PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible — Job
Gill, John, 1697-1771 · 410,186 words · 582 reading sections
Job 6:1
Job 6:1 INTRODUCTION TO JOB 6 This and the following chapter contain Job's answer to the speech of Eliphaz in the two foregoing; he first excuses his impatience by the greatness of his afflictions, which, if weighed by good and impartial hands, would be found to be heavier than the sand of the sea, and which words we…
408 wordsSECTION 62Job 6:2
Job 6:2 Ver. 2. Oh that my grief were thoroughly weighed,.... Or, "in weighing weighed" {u}, most nicely and exactly weighed; that is, his grievous affliction, which caused so much grief of heart, and which had been shown in words and gestures; or his "wrath" and "anger" {w}, as others render it: not his anger against…
603 wordsSECTION 63Job 6:3
Job 6:3 Ver. 3. For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea,.... Or "seas" {z}; all sand is heavy in its own nature, Pr 27:3; especially the sand of the sea, that which is immediately taken out of it; for that on the shore is lighter, being dried by the winds and heat of the sun, but the other is heavier, thr…
658 wordsSECTION 64Job 6:4
Job 6:4 Ver. 4. For the arrows of the Almighty [are] within me,.... Which are a reason proving the weight and heaviness of his affliction, and also of his hot and passionate expressions he broke out into; which designs not so much outward calamities, as famine, pestilence, thunder and lightning, which are called the a…
673 wordsSECTION 65Job 6:5
Job 6:5 Ver. 5. Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder?] No, they neither of them do, when the one is in a good pasture, and the other has a sufficiency of provender; but when they are in want of food, the one will bray, and the other will low, which are tones peculiar to those cre…
239 wordsSECTION 66Job 6:6
Job 6:6 Ver. 6. Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt?.... As any sort of pulse, peas, beans, lentiles, &c. which have no savoury and agreeable taste unless salted, and so many other things; and are disagreeable to men, and not relished by them, and more especially things bitter and unpleasant; and therefo…
484 wordsSECTION 67Job 6:7
Job 6:7 Ver. 7. The things [that] my soul refused to touch [are] as my sorrowful meat. Meaning either the above things, that which is unsavoury, and the white of an egg, of any other food, which in the time of his prosperity he would not touch with his fingers, much less eat, but now was glad of, and were his constant…
278 wordsSECTION 68Job 6:8
Job 6:8 Ver. 8. And that I might have my request,.... Or that it "might come" {m}; that it might go up to heaven, enter there, and come into the ears of the Lord, be attended to, admitted, and received by him, see Ps 18:6; or come to Job, be returned into his bosom, be answered and fulfilled; the same with the desire …
480 wordsSECTION 69Job 6:9
Job 6:9 Ver. 9. Even that it would please God to destroy me,.... Not with an everlasting destruction of body and soul; for destruction from the Almighty was a terror to him, Job 31:23; but with the destruction of the body only; not with an annihilation of it, but with the dissolution of it, or of that union there was …
325 wordsSECTION 70Job 6:10
Job 6:10 Ver. 10. Then should I yet have comfort,.... Either before death, and in the midst of all his pains and sorrows, being in view of it as near at hand, and sure and certain; could he but be assured of its near approach, he could exult in his afflictions; it would be an alleviation of his trouble, that he should…
1,266 wordsSECTION 71Job 6:11
Job 6:11 Ver. 11. What [is] my strength, that I should hope?.... For a perfect restoration of health, suggested by Eliphaz; since it was so sadly weakened by the present affliction, which made death more desirable than life lengthened out in so much weakness, pain, and sorrow; or "that I should bear" {w}, such a weigh…
249 wordsSECTION 72Job 6:12
Job 6:12 Ver. 12. [Is] my strength the strength of stones?.... Is it like such especially which are foundation and corner stones that support a building? or like a stone pillar, that will bear a prodigious weight? no, it is not: or [is] my flesh of brass? is it made of brass? or is it like to brass for hardness, or f…
