Job 30:10

THE EFFECT OF THEIR TORMENTS UPON JOB

"They abhor me, they stand aloof from me,

They spare not to spit in my face.

For he hath loosed his cord and afflicted me;

And they have cast off the bridle before me.

Upon my right hand rise the rabble;

They thrust aside my feet,

And they cast up against me their ways of destruction.

They mar my path,

They set forward my calamity,

Even men that have no helper.

As through a wide breach they come:

In the midst of the ruin, they roll themselves upon me.

Terrors are turned upon me;

They chase mine honor as the wind;

And my welfare is passed away as a cloud."

"For he hath loosed his cord, and afflicted me" (Job 30:11). The word "he" in this line is suspicious. It is not God who has been the subject of affirmations in (he previous verses, but evil men; and we find strong reasons for agreement with Driver who strongly questioned this rendition. "The text here is so uncertain and ambiguous that it is impossible to determine with confidence whether these verses refer to: (1) God's treatment of Job, or (2) to the treatment of Job by evil men."[12] Judging from the context, it appears to this writer that the word "he" here should be rendered "they" instead; because the following clause, according to the rules of Hebrew parallelism demand the plural, not the singular. Certainly the RSV is wrong in ramming the word "God" into this passage. The name of the deity is not in the text. Based upon this valid rule of interpretation, Rowley,[13] Budde, Ball, and Pope[14] properly render the line thus: "They (Job's tormentors) have loosed his cord."[15] The word `cord' here is either a bowstring or a tent cord.

Rawlinson, Peake and others make the passage say that "God has loosed Job's bowstring, and grievously afflicted him"'[16] The text does not say this; and if Job said it, it is not true; therefore, we reject the interpretation that makes Job the author of a falsehood. Satan, not God, was Job's tormentor throughout; and only in the sense of God's allowing it to happen may it honestly be said that God afflicted Job. We resist with all our strength the efforts of so many scholars to interpret the scriptures in such a manner as to put falsehoods in the mouth of the hero of this book. The Almighty himself declared that "Job has spoken that which is right concerning me (God)" (Job 42:7). That affirmation from God Himself cannot be harmonized with allegations that Job accused God of cruelty, affliction, and other crimes against Job.

Admittedly, a number of verses in this chapter are very difficult to interpret, as Van Selms explained. "A number of statements in this chapter present difficult linguistic problems ... The reader will have to trust that we have done our level best faithfully to reproduce the Hebrew text as it has been handed down to us."[17] In difficult places, the decision that various scholars make is influenced by their a priori judgments, and in some instances even bias against such things, for example, as predictive prophecy, etc. It appears in Job, that some have made an incorrect judgment to the effect that Job continually accused God of executing injustice upon him, something that Job did not do. As we have repeatedly warned: In passages where it seems Job is falsely accusing God of tormenting him, Job is, in no sense, blaming God, but speaking as does a bereaved mourner who says, "The Lord has given, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord!"

"Upon my right hand rise the rabble" (Job 30:12). "These verses (Job 30:12-14) are a metaphor of Job's troubles, which appear as a host besieging a city (Job 30:12), making escape impossible (Job 30:13), and finally pouring in to overwhelm him when the walls have been breached (Job 30:14)."[18] This is one of many beautiful metaphors found in the words of Job.

The psychology of those people who so severely attacked and afflicted Job was noted by Blair. "Not only did they make a jest of Job, they made a prey of him also, and poured their wrath upon him. They blamed him for their own horrible state of existence. Though he was innocent, they gave no regard to him. They had to blame someone; so they chose to blame Job."[19]

"Mine honor (nobility) ... and my welfare" (Job 30:15). Driver interpreted this as a reference to: "Job's princely dignity and reputation, and to his wealth and to all of the esteem related to it."[20]