Job 19:28

28, 29. Brief threat to his three friends. God’s appearance, which will bring joy to Job, will carry terror to those who persecute him and fasten false charges of guilt upon him. The language in these verses is in some parts obscure, and there may be faults in the text. Job_19:28 reads in connexion with Job_19:29,

If ye say, How we will pursue him!

And the root of the matter is found in me:

Be ye afraid of the sword, &c.

Job_19:28 forms the supposition and Job_19:29 states the consequence, the penalty of the conduct referred to on the part of Job’s friends. If they shall continue their unjust persecution of him, asserting that the “root of the matter,” i. e. the real cause of his afflictions, is found in himself, in his transgressions, then Job warns them that they will bring on themselves the “sword” of Divine vengeance.

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 19:28 But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me?

Ver. 28. But ye should say, Why persecute we him?] Nam olim dicitis cur eum persequebamur? (Tigur.) This ye shall one day surely say, "Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked," &c., Mal 3:18. Then shall it repent you (it should do so now) that ye have rated and reviled me for a hypocrite; viz. when God hath cleared mine integrity (as he did, Job 42:10), or at the last day howsoever, what time there shall be a resurrection of names as well as of bodies. Would ye but say so now it would be some satisfaction. Quem poenitet peccasse poene est innocens. You have heard, by the confession I have made, I am no miscreant, no misbeliever; but that I do hold fast the faithful word.

The root of the matter is in me] Or, tbe root of the word, the engrafted word of God, that is able to save my soul, hath taken deep root in me, Jas 1:21. I hold the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience, 1Ti 3:9, this is the cabinet, that the jewel kept therein. And with what face can ye censure such a one for a castaway, who am sorely afflicted indeed, so that my very reins are consumed within me; nay graces also haply are somewhat deflourished, and it is little better with me than with a tree in winter; and as a tall tree, whose sap is in the root, Isa 6:13. But so long as "the root of the matter is in me," that radical grace of faith; and since I do utter, as ye have heard, the words of truth and soberness (as some fruits of a sound faith), sure you should handle me with more tenderness, as one that hath some sap and substance in him.

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_19:28

But ye should say, Why persecute we him?

Toleration of intolerance

One of the hardest things in this world is, for the tolerant to have to tolerate intolerance, for the liberal to have to endure illiberality, for the charitable to have to put up with bigotry. We can conceive of an intolerant person being vexed by the intolerance of others; but it is because their intolerance is not of the same kind as his own. To the abettors of particular theological tenets, and the adherents of particular religious systems, such terms as intolerance, illiberality, and uncharitableness, convey no meaning. With them there are no such things. According to their notions, you cannot be too intolerant, so long as you are orthodox; nor too illiberal, so long as you are correct; nor too uncharitable, so long as you are on the right side; which singularly enough, usually happens to be the strong side. Intolerance, in their eyes, is nothing but consistency. It is hard to have to tolerate intolerance. This is what the patriarch had to do, throughout and in addition to the sore calamities permitted by the Almighty to fall upon him. It was a case in which anyone might well have cried, Save me from my friends. The book is filled with the recriminations of the friends on one side, and the remonstrances of Job on the other. But the cause pleaded by the patriarch was the cause of humanity at large, against Jewish and every other form of intolerance If you see a man bearing good fruits in his life, knowing somewhat of himself and more of God,--though he may not agree in all points with you, speak as you speak, or use the forms you use,--do not suspect him, think the worse of him, or disparage him; but say, rather, to the confusion of all who would do so, Why should I persecute him, seeing the root of the matter is found in him? (Alfred Bowen Evans.)

Seeing the root of the matter is found in me.--

The root of the matter

I. What the patriarch intended by the root that was in him. A root may be employed for any principle from which effects proceed. Sometimes the metaphor is employed for a good principle, as in the parable of the sower, where they who withered because they had not root, lacked the good principle from which spiritual life proceeds. We may find several points of analogy between the principle of faith in the soul, and the root of any plant or tree which vegetates upon our earth.

1. The root is the menus of stability. So is faith. As the root balances every plant, from the gigantic oak and the towering cedar, to the hyssop that grows upon the wall, so faith balances and sustains the soul and character of the Christian.

2. The root--and faith--are the channels of nourishment. As the fibrous harts of the root of any plant absorb the moisture which the earth supplies, so faith receives the Spirit which the Saviour imparts. Thus the idea of vitality is intimately connected with faith in the rooting of the Divine Word.

3. Faith is the source of spiritual production. Botanists tell us that the root performs the part of a tender parent, by preserving the embryo plant in its bosom; and thus all the stems, and leaves, and petals, and fruit, are found in the root. Here the analogy is very complete; because as the root is the source of production to the plant, so faith is the source of every other grace in the soul.

II. How the patriarch manifested that this boot was in him.

1. By the confession which he uttered. Faith has ever been the parent of a good confession. Job could say, I know that my Redeemer liveth.

