King James Version
Job 29
25 verses with commentary
Job's Final Defense: My Life in the Past
Moreover Job continued his parable, and said, continued: Heb. added to take up
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Moreover Job continued his parable</strong>—the Hebrew וַיֹּסֶף (<em>vayyosef</em>, and he added/continued) indicates Job resumes speaking after a pause. <strong>His parable</strong> translates מָשָׁל (<em>mashal</em>), meaning proverb, discourse, or wisdom saying—not just a simple story but elevated wisdom speech. This term appears throughout Job (27:1, 29:1) and Proverbs, indicating auth...
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XXIX.
(1) **Job continued his parable.**—In this chapter he recounts wistfully his past happiness. In his case it was indeed not without cause, though in point of fact he was *then *passing through a time of trial which was itself bringing fast on his time of deliverance, and which was to make his name famous throughout the world and in all time. And in most similar cases we have need to bear in m...
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**16-17. would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice--**who breaketh me (as a tree stripped of its leaves) with a tempest.
Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me;
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KJV Study Commentary
Job laments: 'Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me.' The phrase mi yitteneini (מִי יִתְּנֵנִי, Oh that) expresses longing. Yerachim qedem (יְרָחִים קֶדֶם, months past) refers to former times. Shamar (שָׁמַר, preserved) means to keep, guard, or watch over. Job remembers when he experienced God's protective care. His lament isn't rebellion but honest grief over lost...
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(2) **Preserved.**—Or, *watched over me. *When does God not watch over us, if we only knew it?
When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness; candle: or, lamp
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When his candle shined upon my head</strong>—the Hebrew נֵר (<em>ner</em>, lamp/candle) represents God's presence and guidance. The verb הִלֵּל (<em>hillel</em>, shine/give light) suggests active illumination. God's "candle" shining on Job's head indicates divine favor, wisdom, and direction—the same imagery Proverbs uses: "The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD" (Proverbs 20:27). <st...
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(3) **When his candle shined.**—See Isaiah 1:10**.**
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
19. Umbreit takes these as the words of God, translating, "What availeth the might of the strong?" "Here (saith he) behold! what availeth justice? Who will appoint me a time to plead?" (So Jr 49:19). The last words certainly apply better to God than to Job. The sense is substantially the same if we make "me" apply to Job. The "lo!" expresses God's swift readiness for battle when challenged.
As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle;
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KJV Study Commentary
Job reminisces: 'As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle.' This recalls intimacy with God ('the secret') and blessing ('upon my tabernacle'). Nostalgia for lost fellowship intensifies present alienation.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **In the days of my youth.**—Literally, my *autumn: i.e., *in the ripeness, maturity of my days. He was then in the depth of winter. (Comp. the words “in which it seemed always afternoon.”) Some suppose, however, that as with the ancient and modern Jews the year began with the autumn, it is used much in the same way as we use spring.
**The secret of God.**—Or, *the counsel of God.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. it--**(Job 15:6; Lu 19:22); or "He," God.
When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When the Almighty was yet with me</strong>—the divine name שַׁדַּי (<em>Shaddai</em>, Almighty) appears 31 times in Job (more than the rest of the Old Testament combined), emphasizing God's power and sovereignty. The phrase <strong>was yet with me</strong> uses עִמָּדִי (<em>immadi</em>, with me), indicating intimate presence. Job laments God's felt absence—not theological denial of omnipr...
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21. Literally, here (and in Job 9:20), "I perfect! I should not know my soul! I would despise," [that is], "disown my life"; that is, Though conscious of innocence, I should be compelled, in contending with the infinite God, to ignore my own soul and despise my past life as if it were guilty [Rosenmuller].
When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil; me: Heb. with me
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil</strong>—Job employs extravagant metaphors of abundance. The Hebrew <em>chema</em> (חֶמְאָה), translated 'butter,' refers to cream or curds, luxury dairy products. The hyperbolic image of washing one's feet in cream depicts wealth so excessive that expensive foods become commonplace. Ancient olive oil production r...
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**22. one thing--**"It is all one; whether perfect or wicked--He destroyeth." This was the point Job maintained against his friends, that the righteous and wicked alike are afflicted, and that great sufferings here do not prove great guilt (Lu 13:1-5; Ec 9:2).
When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street!
