for relief.

Ver. 1. BUT
UT now they that are younger than I, have

me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock.] But now, alas! there is so sad an alteration, that the youths who durst not look me in the face, have the confidence to mock and jeer me; even those youths, whose fathers were so mean, that I disdained to employ them in the vilest service.

Ver. 2. Yea, whereto might the strength of their bands profit me, in whom old age was perished?] Men, whom if I had had a mind to employ, were fit for nothing; being so lazy, listless, and unable to do any business, that it was in vain to call them to it.

Ver. 3. For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness, in former times desolate and waste:] Beggarly fellows, who being ready to starve, were ashamed to be seen, and sneaked into desert places to hide their poverty; it is but yesterday that they were most wretchedly miserable;

Ver. 4. Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper-roots for their meat.] Satisfying their hunger with those unsavoury herbs, which they cut up in the salt marshes; and having no other bread but the roots of juniper-trees.

Ver. 5. They were driven forth from among men, (they cried after them, as after a thief.)] They were driven from the society of men; and if ever they appeared, an out-cry was raised against them, as there is against a thief when he is discovered.

Ver. 6. To dwell in the clifts of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks.] They had no other

habitation but the clefts which the brooks sometimes make in the valleys, or the caves which they found in other parts of the earth, or in the rocks.

Ver. 7. Among the bushes they brayed, under the nettles they were gathered together. Their sighs might be heard, like the braying of asses, among the thorn-bushes; they lurked together under nettles or thistles:

Ver. 8. They were children of fools, yea, children of base men; they were viler than the earth.] Being lewd villains, the children of obscure parents; viler than the earth upon which they trod.

Ver. 9. And now am I their song, yea, I am their by-word.] And now am I become their pastime : they have made songs of my calamity; and it is the common entertainment to discourse of my misery.

Ver. 10. They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face.] They express an abhorrence of me, and, as vile as they are, will not come near me; or if they do, it is only to shew their extreme contempt of me.

Ver. 11 Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me.] God, they see, hath scattered all my estate, and by sore afflictions laid me very low, which hath made them forget all respect to me, and take an unrestrained licence in their insolent behaviour towards me.

Ver. 2. Upon my right hand rise the youth, they

of their destruction.] They set up the very boys to accuse me; they push me down, and then trample on I am become the beaten path, as I may call myself, of their pernicious reproaches.

me.

Ver. 13. They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, they have no helper.] They so disturb my thoughts, that I know not what course to take in this miserable condition; which they heighten by their calumnies, and are so fruitful in them, that they need none to help to invent them.

Ver. 14. They came upon me as a wide breaking in of waters: in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me.] They assault me with such a fury as soldiers do their enemies, when they have made a wide breach in the wall of a besieged city, and pour in all their forces to destroy them.

Ver. 15. Terrors are turned upon me; they pursue my soul as the wind; and my welfare passes away as a cloud.] This dismal change hath fearfully astonished me, to see all my wishes and hopes dispersed like the wind, and all the happiness I possessed passed away as swiftly as a cloud.

Ver. 16. And now my soul is poured cut upon me ; the days of affliction have taken boll upon me.] I can do nothing now but melt into tears; my very soul is ready to faint away with grief, when I think how those joyful days are gone, and what distresses have seized on me, and come to take their place. Ver. 17. My bones are pierced in me in the nightsinews take no rest.] In the night, and my (when sleep is wont to bury our grief), I feel such sharp pains, as penetrate through my very bones; my blood boils so blood boils so violently in my veins, that I can take

season ;

no rest.

Ver. 18. By the great force of my disease, is my garment changed: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat.] It requires a great deal of strength, when I would shift my cloaths, to pull them off; my outward garment, by the filthy matter of my sores, being glewed as fast to me as the collar of my shirt.

Ver. 19. He buth cast me into the mire, end I am become like dust and ashes.] I look as if I had been thrown into the dirt; there is little difference between me and dust and ashes.

Ver. 20. I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me : I stand up, and bou regardest me not.] And, which is saddest of all, I call upon thee, O God, but cannot prevail with thee to relieve me: I continue praying. and waiting for thy help, and thou sufficiently understandeth my miserable case;

Ver. 21. Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me.] But thy former kindness to me is turned into such severity, that it looks like cruelty thou hast given me such deadly blows, as if thou hatest me.