2. By the satisfaction he avows. Faith in the Son of God satisfied his mind under all the desolations.

3. By the disposition he displayed. What was his patience but the result of faith?

III. What the patriarch expected. Forbearance and sympathy from his fellow believers. Many of us greatly err in entertaining uncharitable thoughts, and in using unguarded words, in reference to them who have the root of the matter in them. (J. Blackburn.)

Faith a root

Faith is the root of that tree whose flower and fruit is righteousness. Not much fruit is produced without roots. Generally the roots are hid, but they are always there. Sometimes they are unsightly, but they are very necessary. He is a foolish gardener who neglects them, or allows beast or insect to destroy them. So intimate is the relationship existing between belief and righteousness. This utilitarian age may find fault with the careful culture of a faith in the unseen, but these roots, so ugly in many eyes, have produced some luscious fruit. While the world cries out so lustily for the fruits of pure lives and noble deeds, why should it despise the roots from which the finest virtues spring? Christian works are no more than animate faith and love, as the flowers are animate spring buds. (J. L. Jackson.)

The root of the matter

What is the meaning of the root of the matter? Everything would seem to depend upon the root; if we go wrong there, we go wrong everywhere. Now what do we mean by the root? Sometimes we talk of a radical cure. It simply means a root cure; not a cure of symptoms, not an alleviation of pain for the moment, but going right down to the root. If the root is right, the tree is worth saving; if the root is right the man is saved. The root is the man. Not your coat, but your character is you. Oh, if we could look at one another in the root, there would be ten thousand times better men in the world than we seem to think there are. But we cannot get men to look at root ideas, root purposes. Now, the root is you; what you are in the root, that you really are before God. The root is the verb out of which all the other words come. Here is the verb; how am I to treat this long verb? Wring its tail off; that is the first act in true grammar. Take off its tail, throw it away, there is the root left; that is the thing you have got to deal with. Beware of artificial qualifications, beware of human certificates, if above it all is not the signature of God. So the root is the man. Do we always judge so? What do they say about the man? His oddities. Well? His eccentricities. Well? His infirmities. That is a little deeper, but not much. What of it? His peculiarities--what of them? You have said nothing yet; that is not criticism. What is the mans purpose in life? Talk of that. Oh, so good! Then that is the man, and why should you and I talk about his whimsicalities and his oddities? Here is a man about whom they say, You would mark, I am sure, his want of polish; you would see that there was a great deal of gaucherie about his whole air and manner. Yes, I saw that. You observed that he was not metropolitan in his bearing, that there was a good deal of the agricultural districts about him. Yes, there was a good deal of the agricultural districts about him. Well, what more? Are you going to put me off with that judgment? Oh, tell me what he is in his soul, in his root, in his first idea, in his grandest aspiration. That is the man; that is how God judges us. And here is a man about whom they say, He made a great many slips, you know. Yes, he did. What shall we do with him? Will you say? Why do you not tell me about his truthfulness? We are to be judged by our truthfulness, which is permanent, constant, all-pervasive, and not by our accidental alightings upon some great truth, and naming it. Many a man has told the truth occasionally who is not filled with the spirit of truth. And many men are misunderstood about this matter because we look for the wrong points of judgment. Many a man is misunderstood through shyness; he does not do himself justice. And many a man would be better in private life, would do himself more justice, but for timidity, for fear. He wants to be so good, and so proper in all his outward behaviour and relations, that he stumbles in the very act of trying excessively to walk uprightly. Do not misjudge him; tie is a good soul. And many a man is misunderstood by poverty. He has good judgment, he has a capacious mind, but he has no money, and he thinks that poverty should slink off into the corner. My aim is to show you that we must get to the root of a man before we can know what the man is. Look not upon his outward appearance, but look, as God looks, on his heart. The root means more than it seems to mean at first. It is not the fruit, but it must bear fruit, or it must be cut up and burned. You cannot have this wonderful, invisible, inscrutable root in you without having some proof of its existence; you must grow something good. Now, what is your fruit? Here, again, is the danger of wrong social judgment. There is your whole worlds judgment upon one another. We are trees of the Lords right-hand planting, and I believe in fruit trees of all kinds. I do not believe in a Christianity so absolutely hidden that it never makes itself seen or felt or known in any of the outgoing and action of life. What is the root in a man? Christ, Christ received personally, officially, atoningly, in all the grandeur and pathos of His priestly character; not Christ the Example whom I can keep on a shelf, but Christ the living God that I must hide in my heart if I would have Him at all. Here is the hope of heterodoxy. It is in the root. You know you are curious in your view of things, dont you? Well, but what do you think of Christ? Oh, I love Him. Lord, Thou knowest all things, Thou knowest that I love Thee. But do you really and truly love Him? Yes. Then you are orthodox. (J. Parker, D. D.)

The root of the matter

I take up the expressive figure of our text to address myself to those who evidently have the grace of God embedded in their hearts, though they put forth tittle blossom and bear little fruit; that they may be consoled, if so be there is clear evidence that at least the root of the matter is found in them.

I. Our first aim then will be to speak of those things which are essential to true godliness in contrast, or, I might better say, in comparison with other things which are to be regarded as shoots rather than as root and groundwork. The tree can do without some of its branches, though the loss of them might be an injury; but it cannot live at all without its roots: the roots are essential. And thus there are things essential in the Christian religion. There are essential doctrines, essential experiences, and there is essential practice.

1. With regard to essential doctrines. It is very desirable for us to be established in the faith. But we are ever ready to confess that there are many doctrines which, though exceedingly precious, are not so essential but that a person may be in a state of grace and yet not receive them. A man with weak eyesight and imperfect vision may be able to enter into the kingdom of heaven; indeed, it is better to enter there having but one eye, than, having two eyes and being orthodox in doctrine, to be cast into hell fire. But there are some distinct truths of revelation that are essential. The doctrine of the Trinity we must ever look upon as being one of the roots of the matter. A Gospel without belief in the living and true God--Trinity in Unity, and Unity in Trinity--is a rope of sand. As well hope to make a pyramid stand upon its apex as to make a substantial Gospel when the real and personal Deity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost is left as a meet or disputed point. Likewise essential is the doctrine of the vicarious sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. Any bell that does not ring sound on that point had better be melted down directly. So, again, the doctrine of justification by faith is one of the roots of the matter.

2. Turning to another department of my subject; there are certain root matters in reference to experience. It is a very happy thing to have a deep experience of ones own depravity. It may seem strange, but so it is, a man will scarcely ever have high views of the preciousness of the Saviour who has not also had deep views of the evil of his own heart. High houses, you know, need deep foundations. Yet die you must, before you can be made partaker of resurrection. This much, however, I will venture to say, you may be really a child of God, and yet the plague of your own heart may be but very little understood. You must know something of it, for no man ever did or ever will come to Christ unless he has first learned to loathe himself, and to see that in him, that is in his flesh, there dwelleth no good thing. It is a happy thing, too, to have an experience which keeps close to Christ Jesus; to know what the word communion means, without needing to take down another mans biography. But though all this be well, remember it is not essential. It is not a sign that you are not converted because you cannot understand what it is to sit under His shadow with great delight. You may have been converted, and yet hardly have come so far as that. Now what is the root of the matter experimentally? Well, I think the real root of it is what Job has been talking about in the verses preceding the text--I know, saith he, that my Redeemer liveth. There must be in connection with this the repentance of sin, but this repentance may be far from perfect, and thy faith in Christ may he far from strong; if Christ Jesus be thine only comfort, thy help, thy hope, thy trust, then understand, this is the root of the matter.

3. Did I not say that there was a root of the matter practically? Yes, and I would to God that we all practically had the branches and the fruits. These will come in their season, and they must come, if we are Christs disciples; but nobody expects to see fruit on a tree a week after it has been planted. It is very desirable that all Christians should be full of zeal. The real root of the matter practically is this--One thing I know; whereas I was blind now I see; the things I once loved I now hate; the things I once hated I love; now it is no more the world, but God; no more the flesh, but Christ; no more pleasure, but obedience; no more what I will, but what Jesus wills. There are those who do certain duties with a conscientious motive, in order to make themselves Christians--such as observing the Sabbath, holding daily worship of God in their families, and attending the public services of the Lords house with regularity. But they do not distinguish between these external acts--which may be but the ornaments that clothe a graceless life, and those fruits of good living that grow out of a holy constitution, which is the root of genuine obedience. Some habits and practices of godly men may be easily counterfeited. You may generally ascertain whether you have got the root of the matter by its characteristic properties. You know a root is a fixing thing. Plants without roots may be thrown over the wall; they may be passed from hand to hand; but a root is a fixed thing. Well, now, if you have got the root of the matter you are fixed to God, fixed to Christ, fixed to things Divine. If you are tempted, you are not soon carried away. Oh, how many professors there are that have no roots! Get them into godly company, and they are such saints; but get them with other company, and what if I say that they are devils! You have no roots unless you can say, O God! my heart is fixed, my heart is fixed; by stern resolve and by firm covenant Thine I am; bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. Again, a root is not only a fixing thing, but a quickening thing. What is it that first sets the sap a-flowing in the spring? Why, it is the root. Ah! and you must have a vital principle; you must have a living principle. Some Christians are like those toys they import from France, which have sand in them; the sand runs down, and some little invention turns and works them as long as the sand is running, but when the sand is all out it stops. A root, too, is a receiving thing. The botanists tell us a great many things about the ends of the roots, which can penetrate into the soil hunting after the particular food upon which the tree is fed. Ah! and if you have got the root of the matter in you, you will send those roots into the pages of Scripture, sometimes into a hymn book, often into the sermon, and into Gods Providence, seeking that something upon which your soul can feed. Hence it follows that the root becomes a supplying thing, because it is a receiving thing. We must have a religion that lives upon God, and that supplies us with strength to live for God.

