King James Version
Job 5
27 verses with commentary
Eliphaz Continues: God Disciplines Those He Loves
Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn? turn: or, look?
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz challenges Job: 'Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?' The Hebrew 'qadosh' (saints/holy ones) likely refers to angels rather than deceased righteous humans. Eliphaz sarcastically suggests Job's situation is so hopeless that even angelic intervention won't help—a cruel mockery of Job's suffering. This reveals how religious people can us...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**V.**
(1) **Call now.—**The speaker now becomes more personal and direct in his tone and bearing. He insinuates that Job is *“*unwise” and “silly,” and promises swift destruction for all such.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 9 Ne 9:1-3. A Solemn Fast and Repentance of the People.
**1. Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month--**that is, on the second day after the close of the feast of tabernacles, which commenced on the fourteenth and terminated on the twenty-second (Le 23:34-37). The day immediately after that feast, the twenty-third, had been occupied in separating the delinquents from their unlawful...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Esther's application received.(1-8)
Haman prepares to hang Mordecai.(9-14)
**Verses 1-8**
Esther having had power with God, and prevailing, like Jacob, had power with men too. He that will lose his life for God, shall save it, or find it in a better life. The king encouraged her. Let us from this be encouraged to pray always to our God, and not to faint....
Read full commentary →For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one. envy: or, indignation
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz warns, 'For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.' The Hebrew 'ka'as' (wrath/vexation) and 'qin'ah' (envy/jealousy) describe self-destructive emotions. Eliphaz implies Job's angry response to suffering proves his foolishness and will lead to his death. This is victim-blaming—telling the sufferer that his emotional response to injustice is the real problem. Scriptur...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers--**Not only did they read in their recent sufferings a punishment of the national apostasy and guilt, but they had made themselves partakers of their fathers' sins by following the same evil ways.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Esther's application received.(1-8)
Haman prepares to hang Mordecai.(9-14)
**Verses 1-8**
Esther having had power with God, and prevailing, like Jacob, had power with men too. He that will lose his life for God, shall save it, or find it in a better life. The king encouraged her. Let us from this be encouraged to pray always to our God, and not to faint....
Read full commentary →I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz claims personal observation: 'I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.' The Hebrew 'root' suggests temporary stability, while 'suddenly' indicates swift judgment. Eliphaz implies he's watched people like Job—outwardly prosperous but inwardly wicked—receive sudden divine judgment. The phrase 'I cursed' could mean 'I pronounced judgment on' or 'I saw it beco...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **I cursed.**—The word means, “I was able to declare distinctly, and I did declare without hesitation, that his lot would be as follows.” All these general results of experience have the sting of insinuation in them that they contain the key to Job’s unfortunate condition. There is secret unsoundness there which is the cause of the manifest and open misery. It is impossible that a man so stric...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. they ... read in the book of the law--**Their extraordinary zeal led them to continue this as before.
**one fourth part of the day--**that is, for three hours, twelve hours being the acknowledged length of the Jewish day (Joh 11:9). This solemn diet of worship, which probably commenced at the morning sacrifice, was continued for six hours, that is, till the time of the evening sacrifice. Th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Esther's application received.(1-8)
Haman prepares to hang Mordecai.(9-14)
**Verses 1-8**
Esther having had power with God, and prevailing, like Jacob, had power with men too. He that will lose his life for God, shall save it, or find it in a better life. The king encouraged her. Let us from this be encouraged to pray always to our God, and not to faint....
Read full commentary →His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz describes the wicked's fate: 'His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.' The 'gate' was where legal judgments occurred in ancient cities. Eliphaz implies Job's children died because of Job's hidden sin—a particularly cruel accusation given Job's grief. This shows how false theology not only misdiagnoses suffering but adds guil...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **They are crushed.**—Rather, perhaps, *they crush one another. *Their internal rivalries and dissensions bring them to ruin. They exemplify the house divided against itself.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Ne 9:4-38. The Levites Confess God's Manifold Goodness, and Their Own Wickedness.
**4. Then stood up upon the stairs--**the scaffolds or pulpits, whence the Levites usually addressed the people. There were probably several placed at convenient distances, to prevent confusion and the voice of one drowning those of the others.
