Teks -- Job 10:1-9 (NET)

An Appeal for Revelation

10:1 “I am weary of my life; I will complain without restraint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. 10:2 I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me; tell me why you are contending with me.’ 10:3 Is it good for you to oppress, to despise the work of your hands, while you smile on the schemes of the wicked?

Motivations of God

10:4 “Do you have eyes of flesh, or do you see as a human being sees? 10:5 Are your days like the days of a mortal, or your years like the years of a mortal, 10:6 that you must search out my iniquity, and inquire about my sin, 10:7 although you know that I am not guilty, and that there is no one who can deliver out of your hand?

Contradictions in God’s Dealings

10:8 “Your hands have shaped me and made me, but now you destroy me completely. 10:9 Remember that you have made me as with the clay; will you return me to dust?

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Wesley: Job 10:1 - Shall I

Shall I give over complaining?

Wesley: Job 10:2 - Condemn

Or, pronounce me not to be a wicked man, neither deal with me as such, as I confess thou mightest do in rigorous justice: O discover my integrity by removing this stroke, for which my friends condemn me.

Wesley: Job 10:2 - Wherefore

For what ends and reasons, and for what sins; for I am not conscious to myself of any peculiar sins by which I have deserved to be made the most miserable of all men. When God afflicts, he contends with us: when he contends with us, there is always a reason for it. And it is desirable to know, what that reason is, that we may forsake whatever he has a controversy with us for.

Wesley: Job 10:3 - Good

Dost thou take any pleasure in it? Far be it from Job, to think that God did him wrong. But he is at a loss to reconcile his providences with his justice. And so other good men have often been, and will be, until the day shall declare it.

Wesley: Job 10:4 - Eyes of faith

No. Eyes of flesh cannot see in the dark: but darkness hideth not from God. Eyes of flesh are but in one place at a time, and can see but a little way. But the eyes of the Lord are in every place, and run to and fro thro' the whole earth. Eyes of flesh will shortly be darkened by age, and shut up by death. But the eyes of God are ever the same, nor does his sight ever decay.

Wesley: Job 10:4 - As man

Man sees the outside only, and judges by appearances: but thou seest mine heart.

Wesley: Job 10:5 - Man's

Man's time is short and uncertain, and therefore he must improve it, and diligently search out the crimes of malefactors, lest by death he lose the opportunity of doing justice: but thou art eternal, and seest at one view all mens hearts, and all their actions present and to come; and therefore thou dost not need to proceed with me in this manner, by making so long a scrutiny into my heart and life.

Wesley: Job 10:6 - Searchest

Keeping me so long upon the rack, to compel me to accuse myself.

Wesley: Job 10:7 - Wicked

An hypocrite, as my friends account me.

Wesley: Job 10:7 - Deliver

But thou art the supreme ruler of the world; therefore I must wait thy time, and throw myself on thy mercy, in submission to thy sovereign will.

Wesley: Job 10:9 - Clay

As a potter makes a vessel of clay; so this may note both the frailty of man's nature, which of itself decays and perishes, and doth not need such violent shocks to overthrow it; and the excellency of the Divine artifice commended from the meanness of the materials; which is an argument why God should not destroy it.

Wesley: Job 10:9 - Again

I must die by the course of nature, and therefore while I do live, give me some ease and comfort.

JFB: Job 10:1 - leave my complaint upon myself

Rather, "I will give loose to my complaint" (Job 7:11).

JFB: Job 10:2 - show me, &c.

Do not, by virtue of Thy mere sovereignty, treat me as guilty without showing me the reasons.

JFB: Job 10:3

Job is unwilling to think God can have pleasure in using His power to "oppress" the weak, and to treat man, the work of His own hands, as of no value (Job 10:8; Psa 138:8).

JFB: Job 10:3 - shine upon

Favor with prosperity (Psa 50:2).

JFB: Job 10:4-6

Dost Thou see as feebly as man? that is, with the same uncharitable eye, as, for instance, Job's friends? Is Thy time as short? Impossible! Yet one might think, from the rapid succession of Thy strokes, that Thou hadst no time to spare in overwhelming me.

JFB: Job 10:7

"Although Thou (the Omniscient) knowest," &c. (connected with Job 10:6), "Thou searchest after my sin."

JFB: Job 10:7 - and . . . that none that can deliver out of thine hand

Therefore Thou hast no need to deal with me with the rapid violence which man would use (see Job 10:6).

JFB: Job 10:8 - Made

With pains; implying a work of difficulty and art; applying to God language applicable only to man.

JFB: Job 10:8 - together round about

Implying that the human body is a complete unity, the parts of which on all sides will bear the closest scrutiny.

JFB: Job 10:9 - clay

Job 10:10 proves that the reference here is, not so much to the perishable nature of the materials, as to their wonderful fashioning by the divine potter.

Clarke: Job 10:1 - My soul is weary of my life

My soul is weary of my life - Here is a proof that נפש nephesh does not signify the animal life, but the soul or immortal mind, as distinguished from חי chai , that animal life; and is a strong proof that Job believed in the distinction between these two principles; was no materialist; but, on the contrary, credited the proper immortality of the soul. This is worthy of observation. See Job 12:10

Clarke: Job 10:1 - I will leave my complaint

I will leave my complaint - I still charge myself with the cause of my own calamities; and shall not charge my Maker foolishly: but I must deplore my wretched and forlorn state.

Clarke: Job 10:2 - Do not condemn me

Do not condemn me - Let me not be afflicted in thy wrath

Clarke: Job 10:2 - Show me wherefore thou contendest

Show me wherefore thou contendest - If I am afflicted because of my sins, show me what that sin is. God never afflicts but for past sin, or to try his followers; or for the greater manifestation of his grace in their support and deliverance.

Clarke: Job 10:3 - Is it good unto thee

Is it good unto thee - Surely it can be no gratification to thee to distress the children of men, as if thou didst despise the work of thy own hands

Clarke: Job 10:3 - And shine upon the counsel

And shine upon the counsel - For by my afflictions the harsh judgments of the wicked will appear to be confirmed: viz., that God regards not his most fervent worshippers; and it is no benefit to lead a religious life.

Clarke: Job 10:4 - Hast thou eyes of flesh!

Hast thou eyes of flesh! - Dost thou judge as man judges

Illustrated by the next clause, Seest thou as man seeth?

Clarke: Job 10:5 - Are thy days as the days of man

Are thy days as the days of man - אנוש enosh , wretched, miserable man. Thy years as man’ s days; גבר gaber , the strong man. Thou art not short-lived, like man in his present imperfect state; nor can the years of the long-lived patriarchs be compared with thine. The difference of the phraseology in the original justifies this view of the subject. Man in his low estate cannot be likened unto thee; nor can he in his greatest excellence, though made in thy own image and likeness, be compared to thee.

Clarke: Job 10:6 - That thou inquirest

That thou inquirest - Is it becoming thy infinite dignity to concern thyself so much with the affairs or transgressions of a despicable mortal? A word spoken in the heart of most sinners.

Clarke: Job 10:7 - Thou knowest that I am not wicked

Thou knowest that I am not wicked - While thou hast this knowledge of me and my conduct, why appear to be sifting me as if in order to find out sin; and though none can be found, treating me as though I were a transgressor?

Clarke: Job 10:8 - Thine hands have made me

Thine hands have made me - Thou art well acquainted with human nature, for thou art its author

Clarke: Job 10:8 - And fashioned me together round about

And fashioned me together round about - All my powers and faculties have been planned and executed by thyself. It is thou who hast refined the materials out of which I have been formed, and modified them into that excellent symmetry and order in which they are now found; so that the union and harmony of the different parts, ( יחד yachad ), and their arrangement and completion, ( סביב sabib ), proclaim equally thy wisdom, skill, power, and goodness

Clarke: Job 10:8 - Yet thou dost destroy me

Yet thou dost destroy me - ותבלעני vatteballeeni , "and thou wilt swallow me up."Men generally care for and prize those works on which they have spent most time, skill, and pains: but, although thou hast formed me with such incredible skill and labor, yet thou art about to destroy me! How dreadful an evil must sin be, when, on its account, God has pronounced the sentence of death on all mankind; and that body, so curiously and skilfully formed, must be decomposed, and reduced to dust!

Clarke: Job 10:9 - Thou hast made me as the clay

Thou hast made me as the clay - Thou hast fashioned me, according to thy own mind, out of a mass of clay: after so much skill and pains expended, men might naturally suppose they were to have a permanent being; but thou hast decreed to turn them into dust!

Defender: Job 10:8 - fashioned me

Job's testimony indicates his knowledge and belief in the record of Adam's formation at the hand of God (Gen 2:7)."

TSK: Job 10:1 - My soul // is weary of my life // I will leave // I will speak

My soul : Job 3:20-23, Job 6:8, Job 6:9, Job 5:15, Job 5:16, Job 5:20, Job 9:21, Job 14:13; Num 11:15; 1Ki 19:4; Jon 4:3, Jon 4:8

is weary of my life : or, cut off while I live

I will leave : Job 7:11, Job 19:4, Job 21:2-4

I will speak : Job 10:15, Job 10:16, Job 6:2-4, Job 6:26, Job 7:11, Job 16:6-16; Psa 32:3-5; Isa 38:15, Isa 38:17

