Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Job 16:15

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Job 16:15. I have sewed sackcloth — שק sak, a word that has passed into almost all languages, as I have already had occasion to notice in other parts of this work.

Defiled my horn in the dust. — The horn was an emblem of power; and the metaphor was originally taken from beasts, such as the urus, wild ox, buffalo, or perhaps the rhinoceros, who were perceived to have so much power in their horns. Hence a horn was frequently worn on crowns and helmets, as is evident on ancient coins; and to this day it is an appendage to the diadem of the kings and chiefs of Abyssinia. In the second edition of Mr. Bruce's Travels in Abyssinia, vol. viii., plates 2 and 3, we have engravings of two chiefs, Kefla Yasous, and Woodage Ashahel, who are represented with this emblem of power on their forehead. Mr. Bruce thus describes it: "One thing remarkable in this cavalcade, which I observed, was the head dress of the governors of provinces. A large broad fillet was bound upon their forehead, and tied behind their head. In the middle of this was a horn, or a conical piece of silver, gilt, about four inches in length, much in the shape of our common candle extinguishers. This is called kirn, or horn; and is only worn in reviews, or parades after victory. This, I apprehend, like all others of their usages is taken from the Hebrews; and the several allusions made in Scripture to it arise from this practice. 'I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly; and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn.' 'Lift not up your horn on high, speak not with a stiff neck; for promotion cometh not,' &c. 'But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of a unicorn.' 'And the horn of the righteous shall be exalted with honour.' And so in many other places throughout the Psalms." In a note on the same page we have the following observation: "The crooked manner in which they hold their neck when this ornament is on their forehead, for fear it should fall forward, perfectly shows the meaning of 'Speak not with a stiff neck when you hold the horn on high (or erect) like the horn of the unicorn."' - Bruce's Travels, vol. iv., p. 407.

Defiling or rolling the horn in the dust, signifies the disgrace or destruction of power, authority, and eminence.

Mr. Good translates, I have rolled my turban in the dust, which he endeavours to justify in a long note. But in this, I think, this very learned man is mistaken. The Hebrew keren is the same as the AEthiopic kirn, and both mean exactly, in such connection, what Mr. Bruce has noticed above. The horn on the diadem is the emblem of power, authority, and eminence.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Job’s reply to Eliphaz (16:1-17:16)

Tired at this repetition of the friends’ unhelpful teaching, Job says he could give similar ‘comfort’ if he were in their position and they in his (16:1-5). His argument with God may not have brought relief from his pain, but neither has his silence. In fact, his physical condition only becomes worse (6-8). God opposes him and people insult him. Some deliberately try to do him harm (9-11). He feels like a helpless victim that wild animals attack, like a target that archers fire at, like a weak city wall that enemy soldiers smash to pieces (12-14). He mourns and suffers, though he is innocent (15-17).
For a moment Job’s faith grows strong again despite his bitter anguish. His innocent blood has been spilt on the earth, and he asks the earth to cry to heaven that justice might be done on his behalf (18). He believes he has a heavenly witness who knows he is not guilty of the wrongdoing of which people accuse him (19-21). Although he is confident that this witness hears his cries and affirms his innocence, he nevertheless fears that he is on the way to his death (22-17:2).
Job asks God himself to guarantee that in the end he will be declared righteous. He has given up expecting any understanding from those who have closed their minds to reason. He feels they have betrayed him (3-5). Job is sad that he, a godly person, must suffer such pain and insults, but his sufferings make him the more determined to do right and oppose wrong (6-9).
As he returns to consider the so-called comfort of his friends, Job becomes discouraged again. There is no wisdom in what any of them say (10). It is useless for them to try to comfort him by saying that the night of suffering will soon be past and a new day of joy will dawn. He expects only the greater darkness of death (11-16).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

JOB RECOGNIZED THAT HIS REAL ENEMY WAS NOT GOD,
BUT THE WICKED INTO WHOSE HANDS GOD HAD DELIVERED HIM

"He hath torn me in his wrath, and persecuted me; He hath gnashed upon me with his teeth: Mine adversary sharpeneth his eyes upon me, They have gaped upon me with their mouth; They have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully: They gather themselves together against me. God delivereth me to the ungodly, And casteth me into the hands of the wicked. I was at ease, and he brake me asunder; Yea, he hath taken me by the neck, and dashed me to pieces: He hath also set me up for his mark. His archers compass me round about; He cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; He poureth out my gall upon the ground. He breaketh me with breach upon breach, He runneth upon me like a giant. I have sowed my sackcloth upon my skin, And have laid my horn in the dust. My face is red with weeping, And on my eyelids is the shadow of death; Although there is no violence in my hands, And my prayer is pure."

