King James Version
Job 13
28 verses with commentary
Job Continues: Let Me Speak to the Almighty
Lo, mine eye hath seen all this, mine ear hath heard and understood it.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
'Lo, mine eye hath seen all this, mine ear hath heard and understood it.' Job claims firsthand empirical knowledge: his 'eye' (עַיִן, ayin) has 'seen' (רָאֲתָה, ra'atah) and his 'ear' (אֹזֶן, ozen) has 'heard' (שָׁמְעָה, shamah) and 'understood' (בִּינָה, binah). He isn't speculating but reporting observations confirmed by experience. This appeals to both sense perception and rational reflection. ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. Where were white, green, and blue hangings, &c.--**The fashion, in the houses of the great, on festive occasions, was to decorate the chambers from the middle of the wall downward with damask or velvet hangings of variegated colors suspended on hooks, or taken down at pleasure.
**the beds were of gold and silver--**that is, the couches on which, according to Oriental fashion, the guests...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Nehemiah turns out the mixed multitude.(1-9)
Nehemiah's reform in the house of God.(10-14)
Sabbath-breaking restrained.
(15-22)
The dismissal of strange wives.(23-31)
**Verses 1-9**
Israel was a peculiar people, and not to mingle with the nations. See the benefit of publicly reading the word of God; when it is duly attended to, it discovers ...
Read full commentary →What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you.</strong> Job challenges his friends' intellectual and spiritual superiority. The Hebrew phrase לֹא־נֹפֵל אָנֹכִי מִכֶּם (<em>lo-nofel anoki mikkem</em>) literally means "I am not fallen from you" or "I do not fall short of you." The verb <em>naphal</em> (נָפַל, "to fall") suggests Job stands on equal ground—he hasn't fallen...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**XIII.**
(2) **I am not inferior unto you.**—*I fall not short of you. *But it is this very sense of the inscrutableness of God’s dealings that makes him long to come face to face with God, and to reason with Him on the first principles of His action. As it is manifestly the traditionally orthodox position that his friends assume, it is refreshing to find that there may be some truth spoken for G...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. they gave them drink in vessels of gold--**There is reason to believe from this account, as well as from Es 5:6; 7:2, 7, 8, where the drinking of wine occupies by far the most prominent place in the description, that this was a banquet rather than a feast.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Nehemiah turns out the mixed multitude.(1-9)
Nehemiah's reform in the house of God.(10-14)
Sabbath-breaking restrained.
(15-22)
The dismissal of strange wives.(23-31)
**Verses 1-9**
Israel was a peculiar people, and not to mingle with the nations. See the benefit of publicly reading the word of God; when it is duly attended to, it discovers ...
Read full commentary →Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God.
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KJV Study Commentary
Job declares 'Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God.' This bold desire for direct address bypasses the friends' mediation. Job wants divine audience, not human commentary. The word 'reason' (yakach) suggests legal argument, revealing Job's confidence in his case.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Nehemiah turns out the mixed multitude.(1-9)
Nehemiah's reform in the house of God.(10-14)
Sabbath-breaking restrained.
(15-22)
The dismissal of strange wives.(23-31)
**Verses 1-9**
Israel was a peculiar people, and not to mingle with the nations. See the benefit of publicly reading the word of God; when it is duly attended to, it discovers ...
Read full commentary →But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.
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KJV Study Commentary
'But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.' Job's accusation escalates. 'Forgers' (טֹפְלֵי, tofeley) means plasterers or whitewashers—they cover truth with 'lies' (שָׁקֶר, shaqer—falsehood, deception). They're 'physicians of no value' (רֹפְאֵי אֱלִל, rofey elil—healers of worthlessness). The medical metaphor is devastating: doctors who misdiagnose and prescribe wrong treatment...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Ye are forgers of lies.**—He now retorts upon his friends in terms not more deferential than their own, and calls them scrapers together, or patchers up, of falsehood, and physicians who are powerless to heal, or even to understand the case. He feels that they have failed miserably and utterly to understand *him.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women--**The celebration was double; for, as according to the Oriental fashion, the sexes do not intermingle in society, the court ladies were entertained in a separate apartment by the queen.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Nehemiah turns out the mixed multitude.(1-9)
Nehemiah's reform in the house of God.(10-14)
Sabbath-breaking restrained.
