He takes away their authority, and he invests them with it.

Ch. XII. NOTES. 43
But usage does not favour this explanation, as Ros. observes. See
Gen. xiii. 24. Judg. xv. 13. Ps. cxlix. 8.
Ver. 19. And overihroweih the mighty : i. e. the mighty men
of war, in batde.
Ver. 20. He sealeth up the lips : literally, He taketh away the
Jips. The patriotic orators, in the general distraction of their
country, are no longer able to exert their eloquence ; and the sa
gacity of long experience can suggest no good counsel.
Ver. 21. — princes : The Hebrew is a different word from that
which is translated princes, in ver. 19. It denotes persons of a
noble, generous temper, and is rendered liberal in Is. xxxii, 5, 8.
Even this benevolent character cannot protect the possessor of it
in general calamities. This reminds me of the unhappy fate of the
good Axylus, so movingly described by Homer, VI. 12. Scott.
Next Teuthras' son distained the sands with blood,
Axylus, hospitable, rich, and good :
In fair Arisbe's walls (his native place)
He held his seat ; a friend to human race.
Fast by the road, his ever-open door
Obliged the wealthy, and relieved the poor.
To stern Tydides now he falls a prey,
No friend to guard him in the dreadful day!
Breathless the good man fell, and by his side
His faithful servant old Calesius died. Pope-
And weakeneth the strength of the mighty. As the common
version thus expresses in plain language the meaning of what I
suppose to be the correct rendering, He looseth the girdle of the
mighty, it needs not be altered. As the orientals wore long and
flowing robes, they were unfit for fighting, or for any kind of ao"
tive service, until they had girded up their loins. Hence to loose
the girdle of a person is to take away his strength, or power of re
sisting an enemy. So Merc, and Ros. But Schultens and others
suppose the girdle to be a badge of office ; and that to loose it
means to deprive those who wore it of their dignity and honours.
Ver. 22. He revealeth deep things out of darkness. Some un
derstand this as a general remark, setting forth the infinite knowl-

44 NOTES. Ch. XIII.
edge and power of God, who can bring to light the most secret
things. As in Mat. x. 26. So Merc. ' Others suppose particular
secrets are referred to, such as plots, conspiracies, or the deep laid
plans of princes. Others, the hidden designs of God himself,
which in course of time are brought to light.
Ver. 24, 25. He taketh away fyc. : Divine infatuation of the
governing powers is here described in forcible language, and strik
ing resemblances. In their confusion, mistakes, perplexity, and
distress, they resemble persons, who have lost themselves in the
Arabian solitudes, without a path, without a way-mark, without a
light to guide them : and their irresolution and unstable counsels
are like the reeling motions of a drunken man. Scott.
Ch. XIII. Ver. 3. —forgers of lies : i. e. in maintaining that
great afflictions are peculiar to the wicked ; and that I am guilty
because I am miserable.
Ver. 8. Will ye accept his person ? i. e. Will ye utter false
hoods from partiality to him 1
Ver. 9. Will it be well for you, if he search you thoroughly ?
i. e. If he search you thoroughly, will he not find that your con
demnation of me has sprung, not so much from honest conviction,
as from the selfish desire of winning his favour ?
Ver. 11. Doth not his majesty make you afraid? i. e. Is it not
a slavish fear of what God can do to you, that induces you to con
demn me without proof 1
Ver. 14. Come what will — 1 will carry my flesh in my teeth.
So Schult. Ros. and De Wette. The meaning is, I will maintain
my integrity at all events, even at the risk of my life. This is
the meaning of the proverbial expressions in both clauses of the
verse. Ver. 15. 7" have no hope : This is the literal rendering of the
received text. The common version adopts the various reading I'S
in him, instead of that of the text N'S, not. I prefer the latter, as
the more difficult reading, and yet quite as well suited to the con
text.

Ch.XIV. NOTES. 45
Ver. 16. This also shall be my defence: An opportunity of ap
pearing before God, and pleading my cause, will lead to my de
liverance, i. e. to my vindication from the charges of wickedness
and guilt, which have been brought against me. For an unright
eous man will not come before him, i. e. For I shall not go before
him, an unrighteous man. Others suppose the meaning to be, My
readiness to appear before God, and to plead my cause before him,
ought to be considered a proof of my innocence ; for no unright
eous man would dare to do it.
Ver. 22. Then call upon me &lc. These expressions import
that he aimed to dispute his cause, not merely before God, as a
judge, but with God, as a party. Scott.
Ver. 26. For thou writest : a judicial term, referring to the cus
tom of writing the sentence of a person condemned, i. e. decreeing
his punishment. See Ps. cxlix. 9. Jer. xxii. 30. John xix. 22. So
the Greeks used the expression ygdqjsa-trai Slxijv; and amongst the
Arabs, a writing is a term commonly used for a judicial sentence.
Ver. 27. Thou watchest all my paths, i. e. all the paths, by-
whieh I might escape. The allusion is to a prisoner, who is not
only fettered, or in the stocks, but closely watched by sentinels.
And drawest a mark about my feet, i. e. a certain circle, beyond
which thou wilt not suffer me to pass. Ros. See Lam. iii. 8, 9.
Ver 28. And I: literally, And he: Upon this change of per
sons in the Hebrew, see Ges. Heb. Gram. § 217. Storr's Observ.
§ 23. The Greek idiom, by which xwSs arSgiis used for iftol, has
some resemblance to it.
Ch. XIV. Ver. 1. The following lines are quoted by Dr. Good,
as from a well known production of Lord Bacon :
The world's a bubble, and the Ufe of man
Less than a span.
In his conception wretched, from the womb
So to the tomb.
Curst from the cradle, and brought up to years
With cares and fears.
Who then to frail mortality shall trust,
But limna the water, or but writes in dust.

46 NOTES. Ch. XIV.
Ver. 3. And dost thou fix thine eyes upon such an one ? This
expression denotes in Zech. xii. 4. to look angrily at another.
Scott. It refers here probably to vigilant inspection for the sake
of discovering faults. And dost thou bring me into judgment with
thee ? i. e. Dost thou treat me as a criminal, and decree against
me severe punishments ?
Ver. 4. Who can produce a clean thing from an unclean ? He
now pleads for lenity on account of the natural weakness of man's
moral powers. Who can expect so frail and weak a being as man
to be without faults 1 Who can expect frail man to be as pure as
an angel 1 Vitiis sine nemo nascitur.
Ver. 6. Till he shall, as a hireling, have completed his day. To
complete, or accomplish, is a less common meaning of HX'i, but not
without support. See Lev. xxvi. 34, 41, 43. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 21.
Is. xl. 2. Others render, Until, as a hireling, he shall rejoice in
his day, i. e. the day of his death. Let him be exempt from af
flictions during the common short term of human life, until, weary
and worn with service, he shall rejoice in the day of his death, as a
hireling rejoices in the day of his release from service. Schultens
renders, ; — that he may rest
So as to enjoy, as a hireling, his day.
i. e. that he may enjoy his term of life at least to that degree, in
which the hireling enjoys his term of service. The Sept. favours
this mode of translating the verse. Anoota an avtov iva yovxdaij,
xal tvSoxrjorj avxov xov (llov, toonsg o piod-taxog.
Ver. 7-12. Compare the well known passage of Moschus :
Ja a'i, xal fiaXdxai fiiv inav xaxo\ xanov oXoavxai,
"H xct xXtoga oiXiva, xo, t s-i&aXsg oi/Xov avtj&ov,
"Torsgov av £tiovxi, xal sig ¥tog aXXo tpvovxi.
"A/ifieg 8', ol fieydXoi xal xagnsgol ij aoyol uvSgtg,
'Onnoxs ngatxa S-avcofisg, avaxooi iv x&ovl y.oiXn
EvSopzg si (idXa fiaxgov axigfiova vqygsxov vnyov.
Epitaph. Bion. V. 105.

Ch. XIV. NOTES. 47
The meanest herb we trample in the field,
Or in the garden nurture, when its leaf,
At Winter's touch, is blasted, and its place
Forgotten, soon its vernal buds renews,
And, from short slumber, wakes to Ufe again.
Man wakes no more ! — man, valiant, glorious, wise,
When death once chills him, sinks in sleep profound,
A long, unconscious, never-ending sleep. Gisborne.
See also, in Dr. Beattie's Hermit, the verse beginning,
'Tis night, and the landscape is lovely no more :
Ver. 10. — and he is gone forever ! t^O'l. This word means to
be so entirely prostrated, overthrown, or weakened, as not to be able
to recover. Man, when dead, has no strength, or vital princi
ple remaining in him, by which he can, like a tree that is felled,
return to life. A more literal rendering, such as pass away, waste
away, is, by English usage, synonymous with death ; Ges. renders
it dahinist, it is all over uiith him.
Ver. 12. TiU the heavens be no more : i. e. never. For things
unchangeable and eternal are in Scripture compared in duration to
the heavens. See Ps. lxxii. 5, 17. Ixxxi* -2?, 36, 37. cxlviii. 6.
Jer. xxxi. 35, 36. Dr, Good supposes that the phrase refers to a
definite period, that of the general resurrection. But this suppo
sition is inconsistent with Scripture usage, and with the con
text, and is not countenanced by the most respectable of those
critics, who suppose the general resurrection to be referred to in
ch. xix. 25.
Ver. 13. O that thou wouldst hide me in the grave I Lit. in sheol,
or hades. Schultens takes great pains to show that Job, by this
expression, does not wish for death, but only to be shut up alive in
hades. But if we understand him to wish for a temporary death,
the connexion of this verse with the 14th will be closer. Under
the influence of passionate emotion he expresses the thought that
if he were by death removed out of the sight of the Deity for a
time, his wrath might subside, like man's resentment, which time
and the absence ofthe object of it weaken or extinguish.

48 NOTES. Ch. XIV.
Ver. 14. If a man die, can he live again ? Here he checks his
wish for death by a question, which is equivalent to a negation.
A man once dead cannot live again. Else, or, if it were so, I
might have strength and patience to endure all my present afflic
tions, until my change should come, i. e. until a favourable change
in my condition should take place ; or, until, after my restoration to
a second life upon earth, my character should be vindicated, and my
happiness restored. So Grotius, Dathe, Eich. Ros. The poet
probably means here to make another allusion to the actual histo
ry of Job, in the close of the poem. Grotius quotes, and elegantly
translates, a similar passage from Eurip. Supp. Mul. 1084.
OX[ioi' xi Srj (Igoxoiaiv ovx eoxiv xoSs,
Nscrvg Slq sirai xal ysgovxag av naXlv ;
AXX iv So/ioig (isv ijv xi firf xaXwg sxy,
rvia/iaioi voxeg'aiaiv iSog-&ov/is-&a.
Aicova S ovx i'Hsaxw' si 8' rjfisv vioi
Jig, xal yigovxsg, si' xig ify/iagxavsv,
AntXov (iiov Xaxovxsg, H-tng-frovfiExf ar.
Proh fata ! cur non est datum mortalibus
DupUci juventa, duplici senio frui ?
Intra penates siquid habet incommode,
Fas seriore corrigi sententia ;
Hoc vita non permittit : at qui bis foret
Juvenis senexque, siquid erratum foret
Priore, id emendaret in cursu altero.
Ver. 15. Call upon me, and I will answer thee. So Le Clerc,
Schultens, Ros. De Wette. Unable to bear the thought of going
out of the world under such a load of infamy, and having no hope
of coming back into it again to clear his innocence, he earnestly
begs of God to relent towards his creature, and to bring him to
immediate trial. The terms call and answer ought surely to be
taken in the same judicial sense as in xiii. 22. ix. 16. xxxi. 15 ;
the former denoting the action of bringing the complaint ; the
latter, the part of the defendant in replying to it. Scott.
Ver. 16. 17. As a contrast to the regard, which he pleaded for in
the foregoing verse, and as a reason for his urging an immediate tri
al, he here sets forth the severity, with which God treats him now.

Ch. XIV. NOTES. 49
Ver. 16. — thou numberest my steps : i. e. Thou makest strict
inquiry into my actions, that thou mayst find out all my errours,
and punish them. Thou watchest over my sins. i. e. Thou
watchest for my haltings or miscarriages, as if thou wert glad of
an occasion to punish me. Poole.
Ver. 17. My transgression is sealed up in a bag : i. e. as wri
tings, money, or other choice things, that they may be safely kept,
and brought forth upon occasion, and that not one of them may be
forgotten or lost. See Hos. xiii. 12. " The money, that is collect
ed together in the treasuries of eastern princes, is told up in
certain equal sums, put into bags, and sealed." Chardin. — thou
oddest unto mine iniquity. Either, thou addest one siri to another,
the sins of my youth to those of my riper age, so as to swell the
number laid up against me, and thus to increase my punish
ment. Or, thou makest my iniquity greater than it is. Gesenius
renders it, perhaps correctly, (see in the Hebrew, xiii. 4. Ps. cxix.
69.) Thou inventest (falsehood) unto mine iniquity, i. e. thou
chargest me with iniquity falsely. The rendering, which I have
adopted, may be considered as a milder way of expressing the same
idea. It is that of the old Geneva version, i. e. the English version
made in the time of queen Elizabeth ; which, in several passages
of this poem, is more correct than the common version. The
Chald. has it, accumulas super iniquitates meas.
Ver. 19. So thou destroyest the hope of man, i. e. the hope of
living again after death.
Ver. 22. But his flesh shall have pain fyc : By a bold, but not
unnatural, personification, the dead man in his grave is represented
as conscious of his own miserable condition, and of that alone.
" Though every man," says Dr Freeman, " knows that other men
die, and consequently can have no doubt that ere long he must die
himself; yet perhaps he never does, or can, view himself as in a
state of non-existence. He conceives himself still beholding, after
death, what passes in this world ; and even whilst his body is
mouldering in the tomb, as breathing and thinking."
16

50 NOTES. Ch. XV.
CHAP. XV.
Eliphaz begins his reply to Job with bitter sarcasms and re
proaches. He censures particularly the assertions of Job respect
ing the indiscriminate distribution of happiness and misery, as
tending to undermine religion, and to encourage men in the ne
glect of prayer. He says that the assertion of such opinions is
sufficient evidence of his guilt. 1-6. He then lashes him severe
ly for pretending to understand the ways of God better than
those, who were his elders ; and for his passionate complaints
concerning God's dealings towards him. He repeats for his
admonition the substance of the oracle, which he had brought
forward in his former discourse. 7-16. He proceeds to give, as
a quotation from an ancient poem, a highly wrought description
of the misery, which in various ways pursues the wicked man.
The drift of the whole is to vindicate providence, to condemn
Job as an object of divine wrath on account of his wickedness,
and to terrify him, if possible, into a confession of his guilt.
17-35. Ver. 4. And discouragest prayer before him. Literally, lessenest
prayer : The meaning is, that Job, by maintaining that God treat
ed the righteous and the wicked alike, sapped the very foundations
of religion ; since, in that case, the wicked would have nothing to
fear, and the. righteous nothing to expect from him.
Ver. 6. Though thou choosest the tongue of the crafty. He
gives this invidious turn to Job's protestations of innocence,
prayers, and appeals to God ; which he represents as an artful
address to the passions of his hearers, in order to blind their
judgment, and deceive them into a favourable opinion of his piety.
Ver. 7. Art thou the first man 8[c : i. e. Hast thou lived ever
since the creation of the world, and treasured up the experience
of all ages in thy own breast, that thou speakest so arrogantly, and
with such contempt of other men ? Poole.
Ver. 8. Hast thou listened in the council of God : i. e. in such a
council as is described in the first and second chapters of this
poem, where the angels are represented, as assembled around Je-

Ch. XV. NOTES. 51
hovah, for the purpose of giving an account of their ministry,
and of receiving orders respecting the government of the world.
Eliphaz sarcastically inquires, whether, in consequence of being
admitted into God's council, he of all men in the world is ac
quainted with his purposes. For wisdom seems to mean here, as in
chap, xxviii, the wisdom, or purposes of God, "by which he gov
erns the world. For the rendering drunk in, see Schult. and Ges.
Ver. 11. — precious consolations : Literally, consolations of God:
a well known idiom. — words so full of kindness : So Cocc. Schult.
Ges. By their consolations, and words of kindness, he means their
distant intimations of his guilt, their warnings insinuated in the
way of examples, and their exhortations to confession and amend
ment. Scott.
Ver. 12. — winking of thine eyes. To wink with the eyes,
according to Hebrew usage, denoted arrogance, haughtiness, and
contempt. See Ps. xxxv. 19. Prov. vi. 13.
Ver. 19. To whom alone fyc : i. e. the ancient inhabitants of
Arabia, who had not been corrupted by intercourse with for
eigners. It was no modern, or imported doctrine, but that whieh
prevailed amongst the earliest and best inhabitants of the country.
Le Clerc. Otherwise, " And they were no mean persons neither,
but such as were alone thought worthy to be intrusted with the
government of whole countries, which no foreign power could
enter, (as they have done thine) while they ruled." Patrick.
Ver. 20. And the number of his years is hidden from the op
pressor, i. e. he is in constant fear of death. He is not secure of
his life for a moment, his guilty conscience continually conjuring
up fears of assassination, or violence of some kind. He is in the
situation of Dionysius of Sicily :
Districtus ensis cui super impia.
Cervice pendet, non Sicuhe dapes
Dulcem elaborabunt saporera ;
Non avium citharaeque cantus
Somnvun reducent. Hor. Carm. III. 1. 17.

