Job18chapter 18

Job 18:5

“Shall not the light of the wicked be put out, and the flame of his fire cease to shine? If he says this in describing the present life, he is mistaken; in that very often both the light of prosperity is seen in the ungodly, and the darkness of ignominy and poverty envelopes the godly. But if his discourse points to this, viz. to shew what the ungodly meet with in their end, it is said with truth, Shall not the light of the wicked be put out, and the flame of his fire cease to shine?”

Job 18:5

“Yea - Truly; or, behold. Bildad here commences his remarks on the certain destiny of the wicked, and strings together a number of apparently proverbial sayings, showing that calamity in various forms would certainly overtake the wicked. There is nothing particularly new in his argument, though the use of the various images which he employs shows how deep was the conviction of this doctrine at that time, and how extensively it prevailed. The light of the wicked shall be put out - Light here is an emblem of prosperity.”

Job 18:5

“That (Job 18:4) cannot be. The decree of God is unalterable, the light (prosperity) of the wicked shall at length be put out. his fire--alluding to Arabian hospitality, which prided itself on welcoming the stranger to the fire in the tent, and even lit fires to direct him to it. The ungodly shall be deprived of the means to show hospitality.”

Job 18:5

“In this he seems, all along, to have an eye to Job's complaints of the miserable condition he was in, that he was in the dark, bewildered, ensnared, terrified, and hastening out of the world. "This," says Bildad, "is the condition of a wicked man; and therefore thou art one." Second Address of Eliphaz.”

Job 18:6

The light shall the dark in his tabernacle,.... Not the light of the eye, in the tabernacle of his body, rather the light of nature and reason in him; and when that "light that is in a man becomes darkness", as our Lord says, "how great is that darkness!"

Job 18:6

“The light shall be dark in his tabernacle - His property shall be destroyed, his house pillaged, and himself and his family come to an untimely end. His candle shall be put out - He shall have no posterity.”

Job 18:6

“His light will certainly be put out at length, quite put out, so that not the least spark of it shall remain with which to kindle another fire. Even while he is in his tabernacle, while he is in the body, which is the tabernacle of the soul ( 2 Cor. v. 1 ), the light shall be dark; he shall have no true solid comfort, no joy that is satisfying, no hope that is supporting.”

Job 18:7

“The steps of his strength - Strong steps. “Steps of strength” is a Hebraism, to denote firm or vigorous steps. Shall be straitened - Shall be compressed, embarrassed, hindered. Instead of walking freely and at large, he shall be compressed and limited in his goings. “Large steps,” “free movement,” etc. are proverbial expressions among the Arabs, to denote freedom, prosperity, etc. RosenmulIer. Schultens quotes the following illustrations from the Arabic poets.”

Job 18:9

“The gin - Another method of taking wild beasts. It was a snare so made as to spring suddenly on an animal, securing him by the neck or feet. We use a trap for the same purpose. The Hebrew word (פח pach) may denote anything of this kind - a snare, net, noose, etc. with which birds or wild animals are taken. By the heel - By the foot. And the robber shall prevail - He shall be overpowered by the highwayman; or the plunderer shall make a sudden descent upon him, and strip him of his all.”

Job 18:9

“The sinner may as soon overpower the divine omnipotence as flee from the divine omniscience, Amos ix. No marvel that the sinner is dispirited and distracted with fear, for, 1. He sees his ruin approaching: Destruction shall be ready at his side, to seize him whenever justice gives the word, so that he is brought into desolation in a moment, Ps. lxxiii.”

Job 18:10

“The snare is laid - All this language is taken from the modes of taking wild beasts; but it is not possible to designate with absolute certainty the methods in which it was done. The word used here (חבל chebel) means a cord, or rope; and then a snare, gin, or toil, such as is used by hunters. It was used in some way as a noose to secure an animal.”

Job 18:11

Terrors shall make him afraid - He shall be constantly subject to alarms, and shall never feel secure. “Terrors here are represented as allegorical persons, like the Furies in the Greek poets.” Noyes. The idea here is substantially the same as that given by Eliphaz, Job 15:21-22. And shall drive him to his feet - Margin, scatter. This is a literal translation of the Hebrew. The idea is, that he will be alarmed by such terrors; his self-composure will be dissipated, and he will “take to his heels.”

Job 18:12

“Let his strength be hungerbitten, and starvation invade his ribs. After the manner of Holy Scripture, he has the appearance of wishing that which he foresees will be, not surely in the spirit of one uttering curses, but of one pronouncing prophesies. Thus every man, in that he consists of soul and flesh, is as it were made up of strength and weakness. For by virtue of that part, by which he was created a reasoning spirit, he is not improperly called 'strong,' but in respect of that, by which he is of a fleshly substance, he is weak.”

Job 18:12

“His strength shall be hungerbitten - Shall be exhausted by hunger or famine. And destruction shall be ready at his side - Hebrew “Shall be fitted” נכוּן nākûn “to his side.” Some have supposed that this refers to some disease, like the pleurisy, that would adhere closely to his side. So Jerome understands it.”

Job 18:12

“Bildad was declaring the history of the hypocritical, presumptuous and wicked man. And he intended, no doubt, to insinuate that Job was just such a person—that he had been a deceiver and that, therefore, God's Providence had at last revealed him and was visiting him for his sins. In this, Bildad was guilty of great injustice to his friend. All the three miserable comforters of Job were mistaken in the special aim of their discourses and yet, concerning the speeches of each one, it may be said that their general statements were, for the most part, true.”

Job 18:12

“The Hebrew is brief and bold, "his strength is hungry." destruction--that is, a great calamity (Pr 1:27). ready at his side--close at hand to destroy him (Pr 19:29).”