TSK: Job 10:2 - Do not // show me

Do not : Psa 6:1-4, Psa 25:7, Psa 38:1-8, Psa 109:21, Psa 143:2; Rom 8:1

show me : Job 8:5, Job 8:6, Job 34:31, Job 34:32; Psa 139:23, Psa 139:24; Lam 3:40-42, Lam 5:16, Lam 5:17; 1Co 11:31, 1Co 11:32

TSK: Job 10:3 - Is it good // despise // the work // shine upon

Is it good : Job 34:5-7, Job 34:18, Job 34:19, Job 36:7-9, Job 36:17, Job 36:18, Job 40:2, Job 40:8; Lam. 3:2-18

despise : Psa 69:33

the work : Heb. the labour, Job 14:15, Job 34:19; Psa 138:8; Isa 64:8; 1Pe 4:19

shine upon : Job 8:20; Jer 12:1-3

TSK: Job 10:4 - seest thou

seest thou : Job 9:32; 1Sa 16:7; Luk 16:15; Rev 1:14

TSK: Job 10:5

Psa 90:2-4, Psa 102:12, Psa 102:24-27; Heb 1:12; 2Pe 3:8

TSK: Job 10:6

Job 10:14-17; Psa 10:15, Psa 44:21; Jer 2:34; Zep 1:12; Joh 2:24, Joh 2:25; 1Co 4:5

TSK: Job 10:7 - Thou knowest // and there

Thou knowest : Heb. It is upon thy knowledge, Job 23:10, Job 31:6, Job 31:14, Job 31:35, Job 42:7; Psa 1:6, Psa 7:3, Psa 7:8, Psa 7:9, Psa 17:3, Psa 26:1-5; Psa 139:1, Psa 139:2, Psa 139:21-24; Joh 21:17; 2Co 1:12; 1Th 2:10

and there : Job 23:13, Job 23:14; Deu 32:39; Psa 50:22; Dan 3:15; Hos 2:10; Joh 10:28-30

TSK: Job 10:8 - hands // have made me // yet thou

hands : Psa 119:73; Isa 43:7

have made me : Heb. took pains about me

yet thou : Job 10:3; Gen 6:6, Gen 6:7; Jer 18:3-10

TSK: Job 10:9 - Remember // thou hast // into dust again

Remember : Job 7:7; Psa 25:6, Psa 25:7, Psa 25:18, Psa 89:47, Psa 106:4

thou hast : Gen 2:7, Gen 3:19; Isa 45:9, Isa 64:8; Jer 18:6

into dust again : Job 17:14; Psa 22:15, Psa 90:3; Ecc 12:7; Rom 9:21

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: Job 10:1 - My soul is cut off while I live // I will leave my complaint upon myself // I will speak in the bitterness of my soul

My soul is cut off while I live i.e. I am dead whilst I live; I am in a manner buried alive.

I will leave my complaint upon myself: so the sense is, I will complain, and the burden or hazard of so doing I will take upon myself, and be willing to bear it; I must give my sorrows vent, let come on me what will , as he saith, Job 13:13 . But the words may be read interrogatively, Shall I then (or how can I then) leave my complaint (i.e. give over complaining) within or concerning (as the Hebrew al oft signifies) myself ? Or they may be rendered thus, I will strengthen (as this verb signifies, Neh 3:8 ) my complaint against myself ; whereby he implies that he would not complain against God so as to accuse him of injustice, but only against himself, or against his own life; or, concerning myself , i.e. I must renew and increase my complaints, as God renews and increases my sorrows.

I will speak in the bitterness of my soul my extreme misery forceth my complaints from me.

Poole: Job 10:2 - Do not condemn me // Wherefore

Do not condemn me or, Pronounce me not to be a wicked man , as my friends do; neither deal with me as such, as I confess thou mightest do by thy sovereign power and in rigorous justice. O discover my integrity by removing this stroke, for which my friends so highly censure and condemn me.

Wherefore i.e. for what ends and reasons, and for what sins? for I am not conscious to myself of any peculiar and eminent sins by which I have deserved to be made the most miserable of all mortals.

Poole: Job 10:3 - That thou shouldest oppress // That thou shouldest despise // The work of thine hands // Shine upon the counsel of the wicked

Dost thou take any pleasure in it? Hast thou any advantage or honour by it? Dost thou think it right and just, and becoming the Ruler of the world?

That thou shouldest oppress by thy absolute and irresistible power, without any regard to that justice, and equity, and clemency by which thou usest to govern mankind.

That thou shouldest despise i.e. show thy contempt of them, either by denying them common favour and protection, or by destroying them.

The work of thine hands which every workman loves and maintains.

Shine upon the counsel of the wicked i.e. by the methods of thy providence seem to favour the courses and practices of wicked men, to whom thou givest prosperity, and success, whilst thou frownest upon me and other good men. This may have reference either to Job’ s friends, whose ungodly censures God seemed to approve, by continuing Job’ s afflictions upon him; or to the Chaldeans and Sabeans, who had succeeded in their wicked attempts upon Job; but it seems to he more generally meant of wicked men.

Poole: Job 10:4 - Of flesh // Seest thou as man seeth?

Of flesh i.e. of a man, who is called flesh , as Gen 6:13 Isa 40:6 .

Seest thou as man seeth? Man seeth outsides only, and judgeth by appearances, and is liable to many mistakes, and cannot search out secret faults without forcing men by cruel usage to accuse themselves: but thou needest none of these arts; thou seest my heart and mine uprightness, which my friends do not see, who therefore are more excusable in charging me with hypocrisy: but thou knowest all things, thou needest not examine me by tortures, as thou now dost, Job 10:6 . For thou knowest that I am not wicked , as he saith, Job 10:7 , and therefore do not thou deal with me as if I were wicked.

Poole: Job 10:5

Man’ s time is short and uncertain, and therefore he must improve his time whilst he hath it, and diligently search out the crimes of malefactors, and punish them whilst he may, lest by death he lose the opportunity of doing justice, and the criminal get out of his power. But it is not so with thee, thou art eternal and unchangeable, and seest at one view all men’ s hearts, and all their actions present and to come; and therefore thou dost not need to proceed with me in this manner, by making so long and so severe a scrutiny into my heart and life.

Poole: Job 10:6

Keeping me so long as it were upon the rack to compel me to accuse myself, as men sometimes do.

Poole: Job 10:7 - I am not wicked // There is none that can deliver out of thine hand

I am not wicked i.e. a hypocrite, or an ungodly man, as my friends account me; and therefore deal not with me as such.

There is none that can deliver out of thine hand: the sense is, either,

1. Thou dost not need to keep me fast in thy prison, lest I should make an escape, or any should rescue me out of thy hands, which none can do; therefore take off thy hand from me. Or,

2. If thou dost not help and deliver me, none else can do it; therefore do not thou fail me; which, considering God’ s merciful nature, is a good argument. If any man oppress another, he may have relief from thee, who art higher than his oppressor, Ecc 5:8 ; but thou art the supreme and uncontrollable Ruler of the world, and therefore thou must needs do right, Gen 18:25 ; and therefore do not thou oppress me. See Poole "Job 10:3" . above, Job 10:4 .

Poole: Job 10:8 - Together round about // Thou dost destroy me

Together round about i.e. all of me; all the faculties of my soul, and all the parts of my body, which are now overspread with sores and ulcers; I am wholly thy creature and workmanship, made by thee and for thee.

Thou dost destroy me or swallow me up , to wit, without cause, or any eminent provocation of mine; as if thou didst delight in doing and undoing, in making and then destroying thy creatures; which doth not become thy wisdom or goodness.

Poole: Job 10:9 - As the clay // Wilt thou bring me into dust again? // thou wilt bring me into dust again

As the clay i.e. of the clay; the note of similitude here expressing the truth of things, as it doth Joh 1:14 , and elsewhere, as hath been before observed. Or, as a potter maketh a vessel of the clay; and so this may note both the frailty of man’ s nature, which of itself decays and perisheth, and doth not need such violent shocks and storms to overthrow it; and the excellency of the Divine artifice, commended from the meanness of the materials out of which it was made; which is an argument why God should not destroy it.

Wilt thou bring me into dust again? wilt thou now causelessly and violently destroy thy own work? But the words are and may be read without an interrogation, and

thou wilt bring me into dust again out of which I was made: I must die by the course of nature, and by the sentence of thy law; and therefore whilst I do live give me some ease and comfort.

Haydock: Job 10:1 - Life // Speech against

Life. Job had intimated a fear to proceed any farther. (Calmet) ---

But perceiving that he had not convinced his friends, he continues his discourse (Haydock) in still stronger terms, yet so as to acknowledge the justice of God. (Calmet) ---

Speech against. Hebrew, "complaint upon, (Haydock) or respecting myself," I will deplore my misfortunes, (Calmet) or I will say no more about them. (Menochius)

Haydock: Job 10:2 - Judgest

Judgest. Hebrew, "contendest with me," as with an enemy? Is it to punish some fault, or only to make thy grace shine forth? (Calmet)

Haydock: Job 10:3 - Calumniate // Wicked

Calumniate permissively, by treating me in such a manner, that others lay false crimes to my charge. Hebrew, "oppress and despise the work." ---

Wicked, who are ready enough (Haydock) to assert that virtue is useless, (Calmet) and that God mindeth not human affairs. My affliction will confirm them in their false notion, (Haydock) and my friends will triumph as if their arguments were well founded. The devil will also exult. (Calmet) ---

He knew that God could not be guilty of calumny, and inquireth why he is afflicted. (Worthington)

Haydock: Job 10:4 - Seeth

Seeth, judging only of the exterior. (Tirinus) (Ver. 6.)

