Job 20:4-22:2

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 20:4

Knowest thou not this of old ,.... Or "from eternity" F7 מני עד "ab aeterno", Junius & Tremellius, Drusius, Codurcus, Schmidt, Michaelis. , from the beginning of time, ever since the world was; as if he should say, if you are the knowing man you pretend to be, you must know this I am about to observe; and if you do not know it, you must be an ignorant man, since it is an ancient truth, confirmed by all experience from the creation; not that Job could know it so early, he was... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 20:4

Knowest thou not this of old - This is a maxim as ancient as the world; it began with the first man: A wicked man shall triumph but a short time; God will destroy the proud doer. Since man was placed upon earth - Literally, since Adam was placed on the earth; that is, since the fall, wickedness and hypocrisy have existed; but they have never triumphed long. Thou hast lately been expressing confidence in reference to a general judgment; but such is thy character, that thou hast little... 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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 20:4

Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth? These words scarcely "imply cognizance of the record (of the creation of man) in Genesis," as Canon Cook suggests; but they do imply belief in a creation of man, not an evolution; and in the existence of a continuous tradition, extending from that time to Job's. The passage is among those which make for the high antiquity of the book. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 20:4

Knowest thou not this of old - That is, dost thou not know that this has always happened from the beginning of the world, or that this is the invariable course of events. His purpose is to show that it was the settled arrangement of Providence that the wicked would be overtaken with signal calamity. It was “so” settled that Job ought not to be surprised that it had occurred in “his” case. Zophar goes on to show that though a wicked man might rise high in honor, and obtain great wealth, yet that... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Job 20:4-5

Job 20:4-5. Knowest thou not this Which I am now about to say; of old From the experience of all former ages; since man was placed upon the earth Since the world was made, and there were any men to observe God’s government of it; that the triumphing of the wicked is short Hebrew, מקרוב , mikarob, is from near, that is, from, or for a little time; they have not long enjoyed it, and it will shortly vanish. And the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment This he adds by way of... 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

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