"God delivered me to the ungodly" Here there is profound understanding on Job's part that God is good, and that all of the evil that has befallen him, while allowed by God and, in some incomprehensible manner, is actually God's will; nevertheless the actual evil that came to him came finally at the hands of the ungodly.

There are magnificent overtones of Calvary itself in this remarkable chapter. Job 16:4 reveals that Job's friends "did shake their heads" at him; Job said that God had "delivered him to the ungodly" (Job 16:11); "They gaped upon me with their mouth" (Job 16:10); "They gather themselves together against me" (Job 16:10); "They have smitten (my) cheek reproachfully" (Job 16:10); "And have laid my horn in the dust" (Job 16:15).

Now observe that all of these things were prophesied as events connected with the crucifixion of Christ in Psalms 22.

He will be forsaken by God (delivered to the ungodly).......Psalms 22:1

They shake the head at him.........Psalms 22:7

They gape upon him.................Psalms 22:13

They place him in the dust.........Psalms 22:15

The evil men surround him..........Psalms 22:16

Thus, it must be held as sublime fact that, "The Man of Sorrows in the Old Testament (Job) is in many respects a type of the Man of Sorrows (Christ) in the New Testament. The Psalmist David constantly applied statements regarding Job to the Messiah, as witnessed not only by Psalms 22, but also in Psalms 35:16 and in Psalms 37:12)."The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 280.

Of special significance is the employment both in this chapter of Job and in Psalms 22 of the metaphor of wild animals attacking their prey. In Psalms 22, we have the "Strong bulls of Bashan"; and here much of the terminology is applicable to wild animals. "Several of the words used here are commonly used to describe the mutilations of their prey by rapacious animals, such as a lion."Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, op. cit., p. 181. It is a mistake, however, to understand any of this as either hatred, or disrespect for God. All of the terrible things that were happening to Job came upon him by the hands of the wicked, a fact made perfectly clear here in Job 16:11.

"There is no violence in my hands, and my prayer is pure" In these final verses of this paragraph, Job again affirmed his integrity in these verses. This Job knew to be a fact, and all of the cunning ingenuity of Satan himself, through his chosen instruments (Job's friends), could not dislodge Job from this fundamental integrity.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

I have sewed sackcloth - I have put on the badges of humiliation and grief; see the notes at Isaiah 3:24. This was the usual emblem of mourning. In order more deeply to express it, or to make it a “permanent” memorial of sorrow, it would seem that it was “sewed” around the body - as we “sew” crape on the hat.

And defiled my horn in the dust - The word rendered “defiled” (from עלל ‛âlal) has, according to Gesenius, the notion of “repetition,” derived from the use of the Arabic word. The Arabic means, to drink again, that is, after a former draught; and then, to drink deep. Hence, the word is applied to any action which is repeated - as to the second blow by which one already struck down is killed; to an after-harvest, or to gleaning in the fields. Here Gesenius supposes it means to “maltreat,” to “abuse;” and the idea according to him is, that he had covered his whole head in the dust. The word “horn” is used in the Scriptures to denote strength and power. The figure is taken from horned animals, whose strength resides in their horns; and hence, as the horn is the means of defense, the word comes to denote that on which one relies; his strength, honor, dignity. A horn, made of “silver,” was also worn as an ornament, or as an emblem, on the forehead of females or warriors.

