Job 10:6

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

Ver. 6. That thou inquirest after mine iniquity, &c.] viz. By strong pains and mighty terrors, as judges sometimes make inquisition by torture, to find out treason or other heinous offences. What, wouldest thou that I should confess myself a wicked person?

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 10:6-7. That thou inquirest, &c., and searchest after my sin — Keeping me so long upon the rack, to compel me to accuse myself. Thou knowest I am not wicked — That is a hypocrite, or an ungodly man, as my friends account me. There is none that can deliver, &c. — 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. “It would be injurious to the character of Job,” says Mr. Peters, “should we interpret in a severe and rigorous sense, as it is certain his friends too often did, his frequent protestations of his innocence, and his bold appeals to the supreme Judge to prove and try him; for where he is thus strenuous in asserting his integrity, it is only in opposition to the notion which those mistaken friends had entertained of him, namely, that he had been guilty of some gross sins, which he had the art to hide from the world, but that he was in reality a wicked man, and a hypocrite in his behaviour. This is what Job utterly denies and disclaims, though he nowhere arrogates to himself perfect innocence or freedom from sin.”

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

Verse 6. 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.

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

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.

; 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.

Job 10:7

job 10:7

job 10:7

job 10:7Thou 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.

(a) "in notitia tua est", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Beza; so Michaelis. (b) So Bolducius, Drusius, Schmidt, Michaelis, and Bar Tzemach.

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

That thou inquirest after mine iniquity - Art thou governed by hu man passions and prejudices, that thou dost thus seem to search out every little obliquity and error? Job here evidently refers to the conduct of man in strictly marking faults, and in being unwilling to forgive; and he asks whether it is possible that God could be governed by such feelings as these.

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

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

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

6. Thou inquirest — The idea of Ewald, that Job conceives of God as some mighty monarch who, like those on earth, puts the unhappy one to the rack that he may constrain a confession, is not justified by the text. The real idea is not so high-coloured. Job means, if there be insufficient time to leave sin to its own development, then God is right in making such hasty inquisition after man’s iniquity; otherwise there is no need of seeking occasion against him and slaying him before his time.

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

That thou inquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin. It seems to Job that God must have been "extreme to mark what he has done amiss", (Psa_130:3) must have searched into every corner of Ms life, and hunted out all his sins and shortcomings, to have been able to bring together against him a total commensurate or even approximately commensurate, with the punishment wherewith he has visited him.

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

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

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