King James Version
Job 19
29 verses with commentary
Job's Reply: How Long Will You Torment Me?
Then Job answered and said,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then Job answered and said</strong> (וַיַּעַן אִיּוֹב וַיֹּאמַר, <em>wayya'an 'iyyov wayyo'mar</em>)—This formulaic introduction marks Job's ninth and longest reply to his friends. The verb <em>עָנָה</em> ('anah, 'to answer') implies not mere sequential response but deliberate engagement with their accusations.<br><br>Positioned after Bildad's brief third speech (18:1-21), Job's answer in ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-16. Thus the Jews smote all their enemies--**The effect of the two antagonistic decrees was, in the meantime, to raise a fierce and bloody war between the Jews and their enemies throughout the Persian empire; but through the dread of Esther and Mordecai, the provincial governors universally favored their cause, so that their enemies fell in great numbers.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Chapter Outline
Job complains of unkind usage.(1-7)
God was the Author of his afflictions.(8-22)
Job's belief in the resurrection.(23-29)
**Verses 1-7**
Job's friends blamed him as a wicked man, because he was so afflicted; here he describes their unkindness, showing that what they condemned was capable of excuse. Harsh language from friends, greatly adds to the we...
Read full commentary →How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?
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KJV Study Commentary
Job's plea 'How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?' reveals the power of speech to wound. The friends' words become weapons that 'break in pieces' - theological cruelty more painful than physical suffering.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**XIX.**
(2) **How long?**—Job begins as Bildad himself had begun in both cases. His last speech had been so offensive and unfeeling that Job may well ask “How long will ye *vex my soul, *and break me in pieces with *words?”* Moreover, Bildad had infused a kind of personal malice into his charges, which Job felt most keenly, so that he is constrained to ask, “If indeed I have erred, doth not my er...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-16. Thus the Jews smote all their enemies--**The effect of the two antagonistic decrees was, in the meantime, to raise a fierce and bloody war between the Jews and their enemies throughout the Persian empire; but through the dread of Esther and Mordecai, the provincial governors universally favored their cause, so that their enemies fell in great numbers.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Chapter Outline
Job complains of unkind usage.(1-7)
God was the Author of his afflictions.(8-22)
Job's belief in the resurrection.(23-29)
**Verses 1-7**
Job's friends blamed him as a wicked man, because he was so afflicted; here he describes their unkindness, showing that what they condemned was capable of excuse. Harsh language from friends, greatly adds to the we...
Read full commentary →These ten times have ye reproached me: ye are not ashamed that ye make yourselves strange to me. make: or, harden yourselves against me
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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.' Job counts 'ten times' (זֶה עֶשֶׂר פְּעָמִים, zeh eser pe'amim) they've 'reproached' (תַּכְלִימוּנִי, takhlimuni—humiliated, insulted) him. They 'make strange' (תַּהְכִּרוּ, tahhiru—make hard, be strange/cruel) without shame (לֹא־תֵבֹשׁוּ, lo-tevoshu). Job protests the friends' relentless assault. Th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-16. Thus the Jews smote all their enemies--**The effect of the two antagonistic decrees was, in the meantime, to raise a fierce and bloody war between the Jews and their enemies throughout the Persian empire; but through the dread of Esther and Mordecai, the provincial governors universally favored their cause, so that their enemies fell in great numbers.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Chapter Outline
Job complains of unkind usage.(1-7)
God was the Author of his afflictions.(8-22)
Job's belief in the resurrection.(23-29)
**Verses 1-7**
Job's friends blamed him as a wicked man, because he was so afflicted; here he describes their unkindness, showing that what they condemned was capable of excuse. Harsh language from friends, greatly adds to the we...