118 wordsSECTION 73Job 6:13
Job 6:13 Ver. 13. [Is] my help in me?.... Or "my defence" {y}, as some; is it not in my power to defend myself against the calumnies and reproaches cast upon me? it is; and, though one have no help in myself to bear my burdens, or extricate myself out of my difficulties, yet I have the testimony of a good conscience w…
5,590 wordsSECTION 74Job 7:1
Job 7:1 INTRODUCTION TO JOB 7 In this chapter Job goes on to defend himself in an address to God; as that he had reason to complain of his extraordinary afflictions, and wish for death; by observing the common case of mankind, which he illustrates by that of an hireling, Job 7:1; and justifies his eager desire of dea…
1,453 wordsSECTION 75Job 7:2
Job 7:2 Ver. 2. As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow,.... Either the shadow of some great rock, tree, or hedge, or any shady place to shelter him from the heat of the sun in the middle of the day, which in those eastern countries is hot and scorching; and very burdensome and fatiguing it is for servants and labo…
461 wordsSECTION 76Job 7:3
Job 7:3 Ver. 3. So am I made to possess months of vanity,.... This is not a reddition or application of the above similes of the servant and hireling, Job 7:1; for that is to be understood, and to be supplied at the end of Job 7:2; that as those looked for the shadow and payment of hire, so Job looked for and earnestl…
539 wordsSECTION 77Job 7:4
Job 7:4 Ver. 4. When I lie down, I say, when shall I arise,.... Or, "then I say", &c. {t}; that is, as soon as he laid himself down in his bed, and endeavoured to compose himself to sleep, in order to get rest and refreshment; then he said within himself, or with an articulate voice, to those about him, that sat up wi…
376 wordsSECTION 78Job 7:5
Job 7:5 Ver. 5. My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust,.... Not as it would be at death, and in the grave, as Schmidt interprets it, when it would be eaten with worms and reduced to dust; but as it then was, his ulcers breeding worms, or lice, as some {y}; these spread themselves over his body: some think it…
283 wordsSECTION 79Job 7:6
Job 7:6 Ver. 6. My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle,.... Which moves very swiftly, being thrown quick and fast to and fro; some versions render it "a racer" {b} one that runs a race on foot, or rides on horseback, agreeably to Job 9:25; where, and in Job 7:7; to it, other similes are used, to set forth the swi…
224 wordsSECTION 80Job 7:7
Job 7:7 Ver. 7. O remember that my life [is] wind,.... Or, "breath" {c}; man's life is in his breath, and that breath is in his nostrils, and therefore not to be accounted of, or depended on; man appears by this to be a poor frail creature, whose life, with respect to himself, is very precarious and uncertain; it is b…
334 wordsSECTION 81Job 7:8
Job 7:8 Ver. 8. The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no [more],.... Or "the eye of sight" {e}; the seeing eye, the most acute and quick sighted eye; so Mr. Broughton renders it, "the quick eye" {f}: this is to be understood as "after" {g} death, that then the sharpest eye should not see him, he would be out o…
965 wordsSECTION 82Job 7:9
Job 7:9 Ver. 9. [As] the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away,.... Which being dispersed by the wind, or broke up by the sun, is never seen, or returns more; for though the wise man speaks of clouds returning after the rain, this is not to be understood of the same clouds, but of succeeding ones, Ec 12:2; so pardon of…
436 wordsSECTION 83Job 7:10
Job 7:10 Ver. 10. He shall return no more to his house,.... In a literal sense, built or hired by him, or however in which he dwelt; and if a good man, he will have no desire to return to that any more, having a better house, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens; or in a figurative sense, either his bo…
269 wordsSECTION 84Job 7:11
Job 7:11 Ver. 11. Therefore I will not refrain my mouth,.... From speaking and complaining; seeing, besides the common lot of mankind, which is a state of warfare, sorrow, and trouble, and is as much as a man can well grapple with, extraordinary afflictions are laid upon me, which make life insupportable; and seeing I…
