5 Whose harvest the hungry doth eat, And even from the thorns taketh it, And the designing swallowed their wealth.
At peace are the tents of spoilers, And those provoking God have confidence, He into whose hand God hath brought.
For wind they sow, and a hurricane they reap, Stalk it hath none -- a shoot not yielding grain, If so be it yield -- strangers do swallow it up.
The Lord hath been as an enemy, He hath swallowed up Israel, He hath swallowed up all her palaces, He hath destroyed His fortresses, And He multiplieth in the daughter of Judah Mourning and moaning.
And I have seen after Bel in Babylon, And I have brought forth that which he swallowed -- from his mouth, And flow no more unto him do nations, Also the wall of Babylon hath fallen.
Sworn hath Jehovah by His right hand, Even by the arm of His strength: `I give not thy corn any more `as' food for thine enemies, Nor do sons of a stranger drink thy new wine, For which thou hast laboured.
Wealth he hath swallowed, and doth vomit it. From his belly God driveth it out.
The fruit of thy ground, and all thy labour, eat up doth a people whom thou hast not known; and thou hast been only oppressed and bruised all the days;
And Jehovah saith unto the Adversary, `Hast thou set thy heart unto My servant Job because there is none like him in the land, a man perfect and upright, fearing God and turning aside from evil? and still he is keeping hold on his integrity, and thou dost move Me against him to swallow him up for nought!'
and Sheba doth fall, and take them, and the young men they have smitten by the mouth of the sword, and I am escaped -- only I alone -- to declare `it' to thee.'
and Jehovah bringeth in against them the heads of the host that the king of Asshur hath, and they capture Manasseh among the thickets, and bind him with brazen fetters, and cause him to go to Babylon.
And it hath been, if Israel hath sowed, that Midian hath come up, and Amalek, and the sons of the east, yea, they have come up against him, and encamp against them, and destroy the increase of the land till thine entering Gaza; and they leave no sustenance in Israel, either sheep, or ox, or ass; for they and their cattle come up, with their tents; they come in as the fulness of the locust for multitude, and of them and of their cattle there is no number, and they come into the land to destroy it. And Israel is very weak from the presence of Midian, and the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Job 5
Commentary on Job 5 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 5
Eliphaz, in the foregoing chapter, for the making good of his charge against Job, had vouched a word from heaven, sent him in a vision. In this chapter he appeals to those that bear record on earth, to the saints, the faithful witnesses of God's truth in all ages (v. 1). They will testify,
Job 5:1-5
A very warm dispute being begun between Job and his friends, Eliphaz here makes a fair motion to put the matter to a reference. In all debates perhaps the sooner this is done the better if the contenders cannot end it between themselves. So well assured is Eliphaz of the goodness of his own cause that he moves Job himself to choose the arbitrators (v. 1): Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; that is,
Now there are two things which Eliphaz here maintains, and in which he doubts not but all the saints concur with him:-
Job 5:6-16
Eliphaz, having touched Job in a very tender part, in mentioning both the loss of his estate and the death of his children as the just punishment of his sin, that he might not drive him to despair, here begins to encourage him, and puts him in a way to make himself easy. Now he very much changes his voice (Gal. 4:20), and speaks in the accents of kindness, as if he would atone for the hard words he had given him.
Job 5:17-27
Eliphaz, in this concluding paragraph of his discourse, gives Job (what he himself knew not how to take) a comfortable prospect of the issue of his afflictions, if he did but recover his temper and accommodate himself to them. Observe,