Job 21 commentary

JOB 21 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
Job
1 Then Job replied:
GILL, "But Job answered and said. In reply to what Zophar had asserted,
concerning the prosperity of the wicked being only for a short time, Job_
20:5; the contrary to which he most clearly proves, and that in many
instances their prosperity continues as long as they live; that they die in it,
and it is enjoyed by their posterity after them.
HE RY 1-6, "Job here recommends himself, both his case and his
discourse, both what he suffered and what he said, to the compassionate
consideration of his friends. 1. That which he entreats of them is very fair,
that they would suffer him to speak (Job_21:3) and not break in upon him,
as Zophar had done, in the midst of his discourse. Losers, of all men, may
have leave to speak; and, if those that are accused and censured are not
allowed to speak for themselves, they are wronged without remedy, and
have no way to come at their right. He entreats that they would hear
diligently his speech (Job_21:2) as those that were willing to understand
him, and, if they were under a mistake, to have it rectified; and that they
would mark him (Job_21:5), for we may as well not hear as not heed and
observe what we hear. 2. That which he urges for this is very reasonable. (1.)
They came to comfort him. “No,” says he, “let this be your consolations
(Job_21:2); if you have no other comforts to administer to me, yet deny me
not this; be so kind, so just, as to give me a patient hearing, and that shall
pass for your consolations of me.” Nay, they could not know how to comfort
him if they would not give him leave to open his case and tell his own story.
Or, “It will be a consolation to yourselves, in reflection, to have dealt
tenderly with your afflicted friend, and not harshly.” (2.) He would hear
them speak when it came to their turn. “After I have spoken you may go on
with what you have to say, and I will not hinder you, no, though you go on to
mock me.” Those that engage in controversy must reckon upon having hard
words given them, and resolve to bear reproach patiently; for, generally,
those that mock will mock on, whatever is said to them. (3.) He hoped to
convince them. “If you will but give me a fair hearing, mock on if you can,
but I believe I shall say that which will change your note and make you pity
me rather than mock me.” (4.) They were not his judges (Job_21:4): “Is my
complaint to man? No, if it were I see it would be to little purpose to
complain. But my complaint is to God, and to him do I appeal. Let him be
Judge between you and me. Before him we stand upon even terms, and

therefore I have the privilege of being heard as well as you. If my complaint
were to men, my spirit would be troubled, for they would not regard me, nor
rightly understand me; but my complaint is to God, who will suffer me to
speak, though you will not.” It would be sad if God should deal as unkindly
with us as our friends sometimes do. (5.) There was that in his case which
was very surprising and astonishing, and therefore both needed and
deserved their most serious consideration. It was not a common case, but a
very extraordinary one. [1.] He himself was amazed at it, at the troubles God
had laid upon him and the censures of his friends concerning him (Job_
21:6): “When I remember that terrible day in which I was on a sudden
stripped of all my comforts, that day in which I was stricken with sore boils,
- when I remember all the hard speeches with which you have grieved me, -
I confess I am afraid, and trembling takes hold of my flesh, especially when
I compare this with the prosperous condition of many wicked people, and
the applauses of their neighbours, with which they pass through the world.”
Note, The providences of God, in the government of the world, are
sometimes very astonishing even to wise and good men, and bring them to
their wits' end. [2.] He would have them wonder at it (Job_21:5): “Mark me,
and be astonished. Instead of expounding my troubles, you should awfully
adore the unsearchable mysteries of Providence in afflicting one thus of
whom you know no evil; you should therefore lay your hand upon your
mouth, silently wait the issue, and judge nothing before the time. God's way
is in the sea, and his path in the great waters. When we cannot account for
what he does, in suffering the wicked to prosper and the godly to be
afflicted, nor fathom the depth of those proceedings, it becomes us to sit
down and admire them. Upright men shall be astonished at this, Job_17:8.
Be you so.”
K&D 1-6, "The friends, far from being able to solve the enigma of Job's
affliction, do not once recognise the mystery as such. They cut the knot by
wounding Job most deeply by ever more and more frivolous accusations.
Therefore he entreats them to be at least willing to listen (‫עוּ‬ ְ‫מ‬ ִ‫שׁ‬‫עוּ‬ ְ‫מ‬ ִ‫שׁ‬‫עוּ‬ ְ‫מ‬ ִ‫שׁ‬‫עוּ‬ ְ‫מ‬ ִ‫שׁ‬ with the
gerund) to his utterance (‫ה‬ ָ ִ‫מ‬‫ה‬ ָ ִ‫מ‬‫ה‬ ָ ִ‫מ‬‫ה‬ ָ ִ‫)מ‬ respecting the unsolved enigma; then (Waw
apodosis imper.) shall this attention supply the place of their consolations,
i.e., be comforting to him, which their previous supposed consolations
could not be. They are to bear with him, i.e., without interruption allow him
to answer for himself (‫י‬ִ‫אוּנ‬ ָ‫שׂ‬‫י‬ִ‫אוּנ‬ ָ‫שׂ‬‫י‬ִ‫אוּנ‬ ָ‫שׂ‬‫י‬ִ‫אוּנ‬ ָ‫שׂ‬ with Kametz before the tone, as Jon_1:12, comp.
‫הוּ‬ ֻ‫ח‬ ָ‫ק‬‫הוּ‬ ֻ‫ח‬ ָ‫ק‬‫הוּ‬ ֻ‫ח‬ ָ‫ק‬‫הוּ‬ ֻ‫ח‬ ָ‫,ק‬ 1Ki_20:33, not as Hirz. thinks under the influence of the distinctive
accent, but according to the established rule, Ges. §60, rem. 1); then he will
speak (‫אנכי‬‫אנכי‬‫אנכי‬‫אנכי‬ contrast to the “ye” in ‫שׂאוני‬‫שׂאוני‬‫שׂאוני‬‫שׂאוני‬ without further force), and after he
has expressed himself they may mock. It is, however, not ‫יגוּ‬ ִ‫ע‬ ְ‫ל‬ ַ‫ת‬‫יגוּ‬ ִ‫ע‬ ְ‫ל‬ ַ‫ת‬‫יגוּ‬ ִ‫ע‬ ְ‫ל‬ ַ‫ת‬‫יגוּ‬ ִ‫ע‬ ְ‫ל‬ ַ‫ת‬ (as
Olshausen corrects), but ‫יג‬ ִ‫ע‬ ְ‫ל‬ ַ‫ת‬‫יג‬ ִ‫ע‬ ְ‫ל‬ ַ‫ת‬‫יג‬ ִ‫ע‬ ְ‫ל‬ ַ‫ת‬‫יג‬ ִ‫ע‬ ְ‫ל‬ ַ‫ת‬ (in a voluntative signific. = ‫ג‬ ֵ‫ע‬ ְ‫ל‬ ַ‫ת‬‫ג‬ ֵ‫ע‬ ְ‫ל‬ ַ‫ת‬‫ג‬ ֵ‫ע‬ ְ‫ל‬ ַ‫ת‬‫ג‬ ֵ‫ע‬ ְ‫ל‬ ַ‫,)ת‬ since Job
here addresses himself specially to Zophar, the whole of whose last speech
must have left the impression on him of a bitter sarcasm (sarkasmo's from
sarka'zein in the sense of Job_19:22), and has dealt him the freshest deep
blow. In Job_21:4 ‫ת‬ ִ‫יח‬ ִ‫שׂ‬‫ת‬ ִ‫יח‬ ִ‫שׂ‬‫ת‬ ִ‫יח‬ ִ‫שׂ‬‫ת‬ ִ‫יח‬ ִ‫שׂ‬ is not to be understood otherwise than as in Job_
7:13; Job_9:27; Job_10:1; Job_23:2, and is to be translated “my complaint.”

Then the prominently placed ‫י‬ ִ‫ּכ‬‫נ‬ፎ‫י‬ ִ‫ּכ‬‫נ‬ፎ‫י‬ ִ‫ּכ‬‫נ‬ፎ‫י‬ ִ‫ּכ‬‫נ‬ፎ is to be taken, after Eze_33:17, Ges. §121, 3,
as an emphatic strengthening of the “my”: he places his complaint in
contrast with another. This emphasizing is not easily understood, if one,
with Hupf., explains: nonne hominis est querela mea, so that ֲ‫ה‬ֲ‫ה‬ֲ‫ה‬ֲ‫ה‬ is equivalent
to ‫ּא‬‫ל‬ ֲ‫ה‬‫ּא‬‫ל‬ ֲ‫ה‬‫ּא‬‫ל‬ ֲ‫ה‬‫ּא‬‫ל‬ ֲ‫ה‬ (which here in the double question is doubly doubtful), and ְ‫ל‬ְ‫ל‬ְ‫ל‬ְ‫ל‬ is the
sign of the cause. Schultens and Berg, who translate ‫ם‬ ָ‫ד‬ፎ ְ‫ל‬‫ם‬ ָ‫ד‬ፎ ְ‫ל‬‫ם‬ ָ‫ד‬ፎ ְ‫ל‬‫ם‬ ָ‫ד‬ፎ ְ‫ל‬ more humano,
explain similarly, by again bringing their suspicious ‫ל‬‫ל‬‫ל‬‫ל‬ comparativum
(Note: In the passage from Ibn-Kissaï quoted above, p. 421, Schultens,
as Fleischer assures me, has erroneously read Arab. lmchâlmchâlmchâlmchâllllııııbbbb instead of
kmchâkmchâkmchâkmchâllllııııbbbb, having been misled by the frequent failing of the upper stroke of
the Arab. k, and in general Arab. l is never = k, and also ‫ל‬‫ל‬‫ל‬‫ל‬ never = ‫כ‬‫כ‬‫כ‬‫כ‬, as
has been imagined since Schultens.)
here to bear upon it. The ְ‫ל‬ְ‫ל‬ְ‫ל‬ְ‫ל‬ by ‫שׂיחי‬‫שׂיחי‬‫שׂיחי‬‫שׂיחי‬ (if it may not also be compared with Job_
12:8) may certainly be expected to denote those to whom the complaint is
addressed. We translate: As for me, then, does my complaint concern men?
The ‫אנכי‬‫אנכי‬‫אנכי‬‫אנכי‬ which is placed at the beginning of the sentence comes no less
under the rule, Ges. §145, 2, than §121, 3. In general, sufferers seek to obtain
alleviation of their sufferings by imploring by words and groans the pity of
sympathizing men; the complaint, however, which the three hear from him
is of a different kind, for he has long since given up the hope of human
sympathy, - his complaint concerns not men, but God (comp. Job_16:20).
(Note: An Arabian proverb says: “The perfect patience is that which
allows no complaint to be uttered ila elila elila elila el-chalqchalqchalqchalq against creatures (men).”)
He reminds them of this by asking further: or (‫ם‬ ִ‫א‬ְ‫ו‬‫ם‬ ִ‫א‬ְ‫ו‬‫ם‬ ִ‫א‬ְ‫ו‬‫ם‬ ִ‫א‬ְ‫,ו‬ as Job_8:3; Job_34:17;
Job_40:9, not: and if it were so, as it is explained by Nolde contrary to the
usage of the language) why (interrogative upon interrogative: an quare, as
Psa_94:9, ‫הלא‬ ‫אם‬‫הלא‬ ‫אם‬‫הלא‬ ‫אם‬‫הלא‬ ‫,אם‬ an nonne) should not my spirit (disposition of mind, θυµόθυµόθυµόθυµόςςςς)
be short, i.e., why should I not be short-tempered (comp. Jdg_10:16; Zec_
11:8, with Prov. 13:29) = impatient? Dürr, in his commentatio super voce ַ‫רוּח‬ַ‫רוּח‬ַ‫רוּח‬ַ‫,רוּח‬
1776, 4, explains the expression habito simul halitus, qui iratis brevis esse
solet, respectu, but the signification breath is far from the nature of the
language here; ‫רוח‬‫רוח‬‫רוח‬‫רוח‬ signifies emotional excitement (comp. Job_15:13), either
long restrained (with ‫ארך‬‫ארך‬‫ארך‬‫,)ארך‬ or not allowing itself to be restrained and
breaking out after a short time (‫קצר‬‫קצר‬‫קצר‬‫.)קצר‬ That which causes his vexation to burst
forth is such that the three also, if they would attentively turn to him who
thus openly expresses himself, will be astonished and lay their hand on
their mouth (comp. Job_29:9; Job_40:4), i.e., they must become dumb in
recognition of the puzzle, - a puzzle insoluble to them, but which is
nevertheless not to be denied. ‫השׁמו‬‫השׁמו‬‫השׁמו‬‫השׁמו‬ is found in Codd. and among
grammarians both as Hiph. ‫וּ‬ ַ‫שׁ‬ ָ‫ה‬‫וּ‬ ַ‫שׁ‬ ָ‫ה‬‫וּ‬ ַ‫שׁ‬ ָ‫ה‬‫וּ‬ ַ‫שׁ‬ ָ‫ה‬ hashammu (Kimchi) and as Hoph. ‫וּ‬ ַ ָ‫ה‬‫וּ‬ ַ ָ‫ה‬‫וּ‬ ַ ָ‫ה‬‫וּ‬ ַ ָ‫,ה‬ or

what is the same, ‫וּ‬ ַ ֳ‫ה‬‫וּ‬ ַ ֳ‫ה‬‫וּ‬ ַ ֳ‫ה‬‫וּ‬ ַ ֳ‫ה‬ hoshshammu (Abulwalid) with the sharpening of the
first radical, which also occurs elsewhere in the Hoph. of this verb (Lev_
26:34.) and of others (Olsh. §259, b, 260). The pointing as Hiph. (‫וּ‬ ַ‫שׁ‬ ָ‫ה‬‫וּ‬ ַ‫שׁ‬ ָ‫ה‬‫וּ‬ ַ‫שׁ‬ ָ‫ה‬‫וּ‬ ַ‫שׁ‬ ָ‫ה‬ for
‫וּ‬ ֵ‫שׁ‬ ָ‫ה‬‫וּ‬ ֵ‫שׁ‬ ָ‫ה‬‫וּ‬ ֵ‫שׁ‬ ָ‫ה‬‫וּ‬ ֵ‫שׁ‬ ָ‫)ה‬ in the signification obstupescite is the better attested. Job himself has
only to think of this mystery, and he is perplexed, and his flesh lays hold on
terror. The expression is like Job_18:20. The emotion is conceived of as a
want arising from the subject of it, which that which produces it must as of
necessity satisfy.
In the following strophe the representation of that which thus excites
terror begins. The divine government does not harmonize with, but
contradicts, the law maintained by the friends.
BI 1-34, "But Job answered and said.
Job’s third answer
There is more logic and less passion in this address than in any of Job’s
preceding speeches. He felt the dogma of the friends to be opposed—
I. To his consciousness of rectitude. If their dogma was true, he must be a
sinner above all the rest, for his sufferings were of the most aggravated
character. But he knew that he was not a great sinner.
1. This consciousness urged him to speak.
2. It gave him confidence in speaking.
3. It inspired him with religious solemnity. The providential ways of God
with man are often terribly mysterious. Under these mysterious events
solemn silence rather than controversy is most befitting us.
II. To his observation of facts.
1. He saw wicked men about him. He notes their hostility to God, and
their devotion to self.
2. He saw such wicked men very prosperous. They prosper in their
persons, their property, and their posterity.
3. He saw wicked men happy in living and dying. Job states these things
as a refutation of the dogma that his friends held and urged against him.
III. To his historic knowledge. He refers to the testimony of other men.
1. They observed, as I have, that the wicked are often protected in
common calamities.
2. That few, if any, are found to deal out punishment to wicked men in
power.
3. That the Wicked man goes to his grave with as much peace and honour
as other men.
IV. To his theory of providence. Though nothing here expresses Job’s belief
in a state of retribution beyond the grave, we think it is implied. I see not

how there can be any real religion, which is supreme love to the Author of
our being, where there is not a well-settled faith in a future state.
Conclusion. God’s system of governing the race has been the same from the
beginning. He has never dealt with mankind here on the ground of
character. True, there are occasional flashes of Divine retribution which
reveal moral distinctions and require moral conduct; but they are only
occasional, limited, and prophetic. No stronger argument for a future state
of full and adequate retribution it would be possible to have, than that
which is furnished by God’s system of governing the world. (Homilist.)
BENSON, "Job 21:1. But Job answered and said — It has been thought
strange that Job should never resume the argument of a resurrection,
which was so full of piety and conviction; but, when resuming the dispute
with his friends, should stick to that he first set out with. Whether this be
the case or not, we shall see in the course of our observations. But if it be, a
very sufficient reason may be assigned for it. For, if one such appeal as this,
made in the most solemn manner, would not convince them of his
innocence, he had reason to think it would be much the same, if he had
repeated it a second and a third time. He had, therefore, no other resource
left, but to follow the argument with which he had begun; namely, to combat
the false principle upon which they were so forward to condemn him: and
this he does effectually throughout the present chapter, by showing that
many wicked men live long and prosperously, and at last die in apparent
peace, and are buried with great pomp; which shows that this life is not the
proper state of retribution, but that men shall be judged and recompensed
hereafter. See Peters and Dodd.
COFFMAN 1-6, "JOB'S SEVENTH DISCOURSE:
JOB'S REPLY TO ZOPHAR AND HIS OTHER FRIENDS
Job's message here was directed particularly to Zophar; "And Job's tone
was so sharp that Zophar would not take part in the third cycle of
dialogues."[1] "This speech is unusual for Job. It is the only one in which he
confined his remarks to his friends and did not fall into either a soliloquy or
a prayer. The time had now come for Job to demolish his friends
arguments."[2] This he proceeded to do with sledge-hammer blows of truth
and logic. "He attacked their position from every side; and, in the end, he
left no line of their arguments unchallenged."[3]
The theological error of Job's friends was simple enough. They believed that
everyone in this life received exactly what he deserved. Righteous people
were healthy and prosperous; the wicked suffered in illness, poverty and

destitution. Supporting their foolish error was the truth that virtuous and
godly lives indeed do, in many instances, tend toward blessings and
happiness; and, conversely, wickedness tends in the opposite direction.
Job's friends, seeing his epic misfortunes, terrible financial reverses, and
hopeless physical disease, applied their doctrine as positive and undeniable
truth of Job's gross wickedness. In the light of the real facts, Job labeled
their "consolations" as outright falsehoods (Job 21:34).
When we compare Job's position with that of his friends, "It is easy to see
that both understandings are unrealistic extremes; and both betray a
fundamental error."[4] What is that error? It is simply this that, "The
rewards of either wickedness or righteousness are limited to what occurs in
one's earthly lifetime."
Such an error is incompatible with God's truth. As Paul put it, "If in this life
only we have hope, we are of all men most miserable" (1 Corinthians 15:19).
The unpredictably variable fortunes of both the righteous and the wicked in
this life are the result of the following divinely-arranged circumstances of
our earthly lives:
(1) God provided that, "Time and chance happeneth to all men"
(Ecclesiastes 9:11).
(2) God endowed his human children with the freedom of the will.
(3) Our great progenitors, Adam and Eve in Eden, elected to do the will of
Satan, rather than the will of God. Satan's invariable purpose has been the
total destruction of all mankind; and the bringing in of such an enemy as
`the god of this world' has produced innumerable sorrows, even death
itself. That, of course, is exactly what Adam and Eve did.
(4) God cursed the ground (the earth) for Adam's sake. The purpose of this
action was that Adam's posterity might never find their earthly existence to
be free of natural impediments. Following the fall of mankind, God made it
impossible for man ever to find his earthly life altogether comfortable. This
not only explains the briars and thistles, but the floods, earthquakes,
tornadoes, droughts, hurricanes and all other natural disasters. With a list
of uncertainties like all of these things, it became a mathematical certainty
that there would be unpredictable variations in the lives of all men, both of
the wicked and of the righteous.
It is evident that Job had as little understanding of the whole picture' of
human suffering as did his friends. The glory of Job, however, is that in
spite of everything he trusted God. "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him"

(Job 13:15).
Job 21:1-6
JOB CHALLENGES HIS FRIENDS TO HEAR HIM
"Then Job answered, and said,
Hear diligently my speech;
And let this be your consolations.
Suffer me, and I also will speak;
And after that I have spoken, mock on.
As for me, is my complaint to man?
And why should I not be impatient?
Mark me, and be astonished,
And lay your hand upon your mouth.
Even when I remember, I am troubled,
And horror taketh hold on my flesh."
"Hear my speech ... let this be your consolations ... lay your hand on your
mouth" (Job 21:2,5). "Job is angered by his friends' lack of sympathy.
Instead of all that talk, their silence would have been better."[5] "They can
keep on mocking him if they wish, for that is all that their `consolations'
amount to."[6]
"Is my complaint to man ... why should I not be impatient" (Job 21:4)?
Barnes gave the meaning of this. "It is not so much what you friends have

said that troubles me, it is what God has done to me."[7]
"Mark me, and be astonished" (appalled) (Job 21:5). "What Job is about to
say will astound his friends, because God's government of the world is
utterly different from what they say in their vain theorizing."[8]
"I am troubled, and horror takes hold on my flesh" (Job 21:6). The
implications of these words apparently are: "As I am about to speak of the
mysterious workings of Providence, I tremble at the thought of it; my very
flesh trembles."[9] Barnes believed that Job here stated that, "His
sufferings had overwhelmed him and filled him with horror, and that the
very recollection of them caused his flesh to tremble."[10] Van Selms
paraphrased the whole thought here as follows: "If you really took into
account what has happened to me, you would realize that no words are of
any help here; and you would be silent, just as you were at first. I myself do
not know how I should interpret my fate; one's soul and body shudder at the
thought of God's incomprehensible decrees."[11] In the light of these
comments, it is apparent that we cannot be absolutely sure of what Job
might have meant here. There could have been some suggestion of all of
these interpretations.
COKE, "Job observes, that the wicked sometimes live happily, and
sometimes their destruction is manifest, yet, though some lead a
prosperous, and others an afflicted life, all are cut off alike by death:
whence it clearly follows, that the wicked are reserved to a day of wrath.
Before Christ 1645.
Job 21:1. But Job answered and said— It has been urged, and thought
strange, that Job should never resume the argument of a resurrection,
which was so full of piety and conviction; but, when resuming the dispute
with his friends, should stick to the argument that he first set out with. Now
supposing it to be true, that Job never mentions the resurrection in his
following speeches, nor any thing alluding to it, (which, whether it be true
or not, we shall see in the course of our observations,) yet a very sufficient
reason may be assigned for it: for, if one such appeal as this, made in the
most solemn manner, would not convince them of his integrity, I suppose he
had reason to think that it would be much the same if he had repeated it a
second and a third time; and therefore he had no other resource left, than
to follow the argument with which he had begun; i.e. to combat the false
principle upon which they were so forward to condemn him: and this he
does effectually throughout the present chapter, by shewing, that many
wicked men live long and prosperous, and at last die in peace, and are
buried with great pomp; which shews that this life is not the proper state of
retribution, but that men shall be judged and recompensed hereafter. See

Peters.
PULPIT, "Job answers Zophar, as he had answered Bildad, in a single not
very lengthy chapter. After a few caustic introductory remarks (verses 2-4),
he takes up the challenge which Zophar had thrown out, respecting the
certain punishment, in this life, of the wicked (Job 20:4-29), and maintains,
"in language of unparalleled boldness'' (Cook), the converse of the
proposition. The wicked, he says, live, grow old, attain to great power, have
a numerous and flourishing offspring, prosper, grow rich, spend their time
in feasting and jollity—nay, openly renounce God and decline to pray to
him—yet suffer no harm, and when they die, go down to the grave without
suffering, "in a moment" (verses 5-15). To the suggestion that from time to
time they are cut off suddenly in a signal way, he answers, "How often is
this?" or rather, "How seldom!" (verses 17, 18). To the further suggestion
that they are punished in their children he replies, "How much better if they
were punished in their own persons!" (verses 19-21). As it is, he argues, one
event happens to all (verses 23-26). In conclusion, he observes that common
opinion supports his view (verses 29-33), and denounces as futile the
attempts of his comforters to convince him, since his views and theirs
respecting the facts of God's government are diametrically opposed to each
other (verse 34).
Job 21:1, Job 21:2
But Job answered and said, Hear diligently my speech, and let this be your
consolations. As ye have no other consolation to offer me, at least attend
diligently to what I say. That will be some comfort to me, and I will accept it
in lieu of the consolations which I might have looked for at your hands.
EBC, "ARE THE WAYS OF THE LORD EQUAL?
Job 21:1-34
Job SPEAKS
WITH less of personal distress and a more collected mind than before Job
begins a reply to Zophar. His brave hope of vindication has fortified his soul
and is not without effect upon his bodily state. The quietness of tone in this
final address of the second colloquy contrasts with his former agitation and
the growing eagerness of the friends to convict him of wrong. True, he has
still to speak of facts of human life troublous and inscrutable. Where they

lie he must look, and terror seizes him, as if he moved on the edge of chaos.
It is, however, no longer his own controversy with God that disquiets him.
For the time he is able to leave that to the day of revelation. But seeing a
vaster field in which righteousness must be revealed, he compels himself, as
it were, to face the difficulties which are encountered in that survey. The
friends have throughout the colloquy presented in varying pictures the
offensiveness of the wicked man and his sure destruction. Job, extending
his view over the field they have professed to search, sees the facts in
another light. While his statement is in the way of a direct negative to
Zophar’s theory, he has to point out what seems dreadful injustice in the
providence of God. He is not, however, drawn anew into the tone of revolt.
The opening words are as usual expostulatory, but with a ring of vigour. Job
sets the arguments of his friends aside and the only demand he makes now
is for their attention.
"Hear diligently my speech,
And let that be your consolations.
Suffer me that I may speak;
And after I have spoken, mock on.
As for me, is my complaint of man?
And why should I not be impatient?"
What he has said hitherto has had little effect upon them; what he is to say
may have none. But he will speak; and afterwards, if Zophar finds that he
can maintain his theory, why, he must keep to it and mock on. At present
the speaker is in the mood of disdaining false judgment. He quite
understands the conclusion come to by the friends. They have succeeded in
wounding him time after time. But what presses upon his mind is the state
of the world as it really is. Another impatience than of human falsehood
urges him to speak. He has returned upon the riddle of life he gave Zophar
to read-why the tents of robbers prosper and they that provoke God are
secure. [Job 12:6] Suppose the three let him alone for a while and consider
the question largely, in its whole scope. They shall consider it, for, certainly,
the robber chief may be seen here and there in full swing of success, with
his children about him, gaily enjoying the fruit of sin, and as fearless as if
the Almighty were his special protector. Here is something that needs
clearing up. Is it not enough to make a strong man shake?

Mark me, and be astonished,
And lay the hand upon the mouth.
Even while I remember I am troubled,
And trembling taketh hold of my flesh-
Wherefore do the wicked live,
Become old, yea wax mighty in power?
Their seed is settled with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes;
Their houses are in peace, without fear,
And the rod of God is not upon them
They send forth their little ones like a flock,
And their children dance;
They sing to the timbrel and lute,
And rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
They spend their days in ease,
And in a moment go down to Sheol.
Yet they said to God, Depart from us,

For we desire not to know Thy ways.
What is Shaddai that we should serve Him?
And what profit should we have if we pray unto Him?
Contrast the picture here with those which Bildad and Zophar painted-and
where lies the truth? Sufficiently on Job’s side to make one who is
profoundly interested in the question of Divine righteousness stand
appalled. There was an error of judgment inseparable from that early stage
of human education in which vigour and the gains of vigour counted for
more than goodness and the gains of goodness, and this error clouding the
thought of Job made him tremble for his faith. Is nature God’s? Does God
arrange the affairs of this world? Why then, under His rule, can the godless
have enjoyment, and those who deride the Almighty feast on the fat things
of His earth? Job has sent into the future a single penetrating look. He has
seen the possibility of Vindication, but not the certainty of retribution. The
underworld into which the evildoer descends in a moment; without
protracted misery, appears to Job no hell of torment. It is a region of
reduced, incomplete existence, not of penalty. The very clearness with
which he Saw vindication for himself, that is, for the good man, makes it
needful to see the wrong doer judged and openly condemned. Where then
shall this be done? The writer, with all his genius, could only throw one
vivid gleam beyond the present. He could not frame a new idea of Sheol,
nor, passing its cloud confines, reach the thought of personality continuing
in acute sensations either of joy or pain. The ungodly ought to feel the heavy
hand of Divine justice in the present state of being. But he does not. Nature
makes room for him and his children, for their gay dances and lifelong
hilarity. Heaven does not frown. "The wicked live, become old, yea, wax
mighty in power; their houses are in peace, without fear."
From the climax of chapter 19, the speeches of Job seem to fall away instead
of advancing. The author had one brilliant journey into the unseen, but the
peak he reached could not be made a new point of departure. Knowledge he
did not possess was now required. He saw before him a pathless ocean
where no man had shown the way, and inspiration seems to have failed him.
His power lay in remarkably keen analysis and criticism of known
theological positions and in glowing poetic sense. His inspiration working
through these persuaded him that everywhere God is the Holy and True. It
is scarcely to be supposed that condemnation of the evil could have seemed
to him of less importance than vindication of the good. Our conclusion
therefore must be that a firm advance into the other life was not for genius
like his, nor for human genius at its highest. One more than man must
speak of the great judgment and what lies beyond.

Clearly Job sees the unsolved enigma of the godless man’s prosperous life,
states it, and stands trembling. Regarding it what have other thinkers said?
"If the law of all creation were justice," says John Stuart Mill, "and the
Creator omnipotent, then in whatever amount suffering and happiness
might be dispensed to the world, each person’s share of them would be
exactly proportioned to that person’s good or evil deeds; no human being
would have a worse lot than another without worse deserts; accident or
favouritism would have no part in such a world, but every human life would
be the playing out of a drama constructed like a perfect moral tale. No one is
able to blind himself to the fact that the world we live in is totally different
from this." Emerson, again, facing this problem, repudiates the doctrine
that judgment is not executed in this world. He affirms that there is a fallacy
in the concession that the bad are successful, that justice is not done now.
"Every ingenuous and aspiring soul," he says, "leaves the doctrine behind
him in his own experience; and all men feel sometimes the falsehood which
they cannot demonstrate." His theory is that there is balance or
compensation everywhere. "Life invests itself with inevitable conditions,
which the unwise seek to dodge, which one and another brags that he does
not know, that they do not touch him; -but the brag is on his lips, the
conditions are in his soul. If he escapes them in one part, they attack him in
another more vital part. The ingenuity of man has always been dedicated to
the solution of one problem, how to detach the sensual sweet, the sensual
strong, the sensual bright, from the moral sweet, the moral deep, the moral
fair; that is, again, to contrive to cut clean off this upper surface so thin as to
leave it bottomless; to get a one end, without an other end. This dividing and
detaching is steadily counteracted. Pleasure is taken out of pleasant things,
profit out of profitable things, power out of strong things, so soon as we
seek to separate them from the whole. We can no more halve things and get
the sensual good, by itself, than we can get an inside that shall have no
outside, or a light without a shadow. For everything you have missed you
have gained something else, and for everything you gain you lose
something. If the gatherer gathers too much, nature takes out of the man
what she puts into his chest; swells the estate but kills the owner. We feel
defrauded of the retribution due to evil acts, because the criminal adheres
to his vice and contumacy, and does not come to a crisis or judgment
anywhere in visible nature. There is no stunning confutation of his
nonsense before men and angels. Has he therefore outwitted the law?
Inasmuch as he carries the malignity and the lie with him, he so far
deceases from nature. In some manner there will be a demonstration of the
wrong to the understanding also; but, should we not see it, this deadly
deduction makes square the account." The argument reaches far beneath
that superficial condemnation of the order of providence which disfigures
Mr. Mill’s essay on Nature. So far as it goes, it illuminates the present stage
of human existence. The light, however, is not sufficient, for we cannot
consent to the theory that in an ideal scheme, a perfect or eternal state, he
who would have holiness must sacrifice power, and he who would be true
must be content to be despised. There is, we cannot doubt, a higher law; for
this does not in any sense apply to the life of God Himself. In the discipline
which prepares for liberty, there must be restraints and limitations, gain-
that is, development-by renunciation; earthly ends must be subordinated to
spiritual; sacrifices must be made. But the present state does not exhaust

the possibilities of development nor close the history of man. There is a
kingdom out of which shall be taken all things that offend. To Emerson’s
compensations must be added the compensation of Heaven. Still he lifts the
problem out of the deep darkness which troubled Job.
And with respect to the high position and success bad men are allowed to
enjoy, another writer, Bushnell, well points out that permission of their
opulence and power by God aids the development of moral ideas. "It is
simply letting society and man be what they are, to show what they are." The
retributive stroke, swift and visible, is not needed to declare this: "If one is
hard upon the poor, harsh to children, he makes, or may, a very great
discovery of himself. What is in him is mirrored forth by his acts, and
distinctly mirrored in them. If he is unjust, passionate, severe, revengeful,
jealous, dishonest, and supremely selfish, he is in just that scale of society
or social relationship that brings him out to himself. Evil is scarcely to be
known as evil till it takes the condition of authority." We do not understand
it till we see what kind of god it will make, and by what sort of rule it will
manage its empire. Just here all the merit of God’s plan, as regards the
permission of power in the hands of wicked men, will be found to hinge;
namely, on the fact that evil is not only revealed in its baleful presence and
agency, but the peoples and ages are put heaving against it and struggling
after deliverance "from it." It was, we say, Job’s difficulty that against the
new conception of Divine righteousness which he sought the early idea
stood opposed that life meant vigour mainly in the earthly range. During a
long period of the world’s history this belief was dominant, and virtue
signified the strength of man’s arm, his courage in conflict, rather than his
truth in judgment and his purity of heart. The outward gains corresponding
to that early virtue were the proof of the worth of life. And even when the
moral qualities began to be esteemed, and a man was partly measured by
the quality of his soul, still the tests of outward success and the gains of the
inferior virtue continued to be applied to his life. Hence the perturbation of
Job and, to some extent, the false judgment of providence quoted from a
modern writer.
But the chapter we are considering shows, if we rightly interpret the
obscure 16th verse (Job 21:16), that the author tried to get beyond the
merely sensuous and earthly reckoning. Those prospered who denied the
authority of God and put aside religion with the rudest scepticism. There
was no good in prayer, they said; it brought no gain. The Almighty was
nothing to them. Without thought of His commands they sought their profit
and their pleasure, and found all they desired. Looking steadfastly at their
life, Job sees its hollowness, and abruptly exclaims:-
"Ha! their good is not in their hand:
The counsel of the wicked be far from me!"