52 NOTES." Ch. XV.
Some critics render this line : Few are the years, which are ap
pointed for the oppressor. They suppose Vif 13QP, number of years,
to denote the same as 1BQ9 m'JtSf, years of 'number, i. e. few years,
as in xvi. 26. So men of number for few men, in several passages.
But no instance has been adduced, in which "ispp, placed before
the word, has this meaning. The Sept., however, seems to favour
this rendering ; sxtj Ss agUrfirjta SsSofisva Swdaxij, numbered years
are given to the oppressor. Schultens, who is followed by Dathe
and Storr, supposes years to denote divine judgments, or calami*
ties, like days in xxiv. 1. They render, And many calamities
are treasured up for the oppressor. There is no objection to
the rendering treasured up, i. e. hidden in the divine counsels, but
no instance has been adduced, in which years denotes judgments
or calamities.
With this description of the condition of the wicked, compare
that of Juvenal, Sat. xiii. 192. — Cur tamen hos tu
Evasisse putes, quos diri conscia facti
Mens habet attonitos, et surdo verbere caedit,
Occultum quatiente animo tortore flagellum ?
Poena autem vehemens, ac multo savior illis,
Q,uas et Cseditius gravis invenit, aut Rhadamanthus,
Nocte dieque suum gestare in pectore testem.
— Hi sunt qui trepidant, et ad omnia fulgura paUent,
Ctim tonat, exanimes primo quoque murmure coeU ;
Non quasi fortuitu, nee ventorum rabie, sed
Iratus cadat in terras, et vindicet ignis.
Ilia nihil nocuit, cura graviore timetur
Proxima tempestas ; velut hoc dilata sereno.
Ver. 21. In prosperity the destroyer cometh upon him. Schul
tens and others understand this, When there are no signs of in
vasions, insurrections, or plots against him, his disturbed imagina
tion is continually presenting destruction to him. Post equitem
sedet atra cura.
Ver. 22. — darkness : a common metaphorical expression for
calamity. His despair of escaping some unhappy end, assassination
for instance, is described here. Schult. The sword lieth in

Ch. XVI. NOTES. 53
wait for him. This also may refer to what exists only in the
imagination of the wicked man. For the translation, see Ges.
In the next verse I have omitted J13J, ready or prepared, as in
volved in the expression at hand.
Ver. 26. And ran against him toith out-stretched neck. i. e.
with his neck stooping and stretched out, the attitude of a com
batant running upon his adversary. And with the thick bosses of
his buckler. Schultens has shown that to turn the boss of one's
buckler against a person is a proverbial expression among the
Arabs, meaning to become his deadly enemy. These metaphors
drawn from the single combat, which was much in practice in the
ancient wars, are intended to express the most daring impiety,
atrocious violation of God's laws, and contempt of his vindictive
justice. Ver. 27. Because he covered his face with fatness : This is
a graphical description of a luxurious and licentious person.
Ver. 30. — darkness : i. e. ruin, destruction. — his brandies :
i. e. his wealth, power, glory, all with which he was adorned,
as a tree with its branches. — by the breath of his mouth : i. e.
of God's mouth. The destruction of the wicked man seems to be
represented under the image of a tree destroyed by a burning
wind, (see note upon iii. 5.) or by lightning ; or torn up by a tem
pest, sent by the Deity. See iv. 9. Ps. xviii. 15. Is. xi. 4.
CHAP. XVI. XVII.
The speech of Eliphaz was admirably fitted to carry on the
design of the poem by irritating the passions of Job, and inflaming
his discontent with the ways of providence. In his reply he gives
a pathetic representation of the inhumanity of his friends, and of
his other severe afflictions. He then makes the most solemn pro
testations of innocence, and expresses an earnest desire that his
cause may be tried, and his innocence vindicated, before he
goes the way, whence he shall not return. Ch. xvi. He dwells
upon nearly the same topics in ch. xvii, and ends his reply with
the strongest expressions of grief, and despair.

54 NOTES. Ch. XVI.
Ver. 7. For now He hath quite exhausted me. He, i. e. the
Deity, whom he addresses in the next line.
Ver. 8. Thou hast cast me into fetters. 'JBps.ri. See Ges.
— whieh bear witness. Lit. which (circumstance) is a witness dfc.
The meaning of both clauses of the verse is, that the afflictions of
Job made his friends believe that he was a bad man. To be bound>
so as not to be able to move, frequently denotes to be in great mis
ery. See xi. 10. xii. 14. xiii. 27. xxxiii. 11. xxxvi. 8.
Ver. 9. His anger : i. e. God's. I have changed the places
of the verbs in this line. Mine adversary, i. e. God. See xiii.
24. xix. 11. — sharpeneth his eyes, i. e. darts piercing looks at me,
or looks upon me with fierce and sparkling eyes.
Ver. 10. They gape : i. e. my friends, the instruments of God's
anger. — they assemble, i. e. like conspirators, to effect my ruin.
Ver. 15. And covered my head : literally, my horn. See Ges.
Rosenmuller supposes the metaphor to be borrowed from some
strong and noble animal, lying dead, with its horn thrust into the
ground ; and that the meaning is, 'My wealth, power, and glory
are prostrate in the dust. See Deut. xxxiii. 17. Ps. lxxv. 5.
Ver. 18. O earth, cover not thou my blood ! He compares his
accumulated miseries to blood unjustly shed, and prays that his
injuries may not be concealed from man or Heaven, nor remain
unavenged. And let there be no hiding-place for my cry ! i. e.
May nothing hinder my cry for redress from ascending to heaven !
See ch. xix. 7. Merc. Schult. Dathe, Ros. In the height of
his emotion he forgets that it is God, who hath laid him low. Oth
ers suppose my blood to denote blood shed by me, and my cry, the
cry of the distressed, caused by me.
Ver. 19. And he thai knoweth me : 'Tl^, literally, my witness ; I
paraphrase it to avoid repetition. The Sept. has it 6 ovvloxmg fiov,
probably for the same reason.
Ver. 21. O that one might contend : i. e. in a judicial contro
versy. His meaning is, that if the Deity would bring his charges
against him, he should be able to clear himself, and vindicate his
integrity. See xvii. 3.

Ch.XVII. NOTES. 55
Ch. XVII. 3. Give a pledge fyc : The terms in this verse are
obscure, on aecount of our ignorance ot the ancient forms of trial.
Job seems again to challenge the Deity to enter into a judicial
contest with him in regard to the uprightness of his character ;
and desires the Deity to give a pledge that he would not avail him-
solf of his almighty power in the contest, but deal with him upon
fair and equal terms, so that the cause might be decided accord
ing to strict justice, and without regard to the rank of the parties
concerned. Who is there that will strike hands with me ? i. e.
Who, by the usual form of striking hands, will agree with me to
be surety for thee ? See Prov. vi. 1. xvii. 18. xxii. 26. This
challenge, says Mr. Poole, savours of too much boldness and
irreverence to God, yet seeing Job expresses the same desire,
almost in the same manner, in ch. ix. 32-34, and is sharply re
proved by God for contending with him, in xl. 2, I see no inconve
nience in ascribing the same thing to him here. See Schult.
Merc. Ros.
Ver. 4. Therefore thou wilt not suffer them to prevail, i. e. to
gain the victory in this contest. Thou wilt rather pronounce me
innocent, and censure them.
Ver. 5. He that delivers up his friends as a prey pSnS , for a
prey. So used in Gen. xiv. 24. 1 Sam. xxx. 24. See Ges.
Ver. 6. — their abhorrence : nah, from the Chald. ^-m, to spit
out. See Ges. xal a-ne&ijv avxdlg yiXag. Sept,
Ver. 8. — at this : i. e. at seeing so good a man oppressed with
such a heavy load of afflictions. And the innocent Sfc. i. e. The
innocent will resolutely oppose the wicked, when he judges the
worse of piety, because of my afflictions. Patrick.
Ver. 10. — return : i. e. to the debate.
Ver. 11. Even the best hopes of my heart: literally, the posses
sions of my heart, i. e. what most occupied my heart.
Ver. 12. Night hath become day unto me : i. e. I have sleepless
nights. I am as much awake by night as by day. My light bor-
dereth on darkness, i. e. The day seems very short. The day
light seems to go, as soon as it is come. So Mercer and Ros.

56 NOTES. Ch. XVIII.
*'
13. Yea: DK, a particle of asseveration. Hos. xii. 11. Prov.
xxiii. 18. See Ges. I have made my bed in darkness, i. e. the
darkness of the grave. I shall soon He down in the grave, the
only place in which I can expect repose.
Ver. 14. I say to corruption 8pc. By these strong expressions
he intimates how near he believed himself to be to death. I have
already made so near an alliance with death, that my father and
mother and nearest kindred are nothing so near me, as worms and
rottenness. Patrick. Others suppose him to express a strong
desire of death in this verse.
Ver. 16. Yea, we shall descend together into the dust. i. e. I
and my hopes shall be buried in the same grave. I render nnj,
as if it were pointed nro, in the first person plural. So the Sept.
¦jj ofio&VfiaSbv ikl x^^tog xaxa^rjao/is&a ; See Ros. This is a fig
urative way of saying that all his expectations would end in mise
ry, death, and corruption ; or that these were all he had to expect.
CHAP. XVIII.
In this chapter Bildad again comes forward, full of resentment
against Job on account of the low estimation, in which he held
their discourses. He accuses him of pride and arrogance. He
reasserts the general doctrine, maintained by the friends of Job,
that misery implies guilt, by giving a highly wrought description
of the calamities, which, as he contends, are the portion of the
wicked. This description contains some particulars closely adapt
ed to the circumstances of Job, and was without doubt design
ed to intimate that Job must resemble in character those, whom
he so much resembled in condition.
Ver. 2. When will ye make : Though the pronoun is in the plu
ral, there cati; be little doubt that Job is the person addressed.
Understand : i. e. Consider and weigh our arguments.
Ver. 3. He refers to what Job had said in xvii. 4, 10.
Ver. 4. Thou that tearest thyself: literally, He feareth Sfc.
This is a common Hebrew idiom. See ch. xii. 4. xvi. 7. xvii. 10.
xxxii. 15. xii. 9. Must the earth be deserted for thee ? fyc. When
the Orientals would reprove the pride or arrogance of any person 5

Ch. XVIII. NOTES. 51
it is common for them to desire him to call to mind how little and con
temptible he and every mortal is, in these or similar apophthegms :
What though Mahommed were dead ?
His Imauns (or ministers) conducted the affairs ofthe nation.
The universe shall not fall for his sake ;
The world does not subsist for one man alone. Lowth, Leet. 34.
Most critics, however, suppose the verse to have a more definite
meaning. " These are proverbial forms of speech for altering what
is fixed and unchangeable. The meaning is, if I mistake not,
that God must give up his moral kingdom among men, or violate
the immutable laws of justice by which it is administered, if such
a man as Job escaped punishment. This interpretation makes an
easy transition to the other part of the discourse, which is design
ed to prove that, by an unchangeable rule of providence, the sig
nally wicked shall signally perish." Scott.
Ver. 5. Behold, the light : — the flame, fyc. These metaphors
denote, in general, splendour, prosperity, glory, or festivity. There
is an allusion, in the latter clause of the verse, Nto what the Arabian
poet calls the fires of hospitality ; these were beacons lighted upon
the tops of hills by persons of distinction among the Arabs, to di
rect and invite travellers to their houses and tables. Hospitality
was their national glory ; and the loftier and larger these fires
were, the greater was the magnificence thought to be. See Po-
eocke in Carm. Tograi, p. iii. A wicked rich man, therefore,
would affect this piece of state, from vanity and ostentation.
Another Arabian poet expresses the permanent prosperity of his
family almost in the very words of our author : " Neither is our
fire, lighted for the benefit of the night-stranger, extinguished."
Hamasa, p. 473. Scott.
Ver. 6. — lamp : He refers to the lamp, which hung from the
ceiling of the apartment. The Arabs are fond of this image.
Thus they say : " Bad fortune hath extinguished my lamp ; " and
concerning a man, whose hopes are remarkably blasted : " He is
like a lamp, which is immediately extinguished, if you let it sink
into the oil." See Schultens.
17

58 NOTES Ch. XVIH.
Ver. 7. The steps of his strength shall be straitened. This is a
very common metaphor in oriental poetry to denote the loss of
power, prosperity, &c, as Schultens has shown by numerous quo
tations. Steps of strength are free, firm, unimpeded steps.
Ver. 11. Terrors are here represented as allegorical persons,
like the Furies in the Greek poets.
Ver 13. His limbs : nty na : literally, The limbs of his skin :
i. e. of his body. — the first-born of death : i. e. the most terri
ble death.
Ver. 14. His confidence : i. e. all that he trusted and gloried
in ; his numerous family and great possessions. — before the king
of terrors. So Mercier, Ros. Ges. Some suppose the phrase to
mean extreme terrors. Others, death. Schultens thinks the line
should be rendered, Terrors shall march against him like a king.
See xv. 24.
Ver. 15. no longer his : lV'San. See Ges. and Ros. Brim
stone is scattered upon his habitation : i. e. it is destroyed, like
Sodom and Gomorrha, by fire and brimstone from heaven. Gro
tius, Le Clerc, Schult. and Ros. think that lightning is referred to,
both in this passage, and in Genesis, xix. 24. Deut. xxix. 23. Ps.
xi. 6. Pliny says, (Hist. Nat. xxxv. 15.) Fulmina et fulgura quo-
que sulphuris odorem habenV ac lux ipsa eorum sulphurea est.
And Pers. Sat. ii. 24, 25.
 At sese non clamet Jupiter ipse ?
Ignovisse putas, quia cum tonat ocyiis ilex
Sulphure discutitur sacro, quam tuque domusque ?
 graves exhalant sulphuris auras. Lccret. VI.
Bildad may refer to the circumstance that a part of Job's prop
erty was consumed by lightning. Ch. i. 16.
*/
Ver. 18. And driven out of the world : i. e. He is not conduct
ed out of life, as Plato expresses it, with funeral pomp, by a nu
merous train of relatives and citizens, but is cast out of human so
ciety like a malefactor, and thrown under ground with infamy and
execration. Scott.

Ch. XIX. NOTES. 59
CHAP. XIX.
Job begins his reply to the harsh and passionate invective of Bil
dad with pathetic complaints of the^ inhumanity of his friends, in
regarding his afflicted condition as unquestionable evidence of
guilt. He maintains that his sufferings were not to be charged
upon him, but upon God, who had overwhelmed him with calami
ties, though he had done nothing to deserve them, and though he
had often desired to be brought to trial. Perceiving that the rep
resentation of his misery had no effect upon his hard-hearted
friends, he suddenly turns from them, and expresses the earnest
desire, that all, which he had said in his defence, might be recorded
upon some lasting monument, so that posterity, at least, might do
him justice ; or, that it might remain uneffaced, till the event should
justify it. But his consciousness of innocene does not allow him to
stop here. He is not satisfied with the tardy justice, which poster
ity may render to his memory; and he gives utterance to the
firm, and triumphant conviction, that, low as he is reduced by
sorrow and disease, he shall yet live to see the Deity stand up in
his favour, and vindicate him from the unfounded charges, which
have been brought against him. He also warns his friends that
the time will come, when they shall be put to shame for their in
justice and cruelty towards him.
Ver. 3. — ye would strike me dumb. See "OH in Ges.
Ver. 4. Mine errour abideth with myself. Plaut, Mehaech. ii. 3.
Mihi dolebit, non tibi, siquid stulte fecero.
Ver. 5. — my disgrace : i. e. my calamities, which bring re
proach, and disgrace upon me.
Ver. 7. Behold, I complain of my wrongs : He certainly means
wrong, or violence, done to him by God. This- language is ex
tremely harsh, and utterly inexcusable. It is, however, nothing
more than what he had already said in effect, in ch. ix, 17. x. 3.
xvi. 17. Indeed, if such rash speeches as these had not come from
his lips, what ground would there have been for those cutting re
proaches in xl. 8. Wilt thou disannul my judgment ? Wilt thou
condemn me, that thou mayest appear righteous ? Scott.

60 NOTES. Ch. XIX.
Ver. 9. And taken the crown from my head : i. e. deprived me
of all my dignity and honours. See Prov. iv. 9.
Ver. 10. I am gone: i. e. I am near death. See x. 21. xiv.
20. Gen. xv. 2. Ps. xxxi*. 13. — like a tree, which, being plucked
up by the roots, does not grow again.
Ver. 12. His troops : He represents his calamities by meta
phors drawn from the siege of a city.
Ver. 17 My breath is become loathsome : So Schultens and
De Wette. According to this rendering, !"Pt is taken in a less
common sense from the Arabic. Perhaps the rendering of Ges.
My spirit is become a stranger : i. e. J am become a stranger :
may be thought more consistent with safe criticism. My sighing :
See Ges. upon run.
Ver. 20. And I have scarcely escaped with the skin of my teeth :
i. e. " I am scarcely sound and whole and free from sores, in any
part of riiy skin except that of my jaws, which holdeth and cover-
pth the roots of my teeth. This being, as divers observe, the
Devil's policy to leave his mouth untouched, that he might more
freely express his mind, and vent his blasphemies against God,
which he supposed sharp pain would force hirn to do." Poole.
Ver. 22. Why do ye persecute me like God ? i. e. without giv
ing any reason or account of your conduct, accusing me of crimes
without proof, and condemning me without trial. And not rest
satisfied with my flesh : i. e. with the consumption and torment of
my whole body, but add to it the vexation of my spirit, by your
grievous reproaches and calamities. Or, according to Schultens,
Why are ye not satisfied with the reproaches and slanders, with
which ye have already tormented me ? Schultens remarks that to
eat tlie flesh of another is an Arabian phrase for calumniating him.
One of their poets has the line, ' I am not addicted to slander, nor
am I one, who devours the flesh of his friend.' Another, speak
ing of his calumniator, says, ' Who worries my flesh, and yet has
not satisfied his avidity.' The phraseology is taken from a wild
beast, rending his prey.

