PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible — Job
Gill, John, 1697-1771 · 410,186 words · 582 reading sections
Job 33:8
Job 33:8 Ver. 8. Surely thou hast spoken in mine hearing,.... After the above preface, Elihu proceeds to the point in hand, and enters a charge against Job; which he took up, not upon suspicion and surmisings, nor upon report, nor upon accusations received from others, but what he had heard with his own ears, unless h…
98 wordsSECTION 422Job 33:9
Job 33:9 Ver. 9. I am clean without transgression,.... This with what follows is supposed to be gathered from Job 10:6; for this is nowhere said by Job in express words; though I rather think, since Elihu so peremptorily affirms that they were spoken in his hearing, that these words and the following did drop from Job…
844 wordsSECTION 423Job 33:10
Job 33:10 Ver. 10. Behold, he findeth occasions against me,.... That is, sought in order to find them; so Job in some places suggests, that God inquired after his sins, and sought diligently after them, that he might have something to bring against him; and because he could not find great sins, gross enormities, he so…
340 wordsSECTION 424Job 33:11
Job 33:11 Ver. 11. He putteth my feet in the stocks,.... This also he had said, Job 13:27; by which he would suggest not only that his afflictions were painful and disgraceful, and from which he could not extricate himself, being close fettered by them; but that they were inflicted on him as punishments, and he was tr…
168 wordsSECTION 425Job 33:12
Job 33:12 Ver. 12. Behold, [in] this thou art not just,.... Here begins Elihu's answer, who does not deny that Job was a just man, both before God in an evangelic sense, and before men in a moral sense; he did not go about to detract from Job's general character, as a man that lived soberly, righteously, and godly in …
296 wordsSECTION 426Job 33:13
Job 33:13 Ver. 13. Why dost thou strive against him?.... A creature against the Creator, a man against his Maker, the clay against the potter; how absurd and stupid is this! and a piece of weakness and folly it was in him to desire to litigate the point with God, and dispute with him, as he often did, when men cannot …
429 wordsSECTION 427Job 33:14
Job 33:14 Ver. 14. For God speaketh once, yea, twice,.... Or, "but God speaketh" {i}; though he is not bound to give an account of his matters, and the reasons of his proceedings in a way of providence or grace; yet such is his condescension and goodness, that he makes use of various ways and means to make known his m…
6,201 wordsSECTION 428Job 34:1
Job 34:1 INTRODUCTION TO JOB 34 In this chapter Elihu reassumes his discourse, and proceeds in his answer to Job, in which are first a preface exciting attention, Job 34:1; then a charge is brought against Job, expressed in or extracted from some words that dropped from his lips, not so well guarded, Job 34:5; a refu…
238 wordsSECTION 429Job 34:2
Job 34:2 Ver. 2. Hear my words, O ye wise [men],.... This is not an address to Job's three friends, as some think; for Elihu had expressed his displeasure at them, in condemning Job without convicting him, and returning solid answers to him; and therefore he should not take their method of dealing with him, but take a…
293 wordsSECTION 430Job 34:3
Job 34:3 Ver. 3. For the ear trieth words,.... Not only the musical sound of them, the goodness of the language and diction, and the grammatical construction of them, but the sense of them, and whether the matter of them is good or not; that they are sound speech, which cannot be condemned, or unsound; whether they ar…
280 wordsSECTION 431Job 34:4
Job 34:4 Ver. 4. Let us choose to us judgments,.... Take the part of the question or controversy in which truth and justice lie, and he doubtless has respect to the present controversy with Job; let us know among ourselves what [is] good; agree upon that which is best to be done in the present case, what judgment to …
83 wordsSECTION 432Job 34:5
Job 34:5 Ver. 5. For Job hath said, I am righteous,.... Not in express words, but what amounted to it: no doubt he was a righteous man in an evangelic sense, being justified by the righteousness of Christ, as all the Old Testament saints were, who looked to him and believed in him as the Lord their righteousness, and …
321 wordsSECTION 433Job 34:6
Job 34:6 Ver. 6. Should I lie against my right?.... No; I ought not: this though Job had not said in so many words, yet this seems to be his sense in Job 27:4; that should he own and say that he was a wicked man, a hypocrite, and destitute of the grace of God, he should not only speak against himself, but, contrary to…
473 wordsSECTION 434Job 34:7
Job 34:7 Ver. 7. What man [is] like Job,.... This is said as wondering at the part he acted, that a man so wise and good as Job was esteemed to be should behave in such a manner as he did; [who] drinketh up scorning like water? For a foolish and wicked man to do so is not strange nor uncommon; but for a man of such s…
184 wordsSECTION 435Job 34:8
Job 34:8 Ver. 8. Which goeth in company with the workers of iniquity,.... The worst of men, who make it their constant business and employment to commit sin: and walketh with wicked men; the most abandoned of mankind. Not that Job kept company with such, and walked with them in all excess of not; nor did Elihu think …
160 wordsSECTION 436Job 34:9
Job 34:9 Ver. 9. For he hath said,.... Not plainly and expressly, but consequentially; what it was thought might be inferred from what he had said, particularly in Job 9:22; it profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God; in his house and ordinances, ways and worship; he may as well indulge himsel…
252 wordsSECTION 437Job 34:10
Job 34:10 Ver. 10. Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding,.... The same persons he addresses as wise men and men of knowledge, Job 34:2; and here as men of understanding, or "heart" {z}; the heart being the seat of wisdom and knowledge; and such Elihu desired to be his hearers, to attend to what he was abo…
318 wordsSECTION 438Job 34:11
Job 34:11 Ver. 11. For the work of a man will he render unto him,.... The reward of his work, as Ben Gersom interprets it, whether the work of a wicked man or of a good man: and cause every man to find according to [his] ways. Which is a truth frequently inculcated in the Scriptures; and will take place especially at…
337 wordsSECTION 439Job 34:12
Job 34:12 Ver. 12. Yea, surely God will not do wickedly,.... This truth is repeated and affirmed in the strongest manner; or "will not condemn", as the Vulgate Latin version, and so the Targum, that is, he will not condemn the righteous; for, though he may afflict them, which is done that they may not be condemned wit…
188 wordsSECTION 440Job 34:13
Job 34:13 Ver. 13. Who hath given him a charge over the earth?.... Or who hath committed the earth unto him, and made it his care and charge? Is there any above him that has put him into this post and office? Under whose direction and command is he, and to whom is he accountable? None at all; he is no deputy or sub-go…
612 wordsSECTION 441Job 34:14
Job 34:14 Ver. 14. If he set his heart upon man,.... Not his love and affections; though there are some he does in this sense set his heart on, and whose souls at death he gathers to himself, but with this sense the next verse will not agree; but to destroy him, as Jarchi adds by way of explanation; if he gives his mi…
323 wordsSECTION 442Job 34:15
Job 34:15 Ver. 15. All flesh shall perish together,.... Not one by one, or one after another, as they generally do, but all together; as when the flood swept away the world of the ungodly. "All flesh" signifies all men, and their bodies of flesh particularly, which are weak, frail, and mortal; and if God gathers or ta…
175 wordsSECTION 443Job 34:16
Job 34:16 Ver. 16. If now [thou hast] understanding, hear this,.... Not as calling his understanding in question, as if he, had none; for Job was a very understanding man; he had not lost his natural understanding by his afflictions, see Job 6:13; nor was he without an understanding of divine things, as his speeches a…
181 wordsSECTION 444Job 34:17
Job 34:17 Ver. 17. Shall even he that hateth right govern?.... That hates moral and civil justice; is such an one fit to rule among men or over them? No, surely; for to love righteousness and do it is a qualification of a civil governor; it is his business to administer justice; and if an hater of it, he can never be …
