the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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King James Version
Job 21:4
Bible Study Resources
Dictionaries:
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"My complaint is with God, not with people. I have good reason to be so impatient.
As for me, is my complaint to man? and why should I not be impatient?
As for me, is my complaint to man? And why should I not be impatient?
"My complaint is not just against people; I have reason to be impatient.
Is my complaint against a man? If so, why should I not be impatient?
As for me, [is] my complaint to man? and if [it were so], why should not my spirit be troubled?
As for me, is my complaint to man? Why shouldn't I be impatient?
"As for me, is my complaint to man or about him? And why should I not be impatient and my spirit troubled?
As for me, is my complaint against man? Why should I not be impatient?
Whether my disputyng is ayens man, that skilfuli Y owe not to be sori?
Is my complaint against a man? Then why should I not be impatient?
My complaint is against God; that's why I am impatient.
As for me, is my complaint to man? And why should I not be impatient?
As for me, is my outcry against man? is it then to be wondered at if my spirit is troubled?
"As for me, is my complaint merely to other people? Don't I have grounds for being short-tempered?
As for me, is my complaint to a man? or wherefore should not my spirit be impatient?
"My complaint is not against people. There is a good reason why I am not patient.
As for me, is my complaint to man? Or why should I not be impatient?
As for mee, is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled?
As for me, am I complaining against man? Why should my spirit not be troubled?
As for me, is my complaint addressed to mortals? Why should I not be impatient?
Doe I direct my talke to man? If it were so, how should not my spirit be troubled?
I will utter my complaint to men, why my spirit is distressed.
My quarrel is not with mortals; I have good reason to be impatient.
Did, I, unto man, make my complaint? Wherefore, then, should my spirit not be impatient?
Is my debate against man, that I should not have just reason to be troubled?
As for me, is my complaint against man? Why should I not be impatient?
Is it for mans sake that I make this disputation? Which if it were so, shoulde not my spirite then be in sore trouble?
What! is my reproof of man? and why should I not be angry?
As for me, is my complaint against a human being?Then why shouldn’t I be impatient?
As for me, is my complaint to man? Why shouldn't I be impatient?
As for me, is my complaint for human beings? And if so, why cannot I be impatient?
As for me, is my complaint to man? And why should not my spirit be short?
I -- to man [is] my complaint? and if [so], wherefore May not my temper become short?
Is it with a man, that I make this disputacio? Which yf it were so, shulde not my sprete be the in sore trouble?
"It's not you I'm complaining to—it's God. Is it any wonder I'm getting fed up with his silence? Take a good look at me. Aren't you appalled by what's happened? No! Don't say anything. I can do without your comments. When I look back, I go into shock, my body is racked with spasms. Why do the wicked have it so good, live to a ripe old age and get rich? They get to see their children succeed, get to watch and enjoy their grandchildren. Their homes are peaceful and free from fear; they never experience God's disciplining rod. Their bulls breed with great vigor and their cows calve without fail. They send their children out to play and watch them frolic like spring lambs. They make music with fiddles and flutes, have good times singing and dancing. They have a long life on easy street, and die painlessly in their sleep. They say to God, ‘Get lost! We've no interest in you or your ways. Why should we have dealings with God Almighty? What's there in it for us?' But they're wrong, dead wrong—they're not gods. It's beyond me how they can carry on like this!
"As for me, is my complaint to a mortal? Or why should I not be impatient?
"As for me, is my complaint against man? And if it were, why should I not be impatient?
"As for me, is my complaint to man? And why should I not be impatient?
As for me, is my musing to man?And why should I not be impatient?
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
is my complaint: Job 7:11-21, Job 10:1, Job 10:2, 1 Samuel 1:16, Psalms 22:1-3, Psalms 77:3-9, Psalms 102:1, *title Psalms 142:2, Psalms 142:3, Matthew 26:38
if it were: 2 Kings 6:26, 2 Kings 6:27, Psalms 42:11
troubled: Heb. shortened, Exodus 6:9, *marg.
Reciprocal: Judges 16:16 - vexed Psalms 73:2 - But John 14:1 - not
Cross-References
Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:
Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.
And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the Lord , let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.
