Job 20:23

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 20:23-29

Zophar, having described the many embarrassments and vexations which commonly attend the wicked practices of oppressors and cruel men, here comes to show their utter ruin at last. I. Their ruin will take its rise from God's wrath and vengeance, Job 20:23. The hand of the wicked was upon him (Job 20:22), every hand of the wicked. His hand was against every one, and therefore every man's hand will be against him. Yet, in grappling with these, he might go near to make his part good; but his heart... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 20:23

When he is about to fill his belly ,.... Either in a literal sense, when he is about to take an ordinary meal to satisfy nature; or in a figurative sense, when he is seeking to increase his worldly riches, and his barns and coffers, and endeavouring to get satisfaction therein: God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him ; or "send it out on him" F3 ישלח בו "mittet in eum", Pagninus, Montanus, Schmidt; so Mercerus, Piscator. ; out of the treasures of it, which are laid up... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 20:23

When he is about to fill his belly - Here seems a plain allusion to the lustings of the children of Israel in the desert. God showered down quails upon them, and showered down his wrath while the flesh was in their mouth. The allusion is too plain to be mistaken; and this gives some countenance to the bishop of Killala's version of Job 20:20 ; - "Because he acknowledged not the quail in his stomach, In the midst of his delight he shall not escape." That שלו , which we translate... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 20:1-29

Zophar's second speech is even more harsh than his first ( Job 11:1-20 .). He adds coarseness and rudeness to his former vehement hostility ( Job 20:7 , Job 20:15 ). His whole discourse is a covert denunciation of Job as a wicked man and a hypocrite (verses 5, 12, 19, 29), deservedly punished by God for a life of crime. He ends by prophesying Job's violent death, the destruction of his house, and the rising up of heaven and earth in witness against him (verses 24-28). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 20:1-29

Zophar to Job: an orthodox champion to the rescue. I. AN IMPETUOUS ORATOR PERTURBED . Threatened with Divine vengeance, Zophar advances to the combat in hopes of utterly confounding his antagonist. His appearance, manner, and address are characterized by: 1 . Bold defiance. "Therefore," i.e. in view of what you have just spoken; nay, "nevertheless," i.e. in spite of all your grandiloquent talk about a sword. Zophar had been unmoved, equally by Job's pathetic wail depicting... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 20:1-29

Godless prosperity short-lived. Here we have a new variation on the favourite theme of the friends—the inconstancy of godless prosperity. "The jubilation of the wicked is but of short duration, and the joy of the profligate but a moment." The wicked man is specially here described as a rich man, who greedily snatches at others' property, and whose ill-gotten gains become a deadly consuming fire to him and all his. It is related to Eliphaz's speech ( Job 15:1-35 .) as the superlative to the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 20:21-26

Disappointment to the wicked. Even when all promises well to the wicked, evil shall lurk under cover of the seeming prosperity. When he is about to satisfy himself, suddenly he shall be in straits. His hopes shall be blasted, his strong confidence disappointed. With a singular cluster of strong figures Zophar depicts the unsatisfying position of the wicked man. He is in the midst of enemies. Every source of help and joy seems to fail him. I. HE FINDS NO HELP IN MAN . "Every... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 20:23

When he is about to fill his belly (comp. Job 20:12-18 ); i.e. "when he is on the point of making some fresh attack upon the weak and defenceless." God shall east the fury of his wrath upon him (comp. Psalms 78:30 , Psalms 78:31 , where a far less harmful lust is noted as having brought down the Divine vengeance). And shall rain it upon him while he is eating ; or, as his food (comp. Psalms 11:6 , "Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, storm and tempest:... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 20:23

When he is about to fill his belly - Or rather, “there shall be enough to fill his belly.” But what “kind” of food it should be, is indicated in the following part of the verse. “God” would fill him with the food of his displeasure. It is spoken sarcastically, as of a gormandizer, or a man who lived to enjoy eating, and the meaning is, that he should for once have enough. So Rosenmuller interprets it.God shall cast the fury - This is the kind of food that he shall have. God shall fill him with... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Job 20:23

Job 20:23. When he is about to fill his belly That is, when he has enough to satisfy all his appetites, and shall design to indulge them in the pleasurable enjoyment of all his gains, and to spend his days in sensuality; God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him Some dreadful and destructive judgment. And shall rain it upon him This phrase denotes both the author of his plagues, God, and the nature and quality of them, that they shall come upon him like rain, with great vehemence,... read more

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