5,362 wordsSECTION 85Job 8:1
Job 8:1 INTRODUCTION TO JOB 8 In this chapter Bildad enters the discussion with Job; proceeding upon the same lines as Eliphaz, he reproves him for his long and loud talk, Job 8:1; asserts the justice of God in his providence, of which the taking away of Job's children by death for their transgression was an instance…
508 wordsSECTION 86Job 8:2
Job 8:2 Ver. 2. How long wilt thou speak these [things]?.... Either what he had delivered in the "third" chapter in cursing the day of his birth, and wishing for death, in which sentiments he still continued, and resolutely defended; or those expressed in the "two" preceding chapters, in answer to Eliphaz; this he sai…
345 wordsSECTION 87Job 8:3
Job 8:3 Ver. 3. Doth God pervert judgment?.... In his dealings with men in the way of his providence; no, he does not; here Bildad opposes himself to Job, who he thought had charged God with injustice in dealing with him, and his children, in the manner he had done: the same thing is intended in the following question…
621 wordsSECTION 88Job 8:4
Job 8:4 Ver. 4. If thy children have sinned against him,.... As no doubt they had, and, as Bildad thought, in a very notorious manner, and therefore were righteously punished for them; this instance is produced as a proof of God's not perverting, but doing justice, and the rather, because it was on account of this tha…
581 wordsSECTION 89Job 8:5
Job 8:5 Ver. 5. If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes,.... Here Bildad seems to think more mildly, and speak more kindly to Job, that though he had sinned, yet not in so gross a manner as his children, since he was spared, and they were not; and therefore if he would apply himself to God, and supplicate his grace and…
293 wordsSECTION 90Job 8:6
Job 8:6 Ver. 6. If thou [wert] pure and upright,.... By which he tacitly intimates that he was neither; though the character given of him is, that he was perfect and upright, feared God and eschewed evil, and which is confirmed by God himself, and even after he had been tried by sore afflictions. Bildad's meaning is, …
637 wordsSECTION 91Job 8:7
Job 8:7 Ver. 7. Though thy beginning was small,.... When, he first set out in the world; and which though it greatly increased, and he was the greatest man in all the east, yet Bildad suggests, should he behave well, that was comparatively small to what it would be with him hereafter; and which was fact, for he had do…
256 wordsSECTION 92Job 8:8
Job 8:8 Ver. 8. For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age,.... With respect to the truth of what he had said, or should say; he does not desire Job to take his word for it, but inquire how it was in former times; by which it would appear, that when good men have been in affliction and trouble, and have behaved well …
452 wordsSECTION 93Job 8:9
Job 8:9 Ver. 9. For we [are but of] yesterday {s},.... Which is not to be understood strictly of the day last past, but of a short space of time backward; and especially when compared with the antediluvian fathers, who lived the far greater part of them upwards of nine hundred years; otherwise Bildad and his two frien…
581 wordsSECTION 94Job 8:10
Job 8:10 Ver. 10. Shall not they teach thee, [and] tell thee,.... That is, the men of the former age, and their fathers before them, Job is directed to inquire of, and to prepare for a search into their records and traditions; from whom he might reasonably expect to be taught and told things that would be very instruc…
244 wordsSECTION 95Job 8:11
Job 8:11 Ver. 11. Can the rush grow up without mire?.... No, at least not long, or so as to lift up his head on high, as the word signifies {a}; the rush or bulrush, which seems to be meant, delights in watery places, and has its name in Hebrew from its absorbing or drinking up water; it grows in moist and watery clay…
213 wordsSECTION 96Job 8:12
Job 8:12 Ver. 12. Whilst it [is] yet in its greenness,.... Before it is come to its full height, or to a proper ripeness; when as yet it has not flowered, or is about it; before the time usual for it to turn and change; it being without moisture, water, or watery clay, will change; [and] not cut down; by the scythe, …
124 wordsSECTION 97Job 8:13
