Teks -- Job 15:28-35 (NET)

15:28 he lived in ruined towns and in houses where no one lives, where they are ready to crumble into heaps. 15:29 He will not grow rich, and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the land. 15:30 He will not escape the darkness; a flame will wither his shoots and he will depart by the breath of God’s mouth. 15:31 Let him not trust in what is worthless, deceiving himself; for worthlessness will be his reward. 15:32 Before his time he will be paid in full, and his branches will not flourish. 15:33 Like a vine he will let his sour grapes fall, and like an olive tree he will shed his blossoms. 15:34 For the company of the godless is barren, and fire consumes the tents of those who accept bribes. 15:35 They conceive trouble and bring forth evil; their belly prepares deception.”

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

Wesley: Job 15:28 - But

This is fitly opposed to the prosperity last mentioned, and is the beginning of the description of his misery.

Wesley: Job 15:29 - Substance

What he had gotten shall be taken from him.

Wesley: Job 15:30 - Depart

His misery shall have no end.

Wesley: Job 15:30 - Flame

God's anger and judgment upon him.

Wesley: Job 15:30 - Branches

His wealth, and power, and glory, wherewith he was encompassed, as trees are with their branches.

Wesley: Job 15:30 - His mouth

And this expression intimates, with how much ease God subdueth his enemies: his word, his blast; one act of his will is sufficient.

Wesley: Job 15:30 - Go

Heb. go back: that is, run away from God faster than he ran upon him, Job 15:26. So it is a continuation of the former metaphor of a conflict between two persons.

Wesley: Job 15:31 - Vanity

In the vain and deceitful things of this world, he subjoins a general caution to all men to take heed of running into the same error and mischief.

Wesley: Job 15:31 - Vanity

Disappointment and dissatisfaction, and the loss of all his imaginary felicity.

Wesley: Job 15:31 - Recompence

Heb. his exchange; he shall exchange one vanity for another, a pleasing vanity for a vexatious vanity.

Wesley: Job 15:32 - Accomplished

That vanity should be his recompence.

Wesley: Job 15:32 - Before

When by the course of nature, and common providence he might have continued much longer.

JFB: Job 15:28

The class of wicked here described is that of robbers who plunder "cities," and seize on the houses of the banished citizens (Isa 13:20). Eliphaz chooses this class because Job had chosen the same (Job 12:6).

JFB: Job 15:28 - heaps

Of ruins.

JFB: Job 15:29

Rather, he shall not increase his riches; he has reached his highest point; his prosperity shall not continue.

JFB: Job 15:29 - perfection

Rather, "His acquired wealth--what he possesses--shall not be extended," &c.

JFB: Job 15:30 - depart

That is, escape (Job 15:22-23).

JFB: Job 15:30 - branches

Namely, his offspring (Job 1:18-19; Psa 37:35).

JFB: Job 15:30 - dry up

The "flame" is the sultry wind in the East by which plants most full of sap are suddenly shrivelled.

JFB: Job 15:30 - his mouth

That is, God's wrath (Isa 11:4).

JFB: Job 15:31

Rather, "let him not trust in vanity or he will be deceived," &c.

JFB: Job 15:31 - vanity

That which is unsubstantial. Sin is its own punishment (Pro 1:31; Jer 2:19).

JFB: Job 15:32

Literally, "it (the tree to which he is compared, Job 15:30, or else his life) shall not be filled up in its time"; that is, "he shall be ended before his time."

JFB: Job 15:32 - shall not be green

Image from a withered tree; the childless extinction of the wicked.

JFB: Job 15:33

Images of incompleteness. The loss of the unripe grapes is poetically made the vine tree's own act, in order to express more pointedly that the sinner's ruin is the fruit of his own conduct (Isa 3:11; Jer 6:19).

JFB: Job 15:34

Rather, The binding together of the hypocrites (wicked) shall be fruitless [UMBREIT].

JFB: Job 15:34 - tabernacles of bribery

Namely, dwellings of unjust judges, often reprobated in the Old Testament (Isa 1:23). The "fire of God" that consumed Job's possessions (Job 1:16) Eliphaz insinuates may have been on account of Job's bribery as an Arab sheik or emir.

JFB: Job 15:35

Bitter irony, illustrating the "unfruitfulness" (Job 15:34) of the wicked. Their conceptions and birthgivings consist solely in mischief, &c. (Isa 33:11).

JFB: Job 15:35 - prepareth

Hatcheth.

Clarke: Job 15:28 - He dwelleth in desolate cities

He dwelleth in desolate cities - It is sometimes the fate of a tyrant to be obliged to take up his habitation in some of those cities which have been ruined by his wars, and in a house so ruinous as to be ready to fall into heaps. Ancient and modern history afford abundance of examples to illustrate this.

Clarke: Job 15:29 - He shall not be rich

He shall not be rich - The whole of what follows, to the end of the chapter, seems to be directed against Job himself, whom Eliphaz indirectly accuses of having been a tyrant and oppressor. The threatened evils are

1.    He shall not be rich, though he labors greatly to acquire riches

2.    His substance shall not continue - God will blast it, and deprive him of power to preserve it

3.    Neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof - all his works shall perish, for God will blot out his remembrance from under heaven.

Clarke: Job 15:30 - He shall not depart out of darkness

He shall not depart out of darkness -

4.    He shall be in continual afflictions and distress

5.    The flame shall dry up his branches - his children shall be cut off by sudden judgments

6.    He shall pass away by the breath of his mouth; for by the breath of his mouth doth God slay the wicked.

Clarke: Job 15:31 - Let not him that is deceived

Let not him that is deceived -

7.    He has many vain imaginations of obtaining wealth, power, pleasure, and happiness; but he is deceived; and he finds that he has trusted בשוא bashshav , in a lie; and this lie is his recompense.

Clarke: Job 15:32 - It shall be accomplished before his time

It shall be accomplished before his time - I believe the Vulgate gives the true sense: Antequam dies ejus impleantur, peribit; "He shall perish before his time; before his days are completed.

8.    He shall be removed by a violent death, and not live out half his days

9.    And his branch shall not be green - there shall be no scion from his roots; all his posterity shall fail.

Clarke: Job 15:33 - He shall shake off his unripe grape

He shall shake off his unripe grape -

10.    Whatever children he may have, they shall never survive him, nor come to mature age. They shall be like wind-fall grapes and blasted olive blossoms. As the vine and olive, which are among the most useful trees, affording wine and oil, so necessary for the worship of God and the comfort of man, are mentioned here, they may be intended to refer to the hopeful progeny of the oppressor; but who fell, like the untimely grape or the blasted olive flower, without having the opportunity of realizing the public expectation.

Clarke: Job 15:34 - The congregation of hypocrites

The congregation of hypocrites -

11.    Job is here classed with hypocrites, or rather the impious of all kinds. The congregation, or עדת adath , society, of such, shall be desolate, or a barren rock, גלמוד galmud . See this Arabic word explained in the note on Job 3:7 (note)

Clarke: Job 15:34 - Fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery

Fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery -

12.    Another insinuation against Job, that he had perverted justice and judgment, and had taken bribes.

Clarke: Job 15:35 - They conceive mischief

They conceive mischief - The figure here is both elegant and impressive. The wicked conceive mischief, from the seed which Satan sows in their hearts; in producing which they travail with many pangs, (for sin is a sore labor), and at last their womb produces fraud or deception. This is an accursed birth, from an iniquitous conception. St. James gives the figure at full length, most beautifully touched in all its parts: When lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death; Jam 1:15 (note), where see the note. Poor Job! what a fight of affliction had he to contend with! His body wasted and tortured with sore disease; his mind harassed by Satan; and his heart wrung with the unkindness, and false accusations of his friends. No wonder he was greatly agitated, often distracted, and sometimes even thrown off his guard. However, all his enemies were chained; and beyond that chain they could not go. God was his unseen Protector, and did not suffer his faithful servant to be greatly moved.

TSK: Job 15:28 - desolate // which are ready

desolate : Job 3:14, Job 18:15; Isa 5:8-10; Mic 7:18

which are ready : Jer 9:11, Jer 26:18, Jer 51:37; Mic 3:12

TSK: Job 15:29 - neither shall

neither shall : Job 20:22-28, Job 22:15-20, Job 27:16, Job 27:17; Psa 49:16, Psa 49:17; Luk 12:19-21, Luk 16:2, Luk 16:19-22; Jam 1:11, Jam 5:1-3

