Job 4:18

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 4:12-21

Eliphaz, having undertaken to convince Job of the sin and folly of his discontent and impatience, here vouches a vision he had been favoured with, which he relates to Job for his conviction. What comes immediately from God all men will pay a particular deference to, and Job, no doubt, as much as any. Some think Eliphaz had this vision now lately, since he came to Job, putting words into his mouth wherewith to reason with him; and it would have been well if he had kept to the purport of this... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 4:18

Behold, he put no trust in his servants ,.... Some think the divine oracle or revelation ends in Job 4:17 , and that here Eliphaz makes some use and improvement of it, and addresses Job, and argues with him upon it, with a view to his case and circumstances; but rather the account of what the oracle said, or was delivered by revelation, is continued to the end of the chapter, there being nothing unworthy of God, either in the matter or manner of it: and here Eliphaz himself is addressed,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 4:18

Behold, he put no trust in his servants - This verse is generally understood to refer to the fall of angels; for there were some of those heavenly beings who kept not their first estate: they did not persevere to the end of their probation, and therefore fell into condemnation, and are reserved in chains of darkness unto the judgment of the great day; Judges 1:6 . It is said he put no trust in them - he knew that nothing could be absolutely immutable but himself; and that no intelligent... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 4:1-21

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 4:12-21

Eliphaz proceeds to narrate a spiritual experience of a very strange and striking character. It was night, and he had fallen asleep, when suddenly he was, or seemed to himself to be, awake. A horrible fear came over him, and all his limbs trembled and quaked. Then a spirit seemed to pass before his face, while every hair on his body rose up and stiffened with horror. It did not simply pass across him, but stood still, in a formless form, which he could see but not clearly distinguish. There... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 4:12-21

Eliphaz to Job: 2. A message from the spirit-world. I. THE DEVOUT SEER . 1 . Reposing on his couch. A modern poet (Robert Buchanan, 'Book of Orm.,' 1.), depicting how "in the beginning, ere time grew," the beautiful Maker of all things drew around his face, which has ever since been invisible to mortal eye, the wondrous veil of the firmament, represents that face as closest pressed in the daytime, when the sky is clearest, adding that at nightfall, when the darkness deepens and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 4:12-21

The condemnation of man in presence of the Divine holiness. With a figure of great boldness and grandeur Eliphaz urges his words upon Job. He is trying to illustrate the great principle of the righteous retributions of the Divine government. In the visions of the night there appeared a spirit to pass before his face, and in the dead silence he heard a voice saying, "Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his Maker?" It cannot be. And the vision of Eliphaz finds... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 4:17-21

A message from the unseen. The apparition spoke and this is what "It" said. No one can gainsay the truth of the words uttered. The only question is how they applied to Job. Eliphaz assumed that Job's position was thereby condemned Leaving this out of account, however, we may see how lofty, true, and important the words that came in the Temanite's vision were. I. THE OBVIOUS FACTS . One would have thought that no ghost was wanted to make such self-evident facts as are here narrated... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 4:18

Behold, he put no trust in his servants ; rather, he putteth no trust ' or he putteth not trust. The" servants" intended are those that minister to him directly in heaven, the members of the angelic host, as appears from the parallelism of the other clause of the verse. Even in them God does not trust implicitly, since he knows that they are frail and fallible, liable to err, etc; only kept from sin by his own sustaining and assisting grace (setup. Job 15:15 , where Eliphaz expresses... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 4:18

Behold, he put no trust in his servants - These are evidently the words of the oracle that appeared to Eliphaz; see Schultens, in loc. The word servants here refers to angels; and the idea is, that God was so pure that he did not confide even in the exalted holiness of angels - meaning that their holiness was infinitely inferior to his. The design is to state that God had the highest possible holiness, such as to render the holiness of all others, no matter how exalted, as nothing - as all... read more

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