Ch. XIX. NOTES. 61
, Ver. 23. O that my words : i. e. all my discourses, all that I have
said in my defence, my protestations of innocence, my appeals to
God &.c, so that all ages may be able to judge between me and
my accusers, and to know the justice of my cause.
Ver. 24. — and with lead : i. e. infused into the letters engra
ven in the rock, in order to make them plain and legible.
Ver. 25-27. The design of this passage appears to be the same
with that of xvi. 19, where Job exclaims, My witness is in heaven,
and he that knoweth me is on high ; and of the numerous passages,
in which he desires and prays that his cause may be brought to tri
al, and that the Deity may pronounce judgment respecting the
integrity of his character. This design is to express, in a striking
manner, the depth and sincerity of Job's conviction of his own
innocence. So strong and clear is the testimony of his conscience
in his favour, that what has heretofore been the object of his ardent
wishes and prayers is now become the object of his confident ex
pectation ; and he expresses the firm persuasion that God will be
the vindicator of his integrity from the charges of his friends ;
that he will stand up on the earth, as a judge, and decide the cause
in his favour ; that, although his body be wasted away to a mere
skeleton, yet in his flesh, or before he dies, he shall see God, inter
posing in his favour, and taking his side in the controversy.
It appears more consistent with Job's character, and with the
design of the poem, to suppose that the main object of his confi
dent expectation was, not restoration to general prosperity, but the
vindication of his character from false imputations. He has the
conviction that a just and good God will yet make it appear, that
his misery is no proof of his guilt. Throughout the poem he
seems to regard all other evils light, in comparison with the loss of
character ; and to desire, not deliverance from misery, but from
the imputation of guilt ; and thus he refutes the insinuation of
Satan, that his piety was founded in selfish motives.
Whether Job connected the recovery of his health, and his res
toration to general prosperity with the vindication of his charac
ter by the Deity it is not very important to decide. One objection
to this supposition appears to be very futile. Job could not have

62 NOTES. Ch. XIX.
hoped for recovery from his disease, or for restoration to prosperity,
say some critics, for he had said more than once, that he had no
hope, and that he was near his grave. As if a person, who is
represented as agitated by the most violent and opposite emotions,
could be expected to be consistent in his sentiments and language.
What can be more natural than that Job, in a state of extreme
depression, arising from the thought of his wrongs, the severity of
his afflictions, and the natural tendency of his disease, should ex
press himself in the language of despair, and yet that he should
be animated, soon after, by conscious innocence and the thought
of God's justice, goodness, and power, to break forth into the lan
guage of hope and confidence 1
But, for the reasons before mentioned, it is probable that the
main, if not the sole, object of Job's confident expectation was
the vindication of his character by the Deity. The writer, how
ever, without doubt intended that the whole passage should have
relation to the concluding part of the poem, where the Deity is
represented as appearing and vindicating the character of Job by
calling him four times his servant ; by rebuking his calumniators,
and pardoning them through his intercession ; by declaring that he,
and not his friends, had spoken that which was right ; i. e. in re
gard to the question whether misery was a proof of guilt ; and by
giving him temporal blessings in two fold greater abundance, than
before his affliction. This interposition of the Deity appears to
have been kept in view by the writer throughout the poem, and
thus the mind of the reader is prepared for it.
Of the objections to the supposition that Job here expresses his
confident expectation of a resurrection to a life of happiness, a
few will be briefly mentioned.
1. The supposition is inconsistent with the general design of
the poem, and with the course of argument. The belief in a
future state of retribution would have, in some measure, solved
the difficulty respecting the afflictions of the good, and the pros
perity of the wicked. But no one of the speakers alludes to it in
the course of the poem. If it be a declaration of that doctrine,
it is a single, independant declaration of it, in a poem, in
which it might have been expected, from the nature of the sub
ject, to occur upon every page.

Ch. XIX. NOTES. 63
2. It is inconsistent with the connexion of the discourse. Zo
phar, who replies to Job, makes no allusion to it, but goes on to
assert the temporal miseries, which are the portion of the wicked,
and of tfleir children. -•
3. "Sit js inconsistent with several express .declarations of Job in
other parts of the poem. See vii. 7, 8* x. 20, 21, 22.«. xiv.'
¦¦ throughout, and xvii. 11-16. When he wishes /or death, he
speaks of it as the termination oft his miseries, and not as the in
troduction to a life of happiness. Ch. iii. It is, moreover, too much
to suppose that the influence of feeling would have led him to deny
so important a doctri ne, had he believed in it. Under the influ
ence of opposite emotions, one may be expected to express different
opinions respecting his condition, prospects, &c, but not to deny
so important an article of his faith. So good a man as Job would
naturally have been led, in his affliction, to cling the more closely
to the doctrine of a future life of happiness, had he believed in it.
4. It is not urged as a topic of consolation by either of the
three friends of Job, nor even by Elihu, who acts the part of an
umpire in the controversy, and who gives a more philosophical
account, than either of the speakers, of the design of afflictions.
Nor is it allijded to by God himself in the decision of the con
troversy. 5. The Jewish commentators, who sought for every shadow oi
proof of the doctrine of a future life in the Old Testament, do not
consider this as one of the passages, by which it is supported.
The supposition, that this doctrine is contained in the passage,
derives its chief support from the mistranslation or misapplication
of certain expressions in it.
Ver. 25. — my vindicator : ,l?SJ- This term, in its primitive
sense, was applied to the person, whose duty it was to maintain
the rights, interests, and reputation of a near relative, either by
repurchasing his mortgaged inheritance, by marrying his widow
and saving his family from extinction, by redeeming him from ser
vitude, or by avenging his blood. In this passage it is figuratively
applied to the Deity, as taking the part, and vindicating the char
acter, of Job against the cruel treatment and false accusations of
his friends. It is elsewhere applied to the Deity in the more gen-

64 NOTES. Ch. XIX.
eral sense of a deliverer from calamities of any kind. The term re
deemer might be retained, as a figurative expression for a deliverer
from reproach and calumny, but it would be less intelligible than the
term vindicator, and more likely to be misapplied. That there is
no allusion to Christ in the term, nor to the resurrection to a life
of happiness in the passage, has been the opinion of the most ju
dicious and learned critics for these last three hundred years ; such
as Calvin, Mercier, Grotius, Le Clerc, Patrick, Warburton, Durell,
Heath, Kennicott, Doederlein, Dathe, Eichhorn, Jahn, De Wette,
and many others.
And that he shall stand up : i. e. appear or interpose to decide
the controversy. Ps. xii. 5. For the sighing of the needy now
ivill I arise, (or stand up) saith the Lord. xliv. 26. Arise, (or
stand up) for our help, and redeem us. xciv. 16. Jer. ii. 27. — at
length : Or, at last : Or, hereafter : tandem : Dath. postremo :
Cast, posthcec: Doed. jl'ir|X, used adverbially, 3 or S being
omitted. See Is. ix. 1. Numb. ii. 31. 1. Sam. xxix. 2. Prov.
xxix. 11. xxxi. 25. Is. xxx. 8. The rendering of the common
version is entirely unsupported by usage. — on the earth. "ISJJ *?#.
See xxxix. 14. xii. 25. So Ges. Others render the line, And that
he shall stand last upon the field : i. e. be victoriousuover his ad
versaries ; Others, And that he shall arise, or stand up, at last
against dust ; i. e. against his adversaries, who are but dust.
Ver. 26. And although with my skin this body be wasted away.
So Ros. Eich. and De Wette. Or, the pronoun nK't may agree
with nty, and the line be rendered, And after this skin,or body, of
mine is wasted away. According to either rendering the mean
ing will be, Although I should be reduced by disease and sorrow to
a still lower condition than I am at present. The expression does
not imply the death of Job. Dr. Stock however, supposes, that
Job expected to die, and to be raised again to life in this world, to
see his innocence vindicated, and his calumniators punished. If
we even suppose him to have his death in view, there is not the
slightest reason to believe that he referred to a general resurrection,
but only that he should be restored by the power of" God to this
world.

Ch. XX. NOTES. 65
Ver. 27. ' — My friend: *h, literally, for me, Or, on tay side. It
is so rendered in Ps. cxxiv. 1. If it had not been the Lord, whp
was on our side Sfc."
My own eyes, and not another's, shall behold him : i. e. I shall see
him vindicate my innocence ; not only others, but I myself, shall
live to see it. Some critics render, Mine eyes shall behold him, no
longer estranged. This rendering is not so agreeable to Hebrew
usage. For this my soul panteth within me : literally, my reins are con
sumed: i. e. with desire to see that happy day. So Patrick, Da
the, Ros. De Wette, Ges. See Ps. Ixxxiv. 2. cxliii. 7. cxix. 81, 82.
Ver. 28. And find grounds of accusation against him ? So the
Sept. and Vulg. So Ros. and Ges.
CHAP. XX.
Zophar, not softenedby the earnest and, pathetic appeals of Job,
nor convinced by his solemn protestations of innocence, but rath
er provoked by the impressive warning, with which he had closed
his last discourse, proceeds to portray, by new images and striking
examples, the calamities, which in all ages had been the lot of the
wicked. He infers, that Job resembles those in character, whom
he resembles in condition.
Ver. 4. — that from the days of old fyc. So Luther, and Ros.
Ver. 10. His sons shall seek the favour of tlie poor : i. e. the
poor, whom their father had plundered, and who may require sat
isfaction, or reparation. Or, it may mean, generally, that they
shall be so much reduced, as to seek the good will and assistance
of the most destitute and abject. And their hands : i. e. the hands
ofthe children ofthe oppressor : literally, his hands. The singu
lar pronoun is in Hebrew not unfrequently thus used. So Deut.
xxi. 10. When thou goest forth against thine enemies, and God
gives him into thine hand. See Stuart's Gram. § 181.
Ver. 11. His bones are full of youth : i. e. of youthful vigour.
So Ges. The same word is used in xxxiii. 25. Ps. lxxxix. 45.
The meaning is, He shall be cut off in his youtb — in the fulness
18

66 NOTES. Ch. XX.
of his strength. So the Sept. The Syr. and Arab, have it mar
row. The Chald. strength.
Ver. 12. Though wickedness 6fc. The wickedness, in which
he takes so much pleasure, is avarice with its accompanying
crimes, oppression, injustice and cruelty. The pleasure, which
a depraved mind has in the indulgence of its criminal inclination,
is compared to an epicure's enjoyment pf some delicious morsel.
Ver. 14. Yet his meat shall bt changed within him : i. e. chang
ed into something of an opposite nature, as from sweet to bitter,
from nutritious to poisonous. His meat is riches acquired by op
pression ; but it is poisoned. A curse is connected with iniqui
tous acquisitions. This is the poison of asps to him, even the di
vine vengeance. Scott.
Ver. 15. And he shall throw them up again : as an epicure does
his poisoned draught or morsel. The sudden loss of his iU-gotten
wealth, and the intolerable anguish of his mind in suffering such
loss, are involved in this powerful metaphor. The curse or
vengeance of God will bring this punishment ; God shall cast them
out of him. Scott. •
Ver. 16. He shall suck the poison of asps : That which he
greedily swallowed, as pleasant nutriment, shall be as destructive
to him as the poison of asps.
Ver. 17. — rivers of milk and honey. These are oriental em
blems of abundance and felicity. The wicked man shall not have
that secure and permanent enjoyment of the good things of this
life, which he expected, or, which is promised to the good. nxqn. ,
milk. See Ges. and Ros.
Ver. 18. It is substance to be given back : See Ges. upon
rrvran.. So De Wette.
Ver. 20. Because his avarice was insatiable ; literally, Because
he knew, or felt, no quietness in his stomach. So Ros. Ges. and
De Wette. He shall save nothing, which he desired. See Ges.
larger lex. upon oSn.
Ver. 21. Because nothing escaped his greediness; i. e. his ra
pacity. So Heath, Ros. and De Wette. His prosperity shall not

Ch. XXI. NOTES. 6,7
endure. Non durabit bonum e/its. Syr. Nihil permanebit de bo
nis ejus. Vulg. mix dvfi-qasi avtov xd ayad-d. Sept. So Heath,
Ges. De Wette, and Ros.
Ver. 22. Every kind of misery ; literally, Every hand of mise
ry. Omnis dolor. Vulg. naoa dvdyxr\. Sept.
Ver. 23. He shall, indeed, have wherewith to fill himself: This
is said sarcastically. The next line shows what sort of food he
was to have. — for his food. lO^n1??. So Schult. Ges. and Ros.
See Ps. xi. 6. Similar images occur in the Coran. Thus : " Qui
occultant quod Deus revelavit, illi non edent in ventribus suis nisi
ignem." Ver. 24. Hefleeth S?c. This was probably a proverbial expres
sion, like that in Latin, '' Incidit in Scyllam, cupiens vitare Cha-
rybdim." Ver. 25. He draweth 8jc. This verse is otherwise rendered
thus :
He draweth out the arrow ; it hath gone through his body ;
The gUttering steel hath pierced his gall ;
He goetji ; (i. e. expireth) terrors are upon him.
Ver. 26. — is treasured up for him : literally, is hidden for his
treasures. See Rom. ii. 5. A fire unkindled : i. e. not kindled
by man, but sent from heaven : i. e. lightning. It shall consume :
j;t, from n^"j, future in Kai, by Apocope. So Schult. and Ges.
Ver. 27. The heavens shall reveal his iniquity : i. e. by light
ning, for instance, such as destroyed the herds of Job, or by
storms of wind, such as destroyed his children ; And the earth
shall rise up against him : i. e. when wild beasts, venomous ser
pents, or bands of robbers shall destroy his substance.
CHAP. XXI.
The opponents of Job had persisted in maintaining that great
calamities were a proof of uncommon guilt ; that they were the
portion of the wicked, and of them only. This position Job over
throws by adducing instances of impious men, who pass their lives
in ease and prosperity, enjoy a eomfortable old age, and are favour
ed with an easy death. 6-15. They might object, that the fear of

68 NOTES. Ch. XXI.
reverses must mar the enjoyment of the guilty ; but he contends
that such reverses happen so seldom, that the bad have not more
reason to fear them than the good. 16-18. They might say, that
the children of the impious man suffered, if he did not ; but he
asserts with justice, that this is no punishment to the offender,
who is numbered with the dead. 19-21. He maintains, that of two
persons of the same character, one might be seen enjoying uninter
rupted prosperity, and the other, suffering misery without cessation ;
and that both came to the same end. 22-26. Perceiving by their
looks, that they were not satisfied, but still regarded his overthrow
as evidence of his guilt, he appeals to the testimony of travellers,
who would mention instances of great oppressors, who had escap
ed in a time of general destruction, and died a peaceful death ;
who had been buried with great pomp, and had had so splendid a
monument erected to their memory, that they almost seemed to
flourish and live again in their very tombs. 27-34.
Ver. 2. And let this be instead of your consolations : i. e. I will
regard your candid attention as an equivalent for those consola
tions, which I had reason to expect from you.
Ver. 4. Is my complaint concerning man ? The preposition b
means of or concerning, in Gen. xx. 13, and elsewhere. See^Ses.
lie seems to intimate, that he had not so much reason to com
plain, of man, or of his friends, as of the severe afflictions, which
he received from God, whilst so many wicked men enjoyed pros
perity. So Poole, Scott, and De Wette. Why then should I not
be angry ? Sxaxi oi &v[tt>)-d-<qooiiai ; Sept. He seems to consider
the fact, that his misery was sent upon him by God, notwithstand
ing his endeavours to please him, as a sufficient reason for his im
patience and complaints. See Poole
Ver. 5. Look upon me fyc. Silent astonishment, instead of cen
sure, should be the effect of beholding a man of integrity and piety
in my afflicted condition, while so many contemners of God, and
oppressors of his creatures, are happy in life, and fortunate in
death. Ver. 6. When I think of it : i. e. of what follows, viz. the, pros
perous condition of the wicked.

Ch. XXI. NOTES.
Ver 12. They sing Sfc. Wif. scil. Sip, at toll-tint vocem. Sei.
Is. xiii. ii. So Merc. Le Clerc, and Ges.
Ver. 13. And in a moment Spc. This assertion is opposed to
Zophar's representation of the terrible death of such men, in ch.
xx. 24, 25. See also ch. xviii. 12, 13. This is that sudden and
easy death, in a green old age, without pain, without lingering
sickness, and while their families are flourishing around them,
which Tiresias predicts to Ulysses in the shades : " Death shall
come to thee from the sea. It shall be a gentle death. It shall
come, when thou art subdued by a happy old age, and thy people
about thee are happy." Odyss. xi. 133, &c. Scott. So Sueto
nius, after describing the death of Augustus, says : " Sortitus est
exitum facilem, et qualem semper bptaverat. Nam fere, quoties
audisset cito ac nullo cruciatu defunctum quempiam, sibi et suis
tid-avaolav similem (hoc enim et verbo uti Solebat) precabatur.
Life of Augustus, § 99.
Ver. 16. Thou sayest Sfc. There can be no doubt that, in the
first line at least of this verse, Job refers to the sentiments advanc
ed by his opponents, and probably in both. So Eich. and De
Wette. Some suppose that the first line is ironical ; and that, in
the second, Job expresses his abhorrence of wickedness, notwith
standing the prosperity, which often accompanies it. So Ros.
Ver. 17. Hoio often happens it Sfc. This question is equiva
lent to the assertion, that the wicked are seldom in adversity and
misery. It is thus an answer to the assertion in the preceding
verse. >
Ver. 21. — is completed: i. e. according to Cocceius, is reckon
ed in full tale : i. e. when he has lived out the whole term of hu
man life. See Ros.
Ver. 22. Who then shall impart knowledge to God ? Sfc. Shall
we be so hold, as to instruct God how to govern the world, and to
tell him that he is not just, unless he punish the wicked, when we
expect it 1 He judges the highest beings, and therefore surely
knows how to govern us. He, that rules the world of spirits, surely
knows how to manage the little concerns of mankind.