It was probably used at first by warriors as a symbol of “power, authority,” or “strength;” and the idea was undoubtedly derived from the fact that the strength of animals was seen to lie in the horn. Then it came to be a mere ornament, and as such is used still in the vicinity of Mount Lebanon. Oriental customs do not undergo those changes which are so common in the Western world, and it is possible that this custom prevailed in the time of Job. The “horn” was usually worn by females; it is also a part of the ornament on the head of a male, and as such would be regarded doubtless as an emblem of honor. The custom is prevalent at the present day among the Druses of Lebanon, the Egyptian cavalry, and in some parts of Russia bordering on Persia. Dr. Macmichael, in his “Journey,” says: “One of the most extraordinary parts of the attire of their females (Drusus of Lebanon), is a silver horn, sometimes studded with jewels, worn on the head in various positions, “distinguishing their different conditions.”

A married woman has it affixed to the right side of the head, a widow on the left, and a virgin is pointed out by its being placed on the very crown. Over this silver projection the long veil is thrown, with which they so completely conceal their faces to rarely have more than an eye visible.” The horn worn by females is a conical tube, about twelve inches long. Col. Light mentions the horn of the wife of an emir, made of gold, and studded with precious stones. Horns are worn by Abyssinian chiefs in military reviews, or on parade after a victory. They are much shorter than those of the females, and are about the size and shape of a candle extinguisher, fastened by a strong fillet to the head, which is often made of metal; they are not easily broken off. This special kind of horn is undoubtedly the kind made by the false prophet Zedekiah for Ahab, to whom he said, when Ahab was about to attack the enemy, “With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou hast conquered them;” 1Ki 22:11; 2 Chronicles 18:10; compare Deuteronomy 33:17. The idea here is, that whatever once constituted the reliance or the glory of Job, was now completely prostrate. It was as if it were buried in the earth.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 16

So Job answered and said, I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are you all. Shall empty words ( Job 16:1 )

Talking about vanity, he said,

Shall empty words have an end? or what emboldens you that you answer? I also could speak as you do: if you were in my place, I could heap up words against you, and shake my head at you ( Job 16:1-4 ).

So, here now, visualize it when they're talking. They're just shaking their head, and they do that, they shake their head and yell at each other. And he said, "Hey, if I were in your place and you were in my place, I could yell at you and shake my head at you too. You know, it's nothing to that. I could do it."

But I would rather to strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should assuage your grief. Though I speak, my grief is not assuaged: and though I forbear, what am I eased? ( Job 16:5-6 )

If I'm quiet, you tell me to be quiet, I ought to be quiet. What good would it do? You guys will mouth off.

But now he hath made me weary: you have made me desolate all my company. And you have filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me: and my leanness rising up in me bears witness to my face. He tears me in his wrath, who hates me: he gnashes upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me ( Job 16:7-9 ).

So here they're talking through their teeth at him, and they're looking, sharpening their eyes, squinting as they're looking at him and yelling in his face. And, oh man, what a sight this must have been.

They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me. God hath delivered me unto the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked. I was at ease ( Job 16:10-12 ),

Until you came.

but he also has taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark ( Job 16:12 ).

Now he's referring to God again.

His archers compass me round about, he cleaves my reins asunder [he cuts me in two], he does not spare; he pours out my gall upon the ground. He breaks me with the branch upon branch, he runs upon me like a giant. I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust. My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death; Not only for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is pure. O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place. Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high ( Job 16:13-19 ).

Okay, "God is my witness," is what he is saying. "My record is on high. God has the records, my witness is there in heaven. I'm not even going to try to justify myself before you guys. Think what you will of me. God knows the truth."

It's comforting when we are misunderstood by others. Totally misunderstood sometimes. Our motivations are misread by others. Many times we are accused of things of which we are not at all guilty. Someone has totally misread our thought, our ideas, our motivations. They've imputed wicked, evil motivations to us when they weren't there. But my witness is in heaven; God knows the truth about me. And that's to me a comfort. That God keeps the books. He knows the truth. He knows what's in my heart. He keeps the records.

My friends scorn me: but my eye pours out tears unto God. Oh that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleads for his neighbor! ( Job 16:20-21 )

"Oh, that you'd intercede for me, that you'd pray for me." I wonder why they hadn't thought of that. Here their friend's in trouble, why didn't they come and pray, intercede for the guy? As one intercedes for his friends, instead of just heaping all kinds of abuse upon him.

When a few years are come, I'm going to go the way from which I shall not return ( Job 16:22 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Job’s distress at God’s hand 16:6-17

Job’s friends did not cause his greatest discomfort, however; from Job’s perspective God did. Most of the verses in this pericope are easy to understand. A better translation of Job 16:6 b might be, "And if I hold back, it does not leave me."

"Job’s assumption that God was angry with him [in Job 16:9] implies that Job subconsciously felt that God was punishing him for some unknown sin of which Job was unaware. He wished that God would reveal this to him (Job 10:2)." [Note: Parsons, p. 154. Cf. 34:9; 35:3.]

Evidently Job had suffered abuse at the hands of young people who harassed him at the city dump where he was staying (Job 16:11). A defeated animal often thrusts its horn or horns in the dust. Job compared himself to such an animal (Job 16:15). Again he admitted no action or attitude worthy of his intense suffering (Job 16:17).

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin,.... Which he very probably put on when he rent his mantle, or sat in ashes, Job 1:20; which actions were usually performed together in times of distress and sorrow, see Genesis 37:34; and this was no doubt a voluntary action of his, like that of the king of Nineveh and his subjects Jonah 3:5; though some have thought that Job was so reduced that he had no clothes to wear, and was obliged to put on such coarse raiment, which is not probable; and it seems that he put this next to his skin, which must be very uneasy to one that had been used to such soft apparel, as it seems did also the kings of Israel in time of mourning,

1 Kings 21:27; it is not only observed by several Jewish writers, that the word here used in the Arabic language signifies "skin", as we render it, as Aben Ezra, Ben Melech, and others; but the skin of the wound, the thin skin which is drawn over a wound when it is healing, as Ben Gersom and Bar Tzemach; which, being tender, must be very unfit to bear such rough raiment upon it; nay, Schultens observes, that the Arabic word more properly signifies "torn skin" h, as Job's skin must be full of ruptures through the boils and ulcers upon him; he himself says, that his "skin [was] broken, and become loathsome", Job 7:5; now to have sackcloth put on such a skin must be intolerable; the phrase of sewing it to it is very unusual; though it may signify no more than an application of it, a putting it on him, and clothing himself with it; yet it seems to denote its sticking close to him, as if it was sewed to his skin, through the purulent matter of his boils clotting and cleaving to it; for he says in Job 7:5 that his "flesh [was] clothed with worms and clods of dust"; and those running into one another were like one scab, and, as it were, a garment to him; his "disease bound [him] about as the collar of his coat", and his "skin [was as] black" as sackcloth itself, Job 30:18; the design of the expression is both to show the wretched and miserable condition he was in, and his great humiliation on account of his present circumstances; and that he was not that proud and haughty man, or behaved under his affliction in the insolent manner Eliphaz had suggested, Job 15:12; but was one that humbled himself under the mighty hand of God, which is further confirmed by the next clause:

and defiled my horn, in the dust: as he did when he sat in ashes, as he afterwards repented in dust and ashes; and it was usual in the times of mourning to put dust or ashes upon the head; which may be meant by his horn, the horn of a beast, to which the allusion is, being in the head; and this may be put for the whole body, which sometimes, on such occasions, was rolled in dust and ashes, see Joshua 7:6; and the horn being an emblem of grandeur, power, and authority, may denote that Job now laid aside all the ensigns of it, and was content to have his honour laid in the dust, and lie low before God, and not lift up his horn unto him, and much less stretch out his hand against him; the Targum is,

"I sprinkled my glory in or with dust.''

h עלי גלדי "super laceram cutem", Schultens; "cutis eaque laesa et ulceribus percussa", Stockius, p. 188. גלד "cutim percusiit", Hottinger. Smegma Orient. p. 135. Stockius, ib.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      6 Though I speak, my grief is not assuaged: and though I forbear, what am I eased?   7 But now he hath made me weary: thou hast made desolate all my company.   8 And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me: and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face.   9 He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.   10 They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me.   11 God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked.   12 I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.   13 His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground.   14 He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like a giant.   15 I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust.   16 My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death;

      Job's complaint is here as bitter as any where in all his discourses, and he is at a stand whether to smother it or to give it vent. Sometimes the one and sometimes the other is a relief to the afflicted, according as the temper or the circumstances are; but Job found help by neither, Job 16:6; Job 16:6. 1. Sometimes giving vent to grief gives ease; but, "Though I speak" (says Job), "my grief is not assuaged, my spirit is never the lighter for the pouring out of my complaint; nay, what I speak is so misconstrued as to be turned to the aggravation of my grief." 2. At other times keeping silence makes the trouble the easier and the sooner forgotten; but (says Job) though I forbear I am never the nearer; what am I eased? If he complained he was censured as passionate; if not, as sullen. If he maintained his integrity, that was his crime; if he made no answer to their accusations, his silence was taken for a confession of his guilt.

