Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Job 27:20

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Job 27:20. Terrors take hold on him as waters — They come upon him as an irresistible flood; and he is overwhelmed as by a tempest in the night, when darkness partly hides his danger, and deprives him of discerning the way to escape.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

27:1-31:40 JOB’S SUMMARY

The traditional teaching (27:1-23)

According to the established pattern of the debate, Zophar should speak next, but when he does not, Job proceeds to summarize his own position. He restates that, in spite of his suffering and bitterness, he is innocent of the great wrongdoing of which they accuse him, and he assures them that he intends to remain innocent (27:1-6).
Job knows as well as his friends do that the ungodly will, in the end, be punished and no final cry for mercy will save them. Moreover, the friends’ false accusations against Job put them in the class of the ungodly (7-10). They have been foolishly wasting their time in trying to teach Job the traditional doctrine concerning the punishment of the wicked. He knows all this so well that he could just as easily teach them (11-12). To prove his knowledge, Job quotes some of the traditional teaching for them to hear: the families of the wicked are wiped out (13-15), their wealth is plundered (16-17), their houses are destroyed (18-19), and their lives end in horror (20-23).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

HERE JOB SPOKE OF THE ULTIMATE FATE OF THE WICKED

"This is the portion of a wicked man with God, And the heritage of oppressors, which they received from the Almighty: If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword; And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. Those that remain of him shall be buried in death, And his widows shall make no lamentation. Though he heap up silver as the dust, And prepare raiment as the clay; He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, And the innocent shall divide the silver. He buildeth his house as the moth, And as a booth that the keeper maketh. He lieth down rich, but he shall not be gathered to his fathers; He openeth his eyes, and he is not. Terrors overtake him like waters; A tempest stealeth him away in the night. The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth; And it sweepeth him out of his place. For God shall hurl at him, and not spare: He would fain flee out of his hand. Men shall clap their hands at him, And shall hiss him out of his place."

A good heading for this whole paragraph would be the clause in Job 27:8, "When God taketh away his soul." Every word that Job said about the wicked in this paragraph is true; the one missing note that prevents any supposition that Zophar is the speaker is any insinuation that all of these judgments fall upon the wicked immediately upon the commission of their wicked deeds. We are warned in the word that stands at the head of the passage that such things befall the wicked when God taketh away their soul (Job 27:8). It is the ultimate fate of the wicked that is spoken of here.

For young students, especially, who may be disturbed by critical shenanigans in their rearrangements and re-labeling of portions of Job, we include here the words of Kelly, who spoke of the problems centered in this part of Job, affirming that, "We are left with a difficulty which is insoluble on the basis of the information which we now have. But it must be affirmed that this difficulty in no way detracts either from an understanding of the Book of Job, or from a full appreciation of it."Layman's Bible Commentary, op. cit., p. 117.

"I will teach you concerning the hand of God" "The second person pronoun (you) here is plural; and it is a feeble expedient of critics to change this to a singular in order to make it something that Zophar said to Job."Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, op. cit., p. 221. It is clearly addressed by Job to all of his friends.

"Job in these verses agrees with his opponents that the prosperity of the wicked is not the dominant trend in the world; but there is no denial here that the wicked may indeed prosper for a season."Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 480.

The greatest error of Job's friends was their belief that sufferings, hardships, and disasters falling upon any person constituted proof of that person's wickedness. Any error of such colossal dimensions would condemn Jesus Christ himself. Look what happened to him! The sad fact is that, even today, the same gross error is found in the thinking of many people. Throughout Job, it must be remembered that it is this particular error, rather than any other, that Job so bitterly opposed.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Terrors-take hold on him as waters - That is, as suddenly and violently as angry floods; compare the notes at Job 18:14.

A tempest stealeth him away - He is suddenly cut off by the wrath of God. A tempest comes upon him as unexpectedly as a thief or robber comes at night. Death is often represented as coming upon man with the silence of a thief, or the sudden violence of a robber at midnight; see the note at Job 21:17; compare Matthew 24:42-44.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 27

Job continued his answer and he said, As God lives, who has taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who has vexed my soul; All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, I'll not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me as long as I live ( Job 27:1-6 ).

Job has now just had it with these guys. He said, "Look, I don't care what you say. As long as there is a breath in my mouth I am going to maintain my own integrity. My lips are not going to utter deceit. I'm not going to say I'm a sinner just to please you. God forbid that I should justify your speeches, the things that you are saying. 'Til I die I will not deny or remove my integrity from me. For my righteousness I hold fast. I'll not let it go. My heart shall not reproach me as long as I live."