II. Wherever there is the root of the matter there is very much ground for comfort. Sounds there in my ears the sigh, the groan, the sad complaint--I do not grow as I could wish; I am not so holy as I want to be; I cannot praise and bless the Lord as I could desire; I am afraid I am not a fruitful bough whose branches run over the wall? Yes, but is the root of the matter in you? If so, cheer up, you have cause for gratitude. Remember that in some things you are equal to the greatest and most full-grown Christian. You are as much bought with blood, O little saints, as are the holy brotherhood. You are as much an adopted child of God as any other Christian. You are as truly justified, for your justification is not a thing of degrees. Though less than nothing I can boast, and vanity confess, yet, if the root of the matter be in me, I will rejoice in the Lord, and glory in the God of my salvation.

III. Wherever the root of the matter is, there we should take care that we watch it with tenderness and with love. If you meet with young professors who have the root of the matter in them, do not begin condemning them for lack of knowledge. People must begin to say Twice two are four, before they can ever come to be very learned in mathematics. Now I ask you, by way of solemn searching investigation, Have you the root of the matter in you? (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The substance of true religion

You will always understand a passage of Scripture better if you carefully attend to its connection. Job in the verse before us is answering Bildad the Shuhite. Now, this Bildad on two occasions had described Job as a hypocrite, and accounted for his dire distress by the fact that, though hypocrites may flourish for a time, they will ultimately be destroyed. In the two bitter speeches which he made he described the hypocrite under the figure of a tree which is torn up by the roots, or dies down even to the root. The inference he meant to draw was this: you, Job, are utterly dried up, for all your prosperity is gone, and therefore you must be a hypocrite. No, says Job, I am no hypocrite. I will prove it by your own words, for the root of the matter is still in me, and therefore I am no hypocrite. Though I admit that I have lost branch, and leaf, and fruit, and flower, yet I have not lost the root of the matter, for I hold the essential faith as firmly as ever; and therefore, by your own argument, I am no hypocrite, and Ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me? There is a something in true religion which is its essential root.

I. Our first thought will be that this root of the matter may be clearly defined. We are not left in the dark as to what the essential point of true religion is: it can be laid down with absolute certainty. This is the root of the matter, to believe in the incarnate God, to accept His headship, to claim His kinship, and to rely upon His redemption. Still look at the text further, and you perceive that the root of the matter is to believe that this Kinsman, this Redeemer, lives. We could never find comfort or salvation in one who had ceased to be.

II. This fundamental matter is most instructively described by the words which I have so constantly repeated the root of the matter. What does this mean?

1. First, does it not mean that which is essential? The root of the matter. To a tree a root is absolutely essential; it is a mere pole or piece of timber if there be no root. It can be a tree of a certain sort without branches, and at certain seasons without leaves, but not without a root. So, if a man hath faith in the Redeemer, though he may be destitute of a thousand other most needful things, yet the essential point is settled: he that believeth in Christ Jesus hath everlasting life.

2. The root, again, is not only that which is vital to the tree, it is from the root that the life force proceeds by which the trunk and the branches are nourished and sustained. There is hope of a tree if it be cut down that it shall sprout again, at the scent of water it shall bud; so long as there is a root there is more or less of vitality and power to grow, and so faith in Christ is the vital point of religion; he that believeth liveth.

3. Again, it is called the root of the matter because it comprehends all the rest; for everything is in the root. The holiness of heaven is packed away in the faith of a penitent sinner. Look at the crocus bulb; it is a poor, mean, unpromising sort of thing, and yet wrapped up within that brown package there lies a golden cup, which in the early spring will be filled with sunshine: you cannot see that wondrous chalice within the bulb; but He who put it there knows where He has concealed His treasure. The showers and the sun shall unwrap the enfoldings, and forth shall come that dainty cup to be set upon Gods great table of nature, as an intimation that the feast of summer is soon to come. The highest saintship on earth is hidden within the simplicity of a sinners faith.

III. This root of the matter may be personally discerned as being in a mans own possession. Job says to his teasing friends, Ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me? Notice the curious change of pronouns. Ye should say, Why persecute we him seeing the root of the matter is found in him? that is how the words would naturally run. But Job is so earnest to clear himself from Bildads insinuation that he is a hypocrite, that he will not speak of himself in the third person, but plainly declares, The root of the matter is found in me. Job seems to say, The vital part of the matter may or may not be in you, but it is in me, I know. You may not believe me, but I know it is so, and I tell you to your faces that no argument of yours can rob me of this confidence; for as I know that my Redeemer liveth, I know that the root of the matter is found in me. Many Christian people are afraid to speak in that fashion. They say, I humbly hope it is so, and trust it is so. That sounds prettily; but is it right? Is that the way in which men speak about their houses and lands? Do you possess a little freehold? Did I hear you answer, I humbly hope that my house and garden are my own? What, then, are your title deeds so questionable that you do not know?

