King James Version
Job 16
22 verses with commentary
Job's Reply: Miserable Comforters Are You All
Then Job answered and said,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then Job answered and said</strong> (וַיַּעַן אִיּוֹב וַיֹּאמַר, vaya'an 'iyyov vayomar)—This marks Job's third reply to Eliphaz, using the standard dialogue formula. The verb עָנָה ('anah, 'to answer') implies not mere response but an <em>antiphonal</em> refutation. Job's speeches grow progressively darker as his friends' accusations intensify.<br><br>The structure of Job's debate follows...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**XVI.**
(1) **Then Job answered.**—Job, in replying, ceases to continue the argument, which he finds useless; but, after complaining of the way his friends have conducted it, and contrasting the way in which they have treated him with that in which he would treat them were they in his case, he proceeds again to enlarge upon his condition, and makes a touching appeal to Heaven, which prepares us f...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
Job reproves his friends.(1-5)
He represents his case as deplorable.(6-16)
Job maintains his innocency.(17-22)
**Verses 1-5**
Eliphaz had represented Job's discourses as unprofitable, and nothing to the purpose; Job here gives his the same character. Those who pass censures, must expect to have them retorted; it is easy, it is endless, but what good...
Read full commentary →I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all. miserable: or, troublesome
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KJV Study Commentary
Job's frustration peaks: 'I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all!' This labels the friends' theology as anti-comfort. Their attempts to explain suffering increase rather than decrease Job's misery. Presence without answers would serve better.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **I have heard many such things.**—Trite rather than true, or at least the whole truth.
“Common is the common-place,
And vacant chaff well meant for grain.”
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
Job reproves his friends.(1-5)
He represents his case as deplorable.(6-16)
Job maintains his innocency.(17-22)
**Verses 1-5**
Eliphaz had represented Job's discourses as unprofitable, and nothing to the purpose; Job here gives his the same character. Those who pass censures, must expect to have them retorted; it is easy, it is endless, but what good...
Read full commentary →Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest? vain: Heb. words of wind
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Shall vain words have an end?</strong> (הֲקֵץ לְדִבְרֵי־רוּחַ, haqets ledivrey-ruach)—The phrase דִּבְרֵי־רוּחַ (divrey-ruach) literally means 'words of wind/spirit'—empty rhetoric lacking substance. Job throws Eliphaz's criticism back: <em>you</em> traffic in windy nothings, not me.<br><br><strong>Or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest?</strong> (אוֹ מַה־יַּמְרִיצְךָ כִּי תַעֲנֶה, o...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Shall vain words have an end?**—The English idiom rather requires, “Shall *not *vain words have an end? for if not, what emboldeneth or provoketh thee that thou answerest?” Eliphaz had contributed nothing to the discussion in his last reply; he had simply reiterated what had been said before.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
Job reproves his friends.(1-5)
He represents his case as deplorable.(6-16)
Job maintains his innocency.(17-22)
**Verses 1-5**
Eliphaz had represented Job's discourses as unprofitable, and nothing to the purpose; Job here gives his the same character. Those who pass censures, must expect to have them retorted; it is easy, it is endless, but what good...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong> Job responds to his friends' harsh and unsympathetic speeches with this pointed observation: their counsel lacks compassion because they haven't experienced his suffering. The phrase "if your soul were in my soul's stead" expresses the principle that ge...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **If your soul.**—*i.e.*, *person=“ *If you were in my place, I could heap up words,” &c. It is doubtful whether this is in contrast to what comes afterwards in the fifth verse, as in the Authorised Version, or whether it may not be in parallelism with it; thus: “I would make myself a companion to you—condole and sympathise with you. in words, and shake my head at you as a mark of sympathy.” T...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
Job reproves his friends.(1-5)
He represents his case as deplorable.(6-16)
Job maintains his innocency.(17-22)
**Verses 1-5**
Eliphaz had represented Job's discourses as unprofitable, and nothing to the purpose; Job here gives his the same character. Those who pass censures, must expect to have them retorted; it is easy, it is endless, but what good...
Read full commentary →But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should asswage your grief.
