This section begins with Zophar calling Job a liar and continues with various verbal attacks which Job dispels. Even by the end of this section he remains unconvinced that Job is not a liar.
This website arbitrarily divides the book into four sections i.e. section 1 is Job 1 to Job 10, section 2 is Job 11 to Job 20, section 3 is Job 21 to Job 30 and section 4 is the remainder of the book (job 31 to Job 42).
Job 11 (Zophar 1 - Job is a liar, God is fair and merciful)
Zophar the Naamathite came from the city of Naamah. Naamah is mentioned only once in Genesis and there it is the name of a daughter of Lamech (Genesis 4:22). Joshua destroyed a city in Canaan called Naamah (Joshua 15:41). The other references are to an Ammonite woman (1 Kings 14:21,31; 2 Chronicles 12:13). These give no clear background to Zophar and the meaning of his name is just as obscure, http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Zophar.html#.V2FCUNIrJD8, therefore he could be anyone, which seems to be the point.
The names and origins indicate that Job's first two friends had backgrounds where God was flexible and God loved, but Zophar has no bias in that way and may have had no special relationship with God. Today you would easily classify him as a Christian but not one that stood out for that aspect of his character. Zophar's wisdom stems from personal experience and observation. He learned at the school of hard knocks. Zophar does not couch his words but calls Job a liar (verse 4).
Zophar's position is that while he cannot point a finger at anything wrong that Job has done, Job is still evil in some way. The problem must be in Job's heart.
Job 11:13-15 (KJV) If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;14If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.15For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear:
Whatever Job did is twice as bad as his punishment indicates (verse 5). It is our nature to be a wild ass' colt
(verse 12), i.e. Hagar's children Genesis 16:12 (wild, rebellious and stupid Job 39:5-8, Job 11:12). Job was from the east and might well have been an actual descendant of Hagar and this could be a veiled but deliberate racial slur like nigger
. We are niggers, or jihadist but we want refugee status because of hardship. Jihadists are considered as religious fanatics who expose their inhumanity and unrighteousness in the way that they go about their pursuit of the same religion. A wild ass is not a ferocious creature but it is does not conform. People who try to capture it expose themselves to injury. As soon as we repent from being jihadists and unrefined niggers and conform to God's way, everything will be fine.
doctrine in verse 4
In verse 4 the word doctrine
is explained by Mickelson as:
- H3948 leqach (leh'-kakh) n-m.
- 1.(properly) something received, i.e. (mentally) instruction (whether on the part of the teacher or hearer)
- 2. (in an active and sinister sense) enticement, ensnarement
Zophar is therefore talking about Job's knowledge and his understanding of matters.
Job Chapter 11 breakdown
| Scripture | Comment |
|---|---|
| [1] Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, {*1} | 1__introducing Zophar - the voice of personal and therefore past experience with a casual relationship with God. |
| [2] Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified? | |
| [3] Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed? | He makes no bones about calling Job a liar. |
| [4] For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes. | i.e. Job claims that his knowledge and understanding (comprehension) of his actions are faultless e.g. Thou knowest that I am not wicked. . .(Job 10:7[KJV]) . |
| [5] But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee; | |
| [6] And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth. | You are getting off lightly. God has spared you. |
| [7] Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? | |
| [8] It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? | |
| [9] The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. | |
| [10] If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him? | |
| [11] For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it? | |
| [12] For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt. | Every idiot thinks himself to be smart |
| [13] If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him; | If you would only just repent then God will bless you. |
| [14] If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles. | |
| [15] For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear: | |
| [16] Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away: | |
| [17] And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning. | |
| [18] And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety. | |
| [19] Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee. | |
| [20] But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost. |
Job 12 to 14 (Job - But evil people thrive and good ones suffer)
Job 12
Job agrees with his friends because he has had the same experience as all of them put together but he adds that they must also note that ungodly people who carry their gods in their hands
, as the Hebrew may also be translated, instead of whose hand God bringeth abundantly
(verse 6), prosper too. If people who carry their gods in their hands
is the true meaning of verse 6 then it is also evidence that his friends all worship the true God and not one that can be carried in their hands. The Hebrew is in the top line of the table below and the direct English transliteration below. You can see the clear possibility.
