Job 34:30

Job 34:30 That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared.

Ver. 30. That the hypocrite reign not] That he reign no longer. Almighty God taketh order, by putting these mighties from their seat, and exalting them of low degree, Luk 1:52. And why? 1. Lest the hypocrite, or the impure and impious man, reign; such as was Jehu, Herod, Julian, our Richard III, Pope Sixtus Quintus, of whom one saith, that he was the most crouching humble cardinal that ever was lodged in an oven, and the most stout proud pope that ever wore crown (Spec. Europ.). What pride equal to his, making kings kiss his pantofles? {a} What humility (pretended) greater than his, shriving himself daily on his knees to an ordinary priest? He calleth himself the servant of God’s servants; and yet stamps in his coin, That nation and country that will not serve thee shall be rooted out; he also suffereth his parasites to style him, Our Lord God the pope. Is not this a notorious hypocrite? and when such a one reigneth and taketh upon him to be Lord of all, both in spirituals and temporals, may not we conclude that God hideth his face (as in the former verse) from his people? May we not cry out, as Basil once did (Epist. 17), Num ecclesias suas dereliquit Dominus? Hath the Lord utterly forsaken his Churches? It is, doubtless, a very great judgment upon a people, when a hypocrite or a profane person is set over them, who pretends the public good to his own designs and self interests, and by his crafty inventions undoes his subjects, robbing them of their lawful liberties, and enslaving them. Some read the words thus, He causeth that the hypocrite reigneth for the sins of the people. It is threatened as a heavy curse, Lev 26:17. If you still trespass against me, I will set princes over you that shall hate you; mischievous, odious princes, odious to God, malignant to the people; such as was Phocas, that bloody tyrant, who, when he had slain his master, Mauritius, and reigned in his stead, there was an honest poor man, saith Cedrenus, who was earnest with God to know a reason why such a thing was suffered? to whom it was answered, That a worse man could not be found; and that the sins of Christians required it. We read of Attilus, king of Swethland, that he made a dog king of the Danes, in revenge of a great many injuries received by them. Gunno, likewise, king of the Danes, made a dog king of Norway; and appointed counsellors to do all things under his title and name. That which these men did spitefully God sometimes doth righteously; setting up tyrants for a punishment to those that were unthankful for better government, and would not have him to reign over them.

Lest the people be ensnared] Heb. For the snares of the people; that is, for the injuries and vexations wherewith that hypocrite oppressed the people; to put an end to those, by taking away the tyrant, who, for his cruel craft and crafty cruelty, is here fitly compared to a hunter or fowler laying snares. Sunt autem leges iniquae et exactiones iniustae principum hypocritarum, laquei et decipulae quibus populum sibi subiectum venantur et capiunt, saith Brentius here; i.e. Bad laws and unjust exactions of hypocritical princes are the snares and traps wherewith they hunt after and catch their subjects.

{a} A slipper; formerly applied very variously, app., at one time or another, to every sort of in-door slippers or loose shoes; esp. to the high-heeled cork-soled chopins; also to out-door overshoes or goloshes; and to all manner of Oriental and non-European slippers, sandals, and the like.

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.

When tyrants sit in the throne of justice which under pretence of executing justice are but hypocrites and oppress the people, it is a sign that God hath drawn back his countenance of favor from that place.

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

Ensnared--into sin (Kg1 12:28, Kg1 12:30). Or rather, "enthralled by further oppression," Job 34:26-28.

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. That the hypocrite reign not] The Vulgate translates, Who causes a wicked man to reign because of the sins of the people. This was precisely the defense which Hegiage, the oppressive ruler of the Babylonian Irak, under the caliph Abdul Malec, made when he found the people in a state of insurrection. See at the end of the chapter. See Clarke on Job 34:37.

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

(30) That the hypocrite reign not.—Rather, (whether God is provoked), on account of an ungodly man reigning, or by the snares of a whole people: i.e., the corruption of a nation, e.g., Sodom, &c.

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

30. His operations are directed by the great purpose of the good of men, that the nations be righteously and mercifully ruled.

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.

