Job 4:20 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 4:12-21

Eliphaz, having undertaken to convince Job of the sin and folly of his discontent and impatience, here vouches a vision he had been favoured with, which he relates to Job for his conviction. What comes immediately from God all men will pay a particular deference to, and Job, no doubt, as much as any. Some think Eliphaz had this vision now lately, since he came to Job, putting words into his mouth wherewith to reason with him; and it would have been well if he had kept to the purport of this... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 4:20

They are destroyed from morning to evening ,.... That is, those that dwell in houses of clay, before described; the meaning is, that they are always exposed to death, and liable to it every day they live; not only such who are persecuted for the sake of religion, but all men in common, for of such are both the text and context; who have always the seeds of mortality and death in them, that is continually working in them; and every day, even from morning to evening, are innumerable instances... read more

Adam Clarke

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

They are destroyed from morning to evening - In almost every moment of time some human being comes into the world, and some one departs from it. Thus are they "destroyed from morning to evening." They perish for ever - יאבדו yobedu ; peribunt, they pass by; they go out of sight; they moulder with the dust, and are soon forgotten. Who regards the past generation now among the dead? Isaiah has a similar thought, Isaiah 57:1 ; : "The righteous perisheth, and No Man Layeth It to Heart:... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 4:1-21

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 4:12-21

Eliphaz proceeds to narrate a spiritual experience of a very strange and striking character. It was night, and he had fallen asleep, when suddenly he was, or seemed to himself to be, awake. A horrible fear came over him, and all his limbs trembled and quaked. Then a spirit seemed to pass before his face, while every hair on his body rose up and stiffened with horror. It did not simply pass across him, but stood still, in a formless form, which he could see but not clearly distinguish. There... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 4:12-21

Eliphaz to Job: 2. A message from the spirit-world. I. THE DEVOUT SEER . 1 . Reposing on his couch. A modern poet (Robert Buchanan, 'Book of Orm.,' 1.), depicting how "in the beginning, ere time grew," the beautiful Maker of all things drew around his face, which has ever since been invisible to mortal eye, the wondrous veil of the firmament, represents that face as closest pressed in the daytime, when the sky is clearest, adding that at nightfall, when the darkness deepens and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 4:12-21

The condemnation of man in presence of the Divine holiness. With a figure of great boldness and grandeur Eliphaz urges his words upon Job. He is trying to illustrate the great principle of the righteous retributions of the Divine government. In the visions of the night there appeared a spirit to pass before his face, and in the dead silence he heard a voice saying, "Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his Maker?" It cannot be. And the vision of Eliphaz finds... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 4:17-21

A message from the unseen. The apparition spoke and this is what "It" said. No one can gainsay the truth of the words uttered. The only question is how they applied to Job. Eliphaz assumed that Job's position was thereby condemned Leaving this out of account, however, we may see how lofty, true, and important the words that came in the Temanite's vision were. I. THE OBVIOUS FACTS . One would have thought that no ghost was wanted to make such self-evident facts as are here narrated... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 4:20

They are destroyed from morning to evening . Human bodies undergo a continuous destruction. From the moment that we are born we begin to die. Decay of powers is coeval with their first exercise. Our insidious foe, Death, marks us as his own from the very first breath that we draw. Our bodies are machines wound up to go for a certain time. The moment that we begin to use them we begin to wear them out. They perish for ever . The final result is that Our" houses of clay "perish, crumble to... read more

Albert Barnes

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

They are destroyed from morning to evening - Margin, “beaten in pieces.” This is nearer to the Hebrew. The phrase “from morning to evening” means between the morning and the evening; that is, they live scarcely a single day; see the notes at Isaiah 38:12. The idea is, not the continuance of the work of destruction from morning to evening; but that man’s life is excecdingly short, so short that he scarce seems to live from morning to night. What a beautiful expression, and how true! How little... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 4:12-21

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 4:20

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

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 4:1-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 4:12-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 4:12-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 4:12-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 4:17-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 4:20

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

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