the moving of my lips ſbould aſſwage your grief ;. h ie Dire&, and ſupport, and comfort you: 7 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 our of the next Verſe, where they are expreſſed; Poſlibly the words may be thus rendred without any Ellpfes, which is moſt natural, if the Tranſlation be true and ſuitable; Compaſſion ( for the Hebrew word Nia, comes from Nud, which ſignifies to condole) ſhould refrain or govern my lips, that they ſhould avoid all Speeches which may vex 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. 6 Though Iſpeak &, my grief is not aſſwaged: and rhough I forbear, + what am I caſed /? f Heb,
k To God by Prayer, or to you in way of Diſcourſe, I What gue; relief. Job having reproved his Sons los their unkind Ele . has wards him, and aggravated it by his Reſolutions to have dealt more friendlily with them,if they had been in this 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- 1 Or, wha: partor grain of my grief or miſerie departeth from me ? TI receive not one jot of caſe. Neither ſpeech hor ſilence do me any good.
7 But » now he » hath made me weary 0: thou p haft made deſolare all my company q.
m Or, Surely, as this Hebrew Particle moſt commonly ſignifies 2 e God, as appears by the following Words and Verſes. o Either of complaining, or, of my Lift- p He ſpeaks in the ſecond Perſon to God, as in the former Clauſe in the third Perſon of God : Such —_ of Rn are very —_ in Scripture, and elſe-where q Haſt turned my Society into Deſolation, b 7 dren and ann F OTOIIETY On
8 And thou haſt filled me with wrinkles r, which is a witneſs againſt mes: and my leanneſs riſing up in me 7, beareth witneſs to my face «,
r By conſuming all my Fat and Fleſh. 5 Heb- Which 5s a witneſs of the Reality, and Greatneſs, and juſt cauſe of my Sorrows. Or which become or made a witneſs ; i, e. is produced by my Friends aS a Witneſs of God's Wrath, and of my Hypocrifie and Impiety t 1-& Which is ia me- Or, riſmg up againſt me, as Witneſſes uſe to riſe and ſtand up againſt a guilty perſon toaccuſe him « As Wit- neſles are to accuſe a perſon to his fice, openly and evidently, ſo as any that look on my face may plainly diſcern it- Bur this Clauſe may be rendred thus, My leanneſs in my face; (i. e- which appears in my face, and cauſeth the wrinkles which are viſible there) rijech up againſt me, and beareth witneſs, as before
9 * He teareth ze in his wrath x, whe hateth me y; *Chap.no. he gnaſhech upon me with his teeth 2; * mine enemy !5, 1. a ——— his-eyes upon me 6. "Ch.n.
x Heb» His wrath teareth me in pieces, as a Lyon doth his y Heb- And he hateth me; ive. He purſueth- me wk a LOT and rage Or, And he 1 become mine enemy ; Or,he ſets hamſelf againſt me with all his might: Or,He treats me like an implacable enemy- 2 Which is a Geſture, and ſign of extream Anger and Fury ; as Pſal- 35. 16. and 37- 12. Laments 2: 16+ asclſe-where of grievous pain ; as Luke 13- 28- a 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» 6 i» & Looks upon me with a fierce and ſparkling Eye, as enraged perſons uſe to do-
10 Theyc have gaped upon me with their mouth 4, *:m +.» they * have ſmi ” Mich ;
y mitten me upon the cheek reproachfully e, Mich. ;: they have gathered themſelves together againſt me f.
c The Inſtruments of God's Anger, my Friends, as they are ſalſly Called: d Opened their mouths wide againſt me; Either, 1- To de= vour and deſtroy me ; as a Lyon which fallsupon his Prey with 0- pen Mouth ; as this Phraſe is uſed, Pſal- 22+ 13, 14+ And this they did, aggravating and increaſing his Sorrows, whereby he was well- nigh overwhelmed. Or, 2+ To ſcoffand deride me, as it follows,
21: e 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 deſpiſed and derided me- f is e-They arecome from ſeveral places and met to- gether here, nor for me, or to comfort me, as they pretended, but ro rally againſt me, or to torment and grieve me- Heb- they have filled themſelves, $c&- Either 1+ They have filled up their numbers, they are all come ag4inffme' Or 2- They have filled their Minds with evil Opinions of me, and their Hearts with Courage and Re- ſolution to ailaulc me, and their Mouths with Words and Argu- ments againſt me. Compare Eccl- 8. 11+ Affs 5+ 3. ;
it God # hath delivered me to the ungodly g, and ibs" turned me over intothe hands of the wicked. ſhut me 1
g Either 1. To my Friends, who a& the part of the Wicked, in cenſuring and condemning the Righteous whom God approveth, and 1n pleading for a falſe and wicked Cauſe. Or rather 2. Tothe Chaldeans and Sabeans, who were a moſt wicked People, living in groſs contempt of God, and injuriouſneſs to all forts of Men- For this beſt ſuirs borh with the firſt Clauſe of the next Verſe, which ſheweth that he ſpeaketh of Jeb's firſt Afiftions which be- fell him when he was at eaſe ; and with Jo's principal Scope, which was to prove, that both eminent Proſperity and Afition did in- differently happen to good and bad Men; and this was evident from this Example, becauſe holy Job was ruined, when theſe wick- ed people were moſt Viftorious and Succeſsful-
12 Iwas at caſc b, but he hath broken me aſunder i; he hath alſo taken we by my neck, and ſhaken me to pieces k, and * ſer me up for his mark 7.
þ I lived in great Peace and Proſperity, which makes my preſent Miſerics more grievous to me ; andtherefore my Complaints are ex- cuſable, and I deſerve pity rather than reproach from my Friends. : Broken my Spirit with the ſeaſe of his anger, and my Body with loathſom Ulcers,as alſo by deſtroying myChildren, apart of my own Fleſh or Body. kt Asa mighty Man doth with ſome young Strip« ling, when he wreſtleth with him. 7 That he may ſhoot all his
Arrows
*Che7.29
Chap. xv T
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