suddenly = at once. cursed = noted, stigmatized, or pointed out. Hebrew. nakab: i.e. "declared [the fate of) his habitation. "Supply Figure of speech Ellipsis ( App-6 ) by adding "saying", and mark verses: Job 5:4 , Job 5:5 as being what he said. See translation, below. read more
Job 5:3. I have seen the foolish, &c.— I saw the profligate taking root, but I marked him out for sudden destruction. This is the same thought as in Psa 37:35-36 and drawn out at length in Psalms 73:0. See Heath and Schultens. read more
Job 5:4. In the gate— In the tempest. See ch. Job 9:17 and Parkhurst on the word שׁער shangar, 9. read more
Job 5:5. Whose harvest, &c.— Heath renders this verse thus: Whose harvest the hunger-starved shall devour, and shall take it even from among the thorn-fences; and the thirsty shall swallow down their substance. In which last clause, the author means to express the suddenness of their destruction; as quick as a thirsty man swallows liquor at a gulp: and with this the Vulgate and Syriac versions agree. Houbigant renders the verse, Moreover, the hungry hath devoured their harvest; armed men... read more
3. the foolish—the wicked. I have seen the sinner spread his "root" wide in prosperity, yet circumstances "suddenly" occurred which gave occasion for his once prosperous dwelling being "cursed" as desolate (Psalms 37:35; Psalms 37:36; Jeremiah 17:8). read more
4. His children . . . crushed in the gate—A judicial formula. The gate was the place of judgment and of other public proceedings (Psalms 127:5; Proverbs 22:22; Genesis 23:10; Deuteronomy 21:19). Such propylæa have been found in the Assyrian remains. Eliphaz obliquely alludes to the calamity which cut off Job's children. read more
5. even out of the thorns—Even when part of the grain remains hanging on the thorn bushes (or, "is growing among thorns," :-), the hungry gleaner does not grudge the trouble of even taking it away, so clean swept away is the harvest of the wicked. the robber—as the Sabeans, who robbed Job. Rather, translate "the thirsty," as the antithesis in the parallelism, "the hungry," proves. read more
Eliphaz’s counsel to Job 5:1-16Job’s friend did not deny that the wicked fool (cf. Psalms 14:1) prospers temporarily (Job 5:3), but he believed that before a person dies, God will punish him for his sins. Jesus disagreed (Luke 13:4). The well-known comparison in Job 5:7 is true to an extent, but Eliphaz was again wrong in connecting this truth with the reason for Job’s suffering. People certainly do experience trouble in life as surely as sparks ascend from an open fire. [Note: For a synthesis... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Job 5:1-27
Eliphaz speaks (4:1-5:27)The first of the three friends to speak is Eliphaz, who is probably the oldest of the three. He is also the least severe in the accusations brought against Job (4:1-2). He begins by noting that in the past Job comforted others in their troubles, but now that he has troubles himself, his faith has failed. If Job truly honoured God and was upright in his ways, there would be no need for this despondency (3-6). The person who is innocent, argues Eliphaz, need not fear... read more