Read full commentary →And be it indeed that I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And be it indeed that I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself</strong> (וְאַף אֲמִנָּה שָׁגִיתִי, <em>we'af 'umnam shagiti</em>)—Job employs rhetorical concession. The verb <em>שָׁגָה</em> (shagah) means 'to go astray unintentionally,' distinct from deliberate sin (<em>חָטָא</em>, chata). Job isn't admitting guilt but challenging his friends' logic: even if he had unknowingly erred,...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-16. Thus the Jews smote all their enemies--**The effect of the two antagonistic decrees was, in the meantime, to raise a fierce and bloody war between the Jews and their enemies throughout the Persian empire; but through the dread of Esther and Mordecai, the provincial governors universally favored their cause, so that their enemies fell in great numbers.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Chapter Outline
Job complains of unkind usage.(1-7)
God was the Author of his afflictions.(8-22)
Job's belief in the resurrection.(23-29)
**Verses 1-7**
Job's friends blamed him as a wicked man, because he was so afflicted; here he describes their unkindness, showing that what they condemned was capable of excuse. Harsh language from friends, greatly adds to the we...
Read full commentary →If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me, and plead against me my reproach:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me</strong> (אִם־אָמְנָם עָלַי תַּגְדִּילוּ, <em>im-'omnam 'alay tagdilu</em>)—The verb <em>גָּדַל</em> (gadal, 'to magnify/make great') in the Hiphil stem means 'to exalt oneself.' Job accuses his friends of using his suffering to elevate their own righteousness—a devastating critique of their motives.<br><br><strong>And plead against me my rep...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-16. Thus the Jews smote all their enemies--**The effect of the two antagonistic decrees was, in the meantime, to raise a fierce and bloody war between the Jews and their enemies throughout the Persian empire; but through the dread of Esther and Mordecai, the provincial governors universally favored their cause, so that their enemies fell in great numbers.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Chapter Outline
Job complains of unkind usage.(1-7)
God was the Author of his afflictions.(8-22)
Job's belief in the resurrection.(23-29)
**Verses 1-7**
Job's friends blamed him as a wicked man, because he was so afflicted; here he describes their unkindness, showing that what they condemned was capable of excuse. Harsh language from friends, greatly adds to the we...
Read full commentary →Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net.
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KJV Study Commentary
Job accuses God directly: 'Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net.' The hunting metaphor depicts God as hunter who has trapped Job. This brutal honesty about experiencing God as adversary models authentic lament that doesn't minimize divine responsibility.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Know now that God hath overthrown me.**—Bildad had spoken a great deal about the wicked being snared by his own sin, and now Job, without actually quoting his words—for he uses a word for *net *that Bildad had not used—speaks to their substance. It is *God *who has taken him in His net and compassed him about therewith. This is the assertion he has made before (Job 16:7; Job 13:27, &c.).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-16. Thus the Jews smote all their enemies--**The effect of the two antagonistic decrees was, in the meantime, to raise a fierce and bloody war between the Jews and their enemies throughout the Persian empire; but through the dread of Esther and Mordecai, the provincial governors universally favored their cause, so that their enemies fell in great numbers.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Chapter Outline
Job complains of unkind usage.(1-7)
God was the Author of his afflictions.(8-22)
Job's belief in the resurrection.(23-29)
**Verses 1-7**
Job's friends blamed him as a wicked man, because he was so afflicted; here he describes their unkindness, showing that what they condemned was capable of excuse. Harsh language from friends, greatly adds to the we...
Read full commentary →Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment. wrong: or, violence
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KJV Study Commentary
'Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.' Job's complaint: he cries 'wrong' (חָמָס, chamas—violence), but receives no hearing (לֹא אֵעָנֶה, lo e'aneh); he cries aloud (אֲשַׁוַּע, ashava) but gets no 'judgment' (אֵין מִשְׁפָּט, eyn mishpat). This echoes Habakkuk 1:2—'why dost thou show me iniquity and cause me to behold grievance?' Job accuses God of j...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Behold I cry out of wrong.**—The description he now gives of himself as persecuted and forsaken by God is necessary to enhance the value of the confession he is about to make. Severely has God dealt with him, but that severity of dealing has only drawn him nearer to God and made him trust the more. He groups together a rich variety of figures to express his desolate condition. He is sufferin...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-16. Thus the Jews smote all their enemies--**The effect of the two antagonistic decrees was, in the meantime, to raise a fierce and bloody war between the Jews and their enemies throughout the Persian empire; but through the dread of Esther and Mordecai, the provincial governors universally favored their cause, so that their enemies fell in great numbers.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 19
Chapter Outline
Job complains of unkind usage.(1-7)
God was the Author of his afflictions.(8-22)
Job's belief in the resurrection.(23-29)
**Verses 1-7**
Job's friends blamed him as a wicked man, because he was so afflicted; here he describes their unkindness, showing that what they condemned was capable of excuse. Harsh language from friends, greatly adds to the we...
