22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits; God shall cast the fury of His wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating. 24 He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through. 25 It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall; terrors are upon him! 26 All darkness shall be hid in his secret places; a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle. 27 The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him. 28 The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of His wrath. 29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God. EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL. 1. A new variation of the favorite theme of the friends-the perishableness of the prosperity of the ungodly. The formula by which it is this time expressed is (ver. 5): "The triumphing of the wicked is of short duration, and the joy of the ungodly only for a moment." In the further development of this thought the wicked, who encounters inevitable destruction, is described as a rich man, who avariciously seizes on the possessions of others, and whose property, unjustly acquired, becomes the prey of an exterminating fire that destroys himself, and all that belongs to him. This on the one side links itself to the former description of Eliphaz, ch. xv. 25 seq., on the other side, however, it glances aside with malicious suspicion at the former prosperity of Job, the foundation of which the speaker would indicate as presumably impure and unrighteous. -The discourse is divided into a short introduction (vers. 2-5), and a discussion extending through four strophes of six verses each (in one instance of five), together with a closing verse, which stands as an isolated epiphonema. 2. Introduction, together with the theme of the discourse: vers. 2-5. Ver. 2. Therefore do my thoughts give answer to me.-[1, by some rendered "still, yet," (Umbreit, Noyes, Rodwell), or "truly," (Elzas), but incorrectly]. with Accus. of the person, as in ch. xiii. 22 [E. V., "cause me to answer," and so Fürst, and this would cor respond with Zophar's eagerness to speak; but count he feels called upon by his thoughts to answer, and hence his inward impulse leaves him no rest, because he hears from Job a contemptuous wounding reproof of himself." Ewald, Hahn, Wordsworth, etc., point backward to the closing menace of Job's discourse (ch. xix. 29) as the cause of Zophar's feeling]. ya, which is evidently separated from n by the accentuation is used as a preposition "on account of," but without its complement. We must supply either (from ¡ in a), or N; comp. the similar elliptical use of hy in Isa. lix. 18. To connect 2 immediately with van: “because of my storming (Del. "because of my feeling") [" because of my eager haste," Ges., Con., Carey, Noyes] within me," produces a less symmetrical structure for the verse, and a flatter sense. hear! Comp. Isa. liii. 5 ["chastisement of our Ver. 3. A chiding to my shame must I peace," i. e., which tends to our peace; so here, the chastisement or chiding which tends to my shame.-The E. V.'s rendering, "check of my reproach" is scarcely intelligible. Neither is "I have heard" sufficiently exact for the fut. YOUN, which means rather "I have to hear." E.].-Nevertheless the spirit out of my understanding gives me an answer; i. e. "out of the fulness of its perception it furnishes of Job with his insulting attacks" (Delitzsch), me with information as to what is to be thought viz., that he is to be warned and punished as an ungodly man. [E. V., 'y', as Hiph. “causeth me to answer;" better as Kal "answereth,” and thus equivalent to , ver. 2. This exordium is strikingly suggestive of the prominent siveness and vivacity, or perhaps volatility, intraits of Zophar's character; his mental discurdicated by Day, his thoughts shot forth in various directions; his eager impetuosity, finished, and then broke out hotly; his proud he could scarcely contain himself until Job had sensitive egotism, especially prominent in ver. 3 a, "the chiding of my shame must I hear;" in, his subjective self-sufficient dogmatism-"the, 1 Kings xiv. 10). This comparison, which