Commentary on the Old Testament Volume 2-4, Biblical commentary 2 · Job · Chapter 17
CHAP. XVII.
MY breath it corrupt, my dayes are extinct, the grave is ready for mee. The Vers. 1.neerer a righteous man cometh to his death, the more is hee stricken with terrour in respect of the Judge being at hand, and the more narrowly doth hee looke into his wayes, and bethinkes himselfe, if in any thing hee hath sinned, whereas on the contrary side, the wicked towards their end, although they bee troubled at the approach of death, yet they are sensible only of their misery; but for their sinnes, they never call themselves in question about them, and so either dye and must abide the severity of this Judge, or if they escape they are no whit amended hereby: But how is it Vers. 2.that Job having before sayd, that he had sinned, now sayth, I have not sinned. For so it is in vulg lat. But Hebr. it is, If not illusions, or illuders with me: Which they that follow the Vulg. seek to reconcile thus, if by these deceivers I had not such sinnes laid to my charge, as I am not guilty of, I would not stand so much upon my own justification, as now I do; by them therefore I am forced to speak so, as if I had not sinned; or if it be rendred, Illusions are not with me. This they say is the same in effect, with saying, sinnes are not with me, I have not sinned, and by deceit sought to hide it. N. Tran. Are there not mockers with me? as if foreign had the force of an interrogation Junius, Quando quidem not sunt Ludificationes apud me. That is, criminations, by which they mock him, in all which there is not much difference, but the sum of all is this; if we put both the verses together, I am consumed and dying, when as I have not deceived the World by making a shew of piety openly, but practising injustice and wrong secretly, as I am charged; but have walked uprightly in all things, as God knoweth, in whose testimony I said before; I trusted against all the unjust calumnies of these men, and thus the doubt is also resolved, and Iobs saying before that he had sinned, and here in effect that he had not sinned reconciled, he cleares himself only from the sin of dissimulation, as God also did at the first, saying of him that he was a just man, none being like him upon Earth. And doth not mine eye continue in their provocation. The vulg. In bitterness, as the word also signifieth: And he saith, his eye continueth or lodgeth all night, as the word signifieth, in bitterness, because he could not sleep with his eyes, whereby to have any ease, when others commonly tooke their rest, that were toyled in the day: Some refer it to these his friends, whom as long as he saw about him, deriding and calumniating him, he saw objects of bitternesse; and some to the eye of his minde, lifted up Vatabl. Septuag.to God in prayer, but yet no sweetning comming from him, either internally or externally; the first is rather to be followed.
Lay down now, put me in a surety with thee, who is it that will strike hands with me? The vulg. Deliver me, set me by thee, and let any mans hand Vers. 3.fight against me. But N. Tran Is word forword, according to the Heb. The vulg. looketh more at the sense, then at the signification of the words; the meaning whereof is, Cease to persecute me with thy judgments (O Lord) lay down the peircing weapons of thy wrath, which thou hast taken up against me, and what is this, but deliver me; put me in a pledge of thy favour, by thus reconciling thy self again unto me, and what is this in effect but, set me by thee, who seemest now to put me far away from thee, for the last words they are foreign Who is he, he shall strike hands with me. That is, if God would do thus for me, what man is there that would be so hardy stil to oppose me, yea be would rather be in league with me, but if he durst, let him lift up his hand and fight against me.
For thou hast hid their heart from understanding, therefore shalt thou not exalt Vers. 4.them. This is by some understood, as spoken of the Caldeans and Sabeans, by some of the Devil, but it is plainly meant of these his friends, from whose hearts, understanding aright the cause of Jobs sufferings was taken away, as appeared by their bitter invectives against him: Therefore howsoever they magnified themselves against Job, as if they had more understanding then he, God he saith, would not finally so magnifie, but abase them before him, wherein he even prophesied of that, which was at the last done, when God said, they had not spoken so right things as Job.
He that speaketh slattery to his friend, the eyes of his Children shall fayl. Vulg. He promiseth a prey to his fellowes. Hebr. He appointed his fellowes Vers. 5.to a part, or sheweth them a part, as the word properly signifieth. The meaning is, whereas he hath objected rapine to me, he that is Eliphaz, hath given himself a nip indeed, who together with his fellowes, Zophar and Bildad, knowing none other happinesse but that, which standeth in having worldly wealth, have mutually with joy, shewed one another goods to be gotten by rapine and wrong, of which they speak so much, but their childrens eyes in looking to be inriched hereby, shall fayl; the expected goods so to be gotten, not coming in, or not continuing as they hoped, but melting away again, as the dew against the Sun.