395 wordsSECTION 445Job 34:18
Job 34:18 Ver. 18. [Is it fit] to say to a king, [thou art] wicked?.... Not even to a bad king; for though he may be reproved for his sins, yet not by any or everyone, but by a fit and proper person: and generally speaking, if not always, the Scriptural instances of reproving such kings are of men that were prophets, …
325 wordsSECTION 446Job 34:19
Job 34:19 Ver. 19. [How much less to him] that accepteth not the persons of princes,.... And indeed God is not the respecter of the persons of any, no, not of the greatest men on earth, kings and princes, Ac 10:34; these are alike dealt with by him as others in the dispensations of his providence; nor do they escape t…
149 wordsSECTION 447Job 34:20
Job 34:20 Ver. 20. In a moment shall they die,.... Princes as well as the common people, rich men as well as poor; all must and do die, great and small, high and low, kings and peasants, rich and poor men, and sometimes suddenly; are struck dead at once, and without any previous notice, that night, that hour, that mom…
5,673 wordsSECTION 448Job 35:1
Job 35:1 INTRODUCTION TO JOB 35 Is this chapter Elihu goes on to charge Job with other unbecoming speeches, which he undertakes to refute; as that he had represented his cause more just than God's, and religion and righteousness as things unprofitable to men, only to God; to which Elihu takes upon him to make answer,…
213 wordsSECTION 449Job 35:2
Job 35:2 Ver. 2. Thinkest thou this to be right,.... Elihu appeals to Job himself, to his conscience and reason; who as a natural man, guided by the light of nature and reason only, and judging according to the dictates of a natural conscience, and especially as a good man, one that feared God, and had so much knowled…
657 wordsSECTION 450Job 35:3
Job 35:3 Ver. 3. For thou saidst, what advantage will it be unto thee?.... Meaning that his righteousness, his holy life and conversation, were of no avail to him: he received no more benefit by being righteous than if he was wicked, since God destroyed one as well as another; and since his righteousness did not secur…
702 wordsSECTION 451Job 35:4
Job 35:4 Ver. 4. I will answer thee, and thy companions with thee. Meaning not his three friends, as the Septuagint version expresses it; for they were not on the side of Job, and of the same sentiment with him, but rather on the side of Elihu; especially Eliphaz, who expresses much the same sentiment he does, Job 22:…
109 wordsSECTION 452Job 35:5
Job 35:5 Ver. 5. Look unto the heavens, and see,.... The firmament of heaven, in which are the sun and moon and stars: and behold the clouds [which] are higher than thou; the clouds of the air or sky, which are lower than the starry heavens, yet these were higher than Job, and much more the starry heavens: but becaus…
271 wordsSECTION 453Job 35:6
Job 35:6 Ver. 6. If thou sinnest, what dost thou against him?.... Sin is expressly said to be against God, Ps 51:4; it is contrary to his nature, as any opposites can be to each other: it is against his law, a breach and violation of it; and so against his supreme legislative power and authority, and a contempt of it;…
446 wordsSECTION 454Job 35:7
Job 35:7 Ver. 7. If thou be righteous, what givest thou him?.... All righteousness is of God that any creatures have. What the angels in heaven have, or Adam had in a state of innocence; or what believers in Christ have in and from him; his righteousness imputed to them is of God; the grace of righteousness, or holine…
290 wordsSECTION 455Job 35:8
Job 35:8 Ver. 8. Thy wickedness [may hurt] a man as thou [art],.... But not God: a man may hurt himself by his wickedness; his body, by bringing various diseases upon it, through debauchery and intemperance; his family and estate, by wasting it; his soul, for every sin is a wrong and injury to a man's soul, and expose…
268 wordsSECTION 456Job 35:9
Job 35:9 Ver. 9. By reason of the multitude of oppressions, they make [the oppressed] to cry,.... Which is either an illustration by an instance of what is before said, that wickedness hurts men, as particularly oppression does, which makes then cry; or this refers to something new, to another complaint of Job, or an …
362 wordsSECTION 457Job 35:10
