Job 20:1-21:14

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 20:1-9

Here, I. Zophar begins very passionately, and seems to be in a great heat at what Job had said. Being resolved to condemn Job for a bad man, he was much displeased that he talked so like a good man, and, as it should seem, broke in upon him, and began abruptly (Job 20:2): Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer. He takes no notice of what Job had said to move their pity, or to evidence his own integrity, but fastens upon the reproof he gave them in the close of his discourse, counts that a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 20:1

Then answered Zophar the Naamathite ,.... Notwithstanding the sad distressed condition Job was in, an account of which is given in the preceding chapter, enough to pierce a heart of stone, notwithstanding his earnest request to his friends to have pity on him, and notwithstanding the noble confession of his faith he had made, which showed him to be a good man, and the excellent advice he gave his friends to cease persecuting him, for their own good, as well as for his peace; yet, regardless... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 20:1-2

Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer . Zophar "has heard the check of his reproach" ( Job 20:3 ), i.e. the reproach contained in the last words of Job in the preceding chapter. Therefore his thoughts rise up within him, and com-psi him to make a reply. He cannot allow Job to shift the onus of guilt and the menace of punishment on his friends, when it is he, Job, that is the guilty person, over whom the judgments of God impend. And... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 20:1-29

Zophar's second speech is even more harsh than his first ( Job 11:1-20 .). He adds coarseness and rudeness to his former vehement hostility ( Job 20:7 , Job 20:15 ). His whole discourse is a covert denunciation of Job as a wicked man and a hypocrite (verses 5, 12, 19, 29), deservedly punished by God for a life of crime. He ends by prophesying Job's violent death, the destruction of his house, and the rising up of heaven and earth in witness against him (verses 24-28). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 20:1-29

Zophar to Job: an orthodox champion to the rescue. I. AN IMPETUOUS ORATOR PERTURBED . Threatened with Divine vengeance, Zophar advances to the combat in hopes of utterly confounding his antagonist. His appearance, manner, and address are characterized by: 1 . Bold defiance. "Therefore," i.e. in view of what you have just spoken; nay, "nevertheless," i.e. in spite of all your grandiloquent talk about a sword. Zophar had been unmoved, equally by Job's pathetic wail depicting... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 20:1-29

Godless prosperity short-lived. Here we have a new variation on the favourite theme of the friends—the inconstancy of godless prosperity. "The jubilation of the wicked is but of short duration, and the joy of the profligate but a moment." The wicked man is specially here described as a rich man, who greedily snatches at others' property, and whose ill-gotten gains become a deadly consuming fire to him and all his. It is related to Eliphaz's speech ( Job 15:1-35 .) as the superlative to the... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Job 20:1

Job 20:1. Then answered Zophar Here Zophar, although he had nothing new to advance, hastily interrupts Job, being extremely provoked by his threatening them with the judgments of God, and in his speech appears to be hurried by his passion beyond all bounds. He tells him it is in vain to tax their suspicions with unkindness; for it was of public notoriety, agreeable to the universal experience of mankind, ever since the creation, that suffering was the portion of the wicked. He then, under... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Job 20:1-29

Zophar speaks (20:1-29)On hearing Job’s bold forecast of punishment on his accusers (see 19:28-29), Zophar can hardly control his temper. Not only does he feel insulted, but he is burning with inward rage (20:1-3). His hasty reply is intended to hurt Job by reminding him that the wicked person’s happiness and success are shortlived (4-7). The wealth he unjustly gained will not save him, and his early death will be a fitting punishment (8-11).The wicked feed on sin, keeping it in their mouths as... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Job 20:1

answered = spake again. See note on Job 4:1 . Zophar. See note on Job 2:11 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Job 20:1

JOB 20ZOPHAR'S SECOND SPEECH:ZOPHAR'S MISLEADING; UNTRUTHFUL; INSULTING SPEECHWe reject the viewpoint of commentators who speak of Zophar's "eloquent" sermon on the fate of the wicked. No speech is either honest or truthful that is designed to destroy a true servant of God; and, in our evaluation of Zophar's crude and insulting speech, we must take into account his purpose, namely, that of forcing an innocent man to repent of sins he had not committed.Yes, Zophar in this speech described the... read more

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