That which I see not teach thou me,.... Which may be understood either of the chastisements of God, and his dealings with his people in a providential way, and of the design and use of them, which are sometimes unsearchable, and at most but a part of them only seen and known; it is meet to say to God, it is but a small part and portion of thy ways that is known by me; I can see but little into them: teach me more of thy mind and will in them, or else of sins and transgressions, the cause of chastisement; it is proper for an afflicted man to say unto God, I am conscious to myself of many sinful failings and infirmities, but there may be secret sins committed by me which have escaped my notice and observation; point them out to me, that I may be humbled for them, and make a free confession of them;

if I have done iniquity, I will do no more; that is, if I have committed any capital crime, any foul offence or gross enormity, for otherwise no man lives without sin, I sincerely repent of it, and will take care for the future, through divine grace, to do so no more.

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

That the hypocrite reign not - All this is done to prevent wicked men from ruling over the people. The remarks of Elihu had had respect much to princes and kings, and he had shown that however great they were, they were in the hands of God, and were wholly at his disposal. He “now” says that the design of his dealings with them was to prevent their oppressing their fellow-men. The general scope of the remarks of Elihu is, that God is the universal Sovereign; that he has all people under his control, and that there are none so powerful as to be able to resist his will. The remark in this verse is thrown in, not as illustrating this general sentiment, but to show what was “in fact” the aim for which he thus interposed - to save people from being oppressed and crushed by those in authority.

Lest the people be ensnared - Hebrew “From their being snarers of the people.” He thrusts down the mighty, in order that they may not be left to take the people as wild beasts are taken in the toils. They were disposed to make use of their power to oppress others, but God interposes, and the people are saved. For a fuller view of this verse, see the remarks of Rosenmuller.

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

People. A hypocrite denotes one infected with all sorts of crimes. (St. Irenæus v. 24.) Such a king is sometimes given to punish a wicked people, Osee xiii. 11., and Isaias iii. 4. This sense is beautiful, and followed by the Chaldean, Septuagint, &c. We may explain the Hebrew in like manner, by neglecting the Masoretic points. (Calmet) --- Protestants, "That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared." (Haydock) --- Hebrew, "He overturns the throne of hypocrites, on account of the scandal of the people," or "he delivers the people from servitude." The sense of the Vulgate seems preferable. (Calmet) --- Eliu insinuates that Job had been a hypocrite and an oppressor; but God exculpates him. (Worthington)

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).

Having said that God could and would carry on his own work and design effectually, whether against one man, or against a whole people, he now proceeds to give a further instance of God’s mighty power above and against the greatest monarchs, in whom their own and the people’s strength seem to be united, yet all together cannot oppose God in his work. God when he pleaseth can and doth so order affairs,

that the hypocrite (i.e. the profane wicked prince, as one of the kings of Judah is called, Eze 21:25; bad princes being called hypocrites, because they do commonly cover all their oppressions, and injuries, and impieties too, with the specious pretence of justice and the public good, and the discharge of their trust and duty) may not reign, (i.e. may not continue his reign and tyranny, that he may and shall by his sovereign power and omnipotent providence be deprived of his kingdom,)

lest the people be insnared, i.e. lest the people should be longer and more and more kept and held in the snares or fetters of tyranny and oppression, i.e. God doth this to free poor oppressed people from the snares which ungodly and unrighteous princes lay for them. Or, that the people be not insnared any longer, Heb. that there be no snares of or for the people. Or, for the snares, or scandals, or sins (which are oft so called) of the people. So the sense is, that such a wicked prince may not continue to reign over that people, although by their sins they had provoked God to give them such a prince, and to continue his power over them.

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

30. Hypocrite — Ungodly. Lest, etc. — מן, that not, introduces this as well as the preceding clause. That the people be not ensnared; literally, from snares of the people.

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

That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared; rather, that an ungodly man reign not, that a people be not a snare. (So Schultens, Professor Lee, and others.) The passage is obscure from its brevity; but this seems to be the best sense. God withdraws his favour from an ungodly king or from a wicked nation, that the king may cease to injure men by his rule, and the nation cease to be a snare to its neighbours.

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

Reign not - May not continue his tyranny, lest the people be ensnared, lest the people should be longer kept in the the snares of oppression; God doth this to free poor oppressed people from the snares which ungodly men lay for them.

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

And it shall be quiet, that a flattering man shall not reign because of the snares of the people Over the poor, who reigned.

because of the snares of the people [who were guilty] of iniquity, and concerning such a God, you should not have said, ‘scoundrel,’ and ‘wicked.

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.