(15-22)
The dismissal of strange wives.(23-31)
**Verses 1-9**
Israel was a peculiar people, and not to mingle with the nations. See the benefit of publicly reading the word of God; when it is duly attended to, it discovers ...
Read full commentary →O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom.
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KJV Study Commentary
Job's exasperated wish: 'O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom.' This stunning rebuke suggests silence would demonstrate more wisdom than the friends' speeches. Sometimes the wisest response to suffering is compassionate presence without explanation.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **O that ye would altogether hold your peace! **is singularly like the sentiment of Proverbs 17:28. Their wisdom will consist in listening to his wisdom rather than displaying their own folly.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10-12. On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine--**As the feast days advanced, the drinking was more freely indulged in, so that the close was usually marked by great excesses of revelry.
**he commanded ... the seven chamberlains--**These were the eunuchs who had charge of the royal harem. The refusal of Vashti to obey an order which required her to make an indecent e...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Nehemiah turns out the mixed multitude.(1-9)
Nehemiah's reform in the house of God.(10-14)
Sabbath-breaking restrained.
(15-22)
The dismissal of strange wives.(23-31)
**Verses 1-9**
Israel was a peculiar people, and not to mingle with the nations. See the benefit of publicly reading the word of God; when it is duly attended to, it discovers ...
Read full commentary →Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Hear now my reasoning</strong> (שִׁמְעוּ־נָא תוֹכַחְתִּי, shim'u-na tokhakhti)—Job shifts from defending himself to prosecuting his case. The Hebrew <em>tokhakhti</em> (my reasoning/argument/reproof) is legal terminology, presenting Job as plaintiff in a lawsuit against God's apparent injustice.<br><br><strong>The pleadings of my lips</strong> (רִיבוֹת שְׂפָתַי, rivot sefatay)—<em>Rivot</e...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10-12. On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine--**As the feast days advanced, the drinking was more freely indulged in, so that the close was usually marked by great excesses of revelry.
**he commanded ... the seven chamberlains--**These were the eunuchs who had charge of the royal harem. The refusal of Vashti to obey an order which required her to make an indecent e...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Nehemiah turns out the mixed multitude.(1-9)
Nehemiah's reform in the house of God.(10-14)
Sabbath-breaking restrained.
(15-22)
The dismissal of strange wives.(23-31)
**Verses 1-9**
Israel was a peculiar people, and not to mingle with the nations. See the benefit of publicly reading the word of God; when it is duly attended to, it discovers ...
Read full commentary →Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him?
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KJV Study Commentary
Job accuses his friends: 'Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him?' This charges them with false witness under guise of defending God. Their theology, though orthodox in content, becomes wicked through misapplication to Job's innocent suffering.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Will ye speak wickedly for God?**—And now, in these verses, he gives utterance to a sublime truth, which shows how truly he had risen to the true conception of God, for he declares that He, who is no respecter of persons, desires to have no favour shown to Himself, and that in seeking to show favour they will greatly damage their own cause, for He is a God of truth, and by Him words as well ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10-12. On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine--**As the feast days advanced, the drinking was more freely indulged in, so that the close was usually marked by great excesses of revelry.
**he commanded ... the seven chamberlains--**These were the eunuchs who had charge of the royal harem. The refusal of Vashti to obey an order which required her to make an indecent e...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Nehemiah turns out the mixed multitude.(1-9)
Nehemiah's reform in the house of God.(10-14)
Sabbath-breaking restrained.
(15-22)
The dismissal of strange wives.(23-31)
**Verses 1-9**
Israel was a peculiar people, and not to mingle with the nations. See the benefit of publicly reading the word of God; when it is duly attended to, it discovers ...
Read full commentary →Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God?
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KJV Study Commentary
'Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God?' Job questions whether the friends are showing partiality (נָשָׂא פָנִים, nasa panim—lift up face, show favoritism) toward God or 'contending' (תְּרִיבוּן, teribun—striving, arguing) for Him. The irony: they think they're defending God by accusing Job, but they're actually bearing false witness. Deuteronomy 1:17 and Leviticus 19:15 prohibit part...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13-19. Then the king said to the wise men--**These were probably the magi, without whose advice as to the proper time of doing a thing the Persian kings never did take any step whatever; and the persons named in Es 1:14 were the "seven counsellors" (compare Ezr 7:14) who formed the state ministry. The combined wisdom of all, it seems, was enlisted to consult with the king what course should be t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Nehemiah turns out the mixed multitude.(1-9)
Nehemiah's reform in the house of God.(10-14)
Sabbath-breaking restrained.
