Job 34:26

Job 34:26 He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others;

Ver. 26. He striketh them as wicked men, &c.] Complodit cos, saith Junius, scilicet ut inflatas vesicas in sun ipsorum sede, he striketh upon them, as blown bladders, in their own seat. This is an elegant similitude, setting forth the sudden overthrow of graceless great ones, as with a kind of noise, and not without public notice; for it followeth,

In the open sight of others] Heb. In the place of beholders, in proscenio, as upon a stage or scaffold, Discant iustitiam moniti; et non temnere numen, others may hear and fear, and do no more so. God is pleased for this purpose to bang up some notorious offenders as it were in gibbets; as Pharaoh, Sennacherib, Antiochus, Herod, Julian. See those writs of execution, 1Co 10:5-7, and be wise by others’ woes; enjoy their follies, and gather, with the bee, sweet honey out of those bitter weeds, Poena ad paucos, metus ad omnes. Punishment to the poor, fear at all.

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.

34:26 When God renders justice openly, it leads to proper fear among the wicked (Deut 21:21; 1 Tim 5:20) and to public rejoicing among the righteous (cp. Exod 14:30-31).

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

Meaning, openly in the sight of all men.

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

He striketh them--chasteneth.

as--that is, because they are wicked.

sight of others--Sinners hid themselves in darkness; therefore they are punished before all, in open day. Image from the place of public execution (Job 40:12; Exo 14:30; Sa2 12:12).

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 26. He striketh them as wicked men] At other times he executes his judgments more openly; and they are suddenly destroyed in the sight of the people.

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

(26) He striketh them as wicked men.—Rather, in the place of wicked men he striketh them: i.e., the wicked—that is, “He executeth His judgments in the sight of all beholders, striking down wicked men in their very place, so that there can be no doubt as to who are stricken or why they are stricken.”

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

So that they cause the cry of the poor to come to him,.... To God; through their oppressions of the poor they are made to cry by reason of them, and who come to God with their cries, and tears, and supplications, and which enter into the ears of the Lord of hosts;

and he heareth the cry of the afflicted; as he did the cry of the Israelites under Egyptian bondage; he is a God hearing and answering prayer, and he particularly attends to the cry of the humble and of the afflicted, and arises for their help and deliverance.

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

He striketh them as wicked men - literally, “Under the wicked, or on account of the wicked, he smites them.” That is, he deals with them “as if” they were wicked; he regards and treats them as such. He deals with them “under” the general character of wicked people, and punishes them accordingly.

In the open sight of others - Margin, as in Hebrew “in the place of beholders.” The idea is, that it is done openly or publicly. Their sins had been committed in secret, but they are punished openly. The manifestation of the divine displeasure is in the presence of spectators, or is so open and public, that it cannot but be seen. It is very probable that in all this description Elihu had his eye upon the public calamities which had come upon Job, and that he meant to include him among the number of mighty men whom God thus suddenly overturned.

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

Sight. Literally, "in the place of the beholders," (Haydock) in public. (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).

As wicked men, i.e. as he useth to smite wicked men, with a grievous and terrible stroke. Compare Isa 27:7. Or, for wicked men; or, because they are wicked men, therefore he destroys them without any regard to their quality.

In the open sight of others; in public view, for their greater shame, and for the greater glory of God’s justice, and for the greater terror of other oppressors, and comfort of the oppressed.

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

26. In the open sight of others — Literally, They (the mighty) are punished like malefactors, in the place of beholders; that is, where all can see, in order that they may take warning.

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

He striketh them as wicked men; i.e. as open and acknowledged malefactors. In the open sight of others; literally, in the place of beholders; i.e. publicly, openly, where their fate is an example to others.

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

As - Because they are wicked men. In the open light - In publick view for their greater shame, and for the greater glory of his justice.

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

General Information:

Elihu continues speaking.

In the open sight of others, he kills them for their wicked deeds like criminals

This phrase compares the way that these people die to how criminals die. AT: "He kills them for their wicked deeds, in the open sight of others as if they were criminals" (See: Simile)

In the open sight of others

This is an idiom. AT: "In a place where everyone can see" (See: Idiom)

he kills them

This speaks of God causing these people to die, though he does not actually strike them with a sword himself. He may cause someone else to kill them or disaster to come upon them. AT: "he causes them to die" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

his ways

This refers to God's instructions for how people should behave. (See: Idiom)

they made the cry of poor people come to him

The word "cry" can be expressed as a verb. This speaks of God hearing their cry as if the cry were a person that came to him. AT: "they made the poor people cry, and God heard them" (See: Abstract Nouns and Personification)

translationWords

crime

turn

acknowledge

afflicted

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

In the place of the wicked Heb. תחת, in their location.

He smote them The people of Sodom.

in the place of viewers Before everyone’s eyes.

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.