TSK: Job 15:30 - depart // the flame // by the breath

depart : Job 15:22, Job 10:21, Job 10:22, Job 18:5, Job 18:6, Job 18:18; Mat 8:12, Mat 22:13; 2Pe 2:17; Jud 1:13

the flame : Job 20:26; Isa 30:33; Eze 15:4-7, Eze 20:47, Eze 20:48; Mat 25:41; Mar 9:43-49; 2Th 1:8, 2Th 1:9

by the breath : Job 4:9; Isa 11:4; Rev 19:15

TSK: Job 15:31 - not him // trust // for vanity

not him : Job 12:16; Isa 44:20; Gal 6:3, Gal 6:7; Eph 5:6

trust : Psa 62:10; Isa 59:4; Jon 2:8

for vanity : Job 4:8; Pro 22:8; Isa 17:10, Isa 17:11; Hos 8:7; Gal 6:8

TSK: Job 15:32 - accomplished // and his branch

accomplished : or, cut off, Job 22:16; Psa 55:23; Ecc 7:17

and his branch : Job 8:16-19, Job 14:7-9, Job 18:16, Job 18:17; Psa 52:5-8; Isa 27:11; Eze 17:8-10; Hos 9:16, Hos 14:5-7; Joh 15:6

TSK: Job 15:33 - shake off // and

shake off : Isa 33:9; Rev 6:13

and : Deu 28:39, Deu 28:40

TSK: Job 15:34 - the congregation // the tabernacles

the congregation : Job 8:13, Job 20:1, Job 27:8, Job 36:13; Isa 33:14, Isa 33:15; Mat 24:51

the tabernacles : Job 11:14, Job 12:6, Job 22:5-9, Job 29:12-17; 1Sa 8:3, 1Sa 12:3; Mic 7:2; Amo 5:11, Amo 5:12

TSK: Job 15:35 - conceive // vanity

conceive : Psa 7:14; Isa 59:4, Isa 59:5; Hos 10:13; Gal 6:7, Gal 6:8; Jam 1:15

vanity : or, iniquity

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

Poole: Job 15:28 - He dwelleth in desolate cities // Which are ready to become heaps

He dwelleth in desolate cities: these words may note either,

1. His tyranny and cruelty, whereby he makes the places of his abode and dominion desolate by his frequent murders, spoils, and oppressions, wherewith he destroyeth great numbers of his people, and forceth others to flee out of his reach. Or,

2. His pride, and power, and wealth; which enabled and engaged him to build desolate houses and cities for his own glory, and safety, and conveniency; of which See Poole "Job 3:14" . Or,

3. His punishment and misery; that for his impiety towards God, and oppression of men, he was driven out of his dominions and possessions, and forced to flee into desolate places for safety and a habitation. This seems best to agree with the Hebrew words, which run thus, But (for so the particle and is commonly used, as hath been oft said) he shall dwell , &c. And so this is fitly opposed to this last-mentioned prosperity, and is the beginning of the description of his misery, which is continued in the following verses.

Which are ready to become heaps which were ready to fall, and to be turned into a heap of stones.

Poole: Job 15:29 - He shall not be rich // Neither shall his substance continue // The perfection thereof

He shall not be rich i. e not abide rich, but shall become poor.

Neither shall his substance continue what he had gotten shall be taken from him.

The perfection thereof i.e. the perfection of his substance, or that complete estate and glory which he hath attained, shall not be continued to him and to his posterity. Or, neither shall their perfection (i.e. that prosperity, and wealth, and power wherein they placed their perfection or happiness) spread itself , or be propagated or spread abroad , but shall be diminished and taken away. It is a metaphor from a tree. Compare Job 8:16 .

Poole: Job 15:30 - He shall not depart out of darkness // The flame // His branches // Of his mouth // Shall he go away

He shall not depart out of darkness his misery shall have no end.

The flame God’ s anger and judgment upon him.

His branches either,

1. His children; or,

2. Wealth, and power, and glory, wherewith he was encompassed, and adorned, and secured, as trees are with their branches.

Of his mouth i.e. of God’ s mouth, as appears both by comparing this with Job 15:25 , where God is expressed as the adversary with whom this wicked wretch contendeth; and by the nature of the thing, and the whole context, all this man’ s calamities being manifestly the effects of God’ s anger; and by other places of Scripture, where the breath of God’ s mouth or lips are mentioned as that whereby he destroyeth wicked men; as Job 4:9 Isa 11:4 2Th 2:8 . And this expression intimates to us with how much facility God subdueth his enemies; he needs no arms or instruments; his word, his blast, one act of his will, is more than sufficient to do it.

