Job 18:6

and abuse. Instead of How long will it be ere ye make an end of words? Mr. Good translates: "How long will ye plant thorns (irritating, lacerating, wounding invectives) among words?" translating the unusual term קנצי kintsey, thorns, instead of bounds or limits. The word קנצי kintsey may be the Chaldee form for קצי kitsey, the נ nun being inserted by the Chaldeans for the sake of euphony, as is frequently done; and it may be considered as the contracted plural from קץ kats, a thorn, from קץ kats, to lacerate, rather than קץ kets, an end, from קצה katsah, to cut off. Schultens and others have contended that קנץ kanats, is an Arabic word, used also in Hebrew; that (Arabic) kanasa, signifies to hunt, to lay snares; and hence (Arabic) maknas, a snare: and that the words should be translated, "How long will you put captious snares in words?" But I prefer קנצי kintsey, as being the Chaldee form for קצי kitsey, whether it be considered as expressing limits or thorns; as the whole instance is formed after the Chaldee model, as is evident, not only in the word in question, but also in למלין lemillin, to words, the Chaldee plural instead of למלים lemillim, the Hebrew plural. Verse 3 Counted as beasts - Thou treatest us as if we had neither reason nor understanding. Verse 4 He teareth himself in his anger - Literally, Rending his own soul in his anger; as if he had said, Thou art a madman: thy fury has such a sway over thee that thou eatest thy own flesh. While thou treatest us as beasts, we see thee to be a furious maniac, destroying thy own life. Shall the earth be forsaken for thee? - To say the least, afflictions are the common lot of men. Must God work a miracle in providence, in order to exempt thee from the operation of natural causes? Dost thou wish to engross all the attention and care of providence to thyself alone? What pride and insolence! Verse 5 The light of the wicked shall be put out - Some think it would be better to translate the original, "Let the light of the wicked be extinguished!" Thou art a bad man, and thou hast perverted the understanding which God hath given thee. Let that understanding, that abused gift, be taken away. From this verse to the end of the chapter is a continual invective against Job. Verse 6 The light shall be dark in his tabernacle - His property shall be destroyed, his house pillaged, and himself and his family come to an untimely end. His candle shall be put out - He shall have no posterity. Verse 7 The steps of his strength - Even in his greatest prosperity he shall be in straits and difficulties. His own counsel - He shall be the dupe and the victim of his own airy, ambitious, and impious schemes. Verse 8 For he is cast into a net - His own conduct will infallibly bring him to ruin. He shall be like a wild beast taken in a net; the more he flounces in order to extricate himself, the more he shall be entangled. He walketh upon a snare - He is continually walking on the meshes of a net, by which he must soon be entangled and overthrown. Verse 9 The gin shall take him - Houbigant reads the tenth before the ninth verse, thus: "The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way. The gin shall take him by the heel, and the robber shall prevail against him." From the beginning of the seventh verse to the end of the thirteenth there is an allusion to the various arts and methods practiced in hunting. 1. A number of persons extend themselves in a forest, and drive the game before them, still straitening the space from a broad base to a narrow point in form of a triangle, so that the farther they go the less room have they on the right and left, the hunters lining each side, while the drovers with their dogs are coming up behind. "The steps of his strength shall be straitened," Job 18:7 . 2. Nets, gins, and pitfalls, are laid or formed in different places, so that many are taken before they come to the point where the two lines close. "He is cast into a net, he walketh upon a snare - the trap is laid for him in the way - the snare in the ground," Job 18:8-10 . 3. The howling of the dogs, with the shouts of the huntsmen, fill him with dismay, and cause him to run himself beyond his strength and out of breath. "Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet," Job 18:11 . 4. While spent with hunger and fatigue, he is entangled in the spread nets; and the huntsman either pierces him with an arrow or spear, or cuts the sinews of his legs, so that he is easily captured and destroyed. "The robbers shall prevail against him," Job 18:9 . "His strength is hunger-bitten, and destruction is ready at his side," Job 18:12 . This latter verse is thus paraphrased by the Chaldee: "Let his first-born son be famished; and affliction be prepared for his wife." Verse 13 It shall devour the strength of his skin - This may refer to the elephant, or to the rhinoceros, whose skin scarcely any dart can pierce: but in the case referred to above, the animal is taken in a pitfall, and then the first-born of death - a sudden and overwhelming stroke - deprives him of life. See the account of hunting the elephant in the East at the end of the chapter, Job 