Job 30:22

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Job 30:22 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Thou liftest me up to the wind, thou causest me to ride [upon it]; And thou dissolvest me in the storm.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Thou liftest me up to the wind, thou causest me to ride [upon it]; And thou dissolvest me in the storm.
Job 30:22 — American Standard Version

Context — Job 30

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
22Thou liftest me up to the wind, thou causest me to ride [upon it]; And thou dissolvest me in the storm.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Thou liftest me up to the wind, etc.] Of affliction and adversity, to be carried up with it, and tossed about by it, as chaff or stubble, or a dry leaf, being no more able to stand up against it than such things are to oppose the wind; though some interpret this of God’s lifting him up in his state of prosperity, in which he was very visible and conspicuous to all, and enjoyed much light and comfort; but then he raised him to such an estate, with a view to cast him down, and that his fall and ruin might be the greater; and so this is observed as a proof of his being become cruel to him: thou causest me to ride [upon it]; seemingly in great pomp and state, but in great uncertainty and danger,…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“liftest . . . to wind--as a "leaf" or "stubble" (Job 13:25). The moving pillars of sand, raised by the wind to the clouds, as described by travellers, would happily depict Job's agitated spirit, if it be to them that he alludes. dissolvest . . . substance--The marginal Hebrew reading (Keri), "my wealth," or else "wisdom," that is, sense and spirit, or "my hope of deliverance." But the text (Chetib) is better: Thou dissolvest me (with fear, Exo 15:15) in the crash (of the whirlwind; see on Job 30:14) [MAURER]. UMBREIT translates as a verb, "Thou terrifiest me."”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Thou liftest me up to the wind - The sense here is, that he was lifted up as stubble is by a tempest, and driven mercilessly along. The figure of riding upon the wind or the whirlwind, is common in Oriental writers, and indeed elsewhere. So Milton says, “They ride the air in whirlwind.” So Addison, speaking of the angel that executes the commands of the Almighty, says, “Rides in the whirlwind, and directs the storm.” Coverdale renders this verse, “In times past thou didst set me up on high, as it were above the wind, but now hast thou given me a very sore fall.” Rosenmuller thinks that the image here is not taken from straw or chaff that is driven by the wind, but that the meaning of Job is,…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Thou - Thou exposest me, to all sorts of storms and calamities; so that I am like chaff or stubble lifted up to the wind, and violently tossed hither and thither in the air. Substance - By which, my body is almost consumed, and my heart is melted within me. Job 30:23”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“30:22 Job felt tossed into the whirlwind and blown about like worthless straw or chaff (9:17; 21:18; 27:21; Ps 1:4; Isa 17:13).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“liftest me: Job 21:18; Psa 1:4; Isa 17:13; Jer 4:11, Jer 4:12; Eze 5:2; Hos 4:19, Hos 13:3 to ride: Psa 18:10, Psa 104:3 substance: or, wisdom Job 30:23”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification