Job 25:1-6, Job 26:1-14 ESV

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 25:4

How then can man be justified? - Or, ונה umah , With what, shall a man be justified with God? Though this is no conclusion from Bildad's premises, yet the question is of the highest importance to man. Neither Bildad nor any of his fellows could answer it; the doctrine of redemption through the blood of the cross was then known only through types and shadows. We who live in the Gospel dispensation, can readily answer the question, With what shall miserable man ( אנוש enosh ) be... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 25:5

Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not - It is continually changing its appearance. It never appears twice in its whole revolution with the same face: it is ever waxing or waning; and its face is variegated with opaque spots. Its changeableness can never be compared with the unchangeable nature of God. Yea, the stars are not pure in his sight - Whatever their excellence may be as stars, it is nothing in comparison with him from whom they have derived their being and splendor. See... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 25:6

How much less man, that is a worm? - Or as the Targum - "How much more man, who in his life is a reptile; and the son of man, who in his death is a worm." Almost all the versions read, "Truly man is corruption, and the son of man a worm." The original is degradingly expressive: "Even because אנוש enosh , miserable man, is רמה rimmah , a crawling worm; and the son of Adam, who is תולעה toleah , a worm, or rather maggot, from its eating into and dividing certain substances." -... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 25:1-2

Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, Dominion and fear are with him ( i.e. with God). God is the absolute Sovereign of the universe, to whom, therefore, all created beings must perforce submit themselves. He is also terrible in his might, so that for their own sakes men should submit to his decrees. Through his active sovereignty, and the fear which he inspires, he maketh peace in his high places . The meaning may be that, through these high attributes, God maintains peace among... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 25:1-6

Far from accepting Job's challenge, and grappling with the difficulty involved in the frequent, if not universal, prosperity of the wicked. Bildad, in his weak reply, entirely avoids the subject, and limits himself to briefly touching two old and well-worn topics—the might of God (verses 2, 3) and the universal sinfulness of men. On neither of these two points does he throw any fresh light. He avoids, however, the reckless charges of Eliphaz ( Job 22:5-9 ) as well as the coarse menaces... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 25:2

Peace in high places. Bildad tries to overawe Job by presenting what is indeed a true idea of God, although, if he had known the patriarch, he would have seen that there was nothing in it that was likely to be accepted as a specific rebuke. Job had maintained his innocence, and had cried out for God to vindicate it: "Oh that I knew where I might find him!" Bildad replies that God is a great Ruler in the heavenly heights, maintaining peace among his angelic armies; how can man be justified... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 25:3

Is there any number of his armies? (comp. Psalms 68:17 , "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels;" and Daniel 7:10 , "Thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him;" see also 2 Kings 6:16 , 2 Kings 6:17 ; Matthew 26:53 ; Hebrews 12:22 ; Revelation 9:16 ). The number of the angels at any given time must be a definite one. But as there is nothing to limit the further exercise of creative power in this... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 25:3

The innumerable armies of God. I. THEIR VAST NUMBERS . We can see no limit to the physical universe. The starry hemisphere dazzles us with its multitudinous splendour, but the telescope greatly increases our idea of its vastness, resolving fleecy mist into galaxies of worlds, and discovering distant suns invisible to the naked eye; and photography carries the process much further, and peoples the interstellar spaces of the telescope with hosts of still more remote stars. It is not... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 25:4

How then can man be justified with God? If God's creatures have no brightness of their own, and, when they shine, shine only with a reflected radiance, then certainly can no man be justified by his own merits. "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" ( Romans 3:23 ). Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman! (comp. Job 14:4 , "Who shall bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one;" and the comment ad loc. ) . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 25:4

Condemnation. If, in the course of Job's replies to his friends, he has sought to exculpate himself from all blame, and to aver his righteousness in the sight of God, he is now answered by a brief speech of his friend, "How can man be justified in the sight of God?" True, Job holdeth fast his integrity; true, he may be free from the accusations brought against him by his friends, who are unable in any other way to explain his suffering lot; yet, although he is so far clear, he shares the... read more

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 25:4

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 25:5

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 25:6

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 25:1-2

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 25:1-6

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 25:2

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 25:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 25:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 25:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 25:4

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