Attributed commentary excerpt
Barnes' Notes on Job 5:3
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
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Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · 19th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
I have seen the foolish - The wicked. To confirm the sentiment which he had just advanced, Eliphaz appeals to his own observation, and says that though the wicked for a time seem to be prosperous, yet he had observed that they were soon overtaken with calamity and cut down. He evidently means that prosperity was no evidence of the divine favor; but that when it had continued for a little time, and was then withdrawn, it was proof that the man who had been prospered was at heart a wicked man. It was easy to understated that he meant that this should be applied to Job, who, though he had been favored with temporary prosperity, was now revealed to be at heart a wicked man. The sentiment here advanced by Eliphaz, as the result of his observation, strikingly accords with the observation of David, as expressed in Psalms 23:1-6 : “I have seen the wicked in great power, And spreading himself like a green bay-tree; Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: Yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.” Psa 23:1-6 :35-36. Taking root - This figure, to denote prosperous and rapid growth, is often used in the Scriptures. Thus, in Psalms 1:3 : “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That bringeth forth his fruit in his season.” So Isaiah 27:6 : “Those that come out of Jacob shall he cause to take root; Israel shall blossom and bud, And shall fill the face of the world with fruit.” So Psalms 80:9-10 : “Thou preparedst room before it, And didst cause it to take deep root, And it filled the land. The hills were covered with the shadow of it, And the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars.” But suddenly - Meaning either that calamity came upon him suddenly - as it had upon Job, that is, without any apparent preparation, or that; calamity came before a great while, that is, that this prosperity did not continue. Probably there is an implied reference hereto the case of Job, meaning that he had known just such instances before; and as the case of Job accorded with what he had before seen, he hastened to the conclusion that Job must have been a wicked man. I cursed his habitation - I had occasion to regard it as accursed; that is, I witnessed the downfall of his fortunes, and pronounced his habitation accursed. I saw that God regarded it as such, and that he had suddenly punished him. This accords with the observation of David, referred to above. return to 'Top of Page'
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