**cried with a loud voice unto the Lord--**Such an exertion, of course...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Esther's application received.(1-8)
Haman prepares to hang Mordecai.(9-14)
**Verses 1-8**
Esther having had power with God, and prevailing, like Jacob, had power with men too. He that will lose his life for God, shall save it, or find it in a better life. The king encouraged her. Let us from this be encouraged to pray always to our God, and not to faint....
Read full commentary →Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz continues describing divine judgment: 'Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.' The imagery depicts total loss of possessions to others—exactly what Job experienced. Eliphaz explicitly connects Job's losses to the pattern of divine judgment on the wicked. This demonstrates how even accurate observations (the wi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Whose harvest the hungry eateth up.**—The meaning becomes more pointed if we understand the wicked man himself as the subject whose harvest he shall eat famishing and have to take from among the thorns—there shall be so little, and that little choked with thorns. The word “robber” is perhaps a *trap, *or *snare. *Some of the old versions use other vowels, and read, “the thirsty swallow up,” ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. Then the Levites ... said, Stand up and bless the Lord your God--**If this prayer was uttered by all these Levites in common, it must have been prepared and adopted beforehand, perhaps, by Ezra; but it may only embody the substance of the confession and thanksgiving.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Esther's application received.(1-8)
Haman prepares to hang Mordecai.(9-14)
**Verses 1-8**
Esther having had power with God, and prevailing, like Jacob, had power with men too. He that will lose his life for God, shall save it, or find it in a better life. The king encouraged her. Let us from this be encouraged to pray always to our God, and not to faint....
Read full commentary →Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; affliction: or, iniquity
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz declares, 'Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground.' The Hebrew 'aven' (affliction/trouble) and 'amal' (labor/trouble) suggest hardship doesn't arise randomly. Eliphaz's point is sound—suffering has causes—but he wrongly assumes all suffering directly results from personal sin. Reformed theology affirms God's sovereignty over all even...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6, 7) **Although affliction. . . .**—These two verses are confessedly very difficult. It is hard to see also the connection between sparks flying upwards and man’s being born to trouble. It seems to give better sense if we understand Eliphaz comparing man’s lot as prepared for him by God with his own pride and presumptuous ambition. Man is born to labour, but, like sparks of fire, he makes high h...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Eliphaz reminds Job, that no affliction comes by chance, nor is to be placed to second causes. The difference between prosperity and adversity is not so exactly observed, as that between day and night, summer and winter; but it is according to the will and counsel of God. We must not attribute our afflictions to fortune, for they are from God; nor our sins to fate, for they are...
Read full commentary →Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. trouble: or, labour sparks: Heb. the sons of the burning coal lift up to fly
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz declares 'man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward' (adam le-amal yullad, אָדָם לְעָמָל יוּלָּד). The word amal (עָמָל) means toil, trouble, or misery—human existence inevitably includes suffering. The comparison to sparks flying upward (bene reshef, בְּנֵי־רֶשֶׁף, literally 'sons of flame') suggests natural inevitability. This observation contains wisdom: we live in a fallen wor...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Eliphaz reminds Job, that no affliction comes by chance, nor is to be placed to second causes. The difference between prosperity and adversity is not so exactly observed, as that between day and night, summer and winter; but it is according to the will and counsel of God. We must not attribute our afflictions to fortune, for they are from God; nor our sins to fate, for they are...
Read full commentary →I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz's advice 'I would seek unto God' assumes Job hasn't already done so, adding insult to injury. The counsel itself is sound - seeking God in trouble aligns with Scripture - but the implication that Job's suffering stems from prayerlessness reveals the friends' fundamental misunderstanding.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Eliphaz reminds Job, that no affliction comes by chance, nor is to be placed to second causes. The difference between prosperity and adversity is not so exactly observed, as that between day and night, summer and winter; but it is according to the will and counsel of God. We must not attribute our afflictions to fortune, for they are from God; nor our sins to fate, for they are...
