Job 11:12

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 11:7-12

Zophar here speaks very good things concerning God and his greatness and glory, concerning man and his vanity and folly: these two compared together, and duly considered, will have a powerful influence upon our submission to all the dispensations of the divine Providence. I. See here what God is, and let him be adored. 1. He is an incomprehensible Being, infinite and immense, whose nature and perfections our finite understandings cannot possibly form any adequate conceptions of, and whose... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 11:12

For vain man would be wise ,.... Or "hollow" F18 נבוב "concavus", Montanus; "cavus", Drusius; "vacuus", Pagninus, Beza, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Michaelis. , empty man; empty of all that is good, though full of all unrighteousness; without God, the knowledge, love, and fear of him; without Christ, the knowledge of him, faith in him, and love to him; destitute of the Spirit, and of his grace, having no good thing in him: yet such a man "would be wise"; not desirous of true... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 11:12

For vain man would be wise - The original is difficult and uncertain, ילבב נבוב ואיש veish nabub yillabeb , "And shall the hollow man assume courage," or "pride himself?" Or, as Mr. Good rather paraphrases it, Will he then accept the hollow-hearted person? The Chaldee gives two renderings: An eloquent man shall become wiser in his heart, and the colt of the wild ass is born as the son of man. Or, The wise man shall ponder it; and the refractory youth, who at last becomes prudent, shall... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 11:1-20

Zophar, the Naamathite, the third of Job's comforters ( Job 2:11 ), and probably the youngest of them, now at last takes the word, and delivers an angry and violent speech. He begins by accusing Job of having spoken at undue length, and at the same time, boastfully and mockingly (verses 2-4). He then expresses a wish that God would take Job at his word, and really answer him, since he is sure that the result would be to show that Job had been punished much less than he. deserved to be... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 11:1-20

Humble yourselves beneath the mighty hand of God. Zophar, the youngest of the friends, now comes forward once more to beat down the complaint of Job with the old arguments and commonplaces. To support his words, he does not appeal to a vision like Eliphaz, nor rely on the wisdom of the ancients like Bildad, but depends on his own understanding and zealous though narrow instinct for God. His whole speech is an example of the beauty and, at the same time, the defect of religious zeal. In... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 11:7-12

Zophar to Job: 2. God's wisdom and man's folly. I. THE PERFECTION OF DIVINE WISDOM . 1 . Unsearchable. Zophar's interrogations (verse 7) may signify either that man can never fully understand God, or that man's wisdom can never fully equal God's. Taken either way, they mean that the Divine wisdom, already described as "fold upon fold" (verse 6), transcends the comprehension of a finite mind. Whether the knowledge of God attainable by the speculative reason is a real and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 11:7-12

Man humbled before God. Vain man reasons upon the ways of God, and presumes to penetrate to the depths of the Divine wisdom. A professed wisdom lands him in folly. To scale the heavens is as easy as to "find out the Almighty to perfection," to fathom the depths of the Divine designs. Job and his friends and hosts of others of us attempt to explain the name and ways of God, but our efforts are vain, and but expose a folly equal to our ignorance. I. THE DIVINE NATURE AND THE ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 11:12

For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt ; rather, and a vain man may get understanding , and the colt of a wild ass become a than . Zophar seems to mean that, through Divine discipline, such as that described in Job 11:10 , a vain, foolish, puffed-up man may be reclaimed and become a man of understanding—a stubborn and untamed one, wild as the colt of a wild ass, grow into a real man, i.e. acquire sense and discretion. If this is the meaning, undoubtedly... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 11:12

For vain man - Margin, “empty.” נבוב nâbûb, according to Gesenius, from the root נבב nâbab, to bore through, and then to be hollow; metaphorical, “empty,” “foolish.” The Septuagint, strangely enough, renders this,” but man floats about with words.” The Hebrew here means, manifestly, hollow, empty; then insincere and hypocritical. Zophar refers to a hollow-hearted man, who, though he was in fact like a wild ass’s colt, attempted to appear mild and gentle, and to have a heart. The meaning is,... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Job 11:12

Job 11:12. For, or, yet, vain man would be wise Man, who since the fall is void of all true wisdom, pretends to be wise, and able to pass a censure upon all God’s ways and works. Born like a wild ass’s colt Ignorant, and dull, and stupid, as to divine things, and yet heady and untractable. Such is man by his birth; this evil is now natural and hereditary, and therefore common to all men: of consequence it is not strange, if Job partake of the common distemper. read more

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