Shall he go away Heb. go back , i.e. retreat and run away from God faster than he did run towards and upon him, Job 15:26 . So it is a continuation of the former metaphor of a battle or conflict between two persons.

Poole: Job 15:31 - In vanity // His recompence

In vanity i.e. in the vain and deceitful things of this world, such as power, riches, honour, &c., of which, and of the loss of them, he had been largely discoursing; and now he subjoins a general caution to all men to take heed of running into the same error and mischief with the forementioned persons; and withal he secretly intimates Job’ s great sin, which was the cause of his ruin, to wit, his carnal confidence in those vain things, the wealth, and glory, and children which God had given him; from which crime he therefore vindicates himself hereafter. For vanity , i.e. disappointment and dissatisfaction, and the vanishing or loss of all their imaginary felicity; the same word vanity being elegantly repeated in another sense, as is usual in Scripture and all authors.

His recompence Heb. his exchange ; he shall exchange one vanity for another, a pleasing vanity for a vexatious vanity. But this verse is and may be rendered otherwise; the Hebrew particle al being here, as it is elsewhere, taken for a simple negation. Thus, He that is deceived with vanity , (i.e. with the vain things of this world, wherewith most men are deceived and bewitched,) will not believe that vanity (i.e. emptiness, and disappointment, and misery) shall be his recompence . And so this is an aggravation of his calamity, that it surprised him when he was confident and secure from all fears of such an event.

Poole: Job 15:32 - It shall be accomplished // Before his time // His branch // Shall not be green

It shall be accomplished to wit, that which was last mentioned, that vanity should be his recompence . Or, it, i.e. his branch, mentioned in the next clause of the verse, from which it is understood in this former clause, as is very usual in the Holy Scripture, shall be consumed, or cut off .

Before his time i.e. when by the course of nature and common providence it might have continued and flourished much longer.

His branch either,

1. His glory and prosperity. Or rather,

2. His children, by comparing Job 15:34 , where the desolation is said to fall upon all the congregation and tabernacles of these men; and so he reflects upon Job, who lost his children.

Shall not be green i.e. shall not continue to flourish, as it had done.

Poole: Job 15:33 - He // Shall shake off // His unripe grape // As the vine // As the olive

He either,

1. The wicked man, who by his sins is the author of his own ruin. Or,

2. God, who is easily understood, both from the matter and context.

Shall shake off Heb. shall take away by violence .

His unripe grape i. e. his fruit, his children, or other comforts, before their time.

As the vine i.e. as the vine either itself droppeth, or rather loseth, its tender grapes, which are plucked off by a violent hand.

As the olive which flourisheth much about the same time with the vine, and is commonly handled in the same manner.

Poole: Job 15:34 - The congregation // Desolate // The tabernacles of bribery

The congregation i.e. their children, and servants, and friends, and dependents.

Desolate i.e. utterly destroyed. Fire , i.e. some eminent and terrible judgment of God, which is oft expressed by fire; as Isa 9:19 26:11 .

The tabernacles of bribery i.e. which were either built or maintained by extortion and bribery, and suchlike unrighteous courses, whereof they thought Job guilty, Job 22:8 .

Poole: Job 15:35 - They conceive mischief // Vanity // Prepareth deceit

They conceive mischief i.e. they devise and contrive injurious and pernicious enterprises against others.

Vanity or iniquity, or injury, or trouble ; either,

1. To others; they execute what they had contrived. Or,

2. To themselves; the mischief they designed for others falleth upon their own heads, and they reap what they sowed. And their belly , i.e. their inward parts, their hearts and minds. See Poole "Job 15:2" .

Prepareth deceit either,

1. For others, whom they design to cheat; or,

2. For themselves, who whilst they seek to deceive others, shall find that they themselves are most deceived, as being deprived of all their desires and hopes wherewith they fed themselves, and cast into all those calamities which they thought to prevent by these artifices.

Haydock: Job 15:28 - Heaps

Heaps, by his ambition and fury, (Calmet) and exactions, (Cajetan; Menochius) till the king chooses to rebuild the cities. (Vatable)

Haydock: Job 15:31 - That he

That he. Hebrew and Septuagint, "for vanity shall be his reward." (Haydock) ---

If he would repent, he might still be safe. (Menochius)

Haydock: Job 15:32 - Hands

Hands; strength and prosperity. (Calmet) ---

Septuagint, "his branch shall not grow thick." (Haydock)

Haydock: Job 15:33 - First

First. Hebrew, "unripe." (Haydock) ---

He shall derive no aid or comfort from his young family.