Read full commentary →Which doeth great things and unsearchable ; marvellous things without number: unsearchable: Heb. there is no search without: Heb. till there be no number
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz praises God: 'Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number.' The Hebrew 'gadol' (great), 'ein cheqer' (unsearchable—no investigation), and 'pele' (marvellous/wonderful) acknowledge God's incomprehensible wisdom. This is true theology—God's ways transcend human understanding (Romans 11:33). Ironically, Eliphaz uses this truth to support false conclusions. The ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Eliphaz reminds Job, that no affliction comes by chance, nor is to be placed to second causes. The difference between prosperity and adversity is not so exactly observed, as that between day and night, summer and winter; but it is according to the will and counsel of God. We must not attribute our afflictions to fortune, for they are from God; nor our sins to fate, for they are...
Read full commentary →Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields: fields: Heb. outplaces
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz continues: 'Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields.' Rain represents God's providential care and blessing (Deuteronomy 11:14). Eliphaz uses creation theology to support his retribution theology—if God sends rain (blessing) faithfully, He must also send drought (curse) for sin. This assumes a mechanistic relationship between righteousness and prosperity that Jesu...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Eliphaz reminds Job, that no affliction comes by chance, nor is to be placed to second causes. The difference between prosperity and adversity is not so exactly observed, as that between day and night, summer and winter; but it is according to the will and counsel of God. We must not attribute our afflictions to fortune, for they are from God; nor our sins to fate, for they are...
Read full commentary →To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz declares God 'setteth up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.' The Hebrew 'rum' (set high/exalt) and 'yesha' (safety/salvation) describe God's pattern of lifting the humble. This is true—God does exalt the humble (James 4:10, 1 Peter 5:6). But Eliphaz wrongly implies that Job's continued low estate proves he's not truly humble, and that genuine humili...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **To set up on high those that be low.**—Thus his doctrine is that man’s exaltation must come from God, and not from his own vain strivings. (Comp. Psalm 75:4-10, and the prayer of Hannah, 1Samuel 2:6-8; also Psalm 113:7, &c.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Eliphaz reminds Job, that no affliction comes by chance, nor is to be placed to second causes. The difference between prosperity and adversity is not so exactly observed, as that between day and night, summer and winter; but it is according to the will and counsel of God. We must not attribute our afflictions to fortune, for they are from God; nor our sins to fate, for they are...
Read full commentary →He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. their enterprise: or, any thing
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz praises God who 'disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.' The Hebrew 'parar' (break/frustrate) and 'tushiyah' (enterprise/wisdom) describe God's sovereign disruption of wicked plans. This is true theology (Psalm 33:10), but Eliphaz subtly implies Job must be among the 'crafty' whose plans God frustrated. True application would recognize...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **So that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.**—Or, *so that their hands can do-nothing that is sound or of worth, can accomplish nothing effectual.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Eliphaz reminds Job, that no affliction comes by chance, nor is to be placed to second causes. The difference between prosperity and adversity is not so exactly observed, as that between day and night, summer and winter; but it is according to the will and counsel of God. We must not attribute our afflictions to fortune, for they are from God; nor our sins to fate, for they are...
Read full commentary →He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Divine Reversal of Human Wisdom:</strong> The Hebrew "taketh" (<em>lakad</em>) means "to capture," "ensnare," or "seize," suggesting God uses the wise person's own schemes as a trap that springs shut on them. "Craftiness" (<em>ormah</em>) refers to shrewd cunning, cleverness, or subtlety, often with negative connotations of manipulation and deceptive scheming. This is the same word used of...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **He taketh the wise.**—St. Paul quotes the former half of this verse in his warning to the Corinthians (1Corinthians 3:19): “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.” The word rendered “froward” means *crooked, perverse, *or *tortuous. *The name Naphtali is derived from the same root (Genesis 30:8).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Eliphaz reminds Job, that no affliction comes by chance, nor is to be placed to second causes. The difference between prosperity and adversity is not so exactly observed, as that between day and night, summer and winter; but it is according to the will and counsel of God. We must not attribute our afflictions to fortune, for they are from God; nor our sins to fate, for they are...