spirit out of my understanding gives answer." It beyond a doubt expresses a meaning which is is questionable whether here is to be taken unfavorable and disgraceful to the ungodly man, as Renan explains, of the universal (not as he refers to his own dung; in the same way that this terms it "impersonal") spirit (comp. ch. xxxii. is at once swept away, on account of its ill odor, 8), speaking in man. The dogmatic character so is he speedily removed by the Divine judgof the speaker, and the prominence which he ment (comp. Ezek. 1. c.). In regard to the coarse gives to his own personality, is not altogether in harshness of the expression, comp. below, ver. harmony with such a view. Moreover, Elihu is 15, as also Zophar's former discourse, ch. xi. 12. put forward by the poet as the representative ["The word is not low, as Ezek. iv. 12; Zeph. of an internal revelation, even as Eliphaz re- i. 17 shows, and the figure, though revolting, is presents the external. Zophar on the other hand still very expressive." Delitzsch]. The followrepresents the individual reason, as Bildad re-ing explanations involve an unsuitable softening presents the collective traditional wisdom of the race. See Introduction.-E.]. Vers. 4, 5 present the substance of these communications of Zophar's spirit in the form of a question addressed to Job. [and weakening] of the sense. (1) The attempt of Wetzstein in Delitzsch [I. 377 seq. adopted by Del. and Merx] to identify with the cowdung heaped up for fuel in the dwelling of the Ver. 5. Knowest thou this indeed [either wicked. (2) The attempt of Schultens, Ewald, "the question implying that the contrary would Hirz., Heiligst., [Con.], to read 1, "accordbe inferred from Job's language" (Con.), or "sarcastically, equivalent to: thou surely know-ing to his greatness, in proportion as he was est; or in astonishment, what! dost thou not great," from a, magnificentia, majestas [Good know!" (Del.) hence it is unnecessary (with E. (followed by Wemyss) adopts this with the adV., Ges., etc.), to supply the negative, =]ditional amendment of to 2, understanding from eternity (i. e., to be true, -, as a the midst of his greatness]. (3) The unfounded the passage to teach that the wicked perishes in virtual adjective, or as a virtual predicate-ac- translation of the Syriac: "like the whirlwind" cusative, Ewald 336, b), since man was placed upon the earth. D Infinit. with an indefinite subject, "since one placed" [or, since the placing of] as in ch. xiii. 9.-DIN, not precisely a proper name, referring to the first man, but collective or generic; comp. Deut. iv. 32. ,and so Fiirst ,גלגל - as גל who however defines it to mean "chaff." Either Ver. 5. That the triumphing of the wicked is short (lit., from near, i. e., not ex-hand around." tending far; comp. Deut. xxxii. 17; Jer. xxiii. 23), and the joy of the ungodly only for a moment.- in y, like in 2 Kings ix. 22 expresses the idea of duration, "during, for." The whole question is intended to convey doubt and wonder that Job, judging by his speeches, was entirely unacquainted with the familiar proposition touching the short duration of the triumphing of the wicked which is made the theme of what follows. [This is Zophar's short and cutting rejoinder to Job's triumphant outburst in ch. xix. 25 seq.-That jubilant exclamation was, as Zophar indirectly suggests, a .[שִׂמְחַת חָנַף that exulting joy a יִנְנַת רָשָׁע 3. The expansion of the theme: vers. 6-29. First Strophe: Vers. 6-11. [The wicked, however prosperous, perishes utterly, together with his family and acquisitions; he himself in the prime of life]. Ver. 6. Though his height (Ny from N, comp. Ps. lxxxix. 10) [i. e., his exaltation in rank and power] mount up to Heaven, and his head reach unto the clouds; comp. Isa. xiv. 13 seq.; Obad. 4. [, not causative (Del.), but parallel to hy, as N to MV]. Ver. 7. Like his dung he perishes forever; they who have seen him say: Where is he?-The subj. here is the r, ver. 5b, and so continues to the end of the de"like his dung," from 1, globulus stercoris, Zeph. i. 17; Ezek. iv. 12,15 (comp. ,כגללו .scription Ver. 8. As a dream he flies away [and is no more to be found: and he is scared away as a vision of the night].