Job 16

THen Job answered and said,

I have heard many such things Both from you, who do so odiously repeat the same things, and from divers others: For these things, though you pride and please your selves in them, as if you had made some great and strange discoveries, are but vulgar and trivial.: miserable comforters In stead of giving me those Comforts which you pretend to do, Chap. 15. 11. and which my Condition loudly calls for, you feed me with terrours, and censures, and scoffs. are ye all.

Shall vain words have an end When wiltst thou put an end to these idle and impertinent discourses? He retorts upon him his Charge against Iob, Ch. 15. 2, 3.? or what emboldneth thee that thou answerest To wit, so, or in such manner, so censoriously, and opprobriously, and peremptorily. What secret grounds hast thou for thy Confidence? Thy Arguments are flashy and weak; if thou hast any stronger produce them.?

I also could speak as ye do: if your soul i. e. Your person, as Gen. 12. 5. were in my souls stead; I could heap up words against you i. e. I could multiply Accusations and Reproaches against you, as you do against me., and shake mine head at you In way of derision, as this phrase is most commonly used; as 2 Kings 19. 21. Psal. 22. 7. Isa. 37. 22. Matth. 27. 39..

But I would strengthen you i. e. Direct, and support, and comfort you. with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should asswage your grief i. e. My discourse should comfort you. The words, your grief, are here understood either out of the fore-going Clause, where they are implied: Or out of the next Verse, where they are expressed. Possibly the words may be thus rendred without any Ellipsis, which is most natural, if the Translation be true and suitable; Compassion (for the Hebrew word, nid, comes from nud, which signifies to condole) should restrain or govern my lips, that they should avoid all speeches which may ve... you, and speak only what may be to your comfort and benefit; whereas you let your Tongues loose to speak whatsoever pleaseth you, or tormenteth me.

Though I speak To God by Prayer; or to you in way of discourse: I find no relief. Iob having reproved his Friends for their unkind carriage towards him, and aggravated it by his resolutions to have dealt more friendl... ly with them, if they had been in his case; now he returns to his main business, to describe and aggravate his miseries, if by any means he could move his Friends to pity and help him., my grief is not asswag... d: and though I forbear, what am I eased Or, what part or grain of my grief or misery departeth from? I receive not one jot of ease. Neither speech nor silence do me any good.?

But Or, surely, as this Hebrew Particle most commonly signifies. now he i. e. God, as appears by the following Words and Verses. has made me weary Either of complaining, or, of my life. thou He speaks in the second Person to God, as in the former Clause in the third Person of God: Such change of Persons are very usual in Scripture, and elsewhere. hast made desolate all my company Hast turned my society into desolation, by destroying my Children and Servants..

And thou hast filled me with wrinkles By consuming all my fat and flesh., which is a witness against me Heb. Which is a witness of the reality, and greatness, and just cause of my sorrows. Or, which is become or made a witness; i. e is produced by my Friends as a Witness of Go... Wrath and of my Hypocrisie and Impiety,: and my leanness rising up in me i. e. Which is in me. Or, rising up a... ainst me, as Witnesses use to rise and stand up against a guilty person to accuse him., beareth witness to my face As Witnesses are to accuse a person to his... ace, openly and evidently, so as any that look on my Face may plainly discern it. But this Clause may be rendred thus, My in my face; (i. e. which appears in my Face, and causeth the wrinkles which are visible there) riseth up against me, and beareth witness, as before..

He teareth me in his wrath Heb. His wrath teareth me in pieces, as a Lion does his Prey., who hateth me Heb. And he hateth me; i. e. He pursueth me with a deadly ha... red and rage. Or. And he is become mine enemy; Or, he sets himself against me with all his might: Or, He treats me like an implacable.: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth Which is a gesture and sign of extream anger and fury; as Psalm 35. 16. & 37. 12. Lament 2. 16. as elsewhere of grievous pain; as Luke 13. 28.; mine enemy Either 1. God, who of a Friend is now become my implacable Enemy. Or 2. Eliphaz, who deals with me more like an Enemy than a Friend. sharpneth his eyes upon me i. e. Looks upon me with a fierce and... parkling Eye, as enraged persons use to do..

