Job 10:17

17. thou renewest] wouldst renew. Similarly, and increase. All the verbs in these verses (Job_10:14-17) are to be translated from the point of view of God’s intention cherished beforehand with regard to Job. This intention has, of course, been carried out, and has been fulfilled in Job’s present condition, and this condition supplies the colours in which the intention is painted. God’s “witnesses” are His plagues and afflictions, as the margin explains, which testified to Job’s guilt, cf. ch. Job_16:8.

changes and war are against me] Or, changes and a host with me. The words are either an exclamation, in which the preceding statements of Job_10:17 are summed up; or are in apposition to “indignation,” being a description of how this indignation shews itself. The expression “changes and a host” means most naturally, an ever-changing, or, renewed host, the figure being that of an attacking army which makes continually fresh and renewed assaults. This army is composed of his afflictions sent against him by God, ch. Job_6:4, Job_16:14, Job_19:12. Others regard the “changes” as the successive new attacks, and the “host” as the abiding old army of afflictions,—which seems artificial and puerile. The word “change” occurs ch. Job_14:14 in the sense of release, and the word “host” in the general meaning of warfare, ch. Job_7:1, Job_14:14. If these meanings were adopted here the sense would be: releases and warfare with me, i. e. brief intervals and then terrible conflict. Job, however, usually represents his afflictions as without intermission.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Job 10:17 Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war [are] against me.

Ver. 17. Thou renewest thy witnesses against me] These fresh witnesses were devils, say some; Job’s friends, say others; his dolorous sufferings rather, saith Austin; those open witnesses of some secret wickedness in Job, as the world would esteem them. See Job 16:8 Rth 1:21. Thus the Jews censured our Saviour, Isa 53:3-4; the barbarians Paul, Act 28:4; and those in the Gospel them that perished by the fall of the tower of Siloam. And how many precious men as well as Job have been cast upon this evidence for traitors and rebels against the highest majesty? Junius thinks that when Job uttered the words of this text he felt some new pains growing upon him and increasing.

Thou increasest thine indignation upon me] Or within me, as Job 6:4, and this was it that put a sting into his sufferings; God’s heavy displeasure seemed to be kindled against him. Be not thou a terror unto me, O Lord, said Jeremiah, and then I shall do well enough with the rest.

Changes and war (or armies) are upon me, or against me] Variety of troubles come trooping aud treading, as it were, on the heels of one another: fluctus fluctum trudit, there is a continual succession of my sorrows, fresh forces sent against me, &c. We see, then, that Job complained not without cause, though he kept not always within compass, as appeareth by that which followeth.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Job 10:17. Thou renewest thy witnesses — Thy judgments, which are the evidences both of my sins and of thy wrath; and increasest thine indignation — That is, my miseries, the effects of thine indignation. Changes and war — Or, changes and an army, that is, many miseries succeeding one another, like companies of soldiers successively coming on to the attack in a battle. Or, changes may signify the various kinds, and an army the great number of his afflictions.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That is, diversity of diseases and in great abundance: showing that God hath infinite means to punish man.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

witnesses--His accumulated trials were like a succession of witnesses brought up in proof of his guilt, to wear out the accused.

changes and war--rather, "(thou settest in array) against me host after host" (literally, "changes and a host," that is, a succession of hosts); namely, his afflictions, and then reproach upon reproach from his friends.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 17. Thou renewest thy witnesses] In this speech of Job he is ever referring to trials in courts of judicature, and almost all his terms are forensic. Thou bringest witnesses in continual succession to confound and convict me.

Changes and war] I am as if attacked by successive troops; one company being wearied, another succeeds to the attack, so that I am harassed by continual warfare.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(17) Thou renewest thy witnesses against me.—Some understand this of the sores on Job’s person, which his friends regarded as witnesses—proofs of his guilt; but it seems more probable that the figure is forensic: “Thou still bringest fresh witnesses against me, and multipliest thine anger against me, so that relays of them, even a host, are against me; for they come upon me host after host—these witnesses of Thine anger, the ministers of Thy vengeance.” The sublimity of this indictment against God is only equalled by the sense of terrific awe with which one reads it. The language is Job’s, and so far has the sanction of Holy Writ; but we may surely learn therefrom the condescension as well as the loving-kindness of the Most High.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb?.... Into this world; this act is rightly ascribed by Job to the Lord, as it is by David, Psa 22:9; which kind act of God Job complains of, and wishes it had never been, seeing his life was now so miserable and uncomfortable; here he returns to his former complaints, wishes, and expostulations, expressed with so much vehemence and passion in Job 10:3; and for which his friends blamed him, and endeavoured to convince him of his error in so doing; but it does not appear that their arguments carried any force in them with him, or had any effect upon him; he still continues in the same mind, and by repeating justifies what he had said; and thought he had sufficient reason to wish he had never been born, that he had died in the womb, since his afflictions were so very great and increasing, and since God pursued him as a fierce lion; and, according to his sense of things, his indignation against him appeared more and more, and his life was a continued succession of trouble and distress:

and that I had given up the ghost; that is, in the womb, and had never been brought out of it, at least alive; or it may be rendered not as a wish, but as an affirmation, "I should have given up the ghost"; or, "so or then I should have expired" (e); if such care had not been taken of me, if God had not been so officious to me as to take me out of my mother's womb at the proper time, I should have died in it, and that would have been my grave; and which would have been more eligible than to come into the world, and live such a miserable life as I now live:

and no eye had seen me! no eye would have seen him, had he not been taken out of the womb; or however if he had died directly, would not have seen him alive; and an abortive or stillborn child few see, or care to see; and had he been such an one, he had never been seen in the circumstances he now was; and by this he suggests, that he was now such a shocking sight as was not fit to be seen by men, and which would have been prevented had he died in the womb.