—For the use of "dream" and "night-vision" (as in ch. iv. 13 ["so everywhere in the book of Job instead of j, from which it perhaps differs as visum from visio," Delitzsch]), as figures for that xxix. 7; Ps. lxxiii. 20; xc. 5. 17, Hiph.: "is which is fleeting, quickly perishable, comp. Isa. scared away," to wit, by God's judicial intervention; a stronger expression than the Active TT, "he flies." Ver. 9. An eye has looked upon him (been sharply fixed upon him; as in ch. xxviii. 7); it does it not again; comp. ch. v. 3; vii. 8; viii. 18. [The verb is found in Cant. i. 6 in the sense of scorching, or making swarthy (cogn. Tadurere). Hence the signification of a fixed scorching look is attached to it by Delitzsch. It may at least be said of it that it means as much as our "scan," or gaze upon." It is suggested perhaps by the lofty position, the heaven-touching, cloud-capped attitude of the wicked in ver. 6. Such a height, which the sun would (1) look on, and cause to glow, the eye of man would () gaze on intently. The clause is thus equivalent to: There 66 was a time when he was the observed of all observers, but it is so no more -E.].-And his retains it in his palate.—The tenacity with which the evil-doer persists in the lustful enjoyment of his wickedness, is set forth by five parallel and essentially synonymous expressions accumulated together. = to place beholds him no more.-pp, which Ver. 14. (Nevertheless) his food is changed in his bowels-into what is explained in the second member. The poison of asps is within him.— (=77, chap. xvi. 13), , an expression which is to be understood in a sense altogether general, and not specifically of asking alms [Barnes: they would be lit. "gall," is used here for "poison,”—because beggars of beggars"] nor of appeasing by the the ancients used interchangeably terms repreuse of money, although the second member ap-senting the bitter and the poisonous; comp. proximates the latter meaning quite closely. Na bitter, poisonous plant and the poison The ancient versions read, or 3 (from of serpents, in ver. 16; Deut. xxxii. 33. The word is naturally chosen here as antithetic to P), and thus obtained the meaning, which is, P'лn, verse 12. [On 'n see below, ver. far less suitable, "His sons (object) the lowly 16.] :.: T: T smite down." [Ewald, adopting this definition Ver. 15. He hath swallowed down riches. for the verb, and amending 1 to 15 translates: "his fists smote down the weak"].-,"possessions, riches, property," without And his hands (must) give back his the accompanying notion of forcible acquisition wealth: to wit, by the hands of his children, which rather first makes its appearance in who will have to appease the creditors of their y. God will cast them forth again out father. ["The suffix in 7 might refer back, of his belly—i. e., his riches, or that which he in the way of individualization, to the plural in has swallowed. The greedy devourer of wealth D' (so Noyes); but against this is the fact that will be made to vomit it forth, as by pains of also in the following verse the wicked man is the subject of the discourse." Schlott.]. The mean-substituted dyychos here for veós; in Zophar's The LXX., from motives of decorum, ing would be much less simple if (with Carey; mouth, however, the latter word need not surDillmann) [Bernard, Renan, Lee], "his hands" were understood literally, and after the preprise us. ceding mention of his death we were carried back here to the period of his life. Ver. 11. His bones were full of youthful vigor (so correctly the LXX., Targ., Pesh.while the Vulg., Rosenm., Vaih., etc., understand it of "secret sins," and comp. Ps. xc. 8); [Jerome, however, followed, by E. V., Lee, and Barnes, combining the two ideas of sin and youth, while Renan, Good, Wemyss, Carey, render "secret sins." Our other authorities, Ew., Dillmann, Schlott., Rodwell, Words., Con., Ber., Elz., with Ges. and Fürst agree with the LXX., etc.].