Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Job 8:21

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Job 8:21. Till he fill thy mouth with laughing — Perhaps it may be well to translate after Mr. Good "Even yet may he fill thy mouth with laughter!" The two verses may be read as a prayer; and probably they were thus expressed by Bildad, who speaks with less virulence than his predecessor, though with equal positiveness in respect to the grand charge, viz., If thou wert not a sinner of no mean magnitude, God would not have inflicted such unprecedented calamities upon thee.

This most exceptionable position, which is so contrary to matter of fact, was founded upon maxims which they derived from the ancients. Surely observation must have, in numberless instances, corrected this mistake. They must have seen many worthless men in high prosperity, and many of the excellent of the earth in deep adversity and affliction; but the opposite was an article of their creed, and all appearances and facts must take its colouring.

Job's friends must have been acquainted, at least, with the history of the ancient patriarchs; and most certainly they contained facts of an opposite nature. Righteous Abel was persecuted and murdered by his wicked brother, Cain. Abram was obliged to leave his own country on account of worshipping the true God; so all tradition has said. Jacob was persecuted by his brother Esau; Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers; Moses was obliged to flee from Egypt, and was variously tried and afflicted, even by his own brethren. Not to mention David, and almost all the prophets. All these were proofs that the best of men were frequently exposed to sore afflictions and heavy calamities; and it is not by the prosperity or adversity of men in this world, that we are to judge of the approbation or disapprobation of God towards them. In every case our Lord's rule is infallible: By their fruits ye shall know them.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Bildad speaks (8:1-22)

After rebuking Job for his wild words against God, Bildad tells him that God is always just. Completely lacking in sympathy, Bildad reminds Job that his children have died, and cruelly concludes that it must have been because of their sin (8:1-4). Job’s suffering must likewise be because of his sin. If, however, he is innocent, he need only pray humbly to God, and God will replace his suffering with greater blessing than he had before (5-7).
For Bildad the traditional teaching is of first importance, and this emphasis characterizes all his speeches. Job cannot, on the basis of his short experience, question what all the wisest people of previous ages have believed (8-10).
All disaster, in Bildad’s view, is the consequence of personal ungodliness. As flourishing plants wither and die when the water dries up, so the rich are brought to ruin when they forget God (11-13). They are as insecure as a spider’s web (14-15). They are like a fast-growing plant that is suddenly pulled up and replaced by others. Their joy is shortlived (16-19). According to Bildad, the reason for Job’s terrible losses and tormenting suffering can only be Job’s sin. Repentance will bring renewed strength, joy, victory and prosperity (20-22).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

BILDAD'S FINAL THRUST AT JOB

"Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, Neither will he uphold the evil-doers. He will yet fill thy mouth with laughter, And thy lips with shouting. They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; And the tent of the wicked shall be no more."

"God will not cast away a perfect man" Bildad's assertion here makes him the precursor of those who mocked Jesus on the Cross using this same logic: `He trusts in God; let God deliver him' (Matthew 27:43)."Tyndale Old Testament Commentary, op. cit., p. 142.

"Neither will he uphold the evil-doers" The Anchor Bible translates this, "Nor grasp the hand of evil doers." However, that does not alter the meaning.

"He will yet fill thy mouth with laughter" This should be interpreted in the light of those tremendous Ifs that stand at the head of the chapter. Bildad means that all of this joy and laughter will come to Job, only IF he will repent, confess his wickedness, and pray to God.

"Bildad's tragic mistake lay in this, that he thought his commonplace utterances were sufficient to explain all the mysteries of life."C. F. Keil, Keil-Delitzsch's Old Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), Vol. 3, p. 141. "When we know about the sufferings of Jesus, our despair and perplexity can never approach that which befell Job."Tyndale Old Testament Commentary, op. cit., p. 143.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Till he fill thy mouth with laughing - Until he make thee completely happy. The word rendered “till” (עד ‛ad), is rendered by Dr. Good, “even yet.” Noyes, following Houbigant, DeWette, and Michaelis, proposes to change the pointing, and to read עד ‛ôd, instead of עד ‛ad - meaning, “while.” The verse is connected with that which follows, and the particle used here evidently means “while,” or “even yet” - and the whole passage means, “if you return to God, he will even yet fill you with joy, while those who hate you shall be clothed with shame. God will show you favor, but the dwelling of the wicked shall come to naught.” The object of the passage is to induce Job to return to God, with the assurance that if he did, he would show mercy to him, while the wicked should be destroyed.

With rejoicing - Margin, “Shouting for joy.” The word used (תרוּעה t^erû‛âh) is properly that which denotes the clangor of a trumpet, or the shout of victory and triumph.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 8

So Bildad, the next friend, speaks up and he said,

How long will you speak these things? how long will your words of your mouth be like a [big, bag of] wind? Does God pervert judgment? or does the Almighty pervert justice? If your children have sinned against him, and he has cast them away for their transgression ( Job 8:2-4 );

And okay now, he's getting on my kids. They've sinned and God wiped them out. And now you going to blame God?

If you would seek unto God before, and make your supplication to the Almighty; If you were pure and upright; surely he would awake for thee ( Job 8:5-6 ),

He would take up your cause.

and he would make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous. Though your beginning was small, yet the latter end should be greatly increased. For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers: (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon the earth are like a shadow [on the sundial]:) Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart? Can the rush grow up without mire? ( Job 8:6-11 )

Now picture the rushes growing up beside the river there in the mud along the river.

can the flags grow without water? While it is yet in his greenness, it is cut down, it withers before any other herb ( Job 8:11-12 ).

So Job, you're like a reed that is growing up. But the mud dries up and while it is still green, you're being cut off. The hypocrites are this way, Job. You must be a hypocrite.