Good! was that good which they grasped-their abundance, their treasure?
Were they to be called blessed because their children danced to the lute and
the pipe and they enjoyed the best earth could provide? The real good of life
was not theirs. They had not God; they had not the exultation of trusting and
serving Him; they had not the good conscience towards God and man which
is the crown of life. The man lying in disease and shame would not exchange
his lot for theirs.
But Job must argue still against his friends’ belief that the wicked are visited
with the judgment of the Most High in the loss of their earthly possessions.
"The triumphing of the wicked is short," said Zophar, "and the joy of the
godless but for a moment." Is it so?
"How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
That their calamity cometh upon them?
That God distributeth sorrows in His anger?
That they are as stubble before the wind,
And as chaff that the storm carrieth away?"
One in a thousand, Job may admit, has the light extinguished in his tent and
is swept out of the world. But is it the rule or the exception that such visible
judgment falls even on the robber chief? The first psalm has it that the
wicked are "like the chaff which the wind driveth away." The words of that
chant may have been in the mind of the author. If so, he disputes the
doctrine. And further he rejects with contempt the idea that though a
transgressor himself lives long and enjoys to the end, his children after him
may bear his punishment.
"Ye say, God layeth up his iniquity for his children.
Let Him recompense it unto himself, that he may know it.
Let his own eye see his destruction,
And let him drink of the wrath of Shaddai.

For what pleasure hath he in his house after him,
When the number of his moons is cut off in the midst?"
The righteousness Job is in quest of will not be satisfied with visitation of
the iniquities of the fathers upon the children. He will not accept the
proverb which Ezekiel afterwards repudiated, "The fathers have eaten sour
grapes, the children’s teeth are set on edge." He demands that the ways of
God shall be equal, that the soul that sinneth shall bear its punishment. Is it
anything to a wicked man that his Children are scattered and have to beg
their bread when he has passed away? A man grossly selfish would not be
vexed by the affliction of his family even if, down in Sheol, he could know of
it. What Zophar has to prove is that every man who has lived a godless life is
made to drink the cup of Shaddai’s indignation. Though he trembles in sight
of the truth, Job will press it on those who argue falsely for God.
And with the sense of the inscrutable purposes of the Most High burdening
his soul he proceeds-
"Shall any teach God knowledge?
Seeing He judgeth those that are high?"
Easy was it to insist that thus or thus Divine providence ordained. But the
order of things established by God is not to be forced into harmony with a
human scheme of judgment. He who rules in the heights of heaven knows
how to deal with men on earth; and for them to teach Him knowledge is at
once arrogant and absurd. The facts are evident, must be accepted and
reckoned with in all submission; especially must his friends consider the
fact of death, how death comes, and they will then find themselves unable to
declare the law of the Divine government.
As yet, even to Job, though he has gazed beyond death, its mystery is
oppressive; and he is right in urging that mystery upon his friends to
convict them of ignorance and presumption. Distinctions they affirm to lie
between the good and the wicked are not made by God in appointing the
hour of death. One is called away in his strong and lusty manhood; another
lingers till life becomes bitter and all the bodily functions are impaired.
"Alike they lie down in the dust and the worms cover them." The thought is
full of suggestion; but Job presses on, returning for a moment to the false
charges against himself that he may bring a final argument to bear on his
accusers.

Behold, I know your thoughts,
And the devices ye wrongfully imagine against me.
For ye say, Where is the house of the prince?
And, Where the tents in which the wicked dwelt?
Have ye not asked them that go by the way?
And do ye not regard their tokens-
That the wicked is spared in the day of destruction,
That they are led forth in the day of wrath?
So far from being overwhelmed in calamity the evildoer is considered, saved
as by an unseen hand. Whose hand? My house is wasted, my habitations are
desolate, I am in extremity, ready to die. True: but those who go up and
down the land would teach you to look for a different end to my career if I
had been the proud transgressor you wrongly assume me to have been. I
would have found a way of safety when the storm clouds gathered and the
fire of heaven burned. My prosperity would scarcely have been interrupted.
If I had been what you say, not one of you would have dared to charge me
with crimes against men or impiety towards God. You would have been
trembling now before me. The power of an unscrupulous man is not easily
broken. He faces fate, braves and overcomes the judgment of society.
And society accepts his estimate of himself, counts him happy, pays him
honour at his death. The scene at his funeral confutes the specious
interpretation of providence that has been so often used as a weapon
against Job. Perhaps Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar know something of
obsequies paid to a prosperous tyrant, so powerful that they dared not deny
him homage even when he lay on his bier. Who shall repay the evildoer
what he hath done?
"Yea, he is borne to the grave,
And they keep watch over his tomb;

The clods of the valley are sweet to him,
And all men draw after him,
As without number they go before him."
It is the gathering of a countryside, the tumultuous procession, a vast
disorderly crowd before the bier, a multitude after it surging along to the
place of tombs. And there, in nature’s greenest heart, where the clods of the
valley are sweet, they make his grave-and there as over the dust of one of the
honourable of the earth they keep watch. Too true is the picture. Power
begets fear and fear enforces respect. With tears and lamentations the
Arabs went, with all the trappings of formal grief moderns may be seen in
crowds following the corpse of one who had neither a fine soul nor a good
heart, nothing but money and success to commend him to his fellow men.
So the writer ends the second act of the drama, and the controversy remains
much where it was. The meaning of calamity, the nature of the Divine
government of the world are not extracted. This only is made clear, that the
opinion maintained by the three friends cannot stand. It is not true that joy
and wealth are the rewards of virtuous life. It is not always the case that the
evildoer is overcome by temporal disaster. It is true that to good and bad
alike death is appointed, and together they lie down in the dust. It is true
that even then the good man’s grave may be forsaken in the desert, while the
impious may have a stately sepulchre. A new way is made for human
thought in the exposure of the old illusions and the opening up of the facts
of existence. Hebrew religion has a fresh point of departure, a clearer view
of the nature and end of all things. The thought of the world receives a
spiritual germ; there is a making ready for Him who said, "A man’s life
consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth," and
"What doth it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life?"
When we know what the earthly cannot do for us we are prepared for the
gospel of the spiritual and for the living word.
GUZIK 1-3, "A. The problem of the prosperity of the wicked.
1. (Job 21:1-3) Job’s opening plea.
Then Job answered and said:

“Listen carefully to my speech,
And let this be your consolation.
Bear with me that I may speak,
And after I have spoken, keep mocking.”
a. Listen carefully to my speech: Because of the way Job’s friends kept
repeating themselves and their arguments to him, it was easy for Job to feel
that they simply were not listening to him.
i. Instead, Job wanted to prove that he had been listening to them. “In this
closing speech of the second cycle, Job was determined to prove that he had
listened to what his counselors had said. This he did by quoting or
otherwise alluding to their words and refuting them. Compare Job 20:11
with Job 21:7; Job 18:19 with Job 21:8; Job 18:5 with Job 21:17; Job 5:4 and
Job 20:10 with Job 21:19, and Job 20:4 with Job 21:29.” (Smick)
b. After I have spoken, keep mocking: This indicates that Job’s hardness
towards his friends has not lessened at all; nor has their hardness towards
him. They speak with sharp and sarcastic words to each other.
2 "Listen carefully to my words;
let this be the consolation you give me.
BAR ES, "Hear diligently - Hebrew “Hearing hear” - that is, hear
attentively. What he was about to say was worthy of their solemn
consideration.
And let this be your consolations - That is, “You came to me for the
professed purpose of giving “me” consolation. In that you have wholly
failed. You have done nothing to sustain or comfort me; but all that you
have said has only tended to exasperate me, and to increase my sorrow. If
you will now hear me attentively, I will take that as a consolation, and it

shall be in the place of what I had a right to expect from you. It will be
“some” comfort if I am permitted to express my sentiments without
interruption, and I will accept it as a proof of kindness on your part.”
CLARKE, "Let this be your consolations - ‫תנחומתיכם‬ ‫זאת‬ ‫ותהי‬‫תנחומתיכם‬ ‫זאת‬ ‫ותהי‬‫תנחומתיכם‬ ‫זאת‬ ‫ותהי‬‫תנחומתיכם‬ ‫זאת‬ ‫ותהי‬ uthehi zothuthehi zothuthehi zothuthehi zoth
tanchumotheychemtanchumotheychemtanchumotheychemtanchumotheychem may be translated, “And let this be your retractations.” Let
what I am about to say induce you to retract what you have said, and to
recall your false judgments. ‫נחם‬‫נחם‬‫נחם‬‫נחם‬ nachamnachamnachamnacham signifies, not only to comfort, but to
change one’s mind, to repent; hence the Vulgate translates et agite
paenitentiam, “and repent,” which Coverdale follows in his version, and
amende yourselves. Some suppose the verse to be understood ironically: I
am now about to give you consolations for those you have given me. When I
have done, then turn them into mockery if you please.
GILL, "Hear diligently my speech,.... The following oration or discourse he
was about to deliver concerning the prosperity of wicked men; to which he
desires their closest attention, that they might the better understand the
force of his reasoning, the evidences and proof of fasts he should give;
whereby, if their minds were open to conviction, they would clearly see
their mistake, and that truth lay on his side:
and let this be your consolations; or "this shall be your consolations" (k);
meaning, either that they would receive instruction and benefit by his
discourse, which would yield them pleasure and comfort; and to an
ingenuous mind, to be convinced of an error, to have mistakes rectified, and
to get knowledge of the truth, it is a real satisfaction, and affords pleasure;
or else, that whereas their end in paying him a visit was to comfort him, and
they had taken methods, as they thought, in order to it, but in Job's opinion
to very little purpose, yea, they were, as he says, miserable comforters; now
he observes, that if they would but be silent, and attentively listen to what
he had to say, that would be in the room of all comforts they could give unto
him; it would be a consolation to him, and be reckoned by him, instead of all
they could give, or could propose to him, if he might have but this favour, to
be heard with candour, diligence, and attention.
HE RY,"consolations — If you will listen calmly to me, this will be
regarded as “consolations”; alluding to Eliphaz’ boasted “consolations”
(Job_15:11), which Job felt more as aggravations (“mockings,” Job_21:3)
than consolations (Job_16:2).
JAMISO ,"consolations — If you will listen calmly to me, this will be
regarded as “consolations”; alluding to Eliphaz’ boasted “consolations”
(Job_15:11), which Job felt more as aggravations (“mockings,” Job_21:3)
than consolations (Job_16:2).