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KJV Study Commentary
Job recalls his former honor: "When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street!" The noun <em>sha'ar</em> (שַׁעַר, "gate") was where elders sat to judge cases and conduct business. The verb <em>kun</em> (כּוּן, "prepared") means to establish or set firmly. Job describes his position of authority and respect in civic life. The city gate was where justice was admi...
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(7) **To the gate.**—There business was transacted. (Comp. the expression, which is still used with reference to the Turkish Empire, of “the Sublime Porte,” or the supreme Place of government; Psalm 127:5; Jer. 35:20, &c.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23. If--**Rather, "While (His) scourge slays suddenly (the wicked, Job 9:22), He laughs at (disregards; not derides) the pining away of the innocent." The only difference, says Job, between the innocent and guilty is, the latter are slain by a sudden stroke, the former pine away gradually. The translation, "trial," does not express the antithesis to "slay suddenly," as "pining away" does [Umbrei...
Read full commentary →The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up.
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<strong>The young men saw me, and hid themselves</strong> (<em>bachur</em> בָּחוּר, young men; <em>chaba</em> חָבָא, to hide)—not from fear but from respectful deference. Ancient Near Eastern honor culture required youth to show profound respect to elders, especially those of Job's stature. The young men withdrew from public spaces when Job approached, granting him precedence. <strong>And the aged...
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**24. Referring to righteous "judges," in antithesis to "the wicked" in the parallel first clause, whereas the wicked oppressor often has the earth given into his hand, the righteous judges are led to execution--**culprits had their faces covered preparatory to execution (Es 7:8). Thus the contrast of the wicked and righteous here answers to that in Job 9:23.
**if not, where and who?--**If God b...
Read full commentary →The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.
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<strong>The princes refrained talking</strong> (<em>sarim</em> שָׂרִים, princes/leaders; <em>atsar</em> עָצַר, to restrain/stop)—Job's presence silenced even the ruling class. These <em>sarim</em> were nobility, regional governors, or tribal chieftains whose voices normally dominated public discourse. Their voluntary silence acknowledged Job's superior wisdom and authority. <strong>And laid their ...
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(9) **The princes retrained talking.**—Comp. Isaiah 52:15.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25. a post--**a courier. In the wide Persian empire such couriers, on dromedaries or on foot, were employed to carry the royal commands to the distant provinces (Es 3:13, 15; 8:14). "My days" are not like the slow caravan, but the fleet post. The "days" are themselves poetically said to "see no good," instead of Job in them (1Pe 3:10).
The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth. The nobles: Heb. The voice of the nobles was hid
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The nobles held their peace</strong> (<em>qol nedibim</em> קוֹל נְדִיבִים, voice of nobles; <em>chaba</em> חָבָא, was hidden/silent)—literally 'the voice of nobles was hidden.' <em>Nedibim</em> denotes willing, generous, noble persons, suggesting voluntary aristocracy rather than inherited title. Their voices, normally authoritative and influential, fell silent before Job's wisdom. <strong...
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**26. swift ships--**rather, canoes of reeds or papyrus skiffs, used on the Nile, swift from their lightness (Is 18:2).
When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When the ear heard me, then it blessed me</strong> (<em>ozen</em> אֹזֶן, ear; <em>shama</em> שָׁמַע, to hear; <em>ashar</em> אָשַׁר, to call blessed/happy)—Job's reputation spread through oral report. Those who merely heard of Job pronounced him blessed without even witnessing his deeds firsthand. <strong>And when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me</strong> (<em>ayin</em> עַיִן, eye; <e...
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(11) **When the ear heard me, then it blessed me.**—This is a direct negative to the charges of Eliphaz in Job 22:6, &c. He has felt them too deeply to pass them by in total silence.
Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.
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KJV Study Commentary
Job recalls: 'Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.' The verb natsal (נָצַל, delivered) means to rescue or save. Ani (עָנִי, poor) refers to the afflicted or oppressed. Yatom (יָתוֹם, fatherless) denotes orphans. Job's defense includes his righteous conduct—he practiced justice and mercy. The verse demonstrates that Job's claim of innocence...
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**28. The apodosis to Job 9:27--**"If I say, &c." "I still am afraid of all my sorrows (returning), for I know that thou wilt (dost) (by removing my sufferings) not hold or declare me innocent. How then can I leave off my heaviness?"
The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me</strong> (<em>birkat obed</em> בִּרְכַּת אֹבֵד, blessing of the perishing)—those on death's doorstep blessed Job because his intervention saved them. <em>Obed</em> (אֹבֵד) means perishing, dying, being destroyed—desperate people at the extremity. Job's justice and generosity literally kept them alive, and their grateful blessings re...
