with me, .whether Strangers, Widows, and Fatherleſs, whom by the Law of Charity and Hoſpitality he entertained: Or hired Servants, who had for a good while their Habitation and Subſiſtence in his Fa- mily. þ Whoby reaſon of their Sex, commonly have and ſhould have mote tender and compaſſionate Hearts than Men, And therefore this is God's doing, who hath hardned their Hearts againſt me. 7 Regard my Commands and Concernsno more than a Stranger. k The lame thing repeated through vchemency of Paſſion, becauſe this lay VETry
heavy upon him, ſervant /, and he gave »e no anſwer ws:
16 I calledmy | though I intreated him » with my mouth 0,
1 To do ſome ſervile Office about me for my caſe or relief.m He paſ- ſed by as if he had been deaf, becauſe he loathed and feared to come near to me. n To ny Commands I added humble and carneft Defires. o Either. r. with gentle and moving Speeches ; Or rather 2. with my own Mouth and not by a Proxy.
17 My breath is ſtrange to my wife p, though I en-
n b. 7) treated for the childrens /«kg of F mine own bedy 9.
24 Þ Who by reaſon of the Stink of my Breath and Sores denicd me her company. q By theſe Pledges of our Mutual and Matrimonial Tyc and afffeRion, the Children which came out of my Loyns, and were begotten by me upon her Body. But divers render the words thus ; and I entreated the children of my own body : i. e. Either ſome of Job's younger Children, who by reaſon of their tender years were kept at home with their Father, when their elder Brethren and Siſters were gone abroad to the Feaſt z or (ome of his Grand-children by thoie grown Sons and Daughters 3 for ſuch alſo oft come under the name of children. But this ſenſe ſeems not ſo proper, partly becauſe accord: ing to that Tranſlation here is mention only of 7ob's entreating them, but not a word of their denying his Requeſt ; «hich is the on-
' ly matter of his preſent Complaint 3 and partly becauſe according to the former Trazſlation, it is a great and juſt Aggravationof his Wifes Unkindneſs, and --exatly anſwers to the foregoing Verſe, where the Servants perverſeneſs is aggravated in the ſame manner, and by part
of the ſame words. Ir: the 78 Yea || young children r deſpiſed me ; I aroſe s, hed, And they ſpake againſt me.
7 Or, Fools; the moſteontemptible Perſons. s To wit, from my Seat, to ſhew my reſpe@ to them, though they were my Inferiors, to ſhew my readineſs to comply with that mean and low Condition into which God had now brou;ht me. Or, 1ftood vp. tor ſo this word ſometimes ſignifies, I did not diſoblige or provoke them by any un- civil and uncomely Carriage towards them, but was very courteous to _—_ . ard yet they make it their buſineſs to rail againſt me, as you alſo do,
19 * All + my inward friends # abhorred me ; and
they whom I loved « are turned againſt me.
PC. 41.9. $$. 13,
a the # Heb. the menof my ſecret z my Intimates and Contidents, to whom n ofmmy 1 impartedali my Thoughts, and Counſcls, and Concerns. u Sincere- ;f, ly and fervently, which they fo ill requite. He ſaith not, they who lo- ved me ; for their ſove, had it been true, would have continued in his &fiition, as well as in his Proſperity.
| 20 * My bone xcleaveth to my «kin y, || and to my
Ch 30-39 geſhz, and I am eſcaped with the skin of my teeth a. my x7, e. My Bones. the Singular colleQively put for the Plural ; as - 4 * Chap. 2. 5. Prov 15. 30» » To wit, immediately. the tat and tleſh 9 ** next tothe Skin being conſumed. The Senſe is, I am worn to Skin
and Bone: Sce the ſame Phraſe Pſal. 102. 5. x Or, as ( the Parti» cle and, bcing often ſo uſed, as hath been oblerved before _) ro my fb : . i, e. either as formerly it clave to my Fleſh: Or as near and as cloſely as it doth to theſe remainders of Fleſh which are left 1n my in- ward parts. @ I ain ſcarce ſound and whole, and fr. e from Sores in any part of my Skin, except thatof my Jaws, which holdeth and co- vereth the roots of my Teeth. This being, as divers obſerve, the De- vils Policy to leave his Mouth untouched, that he might more freely expreſs his Mind, and vent his Blaſph: mies againſt God, which he ſup- poſed ſharp pain would force him to do, and which he knew would be of pernicicus Conſequence not only to Feb, but to others alſo. 21 Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends b, for the hand of God hath touched c me. 6 For ſuch you have been and till pretend tobe ; and therefore fal- fil that relation, and if you will not help me, yet at leaſt pity me. c ;,e. Smitten or afflited me ſorely, as this word is oft uſed y as Chap. 1-14. Pſals 104. 32, 22 Why doye perſecute me as God 4, and are not
ſatisfied wich my fleſh e ? |
4 Either 1. as God doth ; or rather 2, as if you were gods and not Men; as if you had the ſame infinite Knowledge which God hath, whereby yon can ſearch my Heart and know my Hypocrific, and the ſame ſo»e cign and abſolute Authority to ſay and do what you pleaſe with me, without giving any reaſon or account of it, which is indeed the Prerogative of the great God, but it belongs not to you who are Men, and therefore lyable to miſtake and miſ- judging, and ſuch a5 muſt give an account to God of all their words and carriages towards their Brethren, and particularly to- wards Perſons in «fi; tion, and withal ſubje& to the ſame Diſeaſes and Calamities under which I groan; and therefore may need the pity which I expe@ from you. & &. e. With the Conſumption and Torment of my whole Body, b tads toit the Vexation of my Spirit by grie | vous Reproaches and Cenſures ; but are like Wolves or Lions that are + Heb.who not contented with devouring the Fieſh oftheir Prey, but alſo break
their Bones.
8 Co 23 | Oh thatmy words f were now written ; oh that |
B
they were printed in a book !
f Either 1. ' the following and famous Confeſſion of his Faith, Ve 25, Wc, Orrather 2, all his foregoing Diicourſes with his Friends, which he was ſo far from diſowning or being aſhamed of. that he was defirous that all Ages ſhould know, that they might judge between him and them, whoſe Cauſe was bettcr, and whoſe Arguments were ſtronger. |
24 That they were graven with an iron pen g and
leadb, in the rock forever!