70 NOTES. Ch. XXI.
Ver. 24. His sides Sfc. Otherwise, His pastures are full of
milk. See Ges. upon j1!?;!?.. Latera ejus plena adipe. Arab, and
Syr. Ta Ss syxaxa avxov nX^grj atiaxog. Sept. Viscera ejus plena
sunt adipe. Vulg.
[- Ver. 25. And hath never tasted pleasure : So Schult. Ros. Ges.
Ver. 28. Ye will say Spc. Although these questions relate to
tyrannical princes in general, and to other wicked men in high
stations, they are intended to be applied to Job's overthrow in
particular. His adversaries still insisted, that destructive calami
ties are the usual portion of the wicked ; and that, such calamities
being his portion, there was wanting no other evidence of his
guilt. But the testimony of travellers, as he tells them, shows the
falsity of their premises, arid, therefore, of the conclusion drawn
from them. Scott.
Ver. 30. That the wicked is spared in the day of destruction :
i. e. when destruction comes upon other men. So Mere. Schult.
Pat. Ros. and Ges. And that he escapes in the day of wrath :
literally, And that they are withdrawn from fyc. So Ros. Pat.
and Eich.
Ver. 32. Even this man Sfc. He is too powerful to be called
to account by man, and not meeting with chastisement from God,
he goes to the grave with all the honours of interment usually paid
to personages of the highest rank. Scott. Yea, he still sur
vives upon his tomb. So Dathe, Ros. Eich. and De Wette. He
enjoys, as it were, a second life upon his tomb, in the enjoyment
of the honours paid to his memory, his splendid monument, and
the fame he leaves behind him. xal avtig inl otagav. tiygirnvrjaev.
Sept. Et super congeriem vigilabit. Chald. Et in congerie
mortuorum vigilabit. Vulg.
Ver. 33. The sods of the valley Sfc. These words also seem to
suppose, that the person, who is buried, may partake, in some re
spects, of the prosperous state of the tomb, which contains him.
Such an idea seems to have been indulged by Sultan Amurath the
great, who died in 1450. " Presently after his death, Mahomet
his sonne, for feare of some innovation to be made at home, raised

Ch. XXU. NOTES. 71
the siege, and returned to Hadrianople : and afterwards with great
solemnitie buried his dead body at the west side of Prusa, in the
suburbs of the citie, where he now lieth, in a chappell without any
roofe, his grave nothing differing from the manner of the common
Turks ; which they say he commanded to be done, in his last will,
that the mercie and blessing of God (as he termed it) might come
unto him by the shining of the sunne and moone, and falling of
the raine and dew of heaven upon his grave." Knolles's Hist.
of the Turks, p. 332. Burder's Oriental Customs, No. 507.
And he draweth 4"c. In going down to the grave, he does but
share the common lot of mortals. Innumerable multitudes have
gone thither before him, and the succeeding generations of men
shall follow him to the same house appointed for all living. Scott.
Others suppose a funeral procession to be referred to.
CHAP. XXII.
Here begins the third series of controversy. Eliphaz, unable
to refute the reasoning in Job's last discourse, founded as it was
on undeniable facts, proceeds to misrepresent his sentiments, and
even to charge him with particular crimes. He begins with an
attempt to expose to ridicule Job's complaints respecting his afflic
tions, his assertions of his innocence, and his appeals to the Deity,
as if he had set up arrogant claims upon the divine justice, and had
demanded a reward for his goodness. 1-5. He goes on to assert
that Job's wickedness, and not injustice on the part of the Deity,
was the cause of his misery, and charges him with a variety of
enormous crimes. 6-1 1. He also accuses him of having adopted
the corrupt principles of those impious men, who, in former times,
had perished by a flood, and warns him not to pursue their course,
and thus incur their punishment. 12-20. In conclusion, he ex
horts him to repentance, and gives a splendid picture of the pros
perity, to which he might look as a reward. 21-30.
Ver. 4. Will he contend ice ? i. e. in a judicial controversy.
Is he afraid that his character will suffer by thy complaints, unless,
in obedience to thy citation, he submit to a trial, and argue his
cause before some tribunal ?

72 NOTES. Ch. XXII.
Ver. 7. Thou hast refused $fc. Amongst the eastern nations
hospitality was, and still is, regarded as a duty of the most sacred
obligation. Ver. 8. But the man of power had the land : i. e. through
your connivance, or influence, the great were sure to gain their
cause, when they set up a claim to the land of the poor. Or
the meaning may be, that the rich were always welcome to Job ;
that his house was open to them, and his land before them, when
the poor were driven away from his house and territories. Or,
perhaps, it is a more general proverbial expression, denoting the
partiality and honour, with which Job regarded the great and
powerful. Ver. 9. — and broken the arms : i. e. thou hast taken away all
their support. AU the ancient versions render N^T. in the second
pers. sing, which makes it probable that N3ir\ was formerly in
the text.
Ver. 10. — snares : This was a common metaphor for danger
and destructiye calamities ; as darkness and floods of water for
overwhelming misery.
Ver. 12-20. What Job had said, in the preceding chapter, of
the general impunity and prosperity of the wicked, was matter of
fact. But this calumniator misrepresents his discourse, as a denial
of a divine providence, grounded on most absurd notions of the
Supreme Being, as though he were limited in his presence, and
could not see what passeth in our world. The immense distance
of heaven, the habitation of God, is represented by its being far
above the stars. Scott.
Ver. 13. Can he govern behind tlie thick darkness ? Can he
see, through the thick clouds, the crimes that are committed on
earth, and thus inflict the punishment, which they merit ?
Ver. 14. And he walketh upon the arch of heaven. So Ges. and
Eich. i. e. He is at an immense distance from the earth, and whol
ly occupied in the concerns of the heavenly world. So Lucretius,
Lib. II. 646. Omnis enim per se Divom natura necesse est
Immortali aevo summa cum pace fruatur,

Ch. XXH. ' NOTES. 73
Semota a nostris rebus, sejunctaque longe.
Nam privata dolore omni, privata pericUs,
Ipsa suis pollens opibus, nihil iudiga nostri,
Nee bene promeritis capitur, nee tangitur ira.
Ver. 15. Wilt thou take the old way dpc. i. e. Are you willing
to adopt the principles of those impious men, who lived in the time
of the deluge 1
Ver. 17. By describing the impiety of these men in the very
terms used by Job in chap. xxi. 14, 15, he confronts their exam-
plary destruction to Job's assertion ofthe impunity and felicity of
such characters. Scott.
Ver. 20. — our adversary : — his abundance. So Ges. Ros.
and De Wette.
Ver. 24. Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust ; So Merc. Ros.
and Ges. Grotius and others render :
Regard gold as dust,
And the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brook ;
But this is not so conformable to the usual sense of the words, nor
so fit to be addressed to one in Job's condition.
Ver. 27. And thou shalt perform thy vows ; i. e. Thou shalt
obtain those blessings for which thou didst make thy vows, and
accordingly perform them.
Ver. 28. And light shall shine upon thy ways : i. e. Thou shalt
have success and prosperity in all thy pursuits.
Ver. 29. When men are cast down Sfc. The meaning probably
is, When men are in affliction, or in low circumstances, such shall
be the efficacy of thy prayers, that God will raise them up. The
word men is supplied. Ros. thinks that T.9T]i *% ways, should be
supplied from the preceding line. When thy ways are cast, down :
i, e. when thou art in adversity.
Ver. 30. — him, that is not innocent. The particle 'K, rendered
island, in the common version, is used as a negative in 1 Sam. iv.
21. It is so rendered here, in the Chald. and by Le Clerc, Ros.
Ges. and De Wette. The same sentiment is found in Gen. xviii*
19

74 NOTES. , Ch. XXIH:
24, Ezek. xxii. 30, Jer. v. 1. Ro$. also observes, that it may be
designed to refer to chap. xiii. 8. &c. where it appears that Jeho
vah forgave the friends of Job on account of his intercession.
CHAP. XXIII. XXIV.
This reply of Job is the effusion of a mind agitated by various
strong emotions ; by deep grief; Ver. 2. by an earnest desire to
argue his cause with God, since he could obtain neither justice
nor mercy from his friends ; 3-7. by distress, that he could not
obtai'n his desire ; 8, 9. by consolation in the testimony of his
conscience; 10-12. and by consternation and despair, arising
from the thought of God's absolute dominion, and die immutabili
ty of his designs. 13-17. Having in some measure relieved his
mind by the foregoing effusions, he makes one effort more to
convince bis adversaries "by reasoning with them. He denies the
constancy, and even the frequency, ofthe judgments of God upon
wicked men. He produces a catalogue of enormous crimes, such
as theft, oppression of the poor, adultery, murder and tyranny, at
which, as he thinks, the Governor of the world seems to connive,
by forbearing to punish the authors of them ; by suffering them to
flourish during life, and to be fortunate and happy in the time and
circumstances of their death. Ch. xxiv.
Ver. 3. O that I knew fyc. He desires to go before the tribu
nal of God, as a man, whose character has been assailed, may de
mand a trial at an earthly bar.
Ver. 6. Would he contend Sfc ? i. e. He would not overawe me,
or put me down, by his superior power, but would rather listen to
what I might offer in my defence, — would have regard: O'Wl,
13S being understood. See iv. 20. xxxiv. 23.
Ver. 7. There an upright man Sfc. He speaks of himself in
the third person.
Ver. 8, 9. These words are designed to express, not the mere
invisibility of the Deity, but the earnest desire of Job, conscious,
as he was, of his innocence, to obtain some visible manifestation
of the Deity, and to expostulate with him, face to face, upon his
unmerited sufferings. Scott.

Ch. XXIV. NOTES. 75
Ver. 10. But he knoweth Sfc. But my consolation is, that God
seeth my heart and my conduct. He trieth me : i. e. He examin-
eth and proveth my character. See Ges. upon 3H3.
Ver. 12. — in my bosom. I have followed the Sept. and Vulg.,
which appear to have read 'pil? instead of 'ppn. The former
reading corresponds much better to the verb |3X, which means to
hide, to treasure up. But a person desires food. So Eich. and
De Wette.
Ver. 17. — darkness : i. e. affliction, misery.
Ch. XXIV. 1. Why is not the condition fyc. So Merc. Ros.
Ges. and De Wette. This is an expression of impatience and dis
satisfaction with the course of providence. If the character and
fortunes of men were unknown to the Almighty, it would not, as
he thinks, be surprising, that the wicked should prosper, instead of
receiving the punishment, which they merit. But since all the
ways of men are known to God, it is matter of perplexity and as
tonishment to Job, that the wicked, whom he describes in this
chapter, are suffered to go unpunished. C nj;, fortunes, condition,
the good or the evil, which befalls one. Ps. xxxi. 16. See Ges.
Schultens renders it thus :
Why are not stated times (of punishment) reserved by the Almighty ?
And why do not they, that know him, see his judgments ?
Ver. 2. — and pasture them. They are so shameless, that they
pasture, in public view, the flocks, which they have stolen from
the helpless.
Ver. 5. — they go forth to their work: i. e. the poor and needy
of the preceding verse, who go forth to their daily toil of seeking
such roots and vegetables, as the woods and mountains afford
for their miserable subsisteuce. So Cocceius and Schultens, who
refer to Ecclesiasticus xiii. 19.
Ver. 6. — the harvest : literally, his harvest, referring to oppres
sor, in the next line. So Coeceius, Junius, and Schultens.
Ver. 7, Dr. Shaw tells us, that in Arabia Petraea tie day is in
tensely hot.and the night intensely cold, Travel: p. 438, 4to.
Scott.

76 NOTES. Ch. XXIV.
Ver. 8. And embrace the rock. This exactly agrees with what
Niebuhr says of the modern wandering Arabs, near mount Sinai.
Voyage en Arabic, torn 1. p. 187. " Those, who cannot afford
a tent, spread out a cloth upon four or six stakes ; and others
spread their cloth near a tree, or endeavour to shelter themselves
from the heat and the rain, in the cavities of the rocks." Burder.
Ver. 10, 11. So Addison, in his Letter from Italy.
The poor inhabitant beholds in vain
The reddening orange and the swelling grain ;
Joyless he sees the growing oils and wines,
And in the myrtle's fragrant shade repines ;
Starves, in the midst of nature's bounty curst,
And in the loaden vineyard dies for thirst.
Ver. 12. And God regardeth not their prayer. D,i2^, for 3^ bp_
erty;, to lay to heart, to regard. Ps. 1. 23. And, by altering the
points, xhspi folly, becomes nbiin, a prayer ; which is the read
ing of two manuscripts, and of the Syriac version. So Doed.
and Dathe. Others, And God regardeth not the wickedness.
Ver. 13. Others hate the light Sfc. : literally, These, i. e. the
following, are among those, who hate fyc. So Merc. This is a
description of criminals, who practice their deeds of violence and
injustice under the protection of darkness.
Ver. 14. With the light c\c. i. e. very early, by day-break.
Micah. ii 1. Wo to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon
their beds ! in the light of the morning they practice it.
Ver. 15. And putteth a mask upon his face. So Juv. Sat.
viii. 144.  si nocturnus adulter
Tempora Santonico velas adoperta cucuUo.
Ver. 16. In the day-lime they . shut themselves up. See Ges.
Upon Dnn. iacpgayiaav savtovg. Sept.
Ver. 17. The morning, which discovers their evil deeds, is as
terrible and hateful to these criminals, as the shadow of death, or
the grossest darkness, is to other people. They are familiar with :
i. e. they like and desire the terrors of midnight darkness : i. e.

Ch. XXIV. NOTES. 77
midnight darkness, which is terrible to others. So Merc. Poole,
and Ros.
Ver. 18. They are swift Sfc. The words as the skiff are sup
plied. The line expresses the speed with which the person es
capes, after the commission of a crime. — accursed portion Spc.
i. e. They dwell in desert and uncultivated places, called accurs
ed ; as, on the other hand, cultivated land is said to be blessed
by God. — the vineyards : i. e. the abodes of civilized men, lest
they be apprehended. The explanation of this and the following
difficult verses is that adopted by Mercer, Patrick, and Ros.
Ver. 19. They do not die of lingering diseases, like that with
which lie was afflicted, but go down to the grave as easily as snow
water sinks into the ground, when it is melted by the sun.
Ver. 20. God sets no such mark of his displeasure upon him,
but that his mother may soon forget him. The hand of justice
does not hang him on a gibbet, that he may be the food of birds,
but he descends into his grave by so gentle a death, that the worm
is said to be sweet unto him. There he lies quietly, and is no
more remembered. He does not die by a lingering disease, but
is taken away suddenly and without pain, like a dry tree, which is
broken and removed without difficulty. Verses 18, 19, 20 have
been rendered thus :
May he be as a Ught thing upon the waters j
May his portion in the earth be accursed ;
May he not come near the vineyards !
Drought and heat consume the snow waters,
So may the grave the wicked !
May his own mother forget him ;
May the worm feed sweetly on him ;
May he be no more remembered ;
May the unrighteous man be broken as a tree !'
Ver. 22. He taketh away : i. e. destroyeth. See Ps. xxviii. 3.
Ezek. xxxii. 20. He riseth up : i. e. against the mighty, and ev
ery one of them fears for his life. Ros.
Ver. 21. He oppresseth the barren 8pc. He adds affliction to
one, who has no children to help her, and who is already afflicted

78 NOTES. Ch. XXV.
with that, which, in those days, was regarded as a curse and re
proach. Ver. 23. God giveth: literally, He giveth: See note on ch. vi.
10. And his eyes are upon their ways. That is, God seems to
smile upon them and prosper them in all their enterprises.
Ver. 24. They are exalted fyc. The complaint is, 1. that the
wicked are advance to great preeminence ; 2. that they are favour
ed with a death quick and easy, which is preceded by no reverse
of their prosperity, is brought on by no disease, and is embittered
by no sharp and lingering pains. This indulgent circumstance is
happily illustrated by the beautiful simile, which closes the peri
od. Scott.
CHAP. XXV.
The short reply ^Bildad, in this chapter, asserts, in a lofty
strain, the awful majesty, supreme dominion, and infinite perfec
tion of the Deity. Hence he infers the excessive arrogance of
justifying one's self before God, and impeaching the rectitude of
his government. His remarks are directed against the conduct
of Job, in calling upon God for a trial, and in using arguments,
which seemed to call in question God's justice. He does not at
tempt to answer the assertions of Job, in the last chapter, respect
ing the prosperity of the wicked. These were founded on facts,
which could not be denied, and which could not be explained, on
the principles of Job's opponents. It is, therefore, probable, that
the poet assigned this last feeble effort to Bildad, merely in order
to give occasion to the triumph of Job, in the chapter following.
Ver. 2. He maintaineth peace in his high places : i.e. He ruleth
all the inhabitants of heaven, in peace and harmony. Ch. xxi. 22.
Ver. 3. — his armies ? i. e. his angels. See Dan. iv. 35. And
upon whom doth not his light arise ? Some suppose that this line
is intended to set forth the glory of God, in general. As, in xxxvi.
30, he is said to spread around himself his light, and, elsewhere,
to cover himself with light, as with a garment : and to dwell in the
light, which no man can approach unto. Others, that it expresses
the omniscience of God ; that it represents his light, as penetrat-

Ch. XXVI. NOTES. 70
ing every thing, and making every thing known. Others, that
his light here denotes his sun.
Ver. 5. Behold ! even the moon <$•«. So the Vulg. Ecce, luna
etiam non splendet : See Ros.
CHAP. XXVI.
Job begins his reply with sarcasms upon his last opponent, as
having offered nothing relevant to the subject in dispute. He
then endeavours to show, that, if the question related to the power
and perfections of the Deity, he could speak in as lofty a style as
his opponents, of the effects of the divine power in heaven, earth,
and the regions under the earth. His purpose is to show, that his
confident assertions of his innocence are by no means inconsistent
with the most exalted views of the wisdom and power of the gov-
ernour of the world ; that he adores the perfections of God, and
yet denies that his misery is a proof of his guilt.
Ver. 2. — the weak: There has been a doubt, to whom this
ironical expression is to be applied ; whether to Job, to the other
two opponents of Job, or to the Deity. From the connexion, ver.
4, and from the design and tenour of the whole chapter, it seems
most probable that Job refers to himself.
Ver. 4. To whom fyc. i. e. Do you think me ignorant of the
perfections of God, that you address me on the subject with such
a magisterial air 1 And whose spirit spake through thee ? i. e.
To what extraordinary inspiration canst thou pretend ?
Ver. 5. Departed spirits : i. e. Ghosts, shades, the inhabitants
of Hades, whom the ancient Hebrews conceived of, as without
strength and sensation. el'SaXa xafiovtmv. See Ps. Ixxxviii. 10,
Prov. ii. 18. ix. 18. xxi. 16, Is. xiv. 9, 10. xxvi. 14, 19. — trem
ble : i. e. at the majesty and power of God. The verb Sin is of
ten used in this sense, and is so rendered in the common version,
in Hab. iii. 10.
Ver. 6. Hades : Destruction : These are different words, ex
pressing the same thing, viz. the abode of departed spirits, which
was supposed to be a vast cavern, far in the interior of the earth.
See the passages referred to, in the preceding note, and Jahn's

80 NOTES. Ch. XXVI.
Archaeology, § 203, and 207. With this description of the He
brew poet, compare the passage on the same topic, quoted by Lon-
ginus from Homer, as one of unrivalled sublimity.
tSSsias S vnivsg&sv avaS ivsgav, JiScovsvg"
Sslaag S ix S-govov dXto, xal laxs, firj ol vitsg-ds ,
yaiav avaggq&is IloanSdmr ivoatx&oov,
oixia Ss -dvrjtoiai xal a-d-avdtoiai cpavq-r)
a/isgSaXs , svgcucvxa, xa xs oxvyiovai Ssol -nig'
toaaog aga xtvnog wgxo S-smv i'giSi l-vviovtav. Iliad, xx. 16.
Upstarted from his throne, appalled, the king
Of Erebus, and with a cry his fears
Through hell proclaim'd, lest Neptune, o'er his head
Shattering the vaulted earth, should wide disclose
To mortal and immortal eyes his realm
Of horrour, thirst, and woe, detested sight
E'en to the gods themselves ; with such a sound
The powers eternal into battle rush'd. Cowper.
¦ Ver. 7. He> stretcheth out the north: i. e. the northern hemi
sphere, or the whole visible heaven, like a canopy or tent. Is.
xl. 22.
Ver. 8. He bindeth Spc. i. e. He eollecteth the waters, as it
were, in bottles or vessels, which do not let them fall, until he is
pleased to send them, drop by drop, upon the earth.
Ver. 9. — the face of his throne : i. e. the clear sky, which is
sometimes covered with clouds. Is. lxvi. 1. Heaven is my
throne fyc.
Ver. 10. He hath drawn a circular bound $pc. The ancients
seem to have believed that only the northern hemisphere enjoyed
the light of the sun, and that all below the horizon was in perpetual
darkness. They also supposed that the earth was surrounded by
water, upon which the concave of heaven seemed to rest, and
hence the idea of a circular bound, drawn, as it were, by compas
ses at the extreme verge of the celestial hemisphere, where the
light was supposed to end, and the darkness to begin. See Virg.
Georg. I. 247.

