1Bildad sheweth God's justice in dealing with men according to their works: 8he appealeth to antiquity to prove the certain destruction of the hypocrite: 20he applieth the argument of God's just dealing to the case of Job.
1THEN answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,
2How long wilt thou speak these things? and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a 1strong wind?
1 Here Job’s discourses are compared to a strong wind, since they, proceeding from violent turbulences, seem to run against proper modesty and the glory of God.
3Dotha God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?
a Deut. 32:4; 2 Chron. 19:7; Dan. 9:14.
4If thy children have sinned against him, and 2he have cast them away for their transgression;
2 Hebr. he hath sent them, that is, He has suffered them to fall into the violence of sin, to fill up the measure thereof, and of the punishments, to receive their due reward.
5Ifb3thou wouldest seek unto God 4betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty;
b Job 22:23.
3 It is as much as if he said: Thy children indeed are perished by reason of their sins, but as for thee, if thou do seek the Lord with all thine heart, and pray for grace and pardon, and shalt be clean from abominable sins, He shall redress thee well enough, and make thee good of thy previous prosperity.
4 That is, timely and diligently; see Job 7 on verse 21.
6If thou wert 5pure and upright; surely now he would awake 6for thee, and 7make the habitation 8of thy righteousness prosperous.
5 That is, not defiled with gross, secret sins, for which thou art not sorrowful.
6 Hebr. over thee; that is, for thy sake, for thy own good and benefit.
7 That is, rear it up again, restore and establish the same in its previous condition. Other, appease or prosper, or, make prosperous.
8 That is, wherein thou doest practice righteousness and virtuousness.
7Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end 9should greatly increase.
9 That is, shall make thee from being low, great; from being debased, exalted; from being poor, rich; from being in adversity, in prosperity, by blessing thee and thine more and more.
8Forc enquire, I pray thee, of the former 10age, and prepare thyself to the search 11of their fathers:
c Deut. 4:32.
10 Understand a multitude of people who live together in one century or some years. See Gen. 6 on verse 9; Psalm 12 on verse 7.
11 Namely, who were or lived in the former generations, and had gotten a great measure of understanding and wisdom by means of their long life and great experience, besides the sundry revelations they had from God.
9(Ford12we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a 13shadow:)e
d Gen. 47:9; 1 Chron. 29:15; Job 7:5, 6, 7; Psalm 39:13; Psalm 144:4.
12 We, who are not to be compared with those fathers or patriarchs, are having a shorter life, less experience, and not so many revelations from God.
13 That is, very transitory, vain and nothing. Compare the text reference e.
e Psalm 102:11; 144:4.
10Shall not 14they 15teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words 16out of their heart?
14 Namely, those forefathers, to whom Job was directed by Bildad, verse 8. This kind of asking implies a strong affirmation. See Gen. 13 on verse 9.
15 Namely, of God’s Providence and judgments, which are wonderful, and of the issues of good men, who are good, and of the bad, who are bad.
16 That is, not such as were uttered suddenly from the lips, but such as they have considered maturely beforehand with their mind and had made trial of by their experience.
11Can the rush 17grow up without mire? can the 18flagf grow without water?
17 The sense is: As a bulrush cannot grow up without mire or the reed without water but must soon wither away, as such man cannot thrive nor prosper without piety.
18 Or, moor-grass. Compare Gen. 41:2, and there the annotation.
f marshland plant, such as reed or rush*
12Whilstg it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other 19herb.
g Psalm 129:6; Jer. 17:6.
19 See 1 Kings 18 on verse 5.
1320So are the paths of all that forget God; and the 21hypocrite’s hopeh shall perish:
20 That is, thus it fares with them, or, such is the life, the ability and the issue of those who despise God; although for a time they may be green and flourish and rise up high, and seem to stand very firm whiles outward prosperity smiles upon them, yet, when this fails, they fall and perish suddenly, yea much sooner than others, Psalm 37:2, 35.
21 Understand a man who is wicked in his heart before God, but makes outward profession in words, gestures and actions before the people to deceive them. Also Job 13:16; 15:34; 17:8; Prov. 11:9; Isa. 9:17, etc.
h Job 11:20; 18:14; Psalm 112:10; Prov. 10:28.