Read full commentary →He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass</strong> (אָרְחִי גָדַר וְלֹא אֶעֱבוֹר, <em>orchi gadar welo' e'evor</em>)—The verb <em>גָּדַר</em> (gadar, 'to wall up, fence') describes complete blockage. Job portrays God as actively obstructing every path forward—a reversal of Psalm 23's 'paths of righteousness.' What Job experiences as divine hostility is actually sovereign governance he ca...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-22**
How doleful are Job's complaints! What is the fire of hell but the wrath of God! Seared consciences will feel it hereafter, but do not fear it now: enlightened consciences fear it now, but shall not feel it hereafter. It is a very common mistake to think that those whom God afflicts he treats as his enemies. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; yet this does n...
Read full commentary →He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He hath stripped me of my glory</strong> (כְּבוֹדִי מֵעָלַי הִפְשִׁיט, <em>kevodi me'alay hiphshit</em>)—The verb <em>פָּשַׁט</em> (pashat, 'to strip off') describes forcible removal, often of clothing or armor (1 Samuel 31:9). Job's <em>כָּבוֹד</em> (kavod, 'glory/honor/weight') encompasses social reputation, divine blessing, and personal dignity—all violently torn away.<br><br><strong>An...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-22**
How doleful are Job's complaints! What is the fire of hell but the wrath of God! Seared consciences will feel it hereafter, but do not fear it now: enlightened consciences fear it now, but shall not feel it hereafter. It is a very common mistake to think that those whom God afflicts he treats as his enemies. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; yet this does n...
Read full commentary →He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone: and mine hope hath he removed like a tree.
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KJV Study Commentary
'He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone: and mine hope hath he removed like a tree.' The imagery: God 'destroyed' (יִתְּצֵנִי, yittetseni—broke down, demolished) Job on 'every side' (סָבִיב, saviv—all around), so 'I am gone' (וָאֵלֵךְ, va'elekh—I depart/perish), and 'hope' (תִּקְוָתִי, tiqvati) uprooted 'like a tree' (כָּעֵץ, ka'ets). Trees uprooted die. Job feels hope destroyed at the ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19. a day of ... feasting ... of sending portions one to another--**The princes and people of the East not only invite their friends to feasts, but it is their custom to send a portion of the banquet to those who cannot well come to it, especially their relations, and those who are detained at home in a state of sorrow or distress.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-22**
How doleful are Job's complaints! What is the fire of hell but the wrath of God! Seared consciences will feel it hereafter, but do not fear it now: enlightened consciences fear it now, but shall not feel it hereafter. It is a very common mistake to think that those whom God afflicts he treats as his enemies. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; yet this does n...
Read full commentary →He hath also kindled his wrath against me, and he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He hath also kindled his wrath against me</strong> (וַיַּחַר עָלַי אַפּוֹ, <em>wayyachar 'alay 'appo</em>)—The verb <em>חָרָה</em> (charah, 'to burn, be kindled') with <em>אַף</em> ('ap, 'nose/anger') creates the vivid image of nostrils flaring with rage. Job perceives God's anger as fire directed specifically at him—<strong>against me</strong> ('alay) appears twice for emphasis.<br><br><s...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **He hath also kindled . . .**—Comp. Job 16:9; Job 16:12, &c.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Es 9:20-32. The Two Days of Purim Made Festival.
**20. Mordecai wrote these things--**Commentators are not agreed what is particularly meant by "these things"; whether the letters following, or an account of these marvellous events to be preserved in the families of the Jewish people, and transmitted from one generation to another.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-22**
How doleful are Job's complaints! What is the fire of hell but the wrath of God! Seared consciences will feel it hereafter, but do not fear it now: enlightened consciences fear it now, but shall not feel it hereafter. It is a very common mistake to think that those whom God afflicts he treats as his enemies. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; yet this does n...