-and it lies down with him in the dust; or "it is laid down," viz., his youthful vigor; for the use of referring back to ry, comp. ch. xiv. 19; Ps. ciii. 56. For "dust," meaning the "grave," comp. ch. xix. 25; xvii. 16. Second Strophe: Vers. 12-16. A description of the perishableness of the ungodly man's prosperity by a comparison with poison, sweet to the taste, but deadly in its results. colic. in order to describe more minutely the effect of Third Strophe: Vers. 17-22. [The evil-doer cannot enjoy his prosperity-for he must restore his ill-gotten gains.] Vers. 12, 13 are the protasis dependent on DN Ver. 17. He may not delight in the sight ver. 14 seq., the apodosis.-Ver. 12. Though of (as in chap. iii. 9) brooks, streams, evil tastes sweet in his mouth (P' lit., rivers of honey and cream.—[The negative "makes sweet," Ewald, 122, c [Green, 79, and the apocopated 7 express the concur2]); he hides it under his tongue, i. e., he does not swallow it down, in order to enjoy therence of the speaker's moral judgment and feelsweet taste of it so much the longer ["the evil- ing with the affirmation of the fact. They are doer likened to an epicure," Delitzsch.-Renan: a mental Amen to the prediction.-E.] After Comme un bonbon qu'on laisse fondre dans la in the absol. state there follow in apposibouche]. Ver. 18. He is sparing of it (on to in- which form an assonance, and are co-ordinate. dulge, to spare, here with y, the preposition [Dillmann: "It is a more poetic artistic exprescommonly used with verbs of covering, protect- sion than the simple DIT '17).” ing, guarding) and does not let it go, and Hupfeld conjectures that " may be a gloss. נהֲרֵי נַהֲלֵי ,tion two nouns in the construct state See Gesen. 255, 3 a.] "Honey and milk" (or | Ver. 18. Giving back that which he has labored for, subst. synonymous with ?? [the participial clause y coming first, and assigning the reason for what follows] he enjoys it not-lit. he swallows it not, he will not be happy. According to the property of his exchange (D as in chap. xv. 31) he rejoices not-i.e., in accordance with the fact that he employed sinful, unjust means of exchange, in order to gain temporal possessions and enjoyments, he has no pleasure in the latter, he must lack the joy which he had promised himself in them. So correctly Ewald, Delitzsch, Dillmann, etc.; while Hirzel and others [E. V. Lee, Bernard, Renan, Rodwell], following the Targum, translate as though instead of of ', are (a) That of the E. V.: "Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor: because he hath violently taken away a house which he builded not; surely he shall not," etc.; which cannot be justified in rendering differently in Rodwell, who introduce the apodosis in 20b. ver. 19 and in ver. 20. (b) That of Noyes and (e) That of Good, Lee, Wemyss, Carey,-which assumes the apodosis to be introduced by ja-hy in ver. 21 b.-E.]. • T Ver. 20. For (? co-ordinate to that at the beginning of the preceding verse) he knew no rest in his belly: the seat of his gluttony or avarice. here a substantive (differently from chap. xvi. 12, where it is an adjective), synonymous with my, Prov. xvii. 1. For the sentiment comp. Isa. lix. 8. [E. V.: "he shall not feel quietness," etc., overlooks the distinction of tenses in the verse: Perfect, perf. Whether we translate "for" or "because," there is a relation of antecedent and consequent between a and b. This has been the evil-doer's character-insatiable voracity; this shall be his doom-to be stripped of every thing. Im E.] (Therefore) he shall not escape with his dearest treasure.- without an object to escape, like, chap. xxiii. 7; or also hp, comp. Amos ii. 15. The in , the passage read (“as his possessions, so his exchange,' i. e., his restitution). Gesenius, Schlottmann [Conant, Elzas] render: "as his property that is to be exchanged, i. e., to be restored" (similarly Hupfeld: sicut opes permutando comparatas), which, however, is the 2 of accompaniment or of possesyields a strained sense [and is also "contrary to the relative independence of the separate lines of the verse, which our poet almost always preserves, and is also opposed by the interposing of.” DEL. Carey explains: "to the full amount of its value," taking 'n in the sense of "power," or "fullness"-a doubtful signification when used in connection with property. To be noted is hy in our Book for thy or .