ISA Basic is a bible tool that uses Westminster Leningrad Codex with vowels for the Hebrew translation. For verse 6 it shows:
| Hebrew | al | l·ashr | ebia | alue | b·id·u |
| English | El | for·whom | he-brings | Eloah | in·hand-of·him |
Job 13
Job accuses his friends of trying to suck up to God and asks them to shut up (verses 1-13). On the other hand he claims that he is ready to defend himself if he is given a fair chance.
Job 14
Job's defence is to ask God why would He expend so much effort on him. Nobody is perfect (verse 4). He must know what is unfair because He has set all the boundaries. Remember that Job has asked Him to let him die or tell him what he has done wrong.
Note that [AB]
in my scriptural references refers to the Apostles' Bible
which is a translation of Brenton's Septuagint; YLT
is Young's Literal Translation
; LXXE
is Brenton's Septuagint in English
and NET
is New English Translation
.
Job Chapter 12 - 14 breakdown
| but wicked people prosper too | Comment |
|---|---|
| [1] And Job answered and said, | Job now defends against the voice of personal, past experience. |
| [2] No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you. | You think that you are the only people with wisdom |
| [3] But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these? | I have wisdom too |
| [4] I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn. | Job 12:4 [AB] For a righteous and blameless man has become a subject for mockery |
| [5] He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease. | I stick out like a sore thumb under this pressure and you in your comfy life scorn me |
| [6] The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly. | Some crooks prosper. The powerful and prosperous are not necessarily the best people while the bad are the victims. |
| [7] But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: | Learn from our environment and the animal kingdom |
| [8] Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. | |
| [9] Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? | If he allows injustice in everything else in the world why do you think that it is different with humans? |
| [10] In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. | |
| [11] Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat? | |
| [12] With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding. | |
| [13] With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding. | |
| [14] Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. | Job uses Zophar's words against him. In the previous chapter Zophar claimed that God is in control of all these things and nobody can oppose him. |
| [15] Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. | |
| [16] With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his. | |
| [17] He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools. | |
| [18] He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle. | |
| [19] He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty. | |
| [20] He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. | |
| [21] He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty. | |
| [22] He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death. | |
| [23] He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again. | |
| [24] He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. | |
| [25] They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man. |
| you are sucking up to God | Comment |
|---|---|
| [1] Lo, mine eye hath seen all this, mine ear hath heard and understood it. | Job speaks from his personal experience. Zophar spoke from his own. |
| [2] What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you. | I have observed the same things things that you have. God is ultimately behind everything but is it all fair? |
| [3] Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God. | |
| [4] But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value. | |
| [5] O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom. | |
| [6] Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips. | |
| [7] Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him? | |
| [8] Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God? | |
| [9] Is it good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him? | |
| [10] He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons. | |
| [11] Shall not his excellency make you afraid? and his dread fall upon you? | |
| [12] Your remembrances are like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay. | |
| [13] Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will. | |
| [14] Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in mine hand ? | why do you think that I am risking my life in confronting Him? |
| [15] Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. | My life is in His hands and I trust Him with it but I will not lie to save myself. |
| [16] He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him. | |
| [17] Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your ears. | |
| [18] Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be justified. | |
| [19] Who is he that will plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost. | |
| [20] Only do not two things unto me: then will I not hide myself from thee. | |
| [21] Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid. | Don't fully reveal yourself because I could not handle it. |
| [22] Then call thou, and I will answer: or let me speak, and answer thou me. | |
| [23] How many are mine iniquities and sins? make me to know my transgression and my sin. | |
| [24] Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy? | |
| [25] Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble? | |
| [26] For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth. | Job admits that he has done regrettable things in his youth. |
| [27] Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly unto all my paths; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet. | He is under 24 hour observation, his feet are in stocks and the soles of his feet cut. He is no threat. |
| [28] And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is moth eaten. |