Read full commentary →They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night. meet: or, run into
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz describes the wicked's fate: 'They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night.' The imagery reverses natural order—darkness during day represents divine judgment and confusion. The Hebrew 'mashash' (grope) suggests blind fumbling. Eliphaz implies Job's confusion and inability to understand his suffering proves he's among the wicked experiencing divine judgm...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Darkness in the daytime.**—This is possibly an allusion to the Egyptian plague of darkness “that may be felt” (Exodus 10:21), as the words used are similar. This may be a note of probable date. (Compare Isaiah 59:10, where the thoughts correspond, but the words differ.) This is one of the many passages of Job in which there seems to be an indication of some acquaintance with the events rela...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Eliphaz reminds Job, that no affliction comes by chance, nor is to be placed to second causes. The difference between prosperity and adversity is not so exactly observed, as that between day and night, summer and winter; but it is according to the will and counsel of God. We must not attribute our afflictions to fortune, for they are from God; nor our sins to fate, for they are...
Read full commentary →But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz continues: 'But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.' God delivers the vulnerable from violence ('sword'), slander ('mouth'), and oppression ('hand of the mighty'). This is true—God defends the defenseless (Psalm 82:3-4). But Eliphaz wrongly implies that Job's suffering proves he's not among the poor/righteous God saves. This ignores that Go...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **From the sword, from their mouth.**—It is merely a matter of grammatical nicety whether we regard the sword as coming forth from their mouth, or as identical with what comes forth from it, or as the first of three things from which the poor are delivered. It is worthy of special note that the Lord is thus conceived of and represented, as the *Saviour, *and the Saviour of them who have no sa...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Eliphaz reminds Job, that no affliction comes by chance, nor is to be placed to second causes. The difference between prosperity and adversity is not so exactly observed, as that between day and night, summer and winter; but it is according to the will and counsel of God. We must not attribute our afflictions to fortune, for they are from God; nor our sins to fate, for they are...
Read full commentary →So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz concludes: 'So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.' The poor receive hope because God acts on their behalf, while wickedness ('iniquity') is silenced. This beautiful theology becomes a weapon when Eliphaz implies Job's continuing suffering and vocal lament prove he's not among the hopeful poor but rather the silenced wicked. True Reformed theology affirms that God's people...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **Iniquity stoppeth her mouth.**—See Psalm 107:42, where the same phrase occurs.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-16**
Eliphaz reminds Job, that no affliction comes by chance, nor is to be placed to second causes. The difference between prosperity and adversity is not so exactly observed, as that between day and night, summer and winter; but it is according to the will and counsel of God. We must not attribute our afflictions to fortune, for they are from God; nor our sins to fate, for they are...
Read full commentary →Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz pronounces a beatitude: 'Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.' The word ashre (אַשְׁרֵי, happy/blessed) opens many Psalms (1:1, 32:1), suggesting spiritual wellbeing. The term yakach (יָכַח, correcteth) means to reprove, rebuke, or discipline. Musar (מוּסָר, chastening) refers to instruction through discipline. Eliphaz's t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) This is probably the original of Proverbs 3:12, which is itself quoted by the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews (Job 12:5), while the spirit of it is expressed by St. James and St. John in the Revelation. (See the margin.) This is the only place in Job in which the word here used for *happy*—which is the very first word of the Psalms, and is used five-and-twenty times in them alone—is foun...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-27**
Eliphaz gives to Job a word of caution and exhortation: Despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. Call it a chastening, which comes from the Father's love, and is for the child's good; and notice it as a messenger from Heaven. Eliphaz also encourages Job to submit to his condition. A good man is happy though he be afflicted, for he has not lost his enjoyment of God, nor...
Read full commentary →For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.
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KJV Study Commentary
God 'maketh sore, and bindeth up; he woundeth, and his hands make whole' - Eliphaz correctly identifies God's sovereignty over suffering and healing. This truth appears throughout Scripture (Deuteronomy 32:39, Hosea 6:1), yet Eliphaz misapplies it by assuming Job's repentance will immediately end his suffering.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **He maketh sore, and bindeth up.**—The sentiment here expressed is one of those obvious ones which lose all their force from familiarity with them, but which come home sometimes in sorrow with a power that is boundless, because Divine.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-27**
Eliphaz gives to Job a word of caution and exhortation: Despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. Call it a chastening, which comes from the Father's love, and is for the child's good; and notice it as a messenger from Heaven. Eliphaz also encourages Job to submit to his condition. A good man is happy though he be afflicted, for he has not lost his enjoyment of God, nor...