They The Instruments of God's anger, my Friends, as they are falsly called. have gaped upon me with their mouth Opened their mouths wide against me; either 1. to devour and destroy me; as a Lion which falls upon h... s Prey with open mouth; as this phrase is used, Psalm 22. 13, 14. And this they did aggra ating and encreasing his sorrows, whereby he was well-nigh overwhelmed. Or 2. To and deride me, as it follows, and as this phrase is most commonly used, as Psalm 22 8. & 35. 21., they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully Or, by reproach; or in way of scorn and contempt; whereof such smiting was a sign; as 1 Kings 22. 24. Lament. 3. 30. Mich. 5. 1. The sign is here put for the thing signified: They d... spised and derided me., they have gathered themselves together against me i. e. They are come from several places and met together here, not for me, or to comfort me as they pretended, but really against me, or to torment and gri... me. Heb. they have filled themselves, &c. Either 1. they have filled up their numbers, they are all come against me. Or 2. they have filled their minds with evil Opinions of me, and their hearts with courage and resolution to assault me, and their mouths with words and arguments against me. Compare Eccles. 8. 11. Acts. 5 3..

God has delivered me to the ungodly either 1. to my Friends, who act the part of the wicked in censuring and condemning the righteous whom God approveth and in pleading for a false and wicked Cause. Or rather 2. to the Chaldeans and Sabeans, who were a most wicked people, living in gross contempt of God, and injuriousness to all sorts of men. For this best suits both with the first Clause of the next Verse, which shows that he speaketh of Iob's first Afflictions which befell him when he was at ease; and with Iob's principal scope, which was to prove, that both eminent prosperity and affliction did indifferently happen to good and bad men: and this was evident from this example, because holy Iob was ruined, when these wicked people were most victorious and successful., and turned me over into the hands of the wicked.

I was at ease I lived in great peace and prosperity, which makes my present miseries more grievous to me: and therefore my Complaints are excusable, and I deserve pity rather than reproach from my friends., but he has broken me asunder Broken my Spirit with the sense of his anger, and my Body with loathsom Ulcers, as also by destroying my Children, a part of my own flesh or body.; he has also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces As a mighty man does with some young Stripling, when he wrestleth with him., and set me up for his mark That he may shoot all his Arrows into me, and that with delight, which Archers have in that exercise..

His archers i. e. His Plagues or Judgments elsewhere compared to Arrows, and here to Archers. compass me round about; he cleaveth my reins asunder With his Arrows i. e. he wounds me inwardly, and mortally, and incurably: which also is noted by pouring out the gall; such wounds being deadly., and does not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground.

He breaketh me with breach upon breach My Calamities have no interruption, but one immediately succeeds another, as it did, Chap. 1.; he runneth upon me like a giant Who falls upon his Enemy with all his might, that he may overthrow and kill him..

I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin i. e. I put on sackcloth sowed together, not upon my other garments, but next to my skin, as was done in great Calamities; as 2 Kings 6. 30. So far am I from stretching out my hands against God, whereof I am accused; Chap. 15. 25. that I have humbled my self deeply un... er his hand,, and defiled my horn in the dust I have willingly parted with all my Wealth, and Power, and Glory (as the horn oft signifies in Scripture; as Ps... lm 75 5. & 132. 17 Luke 1. 69.) and been contented to lie in the dust, and to endure the contempt which God has brought upon me..

My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death i. e. A gross and terrible darkness. My sight is very dim and dark, as is usual in case of fore Diseases, or excessive grief and weeping Lam... nt. 2 11. and especially in the approach of death: Compare Psalm 6. 7. & 38. 10. Lament. 5. 17..