Now this is Job's response to his friends. Next week you'll see Job's response to God; quite different. Which shows to me an interesting thing. I think that it is a mistake for us to try to bring our friends under conviction. I think that oftentimes we are in the position of trying to make a person feel guilty. "Aren't you sorry for what you've done? That's horrible!" You know. And what is the response to that? It is the justifying of myself. I don't want you laying some guilt trip on me, you hypocrite. You've done just as bad. You see, and I'm going to justify myself. I'm not going to let others lay guilt trips on me. I don't like that; I resent that. And here these guys are trying to make Job guilty. "Oh, you know, you've done all these horrible things." He says, "Hey, I'm not going to justify you. I hold fast mine integrity. My righteousness, I maintain it."

But when God began to speak, it was a different story. Which tells me that rather than trying to make people feel guilty for what they have done, or what they are doing, it would be better that we just ask God to reveal Himself to them. And the conscious affect of God's revelation is always that of the revelation of myself to me. When I see me in God's light, then I cry, "Woe is me, for I am a sinful man." I see, then, my own wickedness. And Job, when God revealed Himself, then Job cried out for forgiveness. Different story.

So we need to take a lesson from this. Rather than building resentment by trying to make people feel guilty for what they have done, best that we just pray and ask God to bring the conviction of His Spirit upon their hearts. "God, reveal Yourself, Your righteousness to them that they might see themselves in Your light." And that will bring about a dramatic change of attitude. Whereas all of my endeavors will only create resentment and only cause the person to become more solidified in his position, maintaining his innocence, and so forth.

So Job's friends were totally unsuccessful in all of their arguments.

Let my enemy be as the wicked, and he that rises up against me as the unrighteous. For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he has gained, when God takes away his soul? ( Job 27:7-8 )

Good question. "What is the hope of the wicked man, though he has gained the whole world, when God takes away his own soul?" Jesus said, "What should it profit a man if he gained the whole world and loses his own soul?" ( Matthew 16:26 ) Basically, that's what Job said. Jesus was sort of reiterating what Job had said, just putting it in different terms. What reward is there to the hypocrite if he gains everything, when God takes away his soul? What's left then?

Will God hear his cry when trouble comes upon him? Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God? I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal. Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are you altogether vain? ( Job 27:9-12 )

You've seen these things. You know they're true. How come you're so empty?

This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty. If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: if the offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep. Though he heap up silver as dust, and prepare raiment as the clay; He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver ( Job 27:13-17 ).

In other words, he's never going to be able to enjoy it. You may lay up for yourself great wealth, but who's going to spend it? When you die, whose is it going to be? You're not going to take it with you. Now Job sees the place of the wicked and the place of the hypocrite. They are more or less accusing Job, "Hey, you know, you're saying that the hypocrite and the wicked have it great." Job says, "No, you misunderstand me. You know as well as I know that their day is coming. I'm not saying that that's the way to live. I know what the end of that kind of a life is. I'm not advocating that lifestyle, because they're going to get cut off. They're going to lose it all. They're going to get wiped out. He may prepare it, but someone else is going to put it on. The innocent will divide the silver."

He builds his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper makes. The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he opens his eyes, and he is not. Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest steals him away in the night. And the east wind carries him away, and he departs: as a storm hurls him out of his place. For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand. Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place ( Job 27:18-23 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Job’s denial of his friends’ wisdom ch. 27

Since Job 27:1 begins, "Then Job continued . . .," Job may have paused and waited for Zophar to respond. However, we have no third speech by him in the text. Evidently Job proceeded to elaborate further on Bildad’s "wisdom" but broadened his perspective and addressed all three friends. "You" in Job 27:5; Job 27:11-12 is plural in the Hebrew text.

Job began by affirming his innocence (Job 27:1-6). For the first time he took an oath that his words were true. "As God lives" means that what he was saying was as certain as God’s existence. Job wished that his enemies would suffer the fate of the wicked (Job 27:7-23). In so saying, Job was claiming that he was on the side of the righteous, and all who were against him were wicked. Rowley regarded this section as Zophar’s third speech. [Note: Rowley, p. 175.]