Haydock: Job 10:5 - Days

Days, sometimes denote judgments, 1 Corinthians iv. 3. Is God liable to change, like men, or does he stand in need of time to examine them, or fear lest they should escape? (Calmet) ---

Is it necessary for him to prove his friends, to know their real dispositions? (Sanctius)

Haydock: Job 10:7 - Shouldst

Shouldst. Hebrew and Septuagint, "Thou knowest that....and there," &c. (Haydock) ---

It would be vain for me to appeal to any other. (Calmet)

Haydock: Job 10:8 - Sudden

Sudden, like a potter's vessel? Job was reduced to misery all at once. (Calmet) ---

He acknowledges that God may destroy him as his creature; but that character encourages him to hope for mercy, grace, and glory. (Worthington)

Gill: Job 10:1 - My soul is weary of my life // I will leave my complaint upon myself // I will speak in the bitterness of my soul

My soul is weary of my life,.... And yet nothing of a temporal blessing is more desirable than life; every man, generally speaking, is desirous of life, and of a long life too; soul and body are near and intimate companions, and are usually loath to part; but Job was weary of his life, willing to part with it, and longed to be rid of it; he "loathed" it, and so it may be here rendered ^x, he would not live always, Job 7:15; his "soul" was uneasy to dwell any longer in the earthly tabernacle of his body, it being so full of pains and sores; for this weariness was not through the guilt of sin pressing him sore, or through the horror of conscience arising from it, so that he could not bear to live, as Cain and Judas; nor through indwelling sin being a burden to him, and a longing desire to be rid of it, and to be perfectly holy, to be with Christ in heaven, as the Apostle Paul, and other saints, at certain times; or through uneasiness at the sins of others, as Isaac and Rebekah, Lot, David, Isaiah, and others; nor on the account of the temptations of Satan, his fiery darts, his buffetings and siftings, which are very distressing; but on account of his outward afflictions, which were so very hard and pressing, and the apprehension he had of the anger and wrath of God, he treating him, as he thought, very severely, and as his enemy, together with the ill usage of his friends. The Targum renders it,"my soul is cut off in my life;''or I am dying while I live; I live a dying life, being in such pain of body, and distress of mind; and so other versions ^y:

I will leave my complaint upon myself: not that he would leave complaining, or lay it aside, though some ^z render it to this sense; rather give a loose to it, and indulge it, than attempt to ease himself, and give vent to his grief and sorrow by it; but it should be "upon himself", a burden he would take upon himself, and not trouble others with it; he would not burden their ears with his complaints, but privately and secretly utter them to himself; for the word ^a used signifies "meditation", private discourse with himself, a secret and inward "bemoaning" of his case; but he did not continue long in this mind, as appears by the following clause: or since I can do no other but complain; if there is any blame in it, I will take it wholly upon myself; complain I must, let what will be the consequence of it; see Job 13:13; though the phrase may be rendered, as it is sometimes, "within myself", see Hos 11:8; ^b; and then the sense may be, shall I leave my inward moan within myself, and no longer contain? I will give myself vent; and though I have been blamed for saying so much as I have, I will say yet more:

I will speak in the bitterness of my soul: as one whose life is made bitter, against whom God had wrote and said bitter things, and had brought bitter afflictions upon him, which had occasioned bitter complaints in him, as well as he had been bitterly used by his friends; and amidst all this bitterness he is determined to speak out his mind freely and fully; or to speak "of the bitterness" ^c of his soul, and declare, by words, what he in his mind and body endured.

Gill: Job 10:2 - I will say unto God, do not condemn me // show me wherefore thou contendest with me

I will say unto God, do not condemn me,.... Not that he feared eternal condemnation; there is none to them that are in Christ, and believe in him as Job did; Christ's undertakings, sufferings, and death, secure his people from the condemnation of law and justice; nor, indeed, are the afflictions of God's people a condemnation of them, but a fatherly chastisement, and are in order to prevent their being condemned with the world; yet they may look as if they were, in the eyes of the men of the world, and they as very wicked persons; and so the word may be rendered, "do not account me wicked" ^d, or treat me as a wicked man, by continuing thine afflicting hand upon the; which, as long as it was on him, his friends would not believe but that he was a wicked man; wherefore, as God knew he was not such an one as they took him to be, he begs that he would not use him as such, that so the censure he lay under might be removed; and though he was condemned by them, he entreats that God would make it appear he was not condemned by him: and whereas he was not conscious to himself of any notorious wickedness done by him, which deserved such usage, he further prays:

show me wherefore thou contendest with me. Afflictions are the Lord's controversy with his people, a striving, a contending with them; which are sometimes so sharp, that were they continued long, the spirits would fail before him, and the souls that he has made: now there is always a cause or reason for them, which God has in his own breast, though it is not always known to man, at least not at first, or as soon as the controversy or contention is begun; when God afflicts, it is either for sin, to prevent it, or purge from it, or to bring his people to a sense of it, to repent of it, and forsake it, or to try their graces, and make them more partakers of his holiness; and when good men, as Job, are at a loss about this, not being conscious of any gross iniquity committed, or a course of sin continued in, it is lawful, and right, and commendable, to inquire the reason of it, and learn, if possible, the end, design, and use of such dispensations.