Ch. XXVU. NOTES. 81
Illic, ut perhibent, aut intempesta silet nox
Semper, et obtenta. densantur nocte tenebrae ;
Aut redit a nobis Aurora, diemque reducit.
Ver. 11. The pillars of heaven tremble : Some suppose that
the mountains of the earth, upon which the sky seems to rest, are
intended ; but it is more probable that heaven is represented as an
immense edifice, supported on lofty columns, like a temple. — Ids
rebuke : i. e. thunder, lightning, and tempestuous winds, which
were supposed to be tokens of God's displeasure.
Ver. 12. — he stirreth up : See Ges. upon WJ. — he smiteth its
pride, i. e. he restrains its rage, and turns a storm into a calm.
Ver. 13. — the Northern Serpent. So Mich. Eich. and De
Weite. This constellation is described by Virgil, Georg. I. 244.
Maximus hie flexu sinuoso elabitur Anguis
Crrcum, perque duas in morem fluminis Arctos,
Arctos Oceani metuentes requore tingi.
Ver. 14. Lo ! these are but the borders of his works : i. e. We
are acquainted only with the surface and outlines of the works of
God. How faint the whisper Sfc. i. e. How very little do we
know concerning the divine operations 1 But the thunder of his
power : By this expression some understand ' the higher exertions
of his power,' as opposed to those, with which we are in some
measure acquainted. The meaning thus will be, that what is
known of God's works is to that which is unknown, as a whisper
to a peal of thunder. Others suppose, that thunder of his power
means the loudest and most terrible thunder.
CHAP. XXVII. XXVIII.
The three friends of Job now give up the discussion. Bildad,
his last opponent, had said but a few words, and those in the
manner of a retreating adversary. He had also been triumphant
ly driven, as it were, from his ground by Job. Zophar, therefore,
is represented as thinking it prudent to make no reply. From
this discomfiture of his opponents, Job, taking courage, goes on
to express his feelings and views in a more calm, but not less de
cided, manner than before. He begins with a renewed and solemn
20

82 NOTES. Ch. XXVII.
declaration of his innocence, and expresses the most resolute de
termination to assert it against all, who may call it in question, to
the very last moment of his life. 2-7. On account of what he had
said of the prosperity of the wicked, his opponents had accused
him of approving them, and of envying their condition. He,
therefore, expresses his abhorrence of a vicious character, and
speaks of the satisfactions, arising from virtue and piety, to which
the wicked man is a stranger. 8-10. He had all along maintain
ed in opposition to his friends, that this world is not the scene of a
regular distribution of good and evil, that virtue is often oppressed,
and vice triumphant ; and that the greater part of wicked men go
unpunished, grow old in ease and affluence, and at length die in
peace. But now, having reduced his opponents to silence, he
frankly owns, that there are some examples of divine vengeance,
such as they had asserted ; that the evils, which sometimes, though
not always, as they contended, are the consequences of guilt, are
sufficient to deter him from envying the condition ofthe wicked, and
from following their evil courses. 1 1-23. The subject of the next
chapter is wisdom : i. e. such a knowledge of the entire plan of
providence, as will enable one to account for all its dispensations.
Job had allowed in the former chapter, that God makes examples
of some wicked men. He had maintained in ch. xxi, that others
equally guilty escape with impui'ity. He had also asserted in ch.
ix. 22, that general calamities involve the best and the worst men
in one common destruction. These are perplexing appearances.
Hence his thoughts are naturally led up to those impenetrable
counsels which direct all this seeming confusion. The powers of
the human mind have made surprising discoveries in natural things.
Man has penetrated the bowels of the earth, and surmounted the
greatest obstacles for the purpose of obtaining the treasures, hid
den in those regions of darkness. But all the riches of the world
cannot purchase, nor the highest genius and industry of man at
tain, the knowledge of the whole plan of providence in the ad
ministration of the world,. Only He can comprehend the whole,
to whom are known all his works from the beginning. The infer
ence is that, instead of prying into mysteries, which he cannot
understand, the duty of man is to adore his Maker, and obey his
commandments. This is the wisdom proper to man.

Ch. XXVII. NOTES. 83
Ver. 2. — who hath rejected my cause : i.*e. who hath refused
me justice.
Ver. 4. — deceit : i. e. the deceit of confessing guilt, of which
he is not conscious.
Ver. 6. I will hold fast Sfc. I will continue to assert it, or I
will not acknowledge that I am guilty. My heart eye. ov ydg av-
voiSa ijiavxat axona ngdl-ag. Sept. Neque enim reprehendit me cor
meum in omni vita mea. Vulg.
Ver. 8. See Ges. upon PX3, and nhw.
Ver. 13. The passage from this verse to the end of the chapter
presents a difficulty ; since, at first view, Job seems to renounce
his former sentiments, and to adopt those of his opponents. One
method of explaining it is given in the introduction to this chap
ter. Another is that, which supposes the passage to contain only
the language ascribed to his opponents by Job, the vain thoughts
mentioned in ver. 12. Dr. Kennicott, however, supposes that the
original text is imperfect, and that the 11 verses were spoken by
Zophar. He observes that " the plan of the former part of the
poem is as follows.
Ch. iv & v Eliphaz, 1st Speech  Job replies ; ch. vi & vii.
 viii Bildad, 1st Speech  Job replies — ix &- x.
 xi Zophar, 1st Speech  Job replies xii, xiii, xiv.
Ch. xv Eliphaz, 2d Speech  Job replies ; ch. xvi, xvii.
 xviii Bildad, 2d Speech  Job replies — xix.
 xx Zophar, 2d Speech  Job replies — xxi.
Ch. xxii Eliphaz, 3d Speech  Job replies ; ch. xxiii, xxiv.
 xxv Bildad, 3d Speech  Job rep. xxvi, & (now) xxvii.
It is therefore evident, that Eliphaz and Bildad speak three times ;
and are as often answered by Job : but, though the regular mechan
ism of the several parts leads us to expect a third speech likewise
from Zophar, yet we are greatly disappointed. But that we really,
even now, are in possession of a third speech made by Zophar, will
probably be allowed by most of those readers, who consider well
the following remarks.

84 NOTES. Ch. XXVII.
The eleven verses, which conclude chapter xxvii, and are now
given as the words of Job, cannot have been spoken by Job ;
because they contain such doctrine as Job himself could not hold,
and which indeed he expressly denies : namely, that great calam
ities prove great wickedness. But these eleven verses perfectly
express the sentiments of Zophar, and are in his fierce manner of
accusation ; and they stand in the very place, where Zophar's third
speech is naturally expected. We should observe also, that if, in
answer to Bildad's third speech, Job's reply is contained in ch.
xxvi, and in the first 12 verses of ch. xxvii, that reply ends there,
very properly, thus : — Behold, att, ye yourselves have seen it ; why
then are you thus altogether vain ? But, which is a stronger argu
ment, the thirteenth verse, here supposed to begin Zophar's third
speech, is the very maxim, and nearly in the same words, with the
conclusion of Zophar's second speech : so that he means to say
—I abide by my last position ; and what I before maintained, I
maintain still. It is presumed, that the title, now beginning ch.
xxvii, should begin ch. xxviii ; and, that before verse thirteenth of
ch. xxvii, should be read, Then answered Zophar the Naamathite,
and said.
Besides the objection to this hypothesis, arising from its want
of support from any manuscripts or versions, Ros. observes, that
if the passage were the speech of Zophar, it might have been ex
pected that Job would have given an answer to it in ch. xxviii.
Ver. 15. — shall be buried by Death : i. e. they shall have no
grave-digger but Death, or, they shall be unburied. See Jer. xvi.
4. Others render it, — shall be brought to the grave by the pesti
lence : &dvaxog sometimes has this meaning in the Apocalypse.
Ver. 16. And procure raiment as clay : It was the custom of
the ancients to lay up raiment in their treasuries, as well as gold
and silver. So Virgil of Messapus Ma. ix. 26.
Dives equum, dives picta'i vestis et auri.
It is customary through all the East, says Sir J. Chardin, to
gather together immense quantities of furniture and clothes ; for
their fashions never alter.
Ver. 18. — like the moth. The house and family of the oppres-

Ch. XXVIII. NOTES. S5
sor shall not be more durable than the slight fabrick, which the
moth makes in a garment, and which is destroyed, when the gar
ment is moved or shaken. See Dr. Harris's Nat. Hist, of the Bi
ble, p. 297. Or like the shed c\c. which was made for the watch
man of a garden, whose business it was to defend the fruit from
birds and beasts, while it was ripening, and which was taken
down, when the fruit was gathered. Mr. Southey opens the fifth
part of his Curse of Kehama with a similar allusion, quoted by
Dr. Good. Evening comes on : arising from the stream,
Homeward the tall flamingo wings his flight ;
And where he sails athwart the setting beam,
His scarlet plumage glows with deeper light.
The watchman, at the wish'd approach of night,
Gladly forsakes the field, where he all day,
To scare the winged plunderers from their prey,
With shout and sling, on yonder clay-built height,
Hath borne the sultry ray.
Ver. 19. The rich man lieth down : i. e. dies : and is not buri
ed. So Merc. Ges. and Ros.
Ch. XXVIII. 2. And stone is melted into copper. So Pliny
Nat. Hist, xxxiv. 1, and xxxvi. 27. Ms fit ex lapide aeroso, quem
vocant Cadmiam ; et igne lapides in aes solvuntur.
Ver. 3. Man putteth an end to darkness : ,i. e. The darkest re
cesses of the earth are made light by torches, carried thither by
man. Even to the stone of darkness; Schultens supposes the
centre of the earth to be denoted by this expression. Others, the
metallic ore, in the darkest parts of the earth.
Ver. 4. — a passage : i. e. a shaft or passage, leading into a
mine. Unsupported by the feet : literally, Forgotten by the feet :
i. e. They do not descend by their feet, but are let down by ropes
or baskets.
Ver. 5. — torn up cfc. i. e. Effects are produced by man, in
excavating the earth, similar to those produced by subterranean
fires. So Pliny, xxxiii. Persequimur omnes ejus (terras) fibras,
vivimusque super excavatam. Imus in viscera ejus, et in sede

86 NOTES Ch. XXVffl.
Manium opes quaerimus, tanquam parum benigni fertilique, qua-
qua calcatur*. Hist. Nat. xxxiii.
Ver. 6. And her dust is gold for man. So Le Clerc, Junius,
and Tremellius.
Ver. 7. The path thereto : i. e. to the place of sapphires, gold
ore &c. Verses 7th and 8th are probably designed to illustrate
the intrepidity of man in penetrating' these dangerous regions of
darkness. The most daring birds and beasts of prey would not
venture into them.
Ver. 9. Man layeth his hand^fyc. This and the following ver
ses describe the immense labour and difficulty of working a mine.
Ver. 10. He causeth streams c\c. This was done either for
the purpose of drawing off the water, which impeded their opera
tions, or of washing the impure ore.
Ver. 11. He stoppeih the oozing Sfc. i. e. the water which
trickles down the shaft of the mine.
Ver. 12. But where shall wisdom be found ? Having given an
imposing view of the powers of man in regard to natural things,
he proceeds to give as emphatic a representation of his inability
to fathom the counsels of God, or to understand the reasons,
which direct him in the government of the world, particularly,
in the distribution of happiness and misery.
Ver. 13. Man knoweth not the price thereof : i. e. He hath no
means or ability to obtain it.
Ver. 21. And kept close from the fowls of the air : i. e. The
residence of wisdom is beyond the flight of the swiftest and strong
est birds. This is saying, in a poetical, and perhaps, a proverbial
manner, that this wisdom is not to be found within the limits of
our world. Scott.
Ver. 22. Destruction and Death : i. e. Hades. We have heard
the fame fyc. i. e. It is at such an immense distance from us,
that we have only heard a rumour respecting it.
Ver. 23. God- only knoweth the way to it : i. e. God only
knoweth the reasons of his dispensations to men.

Ch. XXIX. NOTES.. 87

Ver. 27. — and make it known : i. e. to his angels. Or, He
made his wisdom visible in his works.
Ver. 28. — that is thy wisdom : i. e. The wisdom of man doth
not consist in the knowledge of the reasons of the divine govern
ment, but in piety and holiness.
CHAP. XXIX. XXX. XXXI.
Job now returns to his own case, as a striking illustration of the
mysterious ways of providence, of which he had spoken in the last
chapter. His aim is to show, that all his pleadings and complaints
were well founded. He beautifully descants upon his former pros
perity, ch. xxix, and exhibits the striking contrast between it and
his present affliction and debasement. Ch. xxx. Lastly, in answer
to the unfounded insinuations and false charges of his friends, he
relates the principal transactions of his past life, asserts his integ
rity, as displayed in the discharge of all his duties relating to God
and man, and again appeals to the omniscience and justice of God,
in attestation of his sincerity. Ch. xxxi. Lowth.
Ver. 3. When his lamp shone over my head : The houses of
Egypt, according to Maillet, are never without lights in the night
time. If such were the ancient custom, not only of Egypt, but of
the neighbouring countries of Judea and Arabia, it will strongly
illustrate this passage. Mr. Scott, however, thinks that there is
probably an allusion to the lamps, which hung from the ceiling in
the banqueting rooms of the wealthy Arabs ; not unlike what Vir
gil mentions in the palace of Dido.
 -dependent lychni laquearibus aureis
Incensi.
From gilded roofs depending lamps display
Nocturnal beams, that imitate the day.
The extraordinary favour of God, and his protecting care are de
noted by the metaphors in both parts of this verse.
Ver. 4. When I communed with God Sfc. literally, When confi
dential intercourse with God was Spc. See 11D in Ges. It is
rendered sweet counsel, in Ps. Iv. 14.