(e) "expirabo", Montanus; "expirassem", Mercerus, Cocceius, Schmidt, Schultens.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Thou renewest thy witnesses against me - Margin, “that is, plagues.” The Hebrew is, “thy witnesses” - עדיך ‛ēdeykā. So the Vulgate. The Septuagint is, “renewing against me my examination,” τὴν ἐξέτασίν μου tēn ecetasin mou. Rabbi Levi supposes that the plague of the leprosy is intended. But the true meaning seems to be, that God sent upon him calamities which were regarded by his friends as “proofs” or “witnesses” that he was wicked, the public and solemn attestation of God, as they supposed, to the truth that he was eminently a bad man. New proofs of this kind were constantly occurring in his augmenting and protracted sorrows, and he could not answer the arguments which were brought from them by his friends.

Changes and war are against me - Or rather, are “with me,” עמי ‛ı̂my. There were with him such reverses of condition as laid the foundation for the argument which they had urged with so much pertinacity and force that he was punished by God. The word rendered “changes” (חליפה chălı̂yphâh) means properly “changes,” or exchanges, and is applied to garments, 2Ki 5:5, 2Ki 5:22-23. It may be used also of soldiers keeping watch until they are relieved by a succeeding guard; see the note at Job 14:14. Here it is not improbably employed in the sense of a succession of attacks made on him. One succeeds another, as if platoon after platoon, to use the modern terms, or phalanx after phalanx, should come up against him. As soon as one had discharged its arrows, another succeeded in its place; or as soon as one became ex hausted, it was followed by a fresh recruit. All this Job could not endure. The succession wearied him, and he could not bear it. Dr. Good supposes that the word refers to the skirmishes by which a battle is usually introduced, in which two armies attempt to gall each other before they are engaged. But the true idea, as it seems to me, is, that afflictions succeeded each other as soldiers on a watch, or in a battle, relieve each other. When one set is exhausted on duty, it is succeeded by another. Or, when in battle one company has discharged its weapons, or is exhausted, it is succeeded by those who are brought fresh into the field. The word rendered “war” (צבא tsâbâ') properly means an army or a host; see the note at Job 7:1. Here it means that a whole host had rushed upon him. Not only had he been galled by the succession, the relief-guard of calamities, the attacks which had followed each other from an advanced guard, or from scouts sent out to skirmish, but the whole army was upon him. A whole host of calamities came rushing upon him alone, and he could not endure them.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Witnesses, afflictions; (Menochius) "wounds." (Pagnin) (Tirinus)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Thy witnesses, i.e. thy judgments, which are the witnesses and evidences, both of my sins, and of thy wrath. Thy indignation, i.e. my miseries, the effects of thine anger. These words are added to explain what he meant by renewing witnesses.

Changes and war; or, changes and an army; which may be a figure called hendiadis, for the changes of an army, i.e. many miseries succeeding one another, like companies of the soldiers of an army in battle; or changes may note the various kinds, and an army the great numbers, of his afflictions.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

17. Thy witnesses — The verbal form of the word in the Arabic also signifies attack, which may have led to the marginal reading, “plagues.” Job here means “afflictions,” “sorrows,” tokens of divine displeasure. Contemplated aright they are, for the good man, witnesses of heavenly love.

Changes and war — Literally, Exchanges and an army. He means the re-enforcements of an army — host succeeding host. The singular form of the word חליפות (exchanges) reappears in Job_14:14, for the relief of a sentry. As sentries are relieved in an army, so one host succeeds another against me. In Job_19:12, he compares himself to a fortress which God besieges.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou renewest thy witnesses against me. Each fresh calamity that Job suffers is a new witness that God is displeased with him, both in his own eyes, and in those of his "comforters." Hie disease was no doubt continually progressing, and going from bad to worse, so that every day a new calamity seemed to befall him. And increasest thine indignation upon me; i.e. "makest it more and more evidently to appear, that thou art angry with me." Changes and war are against me; rather, changes and a host; i.e. attacks that are continually changing a whole host of them, or "host after host" (Revised Version margin), come against me.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Witnesses - Thy judgments, which are the evidences both of my sins, and of thy wrath. Indignation - My miseries are the effects of thine anger. Army - Changes may denote the various kinds, and an army the great number of his afflictions.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

You bring new witnesses against me

Job's troubles from God are spoken of as if they were people who were witnesses against him. (See: Metaphor)

increase your anger against me

The abstract noun "anger" can be translated as the adjective "angry." AT: "are more and more angry with me" (See: Abstract Nouns)

you attack me with fresh armies

God sending troubles against Job is spoken of as if God was constantly sending new armies against him. (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

testimony

anger

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Your witnesses to testify about the changes of the ailments and the pains.

with set times are with me Times set for these my tortures, which serve (once) and [then] repeatedly shift with changes different from these, and serve again.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.