:

Ver. 22. Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it, and dissolvest my substance.] Thou didst lift me up on high, and madest me, as it were, to ride upon the clouds; but hast thrown me down with so much the sorer fall, which hath broken me all in pieces.

Ver. 23. For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.] So that I can think of nothing but dying, and going to my grave, the common sanctuary of all mankind:

1

Ver. 24. Howbeit, he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction.] Whither thy afflicting hand will not pursue me; for though men cry when they are sent thither, yet when they are there, all their sufferings and complaints are ended. Ver. 25. Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor ] Strange that I should be thus punished without any mercy! was I wont to be so unmerciful to others? No, I never looked upon men under any hardship without tears; and was so sensibly touched with the miseries of the poor, that I ever relieved them.

Ver. 26. When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.] Which gave me good hope that I should be very happy; but instead thereof, the saddest afflictions and 'troubles have befallen me :

Ver. 27. My bowels boiled and rested not: the days of affliction prevented me.] Which have so suddenly surprised me, that they have put me into the greatest commotion and disorder: my bowels boil without the least intermission.

Ver. 28. I went mourning without the sun: I stood up, and I cried in the congregation.] My affliction is so constant, without any glimpse of joy, that I am a perpetual mourner; and am not able to lie still, nor to refrain from shrieks and cries, in the greatest assemblies.

Ver. 29. I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.] I can do nothing but lament myself, as if I were one of those mournful creatures which make such doleful noises in desert places.

Ver. 30. My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burnt with heat.] The boiling heat of my body hath so parched me, that my skin looks black; and the marrow in my bones, and all my vital moisture, is dried up.

Ver. 31. My barp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep.] And, to say no more, all mirth is banished my house, the musical instruments are laid aside, and nothing but mourning and weeping come in their room.

CHAP. XXXI.

THE ARGUMENT. It was possible his friends might make quite another use than Job intended of the relation he had made of his miserable condition, in the chapter foregoing; and therefore, lest it should harden them in their old error, and they should take what he had said to be an argument of his guilt, he gives in this chapter a large and particular account of his integrity, which in general he had so often asserted; laying his very soul, and the most secret inclinations of it, open before them; together with the actions of his whole life, in his private capacity, (for of his public he had spoken before, chap. xxix.), both in respect of his neigh

bours, of all sorts, and in respect of God; to whom he again most solemnly appeals in the conclusion of this discourse, that he did not boast of more virtues than he had; but would most gladly be tried before him, by some impartial judge. I need not here enumerate his virtues, because they are plainly and distinctly expressed in the paraphrase; and I do not pretend to give the entire contents, but the design only of each chapter.

Ver. 1.

I MADE a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?] But do not,

I beseech you, any longer look upon these sufferings as an argument that I am not innocent; for I protest to you, I have been very resolute, and careful to avoid even the occasions of lasciviousness; and therefore, how should I ever so much as deliberate to corrupt a virgin?

Ver. 2. For what portion of GoD is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high] For I know there is a God in heaven; an Almighty Being, who rules over all: and what could I expect from him as the reward of such impurity?

Ver. 3. Is not destruction to the wicked, and a strange punishment to the work.rs of iniquity ] Doth it not lead to destruction? Nay, do not strange and horrible punishments fall upon the workers of that iniquity?

Ver. 4. Doth be not see my ways, and count all my steps? Is it possible to commit it so secretly, that it shall not be known by him, who observes every motion and tells every step I take?

Ver. 5. If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot bath basted to deceit ;] If I have broke my promises, or have been forward to deceive and cheat my neighbour ;

Ver. 6. Let me be weighed in an even balance, that GOD may know mine integrity.] I refuse not to be tried, but rather desire my actions may be scrupulously weighed and examined, for God, I am sure, will approve of my upright dealing.

Ver. 7. If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot bath cleaved to my hands :] If I have turned aside from the rules of justice for fear or favour; if I have coveted the goods of other men, or my hands have taken any bribes:

Ver. 8. Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out.] Let me be served in my kind, and let other men eat the corn which I have sowed, and pluck up the trees (roots and all) which I have planted.

Ver. 9. If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour's door :] If my heart hath been seduced to filthy desires after another man's wife; if I have watched for his absence, or some fair opportunity to enter his house, and defile his bed;

Ver. 10. Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her.] Then let others take away my wife from me, and make her the vilest slave, whom they may use at their pleasure.