      Here is a doleful representation of Job's grievances. O what reason have we to bless God that we are not making such complaints! He complains,

      I. That his family was scattered (Job 16:7; Job 16:7): "He hath made me weary, weary of speaking, weary of forbearing, weary of my friends, weary of life itself; my journey through the world proves so very uncomfortable that I am quite tired with it." This made it as tiresome as any thing, that all his company was made desolate, his children and servants being killed and the poor remains of his great household dispersed. The company of good people that used to meet at his house for religious worship, was now scattered, and he spent his sabbaths in silence and solitude. He had company indeed, but such as he would rather have been without, for they seemed to triumph in his desolation. If lovers and friends are put far from us, we must see and own God's hand in it, making our company desolate.

      II. That his body was worn away with diseases and pains, so that he had become a perfect skeleton, nothing but skin and bones, Job 16:8; Job 16:8. His face was furrowed, not with age, but sickness: Thou hast filled me with wrinkles. His flesh was wasted with the running of his sore boils, so that his leanness rose up in him, that is, his bones, that before were not seen, stuck out, Job 33:21; Job 33:21. These are called witnesses against him, witnesses of God's displeasure against him, and such witnesses as his friends produced against him to prove him a wicked man. Or, "They are witnesses for me, that my complaint is not causeless," or "witnesses to me, that I am a dying man, and must be gone shortly."

      III. That his enemy was a terror to him, threatened him, frightened him, looked sternly upon him, and gave all the indications of rage against him (Job 16:9; Job 16:9): He tears me in his wrath. But who is this enemy? 1. Eliphaz, who showed himself very much exasperated against him, and perhaps had expressed himself with such marks of indignation as are here mentioned: at least, what he said tore Job's good name and thundered nothing but terror to him; his eyes were sharpened to spy out matter of reproach against Job, and very barbarously both he and the rest of them used him. Or, 2. Satan. He was his enemy that hated him, and perhaps, by the divine permission, terrified him with apparitions, as (some think) he terrified our Saviour, which put him into his agonies in the garden; and thus he aimed to make him curse God. It is not improbable that this is the enemy he means. Or, (3.) God himself. If we understand it of him, the expressions are indeed as rash as any he used. God hates none of his creatures; but Job's melancholy did thus represent to him the terrors of the Almighty: and nothing can be more grievous to a good man than to apprehend God to be his enemy. If the wrath of a king be as messengers of death, what is the wrath of the King of kings!

      IV. That all about him were abusive to him, Job 16:10; Job 16:10. They came upon him with open mouth to devour him, as if they would swallow him alive, so terrible were their threats and so scornful was their conduct to him. They offered him all the indignities they could invent, and even smote him on the cheek; and herein many were confederate. They gathered themselves together against him, even the abjects, Psalms 35:15. Herein Job was a type of Christ, as many of the ancients make him: these very expressions are used in the predictions of his sufferings, Psalms 22:13, They gaped upon me with their mouths; and (Micah 5:1), They shall smite the Judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek, which was literally fulfilled, Matthew 26:67. How were those increased that troubled him!

      V. That God, instead of delivering him out of their hands, as he hoped, delivered him into their hands (Job 16:11; Job 16:11): He hath turned me over into the hands of the wicked. They could have had no power against him if it had not been given them from above. He therefore looks beyond them to God who gave them their commission, as David did when Shimei cursed him; but he thinks it strange, and almost thinks it hard, that those should have power against him who were God's enemies as much as his. God sometimes makes use of wicked men as his sword to one another (Psalms 17:13) and his rod to his own children, Isaiah 10:5. Herein also Job was a type of Christ, who was delivered into wicked hands, to be crucified and slain, by the determinate counsel and fore-knowledge of God,Acts 2:23.

