Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? rather, Is it for thy fear of him that he reproveth thee? Surely not. If he reproves thee, it must be because thou fearest him not. The fact of thy reproof is sure evidence of the fact of thy guilt. Will he enter with thee into judgment? rather, that he entereth with thee into judgment (see the Revised Version). read more
Is not thy wickedness great? Judging from the greatness of Job's punishment, Eliphaz concludes, logically from his premisses, that his wickedness must be commensurate. He must have been guilty of almost every form of ill-doing. And thine iniquities infinite? literally, and is there not no end to thine iniquities? These general conclusions seem to Eliphaz to justify him in proceeding to the enumeration of details. read more
Eliphaz to Job: 2. A false accusation. I. A CHARGE OF FLAGRANT IMMORALITY . 1 . Generally preferred. (Verse 5.) All sin may be justly characterized as great, being committed against a great God, a great Law, great light, great love, great obligations, and great penalties; and every man's iniquities may be styled "without an end," i.e. numberless, since David says of his, "They are more than the hairs of mine head" ( Psalms 40:12 ); but Eliphaz designs to represent Job's... read more
For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought ; i.e. thou hast lent to thy brother on pledge, without reasonable cause, when thou weft rich enough to need no security (comp. Nehemiah 5:2-11 ). And stripped the naked of their clothing. When thy brother, on borrowing from thee, pledged his raiment, thou didst retain it, and so didst leave him to shiver all night without covering (see Exodus 22:26 , Exodus 22:27 ). We may, perhaps, gather from this that the Mosaic Law on... read more
Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink . To give water to the thirsty was regarded in the East as one of the most elementary duties of man to man. The self-justification of the dead in the Egyptian Hades contained the following passage: "I gave my bread to the hungry, and drink to him that was athirst ; I clothed the naked with garments; I sheltered the wanderer" ('Ritual of the Dead,' ch. CXXV . § 38). The same claim appears continually on Egyptian tombs. "All men respected... read more
Help for the needy. I. THIS IS NATURAL . God has made us mutually dependent on one another. In social order there is an interchange of service, and the general life of the community is simply maintained by people helping one another. The cases of extreme distress are those in which the reciprocity breaks down because the hungry and helpless can make no return for what they receive. Still they are part of the body, and if "one member suffer, all the members suffer with it" ( 1... read more
But as for the mighty man, he had the earth ; literally, as for the man of arm ; i.e. the man strong of arm. Job's retainers are probably meant, whom Eliphaz supposes to have been allowed by Job to oppress the poor, and have their own way in the world. This charge was doubtless as baseless as the others (comp. Job 29:16 , Job 29:17 ). And the honourable man dwelt in it; of the accepted man— "the favoured man," i.e. those of whom Job approved and whom he favoured. read more
Thou hast sent widows away empty . Job, on the contrary, declares that he "caused the widow s heart to sing for joy" ( Job 29:13 ). The sin of oppressing widows was one of which Job deeply felt the heinousness. He is certainly a priori not likely to have committed it ( Job 1:1 ; Job 4:3 , Job 4:4 ), and the prejudiced testimony of Eliphaz will scarcely convince any dispassionate person to the contrary. And the arms of the fatherless have been broken ; i.e. the strength of the... read more
Therefore snares are round about thee . As Bildad had threatened ( Job 18:8-10 ), and as Job himself had acknowledged ( Job 19:6 ). And sudden fear troubleth thee (comp. Job 3:25 ; Job 7:14 ; Job 13:21 , etc.). read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Job 22:3
Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? As "our goodness extendeth not to God," and as his all-perfect happiness knows neither increase nor diminution, we cannot he said to advantage him by our goodness. Still "good works, which are the fruits of faith, and follow after justification, are pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ;" and God himself condescends to say that he "takes pleasure in his people," "in them that fear him" ( Psalms 147:11 ; Psalms 149:4 ). ... read more