Job 36:6

Job 36:6 He preserveth not the life of the wicked: but giveth right to the poor.

Ver. 6. He preserveth not the life of the wicked] He is no such friend to them; though he be good to the godly, be greatly careth not what becomes of them. Their life they hold of him, and many good things besides; for he is the Saviour, or preserver, of all men, but especially of them that believe. But he suffereth not the wicked to live, as the Hebrew here hath it, he withdraweth them not from the hand of justice, he bindeth not them up in the bundle of life, he reckoneth them not among the living in Jerusalem, among the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven; he many times slayeth them with his own hand, and cutteth them short in righteousness. Or if not so, yet their preservation is but reservation, &c.

But giveth right to the poor] Or, to the afflicted. For poverty is an affliction, and subjecteth a man to many injuries: Zep 3:12, they are an afflicted and poor people, but trusting in the name of the Lord, they shall be relieved and righted, not so soon perhaps as themselves would, nor yet so long hence as their oppressors would. In the mount will the Lord be seen, who, as he seldom comes at our times, so he never fails his own time. