Job 12:5

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 12:1-5

The reproofs Job here gives to his friends, whether they were just or no, were very sharp, and may serve for a rebuke to all that are proud and scornful, and an exposure of their folly. I. He upbraids them with their conceitedness of themselves, and the good opinion they seemed to have of their own wisdom in comparison with him, than which nothing is more weak and unbecoming, nor better deserves to be ridiculed, as it is here. 1. He represents them as claiming the monopoly of wisdom, Job 12:2.... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 12:5

He that is ready to slip with his feet ,.... Not into sin, though this is often the case of good men, but into calamities and afflictions; and Job means himself, and every just upright man in the like circumstances: or he that is "prepared" or "destined" to be among them, that "totter" and stagger in their "feet" F9 נכון למועדי רגל "destinatus vacillantibus pede", Schmidt; so Michaelis. ; that cannot stand upon their feet, but fall to the ground; which may describe man in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 12:1-5

Job to Zophar: 1. The conduct of the friends criticized. I. ARROGANT ASSUMPTION REPELLED . 1. With sarcastic admiration. "No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you." Irony is a weapon difficult and dangerous to use, apt to wound the hand that wields it as well as the heart that feels it, and seldom becoming on the lips of any, least of all of good men. Admirably adapted to sting and lacerate, it rarely improves or conciliates those against whom it is directed.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 12:1-6

The resentment of a wounded spirit. Repeated reproaches and accusations falling upon the conscience of an innocent man sting him into self-defence. They may do a service by rousing him out of stupor and weakness, and may bring to light the nobler qualities of his soul. We are indebted to the slanders of the Corinthians for some of the noblest self-revelations of St. Paul. I. OUTBURST OF INDIGNANT SCORN . ( Job 12:1-3 .) With bitter irony Job rebukes the assumption of these men... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 12:1-6

Contempt the lot of misfortune. Job is driven to retort. He affirms his own competency to speak. He claims equality with his would-be teachers, whose words are yet far from healing or comforting his sorely afflicted heart. "I have understanding as well as you." But to him belongs the contempt which is the lot of misfortune. Sad is the story told in a sentence here, but repeated in every day's history and in every land and every age. The selfish heart, rising to a higher level of prosperity,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 12:1-25

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 12:5

He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease ; rather, as in the Revised Version, In the thought of him that is at ease there is contempt for misfortune ; it ( i e. contempt ) is ready for them whose foot dippeth. The meaning is, "I am despised and scorned by you who sit at ease, because my foot has slipped, and I have fallen into misfortune." read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 12:5

Contempt for the unfortunate. Like Jesus, when he prayed for his murderers, with the plea that they knew not what they were doing ( Luke 23:34 ), though in much less perfect magnanimity, Job sees some excuse for the conduct of his censors. He finds that conduct to be an instance of a common rule of action, viz. that the prosperous despise the unfortunate. I. WE CANNOT UNDERSTAND THE TROUBLE WE DO NOT SHARE . Job's vast woe was quite beyond the comprehension of his... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 12:5-13

Job to Zophar: 2. The dogma of the friends demolished. I. BY THE FACTS OF EXPERIENCE . 1 . The adverse fortunes of the good. Exemplified in Job's own case, which showed 2 . The prosperous fortunes of the bad . Apt illustrations were at hand in the seemingly unchanging success which waited on the footsteps of those marauding caterans with which Arabia Deserta was overrun. (a) Robbers of men, violent and rapacious plunderers, who put might for right, "men of the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 12:5

He that is ready to slip with his feet - The man whose feet waver or totter; that is, the man in adversity; see Proverbs 25:19. A man in prosperity is represented as standing firm; one in adversity as wavering, or falling; see Psalms 73:2.But as for me, my feet were almost gone;My steps had well nigh slipped.There is much difficulty in this passage, and it has by no means been removed by the labor of critics. The reader may consult Rosenmuller, Good, and Schultens, on the verse, for a more full... read more

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