"Imprecatory rhetoric is difficult for Westerners to understand. But in the Semitic world it is still an honorable rhetorical device. The imprecation had a juridical function and was frequently a hyperbolic (cf. Psalms 109:6-15; Psalms 139 [sic 137]:7-9) means of dealing with false accusations and oppression. Legally the false accusation and the very crimes committed are called down on the perpetrator’s head. Since his counselors had falsely accused Job of being wicked, they deserved to be punished like the wicked." [Note: Smick, "Job," p. 971.]

Again Job called upon God. His friends never did, as far as the text records.

Some writers have regarded Job 27:13-23 as Zophar’s third speech. [Note: E.g., H. L. Ellison, A Study of Job, p. 88.] Still, this section is consistent with Job’s argument in the immediate context (Job 27:7-10) and previously (Job 24:18-25).

"In the following strophe Job now begins as Zophar (ch. xx. 29) concluded. He gives back to the friends the doctrine they have fully imparted to him. They have held the lot of the evil-doer before him as a mirror, that he may behold himself in it and be astounded; he holds it before them, that they may perceive how not only his bearing under suffering, but also the form of his affliction, is of a totally different kind." [Note: Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job , 2:72.]

Job asserted that the wicked would experience punishment eventually. Though he believed God was not being just with him, he could not escape the conviction that God must deal justly. It was this antinomy that made Job so uncomfortably anxious to obtain a reply from God. He agreed with his companions that God punishes the wicked. This is what normally happens in life (Job 27:13-23). Nonetheless he disagreed that this is always true in every case.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Terrors take hold on him as waters,.... The terrors of death, and of an awful judgment that is to come after it; finding himself dying, death is the king of terrors to him, dreading not only the awful stroke of death itself, but of what is to follow upon it; or rather these terrors are those that seize the wicked man after death; perceiving what a horrible condition he is in, the terrors of a guilty conscience lay hold on him, remembering his former sins with all the aggravating circumstances of them; the terrors of the law's curses lighting upon him, and of the wrath and fury of the Almighty pouring out on him and surrounding him, and devils and damned spirits all about him. These will seize him "as waters", like a flood of waters, denoting the abundance of them, "terror on every side", a "Magormissabib",

Jeremiah 20:3, will he be, and coming with great rapidity, with an irresistible force, and without ceasing, rolling one after another in a sudden and surprising manner:

a tempest stealeth him away in the night; the tempest of divine wrath, from which there is no shelter but the person, blood, and righteousness of Christ; this comes like a thief, suddenly and unexpectedly, and steals the wicked man out of this world; or rather from the judgment seat, and carries him into the regions of darkness, of horror and black despair, where he is surrounded with the aforesaid terrors; this is said to be in the night, to make it the more shocking and terrible, see

Luke 12:19; and may have respect to that blackness that attends a tempest, and to that blackness of darkness reserved for wicked men, Judges 1:13.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      11 I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.   12 Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain?   13 This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty.   14 If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.   15 Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep.   16 Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;   17 He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.   18 He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh.   19 The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not.   20 Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night.   21 The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place.   22 For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.   23 Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.

      Job's friends had seen a great deal of the misery and destruction that attend wicked people, especially oppressors; and Job, while the heat of disputation lasted, had said as much, and with as much assurance, of their prosperity; but now that the heat of the battle was nearly over he was willing to own how far he agreed with them, and where the difference between his opinion and theirs lay. 1. He agreed with them that wicked people are miserable people, that God will surely reckon with cruel oppressors, and one time or other, one way or other, his justice will make reprisals upon them for all the affronts they have put upon God and all the wrongs they have done to their neighbours. This truth is abundantly confirmed by the entire concurrence even of these angry disputants in it. But, 2. In this they differed--they held that these deserved judgments are presently and visibly brought upon wicked oppressors, that they travail with pain all their days, that in prosperity the destroyer comes upon them, that they shall not be rich, nor their branch green, and that their destruction shall be accomplished before their time (so Eliphaz, Job 15:20; Job 15:21; Job 15:29; Job 15:32), that the steps of their strength shall be straitened, that terrors shall make them afraid on every side (so Bildad, Job 18:7; Job 18:11), that he himself shall vomit up his riches, and that in the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits, so Zophar, Job 20:15; Job 20:22. Now Job held that, in many cases, judgments do not fall upon them quickly, but are deferred for some time. That vengeance strikes slowly he had already shown (Job 21:1-34; Job 24:1-25); now he comes to show that it strikes surely and severely, and that reprieves are no pardons.