Job 8:13 Ver. 13. So [are] the paths of all that forget God,.... Who forget that there is a God; he is not in all, and scarce in any of their thoughts, and they live without him in the world; who forget the works of God, of creation and providence, in which there is a glorious display of his being and perfections; who…
499 wordsSECTION 98Job 8:14
Job 8:14 Ver. 14. Whose hope shall be cut off,.... The same thing as before, expressed in different words, and repeated for the certainty of it; signifying that it should be of no manner of use, should be wholly lost, and issue in black despair: the word has the signification of loathing, and is differently rendered, …
408 wordsSECTION 99Job 8:15
Job 8:15 Ver. 15. He shall lean upon his house,.... Either the spider or the hypocrite, or the hypocrite as the spider; that is, that which is the ground of his confidence, which is as the spider's house, on that he shall depend, either on his riches and outward prosperity, which he promises himself a long continuance…
479 wordsSECTION 100Job 8:16
Job 8:16 Ver. 16. He [is] green before the sun,.... Which some understand of the rush or flag, of which a further account is given, as setting forth more fully the case of wicked men and hypocrites; but to either of these do not agree the situation of it in a garden, the shooting forth of its branches, and the height …
2,694 wordsSECTION 101Job 9:1
Job 9:1 INTRODUCTION TO JOB 9 This and the following chapter contain Job's answer to Bildad, and in this he asserts the strict justice at God; which is such, that no man can be just in his sight, not being able to answer to one charge, or for one sin, of a thousand he is guilty of, Job 9:1; and that such are his wisd…
322 wordsSECTION 102Job 9:2
Job 9:2 Ver. 2. I know [it is] so of a truth,.... That is, that God is just, and does not pervert justice and judgment, as Bildad had observed, Job 8:3; Job was a man of great natural parts and capacity; he had a large share of knowledge of things, natural, civil, and moral; and he was a good man, in whom the true lig…
787 wordsSECTION 103Job 9:3
Job 9:3 Ver. 3. If he will contend with him,.... If God will contend with man, so Sephorno; enter into a controversy with him, litigate and dispute the point in law, whether he is just or not, man cannot answer to the allegations he will produce; or if man should contend with God, a potsherd strive with its maker, to …
605 wordsSECTION 104Job 9:4
Job 9:4 Ver. 4. [He is] wise in heart,.... Originally, essentially, truly, really, and perfectly so; he is the only, and the all wise God; his understanding is infinite; he is able to traverse all the schemes of men, in things civil or religious, and disappoint all their devices; for though there be ever so many of th…
507 wordsSECTION 105Job 9:5
Job 9:5 Ver. 5. Which removeth the mountains,.... This and what follow are instances of the power of God, and are full proofs of his being mighty in strength; and may be understood, either literally, not only of what God is able to do if he will, but of what he has done; and history {y} furnishes us with instances of …
391 wordsSECTION 106Job 9:6
Job 9:6 Ver. 6. Which shaketh the earth out of her place,.... Can do it, and will do it at the last day, when it shall be utterly broken down, clean dissolved, and reel to and fro like a drunkard, and be removed as a cottage, and which John in a vision saw flee away from the presence of him that sat upon the throne, I…
189 wordsSECTION 107Job 9:7
Job 9:7 Ver. 7. Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not,.... Either he could do it if he would, by a word speaking, as he ordered it to stand still in the times of Joshua, Jos 10:13, and caused the shadow to return ten degrees it had gone back in the dial of Ahaz, in the times of Hezekiah, 2Ki 20:11; or else the s…
407 wordsSECTION 108Job 9:8
Job 9:8 Ver. 8. Which alone spreadeth out the heavens,.... The expanse, or what we commonly translate "firmament"; but has its name in the Hebrew language from its being expanded, spread, and stretched out, over the earth and all around it; and seems chiefly to design the ether or atmosphere, which is a fine thin matt…
592 wordsSECTION 109Job 9:9