BENSON, "Job 21:2-3. Hear diligently my speech — If you have no other
comfort to administer, at least afford me this: be so kind, so just, as to give
me a patient hearing: and let this be your consolations — I shall accept of it
instead of those consolations which you owed to me in this my distressed
condition, and which I expected from you. And it will be a consolation to
yourselves in the reflection, to have dealt tenderly with your afflicted
friend. Suffer me to speak — Without such interruption as you have given
me. And after I have spoken, mock on — If I do not defend my cause with
solid and convincing arguments, go on in your scoffs.
COKE, "Job 21:2. And let this be your consolations— And let this be the
consolation you administer. Heath. Schultens renders it, And this shall be
for your consolations. "What I have to say, is in return for these wonderful
consolations that you bring me;" understanding the passage ironically,
which very well agrees with the next verse, the last clause whereof he
renders, And after I have pleaded my cause, let it be your mockery.
NISBET, "‘AUDI ALTERAM PARTEM’
‘Hear diligently my speech,’ etc.
Job 21:2
I. Job asks his friends to suffer him again to speak, because his complaint
is not for them only, but for all.—And he goes on to say that they are not
justified by the facts in affirming that wickedness always brings about
adversity. On the contrary, he urges that wicked men spend their days in
prosperity. In the farm, and the fold, and the home, there are the sounds of
joy. Their death is not prolonged torture, but sudden. Their lamp is not
often put out in darkness, nor are they driven as stubble before the wind.
II. Continuing his answer, Job declares their philosophy to be wholly at
fault, by asking how often it is true that ‘the lamp of the wicked is put out.’—
He surmises that they may reply that the judgment falls upon their children,
and repudiates such suggestion by declaring that the man who sins is the
man who should be punished, and that God has no pleasure in the
punishment of posterity. Thus they have been attempting to teach God
knowledge, for it is perfectly evident that the rule they had enunciated does
not always apply. He ends his answer by addressing himself to them more
personally. He declares that he knows their meaning when they say, ‘Where
is the house of the prince?’ and ‘Where is the tent wherein the wicked
dwelt?’ He is perfectly aware that they are referring to himself. Then follows
a touch of satire as he suggests that they have learned their philosophy from
travellers and declares their conclusions to be wrong. Therefore their
attempted comfort is vain, seeing that their answers contain falsehood.
Thus ends the second cycle, in which the three friends of Job have declared
that it is the wicked who are afflicted. By this narrower statement they have

left him less room for escape. He has replied by declaring that the righteous
also are afflicted, and that the wicked are not always afflicted, and by
rebuking them for stating one side only in order to bring about his
discomfiture.
Illustration
‘Job challenges the contention of his friends that the children of the
wicked suffer, and denies that it would establish their fathers’ wickedness,
and alleges that they have attempted to instruct God in the dealings of His
providence. He turns from his own assertions and appeals to the verdict of
passers-by. Surely, says he, it is a matter of common observation that
wicked men do prosper and die in peace. The clods of the valley are sweet to
him. Even after death they have their memory preserved by monuments
over their grave. From all this he infers that adversity is no proof of special
sin. And it is just at this point that we can build the argument for
immortality. Job was undoubtedly right in his contention, and there must
be, therefore, a future when the inequalities of time are adjusted.’
3 Bear with me while I speak,
and after I have spoken, mock on.
BAR ES, "Suffer me that I may speak - Allow me to speak without
interruption, or bear with me while I freely express my sentiments - it is all
that I now ask.
And after that I have spoken, mock on - Resume your reproaches, if you
will, when I am done. I ask only the privilege of expressing my thoughts on a
very important point, and when that is done, I will allow you to resume your
remarks as you have done before, and you may utter your sentiments
without interruption. Or it may be, that Job utters this in a kind of triumph,
and that he feels that what he was about to say was so important that it
would end the “argument;” and that all they could say after that would be
mere mockery and reviling. The word rendered “mock on” (‫לעג‬‫לעג‬‫לעג‬‫לעג‬ lâlâlâlâ‛ag‛ag‛ag‛ag) means,
originally, “to stammer, to speak unintelligibly” - then, “to speak in a
barbarous or foreign language” - then, “to deride or to mock, to ridicule or

insult.” The idea is, that they might mock his woes, and torture his feelings
as they had done, if they would only allow him to express his sentiments.
GILL, "Suffer me that I may speak,.... To go on with his discourse, without
any interruption, until he had finished it; as he before craves their
attention, here he entreats their patience to hear him out, as well as to give
him leave to begin; they might by their gestures seem as if they were
breaking up and departing; or they raised a tumultuous clamour, to hinder
his proceeding to reply; or he might fear, that if he was allowed to speak,
they would break in upon him before he had done, as they had already; or
"bear me", as several of the Jewish commentators explain the phrase;
though what he was going to say might sit heavy upon their minds, and be
very burdensome, grating, and uneasy to them; yet he entreats they would
endure it patiently, until he had made an end of speaking:
and after that I have spoken, mock on; as they had already, Job_12:4; they
had mocked not at his troubles and afflictions, but at his words and
arguments in vindication of his innocence; and now all he entreats of them
is, that they would admit him to speak once more, and to finish his
discourse; and then if they thought fit, or if they could, to go on with their
scoffs and derisions of him; if he could but obtain this favour, he should be
easy, he should not regard their mockings, but bear them patiently; and he
seems to intimate, that he thought he should be able to say such things to
them, that would spoil their mocking, and prevent it for the future; so the
Greek version renders it, "thou shalt not laugh"; and the words being
singular have led many to think, that Zophar, who spoke last, is particularly
intended, though it may respect everyone of his friends.
PULPIT, "Suffer me that I may speak; or, suffer me, and I also will speak.
There is an emphasis on the "I" ( ‫אנכי‬‫אנכי‬‫אנכי‬‫אנכי‬ ). Job implies that his opponents are not). Job implies that his opponents are not). Job implies that his opponents are not). Job implies that his opponents are not
allowing him his fair share of the argument, which is an accusation that can scarcely beallowing him his fair share of the argument, which is an accusation that can scarcely beallowing him his fair share of the argument, which is an accusation that can scarcely beallowing him his fair share of the argument, which is an accusation that can scarcely be
justified. Since the dialogue opened, Job's speeches have occupied eleven chapters, those ofjustified. Since the dialogue opened, Job's speeches have occupied eleven chapters, those ofjustified. Since the dialogue opened, Job's speeches have occupied eleven chapters, those ofjustified. Since the dialogue opened, Job's speeches have occupied eleven chapters, those of
his "comforters" seven only. But a controversialist who has much to say is apt to think thathis "comforters" seven only. But a controversialist who has much to say is apt to think thathis "comforters" seven only. But a controversialist who has much to say is apt to think thathis "comforters" seven only. But a controversialist who has much to say is apt to think that
sufficient time is not allowed him. And after that I have spoken, mock on. Job does not hopesufficient time is not allowed him. And after that I have spoken, mock on. Job does not hopesufficient time is not allowed him. And after that I have spoken, mock on. Job does not hopesufficient time is not allowed him. And after that I have spoken, mock on. Job does not hope
to convince, or silence, or shame the other interlocutors. When he has said his say, all that heto convince, or silence, or shame the other interlocutors. When he has said his say, all that heto convince, or silence, or shame the other interlocutors. When he has said his say, all that heto convince, or silence, or shame the other interlocutors. When he has said his say, all that he
expects is mockery and derision.expects is mockery and derision.expects is mockery and derision.expects is mockery and derision.
4 "Is my complaint directed to man?
Why should I not be impatient?

BAR ES, "As for me, is my complaint to man? - There is some difficulty in
the interpretation of this verse, and considerable variety of explanation may
be seen among expositors. The “object” of the verse is plain. It is to state a
reason why they should hear him with patience and without interruption.
The meaning of this part of the verse probably is, that his principal
difficulty was not with his friends, but with God. It was not so much what
they had said, that gave him trouble, as it was what God had done. Severe
and cutting as were their rebukes, yet it was far more trying to him to be
treated as he had been by God, “as if” he were a great sinner. That was what
he could not understand. Perplexed and troubled, therefore, by the
mysteriousness of the divine dealings, his friends ought to be willing to
listen patiently to what he had to say; and in his anxiety to find out “why”
God had treated him so, they ought not at once to infer that he was a wicked
man, and to overwhelm him with increased anguish of spirit.
It will be recollected that Job repeatedly expressed the wish to be
permitted to carry his cause at once up to God, and to have his adjudication
on it. See Job_13:3, note; Job_13:18, notes. It is that to which he refers
when he says here, that he wished to have the cause before God, and not
before man. It was a matter which he wished to refer to the Almighty, and
he ought to be allowed to express his sentiments with entire freedom. One
of the difficulties in understanding this verse arises from the word
“complaint.” We use it in the sense of “murmuring,” or “repining;” but this,
I think, is not its meaning here. It is used rather in the sense of “cause,
argument, reasoning, or reflections.” The Hebrew word ‫שׂיח‬‫שׂיח‬‫שׂיח‬‫שׂיח‬ śśśśııııyyyyııııchchchch means,
properly, that which is “brought out” - from ‫שׂיח‬‫שׂיח‬‫שׂיח‬‫שׂיח‬ śśśśııııyachyachyachyach, “to bring out, to put
forth, to produce” - as buds, leaves, flowers; and then it means “words” - as
brought out, or spoken; and then, meditations, reflections, discourses,
speeches; and then it “may” mean “complaint.” But there is no evidence
that the word is used in that sense here. It means his reflections, or
arguments. They were not to man. He wished to carry them at once before
God, and he ought, therefore, to be allowed to speak freely. Jerome renders
it, “disputatio mea.” The Septuagint, ᅞᅞᅞᅞλεγξιςλεγξιςλεγξιςλεγξις elengciselengciselengciselengcis - used here, probably, in
the sense of “an argument to produce conviction,” as it is often.
And if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled? - Margin,
“shortened,” meaning the same as troubled, afflicted, or impatient. A more
literal translation will better express the idea which is now lost sight of,
“And if so, why should not my spirit be distressed?” That is, since my cause
is with God - since my difficulty is in understanding his dealings with me -
since I have carried my cause up to him, and all now depends on him, why
should I not be allowed to have solicitude in regard to the result? If I
manifest anxiety, who can blame me? Who would not, when his all was at
stake, and when the divine dealings toward him were so mysterious?