(15-22)
The dismissal of strange wives.(23-31)
**Verses 1-9**
Israel was a peculiar people, and not to mingle with the nations. See the benefit of publicly reading the word of God; when it is duly attended to, it discovers ...
Read full commentary →Is it good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Is it good that he should search you out?</strong> (הֲטוֹב כִּי־יַחְקֹר אֶתְכֶם, hatov ki-yakhqor etkhem)—Job turns the tables on his accusers. <em>Yakhqor</em> means 'to examine thoroughly, investigate, search out'—the same word used of God searching hearts (Psalm 139:1). Job warns that the divine scrutiny they invoke against him will expose their own falsehood.<br><br><strong>As one man ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **As one man mocketh another.**—As one man, with mingled flattery and deception, seeks to impose upon another.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13-19. Then the king said to the wise men--**These were probably the magi, without whose advice as to the proper time of doing a thing the Persian kings never did take any step whatever; and the persons named in Es 1:14 were the "seven counsellors" (compare Ezr 7:14) who formed the state ministry. The combined wisdom of all, it seems, was enlisted to consult with the king what course should be t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
Nehemiah turns out the mixed multitude.(1-9)
Nehemiah's reform in the house of God.(10-14)
Sabbath-breaking restrained.
(15-22)
The dismissal of strange wives.(23-31)
**Verses 1-9**
Israel was a peculiar people, and not to mingle with the nations. See the benefit of publicly reading the word of God; when it is duly attended to, it discovers ...
Read full commentary →He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons.
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KJV Study Commentary
'He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons.' Job warns his friends that God will 'reprove' (יוֹכִיחַ, yokiach—correct, rebuke, prove) them for secret partiality (בַּסֵּתֶר, baseter). The shock: they think they're defending God, but God will rebuke them (confirmed in Job 42:7-8). This exposes the danger of assuming our defense of orthodoxy automatically pleases God. God values ju...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13-19. Then the king said to the wise men--**These were probably the magi, without whose advice as to the proper time of doing a thing the Persian kings never did take any step whatever; and the persons named in Es 1:14 were the "seven counsellors" (compare Ezr 7:14) who formed the state ministry. The combined wisdom of all, it seems, was enlisted to consult with the king what course should be t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-22**
Ahasuerus's feast ended in heaviness, by his own folly. Seasons of peculiar festivity often end in vexation. Superiors should be careful not to command what may reasonably be disobeyed. But when wine is in, men's reason departs from them. He that had rule over 127 provinces, had no rule over his own spirit. But whether the passion or the policy of the king was served by this d...
Read full commentary →Shall not his excellency make you afraid? and his dread fall upon you?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Shall not his excellency make you afraid?</strong> (הֲלֹא שְׂאֵתוֹ תְּבַעֵת אֶתְכֶם, halo se'eto teva'et etkhem)—<em>Se'eto</em> (his majesty/excellency/rising up) conveys God's transcendent glory. <em>Teva'et</em> means 'terrify, make suddenly afraid.' Job argues that true fear of God should silence glib explanations of divine providence.<br><br><strong>And his dread fall upon you?</stron...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13-19. Then the king said to the wise men--**These were probably the magi, without whose advice as to the proper time of doing a thing the Persian kings never did take any step whatever; and the persons named in Es 1:14 were the "seven counsellors" (compare Ezr 7:14) who formed the state ministry. The combined wisdom of all, it seems, was enlisted to consult with the king what course should be t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-22**
Ahasuerus's feast ended in heaviness, by his own folly. Seasons of peculiar festivity often end in vexation. Superiors should be careful not to command what may reasonably be disobeyed. But when wine is in, men's reason departs from them. He that had rule over 127 provinces, had no rule over his own spirit. But whether the passion or the policy of the king was served by this d...
Read full commentary →Your remembrances are like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay.
