the Third Week after Easter
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Myles Coverdale Bible
Job 4:21
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
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- InternationalParallel Translations
Are their tent cords not pulled up?They die without wisdom.
Isn't their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, and that without wisdom.'
Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.
Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them, do they not die, and that without wisdom?'
The ropes of their tents are pulled up, and they die without wisdom.'
Is not their excess wealth taken away from them? They die, yet without attaining wisdom.
'Is not their tent-cord drawn up within them [so that the tent collapses]? Do they not die, and yet without [acquiring] wisdom?'
'Is their tent-cord not pulled out within them? They die, yet without wisdom.'
Isn't their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, and that without wisdom.'
Doeth not their dignitie goe away with them? do they not die, & that without wisdom?
Is not their tent‑cord pulled up within them?They die, yet without wisdom.'
Are not their tent cords pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?'
Your tent pegs are pulled up, and you leave this life, having gained no wisdom."
Their cord within them is pulled up; then they die, without ever gaining wisdom.'
Is not their tent-cord torn away in them? they die, and without wisdom.
The ropes of their tent are pulled up, and they die before gaining wisdom.'
Behold, their possessions are taken away from them; and the rest of them shall die without wisdom.
All that we have is taken away; we die, still lacking wisdom."
Is not their tent cord pulled up within them? They die, but not in wisdom.'
Is not their tent cord pulled up within them? They die, but not with wisdom.
Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, and that without wisdom.
If their tent-cord is pulled up, do they not come to an end, and without wisdom?
Is not their royaltie gone away with them? they shall dye truely, and not in wysdome.
Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, and that without wisdom.'
Doeth not their excellencie which is in them, goe away? they die, euen without wisedome.
For he blows upon them, and they are withered: they have perished for lack of wisdom.
Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? they die, and that without wisdom.
Sotheli thei, that ben residue, schulen be takun awei; thei schulen die, and not in wisdom.
Isn't their tent-cord plucked up inside them? They die, and that without wisdom.
Doth not their excellence [which is] in them depart? they die, even without wisdom.
Does not their own excellence go away? They die, even without wisdom.'
Their tent-cords are pulled and the tent collapses, and they die in ignorance.
Is not their tent-rope pulled up within them? They die, and have no wisdom.'
Their tent-cord is plucked up within them, and they die devoid of wisdom.'
Is not their tent-rope within them, torn away? They die, disrobed of wisdom!
And they that shall be left, shall be taken away from them: they shall die, and not in wisdom.
If their tent-cord is plucked up within them, do they not die, and that without wisdom?'
Hath not their excellency been removed with them? They die, and not in wisdom!
'Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, yet without wisdom.'
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
excellency: Psalms 39:5, Psalms 39:11, Psalms 49:14, Psalms 146:3, Psalms 146:4, Isaiah 14:16, Luke 16:22, Luke 16:23, James 1:11
die: Job 36:12, Psalms 49:20, Isaiah 2:22, Luke 12:20
Reciprocal: Proverbs 5:23 - shall die
Cross-References
And now shalt thou be cursed vpon the earth, which hath opened hir mouth, and receaued thy brothers bloude of thine hande.
Whan thou tyllest ye grounde, she shall henßforth not geue hir power vnto the. A vagabunde and a rennagate shalt thou be vpon ye earth.
Wherfore keptest thou that secrete, that thou woldest flye, and hast stollen awaye fro me, and toldest me not, that I might haue brought the on the waye with myrth, with synginge, with tabrettes and harpes?
They beare with them tabrettes and harpes, and haue instrumentes of musick at their pleasure.
In whose companies are harpes and lutes, tabrettes and pipes, and wyne. But they regarde not the worke of the LORDE, and cosidre not the operacio of his hondes.
ye that synge to the lute, and in playenge off instrumentes compare youre selues vnto Dauid:
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Doth not their excellency [which is] in them go away?.... Either the soul which is in them, and is the most excellent part of them; this, though it dies not, yet it goes away and departs from the body at death; and so do all the powers and faculties of it, the thoughts, the affections, the mind, and memory, yea, all the endowments of the mind, wisdom, learning, knowledge of languages, arts, and sciences, all fail at death, 1 Corinthians 13:8; and so likewise all that is excellent in the body, the strength and beauty of it depart, its strength is weakened in the way, and its comeliness turned into corruption: or, as it may be rendered, "which is with them" l; and so may likewise denote all outward enjoyments, as wealth and riches, glory and honour, which a man cannot carry with him, do not descend into the grave with him, but then go away: a learned man m renders the words, "is not their excellency removed [which was] in them?" and thinks it refers to the corruption of nature, the loss of original righteousness, and of the image of God in man, which formerly was his excellency in his state of innocence, but now, through sin and the fall, is removed from him; and this, indeed, is the cause, the source and spring, of his frailty, mortality, and death; hence it follows:
they die even without wisdom; that dies with them, or whatsoever of that they have goes away from them at death; wise men die as well as fools, yea, they die as fools do, and multitudes without true wisdom, not being wise enough to consider their latter end; they die without the wisdom which some are made to know, in the hidden part, without the fear of God, which is real wisdom, or without the knowledge of Christ, and of God in Christ, which is the beginning, earnest, and pledge of life eternal. Now then since man is such a frail, mortal, foolish, and sinful creature, how can he be just before God, or pure in the sight of his Maker? which, is the thing designed to be proved and illustrated by all this; and here ends the divine oracle, or the revelation made to Eliphaz, when he had the vision before related.