CLARKE, "As for me - ‫האנכי‬‫האנכי‬‫האנכי‬‫האנכי‬ heanochiheanochiheanochiheanochi, “Alas for me!” Is it not with a man
that I speak? And, if this be the case, why should not my spirit be troubled? I
do not reply against my Maker: I suffer much from God and man; why then
may I not have the privilege of complaining to creatures like myself?
GILL, "As for me, is my complaint to man?.... Job had been complaining,
and still was, and continued to do so after this, but not to them, his friends,
nor any other man; his complaint was made to God, and of him he thought
he was hardly dealt with by him, he could not tell for what; he had desired
to know the reason why he contended with him in such a manner, but could
get no satisfaction; when his friends came first to visit him, they said
nothing to him, nor he to them; and when he did speak, it was not to them,
but to God, of whom he complains; and expostulates with him why he had
ever been born, or had not died as soon as born, and not have lived to have
seen such unhappy days, and endured so much affliction and trouble:
and if it were so; that he had made his complaint to man, since it would
have been in vain, and to no purpose, he should have got no relief, nor
obtained any satisfaction:
why should not my spirit be troubled? or "shortened" (l); or, as the Targum,
be straitened; for as comfort and joy enlarge the heart, trouble contracts
and straitens it; or is "my prayer" or (m) "petition to men?" it was not,
though he was reduced so low, and was in such a distressed condition; he
had asked nothing of men, not of these his friends, neither to give him of
their substance, nor to help him out of the hands of his enemies, Job_6:21;
he had poured out his complaint before God, and had directed his prayer to
the God of his life; he had desired to speak to none but the Almighty, and to
reason only with him; he had petitioned him to take cognizance of his case,
and to admit of a hearing of it before him, and to have it determined by him;
he had complained of wrongs and injuries done him, and begged to be
redressed and righted, but got no answer; God did not think fit to answer
him, but hid himself from him, and continued so to do: "and if", if this be
the case, as it really was, "why should not my spirit be troubled?" is there
not reason for it? Some think Job's meaning is, is "my disputation", as the
Vulgate Latin version, or is my discourse concerning human things, things
within the compass of human knowledge and reasoning? or, to be attained
to by the force of that, without divine revelation? no, it is concerning divine
things; concerning the mysteries of Providence, with respect to good and
bad men; concerning the living Redeemer, his incarnation, resurrection,
&c. and faith in him; concerning the general resurrection, the final
judgment, and a future state of happiness: or does my complaint, petition,
or discourse, savour of that which is human, and is intermixed with human
frailty? if it be so, it should be borne with, it should be considered I am but a
man, and liable to err; and especially great allowances should be made in
my present circumstances, being trader such sore afflictions; and it may be
reasonably thought, that though the spirit may be willing to behave in a
better manner, the flesh is weak, and much must be imputed unto that; and

it will not seem so extravagant to indulge a troubled spirit so severely
exercised; persons under afflictions generally think they do well to be
troubled, and that there is reason enough for it, and ought to be borne with,
and not to be reproached and rallied on that account.
JAMISO ,"Job’s difficulty was not as to man, but as to God, why He so
afflicted him, as if he were the guilty hypocrite which the friends alleged
him to be. Vulgate translates it, “my disputation.”
if it were — rather, “since this is the case.”
BE SO , "Job 21:4. Is my complaint to man? — o: if it were, I see it would be
to little purpose to complain. I do not make my complaint to, or expect relief from
you, or from any men; but from God only. I am pouring forth my complaints to
him; to him I appeal. Let him be judge between you and me. Before him we stand
upon equal terms, and, therefore, I have the privilege of being heard as well as you.
And if it were so — If my complaint were to man; why should not my spirit be
troubled? — Would I not have cause to be troubled? For they would not regard, nor
even rightly understand me; but my complaint is to God, who will suffer me to
speak, though you will not.
ELLICOTT, "(4) Is my complaint to man?—“It is not to man that I complain. I
do not ask for your sympathy, and, therefore, why should ye resent an offence that
is not given? If, however, I did ask it, might not my spirit with good reason be
impatient? But, on the contrary, my complaint is to God; and, concerning the ways
of God, I venture to ask why it is that His justice is so tardy; and this is a problem
which when I remember it I am troubled, and horror taketh hold on my flesh, so
difficult and arduous is it.”
GUZIK 4-6, "a. Is my complaint against man? This demonstrates again that Job’s
real point of crisis was his conflict with God, not with man (especially with his
friends). His crisis was fundamentally spiritual in nature, much more than being a
medical crisis, an economic crisis, a social crisis, or a family crisis. His struggle was
against God, and he wondered were God was in the midst of this very dark time.
b. Look at me and be astonished: Thus far Job’s friends looked at him and mostly
accused and condemned him. He wanted them to take a step back (as it were) and be
astonished at what had happened to this good and godly man.
c. Why do the wicked live and become old: Job challenged the moral order of the
universe as previously understood by Job’s friends. He challenged them to see that
if it was possible for a wicked man to be seemingly blessed, then perhaps also a
righteous man like Job could seem to be cursed.

i. Zophar said that the wicked die prematurely (Job 20:4-11); Job insisted that
instead the wicked live and become old.
ii. “Of some creatures we use to say, that they have nine lives; of some wicked men
it may be thought so, they do evil a hundred times, and yet their days are prolonged.
Manasseh reigned longest of any king in Judah. Pope John XXII (that monster and
mortalist) lived longest of any pope, and died richest. God gives wealth, health, and
long life to many wicked.” (Trapp)
d. Their descendants are established with them in their sight: In this and the
following verses Job explains many of the blessings that seem to come to many of the
wicked, even as they reject God (Yet they say to God, “Depart from us”).
i. Bildad said that the wicked have no offspring or descendants to remember them
(Job 18:19-21); Job countered that their descendants are established with them in
their sight, and their offspring are before their eyes.
ii. “We see, beneath the Eastern imagery, the picture of the prosperous and
powerful family in all lands and ages, founded in violence, or by fraud and wrong.
‘They do not see their children die,’ says the childless parent. ‘They are stretched
upon no rack of lingering pain,’ says the tortured leper.” (Bradley)
iii. It is impossible to miss the contrast here. All the advantages that many of the
wicked seemed to have, Job was deprived of.
Job is the man whose descendants were cursed and not established.
Job is the man whose house was subject to fear.
Job is the man with the rod of God upon him.
Job is the man whose livestock has perished.
Job is the man whose children no longer dance.
iv. “Job was disturbed by the apparent injustice of it all. As noted the Book of Job
does not deal with the matter of final future judgment that would set right the tables
of justice. Such revelation will come later. Job, therefore, felt that immediate
punishment for the wicked would be the only just procedure; but he found just the
opposite in life.” (Smick)
v. Depart from us: “This is the language of their conduct, though not directly of

their lips. . . . Let us alone; we do not trouble thee. Thy ways are painful; we do not
like cross-bearing. Thy ways are spiritual; we wish to live after the flesh. We have
learned to do our own will; we do not wish to study thine.” (Clarke)
PULPIT, "As for me, is my complaint to man? Do I address myself to
man, pour out my complaint to him, and expect him to redress my
wrongs? o; far otherwise. I address myself to God, from whom alone I
can look for effectual assistance. And if it were so; rather, and if so, if
this is the case, if my appeal is to God, and he makes me no answer,
then why should not my spirit be troubled? or, Why should I not be
impatient? (Revised Version). Job thinks that he has a right to be
impatient, if God does not vouchsafe him an answer.
5 Look at me and be astonished;
clap your hand over your mouth.
BAR ES, "Mark me - Margin, “look unto.” Literally, “Look upon me. That
is, attentively look on me, on my sufferings, on my disease, and my losses.
See if I am a proper object of repreach and mockery - see if I have not
abundant reason to be in deep distress when God has afflicted me in a
manner so unusual and mysterious.
And be astonished - Silent astonishment should be evinced instead of
censure. You should wonder that a man whose life has been a life of piety,
should exhibit the spectacle which you now behold, while so many proud
contemners of God are permitted to live in affluence and ease.
And lay your hand upon your mouth - As a token of silence and wonder. So
Plutarch, de Iside et Osiride, “Wherefore, he had laid his finger on his
mouth as a symbol of silence and admiration - ᅚχεµυθίᅚχεµυθίᅚχεµυθίᅚχεµυθίαςαςαςας καᆳ σιωπᇿκαᆳ σιωπᇿκαᆳ σιωπᇿκαᆳ σιωπᇿςςςς σύσύσύσύµβολονµβολονµβολονµβολον
echemuthiasechemuthiasechemuthiasechemuthias kaikaikaikai siōpēsiōpēsiōpēsiōpēssss sumbolonsumbolonsumbolonsumbolon.”
CLARKE, "Mark me, and be astonished - Consider and compare the state
in which I was once, with that in which I am now; and be astonished at the
judgments and dispensations of God. You will then be confounded; you will
put your hands upon your mouths, and keep silent. Putting the hand on the

mouth, or the finger on the lips, was the token of silence. The Egyptian god
Harpocrates, who was the god of silence, is represented with his finger
compressing his upper lip.
GILL, "Mark me,.... Or "look at me" (n); not at his person, which was no
lovely sight to behold, being covered with boils from head to foot, his flesh
clothed with worms and clods of dust, his skin broken, yea, scarce any left;
however, he was become a mere skeleton, reduced to skin and bone; but at
his sorrows, and sufferings, and consider and contemplate them in their
minds, and see if there was any sorrow like his, or anyone that suffered as
he did, and in such pitiful circumstances; or that they would have a regard
to his words, and well weigh what he had said, or was about to say,
concerning his own case, or concerning the providences of God with respect
to good and bad men, and especially the latter:
and be astonished; at what had befallen him, at his afflictions, being an
innocent man, and not chargeable with any crime for which it could be
thought that these came upon him; and at the different methods of
Providence towards good men and bad men, the one being afflicted, and the
other in prosperous circumstances, see Job_17:8;
and lay your hand upon your mouth; and be silent, since such
dispensations of Providence are unsearchable, and past finding out; and, as
they are not to be accounted for, are not to be spoken against: and it would
have been well if Job had taken the same advice himself, and had been still,
and owned and acknowledged the sovereignty of God, and not opened his
mouth in the manner he had done, and cursed the of his birth, and
complained of hard treatment at the hand of God perhaps his sense may be,
that he would have his friends be silent, and forbear drawing the characters
of men from the outward dealings of God with them. This phrase is used of
silence in Job_29:9; thus Harpocrates, the god of silence with the Heathens,
is always pictured with his hand to his mouth.
JAMISO ,"lay ... hand upon ... mouth — (Pro_30:32; Jdg_18:19). So the
heathen god of silence was pictured with his hand on his mouth. There was
enough in Job’s case to awe them into silence (Job_17:8).
BENSON, "Job 21:5. Mark me, and be astonished — Consider what I am
about to say, concerning the wonderful prosperity of the worst of men, and
the pressures of some good men; and it will fill you with astonishment at the
mysterious conduct of Divine Providence herein. And lay your hand upon
your mouth — Be silent: quietly wait the issue; and judge nothing before the
time. God’s way is in the sea, and his path in the great waters. When we
cannot account for what he doth, in suffering the wicked to prosper, and the
godly to be afflicted, nor fathom the depth of those proceedings, it becomes
us to sit down and admire them. Upright men shall be astonished at this,

