Job 29:13

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 29:7-17

We have here Job in a post of honour and power. Though he had comfort enough in his own house, yet he did not confine himself to that. We are not born for ourselves, but for the public. When any business was to be done in the gate, the place of judgment, Job went out to it through the city (Job 29:7), not in an affectation of pomp, but in an affection to justice. Observe, Judgment was administered in the gate, in the street, in the places of concourse, to which every man might have a free... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 29:13

The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me ,.... That were ready to perish through the oppression of others, or through want of the necessaries of life, or through false charges brought, and through false witness bore against them, and so liable to a sentence of condemnation to death, or having it passed upon them; but Job taking their part, and searching thoroughly into their cause, not only respited them from destruction, but cleared them from the charges laid against them,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 29:1-25

From these deep musings upon the nature of true wisdom, and the contrast between the ingenuity and cleverness of man and the infinite knowledge of God, Job turns to another contrast, which he pursues through two chapters ( Job 29:1-25 ; Job 30:1-31 .)—the contrast between what he was and what he is—between his condition in the period of his prosperity and that to which he has been reduced by his afflictions. The present chapter is concerned only with the former period; and gives a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 29:1-25

Job's second parable: 1. Regretful memories of bygone days. I. DAYS OF RELIGIOUS HAPPINESS . In tender elegiActs strains Job resumes his monologue of sorrow, casting a pathetic glance upon "the times of yore," already faded in the far past and gone beyond recall; not the days of his youth (Authorized Version), hut the autumn season of his mature manhood, when, like a field that the Lord had blessed ( Genesis 27:27 ), groaning beneath the exuberance of its harvest fruits, he was... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 29:1-25

Wistful retrospect of past happy days. I. PICTURES OF MEMORY ; HAPPINESS FOUNDED ON THE FRIENDSHIP OF GOD . ( Job 29:1-10 .) 1 . Friendship with God the source of happiness. ( Job 29:1-5 .) This is beautifully indicated in figurative expressions. He thinks of the days when God's light beamed upon his brow, by God's light he walked through the darkness; the days of his ripe and mellow age (rather than of his "youth"), when the secret, i.e. the intimacy, of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 29:1-25

A mournful reflection upon a happy past. Job had lived in honour and great respect. He was "the greatest of all the men of the East." The Divine testimony concerning him was, "There is none like him in the earth." Job's was an enviable condition, and his own words indicate how sensible he was of it. In his mournful utterance, made as he looks back upon a dead past, we see wherein consisted his happiness; and we learn what arc the elemental conditions of the highest felicity in human life—at... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 29:13

The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me (comp. Job 29:11 ). Oppression in the East sometimes drives its victims to actual starvation or to suicide. Isaiah calls the oppressors against whom he inveighs "murderers" ( Isaiah 1:21 ). These "perishing" ones Job often saved, and they "blessed" him. And I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy . How cold are the words of Ameni, "No widow have I oppressed," compared with these! Job was not content with mere abstinence from... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 29:13

The blessing of him that was ready to perish. I. WHY IT IS VALUABLE . We cannot but be struck with this beautiful trait in Job's autobiographical sketch. It is better than all renown. The clamours of the multitude are poor plaudits compared with the blessing of the poor. Many people may be indifferent to it. They may be satisfied if only they can grasp power, and compel the homage of the great, although their path is followed by "curses not loud, but deep." Cruel conquerors, ruthless... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 29:13

The blessing of him that was ready to perish ... - Of the man who was falsely accused, and who was in danger of being condemned, or of him who was exposed to death by poverty and want.And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy - By becoming her patron and friend; by vindicating her cause, and saving her from the oppressive exactions of others; compare Isaiah 1:17. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Job 29:13

Job 29:13. The blessing of him that was ready to perish Who was in danger of losing his life or estate, by the malice and tyranny of wicked men; came upon me Both he, and others for his sake, blessed me, and begged that God would bless me. I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy For her great and unexpected deliverance. Widows are the common objects of injuries and oppressions, because they are generally unable to defend themselves from the violence of their oppressors, or to offend... read more

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