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29. The "if" is better omitted; I (am treated by God as) wicked; why then labor I in vain (to disprove His charge)? Job submits, not so much because he is convinced that God is right, as because God is powerful and he weak [Barnes].
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.
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KJV Study Commentary
Job recalls: 'I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.' The clothing metaphor suggests righteousness as external garment and internal identity. Job's past life embodied justice, making present accusations particularly painful.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **I put on righteousness.**—Comp. Isaiah 61:10; Isaiah 28:5; Isaiah 62:3; 2Timothy 4:8; James 1:12; 1Peter 5:4; 1Thessalonians 2:19. His judgment, the result of his personal righteousness, was as a robe of honour and a crown of glory to him.
**It** **clothed me.**—Literally, *it clothed itself with me. *First, righteousness is the garment, and then he is the garment to righteousness. (Compare...
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**30. snow water--**thought to be more cleansing than common water, owing to the whiteness of snow (Psa 51:7; Is 1:18).
**never so clean--**Better, to answer to the parallelism of the first clause which expresses the cleansing material, "lye:" the Arabs used alkali mixed with oil, as soap (Psa 73:13; Jr 2:22).
I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame</strong>—Job employs vivid metaphorical language for comprehensive care of the disabled. <em>Einayim</em> (עֵינַיִם, eyes) represents guidance and direction; Job became the sight for those who couldn't see. <em>Raglayim</em> (רַגְלַיִם, feet) symbolizes mobility and agency; Job enabled the lame to accomplish what their disability prevente...
Read full commentary →I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.
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<strong>I was a father to the poor</strong> (<em>abi</em> אָבִי, father; <em>evyon</em> אֶבְיוֹן, poor, needy, destitute)—Job assumed paternal responsibility for the destitute. <em>Evyon</em> describes the desperately poor, those lacking basic necessities. Job didn't merely give alms but adopted the needy into his care with a father's ongoing commitment. This metaphor appears in Isaiah 22:21 and l...
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32. (Ec 6:10; Is 45:9).
And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth. the jaws: Heb. the jawteeth, or, the grinders plucked: Heb. cast
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And I brake the jaws of the wicked</strong> (<em>malt'ot rasha</em> מַלְתְּעוֹת רָשָׁע, jaws/fangs of the wicked; <em>shavar</em> שָׁבַר, to break, shatter)—Job violently intervened against oppressors. <em>Malt'ot</em> refers to jaw-teeth or fangs, depicting the wicked as predatory beasts devouring victims. <em>Shavar</em> implies decisive, forceful breaking—not gentle persuasion but aggre...
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**33. daysman--**"mediator," or "umpire"; the imposition of whose hand expresses power to adjudicate between the persons. There might be one on a level with Job, the one party; but Job knew of none on a level with the Almighty, the other party (1Sa 2:25). We Christians know of such a Mediator (not, however, in the sense of umpire) on a level with both--the God-man, Christ Jesus (1Ti 2:5).
Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand.
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KJV Study Commentary
Job recalls his former confidence: "Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand." The metaphor of dying "in my nest" (<em>qinni</em>, קִנִּי) evokes security, comfort, domestic peace. The comparison to multiplying days "as the sand" uses the common biblical image of innumerable abundance. Job's past expectation was not unreasonable—covenant theology promised bless...
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(18) **I shall die in my nest.**—Very touching is this spontaneous expression of his almost unconscious hope when in prosperity. Some have suggested the transposition of these three verses to the end of the chapter. Though this is obviously their natural position in one sense, yet in another it is less natural. The same thing is to be seen in the last four verses of chapter 31. They carry on the p...
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**34. rod--**not here the symbol of punishment, but of power. Job cannot meet God on fair terms so long as God deals with him on the footing of His almighty power.
My root was spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch. spread: Heb. opened
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>My root was spread out by the waters</strong> (<em>shoresh</em> שֹׁרֶשׁ, root; <em>patuach</em> פָּתוּחַ, spread out, open; <em>mayim</em> מַיִם, water)—Job compares his former prosperity to a well-watered tree with deep, spreading roots ensuring stability and nourishment. The imagery recalls Psalm 1:3's blessed man: 'like a tree planted by the rivers of water.' <em>Shoresh</em> suggests d...