1. Note well that sometimes this root needs to be searched for. Job says, the root of the matter is found in me, as if he had looked for it, and made a discovery of what else had been hidden. Roots generally lie underground and out of sight, and so may our faith in the Redeemer. I can understand a Christian doubting whether he is saved or not, but I cannot understand his being happy while he continues to doubt about it, nor happy at all till he is sure of it.

2. And note again, the root of the matter in Job was an inward thing. The root of the matter is found in me. He did not say, I wear the outward garb of a religious man; no, but the root of the matter is found in me. If you, my hearers, are in the possession of the essence of true Christianity, it does not lie in your outward profession. True godliness is not separable from the godly man; it is woven into him just as a thread enters into the essence and substance of the fabric.

3. When grace is found in us, and we do really believe in our Redeemer, we ought to avow it; for Job says, The root of the mutter is found in me. I know that my Redeemer liveth. Are there not some among you who have never said as much as that?

4. The fact of our having the root of the matter in us will be a great comfort to us. Alas, saith Job, my servant will not come when I call him, my wife is strange to me, my kinsfolk fail me, but I know that my Redeemer liveth. Bildad and Zophar, and others of them, all condemn me, but my conscience acquits me, for I know that the root of the matter is in me. Critics may find fault with our experience, and they may call our earnest utterances rant, but this will not affect the truth of our conversion, or the acceptableness of our testimony for Jesus. If the little bird within our bosom sings sweetly it is of small consequence if all the owls in the world hoot at us. There is more real comfort in the possession of simple faith than in the fond persuasion that you are in a high state of grace.

5. This fact also will be your defence against opposers. Thus may you answer them in Jobs fashion, You ought not to condemn me; for, though I am not what I ought to be, or what I want to be, or what I shall be, yet still the root of the matter is found in me. Be kind to me, therefore. If our friends are sincere in their attachment to the Redeemer, let us treat them as our brethren in Christ.

IV. This root of the matter is to be tenderly respected by all who see it. Ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me?

1. What a rebuke this is to the persecutions which have been carried on by nominal Christians against each other, sect against sect! How can those who trust in the same Saviour rend and devour each other? If I believe, and rest my soul on the one salvation which God has provided in Christ Jesus, have charity towards me, for this rock will bear both thee and me. This should end all religious persecutions.

2. But next it ought to be the end of all ungenerous denunciations. If I know that a man is really believing in Jesus Christ, I may not treat him as an enemy.

3. Further than this, the question is, Why persecute we him? We can do that by a cold mistrust. Do not let us stand off in holy isolation from any who have the root of the matter in them. Wherefore should we persecute such? (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Roots give fixity

A root is a fixing thing. Plants without roots may be thrown over the wall; they may be passed from hand to hand; but a root is a fixing thing. How firmly the oaks are rooted in the ground. You may think of those old oaks in the park; ever so far off you have seen the roots coming out of the ground, and then they go in again, and you have said, Why I what do these thick fibres belong to? Surely they belong to one of those old oaks ever so far away. They had sent that root there to get a good holdfast, so that when the March wind comes through the forest and other trees are torn up--fir trees, perhaps trees that have outgrown their strength at the top, while they have too little hold at bottom--the old oaks bow to the tempest, curtsey to the storm, and anon they lift up their branches again in calm dignity; they cannot be blown down. Now if you have got the root of the matter you are fixed, you are fixed to God, fixed to Christ, fixed to things Divine. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

.

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Job 19:28. But ye should say — Therefore, because this is my case, and my faith and hope are in God, it would become you, and it is your duty on this account, to say, Why persecute we him? — We are blameworthy that we have persecuted him with such bitter invectives, and we will do so no more; seeing the root of the matter — Hebrew, דבר, dabar, of the word; is found in me — That is, since my heart is sincere and upright before God, and the root, or foundation, of true religion is in me. Cum veritas ipsa inveniatur in me, since the truth itself is found in me. — Vatablus. The root of all true religion is living faith in that Redeemer of whom Job had just spoken, and in the truth and grace of God in and through him; faith working by love, overcoming the world, and purifying the heart; faith disarming death of its sting, and inspiring us with a lively, patient, joyful, and grateful hope of eternal life, such as Job had just expressed. This is the root of the matter, other things are but leaves in comparison of it. This, which implies the whole of godliness and righteousness, is the one thing needful. Let us see to it that this be found in us. And, with respect to others, let us believe that many have this root of the matter in them, who are not in every thing of our mind, and who have their follies, weaknesses, and mistakes: and let us be aware that it is at our peril if we persecute any such. Wo be to him that offends or causes to stumble and fall one of these little ones. God will resent and revenge it. Job and his friends differed in their views concerning the methods of Divine Providence, but they agreed in the root of the matter; and, therefore, it was their duty not to have censured and persecuted, but to have lived in love with each other.

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

Though his friends thought that he was but persecuted of God for his sins, yet he declareth that there was a deeper consideration, to wit, the trial of his faith and patience, and so to be an example for others.

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

Rather, "ye will then (when the Vindicator cometh) say, Why," &c.

root . . . in me--The root of pious integrity, which was the matter at issue, whether it could be in one so afflicted, is found in me. UMBREIT, with many manuscripts and versions, reads "in him." "Or how found we in him ground of contention."

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 28. But ye should say] Or, Then ye shall say.

Why persecute we him] Or, as Mr. Good, How did we persecute him! Alas! we are now convinced that we did wrong.

Seeing the root of the matter] A pure practice, and a sound hope, resting on the solid ground of sound faith, received from God himself. Instead of בי bi, in ME, בי bo, in HIM, is the reading of more than one hundred of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., and in several of the versions. Seeing the root of the matter is found in HIM.

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

(28) Seeing the root of the matter.—This verse is variously understood, according as “the root of the matter” is interpreted of the cause of suffering or the essence of piety. “For ye say, How we will persecute him, and that the root of the matter is found in me.” The Authorised Version takes the other view. It seems preferable to render, “For ye say, What is a persecuted man to Him (why should He persecute any man without cause?), and therefore the root of the matter (i.e., the cause of the afflictions) is, i.e., must be found in me.”

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

Be ye afraid of the sword,.... Not of the civil magistrate, nor of a foreign enemy, but of the avenging sword of divine justice; lest God should whet the glittering sword of his justice, and his hand should take hold of judgment, in order to avenge the wrongs of the innocent; unless the other should also be considered as his instruments:

for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, or "sins of the sword" (l): the sense is, either that the wrath of men, in persecuting the people of God, puts them upon the commission of such sins as deserve to be punished with the sword, either of the civil magistrate, or of a foreign enemy, or of divine justice; or else the wrath of God brings on more punishments for their sins by means of the sword; and to this sense is the Targum,

"when God is angry for iniquities, he sends those that slay with the sword:''

that ye may know there is a judgment; that is executed in the world by the Judge of all the earth, who will do right; and that there is a future judgment after death, unto which everything in this world will be brought, when God will judge the world in righteousness by Christ, whom he has ordained to be Judge of quick and dead; and which will be a righteous judgment, that none can escape; and when, Job suggests, the controversy between him and his friends would be determined; and it would be then seen who was in the right, and who in the wrong; and unto which time he seems willing to refer his cause, and to have no more said about it; but his friends did not choose to take his advice; for Zophar the Naamathite starts up directly; and makes a reply, which is contained in the following chapter.

(l) "iniquitates gladii", Montanus, Schmidt, Michaelis; so Cocceius, Schultens.

Next: Job Chapter 20

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

But ye should say - Noyes renders this, “Since ye say, ‘How may we persecute him, and find grounds of accusation against him?’” Dr. Good,

Then shall ye say, “How did we persecute him?”

When the root of the matter is disclosed in me.

The Vulgate, “Why now do ye say, let us persecute him, and find ground of accusation - “radicem verbi” against him?” The Septuagint, “If you also say, What shall we say against him? and what ground of accusation - ῥίζαν λόγου rizan logou - shall we find in him?” Rosenmuller renders it, “When you say, let us persecute him, and see what ground of accusation we can find in him, then fear the sword.” Most critics concur in such an interpretation as implies that they had sought a ground of accusation against him, and that they would have occasion to fear the divine displeasure on account of it. It seems to me, however, that our translators have given substantially the fair sense of the Hebrew. A slight variation would, perhaps, better express the idea: “For you will yet say, Why did we persecute him? The root of the matter was found in him - and since this will be the case, fear now that justice will overtake you for it, for vengeance will not always slumber when a friend of God is wronged.”

Seeing the root of the matter - Margin, “and” what “root of matter is found in me.” The word rendered “matter” (דבר dâbâr), “word or thing.” means, properly, word or thing - and may refer to “any” thing. Here it is used in one of the two opposite senses, “piety” or “guilt” - as being “the thing” under consideration. The interpretation to be adopted must depend on the view taken of the other words of the sentence. To me it seems that it denotes piety, and that the idea is, that the root of true piety was in him, or that he was not a hypocrite. The word root is so common as to need no explanation. It is used sometimes to denote the “bottom,” or the lowest part of anything - as e. g., the foot (see Job 13:27, “margin”), the bottom of the mountains Job 28:9, or of the sea, Job 36:30, “margin.” Here it means the foundation, support, or source - as the root is of a tree; and the sense, I suppose, is, that he was not a dead trunk, but he was like a tree that had a root, and consequently support and life. Many critics, however, among whom is Gesenius, suppose that it means that the root of the controversy, that is, the ground of strife, was in “him,” or that he was the cause of the whole dispute.