      I. Job here undertakes to set this matter in a true light (Job 27:11; Job 27:12): I will teach you. We must not disdain to learn even from those who are sick and poor, yea, and peevish too, if they deliver what is true and good. Observe, 1. What he would teach them: "That which is with the Almighty," that is, "the counsels and purposes of God concerning wicked people, which are hidden with him, and which you cannot hastily judge of; and the usual methods of his providence concerning them." This, says Job, will I not conceal. What God has not concealed from us we must not conceal from those we are concerned to teach. Things revealed belong to us and our children. 2. How he would teach them: By the hand of God, that is, by his strength and assistance. Those who undertake to teach others must look to the hand of God to direct them, to open their ear (Isaiah 50:4), and to open their lips. Those whom God teaches with a strong hand are best able to teach others, Isaiah 8:11. 3. What reason they had to learn those things which he was about to teach them (Job 27:12; Job 27:12), that it was confirmed by their own observation--You yourselves have seen it (but what we have heard, and seen and known, we have need to be taught, that we may be perfect in our lesson), and that it would set them to rights in their judgment concerning him--"Why then are you thus altogether vain, to condemn me for a wicked man because I am afflicted?" Truth, rightly understood and applied, would cure us of that vanity of mind which arises from our mistakes. That particularly which he offers now to lay before them is the portion of a wicked man with God, particularly of oppressors,Job 27:13; Job 27:13. Compare Job 20:29; Job 20:29. Their portion in the world may be wealth and preferment, but their portion with God is ruin and misery. They are above the control of any earthly power, it may be, but the Almighty can deal with them.

      II. He does it, by showing that wicked people may, in some instances, prosper, but that ruin follows them in those very instances; and that is their portion, that is their heritage, that is it which they must abide by.

      1. They may prosper in their children, but ruin attends them. His children perhaps are multiplied (Job 27:14; Job 27:14) or magnified (so some); they are very numerous and are raised to honour and great estates. Worldly people are said to be full of children (Psalms 17:14), and, as it is in the margin there, their children are full. In them the parents hope to live and in their preferment to be honoured. But the more children they leave, and the greater prosperity they leave them in, the more and the fairer marks do they leave for the arrows of God's judgments to be levelled at, his three sore judgments, sword, famine, and pestilence,2 Samuel 24:13. (1.) Some of them shall die by the sword, the sword of war perhaps (they brought them up to live by their sword, as Esau, Genesis 27:40, and those that do so commonly die by the sword, first or last), or by the sword of justice for their crimes, or the sword of the murderer for their estates. (2.) Others of them shall die by famine (Job 27:14; Job 27:14): His offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. He thought he had secured to them large estates, but it may happen that they may be reduced to poverty, so as not to have the necessary supports of life, at least not to live comfortably. They shall be so needy that they shall not have a competency of necessary food, and so greedy, or so discontented, that what they have they shall not be satisfied with, because not so much, or not so dainty, as what they have been used to. You eat, but you have not enough,Haggai 1:6. (3.) Those that remain shall be buried in death, that is, shall die of the plague, which is called death (Revelation 6:8), and be buried privately and in haste, as soon as they are dead, without any solemnity, buried with the burial of an ass; and even their widows shall not weep; they shall not have wherewithal to put them in mourning. Or it denotes that these wicked men, as they live undesired, so they die unlamented, and even their widows will think themselves happy that they have got rid of them.

      2. They may prosper in their estates, but ruin attends them too, Job 27:16-18; Job 27:16-18. (1.) We will suppose them to be rich in money and plate, in clothing and furniture. They heap up silver in abundance as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay; they have heaps of clothes about them, as plentiful as heaps of clay. Or it intimates that they have such abundance of clothes that they are even a burden to them. They lade themselves with thick clay,Habakkuk 2:6. See what is the care and business of worldly people--to heap up worldly wealth. Much would have more, until the silver is cankered and the garments are moth-eaten, James 5:2; James 5:3. But what comes of it? He shall never be the better for it himself; death will strip him, death will rob him, if he be not robbed and stripped sooner, Luke 12:20. Nay, God will so order it that the just shall wear his raiment and the innocent shall divide his silver. [1.] They shall have it, and divide it among themselves. In some way or other Providence shall so order it that good men shall come honestly by that wealth which the wicked man came dishonestly by. The wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just,Proverbs 13:22. God disposes of men's estates as he pleases, and often makes their wills against their wills. The just, whom he hated and persecuted, shall have rule over all his labour, and, in due time, recover with interest what was violently taken from him. The Egyptians' jewels were the Israelites' pay. Solomon observes (Ecclesiastes 2:26) that God makes the sinners drudges to the righteous; for the sinner he gives travail to gather and heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. [2.] They shall do good with it. The innocent shall not hoard the silver, as he did that gathered it, but shall divide it to the poor, shall give a portion to seven and also to eight, which is laying up the best securities. Money is like manure, good for nothing if it be not spread. When God enriches good men they must remember they are but stewards and must give an account. What bad men bring a curse upon their families with the ill-getting of good men bring a blessing upon their families with the well-using of. He that by unjust gain increaseth his substance shall gather it for him that will pity the poor,Proverbs 28:8. (2.) We will suppose them to have built themselves strong and stately houses; but they are like the house which the moth makes for herself in an old garment, out of which she will soon be shaken, Job 27:18; Job 27:18. He is very secure in it, as a moth, and has no apprehension of danger; but it will prove of as short continuance as a booth which the keeper makes, which will quickly be taken down and gone, and his place shall know him no more.

