Job 21

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 21:12

They take the timbrel and harp - ישאו yisu , they rise up or lift themselves up, probably alluding to the rural exercise of dancing. תף toph , which we translate timbrel, means a sort of drum, such as the tom-tom of the Asiatics. כנור kinnor may mean something of the harp kind. עוגב ugab , organ, means nothing like the instrument now called the organ, though thus translated both by the Septuagint and Vulgate; it probably means the syrinx, composed of several unequal pipes,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 21:13

They spend their days in wealth - There is a various reading here of some importance. In the text we have יבלו yeballu , they grow old, or wear out as with old age, terent vetustate; and in the margin, יכלו yechallu , they consume; and the Masora states that this is one of the eleven words which are written with ב beth and must be read with כ caph . Several editions have the former word in the text, and the latter in the margin; the former being what is called the kethib, the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 21:14

They say unto God - This is the language of their conduct, though not directly of their lips. Depart from us - Let us alone; we do not trouble thee. Thy ways are painful; we do not like cross-bearing. Thy ways are spiritual; we wish to live after the flesh. We have learned to do our own will; we do not wish to study thine. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 21:15

What is the Almighty - What allegiance do we owe to him? We feel no obligation to obey him; and what profit can we derive from prayer? We are as happy as flesh and blood can make us: our kingdom is of this world; we wish for no other portion than that which we have. Those who have never prayed as they ought know nothing of the benefits of prayer. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 21:16

Their good is not in their hand - With all their boasting and self-dependence, God only lends them his bounty; and though it appears to be their own, yet it is at his disposal. Some of the wicked he permits to live and die in affluence, provided it be acquired in the ordinary way of his providence, by trade, commerce, etc. Others he permits to possess it for a while only, and then strips them of their illegally procured property. The counsel of the wicked is far from me - Some understand... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 21:17

How oft is the candle of the wicked put out? - The candle or lamp is often used, both as the emblem of prosperity and of posterity. Oftentimes the rejoicing of the wicked is short; and, not unfrequently, his seed is cut off from the earth. The root is dried up, and the branch is withered. God distributeth sorrows in his anger - He must be incensed against those who refuse to know, serve, and pray unto him. In his anger, therefore, he portions out to each his due share of misery,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 21:18

They are as stubble before the wind - " His fan is in his hand; he will thoroughly cleanse his floor, and the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, but shall be like the chaff which the wind driveth away." Were not this a common thought, I should have supposed that the author of this book borrowed it from Psalm 1:4 . The original signifies that they shall be carried away by a furious storm; and borne off as booty is by the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 21:19

God layeth up his iniquity for his children - This is according to the declaration of God, Exodus 20:5 ; : "Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me." This always supposes that the children, who are thus visited, have copied their parents' example; or that ill-gotten property is found in their hands, which has descended to them from their wicked fathers; and of this God, in his judgments, strips them. It is, however,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 21:20

His eyes shall see his destruction - He shall perceive its approach, and have the double punishment of fearing and feeling; feeling a Thousand deaths in fearing One. He shall drink of the wrath - The cup of God's wrath, the cup of trembling, etc., is frequently expressed or referred to in the sacred writings, Deuteronomy 32:33 ; Isaiah 51:17-22 ; Jeremiah 25:15 ; Revelation 14:8 . It appears to be a metaphor taken from those cups of poison which certain criminals were obliged to... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 21:21

For what pleasure hath he in his house after him - What may happen to his posterity he neither knows nor cares for, as he is now numbered with the dead, and numbered with them before he had lived out half his years. Some have translated the verse thus: "Behold how speedily God destroys the house of the wicked after him! How he shortens the number of his months!" read more

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