l בם "cum ipsis", Piscator; so some in Mercerus and Drusius, and Mr. Broughton. m Schmidt; "quae fuerat", Beza.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Doth not their excellency ... - Dr. Good renders this, “Their fluttering round is over with them,” by a very forced construction of the passage. Translators and expositors have been very much divided in opinion as to its meaning; but the sense seems to be, that whatever is excellent in people is torn away or removed. Their excellence does not keep them from death, and they are taken off before they are truly wise. The word “excellency” here refers not only to moral excellency or virtue, but everything in which they excel others. Whatever there is in them of strength, or virtue, or influence, is removed. The word used here יתר yether means, literally, something hanging over or redundant (from יתר yâthar, to hang over, be redundant, or to remain), and hence, it means abundance or remainder, and then that which exceeds or abounds. It is thus applied to any distinguished virtue or excellency, as that which exceeds the ordinary limits or bounds. Men perish; and however eminent they may have been, they are soon cut off, and vanish away. The object here is to show how weak, and frail, and unworthy of confidence are people even in their most elevated condition.
They die, even without wisdom - That is, before they become truly wise. The object is to show, that people are so short-lived compared with angels, that they have no opportunity to become distinguished for wisdom. Their days are few; and however careful may be their observation, before they have had time to become truly wise they are hurried away. They are, therefore, wholly disqualified to sit in judgment on the doings of God, and to arraign, as Job had done, the divine wisdom.
Here closes the oracle which was addressed to Eliphaz. It is a description of unrivaled sublimity. In the sentiments that were addressed to Eliphaz, there is nothing that is contradictory to the other communications which God has made to people, or to what is taught by reason. Every reader of this passage must feel that the thoughts are singularly sublime, and that they are such as are adapted to make a deep impression on the mind. The error in Eliphaz consisted in the application which he makes of them to Job, and in the inference which he draws, that he must have been a hypocrite. This inference is drawn in the following chapter. As the oracle stands here, it is pertinent to the argument which Eliphaz had commenced, and just fitted to furnish a reproof to Job for the irreverent manner in which he had spoken, and the complaints which he had brought Job 3:0 against the dealings of God. Let us learn from the oracle:
(1) That man cannot be more just than God; and let this be an abiding principle of our lives;
(2) Not to complain at his dispensations, but to confide in his superior wisdom and goodness;
(3) That our opportunities of observation, and our rank in existence, are as nothing compared with those of the angels, who are yet so inferior to God as to be charged with folly;
(4) That our foundation is in the dust, and that the most insignificant object may sweep us away; and
(5) That in these circumstances humility becomes us.
Our proper situation is in the dust; and whatever calamities may befall us, we should confide in God, and feel that he is qualified to direct our affairs, and the affairs of the universe.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Job 4:21. Doth not their excellency - go away! — Personal beauty, corporeal strength, powerful eloquence, and various mental endowments, pass away, or are plucked up by the roots; they are no more seen or heard among men, and their memory soon perisheth.
They die, even without wisdom. — If wisdom means the pursuit of the best end, by the most legitimate and appropriate means, the great mass of mankind appear to perish without it. But, if we consider the subject more closely, we shall find that all men die in a state of comparative ignorance. With all our boasted science and arts, how little do we know! Do we know any thing to perfection that belongs either to the material or spiritual world? Do we understand even what matter is? What is its essence? Do we understand what spirit is? Then, what is its essence? Almost all the phenomena of nature, its grandest operations, and the laws of the heavenly bodies, have been explained on the principle of gravitation or attraction; but in what does this consist? Who can answer? We can traverse every part of the huge and trackless ocean by means of the compass; but who understands the nature of magnetism on which all this depends? We eat and drink in order to maintain life; but what is nutrition, and how is it effected? This has never been explained. Life depends on respiration for its continuance; but by what kind of action is it, that in a moment the lungs separate the oxygen, which is friendly to life, from the nitrogen, which would destroy it; suddenly absorbing the one, and expelling the other? Who, among the generation of hypothesis-framers, has guessed this out? Life is continued by the circulation of the blood; but by what power and law does it circulate? Have the systole and diastole of the heart, on which this circulation depends, ever been satisfactorily explained? Most certainly not. Alas, we die without wisdom; and must die, to know these, and ten thousand other matters equally unknown, and equally important. To be safe, in reference to eternity, we must know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent; whom to know is life eternal. This knowledge, obtained and retained, will entitle us to all the rest in the eternal world.