      3. Destruction attends their persons, though they lived long in health and at ease (Job 27:19; Job 27:19): The rich man shall lie down to sleep, to repose himself in the abundance of his wealth (Soul, take thy ease), shall lie down in it as his strong city, and seem to others to be very happy and very easy; but he shall not be gathered, that is, he shall not have his mind composed, and settled, and gathered in, to enjoy his wealth. He does not sleep so contentedly as people think he does. He lies down, but his abundance will not suffer him to sleep, at least not so sweetly as the labouring man,Ecclesiastes 5:12. He lies down, but he is full of tossings to and fro till the dawning of the day, and then he opens his eyes and he is not; he sees himself, and all he has, hastening away, as it were, in the twinkling of an eye. His cares increase his fears, and both together make him uneasy, so that, when we attend him to his bed, we do not find him happy there. But, in the close, we are called to attend his exit, and see how miserable he is in death and after death.

      (1.) He is miserable in death. It is to him the king of terrors, Job 27:20; Job 27:21. When some mortal disease seizes him what a fright is he in! Terrors take hold of him as waters, as if he were surrounded by the flowing tides. He trembles to think of leaving this world, and much more of removing to another. This mingles sorrow and wrath with his sickness, as Solomon observes, Ecclesiastes 5:17. These terrors put him either [1.] Into a silent and sullen despair; and then the tempest of God's wrath, the tempest of death, may be said to steal him away in the night, when no one is aware or takes any notice of it. Or, [2.] Into an open and clamorous despair; and then he is said to be carried away, and hurled out of his place as with a storm, and with an east wind, violent, and noisy, and very dreadful. Death, to a godly man, is like a fair gale of wind to convey him to the heavenly country, but, to a wicked man, it is like an east wind, a storm, a tempest, that hurries him away in confusion and amazement, to destruction.

      (2.) He is miserable after death. [1.] His soul falls under the just indignation of God, and it is the terror of that indignation which puts him into such amazement at the approach of death (Job 27:22; Job 27:22): For God shall cast upon him and not spare. While he lived he had the benefit of sparing mercy; but now the day of God's patience is over, and he will not spare, but pour out upon him the full vials of his wrath. What God casts down upon a man there is no flying from nor bearing up under. We read of his casting down great stones from heaven upon the Canaanites (Joshua 10:11), which made terrible execution among them; but what was that to his casting down his anger in its full weight upon the sinner's conscience, like the talent of lead?Zechariah 5:7; Zechariah 5:8. The damned sinner, seeing the wrath of God break in upon him, would fain flee out of his hand; but he cannot: the gates of hell are locked and barred, and the great gulf fixed, and it will be in vain to call for the shelter of rocks and mountains. Those who will not be persuaded now to fly to the arms of divine grace, which are stretched out to receive them, will not be able to flee from the arms of divine wrath, which will shortly be stretched out to destroy them. [2.] His memory falls under the just indignation of all mankind (Job 27:23; Job 27:23): Men shall clap their hands at him, that is, they shall rejoice in the judgments of God, by which he is cut off, and be well pleased in his fall. When the wicked perish there is shouting,Proverbs 11:10. When God buries him men shall hiss him out of his place, and leave on his name perpetual marks of infamy. In the same place where he has been caressed and cried up he shall be laughed at (Psalms 52:7) and his ashes shall be trampled on.