Job 35:10 Ver. 10. But none saith, where [is] God my Maker?.... Or "Makers" {y}, as in Ps 149:2; for there are more concerned in the formation of man, Ge 1:26; even the Father, Son, and Spirit, who are the one God that has made all men, Mal 2:10. Now not one of the oppressed ones that cry by reason of their oppression…
492 wordsSECTION 458Job 35:11
Job 35:11 Ver. 11. Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth?.... Who are taught and know much, especially some of them; but not so much as man, see Isa 1:3; and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven? who are wise to provide food and nests for themselves and their young; and such as are birds of passage, a…
361 wordsSECTION 459Job 35:12
Job 35:12 Ver. 12. There they cry,.... As brutes do, and as in, Job 35:9; by reason of their oppressions, but not under a due sense of the hand of God upon them, nor of his being their only helper, and saviour, and deliverer; but none giveth answer; to them, either God or men, and they lie groaning and howling under …
214 wordsSECTION 460Job 35:13
Job 35:13 Ver. 13. Surely God will not hear vanity,.... Or "a lie" {z}, than which nothing is more an abomination to him; if men come to him with a lie in their mouths, they cannot expect to be heard by him; he is only nigh to those who call upon him in truth: or that which is "rash" {a}; which is rashly uttered, and …
519 wordsSECTION 461Job 35:14
Job 35:14 Ver. 14. Although thou sayest thou shall not see him,.... Which is another expression of Job's taken notice of by Elihu, and to which he makes answer; he seems to refer to Job 23:3. God is indeed invisible in his nature and essence, but is to be seen in his works of creation and providence; which Job was acq…
545 wordsSECTION 462Job 35:15
Job 35:15 Ver. 15. But now, because [it is] not [so],.... Because there was not such trust, hope, patience, and quiet expectation in Job that God would appear for him, and do him, justice openly and publicly; for though he had hope and confidence of an interest in his living Redeemer and Saviour, and of eternal life a…
469 wordsSECTION 463Job 35:16
Job 35:16 Ver. 16. Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain,.... In uttering such unbecoming expressions, observed, and refuted, in his loud complaints of God, and of his dealings with him, and in defence of himself;he multiplieth words without knowledge; both against God and in answer to others; being in a great mea…
135 wordsSECTION 464Job 36:1
Job 36:1 INTRODUCTION TO JOB 36 This chapter, with the following, contains Elihu's fourth and last discourse, the principal view of which is to vindicate the righteousness of God; which is done by observing the dealings of God with men in his providence, according to their different characters, and from the wonderful…
256 wordsSECTION 465Job 36:2
Job 36:2 Ver. 2. Suffer me a little,.... Bear with me a little longer, and allow me to say a few words more. I have but little more to say, and it will take but a little time to say it in; thus, proposing brevity, he hoped to be heard with patience, since he should not long trespass upon it. The word used has the sign…
502 wordsSECTION 466Job 36:3
Job 36:3 Ver. 3. I will fetch my knowledge from afar,.... Not from himself; for it is but a small share of knowledge that a man gets of himself, or attains to by the light of nature, and especially concerning God and divine things; but from others, either from persons that lived in former ages, and in foreign countrie…
360 wordsSECTION 467Job 36:4
Job 36:4 Ver. 4. For truly my words [shall] not [be] false,.... But strictly true; he would take the utmost care to say nothing but the truth, with the greatest impartiality and sincerity, so that what was said might be depended upon; truth spoken briefly, clearly, and on so important a subject as the righteousness of…
408 wordsSECTION 468Job 36:5
Job 36:5 Ver. 5. Behold, God [is] mighty,.... This is a clear plain truth, easy to be discerned, and worthy of notice, and therefore introduced with a "behold"; that God is mighty, the most mighty, the Almighty, as appears from his works of nature and providence; making all things out of nothing, upholding them by the…
445 wordsSECTION 469Job 36:6