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KJV Study Commentary
'But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should asswage your grief.' Job imagines how he would respond if positions were reversed: he'd 'strengthen' (אֲחַזְּקָה, achazqah) with words and 'moving of lips' (נִיד שְׂפָתַי, nid sefatay) would 'asswage' (יַחְשֹׂךְ, yachsokh—restrain, hold back) grief. This is biting irony—Job would offer genuine comfort, unlike his friends. ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 16
Chapter Outline
Job reproves his friends.(1-5)
He represents his case as deplorable.(6-16)
Job maintains his innocency.(17-22)
**Verses 1-5**
Eliphaz had represented Job's discourses as unprofitable, and nothing to the purpose; Job here gives his the same character. Those who pass censures, must expect to have them retorted; it is easy, it is endless, but what good...
Read full commentary →Though I speak, my grief is not asswaged: and though I forbear, what am I eased? what: Heb. what goeth from me?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Though I speak, my grief is not asswaged</strong> (אִם־אֲדַבְּרָה לֹא־יֵחָשֵׂךְ כְּאֵבִי, im-adabberah lo-yechasekh ke'evi)—The verb חָשַׂךְ (chasakh) means 'to withhold, restrain, hold back.' Job's כְּאֵב (ke'ev, pain/grief) remains <em>uncontainable</em> regardless of speech.<br><br><strong>And though I forbear, what am I eased?</strong> (וְאַחְדְּלָה מַה־מִמֶּנִּי יַהֲלֹךְ, ve'achdela m...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Though I speak . . .**—“I cannot but reply, though to reply gives me no relief.”
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Here is a doleful representation of Job's grievances. What reason we have to bless God, that we are not making such complaints! Even good men, when in great troubles, have much ado not to entertain hard thoughts of God. Eliphaz had represented Job as unhumbled under his affliction: No, says Job, I know better things; the dust is now the fittest place for me. In this he reminds ...
Read full commentary →But now he hath made me weary: thou hast made desolate all my company.
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KJV Study Commentary
Job addresses God: 'But now he hath made me weary: thou hast made desolate all my company.' The shift from third to second person intensifies the accusation. Job experiences God as active agent of destruction, not distant observer. This brutal honesty models authentic lament.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **But now he hath made me weary.**—He turns again, in his passionate plaint, to God, whom he alternately speaks of in the third person and addresses in the second. “Thou hast made desolate all my company,” by destroying all his children and alienating the hearts or his friends.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 6 Es 6:1-14. Ahasuerus Rewards Mordecai for Former Service.
**1. the king ... commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles--**In Eastern courts, there are scribes or officers whose duty it is to keep a journal of every occurrence worthy of notice. A book of this kind, abounding with anecdotes, is full of interest. It has been a custom with Eastern kings, in all ages, frequentl...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Here is a doleful representation of Job's grievances. What reason we have to bless God, that we are not making such complaints! Even good men, when in great troubles, have much ado not to entertain hard thoughts of God. Eliphaz had represented Job as unhumbled under his affliction: No, says Job, I know better things; the dust is now the fittest place for me. In this he reminds ...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And thou hast filled me with wrinkles</strong> (וַתִּקְמְטֵנִי, vatikmteni)—The rare verb קָמַט (qamat) means 'to seize, shrivel, make wrinkled.' Job addresses God directly: <em>You</em> have shriveled me. His emaciation becomes <strong>a witness against me</strong> (לְעֵד, le'ed)—legal terminology. His physical collapse testifies in the cosmic courtroom.<br><br><strong>And my leanness ris...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Witness against me.**—As in Job 10:17. The wrinkles in his body, caused by the disease, were a witness against him; and certainly, in the eyes of his friends, they furnished unquestionable proof of his guilt.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Here is a doleful representation of Job's grievances. What reason we have to bless God, that we are not making such complaints! Even good men, when in great troubles, have much ado not to entertain hard thoughts of God. Eliphaz had represented Job as unhumbled under his affliction: No, says Job, I know better things; the dust is now the fittest place for me. In this he reminds ...
Read full commentary →He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.
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KJV Study Commentary
'He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.' Job describes God's apparent hostility: 'teareth' (טָרַף, taraf—rips, rends) in 'wrath' (אַפּוֹ, apo), 'hateth' (שְׂטָמִי, setami), 'gnasheth teeth' (חָרַק, charaq—grinds), 'sharpeneth eyes' (יִלְטוֹשׁ עֵינָיו, yiltosh eynav—sharpens, focuses gaze). This violent imagery expresse...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **He teareth me in his wrath.**—Terrible as the language is that Job has used against God, he seems here almost to exceed it, for he calls Him his adversary. It is hardly possible not to understand the expression of God, for though he immediately speaks of his friends, yet just afterwards he openly mentions God.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Here is a doleful representation of Job's grievances. What reason we have to bless God, that we are not making such complaints! Even good men, when in great troubles, have much ado not to entertain hard thoughts of God. Eliphaz had represented Job as unhumbled under his affliction: No, says Job, I know better things; the dust is now the fittest place for me. In this he reminds ...