| Why are You so upset with me? | Comment |
|---|---|
| [1] Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. | this is so true. In our brief lives we see so much trouble. |
| [2] He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. | |
| [3] And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? | Why would somebody like You even bother to waste time on me? |
| [4] Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. | Nobody can fix themselves. It takes someone like You to clean us up. |
| [5] Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; | |
| [6] Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day. | |
| [7] For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. | |
| [8] Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; | |
| [9] Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. | |
| [10] But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? | |
| [11] As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: | He is like evaporated water from the sea or a river, just somewhere out there. |
| [12] So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. | |
| [13] O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! | Why are You so upset with me? If I offend You just kill me until my time comes. |
| [14] If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. | |
| [15] Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands. | |
| [16] For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin? | |
| [17] My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity. | Job believes that he has sinned and God has is stored away so that only He can see them. |
| [18] And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place. | Even mountains are worn away and completely destroyed by God and nothing is left of them. |
| [19] The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man. | |
| [20] Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away. | |
| [21] His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them. | A man does not know if anything will be left of him even if he has children. |
| [22] But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn. | All he knows is his current suffering and grief. |
Job 15 (Eliphaz 2 - no sympathy for the unrepentant heart)
Eliphaz reasons that Job's very words (from chapter 14: 4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean
?) have condemned him. Men are full of sin (verse 16) and that obviously includes Job. He talks of his long experience (verse 17) with God because he is older than even Job's father (verse 10). Verse 10 also indicates that all of Job's friends are much older than he is. Eliphaz's experience is that God cannot be deceived by men or angels but recompenses men for their evil.
Job Chapter 15 breakdown
| Scripture | Comment |
|---|---|
| [1] Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said, | Eliphaz (re. an accommodating God) speaks the second time. |
| [2] Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind? | |
| [3] Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good? | |
| [4] Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God. | |
| [5] For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty. | |
| [6] Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee. | In chapter 14: 4 Job says, Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean, so how could he be the exception ? |
| [7] Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills? | |
| [8] Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself? | |
| [9] What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us? | |
| [10] With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father. | |
| [11] Are the consolations of God small with thee{*}? is there any secret thing with thee? | *__Has Job not taken God's mercy for granted? The remainder of this verse and the following one seem to be asking Job what is his ulterior motive and what is he hoping to gain. |
| [12] Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at, | |
| [13] That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth? | |
| [14] What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? | |
| [15] Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight. | |
| [16] How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water? | |
| [17] I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare; | |
| [18] Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it: | Knowledge from an old man (he is like Job's grandfather) passed down from generations before. |
| [19] Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them. | |
| [20] The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor. | |
| [21] A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him. | |
| [22] He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword. | |
| [23] He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. | |
| [24] Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle. | |
| [25] For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty. | |
| [26] He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers: | |
| [27] Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks. | |
| [28] And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps. | |
| [29] He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth. | |
| [30] He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away. | |
| [31] Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence. | |
| [32] It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green. | |
| [33] He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive. | |
| [34] For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery. | |
| [35] They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit. |
Job 16 & 17 (Job yearns for comfort)
Job 16
Once again Job yearns for a true comforter, an advocate to help plead his case with God instead of the miserable comforters
who accuse him. His hands and his heart are clean (verse 17).
Job 17
He yearns for someone to be on his side to help him. His friends are blinded (verse 4) and they denounce him for personal gain (verse 5). YLT translates verse 5 For a portion he sheweth friendship. . .
.