      VI. That God not only delivered him into the hands of the wicked, but took him into his own hands too, into which it is a fearful thing to fall (Job 16:12; Job 16:12): "I was at ease in the comfortable enjoyment of the gifts of God's bounty, not fretting and uneasy, as some are in the midst of their prosperity, who thereby provoke God to strip them; yet he has broken me asunder, put me upon the rack of pain, and torn me limb from limb." God, in afflicting him, had seemed, 1. As if he were furious. Though fury is not in God, he thought it was, when he took him by the neck (as a strong man in a passion would take a child) and shook him to pieces, triumphing in the irresistible power he had to do what he would with him. 2. As if he were partial. "He has distinguished me from the rest of mankind by this hard usage of me: He has set me up for his mark, the butt at which he is pleased to let fly all his arrows: at me they are directed, and they come not by chance; against me they are levelled, as if I were the greatest sinner of all the men of the east or were singled out to be made an example." When God set him up for a mark his archers presently compassed him round. God has archers at command, who will be sure to hit the mark that he sets up. Whoever are our enemies, we must look upon them as God's archers, and see him directing the arrow. It is the Lord; let him do what seemeth him good. 3. As if he were cruel, and his wrath as relentless as his power was resistless. As if he contrived to touch him in the tenderest part, cleaving his reins asunder with acute pains; perhaps they were nephritic pains, those of the stone, which lie in the region of the kidneys. As if he had no mercy in reserve for him, he does not spare nor abate any thing of the extremity. And as if he aimed at nothing but his death, and his death in the midst of the most grievous tortures: He pours out my gall upon the ground, as when men have taken a wild beast, and killed it, they open it, and pour out the gall with a loathing of it. He thought his blood was poured out, as if it were not only not precious, but nauseous. 4. As if he were unreasonable and insatiable in his executions (Job 16:14; Job 16:14): "He breaketh me with breach upon breach, follows me with one wound after another." So his troubles came at first; while one messenger of evil tidings was speaking another came: and so it was still; new boils were rising every day, so that he had no prospect of the end of his troubles. Thus he thought that God ran upon him like a giant, whom he could not possibly stand before or confront; as the giants of old ran down all their poor neighbours, and were too hard for them. Note, Even good men, when they are in great and extraordinary troubles, have much ado not to entertain hard thoughts of God.

      VII. That he had divested himself of all his honour, and all his comfort, in compliance with the afflicting providences that surrounded him. Some can lessen their own troubles by concealing them, holding their heads as high and putting on as good a face as ever; but Job could not do so: he received the impressions of them, and, as one truly penitent and truly patient, he humbled himself under the mighty hand of God, Job 16:15; Job 16:16. 1. He now laid aside all his ornaments and soft clothing, consulted not either his ease or finery in his dress, but sewed sackcloth upon his skin; that clothing he thought good enough for such a defiled distempered body as he had. Silks upon sores, such sores, he thought, would be unsuitable; sackcloth would be more becoming. Those are fond indeed of gay clothing that will not be weaned from it by sickness and old age, and, as Job was (Job 16:8; Job 16:8), by wrinkles and leanness. He not only put on sackcloth, but sewed it on, as one that resolved to continue his humiliation as long as the affliction continued. 2. He insisted not upon any points of honour, but humbled himself under humbling providences: He defiled his horn in the dust, and refused the respect that used to be paid to his dignity, power, and eminency. Note, When God brings down our condition, that should bring down our spirits. Better lay the horn in the dust than lift it up in contradiction to the designs of Providence and have it broken at last. Eliphaz had represented Job as high and haughty, and unhumbled under his affliction. "No," says Job, "I know better things; the dust is now the fittest place for me." 3. He banished mirth as utterly unseasonable, and set himself to sow in tears (Job 16:16; Job 16:16): "My face is foul with weeping so constantly for my sins, for God's displeasure against me, and for my friends unkindness: this has brought a shadow of death upon my eyelids." He had not only wept away all his beauty, but almost wept his eyes out. In this also he was a type of Christ, who was a man of sorrows, and much in tears, and pronounced those blessed that mourn, for they shall be comforted.