Read full commentary →They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They have gaped upon me with their mouth</strong> (פָּעֲרוּ עָלַי בְּפִיהֶם, pa'aru 'alay befihem)—The verb פָּעַר (pa'ar) means 'to open wide, gape' like a predator's maw. This same imagery appears in Psalm 22:13 (<em>'they gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion'</em>)—the messianic psalm Jesus quoted on the cross.<br><br><strong>They have smitten me upon the ch...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. Now Haman was come into the outward court--**This was early in the morning. It is the invariable custom for kings in Eastern countries to transact business before the sun is hot, often in the open air, and so Haman was in all probability come officially to attend on his master.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Here is a doleful representation of Job's grievances. What reason we have to bless God, that we are not making such complaints! Even good men, when in great troubles, have much ado not to entertain hard thoughts of God. Eliphaz had represented Job as unhumbled under his affliction: No, says Job, I know better things; the dust is now the fittest place for me. In this he reminds ...
Read full commentary →God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked. hath: Heb. hath shut me up
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>God hath delivered me to the ungodly</strong> (יַסְגִּירֵנִי אֵל אֶל־עֲוִיל, yasgireni 'El el-'avil)—The verb סָגַר (sagar, 'to deliver up, hand over') is covenant-betrayal language. God has <em>handed Job over</em> to the עֲוִיל ('avil, 'wicked, perverse ones'). This shocking accusation: the covenant-keeper has become covenant-breaker.<br><br><strong>And turned me over into the hands of t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **The ungodly **and **the wicked **are the terms he retorts upon his friends, and they have certainly earned them. Now follows—
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Here is a doleful representation of Job's grievances. What reason we have to bless God, that we are not making such complaints! Even good men, when in great troubles, have much ado not to entertain hard thoughts of God. Eliphaz had represented Job as unhumbled under his affliction: No, says Job, I know better things; the dust is now the fittest place for me. In this he reminds ...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
'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.' Job describes violent reversal: from 'ease' (שַׁלֵו, shalev—at ease, secure) to being 'broken asunder' (פָּרַרְנִי, fararni—shattered), seized by the neck (בְּעָרְפִּי, be'orpi), 'shaken to pieces' (פִּצְפְּצַנִי, pitspetsani—dashed to pieces), and set up as a 'mar...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **I was at ease.**—A highly poetical passage, in which Job becomes, as it were, a St. Sebastian for the arrows of God. It is hardly possible to conceive a more vivid picture of his desolate condition under the persecuting hand of the Almighty.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour?--**In bestowing tokens of their favor, the kings of Persia do not at once, and as it were by their own will, determine the kind of honor that shall be awarded; but they turn to the courtier standing next in rank to themselves, and ask him what shall be done to the individual who has rendered the service specified; and accordi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Here is a doleful representation of Job's grievances. What reason we have to bless God, that we are not making such complaints! Even good men, when in great troubles, have much ado not to entertain hard thoughts of God. Eliphaz had represented Job as unhumbled under his affliction: No, says Job, I know better things; the dust is now the fittest place for me. In this he reminds ...
Read full commentary →His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground.
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KJV Study Commentary
Job describes God's attack: 'His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground.' Vivid military imagery depicts God as archer shooting at Job from all sides. 'Reins' (kidneys) represent the innermost being—God's arrows pierce Job's core. Pouring out gall (bile) suggests internal injuries. This graphic language expresses Job...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Here is a doleful representation of Job's grievances. What reason we have to bless God, that we are not making such complaints! Even good men, when in great troubles, have much ado not to entertain hard thoughts of God. Eliphaz had represented Job as unhumbled under his affliction: No, says Job, I know better things; the dust is now the fittest place for me. In this he reminds ...
Read full commentary →He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like a giant.