88 NOTES. Ch. XXIX.
Ver. 6. When I washed Sfc. Olive groves and abundance of
cattle made the principal wealth of the Arabs. The best olives
grew upon the rocky mountains. Hence the bold figures by
which the Arabs express a condition of uncommon felicity. See
Deut. xxxii. 13, 14. Scott.
Ver. 7. — to the gate : i. e. the forum, or place where the
courts were held. And took my seat S^c. " Job here speaks of
himself as a civil magistrate, who had a seat erected for him to sit
upon, whilst he was hearing and trying causes ; and this was set
up in the street, in the open air, before the gate of the city, where
great numbers might be convened, and hear and see justice done.
The Arabs, to this day, hold their courts of justice in an open
place under the heavens, as in a field, or a market-place." Bur-
der's Oriental Customs, No. 515.
Ver. 8. And the aged arose and stood. This is a most elegant
description, and exhibits most correctly the great reverence and
respect, which was paid even by the old and decrepit to the holy
man in passing along the streets, or when he sat in public. They
not only rose, which in men so old and infirm was a great mark
of distinction, but they stood ; they continued to do it, though the
attempt was so difficult. Lowth.
Ver. 14. — and it clothed me : i. e. it rewarded me with repu
tation and happiness ; it was an ornament to me.
Ver. 18. — I shall die in my nest: Schultens remarks that the
image is taken from the eagle, who builds his nest on the summit
of a rock. Security is the point of resemblance intended. See
Numb. xxiv. 21. Obad. ver. 4, Job xxxix. 27, 28.
Ver. 19. My root is spread fyc. A tree planted by the rivers of
waters, and bringing forth its fruit in its season, is a beautiful em
blem of prosperity. See Ps. i. 3. The dews, which fall very
plentifully in the night, contribute greatly to the nourishment of
vegetables in those hot climates, where they have scarcely any
rain during the summer. Scott.
Ver. 20. My glory is fresh : A flourishing evergreen was the
image in the preceding verse, and is carried on in this. And my

Ch. XXX. NOTES. 89
bow gathers strength in my hand. By the state of the weapons
commonly used, the Orientals express the condition, as to strength
or weakness, prosperity or adversity, of the person, who uses them.
See Gen. xlix. 23. 24. The figure is very common in Arabic
poetry, as may be seen in Schultens' note upon this verse.
Ver. 22. When my speech dropped down upon them. So Deut.
xxxii. 2. My doctri.te shqll^drop as the rain. So Homer speaks
of Nestor's eloquence. Iliad. I. 249.
Tov xal ttTtb yXwoorjg (isXixog yXvxltov gisv avdi'j.
Words, sweet as honey, from his lips distill'd. Pope.
So also Milton, Par. Lost II. 112.
 though his tongue
Dropt manna, 
Ver. 23. They waited fyc. i. e. They waited for my opinion
with the same eager desire, with which the husbandman doth the
showers, after he hath sown his seed ; they gaped for it, as the thirsty
earth doth for the latter rain, to plump the corn. Patrick.
Amongst the Egyptians, the heavens pouring down rain or dew
was the hieroglyphic of learning and instruction. Burder. ,
Ver. 24. If I smiled upon them, they believed it not : The rev
erence in which I was held, was so great, that if I laid aside my
gravity and was familiar with them, they could scarcely believe that
they were so highly honoured ; my very smiles were received with
awe. Nor did they cause the light of my countenance to fall. In
the Scriptures, to lift up the light of the countenance means to
show favour. The opposite expression, therefore, to cause the light
of the countenance to fall must mean to provoke displeasure by un
becoming behaviour ; to bring a cloud upon the countenance.
Ver. 25. When I came among them : literally, I chose their
way : the particle ON. being understood.
Ch. XXX. Ver. 1. — younger than I: The veneration paid
to the aged by the Orientals, quickened their sensibility with respect
to contempt and indignities offered by the young.
21

90 NOTES. Ch. XXX.
Ver. 2. When their strength was wasted away ? See nSg in
Ges. So Dathe, Ros. and De Wette.
Ver. 3. — solitary : i. e. They avoided the society of men on
account of their poverty. See note on iii. 7. Into dark and des
olate places : more literally, To darkness, wasting, and desolation ;
or, To the night of wasting and desolation. See Merc, or Ges.
upon ttfnsj. i*'.
Ver. 4. — mallows : It is doubtful whether this word designates
the plant intended. It is most probable that it denotes the plant
halimus, which Dioscorides describes as a kind of bramble with
out thorns, the leaves of which used to be boiled and eaten. See
Harris's Nat. Hist, of the Bible, p. 285. — the broom. This is
a plant abounding in the desert and sandy plains of Egypt and
Arabia. Its root is very bitter. See Ros.
Ver. 11. They loosen the reins, and afflict me. They insult and
afflict me without restraint. Thus the meaning is the same as
that of the other clause of the verse. See Schultens, Ros. and
Ges. upon i/v.
Ver. 12. — their brood. The youth are thus called by way of
reproach. They raise up ways for my destruction. More liter
ally, They raise up their ways of destruction, or destructive ways,
against me. The metaphor is drawn from the advance ofa be
sieging army against a city.
Ver. 13. They break up my path : i. e. They oppose all my
plans, and hinder me from taking any course for my relief or ben
efit. They that had no helper I Schultens has shown that the
phrase, one, who has no helper, was proverbial amongst the Arabs,
and denoted a worthless person, or one of the lowest class. It is
probably so used here.
Ver. 16. — is poured out in grief : So in Ps. xiii. 4. In our
language we say that one is dissolved in grief. The foundation of
the metaphor is, that in excessive grief the mind loses, as it
were, all consistence. The Arabians style a fearful person one
who hath a watery heart : or whose heart melts away like water.
Ver. 18. — my garment is changed : i. e. his skin, which was

Ch. XXX. NOTES.

91

thus affected by the leprosy. Schultens renders it, it (pain) hath
become my garment. He has shown that it is a common met*
aphor in Arabic poetry. It also agrees with the parallel clause;
and, on the whole, I regret that I did not adopt it in the text.
Ver. 19. See ch. ix. 31. and note.
Ver. 20. I stand up : Standing being the usual posture of
prayer amongst the Hebrews, to stand, or stand up, is sometimes
used for to pray, as Grotius remarks in his note on Mat, vi. 5.
See Gen. xviii. 22, Jer. xv. 1. Scott.
Ver. 22. Thou liftest me up 8fc He represents his miseries
under the image of a person caught up into the air by a tempest,
and driven like stubble, or like a cloud, by the wind. —Thou
meltest away my strength: i. e. my strength of body and mind.
Thou leavest nothing solid or firm in me. Some think this to be
a continuation of the metaphor in the first clause, referring to a
«Ioud, which having been driven about by the wind, melts away
and disappears.
Ver. 24. For a defence of this rendering, see Rosenmuller and
Ges. upon^J/3. It is also adopted by De Wette.
Ver. 26. But iohen I looked 8$c. He expected to be made
happy all his life, through the divine benediction, on account of his
charity and other virtues. But instead of that, he was made most
miserable. Ver. 27. My bowels boil Sfc. These expressions, in their liter
al meaning, describe the violent inward heat caused by his in
flammatory disease. They may likewise include the ferment of his
mind, ever since his afflictions came upon him. The heart and the
reins, in the oriental figurative style, denote the thoughts and pas
sions. Scott.
Ver. 28. / am black, but not by the sun. His disease had made
his complexion as swarthy as that of the poor labourers in the
field, who are exposed to the scorching sun in that hot climate ;
and so sharp were his pains that he was obliged to shriek out, even
in a publie assembly.
Ver. 29. I am a brother to ihe jackal; i, e. I am like th«s

02 NOTES. Ch. XXXI,
jackal', with respect to his mournful cries. Dr. Shaw observes
that jackals make a hideous howling in the night. See \r± in Ges.
and Harris's Nat. Hist. p. 1 13. And a companion to the ostrich.
Companion is used, like brother in the preceding line, to denote
resemblance. See Ges. upon nj#i. " During the lonesome part
of the night, says Dr. Shaw, they (the ostriches) make very dole
ful and hideous noises ; which would sometimes be like the roar
ing of a lion; at other times it would Jjear a nearer resemblance
to the hoarser voice of other quadrupeds, particularly of the bull
and the ox. I have often heard them groan, as if they were in
the greatest agonies." Shaws' Travels, p. 450-455. 4to.
Ver. 31. My harp Sfc. These were probably proverbial ex
pressions, denoting a change from happiness to misery.
Ch. XXXI. Ver. 1. The apology of Job in this chapter,
says Mr. Scott, which turns chiefly on his behaviour in private
life, is not the effusion of vanity and self-applause. It is, in regard
to his antagonists, necessary self-defence and solid refutation.
Yet, I think, from its connexion with the foregoing account of his
sufferings, and from verses 35th, 36th, and 37th, his favourite design
evidently is to shew that God had multiplied his wounds without
cause. In this view he is chargeable with justifying himself more
than God ; that is, with making his own cause to be more just than
that of Providence. If we except this fault, however, the picture,
which he has drawn, is a masterly piece of moral painting. Noth
ing can be more finished and amiable than the character here rep
resented. It is an exemplification of the most disinterested virtue,
inspired and ennobled by the most rational and exalted piety.
In short, this apology may be justly styled a fine epitome of mo
rality and religion. That I would not : See fin in Ges.
Ver. 6. Let him weigh me Sfc. Some suppose this verse to be
parenthetical, and that the imprecation in verse 8th relates to verse
5th, as well as to the 7th. Others, that this verse includes a tacit
imprecation. Let him weigh me Sfc, and if I am found guilty,
May he do so to me, and more also !
Ver. 7. —from the way : i. e. of rectitude. Or if any stain :
i. e. any unjust gain. If I have taken the property of others by

Ch. XXXI. NOTES. 93
fraud or violence. The Sept. renders the clause, If I have touch
ed gifts with my hands : i. e. taken bribes.
Ver. 9. — by a woman : A woman here means a married wo
man. It stands opppsed to a maid in verse first, and is rendered
wife in verse tenth.
Ver. 10. Then let my wife grind for another : i.e. Let her be
his abject slave. The ancients ground their corn with hand-mills.
This was the work of female servants. See Ex. xi. 5, Is. xlvii.
2. See Ges. upon JHH.
Ver. 12. Yea it were a fire Sfc. The commission of such a
crime would have provoked God to send destruction, like a con
suming fire, upon my family and, estate. See Ps. lxxiii. 1 4.
Ver. 14. — riseth up : i. e. as a judge, to enquire into and pun
ish the sins of men.
Ver. 16. Or caused the eyes of the widow to fail: i. e. If I
refused her the relief, which she implored of me with earnest eyes.
Ver. 17. Have I eaten my morsel alone ? The Arabs, when on
a journey, after they have prepared their food, go to the highest
ground in the neighbourhood, and call out thrice with a loud
voice to all their brethren, the sons of the faithful, to come and
partake of it. Dr. Shaw tells us, that they did so when he travel
led in that country, though none of those brethren were in view,
or perhaps within a hundred miles of them. Burder.
Ver. 18. — assisted the widow : literally, assisted her, the ante
cedent being in verse 16th.
Ver. 21. When I saw my help at the gate : i. e. When, on ac
count of my influence in the courts of justice, I could commit any
act of injustice with impunity.
Ver. 22. And mine arm Sfc. There is a striking grandeur in
this imprecation on the arm, that was lifted up to threaten an or
phan in a court of justice. Scott.
Ver. 26. If I beheld the sun 4*c Sabiism, or the worship of
the heavenly bodies, was doubtless the most ancient species of

94 NOTES. Ch. XXXI.
idolatry. The Arabs went early into it. They adored the sun
and moon, the planets, and the fixed stars. » The principles, on
which this false religion was founded, were, that man must not ap
proach the Supreme Being without a mediator ; that the angels
are our mediators, who present our worship to God, and convey
his blessings to us ; and that those intelligences, the angels, in
habit the fixed stars and planets, the sun, and the moon, which
are to them what our bodies are to our spirits ; and are the medi
um of their communication with us. So Scott, from Pocock's
Hist. Arab. p. 5. and 138-145.
Ver. 27. And my mouth have kissed my hand : Kissing the idol
was an act of religious homage. The Mahometans, at the present
day, in their worship at Mecca, kiss the black stone, which is fas
tened in the corner of the Beat-Allah, as often as they pass by it,
in their rapid walks round that sacred building. If they cannot
come near enough to kiss it, they touch it with their hand, and
kiss that. This seems to be a remnant of the ancient idolatry,
though not practised as such by them. The heavenly bodies, be
ing at too great a distance for a salute of the mouth, their worship
pers substituted kissing their own hands in place of that ceremony.
Scott. Minutius Felix (De Sacrif, cap. 2. ad fin.) remarks, that
when Caecilius observed the statue of Serapis, " according to the
custom of the superstitious vulgar, he moved his hand to his
mouth, and kissed it with his lips."
Ver. 31. Who is there that hath not been satisfied with his meat ?
So Ros. De Wette, and Scott.
Ver. 32. The stranger fyc. The Arabs value themselves upon
their hospitality, as their highest glory. One of their poets ex
presses himself warmly on the subject. " How often, when echo
gave me notice of a stranger's approach, have I stirred my fire,
that it might give a clear blaze 1 I flew to him as to a prey,
through fear that my neighbours should get possession of him be
fore me." The word echo refers to the practice of a stranger, who
travels in Arabia by night. He imitates the barking of a dog,
and thus sets all the curs in the neigbourhood a barking. Where
upon the people rush out from all parts, striving who shall get the
stranger for his guest. Scott.

Ch. XXXI. NOTES. 95
Ver. 33. Have I, like Adam, hidden my transgressions : Adam
hid himself from th» presence of the Lord amongst the trees of
the garden, aud afterwards endeavoured to palliate his crime. Job
asserts, that he has not imitated him, but has ever been willing to
confess the faults, which he may have committed. Others render,
If, like a man : i. e. after the manner of men, 1 have hidden <$*c.
Ver. 34. I have followed Schultens, Dathe, and Scott in ren
dering this verse in the imprecatory form. Some confine the im
precation to the last line of the verse. Patrick thus paraphrases
verses 34 and 35 : " If I have studied to appear better than I am,
and have not now made a free confession ; but, like our first pa
rent, have concealed or excused my faults, and, out of self-love,
have hidden mine iniquity, because I dread what the people will
say of me, or am terrified by the contempt, into which the knowl
edge of my guilt may bring me with the neighbouring families ;
then ami content my mouth should be stopt, and that I never stir
out of my door any more."
Ver. 35-37. Job here renews the wish, which he had expressed
in ch. xvii. 3. and elsewhere, that God would enter into judgment
with him. He is convinced, that the result of a trial would be
honourable to him. " Bolder words than these Job had not utter
ed in the whole dispute. These provoked Elihu to renew the de
bate, and these are the expressions for which the Almighty chiefly
reprimanded him, in ch. xl. 2. 8, taking little or no notice of the
rest." Michaelis.
Ver. 35. O that there were one, who would hear me ! i. e. O
that I might be tried by some impartial judge ! He wishes that the
cause between God and himself might be brought before some
tribunal. Here is my signature : IP. This was, probably, either
the name of the defendant, or a certain mark, by which he showed
his readiness to come into court for trial ; or, a subscription to the
writings, containing his defence. — accuse me : 'JJ.El. This word
denotes to accuse or testify against, in ch. xv. 6. xvi. 8, Deut.
xix. 16. Yea, let mine adversary write down his charge ! i. e.
Let the Almighty, as an adversary or opponent in court, charge
me with any sins, on account of which I suffer my extraordinary
afflictions.

96 NOTES. Ch.XXXII.
36. Verily I would wear it upon my shoulder, fyc. i. e. Instead
of being ashamed of it, or endeavouring to conceal it, I would
wear it as an ornament about my person. I would glory in it, as
affording me the long desired opportunity of vindicating my char
acter. Ver. 3,7. —all my steps : i. e. the whole course of my life. I
would meet him like a prince : i.e. with confidence and cheerful
ness, as being conscious of innocence, and not as a self-condemned
malefactor, as I am regarded by my friends.
Ver. 38-40. It is not improbable that these verses have acci
dentally been transferred from their original place in the chapter,
and that the speech of Job ended with verse 37th. The natural
place for the passage, according to modern ideas of arrangement,
would be after verse twenty-third, or twenty-fifth.
Ver. 38. — cry out against me : i. e. to God for vengeance,
because I have obtained it from its rightful owners by fraud or vi
olence. See Gen. iv. 10, Hab. ii. 11. — complain together : i.e.
of my injustice in keeping the land dishonestly acquired.
, Ver. 39. — without payment : i. e. without paying the price,
which I promised to give the owner of the land. Or, without
paying the labourers their .wages. And afflicted the soul of its
owners : i. e. by depriving them of their land. The common ver
sion gives the literal meaning of the words. But the expression
is probably hyperbolical, having the meaning above-mentioned.
Ver 40. — nightshade : ntt'K.a. By the Chaldee this word is
rendered noxious herbs ; by Symmachus, plants of imperfect fruit,
by the Sept. the black-berry bush: by Castalio, dwarf elder; by
Celsius, aconite ; by Bp. Stock and Dr. Good, nightshade ; and
by Ges., worthless weeds. See Harris's Nat. Hist. p. 91.
CHAP. XXXII.
With this chapter commences a new division of the poem, the
design of which seems to be to prepare the way for the appearance
of the Deity in the latter part of it. A new speaker is introduced,
of whose extraction, and of whose motives for renewing the debate,

Ch. XXXII. NOTES.

97

an account is given in the first five verses. In the last chapter
Job had triumphantly closed his defence against the accusations of
his friends, and they are now represented as renouncing the dis
cussion with him, " because he was righteous in his own eyes;"
that is, because he contended, that he had been guilty of no wicked
ness, which could call down upon him the heavy vengeance of God.
Elihu now steps forward, as a sort of mediator, or arbiter in the
controversy. He expresses his dissatisfaction with both parties ;
with Job, " because he had pronounced himself righteous, rather
than God," that is, because he had defended so vehemently the
justice of his own cause, that he seemed in some measure to ar
raign the justice of God ; and with the three friends " because
they had not found an answer, and yet had condemned Job ;"
that is, they had concluded in their own minds, that Job was im
pious and wicked, although, they had nothing specific to object
against his assertions of his own innocence, or upon which they
might safely ground their accusation.
Elihu professes, after a slight prefatory mention of himself, to
reason with Job, unbiassed either by favour or resentment. He,
therefore, reproves Job from his own mouth, because he had at
tributed too much to himself; because he had insisted too strongly
upon his freedom from guilt and depravity ; because he had pre
sumed to contend with God, and had not scrupled to insinuate,
that the Deity was hostile to him. He asserts that it is not neces
sary for God to explain and develop his counsels to men ; that he
takes many occasions of admonishing them, not only by visions
and revelations, but also by the visitations of his providence,
by sending calamities and diseases upon them, in order to repress
their arrogance, and turn them from those evil purposes, which
would end in their ruin. He seems to regard afflictions, not as
punishment for past offences nor as evidence of a guilty character ;
but rather as preventives of those sins, which the best men some
times commit, and as salutary discipline for the correction of those
faults, of which a man may be unconscious, until his attention is
awakened by adversity. Ch. xxxiii. He next rebukes Job, be
cause he had pronounced himself innocent, and affirmed that God
had acted inimically, if not injustly, towards him. He brings for-
22

98 NOTES. Cfi. XXXII.
ward various considerations to show, that the Governour of the
world can do nothing inconsistent with justice aud benevolence.
From these considerations he infers the duty of a man in Job's
situation. Ch. xxxiv. He then objects to Job, that from the
miseries of the good, and the prosperity of the wicked he has
falsely and perversely concluded, that there is no advantage to be
derived from the practice of virtue. On the contrary he affirms,
that when the afflictions of the just continue, it is because they do
not place a proper confidence in God, ask relief at his hands, pa
tiently expect it, nor demean themselves before him with becoming
humility and submission. This observation alone, he adds very
properly, (xxxv. 4.) is at once a sufficient reproof of the contu
macy of Job, and a full refutation of the unjust suspicions of his
friends. , Ch. xxxv. Lastly, he explains the purposes of the Deity
in chastening men, which are, in general, to prove and amend
them, to repress their arrogance, to afford him an opportunity of
exemplifying his justice upon the obstinate and rebellious, and of
showing favour to the humble and obedient. He supposes God to
have acted in this manner towards Job ; on this account he ex
horts him to humble himself before his righteous judge, to beware
of appearing obstinate or contumacious in his sight, and of relaps
ing into a repetition of his sin. He intreats him from the con
templation of the divine power and majesty, to endeavour to retain
a proper reverence for the Almighty, and to submit to his myste
rious allotments. Ch. xxxvi. xxxvii. To these frequently inter
mitted and often repeated admonitions of Elihu, Job makes no re
ply. Lowth. Bouillier observes, that Elihu did not hit upon
the precise cause of Job's afflictions, though he gave a more ra
tional conjecture, than the three friends of Job. Thus one purpose
of the poet is answered, viz. that of showing, that it is better to
submit to the wisdom of Providence, than curiously to pry into it.
Ver. 2. Then was kindled the wrath : These expressions do not
mean that he was in a passion. They are the strong oriental
manner of denoting high disapprobation. At most, they signify
no more than a becoming warmth. Scott. Elihu, the Buzite.
We know nothing more of Elihu than is here mentioned. Buz
was the second son of Nahor, the brother of Abraham ; and the

Ch. XXXII. NOTES. 99
city of this name, probably derived from the same family, is men
tioned in Jer. xxv. 23. in conjunction with Dedan, which we know '
to have been in Idumzea. Good.
Ver. 4. — till Job had spoken : Supply, and his three friends.
Ver. 8. — the divine spirit in man : By supposing QVi to mean
the divine spirit, so as to be synonymous with the inspiration of the
Almighty, in the other clause of the verse, the parallelism is pre
served, and a sense well suited to the connexion afforded. Hav
ing said in the preceding verse, that he had expected to find wis
dom in age and in experience, he now intimates that he is disap
pointed ; that he finds that wisdom is not the attribute of age or
station ; that it is the gift of God ; and that what is denied to the
great and the aged may be found in a youth. The expressions the
divine spirit, and the inspiration of the Almighty, may denote the
divine gift of natural genius and endowments, or, extraordinary
illumination from the Father of lights. The ancients used to as
cribe all extraordinary endowments to divine assistance. Thus
in Homer, a person is wise by the assistance of Minerva, &c.
Milton has a similar sentiment, in the preface to the Reason of
church government, urged against prelaty. " And if any man
think I undertake a task too difficult for my years, I trust, through
the supreme enlightening assistance, far otherwise ; for my years,
be they few or many, what imports it. So they bring reason, let
that be looked on," Some render the verse thus ;
There is, indeed, a spirit In man,
But it is the inspiration of the Almighty, that giveth understanding.
Ver. 13. — We have found out wisdom ; God hath thrust him
down, not man : i. e. Say not that ye have gone to the root of the
matter, and proposed an unanswerable argument against Job, and
proved him to be a bad man, by the assertion, that his misery is inflic
ted by a just God. So Merc. Others render the latter clause : God
must confute him, not man, and suppose the meaning to be, Do not
excuse your ceasing to reply, by alleging, that the wisest course,
which can be taken with Job, is to leave him to be humbled by
God, as being too obstinate to be reclaimed by man.

100 NOTES. Ch. XXXIII.
Ver. 14. And I will not answer him with your speeches. Their
Speeches were levelled against his whole moral character, aiming
to prove him a wicked man from the similarity of his sufferings to
those of notoriously wicked men. Elihu takes another course.
He limits his censure to Job's answers in this dispute. He fixes
upon some of the most obnoxious passages, such as seemed to be
tray too high conceit of his own virtue, want of respect to God,
and dishonourable sentiments of providence, and takes occasion
from these passages to vindicate the divine goodness, equity and
justice. Scott.
Ver. 15. They were confounded! Sfc. Elihu here ridicules
the friends of Job, because they were unable to answer him. Some
suppose that Elihu here addresses an audience, who were listening
to the discussion, and desires them to observe the confusion ofthe
three friends. There is no objection to this explanation, except that
it is unnecessary. For the third person is often used for the second
in Hebrew poetry, and particularly when censure or contempt is
expressed. See ch. xiii. 28. xviii. 4. xii. 9.
Ver. 18. The spirit within : i. e. my soul, which is full of ar
dour, and powerfully impelled to make known my views.
Ver. 19. Like bottles of new wine : literally, new bottles. These
bottles, being made of skin, were liable to burst, when they had
become old, and were filled with new wine. See Mat. ix. 17.
Ver. 21. I will not respect fyc. i. e. I will deliver my senti
ments with freedom and impartiality.
Ver. 22. • — take me away : i. e. destroy me.
Ch. XXXIII. 4. The spirit of God made me fyc. i. e. I am thy
fellow creature, dependent like thee upon God, and therefore fit to
discourse with thee upon equal terms.
Ver. 6. Behold, I am like thee before God. See Ges. upon HS),
and Ros. This meaning accords with that of the parallel clause.
He intimates that Job might engage him upon equal terms, having
nothing to fear but the strength of his arguments.
Ver. 7. Behold, my terror fyc. i. e. You are in no danger of

Ch. XXXIII. NOTES. 101
being confounded by the terror of my appearance, nor of being
borne down by the weight of my authority. In order to see the
force of this declaration, we must call to mind the bold challenge
of Job in ch. ix. 34, 35. xiii. 20-22.
Ver. 9. i" am pure, and without transgression. Job had not used
these very expressions, but he had used others equivalent to them
in ch. ix. 30. x. 7. xiii. 23. and xvi. 17.
Ver. 10, Behold, he seeketh causes of hostility against me ; Sfc.
See Ges. upon nxur\, and Ros. He refers to the language of Job
in ch. xiii. 24, 25. xiv. 16, 17. xix. 11.
Ver. 11. He putteth my feet eye. See ch. xiii. 27.
Ver. 12. Behold, in this thou art not right : i. e. Your lan
guage to the Deity is wholly inexcusable. It is inconsistent with
the reverence, which is due to so great a being. God is greater
than man. " This is one of those expressions, which imply much
more than is expressed. There is a kind of ironical castigation
in it. As if he had said, You talk to God, as to an equal ; but me-
thinks he is somewhat superior to us." Scott.
Ver. 13. Why then &rc. To convince Job how culpable his
behaviour is, Elihu argues, that it is irreverent and' fruitless.
God, says he, will never stoop to defend his measures against mur-
murers, nor will he communicate the reasons of them to those,
who cavil at his dispensations. Scott.
Ver. 14. For God speaketh eye. He alleges another argument
against striving with God. There is no just cause for it. God
has sufficiently manifested his goodness and care of mankind, by
the methods, which he takes to show them their duty, to recover
them from their wanderings, and thereby to save them from de
struction. Scott.
Ver. 17. And remove pride from man. Pride may comprehend
insolence towards God, and towards man. But I apprehend that
Elihu had his eye on the former ; and that he glances at Job's too
high opinion of his own rectitude and merit, which gave rise to
his complaints against God. Scott.
Ver. 18, 20, 22. — his life; — his soul: These words denote

102 NOTES. Ch. XXXIII.
the person himself, and are equivalent to the personal pronoun he.
See Stuart's Gram. § 186.
Ver. 22. — the destroyers : i. e. angels of death, or, the instrur
ments or causes of death generally.
Ver. 23. — a messenger, an interpreter : !Cl?p. ^nHd. Some ren
der these words a mediating angel, so called from being the medi
um of communication between God and man. As Satan is repre
sented as going round the earth, and accusing the pious before
God, it is said to be natural, that good angels should be employed
on errands of mercy. This may be the true meaning. But as a
prophet, or religious teacher, is often called by this name, (see Ecc,
v. 6, Hag. i. 13, Mai. ii. 7.) and is the usual person employed for
the instruction of men, it is most probable, that such a person is
denoted here ; Elihu may refer to himself, and to the office, which
he was then performing towards Job. — an interpreter : i. e. a
teacher, one who makes known the will of God. — one of a thous
and : i. e. a rare person, one well qualified to be a religious moni
tor. See Ecc. vii. 28. — his duty : i. e. what reason and religion
require of a man in his situation ; repentance, submission, and
prayer to God for pardon. The instruction is supposed to be ef
fectual, as appears from the following verses.
Ver. 24. — and say, Deliver him : i. e. he shall be delivered.
I have found a ransom : i.e. 'I am satisfied with his repentance.
He has been sufficiently humbled by his afflictions.' Whatever is
a means of averting punishment, or of procuring deliverance from
evil, and conciliating the divine favour, is termed in scripture a
ransom, or atonement. The intercession of Moses, and the act of
Phineas are so called, and here the sick man's repentance. See
Ex. xxxii. 30, Numb. xxv. 13. So Ecclesiasticus, xxxv. 3. To
depart from wickedness is a thing well-pleasing to the Lord; and
to forsake unrighteousness is a propitiation. (HiXaofiog.) Doeder
lein, Ugen, and some others, render the passage thus :
But if some interceding angel stand before him, (God)
The chief amongst a thousand,
And testify concerning man's righteousness,
And shall pity him, and say,

Ch. XXXIV. NOTES. 103
" Save him, (0 God) from going down to the pit ,
I have found a ransom ; "
His flesh &c.
Ver. 26. And restore unto man his innocence : i. e. regard, and
treat him as innocent.
Ver. 27. He shall sing: See Ges. upon Yt£?.
Ver. 29. Time after time : literally, twice and thrice. The
Sept. renders it, oSovg xgslg, three ways, referring to the three
ways, in which men are said to be admonished, viz. by dreams,
ver. 15, by sickness, ver. 19, and by a religious teacher, ver. 23.
Ch. XXXIV. 6. I am made a liar : i. e. I am regarded as a
wicked man on account of my misery, notwithstanding my inno
cence. See ch. xvi. 8. So Schult. and Ros. My wound &c.
See ch. ix. 17.
Ver. 8. Who goeth in company eye. i. e. Who speaks like wick
ed men, who call providence in question.
Marmoreo tumulo Licinus jacet, at Cato nullo ;
Pompeius parvo. Q,uis putet esse Deos ?
Ver. 9. A man profiteth' nothing dye. Job had not used this
language, but in ch. ix. 22, and ch. xxi. he had expressed nearly
the same sentiment.
Ver. 13. Who hath given him the charge eye. Elihu's first ar
gument, to prove that God cannot be unjust, is taken from his in
dependence. Were God a subordinate governour, he might be
tempted to commit injuries to gratify the avarice or resentment of
his superior. Scott.
Ver. 14. Should he set his heart against man: i. e. should he
deal severely with him. His second argument is from the divine
benevolence. If God were unjust, revengeful, and cruel the earth
would be a dreadful scene of universal desolation. See Wisdom
of Sol. xi. 24, 25, 26.
Ver. 17. Shall he, that hateth justice, govern ? The argument
is similar to that of Abraham, Shall not the judge of all the earth
do right ? Gen. xviii. 25. If God were unjust, there would be
nothing but disorder and confusion in the world.

104 NOTES. Ch. XXXIV.
Ver. 19. How much less fy-c. So Wisdom of Sol. vi. 7, 8. For
he, who is Lord over all, shall fear no man's person, neither shall
he stand in awe of any man's greatness; for he hath made the
small and great, and careth for all alike. But a sore trial shall
come upon the mighty.
Ver. 20. — yea, at midnight dye. The allusion seems to be to
some capital city, overthrown by an earthquake. -~and pass
away ; i. e. into the grave, —a hand unseen : literally, without
hand. See Lam. iv. 6, Dan. ii. 34.
Ver. 23. He hath no need of a long enquiry : laterally, He doth
not fix his mind long upon a man : 1'sS being understood after
W'Pl. So Ges. Dathe, and Ros. The circumstance is mention
ed, to illustrate the omniscience of God. He, in whose sight all
things are naked and open, has no need of a long and formal ex
amination into a man's character, before he proceeds to punish
him. Ver: 24. — without process : i. e. without judicial investigation,
such as must be resorted to by men.
Ver. 25. He bringeth night &rc. So the Vulg. Inducit noctem,
et conteruntur. Night is a common metaphor for adversity or
ruin. So Merc, and Ges.
Ver. 26. In the presence #c. literally, In the place of spectators.
Ver. 28. And caused Syc. Others render, So that he (God)
caused the cry of the poor to come upon them.
Ver. 29. And when he hideth his face, Who shall behold him ?
i. e. When he withdraws his favour, who can expect, or obtain
help from him t
Ver. 31, 32. It is observed by Scott, that the petition and con
fession, whieh Elihu recommends to Job, would be highly improp
er for one, who knows himself to be guilty of heinous crimes, but
highly fit for a persen, who, though good in the main, has reason
to suspect somewhat amiss in his temper and conduct, for which
God is displeased with him. It appears plainly, that Elihu did not
suppose Job to be a wicked man, suffering for his oppressions,

Ch. XXXV. NOTES. 105
bribery, inhumanity, and impiety, with which his three friends
had charged him.
Ver. 33. — and not I : literally, and not He : by Mimesis.
See Glass, p. 315, Stuart's Gram. § 212. ch. xviii. 4. xxxv. 3.
Ch. XXXV. 2. I am more righteous than God. Job had not
used these Words, but this was the amount of his complaints
against God, and his justification of himself. See ix. 30-35. x. 15.
Ver. 3. He had already brought the charge contained in these
verses, in ch. xxxiv. 9. But there he censured the complaint of
Job, as an arraignment of the justice of God. Here it is consid
ered as implying, that God was under obligation to him. The
charge is, that Job had in effect said, " I have been more just to
God, than he hath been to me. I have discharged my duty to him,
but have not met with a proper return from him. My innocence
hath been of no advantage to me." Elihu replies first, that so
great a being cannot possibly be hurt by the sins, or benefitted by
the services, of men ; and secondly, that our vice and virtue can
harm, or profit our fellow-mortals only. Scott.
Ver. 4. — thy companions : i. e. those who entertain the same
unworthy sentiments of God, and his providence.
Ver. 9. The oppressed cry out fyc. He now passes to another
topic, viz. Job's complaint of God's disregard of the numerous op
pressions committed in the world, the authors of which he suffers
to escape with impunity. Elihu replies, that when God avenges
not the oppressed, it is owing to their want of piety. He neglects
them, because they neglect him. They murmur, but they do
not pray. They are clamorous, but they are not humble. This
seems an oblique hint to Job, that the continuation of his suffer
ings was owing to his unsubmitting behaviour. Scott.
Ver. 10. Who in the night of affliction giveth songs. Songs are
thanksgivings to God for deliverance. The words of affliction
are supplied, as the term night metaphorically denotes affliction,
as in ch. xxxiv. 25.
Ver. 14. How much less : i. e. shalt thou be heard. He alludes
23

106 NOTES. Ch. XXXVI.
to the complaints of Job in ch. xxiii. 8 &c. Justice is with him,
Syc. i. e. Although thou complainest, that God does not appear to
thee for thy deliverance, yet be assured that thy cause is known to
him, and that thou shalt receive justice from him, if thou wilt only
commit thyself to him.
Ver. 15. — transgressions: See Ges. nagdnxmiia, Sept. and
Theodotion. nagaitxmjiaxa, Symmachus. scelus, Vulg. Dr. Durell
thinks !!>S3 to be a corruption for J?$33.. Some suppose that he
refers to the transgressions of Job by this expression, particularly
to his irreverent speeches &c. Others, that he refers to the trans
gressions of the wicked, which Job had asserted to be committed
with impunity.
CHAP. XXXVI. XXXVII.
Ver. 3. / will bring my knowledge from afar : i. e. from remote
times, places, and things. I will not confine my discourse to
thy particular case, but will justify God, by declaring his great and
glorious works of creation and providence, both in heaven and
earth, and his manner of dealing with men in other parts and ages
of the world. Poole.
Ver. 4. A man of sound knowledge : Elihu refers to himself,
and means that he is unbiassed by prejudice, and will not seek to
baffle Job by sophistical arguments.
Ver. 5. — but despiseth not any : He may refer to Job's ex
pressions in ch. x. 3. &c.
Ver. 12. — the sword: i. e. the sword of divine justice.
Ver. 13. — treasure up wrath : i. e. the wrath of God against
them. See Rom. ii. 5. — when he bindeth them : i. e. bringeth
affliction upon them. See ver. 8.
Ver. 14. — with the unclean. D^lp.S. See Ges.
Ver. 17. The words Know that, are supplied. See Ros. and
Ges. upon this verse.
Ver. 20. — the night : i. e. the night of death. He warns
him against impatient wishes/or death, and murmuring against God.

Ch. XXXVH. NOTES. 107
Ver. 21. " But let thy sufferings teach thee caution, and make
thee afraid to go on to provoke offended justice ; for thou hast
done it too much already, in choosing rather to accuse divine Prov
idence, than to submit patiently to his chastisements. Patrick.
Ver. 22. What potentate is like him ? xig ydg iaxi xax aviov
Svvdaxrjg ; Sept. Et nullus ei similis in legislatoribus. Vulg. The
object of the remaining portion of Elihu's discourse appears to be,
to convince Job of his ignorance of the ways of providence, by
his ignorance of the works of creation, and to humble him for
finding fault with what he did not, and could not, understand.
Ver. 24. — celebrate with songs, n^ip. See ch. xxxiii. 27. de quo
cecinerunt viri. Vulg. quod laudaverunt viri justi. Chald. See
Schult. and Ges.
Ver. 27. — draweth up the drops of water : i. e. by means of
the sun, which changes water into vapour, and causes it to ascend
into the air. Which form rain. i. e. These minute particles
of water, drawn up by the sun in the form of vapour, form, or,
more literally, pour out, rain. See Schult. Ros. and Ges.
Ver. 29. And the rattling of his pavilion : i. e. the thunder.
By his pavilion, or tabernacle, the clouds are intended. See Ps.
xviii. 11.
Ver. 30 — his light : See Ps. civ. 2. And lie covereth the bot
tom of the sea : i. e. with darkness. The power of God in the
highest and the lowest regions is denoted. See Ros.
Ver. 31. By these : i. e. the clouds, rain &c.
Ver. 32, 33. See Ges. and De Wette.
Ch. XXXVII. Ver. 1. At this : the thunder, lightning &c.
of which he was speaking.
Ver. 2. Hear Syc. Some suppose, that, while Elihu was speak
ing, thunder is represented as being heard, and the tempest as be
gun, from which the Deity was about to address Job.
Ver. 4. And restraineth not the tempest : literally, restraineth
not them : i. e. the rain, hail, and other things, which usually
accompany thunder. Merc. See also Stuart's Gram. § 185.