Not for any injustice in mine hands And all this is not come upon me for any injurious dealing with others by oppression, or deceit, or bribery, wherewith I am implicitely charged; Chap. 15 16, 20, 34. but for other reasons known to God only, for I cannot discover them.: also, my prayer is pure I do not cast off God's fear and service, as I am accused to do, Ch... p. 15. 4. I do still pray and worship God, and my Prayer is accompanied with a sincere Heart, and... defiled Conscience: See Psalm 109 7. Prov. 28. 9. 1 Tim. 2. 8. So that I have lived in... ffensively towards God and towards men: And therefore your Assertion is both uncharitable and false, that eminent Afflictions are peculiar to ungodly men..

O earth, cover not thou my bloud So called not actively; to wit, his own blood, but passively or ob... ctively; i. e the blood of others shed by him and lying upon his Conscience. The Earth is said to cover that blood which lies undiscovered and unrevenged: Of which see on Gen. 4. 10, 11. Isa. 26 21. But says Iob. if I be guilty of destroying any one man by Murder or Oppression, as I am traduced; O Lord, let the Earth disclose it, let it be brought to light, that I may suffer condign punishment for it., and let my cry Either 1. passively; to wit, the cries and groans which I have forced from others by my Oppressions: Let those Cries have no place to hide them. Or rather 2. actively, the Cry of my Complaints to men, or Prayers to God; let them find no place in the Ears or Hearts of God or men, if this be true: Or, no place; i. e. no regard, or no power or success in which sense God's Word is said not to have place in evil men Iohn 8. 37. And Esa... not to find place of repentance, Heb. 12. 17. i. e. All his Intreaties and Tears could not prevail with his Father to repent of and retract the Blessing given from him to Iacob. have no place.

Also now, behold, my Witness is in Heaven Besides the Witness of Men, and of my own Conscience, God is Witness of my Integrity., and my Record is on high.

My Friends Who should defend me from the Scorns and Injuries of others. † scorn me So this word is used, Psal. 119. 51. Prov. 3. 34. & 19. 28.: but mine Eye poureth out tears unto God I pour forth my Prayers and Tears to God, that he would judge me according to my Innocency, and plead my righteous cause against you..

O that one might plead for a man * with God O that either I or some faithful Advocate might be admitted to plead my Cause, either with God, or rather with you, before God's Tribunal, God being Witness and Judge between us. But this Verse is, and that very agreeably to the Hebrew Text, otherwise translated and Interpreted, either 1. With respect to Christ, And he (i. e. God last mentioned, to wit, God the Son, Christ Jesus) will plead for a man (i. e. for me, against whom you plead. He modestly speaketh of himself in the third Person, as is usual,) with God, (to wit, with God the Father:) and the Son of man (as Christ is oft called) will plead for his Friend, or Companion, or Neighbour, i. e. For a man whom he has taken into that Relation to himself. It is plain that the mystery of Mans Redemption by Christ was known to the ancient Patriarchs, as has been oft noted before; and to Iob among others, Ch. 19. 25. Or 2. as the matter for which he prayed, and cried to God; That (so the Hebrew Vau is frequently used) he (i. e. God) would plead or judge or give sentence for a man (i. e. for me, or in my cause) with God, (i. e. with himself, the Noun being put for the Pronoun, as Gen. 2. 20. & 4. 15. Lev. 14. 15, 16. and elsewhere, or at his own Tribunal, to which I have appealed) as a man pleadeth for his Friend or Neighbour, with or before an earthly Judge and Tribunal. This seems most agreeable to the scope of the place, which was to maintain his own Integrity against his Friends before God., as a man pleadeth for his Neighbour!

When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return i. e. To the state and place of the dead, whence men do not, and cannot return to this Life. The meaning is, my death hastens, and therefore I earnestly desire that the cause depending before God, between me and my Friends, may be searched out and determined, that if I be guilty of these things whereof they accuse me, I may bear the shame and blame of it before all men, and if I be innocent, that I may live to see my own Integrity, and the credit of Religion, (which suffers upon this occasion) vindicated, that so I may die in peace with God, and may leave the favour of a good name behind me..