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

Let us. Septuagint, "Why do we contend against him? and the root of the word (reason) we shall find in him." He provokes us to speak thus. (Haydock) --- Hebrew reads, "in me." But the Chaldean, &c., "have him," as the sequel requires; unless Job speak this in his own person. I am ready to answer you; or, have you really discovered in me any grounds for your virulent attack? (Calmet)

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).

But; or, therefore; because this is my case, and my faith and hope in God.

Ye should say: so the future is used potentially, as it is Oba 1:12; and the sense is, it would become you; or, it is your duty upon this account to say. Or, you will say, i.e. either,

1. I hope you will say so, and that you will be more moderate in your censures and expressions concerning me, as being convinced and sweetened by this sincere and solemn profession of my faith and hope. Or,

2. Peradventure you will say, to wit, by way of excuse for yourselves.

Why persecute we him? so it is a correction of themselves. Seeing things are thus with him, we are blameworthy, that we have persecuted him with such bitter invectives, and we will do so no more. Or, wherein or how (for so that particle is sometimes used, as the learned observe) do we persecute him, as he chargeth us, Job 19:22. He accuseth us falsely, and without cause given on our parts. So it is an apology for their hard speeches against him, which Job puts into their mouths as their exception to his charge, which he mentioned Job 19:22 and upon that occasion falls into a most serious and pathetical exclamation, Job 19:23,24, and into a most solemn declaration of his faith in God his Redeemer, Job 19:25-27; and after that digression he resumes the former matter, and here propounds an objection, to which he gives a severe answer, which may seem to suit much better with this than with the former exposition.

Seeing the root of the matter is found in me. These words contain either,

1. A motive or reason why they should correct themselves for persecuting him, and desist from it; because, saith Job,

the root of the matter, or word, is in me. The root notes the occasion, or the foundation, or the truth and substance of a thing. And by this matter or word may be meant either,

1. That famous profession of his faith and confidence in God, Job 19:25-27, which, saith he, I have not uttered vain-gloriously or hypocritically, but from my very heart, wherewith I believe what I have spoken with my mouth, as is said upon another occasion, Rom 10:9,10. This word or faith is rooted in mine heart, as it should be, Mat 13:21; Col 2:7. I am no hypocrite, as you asperse me, but an upright person, having a root of true religion in me; which therefore should allay your censures, and make you willing to bear with some circumstantial defects or mistakes in my discourses, or miscarriages, into which my passion and pain might transport me, and make you repent of your cruel usage of a truly good man. But although Job had this root in his heart, yet this was doubted of, and not discernible by, Job’s friends, and therefore could be no argument to them. Possibly it might be better to understand by this root of the word, to wit, of God’s word, which is oft called the word, by way of eminency, the foundations or fundamental truths of Divine doctrine which Job held; as appeared by this glorious confession, howsoever he might err in the matter of controversy with them; which being a difference in lesser things, they should mildly have borne with it, and not aggravated it and traduced him, as if thereby he had renounced God, and the very principles of religion, as they did. Or,

2. The word or thing under debate among them. So the sense may be this,

the root or truth of the thing debated by us is with me, i.e. is on my side. Your discourses and arguments have no truth nor solidity in them as mine have. You speak whatever cometh into your minds and mouths; but my discourses are rooted and grounded upon sound knowledge and deep consideration. But this was no convincing answer; for they could easily retort the same thing upon him again, and their affirmation might seem as good as his; for it was only a begging of the thing in question. Or rather,

2. A defence of themselves, and of their former sharp and severe discourses, which Job called persecution, Job 19:22. And having made a short, but vehement and important, digression, Job 19:23, &c., he returns to the main question between them here; and the sense of this verse (with submission to better judgments) seems to me to be plainly this, But ye will say, i.e. I know will object against my charge, how, or wherein, or why do we persecute him? Why doth he charge us with so black a crime; seeing, or for, (as vau is oft used,) the root, i.e. the foundation, or cause, or occasion of the word, i.e. of those words or passages of ours which are so ill taken, or

of the matter, i.e. of the thing now debated among us, is in me; i.e. Job gives the occasion to it by his boisterous passions and wicked expressions against God, which we neither can nor ought to endure, but are to be sharply reproved. And so this verse contains their objection or apology, which Job puts into their mouths, to which he makes a sharp and suitable reply in the following verse.

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

28. But ye should say — If ye say. “How shall we persecute him, and the root of the matter is found in me?”

The root of the matter — The cause of the whole trouble; that is, his guilt and sin.

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

But ye should say, Why persecute we him? rather, if ye shall sayHow shall we persecute him? That is to say, "If, after what I have said, ye continue bitter against me, and take counsel together as to the best way of persecuting me, then, seeing the root of the matter (i.e. the essence of piety) is found in me, be ye afraid," etc.

"The root of the matter.

