Job 11:7-20

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

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 11:13-20

Zophar, as the other two, here encourages Job to hope for better times if he would but come to a better temper. I. He gives him good counsel (Job 11:13, 14), as Eliphaz did (Job 5:8), and Bildad, Job 8:5. He would have him repent and return to God. Observe the steps of that return. 1. He must look within, and get his mind changed and the tree made good. He must prepare his heart; there the work of conversion and reformation must begin. The heart that wandered from God must be reduced?that was... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 11:7

Canst thou by searching find out God ?.... God is not to be found out by human search; that there is a God may be found out by inquiring into the book of nature, by considering the creatures that are made, who all proclaim some first cause or maker of them, who is God; but then it cannot be found out what God is, his nature, being, and perfections: an Heathen philosopher F9 Simonides, apud Cicero, de Nat. Deor. l. 1. , being asked by a certain king what God was, required a day to give... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 11:8

It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do ?.... Or, "is higher than the heavens" F9 גבהי שמים "altior est altissimis coelis", Junius & Tremellius. ; either the wisdom of God and the secrets of it; the perfection of his wisdom, by which he has made the heavens; or evangelical wisdom, hid in his heart, and which the highest of creatures, the angels, come at the knowledge of only by revelation; and therefore, what can man do to find it out, unless God reveals it? or wisdom... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 11:9

The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. Length is generally ascribed to the earth, and width to the sea; the ends of the earth are used for a great distance, and the sea is called the great and wide sea; see F11 "Quid oceano longius inveriri potest", Cicero. Orat. 36. Psalm 72:1 ; but God and his perfections, particularly his wisdom and understanding, are infinite, Psalm 147:5 ; and will admit of no dimensions; as his love, so his wisdom, has an... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 11:10

If he cut off ,.... The horns, power, dominion, and authority of the wicked; or the spirits of princes, or kingdoms and states, whole nations, as he did the seven nations of Canaan; or families, as Job's, his servants, and his children; or particular persons, by diseases, or by judgments, by famine, sword, and pestilence; there is none can hinder him; he will do what he pleases: or, as others render it, "if he changes" F12 אם יחלוף "si permutet proprie", Mercerus, Heb. "si mutabit... read more

John Gill

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

For he knoweth vain men ,.... Or, "men of vanity" F16 מתי שוא "homines vanitatis", Vatablus, Drusius, Bolducius, Mercerus, Schmidt, Michaelis. , as all men are; men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree a lie, and they are both lighter than vanity, Psalm 62:9 ; and the Lord knows them, and knows them to be so; he knows all men, and all that is in them; he knows the vanity of their minds, and the vain thoughts that are in them; all their vain and idle words, and their... 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

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 11:13

If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands towards him. In this and the following verses Zophar proceeds to give some advice to Job; which, if taken, would issue in his future happiness, but otherwise it would be ill with him; he advises him to pray to God with an heart prepared for such service; so some render the last clause in the imperative, "stretch out thine hands F23 "Expande ad eum manus tuas", De Dieu. towards him"; that is, towards God; for, though not... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 11:14

If iniquity be in thine hand ,.... For, as the heart must be prepared for the stretching out of the hand in prayer to God, so it is not any hand that is to be stretched out or lifted up unto God; not hands full of blood, or defiled with sin, but holy hands; see Isaiah 1:15 , 1 Timothy 2:8 ; it is not said, if iniquity be in thine heart, or on thy conscience, put it far away ; for sin cannot be put away out of the heart, it will have a place there as long as we live; though it... read more

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