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King James Version
Job 21:12
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- AmericanEncyclopedias:
- InternationalDevotionals:
- EveryParallel Translations
singing to the tambourine and lyreand rejoicing at the sound of the flute.
They sing to the tambourine and harp, And rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
They sing to the tambourine and the lyre and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.
They sing to the music of tambourines and harps, and the sound of the flute makes them happy.
They sing to the accompaniment of tambourine and harp, and make merry to the sound of the flute.
"They lift up their voices and sing to the tambourine and the lyre And rejoice to the sound of the flute.
"They sing with the tambourine and harp, And rejoice at the sound of the flute.
They sing to the tambourine and harp, And rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
They take the tabret & harpe, and reioyce in the sound of the organs.
They lift up the tambourine and harpAnd are glad at the sound of the pipe.
singing to the tambourine and lyre and making merry at the sound of the flute.
These people sing and celebrate to the sound of tambourines, small harps, and flutes,
They sing with tambourines and lyres and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.
They shout to the tambour and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
They sing and dance to the sound of harps and flutes.
They take the timbrels and harps, and rejoice at the sound of singing.
and dance to the music of harps and flutes.
They sing to the tambourine and lyre, and they rejoice to the sound of the long flute.
They lift up voice at the timbrel and lyre, and rejoice at the sound of the flute.
They beare with them tabrettes and harpes, and haue instrumentes of musick at their pleasure.
They sing to the timbrel and harp, And rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
They make songs to the instruments of music, and are glad at the sound of the pipe.
They sing to the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
They take the timbrell and harpe, and reioyce at the sound of the organe.
They beare with them tabrets and harpes, and reioyce in the sounde of the organs.
and they rejoice at the voice of a song.
They sing to the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
Thei holden tympan, and harpe; and ioien at the soun of orgun.
They sing to the timbrel and harp, And rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ.
They sing to the tambourine and harp, And rejoice to the sound of the flute.
They sing with tambourine and harp. They celebrate to the sound of the flute.
They sing to the timbrel and the harp. They show their joy at the sound of the horn.
They sing to the tambourine and the lyre, and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.
They rejoice aloud as with timbrel and lyre, and make merry to the sound of the pipe;
They take the timbrel, and the harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ.
They sing to the tambourine and the lyre, and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.
They lift [themselves] up at timbrel and harp, And rejoice at the sound of an organ.
"They sing to the timbrel and harp And rejoice at the sound of the flute.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Genesis 4:21, Genesis 31:27, Isaiah 5:12, Isaiah 22:13, Amos 6:4-6
Reciprocal: Job 27:14 - children Ecclesiastes 2:8 - musical instruments Isaiah 30:32 - every place Daniel 6:18 - and passed Amos 6:5 - to the
Cross-References
And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.
And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
Gill's Notes on the Bible
They take the timbrel and harp,.... Not the children, but the parents of them; these took these instruments of music into their hands, and played upon them while their children danced; thus merrily they spent their time: or, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra, they lift up the voice with the tabret and harp; that is, while they played on these with their hands, they sung songs with their mouths; they used both vocal and instrumental music together, to make the greater harmony, and give the greater pleasure, like those in Amos 6:5;
and rejoice at the sound of the organ; a musical instrument, very pleasant and entertaining, from whence it has its name in the Hebrew tongue; but of what form it was cannot be with certainty said; that which we now so call is of later invention, and unknown in those times: probably Job may have respect to Jubal, the inventor of this sort of music, and others of the posterity of Cain before the flood, who practised it, and were delighted in it; in which they were imitated and followed by wicked men after it, and in Job's time, Genesis 4:21.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
They take the timbrel - They have instruments of cheerful music in their dwellings; and this is an evidence that they are not treated as the friends of Job had maintained. Instead of being, as they asserted, overwhelmed with calamity, they are actually happy. They have all that can make them cheerful, and their houses exhibit all that is usually the emblem of contentment and peace. Rosenmuller and Noyes suppose this to mean, “They sing to the timbrel and harp;” that is, “they raise up” (ישׂאו yı̂s'û) “the voice” to accompany the timbrel. Dr. Good renders it, “They rise up to the tabor and harp, and trip merrily to the sound of the pipe.” So Wemyss. It is literally, “They rise up with the tabor;” and the word “voice” may be understood, and the meaning may be that they accompany the timbrel with the voice. The Vulgate and the Septuagint, however, render it, they “Take up the timbrel.” Dr. Good supposes that the allusion is to the modes of dancing; to their raising themselves in an erect position, and then changing their position - advancing and retreating as in alternate dances, and quotes the following exquisite piece of poetry as illustrating it:
“Now pursuing, now retreating,
Now in circling troops they meet;
To brisk notes, in cadence meeting.