Read full commentary →He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz promises: 'He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.' The numbers six and seven represent completeness—God delivers from all troubles. This is true theology (Psalm 34:19), but Eliphaz misapplies it as promise of immediate relief if Job repents. Reformed theology affirms that God does deliver His people, but often through suffering rather than from...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **In six troubles.**—The special form of speech here used is characteristic mainly of the Proverbs (see Job 6:16; Job 30:15; Job 30:18; Job 30:21). Since evil was emphatically *touching *Job, the actual irony of these words must have been bitter indeed.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-27**
Eliphaz gives to Job a word of caution and exhortation: Despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. Call it a chastening, which comes from the Father's love, and is for the child's good; and notice it as a messenger from Heaven. Eliphaz also encourages Job to submit to his condition. A good man is happy though he be afflicted, for he has not lost his enjoyment of God, nor...
Read full commentary →In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword. power: Heb. hands
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz lists deliverances: 'In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.' The Hebrew 'padah' (redeem) indicates God's ransoming deliverance. Eliphaz's promise is conditionally true—God does often deliver His people—but falsely promises immediate relief upon repentance. This ignores that God's servants sometimes die in famine and war (Hebrews 11:37), not becau...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **He shall redeem thee.**—It is rather, h*e hath redeemed thee, *as though the speaker could appeal to Job’s own experience in the matter which itself became a ground of confident hope for the future.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-27**
Eliphaz gives to Job a word of caution and exhortation: Despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. Call it a chastening, which comes from the Father's love, and is for the child's good; and notice it as a messenger from Heaven. Eliphaz also encourages Job to submit to his condition. A good man is happy though he be afflicted, for he has not lost his enjoyment of God, nor...
Read full commentary →Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. from: or, when the tongue scourgeth
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz promises: 'Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid when destruction cometh.' The 'scourge of the tongue' refers to slander and false accusation—ironically what Eliphaz himself inflicts on Job. The promise of being hidden ('chaba') from verbal attacks reflects God's protection (Psalm 31:20), but Eliphaz's conditional promise denies that God sometimes a...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **Shalt thou be afraid.**—Comp. the expression in Job 5:15.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-27**
Eliphaz gives to Job a word of caution and exhortation: Despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. Call it a chastening, which comes from the Father's love, and is for the child's good; and notice it as a messenger from Heaven. Eliphaz also encourages Job to submit to his condition. A good man is happy though he be afflicted, for he has not lost his enjoyment of God, nor...
Read full commentary →At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz continues: 'At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.' To 'laugh' at destruction suggests complete confidence that it cannot harm you. This promise reflects faith in God's sovereign protection (Psalm 91:13), but Eliphaz wrongly makes it conditional on Job repenting from supposed sin. True Reformed theology affirms God's sovereign p...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **Neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.**—Literally, and of the beasts of the earth be not thou afraid.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-27**
Eliphaz gives to Job a word of caution and exhortation: Despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. Call it a chastening, which comes from the Father's love, and is for the child's good; and notice it as a messenger from Heaven. Eliphaz also encourages Job to submit to his condition. A good man is happy though he be afflicted, for he has not lost his enjoyment of God, nor...
Read full commentary →For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz continues his counsel to Job with promises of covenant blessing for the righteous. The phrase <strong>"thou shalt be in league"</strong> (<em>ki im-avnei hassadeh veriteka</em>) literally means "your covenant shall be with the stones of the field." The Hebrew <em>berit</em> (covenant/league) indicates a formal, binding relationship of peace.<br><br>The subject is striking: <strong>"stones ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23*)* **For thou shalt be in league.**—Literally, *for with the stones of the field shall thy covenant be, and the beasts of the field shall be made to be at peace with thee.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-27**
Eliphaz gives to Job a word of caution and exhortation: Despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. Call it a chastening, which comes from the Father's love, and is for the child's good; and notice it as a messenger from Heaven. Eliphaz also encourages Job to submit to his condition. A good man is happy though he be afflicted, for he has not lost his enjoyment of God, nor...
Read full commentary →And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin. thy tabernacle: or, peace is thy tabernacle sin: or, err
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz promises: 'And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin.' The 'tabernacle' (tent/dwelling) represents home and family security. 'Not sin' could mean 'not miss' or 'not come to harm.' Eliphaz promises domestic tranquility and the security of finding everything intact when Job returns home. This is cruel given that Job's ch...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **Sin.**—The word rendered “sin” literally means also *to miss the mark, *as in Judges 20:16, and that is probably its meaning here: *Thou shalt visit thy dwelling-place, and miss nothing, *since one does not see very clearly why the promise of not sinning is connected with visiting the habitation or fold.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-27**
Eliphaz gives to Job a word of caution and exhortation: Despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. Call it a chastening, which comes from the Father's love, and is for the child's good; and notice it as a messenger from Heaven. Eliphaz also encourages Job to submit to his condition. A good man is happy though he be afflicted, for he has not lost his enjoyment of God, nor...
Read full commentary →Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth. great: or, much
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz promises: 'Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth.' Numerous descendants represented divine blessing (Genesis 15:5). For Job, who has lost all ten children, this promise of future children is particularly painful. Eliphaz implies Job can have a new family if he repents, treating Job's deceased children as replaceable and their death...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **Great.**—The word means also *numerous, *which seems to suit the parallelism better here. The whole description is a very beautiful and poetical one of the perfect security of faith, though it is to a certain extent vitiated by its want of strict correspondence with facts, of which the very case of Job was a crucial instance. This was the special problem with which his friends had to deal, ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-27**
Eliphaz gives to Job a word of caution and exhortation: Despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. Call it a chastening, which comes from the Father's love, and is for the child's good; and notice it as a messenger from Heaven. Eliphaz also encourages Job to submit to his condition. A good man is happy though he be afflicted, for he has not lost his enjoyment of God, nor...
Read full commentary →Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season. cometh in: Heb. ascendeth
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz concludes: 'Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season.' The imagery pictures death as natural harvest at the proper time—a full, blessed life ending peacefully. The Hebrew 'kelach' (full age/maturity) contrasts with premature death. Eliphaz promises Job will die peacefully in old age if he repents, implying his current suffering threatens p...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **Thou shalt come to thy grave.**—There is not improbably a contrast implied here between *going into *the grave and *going up *(see the margin) to the barn. The grave in such a case is not the melancholy end of life, but rather the passage to a higher life for which one is already ripe. “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,” &c. (2Timothy 4:8).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-27**
Eliphaz gives to Job a word of caution and exhortation: Despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. Call it a chastening, which comes from the Father's love, and is for the child's good; and notice it as a messenger from Heaven. Eliphaz also encourages Job to submit to his condition. A good man is happy though he be afflicted, for he has not lost his enjoyment of God, nor...
Read full commentary →Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good. for: Heb. for thyself
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KJV Study Commentary
Eliphaz concludes with certainty: 'we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.' His dogmatic confidence reveals pride in human wisdom that cannot comprehend divine mystery. The book's resolution shows that all three friends must repent of their presumption (42:7-9).
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **So it is.**—It is the boastful confidence of Eliphaz which is so hard to bear. He speaks as though Job’s experience were as nothing to his. “This is mine: take it to thyself, and make it thine.”
**Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-38. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone, &c.--**In this solemn and impressive prayer, in which they make public confession of their sins, and deprecate the judgments due to the transgressions of their fathers, they begin with a profound adoration of God, whose supreme majesty and omnipotence is acknowledged in the creation, preservation, and government of all. Then they proceed to enumerate Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-27**
Eliphaz gives to Job a word of caution and exhortation: Despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. Call it a chastening, which comes from the Father's love, and is for the child's good; and notice it as a messenger from Heaven. Eliphaz also encourages Job to submit to his condition. A good man is happy though he be afflicted, for he has not lost his enjoyment of God, nor...
Read full commentary →