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(19) **My root was spread.**—It is perhaps better to read this and the next verse in the present: “My root is spread out **. . .** and the dew lieth. My glory is fresh in me, and my bow is renewed.” (Comp. Genesis 49:24.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**35. it is not so with me--**As it now is, God not taking His rod away, I am not on such a footing of equality as to be able to vindicate myself.
My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand. fresh: Heb. new renewed: Heb. changed
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>My glory was fresh in me</strong> (כְּבוֹדִי חָדָשׁ עִמָּדִי, kevodi chadash immadi)—Job recalls when his <em>kavod</em> (honor, weightiness, glory) remained perpetually <em>chadash</em> (new, fresh, unwithered). Unlike fading human reputation, Job's dignity was constantly renewed like the morning dew.<br><br><strong>My bow was renewed in my hand</strong> (וְקַשְׁתִּי בְּיָדִי תַחֲלִיף, ve...
Read full commentary →Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel.
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<strong>Unto me men gave ear, and waited</strong> (לִי־שָׁמְעוּ וְיִחֵלּוּ, li-shamu veyichelu)—The verb <em>shama</em> means to hear with attention and obedience, not mere listening. <em>Yachal</em> (waited) implies expectant hope, the same word used for waiting on God (Psalm 42:5). People treated Job's words with the reverence due divine wisdom.<br><br><strong>Kept silence at my counsel</strong>...
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CHAPTER 10 Job 10:1-22. Job's Reply to Bildad Continued.
**1. leave my complaint upon myself--**rather, "I will give loose to my complaint" (Job 7:11).
After my words they spake not again; and my speech dropped upon them.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>After my words they spake not again</strong> (אַחֲרֵי־דְבָרִי לֹא יִשְׁנוּ, acharei-devari lo yishnu)—<em>Shanah</em> (spake again, repeated) means to do a second time or repeat. Job's words were so conclusive, so weighted with wisdom, that no rebuttal was necessary or possible. This finality contrasts with the endless cycles of speeches in Job's current ordeal.<br><br><strong>My speech dr...
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**2. show me, &c.--**Do not, by virtue of Thy mere sovereignty, treat me as guilty without showing me the reasons.
And they waited for me as for the rain; and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They waited for me as for the rain</strong> (וְיִחֲלוּ כַמָּטָר לִי, veyichalu chamatar li)—<em>Yachal</em> (waited) with <em>matar</em> (rain) creates the image of farmers scanning the sky with eager anticipation. In Palestine's climate, rain meant survival; its absence meant famine. Job's counsel was awaited with the same life-or-death urgency.<br><br><strong>Opened their mouth wide as f...
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3. Job is unwilling to think God can have pleasure in using His power to "oppress" the weak, and to treat man, the work of His own hands, as of no value (Job 10:8; Psa 138:8).
**shine upon--**favor with prosperity (Psa 50:2).
If I laughed on them, they believed it not; and the light of my countenance they cast not down.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>If I laughed on them, they believed it not</strong> (אֶשְׂחַק אֲלֵהֶם לֹא יַאֲמִינוּ, eschak alehem lo ya'aminu)—When Job smiled (<em>sachak</em>, laughed, smiled) on those in distress, they could scarcely trust (<em>aman</em>, believe, have confidence in) such grace. His favor seemed too good to be true for the downcast.<br><br><strong>The light of my countenance they cast not down</stron...
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(24) **If I laughed on them.**—That is, “They would not believe that I could be so affable to them, could so condescend to them—they looked up to me with the greatest deference.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4-6. Dost Thou see as feebly as man? that is, with the same uncharitable eye, as, for instance, Job's friends? Is Thy time as short? Impossible! Yet one might think, from the rapid succession of Thy strokes, that Thou hadst no time to spare in overwhelming me.
I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners.
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KJV Study Commentary
Job's former status: 'I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners.' This describes Job's leadership and compassion - he guided others and comforted the afflicted. The irony is sharp: the comforter now needs comfort.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **I sat.**—It is still the custom among the Jews for mourners to sit upon the ground and for one who wishes to console them to occupy a seat above them. Such is Job’s pathetic lamentation over the days that were gone. He appears before us as a conspicuous example of one who had worn the poet’s crown of sorrow in the remembrance of happier things in time of sorrow. He is the type and represent...
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4-6. Dost Thou see as feebly as man? that is, with the same uncharitable eye, as, for instance, Job's friends? Is Thy time as short? Impossible! Yet one might think, from the rapid succession of Thy strokes, that Thou hadst no time to spare in overwhelming me.