14Whose 22hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be 23a spider’s web.
22 That is, the good he hopes for; which is said that an hypocrite shall loath and abhor, and shall not draw near to but shun and fly from him. Compare Psalm 95:10. Other, Whom his hope shall loath.
23 That is, an house of the spider, which is very weak and frail, and most easily ruined and undone. The sense is: As the spider cannot defend herself against any violence by her own web, neither can the wicked protect themselves against the judgments of God by their external means.
1524He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure.
24 Namely, the hypocrite and wicked.
1625He is green 26before the sun, and his branch 27shooteth forth in his garden.
25 That is, the wicked is compared to a green and sappy tree, which is well rooted, but, being cut down and destroyed by the owner, it fades and wastes very soon, thus the hypocrites also do perish when God cuts them off, even if they have great abilities and are so highly exalted by their wealth.
26 That is, so full of sap and liquid that the very scorching heat of the sun is not able to dry it up.
27 That is, they spread forth and elevate themselves all over the garden by their thriving and extraordinary growth. Some are of the opinion that Bildad here in the 16th verse begins to speak of the good or godly men, and therefore they translate the 18th verse thus: Shall any one swallow him out of his place, so that it deny him, etc.
17His roots are wrapped about the 28heap, and 29seeth 30the place of stones.
28 Or, fountain head. Namely, there, where the waters have their source, do spring and bubble forth, gyrating as it were, and consequently there is no want of moisture. The Hebrew word is taken for a spring, Cant. 4:12, as likewise the word, gullat, coming from the same root, Joshua 15:19. Others translate the Hebrew word here as heap, namely, of stones, as it is likewise taken in Gen. 31:46, and so the sense is one and the same with that of the words following.
29 That is, he spreads out his roots so far and mightily that he reaches even the stony ground, and yet maintains his vigor. The sense is: that the hypocrite for a time overcomes all obstacles and setback, which seem to impede his temporal prosperity.
30 Hebr. the house of stones. Thus the word house is taken by the Hebrews for a place, or room, or space, 2 Sam. 15:17. Other, he looketh out after a stony place, namely, to settle there a firm habitation.
18If 31he destroy 32him from 33his place, then it 34shall 35deny him, saying, I have not seen thee.
31 Or, the swallower, Which is God, Who destroys the wicked.
32 Namely, the wicked hypocrite, who was compared to a green and flourishing tree.
33 Namely, where the trunk of the tree stood. Understand the dwelling place, the state and glory, and government of the wicked. Compare Job 18:21; 27:21, and the annotations.
34 Namely, the place, that is, the inhabitants of the same. See Job 7 on verse 10.
35 That is, he shall be destroyed in such a manner, that none shall not so much as acknowledge, or but remember that he ever was there.
1936Behold, this is the joy 37of his way, and 38out of the earth shall others grow.
36 Here Bildad does ironically or jeeringly apply the comparison aforementioned to the hypocrite and ungodly; as if he would say: Indeed for a time he makes a fair flourish, but yet at last he fades and fails most miserably, that none does own or know him anymore.
37 That is, of his being, life, state and condition. Compare Gen. 6 on verse 12.
38 That is, from them who are decayed and impoverished; or, from others, of whom it was not expected, there may arise others, who shall be godly, and enjoy the blessing of God in the place of those who were first mentioned.
20Behold, 39God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will 40he help the evil doers:
39 Bildad comforts Job with the promise of God, but he threatens him in the meanwhile in case he did not turn away from the hypocrisy or wickedness, which he supposed was in Job; otherwise, all wellbeing and joy would attend him.
40 That is, He does not help the wicked, by rescuing them out of their trouble and sufferings.
21Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with 41rejoicing.
41 Understand festive joy. See 2 Chron. 15 on verse 14.
22They 42that hate thee shall be clothed 43with shame; and the 44dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nought.
42 Or, Till that thy haters shall be clothed with shame, and the huts of the wicked shall be no more.
43 That is, being made ashamed very much. See similar manner of speech Psalm 35:26; 109:29; Ezek. 7:27; 26:16.
44 That is, house and habitation.