Job"s friends think that the explanation of the patriarch"s singular experience lies in himself. It is not to be explained by the laws of the universe, by the opposition of a foe, etc.; it is to be explained by Job"s own character and conduct. The root of this matter, his affliction, is in Job himself. That, says Job, is their idea, and that Job of course repudiates. The prologue shows that Job was right. The root of the matter was not in him; it was in Satan. The great accuser had originated the whole trouble.

I WE CANNOT UNDERSTAND A MATTER UNTIL WE DISCOVER THE ROOT OF IT. Job"s friends were quite wrong; all their conclusions were invalid, all their accusations were unjust, all their admonitions were irrelevant, because they mistook the root and cause of Job"s afflictions. Their conduct is a warning against judging with superficial knowledge. In their assurance of infallibility they inferred the existence of the root when they had not been able to see it. In all branches of knowledge we need to bore down to the root of our subject. The greatest task of science is the search for causes. The mere collection and classification of facts is but the first step. Real science aims at accounting for its facts. So in religion we are not content to receive certain impressions; we want to get behind and beneath them and find their roots. We must find the root of poverty and social trouble before we can understand these evils.

II IT IS DIFFICULT TO DISCOVER THE ROOT OF A MATTER. The root is underground. It hides itself in darkness. Possibly it runs far for its nourishment, like that of the famous Hampton Court vine, which is said to reach to the river Thames. In human affairs it is very hard to find the roots, because men do not generally expose their inmost thoughts. History searches for causes, but it is a very tentative and precarious science. One historian will see, or thinks he sees, the cause of an event in something of which another denies the existence. We cannot even see the roots of the conduct of our daily acquaintances. In particular this difficulty is increased when there is lack of sympathy. A mean and selfish man can never discover the roots of generous action, and a noble-minded man is slow to suspect the roots of the conduct of a person of lower character. We must beware of the attempts of hot-headed philanthropy to cure evils the roots of which have not yet been discovered. Else we may do more harm than good.

III THERE ARE EVILS WHICH ARE NOT ROOTED IN THE MAN WHO SUFFERS FROM THEM. This was the truth which Job"s friends, blinded by prejudice, could not see. They assumed that the root was in Job, but their assumption was an error. Now, the admission of this idea should not only check hasty judgment; it should encourage faith and teach patience. The roots are much deeper than we suspect. We cannot understand providence, for we cannot see its roots.

IV THE WORST EVIL IS THAT WHICH HAS ITS ROOT IN THE MAN WHO SUFFERS FROM IT. If Job"s friends had been right, his position would have been far more dreadful than it was. Often we must confess to ourselves that we have brought trouble upon our own heads. Our folly or our sin is its primary cause. Then it is wholly our own. It is well to search ourselves and see if the root of the matter be in us. If it is, there is no hope of salvation while it remains there. To cut down the superficial growth will do no good. The deep-seated root will sprout again. Evil must be eradicated from the heart. We want a cure that goes to the root of the matter.

V THE ROOT OF DIVINE GRACE IS A SURE SOURCE OF DIVINE LIFE, There are good things as well as evil things that have their roots in a man. The root of the better life may be in a man when we do not see it.

1. It is within the individual man. Otherwise the external grace is not his.

2. It may be hidden.

3. The growth above may be checked.

4. Still, if the root of the matter is in the soul, there must be some growth visible in the outer life. W.F.A.

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

Therefore - Because my faith and hope are in God. The root - The root denotes, a root of true religion. And the root of all true religion is living faith.

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

General Information:

Job continues to speak to his three friends.

How we will persecute him!

This is an exclamation. Possible meanings are 1) that they will certainly persecute Job or 2) that they will persecute him severely. (See: Exclamations)

The root of his troubles lies in him

The "root" represents the source. AT: "He is the source of all his troubles" or "He has all these troubles because of what he has done" (See: Metaphor)

then be afraid of the sword

Possible meanings are that the sword represents 1) God judging them. AT: "then be afraid that God will judge you" or 2) God killing them. AT: "then be afraid that God will kill you" (See: Metonymy)

because wrath brings the punishment of the sword

The abstract nouns "wrath" and "punishment" can be expressed with the adjective "angry" and the verb "punish." Possible meanings are that 1) God's anger results in punishment. AT: "because God will be angry with you and punish you" or 2) the anger of Job's friends results in punishment. AT: "because if you are so angry with me, God will punish you" (See: Abstract Nouns)

brings

"causes" or "results in"

there is a judgment

The abstract noun "judgment" can be expressed with the verb "judge." AT: "God judges people" (See: Abstract Nouns)

translationWords

persecute

fear

sword

wrath

punish

judge

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

Shall you say, ‘Why should we persecute him?’ Like (Deut. 7:17), “Will you say in your heart,” in which [כי] is an expression of a question. That is to say, “Will you lay your heart to the matter to have pity and say, ‘Why should we persecute him?’”

and the root of the matter that is found in him—what is it? This favor will never enter your mind [to determine] the root of the matter for which he suffers with pains.

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.