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KJV Study Commentary
Job dismisses the friends' arguments: 'Your remembrances are like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay.' The double metaphor (ashes/clay) emphasizes the fragility and worthlessness of their defenses. Ashes represent what remains after fire; clay represents pre-fired, unstable form.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **Remembrances**—*i.e.* “Wise and memorable saws of garnered wisdom are proverbs of ashes, worthless as the dust, and fit for bodies of clay like your bodies.” Or, as some understand it, “Your high fabrics, or defences, are fabrics of clay,” as an independent parallelism.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13-19. Then the king said to the wise men--**These were probably the magi, without whose advice as to the proper time of doing a thing the Persian kings never did take any step whatever; and the persons named in Es 1:14 were the "seven counsellors" (compare Ezr 7:14) who formed the state ministry. The combined wisdom of all, it seems, was enlisted to consult with the king what course should be t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-22**
Ahasuerus's feast ended in heaviness, by his own folly. Seasons of peculiar festivity often end in vexation. Superiors should be careful not to command what may reasonably be disobeyed. But when wine is in, men's reason departs from them. He that had rule over 127 provinces, had no rule over his own spirit. But whether the passion or the policy of the king was served by this d...
Read full commentary →I Will Argue My Case Before God
Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will. Hold: Heb. Be silent from me
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KJV Study Commentary
'Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will.' Job demands silence: 'Hold your peace' (הַחֲרִישׁוּ, hacharishu—be silent), 'let me alone' (מִמֶּנִּי, mimmeni), 'let come' (יַעֲבֹר, ya'avor—pass over, happen). He'll speak regardless of consequences. This is the courage of faith—honesty before God even at personal risk. Job models lament over pretense, authenticity ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Hold your peace.**—He now prepares to make a declaration like the memorable one in Job 19. He resolves at all hazards to face God in judgment.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13-19. Then the king said to the wise men--**These were probably the magi, without whose advice as to the proper time of doing a thing the Persian kings never did take any step whatever; and the persons named in Es 1:14 were the "seven counsellors" (compare Ezr 7:14) who formed the state ministry. The combined wisdom of all, it seems, was enlisted to consult with the king what course should be t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-22**
Job resolved to cleave to the testimony his own conscience gave of his uprightness. He depended upon God for justification and salvation, the two great things we hope for through Christ. Temporal salvation he little expected, but of his eternal salvation he was very confident; that God would not only be his Saviour to make him happy, but his salvation, in the sight and enjoyme...
Read full commentary →Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in mine hand?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth?</strong> (עַל־מָה אֶשָּׂא בְשָׂרִי בְשִׁנָּי, al-mah essa besari veshinai)—This vivid idiom pictures a wild animal carrying prey in its teeth—absolute vulnerability and risk. Job asks rhetorically why he would stake everything (his very 'flesh') on confronting God, yet verse 15 answers: 'Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.'<br><br><strong>A...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth.**—This is probably the meaning of this verse, which, however, should not be read interrogatively: “At all risks, come what come may, I will take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in my hand.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13-19. Then the king said to the wise men--**These were probably the magi, without whose advice as to the proper time of doing a thing the Persian kings never did take any step whatever; and the persons named in Es 1:14 were the "seven counsellors" (compare Ezr 7:14) who formed the state ministry. The combined wisdom of all, it seems, was enlisted to consult with the king what course should be t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-22**
Job resolved to cleave to the testimony his own conscience gave of his uprightness. He depended upon God for justification and salvation, the two great things we hope for through Christ. Temporal salvation he little expected, but of his eternal salvation he was very confident; that God would not only be his Saviour to make him happy, but his salvation, in the sight and enjoyme...
Read full commentary →Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. maintain: Heb. prove, or, argue
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Job's declaration "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him" represents one of Scripture's highest expressions of unconditional faith. The Hebrew phrase im yiqteleni lo ayachel (אִם־יִקְטְלֵנִי לוֹ אֲיַחֵל) can be translated "Though he slay me, I will hope in him" or "I will wait for him." The verb qatal (קָטַל) means to kill or slay, acknowledging the possibility that God might take Job's life....