Ver. 11. For this is an heinous crime, yea, it is an

iniquity to be punished by the judges. I ever thought this a crime of the highest nature, an iniquity to be corrected by the severity of the public justice.

Ver. 12. For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all mine increase.] For it is a fire, which, if it be extinguished, consumes men and their estates, yea, destroys whole families and kingdoms; and so incenses the divine displeasure, that, should it escape the magistrate's punishment, I could never hope that any thing of mine (were I guilty of it) should thrive, but all come to utter ruin. Ver. 13. If I did despise the cause of my man-servant, or of my maid-servant, when they contended with me] So far was I from doing such foul injuries to my neighbour, that I never extended my power to the oppression of my slaves; but was content to wave the privilege the law gave me, of using them as I pleased, and to allow them a fair hearing when they had any difference with me.

Ver. 14. What then shall I do when GOD riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?] For I thought with myself, that though men could not punish me for my rigour towards them, yet I should never be able to excuse it to God, when he came to judge me, nor tell what to answer, when he called me to an account for my ill usage of them.

Ver. 15. Did not he that made me in the womb, make bim? and did not one fashion us in the womb?] I often also called to mind that there was no such a difference in our estates, as there was an equality in our births; and that we having one common Creator, my slave was as nearly related to God as myself.

Ver. 16. If I have with-held the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail:] Nor have the poor any reason to complain of me; for if I ever denied to satisfy their desire, or let the widow in vain expect my relief:

Ver. 17. Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof:] Or have sitten down at my table alone, without the company of fatherless children:

Ver. 18. (For from my youth be was brought up with me as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother's womb.)] (For whom I have always had a natural compassion from my very youth; I brought it into the world with me, and it hath been my companion ever since :)

Ver. 19. If I have seen any perish for want of cloathing, or any poor without covering:] If I have suffered any to perish for want of cloathing, or let the poor go naked without a covering;

Ver. 20. If his loins have not blessed me, and if be were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep] If his loins did not admonish him to bless me as oft as he girded on his garment, and he were not kept warm with the cloth made of my wool :

Ver. 21. If I have lift up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate :] If I ever have beaten the fatherless, because I knew I should be too strong for him in the court, in case he complained there of the injustice:

Ver. 22. Then let mine arm fall from my shoulderblade, and mine arm be broken from the bone.] Then let that guilty arm fall off from my shoulder, or be broken in two in the midst.

Ver. 23. For destruction from Gọp was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.] For I never thought I could escape the divine vengeance, the dread of which affrighted me, when men could not, from all such insolence; for I knew I could not support myself against his majesty:

Ver. 24. If I have made go!l my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence:] Whose favour I do not desire, if I have put my trust in riches, and thought myself safe and secure because I was furnished with the noblest treasures :

Ver. 25. If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much.] Or if I was vainly elevated and puffed up with the large possessions left me by my ancestors, or with the great increase i had made to them by my own industry :

Ver. 26. If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness :] If when I beheld the sun arise, or the moon appear in her full lustre, Ver. 27. And my heart bath been secretly enticed, or my mouth bath kissed my hand:] I ever entertained an opision in my mind, that they were gods, or kissed my hand in token of worship and reverence to them: Ver. 28. This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge; for I should have denied the GOD that is above.] This also were a fearful crime, which God's vicegerents should punish; because it were to put those stars in the place of him who is above all heavens:

Ver. 29. If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lift up myself when evil found him.] Whom I do not wish to be my friend, if I ever was glad at the ruin of mine enemy, or insulted over him when any mischief befel him.

Ver. 30. (Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin,' by wishing a curse to his soul.)] (No, I was not so much as guilty of making any imprecations against him, nor was provoked by his malice to wish him dead :)

Ver. 31. If the men of my tabernacle said not, O that we had of his flesh! we cannot be satisfied.] Though the people of my family were so enraged at him, that, if I would yield to their passion, they were ready to eat him up with an insatiable anger.

Ver. 32. (The stranger did not lodge in the street; but I opened my doors to the traveller.)] Much less was I guilty of unkindness to strangers, whom I never suffered to lodge in the streets; for the door of my house stood open, that any traveller might turn in there, if he pleased.