Job 9:9 Ver. 9. Which maketh Arcturus,.... By which is meant not a single star, but a collection of stars, as Bar Tzemach and Ben Melech, a constellation; hence we read of Arcturus and his sons, Job 38:32. Aben Ezra understands it of the seven stars, but these are thought to be meant by the Pleiades, later mentioned; …
353 wordsSECTION 110Job 9:10
Job 9:10 Ver. 10. Which doth great things past finding out,.... In heaven and earth; great as to quantity and quality, not to be thoroughly searched out so as to tell their numbers, nor explain and express the nature of them to the full; even what he has done, and does in creation, providence, and grace: yea, and won…
133 wordsSECTION 111Job 9:11
Job 9:11 Ver. 11. Lo, he goeth by me, and I see [him] not,.... This is expressive of the invisibility of God; for though the angels in heaven always behold his face, and men, in the works of creation, may see his eternal power and Godhead, and other perfections of it displayed therein; and saints by faith have a comfo…
374 wordsSECTION 112Job 9:12
Job 9:12 Ver. 12. Behold, he taketh away,.... There are some things God never takes away from his people; he never takes away his love from them, he always rests in that towards them, let them be in what condition they will; he never takes away his grace from them, when once bestowed on them, or wrought in them; he ne…
395 wordsSECTION 113Job 9:13
Job 9:13 Ver. 13. [If] God will not withdraw his anger,.... Or "God will not withdraw his anger" {m}; he is angry, or at least seems to be angry with his own people, in their apprehension, when he afflicts them and hides his face from them, or does not immediately appear to their relief and assistance; but this does n…
496 wordsSECTION 114Job 9:14
Job 9:14 Ver. 14. How much less shall I answer him,.... Who is wise in heart, and mighty in strength, and has done and does the many things before related; who is invisible, passes by, and onwards insensibly; so that there is no knowing where to speak to him, or how to guard against him, since he can come on on every …
9,743 wordsSECTION 115Job 10:1
Job 10:1 INTRODUCTION TO JOB 10 Job here declares the greatness of his afflictions, which made him weary of his life, and could not help complaining; entreats the Lord not to condemn him but show him the reason of his thus dealing with him, Job 10:1; and expostulates with him about it, and suggests as if it was sever…
842 wordsSECTION 116Job 10:2
Job 10:2 Ver. 2. I will say unto God, do not condemn me,.... Not that he feared eternal condemnation; there is none to them that are in Christ, and believe in him as Job did; Christ's undertakings, sufferings, and death, secure his people from the condemnation of law and justice; nor, indeed, are the afflictions of Go…
419 wordsSECTION 117Job 10:3
Job 10:3 Ver. 3. [Is it] good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress?.... This God does not approve of in others; he dehorts men from it; he threatens to punish those that do so, and to be a swift witness against them; he promises to arise to the help of the oppressed, and to be a refuge for them, and therefore will ne…
644 wordsSECTION 118Job 10:4
Job 10:4 Ver. 4. Hast thou eyes of flesh?.... God has eyes, but not fleshly ones; he has eyes of love, grace, and mercy, which are always upon his people for good, and are never withdrawn from them; and he has eyes of displeasure and wrath on sinful men, to destroy them; these are not made of flesh, or like the eyes o…
305 wordsSECTION 119Job 10:5
Job 10:5 Ver. 5. [Are] thy days as the days of man?.... No, they are not: not so few; the days of the years of man's life in common are threescore years and ten, Ps 90:10; but a thousand years with the Lord are but as one day, 2Pe 3:8; his days are days not of time, but of eternity: nor so mutable, or he so mutable in…
365 wordsSECTION 120Job 10:6
Job 10:6 Ver. 6. That thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin?] Narrowly examined every action of his life, to find something amiss in them; and took notice of every weakness and infirmity, and aggravated it, to make it appear as sinful as it could be, and watched every halting and failing, that…
301 wordsSource & rights
Public domain; John Gill (1697–1771). Source item is marked Public Domain on Internet Archive.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.