Job Chapter 16 & 17 breakdown
| Job yearns for a true comforter | Comment |
|---|---|
| [1] Then Job answered and said, | Job responds. |
| [2] I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all. | |
| [3] Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest? | Does what you are saying have a positive objective? |
| [4] I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul's stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you. | if our life situations were reversed I could use words the same as you. |
| [5] But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should asswage your grief. | But instead of pulling you down I would build you up. |
| [6] Though I speak, my grief is not asswaged: and though I forbear, what am I eased? | Neither answering nor not answering you gives me any real peace. |
| [7] But now he hath made me weary: thou hast made desolate all my company. | YLT Bible says, Only, now, it hath wearied me. . .. Talking just makes me tired and you have made up your minds against me. |
| [8] And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me: and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face. | |
| [9] He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me. | |
| [10] They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me. | |
| [11] God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked. | |
| [12] I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark. | V12-13: Treated like a dog shakes a rabbit, set up for target practice, dissected like an experiment |
| [13] His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins{*} asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground. | *__reins= Hebrew kilyah: kidney. The word can also mean innermost being but this context is biological. |
| [14] He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like a giant. | |
| [15] I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn{*} in the dust. | horn = what stands out. The things that were esteemed about himself. |
| [16] My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death; | |
| [17] Not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is pure. | I have done nothing to deserve this and my request is only fair. |
| [18] O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place. | |
| [19] Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high. | |
| [20] My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God. | |
| [21] O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour! | I wish that I could defend myself to God directly. |
| [22] When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return. |
| Job shows that they denounce him for personal gain | Comment |
|---|---|
| [1] My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me. | Job begins with pointing out his condition to God. |
| [2] Are there not mockers with me? and doth not mine eye continue in their provocation? | These people are laughing at me and accusing me. |
| [3] Lay down now, put me in a surety with thee; who is he that will strike hands with me? | Please stand up on my behalf. |
| [4] For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore shalt thou not exalt them. | You need to help them to understand. |
| [5] He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail. | Job now warns his friends. More accurately translated in NET: If a man denounces his friends for personal gain . . .. |
| [6] He hath made me also a byword{*a} of the people; and aforetime I was as a tabret{b}. | *a__bywordis better translated satire: a poetic way to ridicule in entertainment. *b__ tabret= an musical instrument of uplifting in entertainment |
| [7] Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, and all my members are as a shadow. | |
| [8] Upright men shall be astonied at this, and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite. | When word of this gets around truly upstanding men will be shocked. |
| [9] The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger. | Genuinely righteous people will remain firmly committed to principle. |
| [10] But as for you all, do ye return, and come now: for I cannot find one wise man among you. | But you lot are a waste of time. |
| [11] My days are past{*}, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart. | *__My life is over, . . . |
| [12] They change the night into day: the light is short because of darkness. | His friends are claiming that night is really day and he can't see it because of his abundance of darkness |
| [13] If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness. | Job is prepared to die shortly. |
| [14] I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister. | |
| [15] And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it? | |
| [16] They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust. |
Job 18 (Bildad 2 - Job is considered as disrespectful)
Bildad wants to know why Job will not stop trying to defend himself (verse 2) and respect his elders i.e. don't treat them like animals meaning on the same level as he (Job) is. These older and wiser men all know that he is guilty of something. Job needs to calm down (verse 4) because his anger will not change anything. He then gives Job another warning.
Job Chapter 18 breakdown
| Scripture | Comment |
|---|---|
| [1] Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, | Bildad now takes the floor. |
| [2] How long will it be ere ye make an end of words? mark, and afterwards we will speak. | Shut up and listen to your elders |
| [3] Wherefore are we counted as beasts, and reputed vile in your sight? | Do you think that we are animals like you? |
| [4] He teareth himself in his anger: shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall the rock be removed out of his place? | This confirms that Job was now angry. Jobs anger was not convincing to them. |
| [5] Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine. | |
| [6] The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him. | |
| [7] The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down. | |
| [8] For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare. | |
| [9] The gin{*} shall take him by the heel, and the robber shall prevail against him. | *__Strong's H6341, Hebrew pach- technically a metallic sheet but also a spring net as a sheet covering a hole. |
| [10] The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way. | |
| [11] Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet. | |
| [12] His strength shall be hungerbitten, and destruction shall be ready at his side. | |
| [13] It shall devour the strength of his skin: even the firstborn of death{*} shall devour his strength. | *__Did people at the time of Job know about Christ? |
| [14] His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors. | |
| [15] It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation. | |
| [16] His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off. | |
| [17] His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street. | |
| [18] He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world. | |
| [19] He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings. | |
| [20] They that come after him shall be astonied at his day, as they that went before were affrighted. | |
| [21] Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God. |
Job 19 (Job - Let me state for the record)
Job is frustrated by the injustice of the situation. He has done nothing but nobody believes him and nobody appeals to God on his behalf. Everybody believes that he has brought the trouble on himself (verse 28).