Glance their many-twinkling feet.”
Still, it seems to me, that the exact idea has not been expressed. It is this, “They raise, or elevate (ישׂאו yı̂s'û) scil. themselves;” that is, they become exhilarated and excited at the sound of music. It is in their dwellings, and it is one of the indications of joy. Instead of lamentations and wo, as his friends said there would be in such dwellings, Job says that there was there the sound of music and mirth; that they exhilarated themselves, and were happy. On the word rendered “timbrel” (תף tôph) and the word “harp” (כנור kı̂nnôr), see the notes at Isaiah 5:12.
At the sound of the organ - The word “organ” we now apply to an instrument of music which was wholly unknown in the time of Job. With us it denotes an instrument consisting of pipes, which are filled with wind, and of stops touched by the fingers. It is the largest and most harmonious of the wind instruments, and is blown by bellows. That such an instrument was known in the time of Job, is wholly improbable, and it is not probable that it would be used for the purposes here referred to if it were known. Jerome renders it, “organ;” the Septuagint, ψαλμοῦ psalmou, “the sound of a song;” Noyes, “pipe;” Lee, “lyre;” Good and Wemyss, “pipe.” The Hebrew word (עוּגב ‛ûgâb) is derived from עגב ‛âgab - to breathe, to blow; and it is manifest that the reference is to some wind instrument. Various forms of wind instruments were early invented, and this is expressly mentioned as having been early in use. Thus, it is said of Jubal Genesis 4:21, “He was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ” - עוּגב ‛ûgâb. It was probably at first a rude reed or pipe, which came ultimately to be changed to the fife and flute. It is here mentioned merely as an instrument exciting hilarity, and in the mere use of such an instrument there can be nothing improper. Job does not mean, evidently, to complain of it as wrong. He is simply showing that the wicked live in ease and prosperity, and are not subjected to trials and calamities as his friends maintained.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Job 21:12. They take the timbrel and harp — ישאו yisu, they rise up or lift themselves up, probably alluding to the rural exercise of dancing.
תף toph, which we translate timbrel, means a sort of drum, such as the tom-tom of the Asiatics.
כנור kinnor may mean something of the harp kind.
עוגב ugab, organ, means nothing like the instrument now called the organ, though thus translated both by the Septuagint and Vulgate; it probably means the syrinx, composed of several unequal pipes, close at the bottom, which when blown into at the top, gives a very shrill and lively sound. To these instruments the youth are represented as dancing joyfully. Mr. Good translates: "They trip merrily to the sound of the pipe." And illustrates his translation with the following verse: -
"Now pursuing, now retreating,
Now in circling troops they meet;
To brisk notes in cadence beating,
Glance their many twinkling feet."
The original is intended to convey the true notion of the gambols of the rustic nymphs and swains on festival occasions, and let it be observed that this is spoken of the children of those who say unto God, "Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have if we pray unto him ?" Job 21:14-15. Is it any wonder that the children of such parents should be living to the flesh, and serving the lusts of the flesh? for neither they nor their parents know God, nor pray unto him.