Read full commentary →His troops come together, and raise up their way against me, and encamp round about my tabernacle.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>His troops come together</strong> (יַחַד יָבֹאוּ גְדוּדָיו, <em>yachad yavo'u gedudav</em>)—Job shifts to military metaphor. The <em>גְּדוּד</em> (gedud, 'raiding band/troops') suggests organized assault, not random calamity. Job's suffering feels coordinated, strategic—an siege laid by divine forces.<br><br><strong>And raise up their way against me, and encamp round about my tabernacle</s...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-22**
How doleful are Job's complaints! What is the fire of hell but the wrath of God! Seared consciences will feel it hereafter, but do not fear it now: enlightened consciences fear it now, but shall not feel it hereafter. It is a very common mistake to think that those whom God afflicts he treats as his enemies. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; yet this does n...
Read full commentary →He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He hath put my brethren far from me</strong> (אַחַי מֵעָלַי הִרְחִיק, <em>achai me'alay hirchik</em>)—The verb <em>רָחַק</em> (rachaq, 'to be far, remove') in the Hiphil stem means God actively caused the distancing. Job's <em>אָח</em> ('ach, 'brothers') could be literal siblings or tribal kinsmen—in either case, those obligated by covenant loyalty have abandoned him.<br><br><strong>And mi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **He hath put my brethren far from me.**—The Psalmist has apparently copied this in Psalm 88:8. The sense of human desertion is hardly less terrible than that of being forsaken by God, and this has been added to him. It is not easy to read these sad complaints of Job without seeing how fitly they apply to the sorrows of the Man of sorrows. Those who, with the present writer, believe in the ov...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-22**
How doleful are Job's complaints! What is the fire of hell but the wrath of God! Seared consciences will feel it hereafter, but do not fear it now: enlightened consciences fear it now, but shall not feel it hereafter. It is a very common mistake to think that those whom God afflicts he treats as his enemies. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; yet this does n...
Read full commentary →My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me.
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KJV Study Commentary
Job's relatives abandon him: 'My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me.' The double loss—family failing and friends forgetting—emphasizes Job's complete social isolation. 'Failed' suggests they stopped functioning in their proper roles. 'Forgotten' indicates deliberate abandonment, not mere absence. This describes suffering's social dimension—those who should support flee...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-22**
How doleful are Job's complaints! What is the fire of hell but the wrath of God! Seared consciences will feel it hereafter, but do not fear it now: enlightened consciences fear it now, but shall not feel it hereafter. It is a very common mistake to think that those whom God afflicts he treats as his enemies. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; yet this does n...
Read full commentary →They that dwell in mine house, and my maids, count me for a stranger: I am an alien in their sight.
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KJV Study Commentary
Even household servants reject Job: 'They that dwell in mine house, and my maids, count me for a stranger: I am an alien in their sight.' Job's reversal is complete—those dependent on him now treat him as outsider. The master becomes stranger in his own household. This inversion of proper order shows how catastrophic loss inverts all relationships. Yet this extreme alienation prepares Job to find ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-22**
How doleful are Job's complaints! What is the fire of hell but the wrath of God! Seared consciences will feel it hereafter, but do not fear it now: enlightened consciences fear it now, but shall not feel it hereafter. It is a very common mistake to think that those whom God afflicts he treats as his enemies. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; yet this does n...
Read full commentary →I called my servant, and he gave me no answer; I intreated him with my mouth.
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KJV Study Commentary
Job's servant ignores him: 'I called my servant, and he gave me no answer; I intreated him with my mouth.' The role reversal escalates—Job entreats his own servant who won't answer. Ancient masters commanded; Job must plead. This humiliation demonstrates suffering's comprehensive nature—it doesn't just cause pain but inverts all normal relationships. Yet this prepares Job for entreating God, where...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-22**
How doleful are Job's complaints! What is the fire of hell but the wrath of God! Seared consciences will feel it hereafter, but do not fear it now: enlightened consciences fear it now, but shall not feel it hereafter. It is a very common mistake to think that those whom God afflicts he treats as his enemies. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; yet this does n...
Read full commentary →My breath is strange to my wife, though I intreated for the children's sake of mine own body. mine: Heb. my belly
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KJV Study Commentary
'My breath is strange to my wife, though I intreated for the children's sake of mine own body.' Job's isolation extends to intimate relationships: his 'breath' (רוּחִי, ruchi) is 'strange' (זָרָה, zarah—alien, foreign) to his wife, despite entreaties for sake of 'children of mine own body' (בְּנֵי בִטְנִי, beney vitni). His disease makes him repulsive even to his wife. Some scholars suggest this r...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **Though I intreated for the children’s sake of mine own body.**—Rather, *and so is my affection or kindness *(see Psalm 77:10, where the same word occurs) *to the children of my mother’s womb, i.e., my brethren. *Others render, *I am become offensive to, *&c.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**26. they called these days Purim after the name of Pur--**"Pur," in the Persian language, signifies "lot"; and the feast of Purim, or lots, has a reference to the time having been pitched upon by Haman through the decision of the lot. In consequence of the signal national deliverance which divine providence gave them from the infamous machinations of Haman, Mordecai ordered the Jews to commemora...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-22**
How doleful are Job's complaints! What is the fire of hell but the wrath of God! Seared consciences will feel it hereafter, but do not fear it now: enlightened consciences fear it now, but shall not feel it hereafter. It is a very common mistake to think that those whom God afflicts he treats as his enemies. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; yet this does n...
Read full commentary →Yea, young children despised me; I arose, and they spake against me. young: or, the wicked
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KJV Study Commentary
Children mock Job: 'Yea, young children despised me; I arose, and they spake against me.' Being mocked by children represents ultimate humiliation—those who should respect elders instead despise him. The Hebrew 'bazah' (despise) suggests contempt, not mere disrespect. This anticipates Christ's humiliation, mocked by those He came to save. Job's experience of comprehensive rejection prefigures the ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-22**
How doleful are Job's complaints! What is the fire of hell but the wrath of God! Seared consciences will feel it hereafter, but do not fear it now: enlightened consciences fear it now, but shall not feel it hereafter. It is a very common mistake to think that those whom God afflicts he treats as his enemies. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; yet this does n...
Read full commentary →All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me. my: Heb. the men of my secret
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KJV Study Commentary
Closest friends become enemies: 'All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me.' The 'inward friends'—intimates, confidants—now abhor (Hebrew 'ta'ab'—loathe, detest) him. Those Job loved reciprocate with hatred. This emotional violence compounds physical suffering. Yet this total abandonment by humans makes Job's upcoming declaration of faith in his Redeemer even m...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **My inward friends.**—That is, my intimate friends: the men of my counsel who are familiar with my secret affairs.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-22**
How doleful are Job's complaints! What is the fire of hell but the wrath of God! Seared consciences will feel it hereafter, but do not fear it now: enlightened consciences fear it now, but shall not feel it hereafter. It is a very common mistake to think that those whom God afflicts he treats as his enemies. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; yet this does n...
Read full commentary →My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth. and to: or, as to
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KJV Study Commentary
Job's physical condition is catastrophic: 'My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.' The vivid description—bones visible through skin, barely surviving—communicates extreme emaciation and suffering. 'Skin of my teeth' (proverbial phrase originating here) means narrowest escape. Job describes someone barely clinging to life. Yet this near-death experi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20*)* **My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh **in one indistinguishable mass, and I have escaped with the skin of my teeth, because the teeth have no skin, or, as others explain, because the teeth have fallen out. This expression, which is by no means clear in the context, has passed into a proverb expressive of a very narrow escape—a meaning which can only by inference be obtained from th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-22**
How doleful are Job's complaints! What is the fire of hell but the wrath of God! Seared consciences will feel it hereafter, but do not fear it now: enlightened consciences fear it now, but shall not feel it hereafter. It is a very common mistake to think that those whom God afflicts he treats as his enemies. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; yet this does n...
Read full commentary →Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me.
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KJV Study Commentary
Job's plea to his friends: 'Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me.' The repeated 'have pity' emphasizes desperate need for compassion. Job explicitly attributes suffering to God yet still seeks human comfort.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **Have pity upon me.**—Now comes once more an exceeding great and bitter cry. (Comp. Job 16:20.)
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-22**
How doleful are Job's complaints! What is the fire of hell but the wrath of God! Seared consciences will feel it hereafter, but do not fear it now: enlightened consciences fear it now, but shall not feel it hereafter. It is a very common mistake to think that those whom God afflicts he treats as his enemies. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; yet this does n...