Job knows that he has a redeemer that would eventually stand on earth and judge and resurrect him (verse 25 - 29), For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. . .
. He wants his record written down so that when that time comes his judge would know that he had not been evil and would consider him worthy of redemption, (verses 23-24) Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book . . .
.
Job Chapter 19 breakdown
| Scripture | Comment |
|---|---|
| [1] Then Job answered and said, | Job once again defends himself. |
| [2] How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words? | |
| [3] These ten times have ye reproached me: ye are not ashamed that ye make yourselves strange{*2} to me. | 2__strange= Strong's H1970, hkar, haw-kar'; a primitive root; apparently to injure [Mickelson]. I believe that Job means they have hurt him deeply. |
| [4] And be it indeed that I have erred {*3}, mine error remaineth with myself {*4}. | 3__I have certainly made mistakes. 4__and now I have to live with them. |
| [5] If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me {*5}, and plead against me my reproach:{*6} | 5__If you have established yourselves as superior to me. 6__and set out to correct my objectionable behaviour. |
| [6] Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net. | |
| [7] Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment. | |
| [8] He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths. | |
| [9] He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head. | |
| [10] He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone: and mine hope hath he removed like a tree. | |
| [11] He hath also kindled his wrath against me, and he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies. | |
| [12] His troops come together, and raise up their way against me, and encamp round about my tabernacle. | |
| [13] He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me. | |
| [14] My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me. | |
| [15] They that dwell in mine house, and my maids, count me for a stranger: I am an alien in their sight. | People that live in my house treat me like I am the one seeking lodging. As they see it I am the one imposing on the household. |
| [16] I called my servant, and he gave me no answer; I intreated him with my mouth. | |
| [17] My breath is strange{*} to my wife, though I intreated for the children's sake of mine own body. | *__strange = Hebrew zuwr: repulsive, to cause her to turn away [Mickelson]. |
| [18] Yea, young children despised{*} me; I arose, and they spake against me. | despised = Strongs H3988; Hebrew ma'ac: 1. to spurn; 2. (intransitively) to disappear. Little children ran away. |
| [19] All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me. | |
| [20] My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth. | |
| [21] Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me. | |
| [22] Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh? | Why join God in persecuting me, is my physical condition not suffering enough? |
| [23] Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! | Job wants his words recorded (v23-24) because he knows that there will be judgement after death and he expects to be exonerated and redeemed (v25-29). |
| [24] That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! | |
| [25] For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: | Job expects redemption after death. Job shows that what Satan had accused him of is wrong and that his commitment to living God's way transcends death. |
| [26] And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: | |
| [27] Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins{*} be consumed within me. | *__reigns = you mind, your inner self |
| [28] But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me? | i.e. You should say to yourself, I am from the same background and could suffer the same fate. |
| [29] Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment. | [LXXE] Do ye also beware of deceit: for wrath will come upon transgressors; and then shall they know where their substance is. |
Satan had argued that Job's motivation was purely carnal. We read in Job 1:9-11 (KJV), Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? [10] Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. [11] But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And in Job 2:1-6 (KJV) [4] And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. [5] But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face
. In other words Satan's accusation was that he had no commitment to living God's way for the long-term good. But Job shows otherwise. He is looking to a redeemer after death.
Job 20 (Zophar 2 - Job is still a liar)
Now Zophar has already stated that Job is a liar and hence he is focusing his efforts on warning Job of the consequences of persisting in wickedness. Job's pleas have found no resting place with him.
