(8) Upright men shall be astonied.—“As a result of the warning my case would give, upright men would be astonished at it, innocent men would be encouraged, and the righteous would persevere and wax bold.” read more
Job 17:11 Happy is the man, no matter what his lot may be otherwise, who sees some tolerable realization of the design he has set before him in his youth or in his earlier manhood. Many there are who, through no fault of theirs, know nothing but mischance and defeat. Either sudden calamity overturns in tumbling ruins all they had painfully toiled to build, and success for ever afterwards is irrecoverable; or, what is most frequent, each day brings its own special hindrance, in the shape of... read more
XIV."MY WITNESS IN HEAVEN"Job 16:1-22; Job 17:1-16Job SPEAKSIF it were comforting to be told of misery and misfortune, to hear the doom of insolent evildoers described again and again in varying terms, then Job should have been comforted. But his friends had lost sight of their errand, and he had to recall them to it."I have heard many such things: Afflictive comforters are ye all. Shall vain words have an end?"He would have them consider that perpetual harping on one string is but a sober... read more
CHAPTERS 16-17 Job’s Reply to Eliphaz 1. Miserable comforters are ye all (Job 16:1-5 ) 2. Oh God! Thou hast done it! (Job 16:6-14 ) 3. Yet I look to Thee (Job 16:15-22 ) 4. Trouble upon trouble; self-pity (Job 17:1-12 ) 5. Where is now my hope? (Job 17:13-16 ) Job 16:1-5 . How masterfully he meets their wrong accusations and how he brings forth his suffering afresh, yet always with that horrible nightmare, God is not for me, but against me! Such things Eliphaz spoke he had heard... read more
17:8 Upright [men] shall be astonied at {i} this, and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite.(i) That is, when they see the godly punished: but in the end they will come to understanding and know what will be the reward of the hypocrite. read more
17:9 The righteous also shall hold on his {k} way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.(k) That is, will not be discouraged, considering that the godly are punished as well as the wicked. read more
Job has much more to say than his friends had, and we may marvel at the detailed way in which he describes his present condition in contrast to what he had once enjoyed. "My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished, the grave is ready for me" (v.1). Was it true that mockers were with him? They might think they were comforters, but were they not mocking? (v.2). Job considered himself so despised that no one would even shake hands with him, and he thought that God had hidden their heart from... read more
SECOND SERIES OF THE DEBATE 1. With Eliphaz (chaps. 15-17) a. Speech of Eliphaz (chap. 15) b. Reply of Job (chaps. 16-17) 2. With Bildad (chaps. 18-19) a. Speech of Bildad (chap. 18) b. Reply of Job (chap. 19) 3. With Zophar (chaps. 20-21) a. Speech of Zophar (chap. 20) b. Reply of Job (chap. 21) The second series of the debate is in the same order as the first, and with the same question in view. ELIPHAZ AND JOB Eliphaz opens in chapter 15. Job is accused of vehemence and vanity; of... read more
Comforters and Flatterers Job 17:0 In reading through the Book of Job up to this point, how often we forget what may be termed the mental effects of the discipline Job was undergoing. We think of Job as smitten down bodily, yea, as grievously afflicted in his flesh; we think of his losses of children and of property; we see him sitting in the dust, a desolate man; all this is in accord with the simple facts of the occasion: but have we not forgotten that some disaster may have been wrought in... read more
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John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Job 17:1-16
Job’s Fourth Speech (concluded)1-9. Job prays God to pledge Himself to vindicate his innocence in the future, for his friends have failed him, and he rejects their promises of restoration in the present life.1. RV ’My spirit is consumed, my days are extinct, the grave is ready for me.’ The v. is connected with Job 16:22. 2. Job rejects the delusive hopes of restoration held out by the friends.3. RV ’Give now a pledge, be surety for me with thyself; who is there that will strike hands with me?’... read more