John Wesley

Then call me, and I will answer, or let me speak, and You can reply.

“Then - This proposal savoured of self-confidence, and of irreverence towards God; for which, and the like speeches, he is reproved by God, chap. xxxviii, 2, 3; xl, 2.”

So man wastes away like something rotten, like a moth-eaten garment.

“He - He speaks of himself in the third person, as is usual in this and other sacred books. So the sense is, he, this poor frail creature, this body of mine; which possibly he pointed at with his finger, consumeth or pineth away.”

But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last, and where is he?

“After death, where is he? Not where he was: his place knows him no more. Yes, he is gone to the world of spirits, gone into eternity, gone, never to return to this world!”

You will call, and I will answer; You will desire the work of Your hands.

“Answer thee - Thou shalt call my soul to thyself: and I will cheerfully answer, Here I am: knowing thou wilt have a desire to the work of thy hands - A love for the soul which thou hast made, and new-made by thy grace.”

to whom alone the land was given when no foreigner passed among them.

“To whom - By the gracious gift of God: this he alleges to make their testimony more considerable, because these were no obscure men, but the most worthy and famous men in their ages; and to confute what Job had said, chap.”

A wicked man writhes in pain all his days; only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.

“Oppressor - To the wicked man: he names this one sort of them, because he supposed Job to be guilty of this sin, in opposition of what Job had affirmed of the safety of such persons, chap.”

Though his face is covered with fat and his waistline bulges with flesh,

“Because - This is mentioned as the reason of his insolent carriage towards God, because he was fat, rich, potent, and successful, as that expression signifies, Deut. xxxii, 15 Psalm lxxviii, 31 Jer. xlvi, 21.”

Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness, for emptiness will be his reward.

“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. Vanity - Disappointment and dissatisfaction, and the loss of all his imaginary felicity.”

I have sewn sackcloth over my skin; I have buried my horn in the dust.

“I have not only put on sackcloth, but sewed it on, as being resolved to continue my humiliation, as long as my affliction continues.”

If I look for Sheol as my home, if I spread out my bed in darkness,

“Wait - For deliverance, I should be disappointed; for I am upon the borders of the grave, I expect no rest but in the dark grave, for which therefore I prepare myself.”

“How long until you end these speeches? Show some sense, and then we can talk.

“Ye - Thou, O Job; of whom he speaks here, as also ver. 3, in the plural number, as was a common idiotism of the Eastern language, to speak thus of one person, especially where he was one of eminency.”

It devours patches of his skin; the firstborn of death devours his limbs.

“First-born - A terrible kind of death. The first-born was the chief of his brethren, and therefore this title is given to things eminent in their kind.”

My skin and flesh cling to my bones; I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

“Skin - Immediately, the fat and flesh next to the skin being consumed. As - As closely as it doth to these remainders of flesh which are left in my inward parts.”

Why do you persecute me as God does? Will you never get enough of my flesh?

“As God - As if you had the same infinite knowledge which God hath, whereby you can search my heart and know my hypocrisy, and the same sovereign authority to say and do what you please with me.”

But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end He will stand upon the earth.

“Latter day - At the day of the general resurrection and judgment, which, as those holy patriarchs well knew and firmly believed, was to be at the end of the world.”

Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.

“God - The same whom he called his Redeemer, ver. 25, who having taken flesh, and appearing in his flesh or body with and for Job upon the earth, might well be seen with his bodily eyes.”

then you should fear the sword yourselves, because wrath brings punishment by the sword, so that you may know there is a judgment.”

“Sword - Of some considerable judgment to be inflicted on you which is called the sword, as Deut. xxxii, 41, and elsewhere. That - This admonition I give you, that you may know it in time, and prevent it.”

yet in his stomach his food sours into the venom of cobras within him.

“Turned - From sweet to bitter. Gall of asps - Exceeding bitter and pernicious. Gall is most bitter; the gall of serpents is full of poison; and the poison of asps is most dangerous and within a few hours kills without remedy.”

When he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats.

“Rain - This phrase denotes both the author of his plagues, God, and the nature and quality of them, that they shall come upon him like rain; with great vehemency, so that he cannot prevent or avoid it.”

The heavens will expose his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him.

“Heaven - God shall be a swift witness against him by extraordinary judgments; still he reflects upon Job's case, and the fire from heaven. Earth - All creatures upon earth shall conspire to destroy him.”

This is the wicked man’s portion from God, the inheritance God has appointed him.”

“Heritage - Hebrew. the heritage; so called, to denote the stability and assurance of it, that it is as firm as an inheritance to the right heir; and in opposition to that inheritance which he had gotten by fraud and violence.”

Still, their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.

“Lo - But wicked men have no reason to reject God, because of their prosperity, for their wealth, is not in their hand; neither obtained, nor kept by their own might, but only by God's power and favour.”

Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since He judges those on high?

“Teach - How to govern the world? For so you do, while you tell him that he must not afflict the godly, nor give the wicked prosperity. That he must invariably punish the wicked, and reward the righteous in this world.”

Yet another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, having never tasted prosperity.

“Another - Another wicked man. So there is a great variety of God's dispensations; he distributes great prosperity to one, and great afflictions to another, according to his wise but secret counsel.”

But together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover them both.

“Alike - All these worldly differences are ended by death, and they lie in the grave without any distinction. So that no man can tell who is good, and who is bad by events which befall them in this life.”