Job 36:6 Ver. 6. He preserveth not the life of the wicked,.... He makes a difference between wicked and righteous men, which shows him to be a holy and righteous God; though he preserves the life of all men so long as they live, yet not in the same way; he preserves the lives of wicked men in the common course of his …
221 wordsSECTION 470Job 36:7
Job 36:7 Ver. 7. He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous,.... His eyes of providence are upon them to supply their temporal wants, and to protect and defend them from their enemies, and they are never off of them; his eyes of love, grace, and mercy, are upon them; he always viewed them as righteous in his Son, …
499 wordsSECTION 471Job 36:8
Job 36:8 Ver. 8. And if [they be] bound in fetters,.... Not the wicked, as the Targum, but the righteous spoken of in Job 36:7, with which this is closely connected; and this is not to be understood of righteous kings on the throne in particular, or their special favourites, but of the righteous in general; and not in…
549 wordsSECTION 472Job 36:9
Job 36:9 Ver. 9. Then he showeth them their work,.... Either what they ought to do, so the Tigurine version; and which they have not done, their sins of omission; when they have been negligent either of the duty of prayer in private and public, or of attendance on the ordinances of the house of God; then he sends an a…
542 wordsSECTION 473Job 36:10
Job 36:10 Ver. 10. He openeth also their ear to discipline,.... Or "to correction" {o}; to the rod of correction; to hear the voice of it and him that has appointed it; its reproving voice for sin, its directing voice to duty, and its commanding voice to return from iniquity, as in the next clause. Or "to instruction"…
368 wordsSECTION 474Job 36:11
Job 36:11 Ver. 11. If they obey and serve [him],.... That is, God, to whom so many things are ascribed in the preceding verses; and who only is to be obeyed and served in a religious way, with the obedience of faith and love, in all his commands and ordinances. But here not so much obedience to his word, his law or Go…
379 wordsSECTION 475Job 36:12
Job 36:12 Ver. 12. But if they obey not,.... Who seem to be righteous and are not; and when afflicted are not submissive to the will of God; attend not to the voice of his providence; receive no instruction thereby; but kick against the pricks, and rebel, against God; complain of him, and murmur at his dealings with t…
217 wordsSECTION 476Job 36:13
Job 36:13 Ver. 13. But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath,.... Or "and the hypocrites" {s}; for these are the same with the disobedient in Job 36:12; who seem to be righteous, but are not; pretend to what they have not; have a double heart, Ps 12:2, or say one thing with their mouth, and mean another thing in their…
317 wordsSECTION 477Job 36:14
Job 36:14 Ver. 14. They die in youth,.... They, or "their soul" {u}; which, though that dies not, being immaterial and immortal; yet being the principal part of man, is put for the whole person, and which being taken away, the body dies. All men must die, but all do not die at an age; there is a common term of human l…
7,921 wordsSECTION 478Job 37:1
Job 37:1 INTRODUCTION TO JOB 37 Elihu in this chapter proceeds to show the greatness of God as it appears in other of his works of nature, which greatly affected him, and to an attention to which he exhorts others, Job 37:1; particularly thunder and lightning, the direction, extent, and order of which he observes, Jo…
652 wordsSECTION 479Job 37:2
Job 37:2 Ver. 2. Hear attentively the noise of his voice,.... Of the voice of God in the clouds; and of thunder, which is his voice, Job 40:9. Elihu being affected with it himself, exhorts the company about him to hearken and listen to it, and learn something from it; and the sound [that] goeth out of his mouth: as t…
184 wordsSECTION 480Job 37:3
Job 37:3 Ver. 3. He directeth it under the whole heaven,.... His voice of thunder, which rolls from one end of the heaven to the other: he charges the clouds with it, and directs both it and them where they shall go and discharge; what tree, house, or man, it shall strike; and where the rain shall fall when the clouds…
287 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.