chap. Job 17:8. Be you so.
COKE 5-15, "Job 21:5-15. Mark me, and be admonished, &c.— The coldest
reader cannot be insensible of the beauties of the poetry in this speech of
Job. We will not, therefore, attempt to point them out, but attend to the
thread of reasoning. As Job well knew that the account he was about to give
of the prosperity of wicked men, however necessary to his argument, would
have something shocking in it to the ears of those to whom it was addressed;
the delicacy with which he introduces it is inimitable: Mark me, &c.—
wherefore do the wicked live, (Job 21:7.)—become old, yea, are mighty in
power? As if he had said, "That thus it is, in fact, is plain: with awe and
reverence I speak it; but, as for you, I am persuaded that you will never be
able, upon your principles, to account for it." The description which follows,
of a prosperous estate, is such as might indeed justly create envy, were a
wicked man in any estate to be envied; for we have here the chief
ingredients of human happiness, as it respects this life, brought together,
and described in terms exactly suiting the simplicity of manners, and the
way of living in Job's time and country: as, first, security and safety to
themselves and families; Job 21:9. Their houses are safe from fear,—of the
incursions of robbers, we may suppose, or the depredations of the
neighbouring clans, so usual in those ancient times, and of which Job had
felt the mischievous effects: next, health, or a freedom from diseases,
called, in the language of that age, the rod of God. See 1 Samuel 26:10. To
this is added plenty of cattle, the riches of those times; Job 21:10. Next
comes a numerous and hopeful offspring; and what a rural picture has he
drawn of them! Job 21:11. They send forth their little ones like a flock, and
their children dance: one sees them, as it were, tripping upon the green,
with the flush of health and joy in their looks: They take the timbrel and
harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ; Job 21:12. Lastly, and to crown
all, after a prosperous and pleasant life, comes an easy death: They spend
their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave; according to
Schultens, their days pass on in a continual flow of prosperity, till they drop
into the grave without a groan. As every thing in this divine poem is
wonderful, there is scarcely any thing more to be admired in it, than the
variety of descriptions that are given us of human life, in its most exalted
prosperity on the one hand, and its deepest distresses on the other; for this
is what their subject leads them to enlarge upon on both sides, with this
only difference, that the three friends were for limiting prosperity to the
good, whereas Job insists upon a mixed distribution of things from the hand
of Providence; but as all of them, in almost every speech, enlarge upon one
or other of these topics, the variety of imagery and colouring in which they
paint to us these different estates, all drawn from nature, and suiting the
simplicity of those ancient times, is inexpressibly amusing and entertaining:
then, the religious cast thrown over them, considered as the dispensations
of Providence, that we can receive neither good nor evil, but from God, the
Judge of all, a point acknowledged on both hands, is what renders these
descriptions interesting and affecting to us in the highest degree; and the
whole, if well considered, affords no contemptible argument of the antiquity
of the book. See Peters, and the next note. Mr. Heath renders the 8th verse,

Their power is established on a firm footing; their people are in their
presence, and their offspring before their eyes.
PULPIT, "Here we have an abrupt transition. Job is about to controvert
Zophar's theory of the certain retribution that overtakes the wicked man in
this life, and to maintain that, on the contrary, he usually prospers (verses
7-18). Knowing that, in thus running counter to the general religious
teaching, he will arouse much horror and indignation on the part of those
who hear him, he prefaces his remarks with a notice that they will cause
astonishment, and an acknowledgment that he himself cannot reflect upon
the subject without a feeling of alarm and dismay. He thus hopes partially to
disarm his opponents.
Mark me; literally, look to me; i.e. "attend to me," for I am about to say
something well worth attention. And be astonished. Prepare yourselves, i.e;
for something that will astonish you. And lay your hand upon your mouth.
Harpocrates, the Egyptian god of silence, was often represented with his
finger on his lips. The symbolism is almost universal. Job begs his auditors
to "refrain their lips," and, however much astonished, to keep silence until
he has concluded.
6 When I think about this, I am terrified;
trembling seizes my body.
BAR ES, "Even when I remember, I am afraid - I have an internal
shuddering and horror when I recall the scenes through which I have
passed. I am myself utterly overwhelmed at the magnitude of my own
sufferings, and they are such as should excite commiseration in your hearts.
Some, however, have connected this with the following verse, supposing the
idea to be, that he was horror-stricken when he contemplated the
prosperity of wicked people. But there seems to me to be no reason for this
interpretation. His object is undoubtedly to show them that there was
enough in his ease to awe them into silence; and he says, in order to show
that, that the recollection of his sufferings perfectly overwhelmed “him,”
and filled him with horror. They who have passed through scenes of special
danger, or of great bodily suffering, can easily sympathize with Job here.
The very recollection will make the flesh tremble.

CLARKE, "I am afraid - I am about to speak of the mysterious workings of
Providence; and I tremble at the thought of entering into a detail on such a
subject; my very flesh trembles.
GILL, "Even when I remember,.... Either the iniquities of his youth he was
made to possess; or his former state of outward happiness and prosperity
he had enjoyed, and reviewed his present miserable case and condition, and
called to mind the evil tidings brought him thick and fast of the loss of his
substance, servants, and children, which were so terrible and shocking; or
when he reflected on the instances of Providence he was about to relate in
the following verses:
I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh; which is sometimes the
case of good men, both with respect to the judgments of God upon the
wicked, and with respect to what befalls, or is coming upon, the people of
God, Psa_119:120; and even the different treatment of good and bad men in
this life, as that the one should be severely afflicted and distressed, and the
other be in such prosperous and happy circumstances, is not only a sore
temptation to them, but shocks their minds, and makes them shudder and
stagger at it, and gives them great pain and uneasiness, Psa_73:2.
JAMISO ,"remember — Think on it. Can you wonder that I broke out into
complaints, when the struggle was not with men, but with the Almighty?
Reconcile, if you can, the ceaseless woes of the innocent with the divine
justice! Is it not enough to make one tremble? [Umbreit].
BENSON, "Job 21:6. Even when I remember I am afraid, &c. — The very
remembrance of what is past fills me with dread and horror. As Job well
knew that the account he was about to give of the prosperity of wicked men,
however necessary to his argument, would have something shocking in it to
the ears of those to whom it was addressed, the delicacy with which he thus
introduces it is inimitable.
7 Why do the wicked live on,
growing old and increasing in power?

BAR ES, "Wherefore do the wicked live? - Job comes now to the main
design of his argument in this chapter, to show that it is a fact, that the
wicked often have great prosperity; that they are not treated in this life
according to their character; and that it is not a fact that men of eminent
wickedness, as his friends maintained, would meet, in this life, with
proportionate sufferings. He says, that the fact is, that they enjoy great
prosperity; that they live to a great age; and that they are surrounded with
the comforts of life in an eminent degree. The meaning is, “If you are
positive that the wicked are treated according to their character in this life -
that great wickedness is followed by great judgments, how is it to be
accounted for that they live, and grow old, and are mighty in power?” Job
assumes the fact to be so, and proceeds to argue as if that were indisputable.
It is remarkable, that the fact was not adverted to at an earlier period of the
debate. It would have done much to settle the controversy. The “question,”
“Why do the wicked live?” is one of great importance at all times, and one
which it is natural to ask, but which it is not even yet always easy to answer.
“Some” points are clear, and may be easily suggested. They are such as
these - They live
(1) to show the forbearance and long suffering of God;
(2) to furnish a full illustration of the character of the human heart;
(3) to afford them ample space for repentance, so that there shall not be
the semblance of a ground of complaint when they are called before God,
and are condemned;
(4) because God intends to make some of them the monuments of his
mercy, and more fully to display the riches of his grace in their conversion,
as he did in the case of Paul, Augustine, John Bunyan, and John Newton;
(5) they may be preserved to be the instruments of his executing some
important purpose by them, as was the case with Pharaoh, Sennacherib,
and Nebuchadnezzar; or,
(6) he keeps them, that the great interests of society may be carried on;
that the affairs of the commercial and the political world may be forwarded
by their skill and talent.
For some, or all of these purposes, it may be, the wicked are kept in the
land of the living, and are favored with great external prosperity, while
many a Christian is oppressed, afflicted, and crushed to the dust. Of the
“fact,” there can be no doubt; of the “reasons” for the fact, there will be a
fuller development in the future world than there can be now.
Become old - The friends of Job had maintained that the wicked would be
cut off. Job, on the other hand, affirms that they live on to old age. The
“fact” is, that many of the wicked are cut off for their sins in early life, but
that some live on to an extreme old age. The argument of Job is founded on
the fact, that “any” should live to old age, as, according to the principles of
his friends, “all” were treated in this life according to their character.
Yea, are mighty in power - Or, rather, “in wealth” - ‫חיל‬‫חיל‬‫חיל‬‫חיל‬ chaychaychaychayııııllll. Jerome, “Are

comforted in riches” - ”confortatique divitiis.” So the Septuagint, ᅚᅚᅚᅚνννν πλούτሩπλούτሩπλούτሩπλούτሩ
enenenen ploutōploutōploutōploutō. The idea is, that they become very rich.
CLARKE, "Wherefore do the wicked live - You have frequently asserted
that the wicked are invariably punished in this life; and that the righteous
are ever distinguished by the strongest marks of God’s providential
kindness; how then does it come that many wicked men live long and
prosperously, and at last die in peace, without any evidence whatever of
God’s displeasure? This is a fact that is occurring daily; none can deny it;
how then will you reconcile it with your maxims?
GILL, "Wherefore do the wicked live,.... Which question is put either to God
himself, as not knowing ow to account for it, or to reconcile it to his divine
perfections; that he, a holy, just, and righteous Being, should suffer such
wretches to live upon his earth, who had been, and still were, continually
sinning against him, transgressing his law, and trampling under foot his
power and authority; when he, a man that feared the Lord, as God himself
had borne witness of him, laboured under such heavy affliction, that he
seemed rather to die than live: or else it is put to his friends, to whom he
appeals for the truth of it, as Zophar had to him, about the short time of the
prosperity of the wicked, Job_10:4; and desires them to try how they could
make such undeniable facts comport with their own principles, that wicked
men are always and only afflicted to any great degree, and not holy and good
men; but if so, it is asked, why do they "live", even live at all? why is not
their breath stopped at once, that breathe out nothing but sin and
wickedness? or why are they "lively?" as Mr. Broughton renders the word;
that is, brisk, cheerful, and jocund, live merrily, having an abundance of
this world's good things; call upon themselves to eat, drink, and be merry,
and indulge themselves in all the gratifications of sensual pleasures and
delights; live at ease, in peace and outward comfort, and are not in trouble
as other men, having nothing to disturb, disquiet, and distress them; nay,
not only live comfortably, but live long: while a righteous man perishes or
dies in his righteousness, the wicked man prolongs his life in his
wickedness, Ecc_7:15, as it follows:
become old; live to a considerable old age, as Ishmael did, to whom he may
have respect, as well as to some others within his knowledge; or are
"durable" (n), not only in age, as the sinner is supposed to die, and
sometimes does die an hundred years old, or more, but in wealth and
riches, in outward prosperity; for though spiritual riches are only durable
riches, in opposition to temporal ones, yet these sometimes endure with a
wicked man, and he endures with them as long as he lives, as may be seen in
the instances of wicked rich men in Luk_12:16; with which agrees what
follows:
yea, are mighty in power? are in great authority among men, being kings,
princes, civil magistrates, see Psa_37:35; are advanced to great dignity and