Read full commentary →Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?
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KJV Study Commentary
'Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?' Job accuses friends of 'persecuting' (תִּרְדְּפֻנִי, tirdefuni—pursuing, chasing) him 'as God' (כְּמוֹ־אֵל, kemo-El) does, insatiable with his 'flesh' (מִבְּשָׂרִי, mibsari). This shocking accusation: they imitate God's apparent persecution. Proverbs 17:5 warns 'whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker.' By persecuting Job, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **Why do ye persecute me as God?**—Comp. Job 16:9.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-22**
How doleful are Job's complaints! What is the fire of hell but the wrath of God! Seared consciences will feel it hereafter, but do not fear it now: enlightened consciences fear it now, but shall not feel it hereafter. It is a very common mistake to think that those whom God afflicts he treats as his enemies. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; yet this does n...
Read full commentary →I Know That My Redeemer Lives
Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! Oh: Heb. Who will give, etc
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Job wishes 'Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!' This desire for permanent record anticipates the book of Job itself. Job's suffering and defense become Scripture, making his words available for all who suffer.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **Oh that my words were now written**!—Some understand this to refer to the words he is about to utter; by others they are interpreted generally. The former view is probably owing to the Christian acceptation given to them, and the consequently great importance attaching to them. Since, however, the three verses, Job 19:25-27, are manifestly more emphatic than any he has yet spoken, though th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-29**
The Spirit of God, at this time, seems to have powerfully wrought on the mind of Job. Here he witnessed a good confession; declared the soundness of his faith, and the assurance of his hope. Here is much of Christ and heaven; and he that said such things are these, declared plainly that he sought the better country, that is, the heavenly. Job was taught of God to believe in a ...
Read full commentary →That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!
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KJV Study Commentary
Job wants testimony engraved in stone: 'That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!' Stone engraving with iron tool and lead filling represented most permanent ancient inscription. Job wants his testimony of innocence preserved eternally. This anticipates confidence in resurrection and final vindication. What humans won't acknowledge, the permanent record will witness.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-29**
The Spirit of God, at this time, seems to have powerfully wrought on the mind of Job. Here he witnessed a good confession; declared the soundness of his faith, and the assurance of his hope. Here is much of Christ and heaven; and he that said such things are these, declared plainly that he sought the better country, that is, the heavenly. Job was taught of God to believe in a ...
Read full commentary →For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
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KJV Study Commentary
Job's triumphant declaration "For I know that my redeemer liveth" stands as one of the Old Testament's clearest Messianic prophecies and most powerful expressions of resurrection hope. The Hebrew phrase ani yadati go'ali chai (אֲנִי יָדַעְתִּי גֹּאֲלִי חָי) uses the verb yada (יָדַע) meaning to know intimately and experientially, not merely intellectual assent. Job possesses certain knowledge desp...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **For I know that my redeemer liveth.**—*We *must carefully note all the passages which lead up to this one. First, we must bear in mind that Bildad (Job 18:17-20) had threatened Job with the extinction of his *name and memory, *so he now appeals to the verdict of futurity, and with what success we ourselves who read and repeat and discuss his words are witnesses. Then in Job’s own speeches w...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 10 Es 10:1-3. Ahasuerus' Greatness. Mordecai's Advancement.
**1. Ahasuerus laid a tribute--**This passage being an appendix to the history, and improperly separated from the preceding chapter, it might be that the occasion of levying this new impost arose out of the commotions raised by Haman's conspiracy. Neither the nature nor the amount of the tax has been recorded; only it was not a l...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-29**
The Spirit of God, at this time, seems to have powerfully wrought on the mind of Job. Here he witnessed a good confession; declared the soundness of his faith, and the assurance of his hope. Here is much of Christ and heaven; and he that said such things are these, declared plainly that he sought the better country, that is, the heavenly. Job was taught of God to believe in a ...