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KJV Study Commentary
God breaks Job repeatedly: 'He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like a giant.' The repeated breaches suggest waves of suffering—one blow after another without respite. God running like a giant emphasizes overwhelming force. Job feels crushed by omnipotence. Yet even in this extreme language, Job doesn't curse God or turn away—he maintains engagement even while feeling overwh...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. the royal apparel ... which the king useth to wear--**A coat which has been on the back of a king or prince is reckoned a most honorable gift, and is given with great ceremony.
**the horse that the king rideth upon--**Persia was a country of horses, and the highbred charger that the king rode upon acquired, in the eyes of his venal subjects, a sort of sacredness from that circumstance.
**...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Here is a doleful representation of Job's grievances. What reason we have to bless God, that we are not making such complaints! Even good men, when in great troubles, have much ado not to entertain hard thoughts of God. Eliphaz had represented Job as unhumbled under his affliction: No, says Job, I know better things; the dust is now the fittest place for me. In this he reminds ...
Read full commentary →I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust.
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KJV Study Commentary
Job mourns in ashes: 'I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust.' Sackcloth sewn to skin suggests permanent mourning—not temporary grief but seemingly endless sorrow. The 'horn' represented strength and honor (Psalm 89:17). Defiling it in dust indicates complete humiliation and loss of dignity. Ancient mourning rituals expressed internal realities externally. Job's mourn...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin.**—Referring, probably, to the state of his skin, which had become hard and rugged as sackcloth. As the second half of the verse must be figurative, there seems to be no reason to understand the first half otherwise.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes ... array the man--**On grand and public occasions, the royal steed is led by the highest subject through the principal streets of the city, a ceremony which may occupy several hours.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Here is a doleful representation of Job's grievances. What reason we have to bless God, that we are not making such complaints! Even good men, when in great troubles, have much ado not to entertain hard thoughts of God. Eliphaz had represented Job as unhumbled under his affliction: No, says Job, I know better things; the dust is now the fittest place for me. In this he reminds ...
Read full commentary →My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>My face is foul with weeping</strong> (חָמַרְמְרוּ פָנַי מִנִּי־בֶכִי, chamarmeru fanai minni-bekhi)—The verb חָמַר (chamar) means 'to be red, inflamed, disfigured.' Job's פָּנִים (panim, 'face')—the locus of identity and honor—is destroyed by בֶּכִי (bekhi, 'weeping'). Continuous grief has physically deformed him.<br><br><strong>And on my eyelids is the shadow of death</strong> (וְעַל עַפ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **Foul.**—Rather, perhaps, *red, *as with wine.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Here is a doleful representation of Job's grievances. What reason we have to bless God, that we are not making such complaints! Even good men, when in great troubles, have much ado not to entertain hard thoughts of God. Eliphaz had represented Job as unhumbled under his affliction: No, says Job, I know better things; the dust is now the fittest place for me. In this he reminds ...
Read full commentary →Not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is pure.
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KJV Study Commentary
'Not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is pure.' Job maintains innocence: no 'injustice' (חָמָס, chamas—violence, wrong) in his 'hands' (כַּפָּי, kappay), and 'prayer' (תְּפִלָּתִי, tefillati) is 'pure' (זַכָּה, zakhah—clean, innocent). This isn't claiming sinlessness but denying specific transgressions warranting his suffering. Job's appeal to pure prayer echoes Psalm 66:18—if harbo...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **Not for any injustice.**—Literally, *for no injustice, *just as in Isaiah 53:9 : “because he had done no violence,” should be “not because he had done any violence, or because deceit was in his mouth.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. Then Haman took, &c.--**This sudden reverse, however painful to Haman as an individual, is particularly characteristic of the Persian manners.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-22**
Job's condition was very deplorable; but he had the testimony of his conscience for him, that he never allowed himself in any gross sin. No one was ever more ready to acknowledge sins of infirmity. Eliphaz had charged him with hypocrisy in religion, but he specifies prayer, the great act of religion, and professes that in this he was pure, though not from all infirmity. He had...
Read full commentary →My Witness Is in Heaven
O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place.
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KJV Study Commentary
Job's cry 'O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place' appeals to the ground itself to testify to injustice. Blood crying from the ground appears first in Genesis 4:10 (Abel) and anticipates Christ's blood that speaks better things (Hebrews 12:24).
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **Let my cry have no place.**—That is, “Let there be no place in the wide earth where my cry shall not reach: let it have no resting place: let it fill the whole wide earth.”