honour, as the twelve princes that sprung from Ishmael, and the race of
kings and dukes that came from Esau. Mr. Broughton renders it, "be mighty
in riches", greatly increase in them; and so the Targum, possess substance
or riches.
HE RY,"All Job's three friends, in their last discourses, had been very
copious in describing the miserable condition of a wicked man in this world.
“It is true,” says Job, “remarkable judgments are sometimes brought upon
notorious sinners, but not always; for we have many instances of the great
and long prosperity of those that are openly and avowedly wicked; though
they are hardened in their wickedness by their prosperity, yet they are still
suffered to prosper.”
I. He here describes their prosperity in the height, and breadth, and
length of it. “If this be true, as you say, pray tell me wherefore do the wicked
live?” Job_21:7.
1. The matter of fact is taken for granted, for we see instances of it every
day. (1.) They live, and are not suddenly cut off by the strokes of divine
vengeance. Those yet speak who have set their mouths against the heavens.
Those yet act who have stretched out their hands against God. Not only they
live (that is, they are reprieved), but they live in prosperity, 1Sa_25:6. Nay,
(2.) They become old; they have the honour, satisfaction, and advantage of
living long, long enough to raise their families and estates. We read of a
sinner a hundred years old, Isa_65:20. But this is not all. (3.) They are
mighty in power, are preferred to places of authority and trust, and not
only make a great figure, but bear a great sway. Vivit imo, et in senatum
venit - He not only lives, but appears in the senate. Now wherefore is it so?
Note, It is worth while to enquire into the reasons of the outward prosperity
of wicked people. It is not because God has forsaken the earth, because he
does not see, or does not hate, or cannot punish their wickedness; but it is
because the measure of their iniquities is not full. This is the day of God's
patience, and, in some way or other, he makes use of them and their
prosperity to serve his own counsels, while it ripens them for ruin; but the
chief reason is because he will make it to appear there is another world
which is the world of retribution, and not this.
JAMISO ,"The answer is Rom_2:4; 1Ti_1:16; Psa_73:18; Ecc_8:11-13;
Luk_2:35 -end; Pro_16:4; Rom_9:22.
old — in opposition to the friends who asserted that sinners are “cut off”
early (Job_8:12, Job_8:14).
K&D 7-9, "The question in Job_21:7 is the same as that which Jeremiah
also puts forth, Job_12:1-3. It is the antithesis of Zophar's thesis, Job_20:5,
and seeks the reason of the fact established by experience which had also
well-nigh proved the ruin of Asaph (Ps 73: comp. Mal_3:13-15), viz., that the
ungodly, far from being overtaken by the punishment of their godlessness,
continued in the enjoyment of life, that they attain to old age, and also a
proportionately increasing power and wealth. The verb ‫ק‬ ַ‫ת‬ ָ‫ע‬‫ק‬ ַ‫ת‬ ָ‫ע‬‫ק‬ ַ‫ת‬ ָ‫ע‬‫ק‬ ַ‫ת‬ ָ‫,ע‬ which in Job_

14:18; Job_18:4 (comp. the Hiph. Job_9:5; Job_32:15), we read in the
signification promoveri, has here, like the Arabic ‛ataqa‛ataqa‛ataqa‛ataqa, ‛atuqa‛atuqa‛atuqa‛atuqa, the
signification to become old, aetate provehi; and ‫ל‬ ִ‫י‬ ַ‫ח‬ ‫ר‬ ַ‫ב‬ָ‫ל‬ ִ‫י‬ ַ‫ח‬ ‫ר‬ ַ‫ב‬ָ‫ל‬ ִ‫י‬ ַ‫ח‬ ‫ר‬ ַ‫ב‬ָ‫ל‬ ִ‫י‬ ַ‫ח‬ ‫ר‬ ַ‫ב‬ָ , to become strong in
property, is a synonym of ‫ל‬ ִ‫י‬ ַ‫ח‬ ‫ה‬ָ ְ‫שׂ‬ ִ‫ה‬‫ל‬ ִ‫י‬ ַ‫ח‬ ‫ה‬ָ ְ‫שׂ‬ ִ‫ה‬‫ל‬ ִ‫י‬ ַ‫ח‬ ‫ה‬ָ ְ‫שׂ‬ ִ‫ה‬‫ל‬ ִ‫י‬ ַ‫ח‬ ‫ה‬ָ ְ‫שׂ‬ ִ‫,ה‬ to acquire constantly increasing
possessions, used in a similar connection in Psa_73:12. The first feature in
the picture of the prosperity of the wicked, which the pang of being bereft of
his own children brings home to Job, is that they are spared the same kind
of loss: their posterity is established (‫ּון‬‫כ‬ָ‫נ‬‫ּון‬‫כ‬ָ‫נ‬‫ּון‬‫כ‬ָ‫נ‬‫ּון‬‫כ‬ָ‫,נ‬ constitutus, elsewhere standing in
readiness, Job_12:5; Job_15:23; Job_18:12, here standing firm, as e.g., Psa_
93:2) in their sight about them (so that they have to mourn neither their
loss by death nor by separation from their home), and their offspring (‫ים‬ ִ‫א‬ ָ‫צ‬ ֱ‫ֽא‬ ֶ‫צ‬‫ים‬ ִ‫א‬ ָ‫צ‬ ֱ‫ֽא‬ ֶ‫צ‬‫ים‬ ִ‫א‬ ָ‫צ‬ ֱ‫ֽא‬ ֶ‫צ‬‫ים‬ ִ‫א‬ ָ‫צ‬ ֱ‫ֽא‬ ֶ‫צ‬
, a word common only to the undisputed as well as to the disputed
prophecies of Isaiah and the book of Job) before their eyes; ‫נכון‬‫נכון‬‫נכון‬‫נכון‬ must be
carried over to Job_21:8 as predicate: they are, without any loss, before
their eyes. The description passes over from the children, the corner-stones
of the house (vid., Ges. Thes., s.v. ‫בנה‬‫בנה‬‫בנה‬‫,)בנה‬ to the houses themselves. It is just as
questionable here as in Job_5:24; Isa_41:3, and elsewhere, whether ‫ּום‬‫ל‬ ָ‫שׁ‬‫ּום‬‫ל‬ ָ‫שׁ‬‫ּום‬‫ל‬ ָ‫שׁ‬‫ּום‬‫ל‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ is a
subst. (= ‫בשׁלום‬‫בשׁלום‬‫בשׁלום‬‫)בשׁלום‬ or an adj.; the substantival rendering is at least equally
admissible in such an elevated poetic speech, and the plur. subject ‫ם‬ ֶ‫יה‬ ֵ ָ‫ם‬ ֶ‫יה‬ ֵ ָ‫ם‬ ֶ‫יה‬ ֵ ָ‫ם‬ ֶ‫יה‬ ֵ ָ ,
which, if the predicate were intended to be taken as an adj., leads one to
expect ‫שׁלומים‬‫שׁלומים‬‫שׁלומים‬‫,שׁלומים‬ decides in its favour. On ‫ד‬ ַ‫ח‬ ַ ִ‫מ‬‫ד‬ ַ‫ח‬ ַ ִ‫מ‬‫ד‬ ַ‫ח‬ ַ ִ‫מ‬‫ד‬ ַ‫ח‬ ַ ִ‫,מ‬ without (far from) terrifying
misfortune, as Isa_22:3, ‫מקשׁת‬‫מקשׁת‬‫מקשׁת‬‫,מקשׁת‬ without a bow, vid., on Job_19:26. That which
is expressed in Job_21:9, according to external appearance, is in Job_21:9
referred to the final cause; Eloah's ‫ט‬ ֶ‫ב‬ ֵ‫שׁ‬‫ט‬ ֶ‫ב‬ ֵ‫שׁ‬‫ט‬ ֶ‫ב‬ ֵ‫שׁ‬‫ט‬ ֶ‫ב‬ ֵ‫,שׁ‬ rod, with which He smites in
punishment (Job_9:34; Job_37:13, comp. Isa_10:24-26, where ‫ּוט‬‫שׁ‬‫ּוט‬‫שׁ‬‫ּוט‬‫שׁ‬‫ּוט‬‫שׁ‬, scourge,
interchanges with it), is not over them, i.e., threatens and smites them not.
PULPIT, "Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in
power? Job asks for an explanation of the facts which his own experience
has impressed upon him. He has seen that "the wicked live" quite as long as
the righteous, that in many cases they attain to a ripe old age, and become
among the powerful of the earth. The great "pyramid kings" of Egypt, whose
cruel oppressions were remembered down to the time of Herodotus
(Herod; 2.124-128), reigned respectively, according to Egyptian tradition,
sixty-three and sixty-six years(Manetho ap. Euseb; 'Chronicles Can.,' pars
2.). Rameses II; the cruel oppressor of the Jews, and the Pharaoh from
whom Moses fled, had a reign of sixty-seven years.
BI, "Wherefore do the wicked live?
Reason for the existence of the wicked on earth

I. As witnesses to attest.
1. The amount of freedom with which man is endowed. How free is man
compared to everything about him.
2. The wonderful forbearance of God.
3. The existence of an extraordinary element in the Divine government of
this world. We know that in heaven beings live and are happy because
they are holy; we are taught that in hell there is inexpressible misery
because there is such awful sin. But here are men living often to a good
old age, often possessing all they can wish of earthly comfort, and yet
rebels against God, without repentance, without faith, without love, and
we wonder why this world is thus an exception. Earth is under a
mediatorial government. This great mystery of Christ’s suffering for
man, and prolonging his probation, can alone explain the other great
mystery, that men of debased spirit and godless life are permitted to live
here instead of being banished to hell.
II. As instruments to discipline.
1. In calling out resistance. “Blessed is the man that endureth
temptation; when he is tried he shall receive a crown of life.” The wicked
are often as the chisel by which God carves out the good man’s character,
the fires by which it is purified.
2. By calling out the Christian’s benevolence. Our compassion, prayers,
self-sacrifice, work, are all called forth by the existence of the wicked.
III. As beacons to warn.
1. As to the progress of sin.
2. As to the effects of sin.
IV. As criminals to reform. This is the grand end of their prolonged life. The
world is a great reformatory. (Urijah R. Thomas.)
Why do the live
?—
1. That they may have the opportunity of being reconciled to God.
2. That they may be the instruments of good to others.
3. That they may display the long suffering and forbearance of God.
4. That they may furnish an argument for a future state of retribution.
5. That they may demonstrate the equity of their own everlasting
condemnation. (G. Brooks.)
Why do the wicked live
They build up fortunes that overshadow the earth, and confound all the life
insurance tables on the subject of longevity, some of them dying

Job 21 commentary

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Job 21 commentary