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.**—This rendering is almost proverbial; but, to say the least, its accuracy is very doubtful, for the better reading does not warrant it, but runs thus: *Behold He will slay me. I have no hope; yet will I maintain my ways before Him. *It is true we thus lose a very beautiful and familiar resolve; but the expression of living trust is not less vivid...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-22**
Job resolved to cleave to the testimony his own conscience gave of his uprightness. He depended upon God for justification and salvation, the two great things we hope for through Christ. Temporal salvation he little expected, but of his eternal salvation he was very confident; that God would not only be his Saviour to make him happy, but his salvation, in the sight and enjoyme...
Read full commentary →He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him.
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KJV Study Commentary
'He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him.' Paradoxically, the very God Job will confront is his 'salvation' (יְשׁוּעָה, yeshuah). Job's assurance: 'an hypocrite' (חָנֵף, chanef—godless, profane) cannot 'come before' (יָבוֹא, yavo) God. Job's integrity gives him confidence to approach God honestly. This is faith's paradox—the God who wounds is the only source of he...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **He also shall be my salvation.**—Comp. Psalm 27:1, &c. It is characteristic of Job that, living, as he probably did, outside the pale of Israel, he nevertheless shared the faith and knowledge of God’s chosen people; and this cannot be said of any other nation, nor docs any literature give evidence of it. Indeed, it is this which most markedly distinguishes Job from his friends, in that he c...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-22**
Job resolved to cleave to the testimony his own conscience gave of his uprightness. He depended upon God for justification and salvation, the two great things we hope for through Christ. Temporal salvation he little expected, but of his eternal salvation he was very confident; that God would not only be his Saviour to make him happy, but his salvation, in the sight and enjoyme...
Read full commentary →Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your ears.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Hear diligently my speech</strong> (שִׁמְעוּ שָׁמוֹעַ מִלָּתִי, shim'u shamo'a millati)—The doubled imperative <em>shim'u shamo'a</em> (hear, truly hear) is emphatic, demanding full attention. <em>Millati</em> (my speech/word) is the Aramaic-influenced term Job uses for his carefully prepared legal argument.<br><br><strong>And my declaration with your ears</strong> (וְאַחֲוָתִי בְּאָזְנֵיכ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-22**
Job resolved to cleave to the testimony his own conscience gave of his uprightness. He depended upon God for justification and salvation, the two great things we hope for through Christ. Temporal salvation he little expected, but of his eternal salvation he was very confident; that God would not only be his Saviour to make him happy, but his salvation, in the sight and enjoyme...
Read full commentary →Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be justified.
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KJV Study Commentary
Job's legal confidence: 'Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be justified.' The word 'ordered' (arak) is military language for arranging battle lines. Job approaches God's court with confidence in eventual vindication, modeling faith that transcends circumstances.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-22**
Job resolved to cleave to the testimony his own conscience gave of his uprightness. He depended upon God for justification and salvation, the two great things we hope for through Christ. Temporal salvation he little expected, but of his eternal salvation he was very confident; that God would not only be his Saviour to make him happy, but his salvation, in the sight and enjoyme...
Read full commentary →Who is he that will plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost.
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KJV Study Commentary
'Who is he that will plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost.' Job challenges any accuser: 'Who will plead' (יָרִיב, yariv—contend legally) against him? He's so confident that silence would mean death—'give up the ghost' (אֶגְוָע, egva—expire, perish). This bold challenge precedes Job's courtroom language throughout the book. Job desires legal vindication, not just r...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **If I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost.**—A marvellous confession, equivalent to, “If I give up my faith in Him who is my salvation, and my personal innocence, which goes hand-in-hand therewith, I shall perish. To give up my innocence is to give up Him in whom I hold my innocence, and in whom I live.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 2 Es 2:1-20. Esther Chosen to Be Queen.
**1-3. After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased--**On recovering from the violent excitement of his revelry and rage, the king was pierced with poignant regret for the unmerited treatment he had given to his beautiful and dignified queen. But, according to the law, which made the word of a Persian king irrevocable, she could...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-22**
Job resolved to cleave to the testimony his own conscience gave of his uprightness. He depended upon God for justification and salvation, the two great things we hope for through Christ. Temporal salvation he little expected, but of his eternal salvation he was very confident; that God would not only be his Saviour to make him happy, but his salvation, in the sight and enjoyme...