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-22**
Job's condition was very deplorable; but he had the testimony of his conscience for him, that he never allowed himself in any gross sin. No one was ever more ready to acknowledge sins of infirmity. Eliphaz had charged him with hypocrisy in religion, but he specifies prayer, the great act of religion, and professes that in this he was pure, though not from all infirmity. He had...
Read full commentary →Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high. on high: Heb. in the high places
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high.</strong> In the depths of his suffering, Job makes a profound declaration of faith that transcends his immediate circumstances. The Hebrew word <em>ed</em> (עֵד, "witness") refers to one who testifies on behalf of another in legal proceedings, while <em>sahad</em> (שָׂהֵד, "record" or "advocate") denotes one who vouches f...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **My witness is in heaven.**—It is very important to note passages such as these, because they help us to understand, and serve to illustrate, the famous confession in Job 19. This is surely a wonderful declaration for a man in the position of Job. What can the believer, in the full light of the Gospel revelation, say more, with the knowledge of One in heaven ever making intercession for him?...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-22**
Job's condition was very deplorable; but he had the testimony of his conscience for him, that he never allowed himself in any gross sin. No one was ever more ready to acknowledge sins of infirmity. Eliphaz had charged him with hypocrisy in religion, but he specifies prayer, the great act of religion, and professes that in this he was pure, though not from all infirmity. He had...
Read full commentary →My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God. scorn me: Heb. are my scorners
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KJV Study Commentary
'My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God.' The contrast is devastating: 'friends' (מְרֵעָי, mere'ay) offer 'scorn' (לָעֲגִי, la'agi—mocking, derision) while Job's 'eye poureth out tears' (דָּלְפָה עֵינִי, dalefah eyni) to God. Human friendship fails precisely when most needed, leaving only God as refuge. Yet God seems distant (earlier verses). This is faith's crucible—friends ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **My friends scorn me.**—Or, as an apostrophe, “Ye my scorners who profess and ought to be my friends: mine eye poureth out tears unto God that He would maintain the right of man with God, and of the son of man with his neighbour;” or, “that one might plead for man with God as the son of man pleadeth for his neighbour”—this is what he has already longed for in Job 9:33.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. came the king's chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared--**Besides the invitation given to an entertainment, a message is always sent to the guests, immediately at the day and hour appointed, to announce that all things are ready.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-22**
Job's condition was very deplorable; but he had the testimony of his conscience for him, that he never allowed himself in any gross sin. No one was ever more ready to acknowledge sins of infirmity. Eliphaz had charged him with hypocrisy in religion, but he specifies prayer, the great act of religion, and professes that in this he was pure, though not from all infirmity. He had...
Read full commentary →O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour ! neighbour: or, friend
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KJV Study Commentary
Job's longing: 'O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour!' This desire for mediation echoes 9:33 and anticipates Christ's high priestly role. Job recognizes the need for someone who can bridge the divine-human gap.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-22**
Job's condition was very deplorable; but he had the testimony of his conscience for him, that he never allowed himself in any gross sin. No one was ever more ready to acknowledge sins of infirmity. Eliphaz had charged him with hypocrisy in religion, but he specifies prayer, the great act of religion, and professes that in this he was pure, though not from all infirmity. He had...
Read full commentary →When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return. a few: Heb. years of number
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KJV Study Commentary
'When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.' Job contemplates death's approach: 'a few years' (שְׁנוֹת מִסְפָּר, shenot mispar—numbered years), then 'the way whence I shall not return' (וְאֹרַח לֹא־אָשׁוּב, ve'orach lo-ashuv). This echoes Ecclesiastes 12:5 and Psalm 39:13. Death appears as a one-way journey (from Job's earthly perspective). Yet even here, facing ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **When a few years are come.**—Literally, *years of number, *which means either “years than can be easily numbered,” as *men of number *(Genesis 34:20) is used to express *few men; *or “years that are numbered,” that is, allotted, determined. It is strange to find Job speaking, in his condition, of *years, *but so, for that matter, is it to find a man so sorely tormented as he was indulging i...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-22**
Job's condition was very deplorable; but he had the testimony of his conscience for him, that he never allowed himself in any gross sin. No one was ever more ready to acknowledge sins of infirmity. Eliphaz had charged him with hypocrisy in religion, but he specifies prayer, the great act of religion, and professes that in this he was pure, though not from all infirmity. He had...
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