For thou hast hid their heart - This address is to God; and here he is represented as doing that which in the course of his providence he only permits to be done. Shalt thou not exalt them - This was exactly fulfilled: not one of Job's friends was exalted; on the contrary, God condemned the whole; and they were not received into the Divine favor till Job sacrificed, and made intercession for them. read more
He that speaketh flattery - There is a great variety of meaning given to the terms in this verse. The general sense is, The man who expects much from his friends will be disappointed: while depending on them his children's eyes may fail in looking for bread. read more
He hath made me also a by-word - My afflictions and calamities have become a subject of general conversation, so that my poverty and affliction are proverbial. As poor as Job, As afflicted as Job, are proverbs that have even reached our times and are still in use. Aforetime I was as a tabret - This is not the translation of the Hebrew אהיה לפנים ותפת vethopheth lephanim eheyeh . Instead of לפנים lephanim , I would read לפניהם liphneghem , and then the clause might be... read more
Mine eye also is dim - Continual weeping impairs the sight; and indeed any affliction that debilitates the frame generally weakens the sight in the same proportion. All my members are as a shadow - Nothing is left but skin and bone. I am but the shadow of my former self. read more
My breath is corrupt ; or, my spirit is oppressed. But the physical meaning is the more probable one. A fetid breath is one of the surest signs of approaching dissolution. My days are extinct ; or, cut off . The verb used does not occur elsewhere. The graves are ready for me ; or, the chambers of the grave are mine already. The plural form is best explained by regarding it as referring to the niches commonly cut in a sepulchral chamber to receive the bodies of the departed. read more
The general character of this chapter has been considered in the introductory section to Job 16:1-22 . It is occupied mainly with Job's complaints of his treatment by his friends, and his lamentations over his sufferings (verses 1-12). At the end he appeals to the grave, as the only hope or comfort left to him (verses 13-16). read more
Job to God: 3. The requiem of a dying man. I. ANTICIPATING HIS IMMEDIATE DISSOLUTION . With three pathetic sighs the patriarch bemoans his dying condition. 1 . The total collapse of his vital powers. Indicated by the shortness and offensiveness of his breath, announcing the approach of suffocation and decay. "My breath is corrupt." And to this at last must all come. The most vigorous physical health, as well as the feeblest, contains within it germs of putridity. Essentially,... read more
The just holds on his way. "The pencil of the Holy Ghost hath laboured more in describing the afflictions of Job than the felicities of Solomon," says Lord Bacon. "Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes, and adversity is not without comfort and hopes. We see in needleworks and embroideries it is more pleasing to have a lively work upon a sad and solemn ground than to have a dark and melancholy work upon a lightsome ground; judge, therefore, of the pleasure of the heart by the... read more
Are there not mockers with me? literally, mockeries—the abstract for the concrete. (For the sentiment, comp. Job 16:20 and Job 30:1-14 .) And doth not mine eye continue in their provocation? i.e. "Have I anything else to look upon? Are not the mockers always about me, always provoking me?" read more
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Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 17:3
Lay down now - Deposit a pledge; stake your conduct against mine, and your life and soul on the issue; let the cause come before God, let him try it; and see whether any of you shall be justified by him, while I am condemned. read more