Ver. 33 If I covered my transgression as Alam, by biding mine iniquity in my bosom.] If I have studied to seem better than I am, and have not now made a free confession; but, like our first parent, have concealed or excused my faults, and out of self-love have hidden mine iniquity:

Ver. 34. Did I fear a great multitude, or did the

contempt of families terrify mo, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door? Because I dread what the people will say of me, or am terrified by the contempt into which the knowledge of my guilt may bring me with the neighbouring families; then I am content my mouth should be stopped, and that I never stir out of my door any more.

Ver. 35. Ob that one would bear me! Behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book.] Oh that the truth of all this might be examined by some equal judge! Behold, I continue still to desire of God this favour; and let him that can accuse me bring in his libel in writing against me.

Ver. 36. Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.] Surely I would not endeavour to obscure it, but openly expose it to be read by all; nay, wear it as a singular ornament, which would turn to my honour, when the world saw it disproved.

Ver. 37. I would declare unto him the number of my steps, as a prince would I go near unto him.] I myself would assist him to draw up his charge, by declaring to him freely every action of my life; I would approach him as undauntedly as a prince, who is assured of the goodness of his cause.

Ver. 38. If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain:] For if so much as a bit of my land was unjustly gotten, or if I have defrauded those who plowed it of their wages;

Ver. 39. If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life: If I have taken the fruits of it from my tenants, and paid nothing for them; or let them such hard bargains, that it broke their heart :

Ver. 40. Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. The words of Joh are ended.] Then let corn never grow there any more; but let it be over-run with thistles and the most stinking weeds.

Here Job ended his defence.

CHAP. XXXII.

THE ARGUMENT.-It appears by the 15th verse of this chapter, that there were several other persons present besides those that are named, when this dispute was held between Job and his three friends; among whom there was a young man named Elihu, and who was either a Syrian, (in which language this book was first written, and translated by Moses into Hebrew, says the author of the commentaries under Origen's name), descended from the second son of Nahor, Abraham's brother, Gen. xxii. 21. or an Idumean, of the same country with Eliphaz the Temanite, Jer. xxv. 23. I have made him a Syrian in my paraphrase, because he is said to be of the kindred of Ram; by whom we are to understand either Aram, or, as the Hebrews think, Abraham, by whom such wisdom and piety might be promoted in his brother's family, as is apparent

in Elihu, who, though much inferior to the rest in years, (for which reason he had held his peace thus long), yet was much superior to them in knowledge; which he discovers in the judicious censures he here passes, not only upon the three friends, but upon Job himself, whom he hath nothing to charge withal, relating to any crime committed before this affliction befel him, but thinks he had not managed the dispute about it with so much. calmness and submission to God, as became his piety. In this he differs from those that spake before him; for I do not find that he blames him for any miscarriages, but those only which he observed in the heat of his disputation; and he spends his time rather in justifying God, than in carping at Job, as the other had done.

Ver. I.

So these three men ceased to answer fob, because he was righteous in his own eyes.] And his three friends also left off disputing with him, because they saw him immoveably fixed in the opinion of his innocence.

Ver. 2. Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram ; against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than GOD.] Which very much displeased a young man, who had stood by all this time, and heard what both sides said for themselves. His name was Elihu, descended from a brother of Abraham, who was exceeding angry with Job, because he spent more time in justifying himself, than in justifying God;

Ver. 3. Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.] And with his three friends also, because they were not able to maintain their charge against Job, and yet had condemned him to be a wicked hypocrite.

Ver. 4. Now Elibu bad waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder than be.] Yet he moderated his passion so discreetly, that he said not a word till he had waited, as well as Job, to see whether they would resume the debate; because it was not fit, he thought, for him to meddle, as long as his elders had any thing to say.

Ver. When Elihu saw that there was no answer 5. in the mouth of these three men, then his wrath was kindled.] But when he saw that none of the three offered to reply, but sat as men that knew not what to say, he was not able to hold his peace any longer;

Ver. 6. And Eliku, the son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old, wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you mine opinion.] But in this manner addressed himself unto them, saying, I have considered all this while mine own youth, and your aged experience, which have deterred me so much, that I have hitherto been afraid to interpose my opinion.

Ver. 7. I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years shall teach wisdom.] I thought with myself, that it was becoming one of my small standing to

Ver. 8. But there is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.] But I see I was mistaken; man is a very wretched thing, though he live never so long, if God do not illuminate him. It is the divine inspiration which gives understanding.