Gill: Job 10:3 - Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress // that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands // and shine upon the counsel of the wicked

Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress?.... This God does not approve of in others; he dehorts men from it; he threatens to punish those that do so, and to be a swift witness against them; he promises to arise to the help of the oppressed, and to be a refuge for them, and therefore will never do the same himself; it can never be pleasant to him, nor right and just in his sight, nor is it of any advantage to him. Job here suggests that his afflictions were an oppression to him; and, indeed, no affliction is joyous, but grievous, and sometimes the hand of God presses hard and sore, but then there is no injury nor any injustice done, as the word ^e here used signifies; and he intimates also, as if God took some seeming delight and pleasure in thus oppressing him, and therefore expostulates with him about it, as if such conduct was not fit and becoming him, not agreeable to his perfections, and could afford neither pleasure nor profit. This, and what follows in this verse, are expostulations too bold and daring, and in which Job uses too much freedom with the Almighty, and in which he is not so modest as in Job 10:2,

that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands? which he tacitly insinuates he did. Job means himself, who, as to his body, and the several members of it, were the work of God's hands, curiously and wonderfully made by him, as is afterwards expressed; and as to his soul, and the powers and faculties of it, they were his make, who is the Father of spirits; and moreover, as a new man, he was made by him, was the workmanship of God, and a curious piece indeed, created after his image in righteousness and true holiness; and he was in every sense the work of his hands, or "the labour of his hands" ^f; wrought with great care and labour, even with the "palms of his hands", as is the word ^g used; and could Job think that God "despised" such a work? he who, upon a survey of his works, said they were all very good; who forsakes not the work of his hands, nor despises the day of small things, could never do this; nor are afflictions to be interpreted in such a manner, as if God was indifferent unto, slighted and thought meanly of, what he himself has wrought; since these are so far from having such a meaning, that they flow from that great respect he has for his own work, and are for the good of it:

and shine upon the counsel of the wicked? either the counsel of the wicked one, Satan, who moved God to afflict him in the manner he had, or of the Sabeans and Chaldeans, who thrived and prospered, notwithstanding the injury they had done him; or of his friends, who consulted to brand his character with hypocrisy; or, rather, of wicked men in general, on whose counsel God may be thought to "shine", when it succeeds, and God seems to smile upon them in his providence, and they are in prosperous circumstances, and have what heart can wish, when good men are greatly afflicted; which sometimes has been a temptation, and greatly distressing, to the latter; see Psa 73:2; but this is not always the case; the counsel of the froward is sometimes carried headlong, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is made brutish, and that of Ahithophel was defeated by him; and whenever he seems to countenance it, it is to answer some ends of his glory.

Gill: Job 10:4 - Hast thou eyes of flesh // or seest thou as man seeth

Hast thou eyes of flesh?.... God has eyes, but not fleshly ones; he has eyes of love, grace, and mercy, which are always upon his people for good, and are never withdrawn from them; and he has eyes of displeasure and wrath on sinful men, to destroy them; these are not made of flesh, or like the eyes of flesh and blood, or of men; fleshy eyes cannot see at any great distance, and only in one place at a time, and only one object after another; they cannot see in the dark, and what they are, and only outward objects; and in these they are sometimes deceived, and at length fail: but the eyes of God see all things, at the greatest distance; he looks down from heaven, and beholds all the children of men on earth, and all their actions; his eyes are in every place, beholding the evil and the good; he can see in the dark as well as in the light, the darkness and the light are both alike to him; he beholds not only outward actions and visible objects, but the hearts of men, and all that is in them; nor is he ever deceived, nor will his sight ever fail: though Job, perhaps, may mean carnal eyes; that is, evil ones, as especially envious ones are: "is thine eye evil?" Mat 20:15; that is, envious; and it is as if Job should say, dost thou envy me my former prosperity and peace, that thou searchest so narrowly into my conduct to find iniquity in me, and take advantage against me?

or seest thou as man seeth? look with hatred and envy, as one man does upon another: so seemed the dispensations of God towards Job, as if he did, as he suggests.