And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus , which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
As for me, [is] my complaint to man?.... Job had been complaining, and still was, and continued to do so after this, but not to them, his friends, nor any other man; his complaint was made to God, and of him he thought he was hardly dealt with by him, he could not tell for what; he had desired to know the reason why he contended with him in such a manner, but could get no satisfaction; when his friends came first to visit him, they said nothing to him, nor he to them; and when he did speak, it was not to them, but to God, of whom he complains; and expostulates with him why he had ever been born, or had not died as soon as born, and not have lived to have seen such unhappy days, and endured so much affliction and trouble:
and if [it were so]; that he had made his complaint to man, since it would have been in vain, and to no purpose, he should have got no relief, nor obtained any satisfaction:
why should not my spirit be troubled? or "shortened" l; or, as the Targum, be straitened; for as comfort and joy enlarge the heart, trouble contracts and straitens it; or is "my prayer" or m "petition to men?" it was not, though he was reduced so low, and was in such a distressed condition; he had asked nothing of men, not of these his friends, neither to give him of their substance, nor to help him out of the hands of his enemies, Job 6:21; he had poured out his complaint before God, and had directed his prayer to the God of his life; he had desired to speak to none but the Almighty, and to reason only with him; he had petitioned him to take cognizance of his case, and to admit of a hearing of it before him, and to have it determined by him; he had complained of wrongs and injuries done him, and begged to be redressed and righted, but got no answer; God did not think fit to answer him, but hid himself from him, and continued so to do: "and if", if this be the case, as it really was, "why should not my spirit be troubled?" is there not reason for it? Some think Job's meaning is, is "my disputation", as the Vulgate Latin version, or is my discourse concerning human things, things within the compass of human knowledge and reasoning? or, to be attained to by the force of that, without divine revelation? no, it is concerning divine things; concerning the mysteries of Providence, with respect to good and bad men; concerning the living Redeemer, his incarnation, resurrection, c. and faith in him concerning the general resurrection, the final judgment, and a future state of happiness: or does my complaint, petition, or discourse, savour of that which is human, and is intermixed with human frailty? if it be so, it should be borne with, it should be considered I am but a man, and liable to err; and especially great allowances should be made in my present circumstances, being trader such sore afflictions; and it may be reasonably thought, that though the spirit may be willing to behave in a better manner, the flesh is weak, and much must be imputed unto that; and it will not seem so extravagant to indulge a troubled spirit so severely exercised; persons under afflictions generally think they do well to be troubled, and that there is reason enough for it, and ought to be borne with, and not to be reproached and rallied on that account.
l תקצר "abbreviabitur", Montanus, Vatablus, "abbreviaretur", Drusius, Cocceius, Michaelis. m ש××× "precatio mea", Drusius.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
As for me, is my complaint to man? - There is some difficulty in the interpretation of this verse, and considerable variety of explanation may be seen among expositors. The âobjectâ of the verse is plain. It is to state a reason why they should hear him with patience and without interruption. The meaning of this part of the verse probably is, that his principal difficulty was not with his friends, but with God. It was not so much what they had said, that gave him trouble, as it was what God had done. Severe and cutting as were their rebukes, yet it was far more trying to him to be treated as he had been by God, âas ifâ he were a great sinner. That was what he could not understand. Perplexed and troubled, therefore, by the mysteriousness of the divine dealings, his friends ought to be willing to listen patiently to what he had to say; and in his anxiety to find out âwhyâ God had treated him so, they ought not at once to infer that he was a wicked man, and to overwhelm him with increased anguish of spirit.
It will be recollected that Job repeatedly expressed the wish to be permitted to carry his cause at once up to God, and to have his adjudication on it. See Job 13:3, note; Job 13:18, notes. It is that to which he refers when he says here, that he wished to have the cause before God, and not before man. It was a matter which he wished to refer to the Almighty, and he ought to be allowed to express his sentiments with entire freedom. One of the difficulties in understanding this verse arises from the word âcomplaint.â We use it in the sense of âmurmuring,â or ârepining;â but this, I think, is not its meaning here. It is used rather in the sense of âcause, argument, reasoning, or reflections.â The Hebrew word ש××× sÌıÌyıÌch means, properly, that which is âbrought outâ - from ש××× sÌıÌyach, âto bring out, to put forth, to produceâ - as buds, leaves, flowers; and then it means âwordsâ - as brought out, or spoken; and then, meditations, reflections, discourses, speeches; and then it âmayâ mean âcomplaint.â But there is no evidence that the word is used in that sense here. It means his reflections, or arguments. They were not to man. He wished to carry them at once before God, and he ought, therefore, to be allowed to speak freely. Jerome renders it, âdisputatio mea.â The Septuagint, εÌÌÎ»ÎµÎ³Î¾Î¹Ï elengcis - used here, probably, in the sense of âan argument to produce conviction,â as it is often.
And if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled? - Margin, âshortened,â meaning the same as troubled, afflicted, or impatient. A more literal translation will better express the idea which is now lost sight of, âAnd if so, why should not my spirit be distressed?â That is, since my cause is with God - since my difficulty is in understanding his dealings with me - since I have carried my cause up to him, and all now depends on him, why should I not be allowed to have solicitude in regard to the result? If I manifest anxiety, who can blame me? Who would not, when his all was at stake, and when the divine dealings toward him were so mysterious?
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Job 21:4. As for me — ××× ×× heanochi, "Alas for me!" Is it not with a man that I speak? And, if this be the case, why should not my spirit be troubled? I do not reply against my Maker: I suffer much from God and man; why then may I not have the privilege of complaining to creatures like myself?