Read full commentary →Only do not two things unto me: then will I not hide myself from thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
Job makes two requests of God: 'Only do not two things unto me: then will I not hide myself from thee.' Despite his boldness, Job recognizes the need for specific conditions to stand before God. This shows both audacity (making demands of God) and humility (acknowledging limitations before divine majesty). The dialogue between confidence and fear characterizes authentic faith—approaching God boldl...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **Will I not hide myself from thee**—*i.e.*, “I shall not be hidden”—quite a different word from that in Genesis 3:10, though the comparison of the two places is not without interest.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 2 Es 2:1-20. Esther Chosen to Be Queen.
**1-3. After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased--**On recovering from the violent excitement of his revelry and rage, the king was pierced with poignant regret for the unmerited treatment he had given to his beautiful and dignified queen. But, according to the law, which made the word of a Persian king irrevocable, she could...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-22**
Job resolved to cleave to the testimony his own conscience gave of his uprightness. He depended upon God for justification and salvation, the two great things we hope for through Christ. Temporal salvation he little expected, but of his eternal salvation he was very confident; that God would not only be his Saviour to make him happy, but his salvation, in the sight and enjoyme...
Read full commentary →Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid.
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KJV Study Commentary
Job's first request: 'Withdraw thine hand far from me.' He asks God to remove the affliction crushing him. The 'hand of God' represents divine power and judgment—Job can't present his case while overwhelmed by suffering. His second request: 'let not thy dread make me afraid.' The Hebrew 'emah' (dread/terror) describes the overwhelming fear of divine presence. Job needs relief from both physical su...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **Withdraw thine hand far from me.**—That is, “Cease to torture me bodily, and to terrify me mentally; let me at least have freedom from physical pain and the undue apprehension of Thy terrors.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 2 Es 2:1-20. Esther Chosen to Be Queen.
**1-3. After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased--**On recovering from the violent excitement of his revelry and rage, the king was pierced with poignant regret for the unmerited treatment he had given to his beautiful and dignified queen. But, according to the law, which made the word of a Persian king irrevocable, she could...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-22**
Job resolved to cleave to the testimony his own conscience gave of his uprightness. He depended upon God for justification and salvation, the two great things we hope for through Christ. Temporal salvation he little expected, but of his eternal salvation he was very confident; that God would not only be his Saviour to make him happy, but his salvation, in the sight and enjoyme...
Read full commentary →Then call thou, and I will answer: or let me speak, and answer thou me.
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KJV Study Commentary
Job's direct address to God: 'Then call thou, and I will answer: or let me speak, and answer thou me.' This courtroom language treats God as either prosecutor or defendant, with Job taking the opposite role. The boldness reveals covenant confidence that God will honor justice.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 13-22**
Job resolved to cleave to the testimony his own conscience gave of his uprightness. He depended upon God for justification and salvation, the two great things we hope for through Christ. Temporal salvation he little expected, but of his eternal salvation he was very confident; that God would not only be his Saviour to make him happy, but his salvation, in the sight and enjoyme...
Read full commentary →How many are mine iniquities and sins? make me to know my transgression and my sin.
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KJV Study Commentary
'How many are mine iniquities and sins? make me to know my transgression and my sin.' Job demands specificity. He wants to know his 'iniquities' (עֲוֹנֹת, avonotay), 'sins' (חַטָּאות, chataot), and 'transgression' (פֶּשַׁע, pesha—rebellion, revolt). The three terms cover different aspects of sin: missing the mark, guilt/punishment, and willful rebellion. Job isn't claiming sinlessness (7:21) but d...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **How many are mine iniquities?**—We must be careful to note that alongside with Job’s claim to be righteous there is ever as deep a confession of personal sin, thus showing that the only way in which we can understand his declarations is in the light of His teaching who convicts of sin before He convinces of righteousness.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew--**Mordecai held some office about the court. But his "sitting at the king's gate" (Es 2:21) does not necessarily imply that he was in the humble condition of a porter; for, according to an institute of Cyrus, all state officers were required to wait in the outer courts till they were summoned into the presence chamber. He might, therefore, ha...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-28**
Job begs to have his sins discovered to him. A true penitent is willing to know the worst of himself; and we should all desire to know what our transgressions are, that we may confess them, and guard against them for the future. Job complains sorrowfully of God's severe dealings with him. Time does not wear out the guilt of sin. When God writes bitter things against us, his de...
Read full commentary →Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?