Read full commentary →And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: And: or, After I shall awake, though this body be destroyed, yet out of my flesh
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KJV Study Commentary
Job's resurrection hope: 'And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.' This stunning affirmation of bodily resurrection predates full biblical revelation. Even in despair, Job envisions embodied existence beyond death where vindication occurs.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **And though after my skin.**—The word *skin *is probably put by the common metonymy of a part for the whole for *body. *“After they have thus destroyed my skin,” or “after my skin hath been thus destroyed”—or, “and after my skin hath been destroyed—this shall be: that even from my flesh I shall see God”—referring, probably, in the first instance, to his present personal faith, notwithstandin...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai--**The experience of this pious and excellent Jew verified the statement, "he that humbleth himself shall be exalted" [Mt 23:12; Lu 14:11; 18:14]. From sitting contentedly at the king's gate, he was raised to the dignity of highest subject, the powerful ruler of the kingdom. Acting uniformly on the great principles of truth and righteousness, his g...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-29**
The Spirit of God, at this time, seems to have powerfully wrought on the mind of Job. Here he witnessed a good confession; declared the soundness of his faith, and the assurance of his hope. Here is much of Christ and heaven; and he that said such things are these, declared plainly that he sought the better country, that is, the heavenly. Job was taught of God to believe in a ...
Read full commentary →Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. another: Heb. a stranger though: or, my reins within me are consumed with earnest desire (for that day) within: Heb. in my bosom
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KJV Study Commentary
Job continues: 'Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.' The emphatic 'for myself' and 'not another' stresses personal, direct encounter. Job's hope isn't abstract immortality but embodied meeting with God.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **My reins be consumed within me.**—*i.e., *with longing to see Him; literally, *my reins are consumed in my bosom. *The words “in my flesh” may mean *from my flesh, *or, w*ithout my flesh. *Taken in the former sense and applied to the future, it is hard not to recognise in them, at the least, some dim conception of a resurrection.
(27) **Whom I shall see for myself.**—The words “see for myse...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. For Mordecai ... was next unto King Ahasuerus ... great among the Jews, &c.--**The elevation of this pious and patriotic Jew to the possession of the highest official power was of very great importance to the suffering church at that period; for it enabled him, who all along possessed the disposition, now to direct the royal influence and authority in promoting the interests and extending...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-29**
The Spirit of God, at this time, seems to have powerfully wrought on the mind of Job. Here he witnessed a good confession; declared the soundness of his faith, and the assurance of his hope. Here is much of Christ and heaven; and he that said such things are these, declared plainly that he sought the better country, that is, the heavenly. Job was taught of God to believe in a ...
Read full commentary →But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me? seeing: or, and what root of matter is found in me?
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KJV Study Commentary
'But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me?' Job tells friends what they should say: 'Why persecute him?' (מַה־נִּרְדָּף, mah-nirdof), since 'the root of the matter' (שֹׁרֶשׁ דָּבָר, shoresh davar) is in him (Job). This is controversial translation—some render 'in him' as 'in me.' Either way, Job calls for self-examination. If 'in him,' he claims integri...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **Seeing the root of the matter.**—This verse is variously understood, according as “the root of the matter” is interpreted of the cause of suffering or the essence of piety. “For ye say, How we will persecute him, and that the root of the matter is found in me.” The Authorised Version takes the other view. It seems preferable to render, “For ye say, What is a persecuted man to Him (why shoul...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
THE BOOK OF JOB
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-29**
The Spirit of God, at this time, seems to have powerfully wrought on the mind of Job. Here he witnessed a good confession; declared the soundness of his faith, and the assurance of his hope. Here is much of Christ and heaven; and he that said such things are these, declared plainly that he sought the better country, that is, the heavenly. Job was taught of God to believe in a ...
Read full commentary →Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment .
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KJV Study Commentary
Job warns his accusers: 'But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me?' Job challenges his friends to examine themselves—they persecute him while 'the root of the matter' (essence of righteousness/faith) exists in him. This warns that their accusations will bring judgment on themselves. Job prophetically anticipates God's later rebuke of his friends (42:7-8...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **Be ye afraid . . .**—Job threatens his friends with that condign punishment of which they regarded him as a conspicuous example.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-29**
The Spirit of God, at this time, seems to have powerfully wrought on the mind of Job. Here he witnessed a good confession; declared the soundness of his faith, and the assurance of his hope. Here is much of Christ and heaven; and he that said such things are these, declared plainly that he sought the better country, that is, the heavenly. Job was taught of God to believe in a ...
Read full commentary →