18:21 (note). The Chaldee has: "The strength of his skin shall devour his flesh; and the angel of death shall consume his children." Verse 14 His confidence shall be rooted out - His dwelling-place, how well soever fortified, shah now he deemed utterly insecure. And it shall bring him to the king of terrors - Or, as Mr. Good translates, "And dissolution shall invade him as a monarch." He shall be completely and finally overpowered. The phrase king of terrors has been generally thought to mean death; but it is not used in any such way in the text. For למלך בלהות lemelech ballahoth, to the king of destructions, one of De Rossi's MSS. has כמלך kemelech, "as a king;" and one, instead of בלהות ballahoth, with ו vau holem, to indicate the plural, terrors or destructions, has בלהות ballahuth, with ו vau shurek, which is singular, and signifies terror, destruction. So the Vulgate seems to have read, as it translates, Et calcet super eum, quasi rex, interitis; "And shall tread upon him as a king or destroyer. Or as a king who is determined utterly to destroy him." On this verse the bishop of Killala, Dr. Stock, says, "I am sorry to part with a beautiful phrase in our common version, the king of terrors, as descriptive of death; but there is no authority for it in the Hebrew text." It may however be stated that death has been denominated by similar epithets both among the Greeks and Romans. So Virgil, Aen. vi., ver. 100. - Quando hic inferni janua regi Dicitur. "The gates of the king of hell are reported to be here." And Ovid, Metam. lib. v., ver. 356, 359. Inde tremit tellus: et rex pavit ipse silentum. Hanc metuens cladem, tenebrosa sede tyrannus Exierat. "Earth's inmost bowels quake, and nature groans; His terrors reach the direful King of Hell. Fearing this destruction, the tyrant left hisgloomy court." And in Sophocles, (Oedip. Colon., ver. 1628, edit. Johnson). Εννυχιων αναξ, Αιδωνευ. "O Pluto, king of shades." That is, the invisible demon, who dwells in darkness impenetrable. Old Coverdale translates: Very fearfulnesse shall bringe him to the kynge. Verse 15 It shall dwell in his tabernacle - Desolation is here personified, and it is said that it shall be the inhabitant, its former owner being destroyed. Brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation, so that, like Sodom and Gomorrah, it may be an everlasting monument of the Divine displeasure. In the Persian poet Saady, we find a couplet which contains a similar sentiment: - Purdeh daree meekund dar keesri Keesar ankeboot Boomee Noobat meezund ber kumbed Afraseeab. "The spider holds the veil in the palace of Caesar; The owl stands sentinel on the watchtower of Afrasiab." The palaces of those mighty kings are so desolate that the spider is the only chamberlain, and the owl the only sentinel. The web of the former is all that remains as a substitute for the costly veil furnished by the chamberlain in the palace of the Roman monarch; and the hooting of the latter is the only remaining substitute for the sound of drums and trumpets by which the guards were accustomed to be relieved at the watchtower of the Persian king. The word (Persic) Keesur, the same as kaisar or Caesar, is the term which the Asiatics always use when they designate the Roman emperor. Afrasiab was an ancient king who invaded and conquered Persia about seven hundred years before the Christian era. After having reigned twelve years, he was defeated and slain by Zalzer and his son, the famous Rustem. The present reigning family of Constantinople claim descent from this ancient monarch. Brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation - This may either refer to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, as has already been intimated, or to an ancient custom of fumigating houses with brimstone, in order to purify them from defilement. Pliny says, Hist. Nat., lib. xxxv., c. 15, speaking of the uses of sulphur, Habet et in religionibus locum ad expiandas suffitu domos; which Dr. Holland paraphrases thus: "Moreover brimstone is employed ceremoniously in hallowing of houses; for many are of opinion that the perfume and burning thereof will keep out all enchantments; yea, and drive away foul fiends and evil sprites that do haunt a place." Ovid refers to the same, De Arte. Am., lib. ii. ver. 329. Et veniat, quae lustret anus lectumque locumque: Praeferat et tremula sulphur et ova manu. This alludes to the ceremony of purifying the bed or place in which a sick person was confined; an old woman or nurse was the operator, and eggs and sulphur were the instruments of purification. On this and other methods of purgation see an excellent note in Servius on these words of Virgil, Aen. vi., ver. 740. - Aliae panduntur inanes Suspensae ad ventos: aliis sub gurgite vasto Infectum eluitur scelus, aut exuritur igni. "For this are various penances subjoin'd; And some are hung to bleach upon the wind; Some plunged in waters, others, plunged in fires." Unde etiam, says Servius, in sacris Liberi omnibus tres sunt istae purgationes: nam aut taeda purgantur et sulphure, aut aqua abluuntur, aut aere ventilantur. "These three kinds of purgation are used in the