[עלץ Ver. 19. For he crushed, abandoned the poor-i. e., maltreated with persistent injustice the unprotected and defenceless. He has taken houses (lit. "a house," collective) for his plunder, and builded them not-i. e., has not re-builded them, has not reached the point of reconstructing and fitting them up according to his own taste, because he was not allowed to retain permanent possession of them. Against the rendering of the Targ., Vulg., etc., also of Hupfeld [and E. V.]: "he has plundered a house which he builded not," it may be urged that in that case it must have read .ולא The sion, as in chap. xix. 20. [Not, therefore, in- Ver. 21. Nothing escaped his greediness [or gluttony]: lit. "there is nought of a remainder [or of that which has escaped] to his food-comp. ch. xviii. 19. [ from, not (E. V. "meat"); hence, more literally still than above: "there is nothing that has escaped his eating"]. Therefore his wealth shall not endure.-', as in Ps. x. 5, means "to be solid, powerful, enduring.", "wealth," or also "prosperity," as in ch. xxi. 16. [E. V.: "no man shall look for his goods," which can only mean (with ), no one shall wait for his property as his heir,-a meaning both less simple and less suitable than the above.] Ver. 22. In the fullness of his superfluity it is strait with him—i. e., distress overtakes him, meaning external poverty (not internal anguish, etc.), as b shows. The Inf. constr. causal relation in which the first member is placed to the second by Delitzsch: "because he cast down, let the destitute lie helpless, he shall not, in case he has seized a house, build it up" [Conant: "the houses he has plundered he shall not build up"] is indicated with too little clear- (written like Л, Judg. viii. 1), from ness by the at the beginning of the verse, and, after the analogy of h, verbs; comp. yields a meaning entirely too artificial. [Other Gesen. 875 [374], Rems. 20 and 21 [Green, constructions, according to the causal rendering 166, 2]. with retracted tone for " ["on account of the following monosyllable." DEL.]; [ him what can satisfy him."-Schlottm.: “Such TT: : 66 .: their flesh as in ch. -may also have had some intu עלימו בלתומו of ence in determining this form, which in this of wrath is historically realized by the intro- Ver. 23. That it may serve to the filling of his belly, He casts the glow of His wrath upon him. The subject is God, although He is not expressly named; as in ch. xvi. 7. The Jussive, at the head of the verse, is rendered by most as a simple future: "it shall come to pass," viz. that which follows. But to express this we should rather expect (as frequently with the prophets), or (as frequently in prose). For this reason the construction of the Jussive as dependent on hy is to be preferred to any other (so Stickel, Hahn [Ewald], Dillmann, etc.). [It is certainly simpler, and in the spirit and style of Zophar in this discourse to take as an independent verb, forming the first of the series of jussives in this verse, each of which expresses the strong sympathy of his feelings with the result which he predicts. See above on -, ver. 17; and Dillmann's remark below.-E.]-The Jussives and, however, are to be explained on the ground that the passage is intended to set forth the necessity for God's punitive agency as established in the divine order of the world ["and at the same time to indicate his own agreement therewith." Dillm.], "it is drawn," i. e. the sword of the purIn regard to the descent of the divine wrath in the form of a rain of fire, comp. above on ch. xviii. 15.-As to the phrase: "to fill the belly of any one," comp. above ver. 20; Luke xv. 16. -And causes to rain upon him with his food.-serving to introduce the object; comp. ch. xvi. 4, 10). The subject here again is God. The food which He causes to rain upon the wicked, to wit, his just punishment (comp. ch. ix. 18; Jer. ix. 14 [15]) is called "his food" (inṛ), viz. that of the wicked, that which he is appointed to feed upon. [Ewald: "rain upon Ver. 25. He draws it out (viz. the arrow, in suing enemy, who plunges it into him, and then |