108 NOTES. Ch. XXXVII.
Ver. 7. He sealeth up eye. i. e. The labours of the field are
interrupted in consequence of these heavy and continual rains,
and the husbandmen remain at home, with their hands, as it were,
in their bosom. So that all his labourers may acknowledge him :
literally, So that all the men of his work Syc. So Merc. Dathe, and
Ros. Men are called the labourers of God, inasmuch as they cul
tivate the ground by his appointment. Others suppose that men
of his work, denote men, who are created by him.
Ver. 10. —breath of God : i. e. cold winds.
Ver.. 11. He causeth the clouds to descend in rain: See Ges.
Lex. 3d Edit, upon rna and '"l. And his lightning : Otherwise,
his light, or his sun.
Ver. 12. He leadeth them about: i. e. the clouds, rain, light
ning &c.
Ver. 13. — Or for his earth, i. e. what is necessary, in the
course of nature, for fertilizing the earth.
Ver. 16. — the balancing of the clouds ; i. e. how the clouds are
suspended in the air in such a variety of ways. From our igno
rance of the works of nature, Elihu infers our incapacity of judging
of the divine counsels. The same kind of reasoning is pursued
in the Essay on Man.
Presumptuous man ! the reason wouldst thou find,
Why form'd so weak, so lil tie, and so blind ?
Ask of thy mother earth, why oaks were made
Taller or stronger than the weeds they shade.
Or ask of yonder argent fields above,
Why Jove's satellites are less than Jove.
Ver. 18. — firm as a molten mirror. It must be recollected,
that mirrors in ancient times were made of metal, highly polished.
Ver. 19. Teach us dye. This seems to be addressed to Job
ironically, by way of reproof for his presumption. As if he had
said, We should like to learn from you, who are so well acquaint
ed with the character and purposes of God, in what manner we
should address him, or discourse with him. — darkness : i. e. the
darkness of our minds, or of the subject, or both.

Ch. XXXVIII. NOTES. 109
Ver. 20. If I speak eye. i. e. Will any one venture to repeal
to him my discourses, if I undertake to complain of the ways
of providence 1 If any one should carry my complaints to his
ear, he would certainly be destroyed for his rashness.
Ver. 21, 22. If the splendour of the firmament, illuminated
by the sun, is too bright for man to behold, how can he endure the
glorious majesty of its Author.
Ver. 22. And a golden splendour: literally, gold. Some
render it, the golden sun. — -from the firmament : literally, from
the North : The Northern or upper hemisphere seems to stand
for the whole firmament here, as in ch. xxvi. 7. Others render it,
by means of the north wind, which scatters the clouds. ,
Ver. 23. The Almighty eye. This sentiment seems to be the
conclusion of the whole discourse in vindication of God. We
know but very little of his nature and designs, and it is wrong
to censure what we do not understand in his dispensations ;
especially, since we have abundant proof of his justice and good
ness. — he giveth no account Syc. Instead of T\^V] some ancient
and valuable manuscripts read n.?u\ See ch. xxxiii. 13.
Ver. 24. — can behold : i. e. they cannot endure the brightness
of his majesty. See Ros.
CHAP. XXXVIII. XXXIX.
Whilst Elihu was yet speaking, Jehovah himself is represented
as interposing, and addressing Job from the midst of a tempest.
He does not, however, at first, address him in the language of en
couragement and approbation, which Job's consciousness of integ
rity had led him to anticipate. Job had defended a good cause
in an improper manner. The design of this discourse of the Al
mighty is, therefore, to reprove his complaints respecting the ways
of providence ; to bring him into a proper temper of mind, and
thus to prepare the way for his final vindication. Jehovah does
not condescend to explain, or vindicate the ways of his providence,
but aims to convince Job of his inability to judge of them. He
requires him, who had spoken so rashly of the divine counsels, to
give an explanation of some of the works of nature, which are con-

110 NOTES. Ch. XXXVIH.
stantly presented to his view ; of the nature and structure of the
earth, the sea, the light, and the animal kingdom. If he were un
able to explain any one of the most common phenomena of nature,
it followed, that he was guilty of great presumption, in finding
fault with the secret counsels and moral government of God. He
then pauses for an answer from Job.
Ver. 2. — that darkeneth my counsels : i. e. speaketh of them in
an obscure, erroneous, and improper manner. Gesenius supposes,
that to darken is a metaphorical expression for to censure.
Ver. 7. WJien the morning stars &cc. It was the custom to cel
ebrate the laying of the corner stone of an important building,
with music, songs, shouting &c. See Zach. iv. 7. Ezra, iii. 10,
11. Hence the morning stars are represented as celebrating the
laying of the corner stone of the earth. They are called morning
stars on account of the greater brightness, which they have, just
before the dawn. Some suppose that morning stars denote an
gels, and that the expression has the same meaning as sons of God
in the next line.
Ver. 12. Hast thou ever commanded the morning <$•£ ? The
transition from the sea to the morning, is not so abrupt, as it ap
pears. For the ancients supposed, that the sun sets in the ocean,
and at his rising comes out of it again. The morning and day-
spring seem to mean the same thing ; and the regularity of the
appearance of the morning in the east is here referred to.
Ver. 13. That they should lay hold Syc. The first light of the
sun, as it strikes upon the verge of tbe horizon, is represented as
laying hold of the ends of the earth, and shaking the wicked out
of it, as dust from a sack. Light being hostile to thieves, and
malefactors of every kind, as darkness is favourable to them. See
ch. xxiv. 14-17.
Ver. 14. It is changed eye. i. e. the earth, which, in the dark
ness of night, is a mere blank, but which, when illuminated by the
sun, exhibits a great variety of beautiful objects, and appears like
wax, which has received the stamp of the seal. And all things
stand forth as in rich apparel. See Cocc. Com. and Ges. upon

Ch. XXXVIII. NOTES. , 111
B'n1?. Otherwise, And they (the morning and dayspring) come
forth as a garment upon it.
Ver. 15. — their light is withheld. Darkness is the light of the
wicked, i. e. that, which enables them to accomplish their evil
designs. Thus the strength and courage ofthe wicked, are pros
trated by the light, which discovers their evil practices.
Ver. 17. — gates of death : i. e. of hades, the infernal world.
Ver. 19, 20. For similar conceptions see Hesiod, Theog. 748.
Ver. 24. — light : i. e. the light of the rising sun, which in a mo
ment, as it were, pervades and illuminates the whole hemisphere.
Ver. 31. Canst thou bind dye. i. e. Canst thou forbid the sweet
flowers to come forth, when the seven stars arise in the spring 1
Or open the earth for the husbandman's labour, when the winter
season, at the rising of Orion, ties up their hands 1 Patrick.
Another mode of rendering is,
Canst thou fasten the bands of the Pleiades,
Or loosen the cords of Orion ?
Here niJHUD is supposed to be by metathesis the same as nit Jgfi, from
12%, to tie, to bind. In support of this rendering, Ges. observes,
that the Asiatic poets often speak of the band of the Pleiades.
The Sept. has it, Ssofiiv nXsidSog; and the Chald. 1Ttt', chains.
The Pleiades, in Hebrew, Chimah, are a constellation in the sign
Taurus, and make their appearance early in the spring ; Hence
they were called by the Romans, Vergilim. Orion (Chesil, in Heb.)
made its appearance early in the winter, and was considered as the
precursor of storms and tempests, and is hence called by Virgil,
nimbosus Orion. Mn. I. 535.
Ver. 32. Mazzaroth : It is very uncertain what stars are deno
ted by this term. The prevalent opinion seems to be, that it denotes
the twelve signs of the Zodiac. Others suppose, that it denotes
the Northern Crown. Arcturus with his sons : In Heb. Aish.
Mercer thinks that the word denotes the whole constellation
Bootes, in whieh Arcturus is found. Others, the great Bear.
Ver. 33. — ordinances of the heavens : i. e. the laws regulating
the places, motions, and operations of the heavenly bodies. — their

112 NOTES. Ch. XXXIX.
dominion : i. e. the influence, which they have, in producing the
changes of the seasons.
Ver. 36. — understanding to clouds : Or, to their wild motions :
A rendering equivalent to one of these, is adopted by Schult. Dathe,
Doed. Eich. De Wette, and Ros. The transition from the phe
nomena of the heavens to the mind of man, is so violent, that it is
almost impossible to believe the common version to be correct.
Ges., however, retains it.
Ver. 37. Who numbereth the clouds eye. The collecting and
arrangement of the clouds is expressed by a metaphor taken from
a civil or military enrolment. See Ps. cxlvii. 4, 2. Sam. xxiv. 10.
The clouds are metaphorically called bottles, as containing rain.
Ver. 38. — is formed into a solid mass: i. e. when, on account
of the copious rains, the dry dust melts, as it were, into one mass.
Ver. 41. — the raven: Bochart observes, that the raven expels
his young from the nest, as soon as they are able to fly. In this
condition, being unable to obtain food by their own exertions, they
make a croaking noise, and God is said to hear it, and to supply
their wants.
Ch. XXXIX. Ver. 9. — the buffalo : D,1, reem. Otherwise, the
rhinoceros: See Harris's Nat. Hist. p. 421. Others, the wild oryx.
But it is probable, from the nature of the description, that an ani
mal of the beeve kind is intended ; i. e. one which appears, from
its form and strength, to be qualified to do the business of the
tame ox. So the wild ass is compared with the tame, in verse 5.
In other passages, where it occurs, it is parallel with animals of
the beeve kind, and is mentioned as having horns, whereas the rhi
noceros has but one short one. See Deut. xxxiii. 17. Ps. xxix.
6. Is. xxxiv. 7. For other arguments, see Schultens, or Ges.
larger Lexicon.
Ver. 13. The wing of the ostrich moveth joyfully. For an ex
cellent description of the ostrich, see Harris's Nat. Hist. p. 318.
Dr. Shaw observes, " When I was abroad, I had several opportu
nities of amusing myself with the actions and behaviour of the
ostrich. It was very diverting, to observe with what dexterity and
equipoise of body it would play and frisk about on all occasions.

Ch. XXXIX. NOTES. 113
In the heat of the day, particularly, it would strut along the sun
ny side of the house with great majesty. It would be perpetually
fanning and priding itself with its quivering expanded wings, and
seem at every turn to admire and be in love with its own shadow.
Even at other times, when walking about, or resting itself on the
ground, the wings would continue their fanning and vibrating mo
tions, as if they were designed to mitigate and assuage that extra
ordinary heat, wherewith their bodies seem to be naturally affec
ted." Travels, p. 450. 4to. She hath the wings and feathers of
the stork. So Ros. and Ges. It is mentioned as a remarkable cir
cumstance, that the ostrich, which in many respects is more like a
beast than a bird, and never leaves the ground, should yet have
wings and feathers. The description of her, is placed between that of
the buffalo and the horse. The stork is mentioned in particular,
because its feathers are black and white, like those of the ostrich.
Ver. 16. She is cruel Sye. On the least noise, or trivial occa
sion, says Dr. Shaw, she forsakes her eggs, or her young ones.
Ver. 17. — hath denied her toisdom. The Arabs have the pro
verbial expression, more foolish than an ostrich.
Ver. 18. —rJifteth herself up : i. e. lifteth up her head and body,
and spreadeth her wings, in order to escape the pursuer. The ex
pression does not imply that her feet quit the ground.
Ver. 19. — horse : i. e. the war-horse. Hast thou clothed his
neck with thunder. " The neighing of the war-horse seems to be
intended, which, though shrill, is compared to thunder for its loud
ness, and terror. The neck is put for the throat, through which
the voice passes." Scott. The violent agitation of the neck,
and of the mane, which naturally suggest the idea of lightning,
should, perhaps, be considered in connexion with the sound. See
Guardian, No. 82. See note upon xxxi. 18., and ,Ezek. xxvi. 16.
Others think that the rendering should be trembling mane, instead
of thunder.
Ver. 20. — -ihe noise of his nostrils. Literally, the strength ar
violence of his snorting. See Virg. Georg. III. 85, &c. Mn.
XI. 496. 24

114 NOTES. Ch.XL.
Ver. 24. — he devoureth the ground. This expression is still
Used in Arabia- to denote prodigious swiftness. See also Virg.
Georg. III. 143.
Ver. 26. — toward the south. Most of the species of hawks
are said to be birds of passage. The instinct, which teaches such
birds to know the proper time for migrating in search of food,
or of a warmer climate, or both, is probably referred to.
Ver. 29. — discern it from afar. See Iliad, xvii. 674.
— oigx alsxog, ov ga xs <paolv
o&xaxov Segxsa&ai vnovgaviwv mxtrfliaiv.
CHAP. XL. XLI.
The Almighty is now represented as pausing, and demanding
of Job an answer to his questions, and inviting him to defend his
cause. But the admonitions of Elihu, and of the Almighty, have
produced their proper effect ; Job is impressed with the most pro
found reverence of the majesty of God ; he has lost that boldness
and presumption, with which he once challenged the Almighty to
a controversy, and he acknowledges his weakness, and the rash
ness of his complaints, and bold appeals to God. But to make
his submission and penitence more complete and impressive, the
Almighty is represented as addressing him in a still severer tone
of reprehension. In reference to his boldness in desiring to en
ter into a controversy with him, the Deity challenges him to emulate
a single exertion of the divine power. He adds the description
of the riverhorse, and the crocodile, by which his power is strikingly
illustrated. From the whole discourse it follows, that it is better
for man to submit without murmuring to the will of so great a be
ing, than to contend with him, and require him to give an account
of his doings.
Ver. 15. — the riverhorse : This animal is usually mentioned
by the ancients in connexion with the crocodile, which is supposed
to be denoted by the leviathan. The description seems to apply to
the riverhorse, rather than to the elephant, in several particulars.
See Boch., Ros., Calmet, or Harris's Nat. Hist, of the Bible.
Ver. 17. — like tlie cedar : " The tail of the hippopotamus,
although short, is thick, and may be compared with the cedar for its

Ch. XLI. NOTES. 115
tapering conical shape, and its smoothness, thickness and strength.
But although it is thick, short, and very firm, yet he moves and
twists it at pleasure ; which is considered, in the sacred text, a
proof of his prodigious strength. Sgheuchser.
Ver. 19, — his scythe. This refers to the long bending teeth
of the animal, with which he, as it were, mows the grass. The
agnrj i. e. the sickle, or scythe, was ascribed by the ancients to this
animal, by some of the Greek writers. Thus Nicander, Theriac.
ver. 566, quoted by Ros.
"H %nnov, xbv NiiXog vnsg Sa'iv al&aXosaaav
Boaxti, agovgrjaiv Sjs xaxx\v im^aXXstai agnrjv.
In the next verse, the reason of his being furnished with it, is
given, viz. that, although he was an aquatic animal, he procured:
his food, not from the rivers, but from the grassy mountains.
Ver. 21. —lote-trees. See Ges. upon D'Sp. 3d edit.
Ch. XLI. Ver. 1. — the leviathan: i. e. the crocodile, as is gen
erally supposed. See Harris's Nat. Hist. p. 245. Or press down
eye. i. e. Canst thou put a cord into his mouth, so as to draw him.
with it, as with a bridle. See Ges. upon mf.
Ver. 2. — a rope : — a ring : i. e. by which he might be fasten
ed to the land, after he was caught.
Ver. 5. — -for thy maidens : i. e. for their amusement.
Ver. 6. — make a feast over him : i. e. in consequence of their
extraordinary success in capturing him.
Ver. 8. Thou wilt never remember the battle, i. e. it will prove
fatal to thee. So Merc, and Ros.
Ver. 9. Behold his hope : The third person for the second.
The meaning is, thy hope (of taking him) is vain. See ch. xxxii.
15, and note.
Ver. 12. — his garment : i. e. his skin. — his jaws : literally,
his double bridle, which his jaws resembled.
Ver. 15. — bucklers : i. e. his scales.
Ver. 18. — eyelids of the morning. This may happen, says
Schultens, when the crocodile lifts his head above water in the

116 NOTES. Ch. XLII.
night. His staring eyes, which are the first object, that strikes the
beholder, may then be compared to the dawning light. The eyes
of the crocodile are said to be small. But, as Bochart observes,
they are so remarkable, that when the Egyptians would represent
the morning by a hieroglyphic, they painted a crocodile's eye.
Ver. 19-22. Here the crocodile is described as in pursuit of his
prey on land. His mouth is then open, his blood inflamed, his breath
thrown out with prodigious vehemence, like volumes of smoke, and
heated to such a degree, as to seem a flaming fire. Strength and
Terror are represented as animated beings, the one seated on his
neck, and the other bounding before him.
Ver. 30. — potsherds : i. e. his scales. — harrows. The ex
tremities of his outer skin, or coat of mail, are represented as
ending in sharp points, like the teeth of a harrow.
Ver. 34. He despiseth Syc. i. e although a reptile, he is not
afraid of the fiercest wild beasts.
CHAP. XLII.
Job is now represented as impressed with a deep sense of his
presumption and irreverence in his former discourses, and expres
sing his penitence in the strongest terms of selfcondemnation.
The way is thus prepared for the vindication of the integrity
and piety of Job by the Deity, and consequently for the de
cision of the question, which had been the great subject of con
troversy. The Almighty decides, that the friends of Job had not
spoken that which was right, in contending that the misery of Job
w,as inflicted by God, as the punishment of his sins ; and that Job
had spoken the truth, in maintaining that no man's character can
be ascertained by his external condition. He confirms his de
cision by restoring him to his former prosperity.
Ver. 15. — among tlieir brethren : This, being contrary to
custom, is mentioned for the purpose showing the extent of Job's
wealth.
end.

Ih page 60, line 26 of the Notes, for calamities read calumnies.

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