Job 17:1

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 17:1-9

Job's discourse is here somewhat broken and interrupted, and he passes suddenly from one thing to another, as is usual with men in trouble; but we may reduce what is here said to three heads:? I. The deplorable condition which poor Job was now in, which he describes, to aggravate the great unkindness of his friends to him and to justify his own complaints. Let us see what his case was. 1. He was a dying man, Job 17:1. He had said (Job 16:22), ?When a few years have come, I shall go that long... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 17:1

My breath is corrupt ,.... Through the force of his disease, which made it have an ill smell, so that it was strange and disagreeable to his wife, Job 19:17 ; passing through his lungs, or other parts, which were affected with some disorder, or as frequently is the case of dying persons, and so Job thought himself to be. The word F14 Pineda. used has the signification of pain, even of the pains of a woman in travail; and so may signify, that Job drew his breath with great pain, as... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 17:1

My breath is corrupt - Rather, My spirit is oppressed, חבלה רוחי ruchi chubbalah : My days are extinct, and the sepulchral cells are ready for me - Parkhurst. There is probably a reference here to cemeteries, where were several niches, in Each of which a corpse was deposited. See on Job 17:16 ; (note). For חבלה chubbalah , corrupted or oppressed, some MSS. have חלה chalah , is made weak; and one has גבלה is worn down, consumed: this is agreeable to the Vulgate, Spiritus meus... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 17:1

My breath is corrupt ; or, my spirit is oppressed. But the physical meaning is the more probable one. A fetid breath is one of the surest signs of approaching dissolution. My days are extinct ; or, cut off . The verb used does not occur elsewhere. The graves are ready for me ; or, the chambers of the grave are mine already. The plural form is best explained by regarding it as referring to the niches commonly cut in a sepulchral chamber to receive the bodies of the departed. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 17:1-16

The general character of this chapter has been considered in the introductory section to Job 16:1-22 . It is occupied mainly with Job's complaints of his treatment by his friends, and his lamentations over his sufferings (verses 1-12). At the end he appeals to the grave, as the only hope or comfort left to him (verses 13-16). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 17:1-16

Job to God: 3. The requiem of a dying man. I. ANTICIPATING HIS IMMEDIATE DISSOLUTION . With three pathetic sighs the patriarch bemoans his dying condition. 1 . The total collapse of his vital powers. Indicated by the shortness and offensiveness of his breath, announcing the approach of suffocation and decay. "My breath is corrupt." And to this at last must all come. The most vigorous physical health, as well as the feeblest, contains within it germs of putridity. Essentially,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 17:1-16

The just holds on his way. "The pencil of the Holy Ghost hath laboured more in describing the afflictions of Job than the felicities of Solomon," says Lord Bacon. "Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes, and adversity is not without comfort and hopes. We see in needleworks and embroideries it is more pleasing to have a lively work upon a sad and solemn ground than to have a dark and melancholy work upon a lightsome ground; judge, therefore, of the pleasure of the heart by the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 17:1

My breath is corrupt - Margin or “spirit is spent.” The idea is, that his vital powers were nearly extinct; his breath failed; his power was weakened, and he was ready to die. This is connected with the previous chapter, and should not have been separated from it. There was no necessity of making a new chapter here, and we have one of those unfortunate breaks in the middle of a paragraph, and almost of a sentence, which are too common in the Scriptures.The graves are ready for me - The Hebrew... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Job 17:1

Job 17:1. My breath is corrupt Is offensive to those around me, through my disease. But, as the word חבלה , chubbalah, here rendered corrupt, may signify bound, straitened, or distressed with pain, as a woman in travail, Chappelow thinks the phrase had better be rendered: Spiritus meus constringitur, vel, cum dolore emititur; that is, I have such an oppression, that I can hardly breathe. The reading of the margin, however, is not to be overlooked, My spirit is spent, or lost, ... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Job 17:1-16

Job’s reply to Eliphaz (16:1-17:16)Tired at this repetition of the friends’ unhelpful teaching, Job says he could give similar ‘comfort’ if he were in their position and they in his (16:1-5). His argument with God may not have brought relief from his pain, but neither has his silence. In fact, his physical condition only becomes worse (6-8). God opposes him and people insult him. Some deliberately try to do him harm (9-11). He feels like a helpless victim that wild animals attack, like a target... read more

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