rites of Bacchus: they are purged by flame and sulphur, or washed in water, or ventilated by the winds." But it is most likely that Bildad, in his usual uncharitable manner, alludes to the destruction of Job's property and family by winds and fire: for the Fire of God fell from heaven and burnt up the sheep and the servants, and Consumed them; and a great wind, probably the sulphureous suffocating simoom, smote the four corners of the house, where Job's children were feasting, and killed them; see Job 1:16 , Job 1:19 . Verse 16 His roots shall be dried up - his branch be cut off - He shall be as utterly destroyed, both in himself, his posterity, and his property, as a tree is whose branches are all lopped off, and whose every root is cut away. Verse 17 His remembrance shall perish - He shall have none to survive him, to continue his name among men. No name in the street - He shall never be a man of reputation; after his demise, none shall talk of his fame. Verse 18 He shall be driven from light - He shall be taken off by a violent death. And chased out of the world - The wicked is Driven Away in his iniquity. This shows his reluctance to depart from life. Verse 19 He shall neither have son nor nephew - Coverdale, following the Vulgate, translates thus: He shal neither have children ner kynss folk among his people, no ner eny posterite in his countrie: yonge and olde shal be astonyshed at his death. Verse 20 They that come after him - The young shall be struck with astonishment when they hear the relation of the judgments of God upon this wicked man. As they that went before. The aged who were his contemporaries, and who saw the judgments that fell on him, were affrighted, אחזו שער achazu saar, seized with horror - were horrified; or, as Mr. Good has well expressed it, were panic-struck. Verse 21 Such are the dwellings - This is the common lot of the wicked; and it shall be particularly the case with him who knoweth not God, that is Job, for it is evident he alludes to him. Poor Job! hard was thy lot, severe were thy sufferings. On the elephant hunt to which I have referred, Job 18:13 , I shall borrow the following account extracted from Mr. Cordiner's History of Ceylon, by Mr. Good: - "We have a curious description of the elephant hunt, which is pursued in a manner not essentially different from the preceding, except that the snares are pallisadoed with the strongest possible stakes, instead of being netted, and still farther fortified by interlacings. They are numerous, but connected together; every snare or inclosure growing gradually narrower, and opening into each other by a gate or two that will only admit the entrance of a single animal at a time. "The wood in which elephants are known to abound is first surrounded, excepting at the end where the foremost and widest inclosure is situated, with fires placed on moveable pedestals, which in every direction are drawn closer and closer, and, aided by loud and perpetual shouts, drive the animals forward till they enter into the outer snare. After which the same process is continued, and they are driven by fear into a second, into a third, and into a fourth; till at length the elephants become so much sub-divided, that by the aid of cordage fastened carefully round their limbs, and the management of decoy elephants, they are easily capable of being led away one by one, and tamed. A single hunt thus conducted will sometimes occupy not less than two months of unremitting labor; and the entrance of the elephants into the snares is regarded as an amusement or sport of the highest character, and as such is attended by all the principal families of the country." Account of Ceylon, p. 218-226. Introduction Job complains of the cruelty of his friends, Job 19:1-5 . Pathetically laments his sufferings, Job 19:6-12 . Complains of his being forsaken by all his domestics, friends, relatives, and even his wife, Job 19:13-19 . Details his sufferings in an affecting manner, calls upon his friends to pity him, and earnestly wishes that his speeches may be recorded, Job 19:20-24 . Expresses his hope in a future resurrection, Job 19:25-27 . And warns his persecutors to desist, lest they fall under God's judgments, Job 19:28 , Job 19:29 . Verse 2 How long will ye vex my soul - Every thing that was irritating, vexatious, and opprobrious, his friends had recourse to, in order to support their own system, and overwhelm him. Not one of them seems to have been touched with a feeling of tenderness towards him, nor does a kind expression drop at any time from their lips! They were called friends; but this term, in reference to them, must be taken in the sense of cold-blooded acquaintances. However, there are many in the world that go under the sacred name of friends, who, in times of difficulty, act a similar part. Job's friends have been, by the general consent of posterity, consigned to endless infamy. May all those who follow their steps be equally enrolled in the annals of bad fame! Verse 3 These ten times - The exact arithmetical number is not to be regarded; ten times being put for many times, as we have already seen. See particularly the note on Gen 31:7 (note). Ye make yourselves strange to me - When I was in affluence and prosperity, ye were my intimates, and appeared to rejoice in my happiness; but now ye scarcely know me, or ye profess to