He hath also made me a by word of the people, and aforetime I was as a Tabret. Vers. 6.The vulg. For these last words, hath, And I am an example before them. Hebr. I am Tophet. The meaning is, the Lord by executing his judgments so soarely upon me, hath made me such an example of misery; that when any man will speak proverbially of one extremely miserable, he will say, As miserable as Job: Yea and this makes my misery the greater, that it is as a sport to the prophane, to see or heare of a godly man thus afflicted and brought down, as the malicious Jewes looked upon Christ hanging upon the Cross, nodding their heads and laughing at him: The word Tophet was afterwards used to set forth Hel, as Isa. 30. Whereupon some think, that he meaneth, I am accounted by them, as one almost in Hel already, so wicked am I thought to be: But because Tophet was not spoken of in this sense, til long after Jobs time, this exposition falleth, for these words afore time in N. Tran. Hebr. it is, foreign before them, and therefore I see no reason why that herein, the translation is altered, if it be asked, why he should say, I am Tophet before them, If he meant a sport: The word signifieth a Tabret, it playing upon which they are merry and rejoyce, to be a Tabret therefore, is to be matter of mirth.
Ʋpright men shall be astonied at this, and the innocent shall stir up himself Vers. 8.against the hypocrite. Having shewed what the wicked did upon occasion of his miseries; now he sheweth the effects hereof in the righteous, they are aston…shed, as being put to seek, what should be the cause, why a man so just as Job was thus handled, for they resolve, that it is not for his sinnes, from which he lived so free, therefore they conclude, that it is for his tryal, but then it amazeth them again, that others who are sinful, and no way in virtue comparable to him, are suffered both to live in prosperity, and thus to insult over him in paine; and hereupon they stir up themselves against such hypocrites, that rejoyce in their own worldly happinesse, thinking none in misery here, comparable to them, for the favour wherein they are with God, they yet stir up themselves against them, being perswaded, that whatsoever they suffer in this World, they are in a better estate to Godward then they, and that they, who thus judge the just for their sufferings, are but hypocrites, howsoever they flourish outwardly, overlooking therefore all their worldly pompe, and contemning it, they spare not to cry them down with dsidainful speeches, as they are worthy for their insolencies, as Iob spared not to do by these, when he was in the lowest ebb of misery, and they were in the height of worldly prosperity: And hereby a wicked hypocrite may be known, and a right godly man, the one dareth not to condemne any innocent and unblamable liver, Note. under what crosses soever he seeth him, but is offended, and stirreth up himself against those that do, the other measuring the favour of God towards men only by outward things, vilifie and censure, as worse then nought such as suffer extremity, whatsoever their conversations and dealings have been in all the time o… their prosperity.
The just also shall bold on his way, and he that hath clean bands shall grow stronger and …tronger. That is, if he seeth other just men to suffer, or suffereth Vers. 9.himself, he will constantly go on stil in the way of righteousnesse, and shall be strengthened more and more, even by sufferings, as knowing, that they work a surpassing weight of glory, that shall be revealed.2 Cor. 4. 17. Vers. 11.
My dayes are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart. For the words or V. 10. Return and come. He herein challengeth them, as it were, to unite their forces, and to come together again into lists against them, presuming, as he saith, that he should be one amongst them, wise enough to answer rightly to that, which he had said to clear themselves of the imputation, that he had laid upon them, or to make good that wherewith they had charged him: But whilst he was thus speaking, his pangs oppressing him, maketh him to interrupt his speech, as if not likely to live, or if he did live, to have another brunt with them, in way of argumentation, for the distractions of his thoughts and meditations, making him not himself as it were, through the extremity of his pangs, as it is with any man, though never so able, when he is so much oppressed in his body, and terrours of minde together, that he cannot take his natural rest, night after night, as it was now with this poor man Iob: And that this is his meaning, the next words, V. 12. shew, They turn my night into day, my light is short, &c. That is, these distracting pangs take all sleep away from Vers. 12.mine eyes; and so do greatly distemper me.
If I wait, the grave is my house, &c. That is if I hope to have any better Vers. 13.rest, my grave must be my house, where I shall take it: Here I live but in common with others, and so as it were in a throng of troubles, where I look for no quiet, but my grave is my proper house, where none else shall come to trouble me, but I shall lye as in a sweet sleep, without disturbance.
I have said to corruption thou art my Father, and to the worme thou an my Mother and Sister. Because he had spoken of the grave as his house Vers. 14now he mentioneth the family dwelling there with him, corruption and worms; o… going thither, amongst which he sheweth, how desirous he was, and that with hope of finding more comfort there then here: He sheweth by calling the one his Father, and the other his Mother and Sisters: For whither do men in misery, in a strange country desire rather to go, then to the house of their Parents; wherefore Job in saying thus, sheweth, how willing, yea desirous he was to dye: And of corruption indeed man cometh, for what else is the seed and bloud of generation? Note. And therefore to dye, and to be put into the grave, should cause such horrour in us; for we thus go, but to our mother earth, out of which we were first taken and made.
And where is now my hope, who shall see it? That is, what hope have Vers. 15.I more of living and injoying prosperity here, or who shall see it? All the hope then that I have, is in death, and not in this life; wherein the righteous are contrary to the wicked, with whom, if the things of this life be gone, all hope is gone.
They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest is together in the Vers. 16.dust. This is commonly understood of Iob, and all his things, which he dying, should together with him be at an end, he, if he had never so much, not having any comfort of them more for ever, wherefore the faithful are not to be so much troubled at worldly crosses, but comfort themselves in this, that there is rest to come after death, what troubles soever they have indured in this World.