Ver. 9. Great men are not always wise; neither do the aged understand judgement.] They are not always the wisest who are in authority, and the teachers of others; nor do old men always so well employ their years, as to understand the difference of things.

Ver. 1c. Therefore I said, Hearken unto me, I also will shew mine opinion.] Therefore let me intreat you to lend your ears a little to me; 1 also will tell you what I think about this matter.

Ver. 11. Behold, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst you searched out what to say.] Do not think me too forward; for I have with great patience heard all your discourses, and observed your arguments, and let you proceed till you have searched as far as you could into the business:

Ver. 12. Yea, I attended unto you; and behold, there was none of you that convinced Job, or that answered his words.] And having duly considered and comprehended every word, I must needs pronounce, that there is none of you hath confuted Job, nor said any thing to the purpose in answer to his defence of him. self.

Ver. 13. Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom; GOD thrusteth him down, not man.] For it is sufficient for you to say he is obstinate, and therefore it is wisely done of us to leave him to God: He shall confound him by continuing his affliction, not we by our arguments;

Ver. 14. Now he hath not directed his words against me; neither will I answer him with your speeches.] Which truly are so weak, that I shall make no use of them: But as Job hath directed none of his words against me, so I shall trouble him with none of your replies.

Ver. 15. They were amazed, they answered no more ; they left off speaking.] See, I beseech you all, you that hear us, how these disputants are amazed; how. silent they are, as if their speech had forsaken them.

Ver. 16. When I had waited, (for they spake not, but stood still, and answered no more,) You are my witnesses, that I have waited for satisfaction; but after long expectation they bring forth nothing; they are at a stand, and furnished with no further answer. Ver. 17. I said, I will answer also my part, I also will shew mine opinion.] Which made me resolve within myself, that I would have a share in this dispute, and shew, as I have often told you, what my opinion is concerning it.

Ver. 18. For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me.] And indeed it is high time, for I am so full, by long thinking of what I have to say, that I am in pain till I have uttered my mind.

Ver. 19. Bebell, my belly is as wine which hath no vent, it is ready to burst like new bottles.] My thoughts work within me, like new wine in a vessel; and we are both alike in danger to burst, unless there be a vent.

Ver. 20. I will speak, that I may be refreshed; 1 will open my lips, and answer.] I must speak, therefore, if it be but to ease myself; I will open my lips, as they do such vessels, and make an answer, because I cannot with safety hold my peace any longer.

man's

Ver. 21. Let me not, I pray you, accept any person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man. And, I beseech you, let me speak with all freedom, with regard only to the cause, and not to the person; and do not expect that I should compliment, and give to man any glorious titles.

Ver. 22. For I know not to give flattering titles, in so doing my Maker will soon take me away.] For I do not understand that art of soothing men into a great opinion of themselves; or, if I did, I should not venture to use it, lest he that made me should presently stop my mouth, for not dealing plainly.

CHAP. XXXIII.

THE ARGUMENT.-Here Elihu addresses his speech to Job alone, (for he rejected all that the three friends had said, as sufficiently confuted by Job in his dispute with them), and tells him, first, that he was the man who would now plead with him in God's behalf, (as he had oft desired), and that he was no unequal match for him: And then begins to reprehend those passages which he thought were blameable in Job's speeches; particularly his insisting so much upon his integrity, which, though. true, should not have been mentioned, without due acknowledgement, that the Sovereign of the world had done him no wrong in thus afflicting him; and that it was not fit for him to question the wisdom and justice of God's providence, because he did not understand it. For the care of God over man,. and his kindness to him, he shews, is so apparent, upon so many scores, that it ought not to be denied because of the unaccountable afflictions that may befall us, which we ought rather to think are one of the ways whereby he doth man good. Ver. 1. WHEREFORE, Job, I pray thee, hear my speeches, and hearken to all my words.} And truly I think I need not use any farther preface to persuade thee, O Job, to hear my discourse, and to give an attentive ear to all I have to say.

Ver. 2. Behold, now I have opened my mouth, my tongue buth spoken in my mouth.] Behold, now I be gin; the words are upon my tongue, if thou art ready to receive them.

Ver.3. My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart; and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly.] And I assure thee they shall be the unfeigned language of mine heart, which it shall not be hard for thee to understand; for the instructions they give thee shall be clearly and perspicuously delivered.