So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish: Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web. He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure. He is green before the sun, but his branch shoots forth in his garden. His roots are wrapped about as the heap, and he seeth the place of stones. If he destroys him from his place, then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee. Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow. Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evildoers: Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing. They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nothing ( Job 8:13-22 ).

Basically, Job is saying, "Look." I mean, Bibdad is saying to Job, "God is fair, God is just. Plead your cause before God. Get right with God, Job, and everything is going to be okay. That's your problem. You're a hypocrite and what you need to do is just get right with God. Things will straighten out. You'll be blessed and all again. But something's wrong, Job. Can't happen, you know, unless there's something seriously wrong." "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

3. Bildad’s first speech ch. 8

Bildad agreed with Eliphaz that God was paying Job back for some sin he had committed, and he believed God would show Job mercy if he confessed that sin. However, Bildad built his conclusions on a slightly different foundation. Eliphaz argued from his own personal experience and observations (Job 4:8; Job 4:12-21). Bildad cited a more reliable authority: the experience of past generations that had come down through years of tradition (Job 8:8-10). He was a traditionalist whereas Eliphaz was an existentialist.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The possibility of blessing 8:20-22

By reminding Job of God’s integrity, Bildad hoped to appeal to his friend to repent. Bildad assured him that if he did, God would restore him.

"Bildad’s assertion that God will not reject a blameless man (20a) makes him the precursor of those who mocked Jesus with the same logic: ’He trusts in God; let God deliver him’ (Matthew 27:43). Job has a lesser Calvary, and each person has his own. But when we know about God’s rejection of Jesus, our dereliction can never again be as dark as Job’s." [Note: Andersen, pp. 142-43.]

Even though Bildad took a more humble basis for his view than Eliphaz did, his arguments failed to move Job. His theory, time-honored as it was, did not harmonize with Job’s experience.

People with problems get little help from rigid, closed-minded Bildads who refuse to reevaluate their theories in the light of new evidence but simply reaffirm traditional answers. We must always stay open to new evidence, new insights, and the possibility that not only we ourselves but those we follow may have interpreted the facts incorrectly.

"Bildad’s speech contains an important negative lesson about human nature in general and about the qualities of a good counselor. He heard Job’s words with his ears, but his heart heard nothing." [Note: Smick, "Job," p. 905.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing. Directing himself to Job; and suggesting, that if he was a perfect, sincere, and upright man. God would not cast him away utterly, but help him out of his present circumstances, and restore him to prosperity; and not leave him until he had filled his heart with so much joy, that his mouth and lips, being also full of it, should break forth in strong expressions of it, and in the most exulting strains, as if it was a time of jubilee with him; see Psalms 126:2; but Bildad tacitly insinuates that Job was not a perfect and good man but an evil doer, whom God had cast away and would not help; and this he concluded from the distressed circumstances he was now in; which was no rule of judgment, and a very unfair way of reasoning, since love and hatred are not to be known by outward prosperity and adversity, Ecclesiastes 9:1. Bar Tzemach interprets "laughing" as at his own goodness, and "rejoicing" as at the evil of the wicked.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      20 Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers:   21 Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing.   22 They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nought.

      Bildad here, in the close of his discourse, sums up what he has to say in a few words, setting before Job life and death, the blessing and the curse, assuring him that as he was so he should fare, and therefore they might conclude that as he fared so he was. 1. On the one hand, if he were a perfect upright man, God would not cast him away,Job 8:20; Job 8:20. Though now he seemed forsaken of God, he would yet return to him, and by degrees would turn his mourning into dancing (Psalms 30:11) and comforts should flow in upon him so plentifully that his mouth should be filled with laughing,Job 8:21; Job 8:21. So affecting should the happy change be, Psalms 126:2. Those that loved him would rejoice with him; but those that hated him, and had triumphed in his fall, would be ashamed of their insolence, when they should see him restored to his former prosperity. Now it is true that God will not cast away an upright man; he may be cast down for a time, but he shall not be cast away for ever. It is true that, if not in this world, yet in another, the mouth of the righteous shall be filled with rejoicing. Though their sun should set under a cloud, yet it shall rise again clear, never more to be clouded; though they go mourning to the grave, that shall not hinder their entrance into the joy of their Lord. It is true that the enemies of the saints will be clothed with shame when they see them crowned with honour. But it does not therefore follow that, if Job were not perfectly restore to his former prosperity, he would forfeit the character of a perfect man. 2. On the other hand, if he were a wicked man and an evil-doer, God would not help him, but leave him to perish in his present distresses (Job 8:20; Job 8:20), and his dwelling-place should come to nought,Job 8:22; Job 8:22. And here also it is true that God will not help the evil-doers; they throw themselves out of his protection, and forfeit his favour. He will not take the ungodly by the hand (so it is in the margin), will not have fellowship and communion with them; for what communion can there be between light and darkness? He will not lend them his hand to pull them out of the miseries, the eternal miseries, into which they have plunged themselves; they will then stretch out their hand to him for help, but it will be too late: he will not take them by the hand. Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed. It is true that the dwelling-place of the wicked, sooner or later, will come to nought. Those only who make God their dwelling-place are safe for ever, Psalms 90:1; Psalms 91:1. Those who make other things their refuge will be disappointed. Sin brings ruin on persons and families. Yet to argue (as Bildad, I doubt, slyly does) that because Job's family was sunk, and he himself at present seemed helpless, therefore he certainly was an ungodly wicked man, was neither just nor charitable, as long as there appeared no other evidence of his wickedness and ungodliness. Let us judge nothing before the time, but wait till the secrets of all hearts shall be made manifest, and the present difficulties of Providence be solved to universal and everlasting satisfaction, when the mystery of God shall be finished.