Job 18:13

“It shall devour the strength of his skin - Margin, bars. The margin is a correct translation of the Hebrew. The word used (בדי badēy, construct with עורו ‛ôrô - his skin) means bars, staves, branches, and here denotes his limbs, members; or, more literally, the bones, as supports of the skin, or the human frame. The bones are regarded as the bars, or the framework, holding the other parts of the body in their place, and over which the skin is stretched.”

Job 18:13

“UMBREIT has "he" for "it," that is, "in the rage of hunger he shall devour his own body"; or, "his own children" (La 4:10). Rather, "destruction" from Job 18:12 is nominative to "devour." strength--rather, "members" (literally, the "branches" of a tree). the first-born of death--a personification full of poetical horror.”

Job 18:13

“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.”

Job 18:14

“Let his confidence be rooted out of his tabernacle, and let death as a king trample on him. In this place by the title of 'death' we have denoted the enemy of the human race himself, who brought in death, who is set forth by a particular minister of his, of whom it is said to John, And his name was Death.”

Job 18:14

“His confidence shall be rooted out - His dwelling-place, how well soever fortified, shah now he deemed utterly insecure. And it shall bring him to the king of terrors - Or, as Mr. Good translates, “And dissolution shall invade him as a monarch.” He shall be completely and finally overpowered. The phrase king of terrors has been generally thought to mean death; but it is not used in any such way in the text.”

Job 18:15

“It shall dwell in his tabernacle - It is uncertain what is to be understood as referred to here. Some suppose that the word to be understood is soul, and that the meaning is “his soul,” that is, he himself, “shall dwell in his tent.” Rosenmuller, Noyes, Wemyss, and others, suppose that the word is terror. “Terror (בלהה ballâhâh) shall dwell in his tent,” the same word which is used in the plural in the previous verse.”

Job 18:15

“It--"Terror" shall haunt, &c., and not as UMBREIT, "another," which the last clause of the verse disproves. none of his--It is his no longer. brimstone--probably comparing the calamity of Job by the "fire of God" (Job 1:16) to the destruction of guilty Sodom by fire and brimstone (Ge 19:24).”

Job 18:15

“Some think he here upbraids Job with the burning of his sheep and servants with fire from heaven. The reason is here given why his tabernacle is thus marked for ruin: Because it is none of his; that is, it was unjustly got, and kept, from the rightful owner, and therefore let him not expect either the comfort or the continuance of it.”

Job 18:16

“Let his roots be dried up beneath, and above let his crop be spoiled. For what do we understand by the title of 'roots,' which are set out of sight, and bring forth a shoot into open view, but the thoughts, which, while they are not seen in the heart, produce visible works? And hence by the title of a 'crop' there is denoted the same visible practice, which is thus produced from a hidden root.”

Job 18:16

“His roots shall be dried up - his branch be cut off - He shall be as utterly destroyed, both in himself, his posterity, and his property, as a tree is whose branches are all lopped off, and whose every root is cut away.”

Job 18:17

“Let his remembrance perish from the earth, and let not his name be repeated in the streets. PROPHETICAL INTERPRETATION It is deserving of our notice, that Bildad the Shuhite so expresses himself of each one of the wicked, that his words are secretly directed against the head of all the wicked; for the head of the wicked is the devil.”

Job 18:17

“Thus the judgments of God follow him, after death, in this world, as an indication of the misery his soul is in after death, and an earnest of that everlasting shame and contempt to which he shall rise in the great day. The memory of the just is blessed, but the name of the wicked shall rot, Prov. x.”

Job 18:18

“He shall drive him from light into darkness. He is led 'from light to darkness,' when for honour in the present life, he is condemned to eternal punishments. And hence it is more plainly added, And translate him out of the world. For he is 'translated out of the world,' when upon the Judge above appearing, he is taken away from this world, in which he wickedly glories; and for this, that when the end of the world breaks in upon him, he is condemned with all his followers.”

Job 18:19

“There shall neither be seed of him, nor offspring in his people, nor any remnant in his parts. For it is written, that the Lord Jesus shall consume him, with the Spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy him with the brightness of His coming.”

Job 18:19

“He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people,.... Neither son, nor son's son, or grandson; so the Targum, Jarchi, and Bar Tzemach; that is, he shall be childless, and have no heirs, successors, or survivors, to inherit his estate, bear and perpetuate his name among the people of his country, city, or neighbourhood.”

Job 18:19

“He shall neither have son ... - All his family shall be cut off. He shall have no one to perpetuate his name or remembrance. All this Job could not help applying to himself, as it was doubtless intended he should.”

Job 18:19

“Sin entails a curse upon posterity, and the iniquity of the fathers is often visited upon the children. Herein, also, it is probable that Bildad reflects upon the death of Job's children and servants, as a further proof of his being a wicked man; whereas all that are written childless are not thereby written graceless; there is a name better than that of sons and daughters.”

Job 18:20

“In his days the last shall be astonied, and horror shall seize on the first. For he will then let himself loose against the righteous with such a measure of iniquity, that even the hearts of the very Elect shall be struck with no small consternation. Whence it is written, Insomuch that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very Elect. Which, clearly, is said, not because the Elect shall fall, but because they shall tremble with terrible alarms.”

Job 18:21

“Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked - The conclusion or sum of the whole matter. The meaning is, that the habitations of all that knew not God would be desolate - a declaration which Job could not but regard as aimed at himself; compare Job 20:29. This is the close of this harsh and severe speech. It is no wonder that Job should feel it keenly, and that he “did” feel it is apparent from the following chapter.”