Gill: Job 10:5 - Are thy days as the days of man // are thy years as man's days

Are thy days as the days of man?.... No, they are not: not so few; the days of the years of man's life in common are threescore years and ten, Psa 90:10; but a thousand years with the Lord are but as one day, 2Pe 3:8; his days are days not of time, but of eternity: nor so mutable, or he so mutable in them; man is of one mind today, and of another tomorrow; but the Lord is in one mind one day as another; he is the Lord that changes not, Mal 3:6; immutable in his nature, purposes, promises, and affections: but Job suggests as if his dispensations towards him showed the contrary; one day smiling upon him, and heaping his favours on him, and the next frowning on him, and stripping him of all: but this was a wrong way of judging; for, though God may change the dispensations of his providence towards men, and particularly his own people, his nature changes not, nor does he change his will, his purposes, and designs, nor his love and affection:

are thy years as man's days? as few as they, or fail like them? no, he is the same, and his years fail not, and has the same good will to his people in adverse as well as in prosperous dispensations of his providence. Some understand all this in such sense, in connection with what follows, as if Job had observed, that since God was omniscient, and knew and saw all persons and things, his eyes not being like men's eyes, eyes of flesh; and since he was eternal, and wanted not for time, there was no need for him to take such methods as he did with him, through afflictive providences, to find out his sin; since, if he was guilty, it was at once known to him; nor need he be in such haste to do it, since his time was not short, as it is with an envious and ill natured man, who is for losing no time to find out and take an advantage of him he bears an ill will unto.

Gill: Job 10:6 - That thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin?

That thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin? Narrowly examined every action of his life, to find something amiss in them; and took notice of every weakness and infirmity, and aggravated it, to make it appear as sinful as it could be, and watched every halting and failing, that he might have something against him as a reason why he afflicted him; dealing with him as if there was no Messiah, no Mediator, Redeemer, and Saviour, provided, appointed, and promised; and as if there was no forgiveness of sin, through him, for him: sin pardoned for his sake is covered, that when it is sought for it shall not be found; so that when it is not pardoned, or not thought to be so, it lies open, and upon inquiry to be found, charged, and punished for; see Job 7:21; this search and inquiry seems to have been made by afflictions; at least Job imagined that the design of God in them was to put him upon the rack, and bring him to a confession of sin, find in this way find an occasion against him: now such a method as this, Job thought, was unbecoming the greatness, majesty, and perfections of God; and was quite needless, since his eyes were not human nor shortsighted, that obliged him to pore and pry into things, but were omniscient, and could see at once whether there was any evil way in him or not; nor was he as men, short lived, which obliged him to make use of his time while he had it, to get an advantage of another; and besides, such a method of acting seemed to him very extraordinary, when he full well knew he was an innocent person, as follows.

Gill: Job 10:7 - Thou knowest that I am not wicked // and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand

Thou knowest that I am not wicked,.... Or "in", or "upon thy knowledge ^a it is that I am not wicked"; it is a thing well known, quite clear, and manifest, without making such a search and inquiry: not that he thought himself without sin, and could appeal to the omniscience of God for the truth of that; for he had confessed before that he was a sinner, and wicked, as to his nature and birth, and the many infirmities of life; see Job 7:20; but that he was not that wicked person, and an hypocrite, as his friends took him to be, and as might be concluded from the sore afflictions that were upon him; he did not live in sin, nor indulge himself in a vicious course of life; sin had not the dominion over him, and he had not secretly cherished any reigning iniquity, and lived in the commission of it: and for the truth of this he could appeal to the searcher of hearts; and yet he so closely pursued, and so strictly examined him, as if he suspected he was thus guilty:

and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand; that is, out of his afflicting hand, until he please to release him from it himself; for this is not to be understood of deliverance from the avenging hand of justice, from hell and wrath, and everlasting destruction; for there is one that can and does deliver his people from sin and Satan; from the world, the law, its curses and condemnation, and from wrath to come; and from the hands of justice, having made full satisfaction to it: but what Job observes that God knew was, that neither he himself, nor any angel, nor man, nor any creature, could take him out of his hand in which be was; and therefore suggests, not only that his condition was extremely bad, distressed, and miserable, but that there was no necessity for God to he so quick upon him, and so strict in his inquiry into him; nor of enclosing him about on all hands with afflictions, since, there was no danger of his escaping from him, or of others assisting him in and facilitating such an attempt: and this he full well knew; for so the words are connection with the preceding: "and thou knowest that there is none", &c. ^b, as well as with what follows, as some think.