put out with him. 7 The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down. 8 For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare. 9 The gin shall take him by the heel, and the robber shall prevail against him. 10 The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way. The rest of Bildad's discourse is entirely taken up in an elegant description of the miserable condition of a wicked man, in which there is a great deal of certain truth, and which will be of excellent use if duly considered—that a sinful condition is a sad condition, and that iniquity will be men's ruin if they do not repent of it. But it is not true that all wicked people are visibly and openly made thus miserable in this world; nor is it true that all who are brought into great distress and trouble in this world are therefore to be deemed and adjudged wicked men, when no other proof appears against them; and therefore, though Bildad thought the application of it to Job was easy, yet it was not safe nor just. In these verses we have, I. The destruction of the wicked foreseen and foretold, under the similitude of darkness ( v. 5, 6 ): Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out. Even his light, the best and brightest part of him, shall be put out; even that which he rejoiced in shall fail him. Or the yea may refer to Job's complaints of the great distress he was in and the darkness he should shortly make his bed in. "Yea," says Bildad, "So it is; thou art clouded, and straitened, and made miserable, and no better could be expected; for the light of the wicked shall be put out, and therefore thine shall." Observe here, 1. The wicked may have some light for a while, some pleasure, some joy, some hope within, as well as wealth, and honour, and power without. But his light is but a spark ( v. 5 ), a little thing and soon extinguished. It is but a candle ( v. 6 ), wasting, and burning down, and easily blown out. It is not the light of the Lord (that is sun-light), but the light of his own fire and sparks of his own kindling, Isa. l. 11 . 2. His light will certainly be put out at length, quite put out, so that not the least spark of it shall remain with which to kindle another fire. Even while he is in his tabernacle, while he is in the body, which is the tabernacle of the soul ( 2 Cor. v. 1 ), the light shall be dark; he shall have no true solid comfort, no joy that is satisfying, no hope that is supporting. Even the light that is in him is darkness; and how great is that darkness! But, when he is put out of this tabernacle by death, his candle shall be put out with him. The period of his life will be the final period of all his days and will turn all his hopes into endless despair. When a wicked man dies his expectation shall perish, Prov. xi. 7 . He shall lie down in sorrow. II. The preparatives for that destruction represented under the similitude of a beast or bird caught in a snare, or a malefactor arrested and taken into custody in order to his punishment, v. 7-10 . 1. Satan is preparing for his destruction. He is the robber that shall prevail against him ( v. 9 ); for, as he was a murderer, so he was a robber, from the beginning. He, as the tempter, lays snares for sinners in the way, wherever they go, and he shall prevail. If he make them sinful like himself, he will make them miserable like himself. He hunts for the precious life. 2. He is himself preparing for his own destruction by going on in sin, and so treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath. God gives him up, as he deserves and desires, to his own counsels, and then his own counsels cast him down, v. 7 . His sinful projects and pursuits bring him into mischief. He is cast into a net by his own feet ( v. 8 ), runs upon his own destruction, is snared in the work of his own hands ( Ps. ix. 16 ); his own tongue falls upon him, Ps. lxiv. 8 . In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare. 3. God is preparing for his destruction. The sinner by his sin is preparing the fuel and then God by his wrath is preparing the fire. See here, (1.) How the sinner is infatuated, to run himself into the snare; and whom God will destroy he infatuates. (2.) How he is embarrassed: The steps of his strength, his mighty designs and efforts, shall be straitened, so that he shall not compass what he intended; and the more he strives to extricate himself the more will he be entangled. Evil men wax worse and worse. (3.) How he is secured and kept from escaping the judgments of God that are in pursuit of him. The gin shall take him by the heel. He can no more escape the divine wrath that is in pursuit of him than a man, so held, can flee from the pursuer. God knows how to reserve the wicked for the day of judgment, 2 Pet. ii. 9 . 11 Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet. 12 His strength shall be hungerbitten, and destruction shall be ready at his side. 13 It shall devour the strength of his skin: even the f