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KJV Study Commentary
Job laments God's hiddenness: 'Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?' The hidden face of God represents divine favor's withdrawal—a terrifying experience for the faithful. Job's question 'Why?' expresses his deepest pain: not just physical suffering but the sense that God has become his adversary. This prefigures Christ's cry of dereliction (Matthew 27:46), where the trul...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-28**
Job begs to have his sins discovered to him. A true penitent is willing to know the worst of himself; and we should all desire to know what our transgressions are, that we may confess them, and guard against them for the future. Job complains sorrowfully of God's severe dealings with him. Time does not wear out the guilt of sin. When God writes bitter things against us, his de...
Read full commentary →Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?
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KJV Study Commentary
Job feels God treats him like insignificant refuse: 'Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?' The imagery emphasizes Job's utter helplessness—he's as powerless as windblown leaves or dried stubble. Yet God seems to pursue him with overwhelming force. The contrast is stark: God's infinite power versus Job's complete weakness. Job can't understand why divine o...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **Wilt thou break a leaf.**—His confession of sin here approaches even to what the Psalmist describes as the condition of the ungodly (Psalm 1:4).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-28**
Job begs to have his sins discovered to him. A true penitent is willing to know the worst of himself; and we should all desire to know what our transgressions are, that we may confess them, and guard against them for the future. Job complains sorrowfully of God's severe dealings with him. Time does not wear out the guilt of sin. When God writes bitter things against us, his de...
Read full commentary →For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth.
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KJV Study Commentary
'How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?' Job's anguish breaks through: 'How long' (עַד־אָנָה, ad-anah) introduces lament's classic question. They 'vex' (תּוֹגְיוּן, togyun—grieve, afflict) his 'soul' (נַפְשִׁי, nafshi) and 'break in pieces' (תְּדַכְּאוּנַנִּי, tedakkunani—crush, oppress) with 'words' (מִלִּין, millin). Words can wound (Proverbs 12:18, 18:21). The friends'...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **For thou writest bitter things against me.**—Exquisitely plaintive and affecting is this confession.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-28**
Job begs to have his sins discovered to him. A true penitent is willing to know the worst of himself; and we should all desire to know what our transgressions are, that we may confess them, and guard against them for the future. Job complains sorrowfully of God's severe dealings with him. Time does not wear out the guilt of sin. When God writes bitter things against us, his de...
Read full commentary →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. lookest: Heb. observest heels: Heb. roots
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KJV Study Commentary
'These ten times have ye reproached me: ye are not ashamed that ye make yourselves strange to me.' 'Ten times' (זֶה עֶשֶׁר פְּעָמִים, zeh eser pe'amim) may be literal or idiomatic for 'many times.' They've 'reproached' (תַחְפְּרוּנִי, tachperuni—insulted, humiliated) and 'make strange' (תַּכְלִימוּנִי, takhlimuni—deal cruelly, abuse). The friends' increasing cruelty shows how ideological commitmen...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks.**—This is illustrated by the language of the Psalms (Psalm 88:8; Psalm 142:7, &c.). There is a difficulty in these two verses, arising from the pronouns. Some understand the subject to be the fetter: “Thou puttest my feet in the fetter that watcheth over all my paths, and imprinteth itself upon the roots of my feet, and it (the foot) consumeth like a...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-28**
Job begs to have his sins discovered to him. A true penitent is willing to know the worst of himself; and we should all desire to know what our transgressions are, that we may confess them, and guard against them for the future. Job complains sorrowfully of God's severe dealings with him. Time does not wear out the guilt of sin. When God writes bitter things against us, his de...
Read full commentary →And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is moth eaten.
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KJV Study Commentary
Job describes God's marking of boundaries he cannot cross: 'Thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet.' The imagery suggests God has drawn a circle around Job, limiting where he can go. This develops the stocks metaphor—Job is confined, unable to escape his suffering. Yet theologically, this also points to divine sovereignty setting boundaries for suffering (as seen in Job 1-2, where God limi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-28**
Job begs to have his sins discovered to him. A true penitent is willing to know the worst of himself; and we should all desire to know what our transgressions are, that we may confess them, and guard against them for the future. Job complains sorrowfully of God's severe dealings with him. Time does not wear out the guilt of sin. When God writes bitter things against us, his de...
Read full commentary →