Job 15:30

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.

Ver. 30. He shall not depart out of darkness] But be held under remediless misery, being ever blasted and benighted, till God at last breathe forth upon him his final displeasure. When God hath brought wicked men into straits, there he holdeth them; not so the godly, Psa 34:19, they are sure of deliverance in due season. And as before the morning light is the thickest darkness, so before help hardest trials. Post tenebras lux, After the darkness, light, is the Christian’s motto; not so the ungodly, they are ex tenebris in tenebras, infelieiter exclusi, infelicius excludendi, as Austin hath it, to pass out of one darkness into another, till they be cast into utter darkness (Hom. 16).

The flame shall dry up his branches] That ventus urens et exsiccans of God’s wrath shall blast and consume, not his offspring only, but all his beauty and bravery; he shall be as a tree that is thunder struck, Zec 11:16.

And by the breath of his mouth shall he go away] God will blow him to destruction, his very breath shall leave him breathless, Isa 11:4 Psa 18:15 Job 4:9; {See Trapp on "Isa 11:4"} {See Trapp on "Psa 18:15"} {See Trapp on "Job 4:9"} Others understand it to be the wicked man’s mouth, and take this to be the sense, He shall be so choleric and impatient in his trouble, that he shall send out his last breath suddenly in a passionate fit. So did Nerva, the emperor, likewise Valentinian, Wenceslaus, king of Bohemia, and our Henry II.

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 15:30. He shall not depart out of darkness — His misery shall have no end. The flame — God’s anger and judgment upon him. Shall dry up his branches — His wealth, and power, and glory, wherewith he was encompassed, as trees are with their branches. By the breath of his mouth, &c. — This expression intimates, with how much ease God subdueth his enemies: his word, his blast, one act of his will, is sufficient. Shall he go away — Hebrew, 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.

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

15:30 The burning sun (literally The flame) might be the scorching sun or a flame of judgment from God (15:34, see Num 16:31-35; Ps 106:17-18; Ezek 20:47). • The breath of God might be a desert wind or a more direct theophany (a manifestation of God’s presence) that caused the burning of Job 15:34.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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

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

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

his mouth--that is, God's wrath (Isa 11:4).

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 30. 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.

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

(30) He shall not depart out of darkness.—See Job_15:22. “By the breath of his mouth shall he go away.” What this means is not very clear: probably as in Job_11:20; or, “When he expires it shall be the end of him; he shall leave nothing permanent that is destined to last;” or, “He shall pass away suddenly and completely, like his own breath.”

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

30. Advance on Job_15:29, describing the sinner’s actual destruction. The figures are common; on darkness, cf. Job_15:22-23; the flame is the scorching sun or glowing wind; breath of his mouth, i. e., God’s mouth, cf. ch. Job_4:9.

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.

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".

(e) "per vanitatem deceptus", Beza; so Tigurine version.

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

He shall not depart out of darkness - He shall not escape from calamity; see Job 15:22. He shall not be able to rise again, but shall be continually poor.

The flame shall dry up his branches - As the fire consumes the green branches of a tree, so shall punishment do to him. This comparison is very forcible, and the idea is, that the man who has been prospered as a tree shall be consumed - as the fire consumes a tree when it passes through the branches. The comparison of a prosperous man with a tree is very common, and very beautiful. Thus, the Psalmist says,

I have seen the wicked in great power,

And spreading himself like a green bay tree. Psa 37:35.

Compare Psa 92:12-13. The aged Skenandoah - a chief of the Oneida tribe of Indians, said,” I am an aged hemlock. The winds of an hundred winters have whistled through my branches. I am dead at the top. My branches are falling,” etc.

And by the breath of his mouth shall he go away - That is, by the breath of the mouth of God. God is not indeed specified, but it is not unusual to speak of him in this manner. The image here seems to be that of the destruction of a man by a burning wind or by lightning. As a tree is dried up, or is rent by lightning, or is torn up from the roots by a tempest sent by the Deity, so the wicked will be destroyed.

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

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.

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

30. Dry up his branches — The figure is of a lofty tree which has been scathed by fire.

By the breath of his mouth — The breath of God’s mouth gave him life. God breathes in his wrath and it gives him death — he goes away. Where?

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

He shall not depart out of darkness (comp. ver. 23, where the wicked man is threatened with "a day of darkness"). When the darkness once falls, it shall continue; there shall be no escaping out of it The flame shall dry up his branches; rather, a flame. The "flame" intended seems to be the wrath of God. And by the breath of his mouth; i.e. "of God"s mouth". (comp. Job_4:9) Shall he go away; or, pass away; i.e. disappear, be consumed, perish.

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

Depart - His misery shall have no end. Flame - God's anger and judgment upon him. Branches - His wealth, and power, and glory, wherewith he was encompassed, as trees are with their branches. 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. Go - Hebrew. go back: that is, run away from God faster than he ran upon him, ver. 26. So it is a continuation of the former metaphor of a conflict between two persons.

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

and he will turn away from the world.

by the breath of His mouth Of the Ruler of the world. This is an ellipsis, Others interpret this to mean: because of the breath of his mouth that was guilty of speaking lies.

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.