Job Chapter 20 breakdown
| Scripture | Comment |
|---|---|
| [1] Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, | Zophar stands his ground. For him life is an absolute equality where the degree of goodness == the degree of prosperity and the degree of evil == the degree of calamity. One side always tell you the other. |
| [2] Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste. | |
| [3] I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer. | |
| [4] Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, | |
| [5] That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? | |
| [6] Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds; | |
| [7] Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he? | |
| [8] He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night. | |
| [9] The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him. | |
| [10] His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods. | |
| [11] His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust. | |
| [12] Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue; | |
| [13] Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth: | |
| [14] Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him. | |
| [15] He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly. | |
| [16] He shall suck the poison of asps: the vipers tongue shall slay him. | |
| [17] He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter. | |
| [18] That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein. | |
| [19] Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not; | |
| [20] Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired. | |
| [21] There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods. | |
| [22] In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him. | |
| [23] When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating. | |
| [24] He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through. | |
| [25] It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him. | |
| [26] All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle. | |
| [27] The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him. | |
| [28] The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath. | |
| [29] This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God. |
Job 21 (Job - Zophar's argument is flawed)
Job's reply is that if what you say is true and the righteous are always blessed while the wicked are always cursed, then how is it that so many wicked people prosper and will tell you that they have no need of God. They die in peace and throngs mourn them. You could say that their children pay but it is not the children that need correction.
Job Chapter 21 breakdown
| Scripture | Comment |
|---|---|
| [1] But Job answered and said, | Job points out what all of us know. |
| [2] Hear diligently my speech, and let this be your consolations. | |
| [3] Suffer me that I may speak; and after that I have spoken, mock on. | You can continue laughing after I say what really happens. |
| [4] As for me, is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled? | As far as I am concerned, did I complain to you? Did I ask for your useless advice? |
| [5] Mark me, and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth. | You should be terrified of what really happens in this world. |
| [6] Even when I remember I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh. | |
| [7] Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? | If what Zophar claims is true then how do wicked people grow to become adults and prosper into an old age? |
| [8] Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. | |
| [9] Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. | |
| [10] Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. | |
| [11] They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. | |
| [12] They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. | |
| [13] They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. | They do not suffer for even a second and die peacefully. |
| [14] Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. | That is why they reject God as useless to them. |
| [15] What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him? | |
| [16] Lo, their good is{*} not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me. | *__this ishas been added by the translator. I believe that this phrase is a question, is not their good wholly under their control?. The second part says that Job cannot understand how they do it. |
| [17] How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger. | verses 17-19__ How often do wicked people get God's retribution? Only when they make God furious, and then God exacts His penalty on the children too (the beneficiaries of the wickedness) who may be innocent of the initial crime. |
| [18] They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away. | |
| [19] God layeth up his iniquity for his children: he rewardeth him, and he shall know it. | |
| [20] His eyes{*} shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty. | *__eyes here appears to refer to the children. The man may not even care but the children reap the consequences. |
| [21] For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst? | The wicked man is dead and gone unaware of the problems. |
| [22] Shall any teach God knowledge? seeing he judgeth those that are high. | |
| [23] One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet. | One man gets everything good in life. |
| [24] His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow. | |
| [25] And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure. | Another man no better or worse than he suffers his whole life. |
| [26] They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them. | |
| [27] Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully imagine against me. | |
| [28] For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked? | You seem to think that all good people are princes and all beggars are evil. |
| [29] Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their tokens{*}, | *__tokens means evidence. Ask around and you will see. |
| [30] That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath. | |
| [31] Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done? | |
| [32] Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb. | |
| [33] The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him. | |
| [34] How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood? |
Acknowledgements
Throughout the study of Job I have frequently consulted the website Abarim Publications
, https://www.abarim-publications.com/, and Wikipedia
, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page for background in various areas.
Dictionary used by default is Mickelson's Enhanced Strong's Greek and Hebrew Dictionaries
(Michelson)
Other less frequently access websites include Britannica
, https://www.britannica.com/
Young's Literal Translation [YLT]
English Septuagint (Brenton’s) [LXXE]
Interlinear Scripture Analyzer (ISA basic): Hebrew-English Interlinear (14 Jan 2008)