Haydock: Job 15:34 - Congregation // Bribes

Congregation, or family. ---

Bribes. Literally, "presents," which (Haydock) frequently were not given freely, but extorted as a real tribute. (Calmet) ---

Septuagint, "for the death of the wicked is a martyrdom," or proof of his impiety. "But fire shall consume the houses of the present (or bribe) receivers."

Haydock: Job 15:35 - Sorrow // His

Sorrow. Hebrew, "mischief." (Haydock) See Psalm vii. 15., and Isaias xlix. 4. ---

The tree is known by its fruit. Eliphaz sufficiently insinuates, that he is speaking of Job. (Calmet) ---

His, or "its," the congregation's womb, ver. 34. Protestants, "their belly." (Haydock)

Gill: Job 15:28 - And he dwelleth in desolate cities // and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps

And he dwelleth in desolate cities,.... This is either a continuation of the account of the wicked man's prosperity, which makes him haughty; such is his might and power, that he destroys cities and palaces, built and enjoyed by others, and then out of the ruins of them builds greater cities and more noble palaces, to perpetuate his name to posterity; which sense agrees with Job 3:14; and with the Targum,

"and he makes tabernacles in desert cities, that he may dwelt in houses which were not inhabited;''

and so Ben Gersom: and hence because of his success among men, and the grandeur he lives in, his heart is lifted up, and his hand is stretched out against God; or else this may express the sinful course of life such a man lives, who chooses to dwell in desolate places, and deserts, to do harm to others, to seize upon travellers as they pass by, and rob and plunder them of their substance, sitting and waiting for them in such places, as the Arabians in the wilderness, Jer 3:2; which is the sense of some, as Aben Ezra observes; or rather this points at the punishment of the wicked man, who though for the present may be in great prosperity, possessed of large cities and stately palaces, "yet" or "but" ^a, for so the particle may be rendered, "he dwelleth in desolate cities"; in such as shall become desolate, being destroyed by a superior enemy, that shall come upon him; or through his subjects forsaking him, not being able to bear his tyranny and cruelty; or he shall be driven from his dominions by them, and be obliged to fly, and dwell in desert places; or he shall choose to dwell there, through the horrors of a guilty conscience; or, best of all, he shall be reduced to such distress and poverty, that he shall not have a house fit to dwell in; but "shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land, and not inhabited", Jer 17:6; as follows:

and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps; such as have been deserted by their former inhabitants, because come to decay, and ready to fall down upon them, and become heaps of stones and rubbish.

Gill: Job 15:29 - He shall not be rich // neither shall his substance continue // neither shall he prolong the perfection of it upon the earth

He shall not be rich,.... Though his heart is set upon it, he is determined at any rate to be rich; he labours for it with all his might and main, and yet shall not attain what he is so desirous of; many, who take a great deal of pains to be rich, and even in a lawful way, and are men of understanding in trade and business, and yet riches are not their portion; and some who got a great deal, yet do not grow rich; what they get, they put into a bag of holes, and it drops through as fast as they put in; what they get in one sinful way they consume in another, and so are always poor; and others, though they have amassed together a vast substance, yet still are but poor men, not using what they have either for their own good, or the good of others; and not being content with what they have, but always craving more, and so are even poor in their own account, not having what they would have: however, such a man is not rich towards God; for in godly and spiritual things he is destitute of the true riches of grace, and has no title to the riches of glory; and as for his earthly riches, these shall not endure; though he may be rich for the present, he will not be always so; And this sense the next clause confirms:

neither shall his substance continue; or "his strength" ^b his power and might, a rich man's wealth being his strong city, in which he places his trust and confidence; riches are called "substance", though their are but a shadow, yea, mere nonentities, things that are not, in comparison of heavenly things; see Pro 23:5; at least they are not an enduring substance; they are uncertain things, here today, and gone tomorrow; that make themselves wings, and fly away from the owners of them; or they are taken away front them, and are not like the riches of grace, which are durable riches; or like those of glory; but by one means or another are taken out of the hands of the possessors of them, and they are reduced to poverty: and this "their substance shall not rise"; or rather, "not rise again" ^c, as the word may be rendered; notwithstanding all the pains they may take, their substance shall not rise, grow, and increase; or not rise up to the former heights it did, but being fallen into poverty there they lie:

neither shall he prolong the perfection of it upon the earth; though, indeed, there is no perfection in the creature, nor in creature enjoyments, nor in outward riches and substance; such as have had the largest share of them, as David and Solomon, have declared they have seen an end of all perfection, and that all things, the highest enjoyments, are vanity and vexation of spirit; yet when men are got to the summit, and height, and perfection of outward happiness, as they or others may think, this is not prolonged, or continued long in the earth, or they continued in it; but often are suddenly cast down from the pinnacle of honour, wealth, and riches; hence some render the words, "and their prosperity shall not be fixed into the earth" ^d; shall not take root, though it may seem to do, Jer 12:2; and so shall not spread itself as a tree well rooted does; and as does the spiritual prosperity, perfection, and fullness of good men, which they have in and by Christ; being rooted in the love of God, in the grace of Christ, and having the root of the matter in them, they cast forth their roots as Lebanon, and their branches spread, and they are full of the fruits and blessings of grace, Hos 14:5.

Gill: Job 15:30 - He shall not depart out of darkness // the flame shall dry up his branches // and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away

He shall not depart out of darkness,.... Out of the darkness of poverty, calamity, and distress he comes into, and, indeed, he despairs of it himself, as in Job 15:22; and in a spiritual sense he departs not out of the darkness of sin, out of the dark state of unregeneracy; nor will he depart out of the blackness and darkness reserved for him hereafter, when he is once come into it:

the flame shall dry up his branches; alluding either to a violent drought and heat, which dries up pastures, herbs, and trees, and the branches of them; or to a wind, as the Septuagint, a burning wind, in the eastern countries, which consumed all green things; or to a flash of lightning, which shatters, strips, and destroys branches of trees: here it may signify the wrath of God, like a flame of fire consuming the wealth and substance, and families, of wicked men; whose children particularly may be compared to branches, and so respect may be had to Job's children, who were suddenly destroyed by a violent wind, which threw down the house in which they were:

and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away; out of the world, a phrase expressive of death; either because of the breath of his own mouth, as some in Jarchi, because of his blasphemies against God and his people, because of his cursing and swearing his mouth is full of, and the many vain, foolish, and idle words which come out of it, and for which he will be condemned; or rather

"by the breath of the mouth of God,''

as the Targum; either according to his purpose and decree, and by his order, and the word that goes out of his mouth; the wicked man shall be obliged to depart out of the world at once, being struck dead by him, as Ananias and Sapphira were; or by his powerful wrath and vengeance, whose breath is as a stream of brimstone, and with which he will slay the wicked of the earth, and particularly will consume the wicked one, antichrist, even with the spirit of his mouth, and with the brightness of his coming, Isa 11:4.

Gill: Job 15:31 - Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity // for vanity shall be his recompence

Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity,.... Every wicked man is deceived, either by Satan, who deceives the whole world, deceived our first parents, and deceives all their posterity, not only profane sinners, but many professors of religion also; or by their own hearts, which are deceitful and desperately wicked; or through the deceitfulness of sin, which promises profit, pleasure, and liberty, and issues in ruin, pain, and bondage; and through the deceitfulness of riches, which promise that satisfaction they do not give: and such as are deceived in this manner are prone to trust in vanity; in men, who in every state, high or low, are altogether vanity; and in creature enjoyments, in outward riches and wealth, which are all vanity and vexation of spirit; and in their own hearts, and the vanity of their minds, which to do is extreme folly; and in their righteousness and external privileges, which will be of no service to them, as to their acceptance with God, and eternal happiness; and therefore trust in whatsoever is vain and empty, and affords no solid satisfaction, real pleasure, and advantage, is here dehorted from; unless the words will be allowed to be justly rendered, as I think they may, "trust not in him that is deceived by vanity" ^e; by any of the above vain things, since he must himself be a vain man, and therefore not to be confided in; to which sense the Targum inclines;

"he will not (or should not) believe in a son of man (or in a man), who errs through falsehood;''

the reason dissuading from it follows:

for vanity shall be his recompence; all that a man gets by trusting in vanity, or by trusting in a man deceived, is nothing but emptiness and vanity; he gets nothing solid and substantial, that will be of any advantage to him here or hereafter; and yet this he will not easily believe; and so Beza reads the words, "he that is deceived by vanity will not believe that vanity shall be his recompence".