Gill: Job 10:8 - Thine hands have made me, and fashioned together round about // yet thou dost destroy me

Thine hands have made me, and fashioned together round about,.... This and what follow are an illustration of and an enlargement upon, the work of God's hands, made mention of in Job 10:3; and suggest reasons why it should not be despised by him, as well as confirm what was just now said, that none could deliver him out of his hands; since his hands had made him, and therefore had such power over him as none else had: and the whole seems designed to move to pity and compassion of him; for not he himself, nor his parents, but God only had made him; he was his workmanship only, and a curious piece it was, which his hands of power and wisdom had nicely formed; for, though the Son and Spirit of God are not to be excluded from the formation of man, yet it seems a too great strain of the words to interpret "hands" of them, as some do; and much less are they to be understood literally of the hands of the Son of God appearing in an human form at the creation of man, since such an appearance is not certain; nor is Job speaking of the formation of the first man, but of himself: the first word ^c, rendered "made", has the signification of labour, trouble, grief, and care; and is used of God after the manner of men, who, when things are done well by them, take a great deal of pains, and are very solicitous and careful in doing them; and from hence is a word which is sometimes used for an idol, as Gersom observes, because much labour and skill are exercised to form it in the most curious and pleasing manner; many interpreters, as Aben Ezra observes, from the use of the word in the Arabic language, explain it of God's creating the body of man with nerves, by which it is bound, compacted, and strengthened ^d; and the latter word denotes the form and configuration of it, the beautiful order and proportion in which every part is set; and the whole is intended to observe the perfection of the human body, and the exquisite skill of the author of it; and what pity is it that it should be so marred and spoiled! and this is said to be made and fashioned "together", or all at once; the several parts of it being in the seed, in the embryo, all together, though gradually formed or brought into order; or rather this denotes the unity and compactness of the several members of the body, which are set in their proper place, and joined and fitted together, by joints and bands, and by that which every joint supplieth: and this is done "round about", on all sides, in every part; or, as Mr. Broughton renders it, "in every point"; the whole of it, and every member, even the most extreme and minute, are curiously formed and fashioned by the Lord; or rather, thine hands are together round about me; embracing, sustaining, and preserving him ever since he was made:

yet thou dost destroy me; this body, so extremely well wrought, by boils or ulcers; or "swallow me" ^e, as a lion, to which he compares him, Job 10:16; or any other ravenous and large creature, see Lam 2:2; some connect the words more agreeably to the accents, "yet thou dost destroy me together round about" ^f; or on every side, as in Job 19:10; having smitten him with boils from the crown of the head to the sole of the feet, and stripped him of his substance and his family all at once; and so it denotes utter destruction: some read the words interrogatively, "and wilt thou destroy or swallow me?" ^g after thou hast taken so much pains, and been at such labour and trouble, speaking after the manner of men, to make such a curious piece of work, and yet with one stroke destroy it and dash it in pieces, or swallow it up as a morsel at once.

Gill: Job 10:9 - Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay // and wilt thou bring me into dust again

Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay,.... Not of the clay, though man was made originally of the dust of the earth, and the bodies of men are houses of clay, earthen vessels, and earthly tabernacles, but "as the clay"; either as the clay is wrought in the hand of the potter, and worked into what form, and made into what vessel he pleases, so are men in the hand of God, made by him in what form, and for what use and end he thinks fit; or rather this denotes not the likeness of the operation, but the likeness of the matter of the human body to clay: not for the impurity of it; for though man is in a state and condition comparable to the mire and clay, this he has brought himself into by sin, and not the Lord; he made man upright, but man has made himself sinful and polluted; but for the brittleness of it; as a vessel made of clay is brittle and easily broke to pieces, and cannot bear much weight, or any heavy stroke; so the body of man is weak and frail, and feeble; its strength is not the strength of stones, and its flesh brass, but clay: and this Job humbly entreats the Lord would "remember", and that "now" ^h; immediately; and deal mildly and mercifully with him, since he was not able to bear the weight of his hand, which would soon, crush him and break him to pieces; not that God forgets this, for he remembers man's frame and composition, that he is but dust; that he is flesh, and a wind or vapour that passes away: but he may seem to do so, when he sorely afflicts, and his hand lies heavy, and he does not remove it, but continues it, and rather in creases the affliction; and therefore, as the Lord allows his people to put him in remembrance, Job here desires that he would show himself, in his providential dealings with him, that he was mindful of his natural frailty and infirmity; see Job 7:12 Psa 78:3,

and wilt thou bring me into dust again? to the dust of death; to the original of which he was made; and that so soon, and at once; or, "and unto dust will return me?" as Mr. Broughton and others ⁱ, according to the original sentence, "dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return", Gen 3:19; and which Job expected, and will be the case of all men, Ecc 12:7; and therefore he thought that this might suffice, that it was enough that he should die in a little while through the course of nature, and therefore desires he might have some respite and ease while he did live; he could not see there was any occasion to press him so hard, and follow him so close with afflictions one after another, or be so rough with him and quick upon him; since in a short time his brittle clay would break of itself, and he should drop into the dust and lie decaying there, as it was of old decreed he should.