Gill: Job 15:32 - It shall be accomplished before his time // and his branch shall not be green

It shall be accomplished before his time, Either the recompence or reward of his trusting vanity, in vain persons or things, the punishment of such a trust, the sorrows and troubles following upon it; these shall come upon the wicked man "before his day" ^f, as it may be rendered; before the day of his death, even before his old age; before the evil days come in a course of nature, and those years in which he has no pleasure: or his life, and the days of his life, "shall be filled up" ^g; or be at an end before his time; not before the time fixed in the decree and purpose of God, Job 14:5; but before his own time, that he and his friends thought he might have lived, and as his healthful constitution promised; or before the then common term of human life; and so the phrase is expressive or an immature death:

and his branch shall not be green; but dried up and wither away; his wealth and riches, his children and family, be utterly extinct; instead of being like a branch, green and flourishing, shall be like a dry stick, useless and unprofitable, only fit for burning; see Job 15:30.

Gill: Job 15:33 - He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine // and shall cast off his flower, as the olive

He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine,.... Either the wicked man himself shall shake off or lose his substance; or God shall shake off from him all that was dear and valuable to him; or he shall be shaken by one providence or another, just as a vine is shaken by a violent wind and tempest, and its unripe grapes are battered off by an hailstorm, or plucked off by the hand, or drop off through rottenness; so it is signified by this metaphor, that a wicked man should be stripped of his wealth and riches in a sudden manner; or his children should be snatched from him in their youth, before they were well grown up to maturity, and so like the unripe grape; perhaps respect is had to Job's case, both with regard to his substance and his family:

and shall cast off his flower, as the olive: which tree, when shaken in a violent manner, drops its flower, and so brings forth no fruit; it is observed by naturalists ^h, that these two trees, the vine and the olive, flourish much about the same time, and suffer much by storms and tempests, which destroy their fruits, and especially when rain falls in the time of their flowering; the some thing is intended in this clause as in the former.

Gill: Job 15:34 - For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate // and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery

For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate,.... Hypocrites are such who seem to and would be thought to be, what they are not; they are outwardly righteous before men, but inwardly very wicked; have a form of godliness, but are destitute the power of it, 2Ti 3:5; pretend to much religion, and to be worshippers of God, when it is only in outward appearances, and not in reality and sincerity: and such as these have been in the congregations of the righteous, in all ages; but here Eliphaz speaks of a congregation of them, a society, a family of them; and very probably has his eye upon Job's, and would represent hereby that he, the head of his family, and his children, when living, and his servants and associates, were all hypocrites, and now become desolate, reduced to want and poverty, and in distressed circumstances: or were "solitary" ⁱ and alone, as the word is rendered in Job 3:7; destitute of friends, and of the comforts of life; and perhaps reference may be had to the future state of such, when they shall aloud be bid to depart from God, have no society with angels and saints, but shall have their portion with those of the same character with them, hypocrites, in the highest degree of torment and misery, Mat 24:51;

and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery; either such tents, or houses, as were built with money taken as bribes; see Hab 2:12; or where such who received bribes dwelt; unjust judges, who took a gift that blinds the eyes, to pervert justice. Job is afterwards by Eliphaz represented as if he was an oppressor, a wicked magistrate, and guilty of such like crimes as here pointed at, Job 22:6; and the "fire" said to consume the dwelling places of such may be understood either of material fire, such as came down from heaven, and destroyed Job's sheep, Job 1:16; or figuratively, the wrath of God often compared to fire, which would appear in one way or another, to the utter ruin of such persons, their habitations, and those that dwelt in them.

Gill: Job 15:35 - They conceive mischief // forth vanity // and their belly prepareth deceit

They conceive mischief,.... That is, such wicked persons as before described; they meditate sin in their minds, and contrive how to commit it, and form schemes within themselves to do mischief to others:

forth vanity; or sin; for lust when it is conceived bringeth forth sin, and that is vanity, an empty thing, and neither yields profit nor pleasure in the issue, but that which is useless and unserviceable, yea, harmful and ruinous; for sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death, even death eternal, Jam 1:14;

and their belly prepareth deceit; their inward part frames and devises that which is designed to deceive others, and in the end proves deceitful to themselves: the allusion is to a pregnant woman, or rather to one who seems to be so, and whose conception proves abortive, and so deceives and disappoints herself and others; see Psa 7:14.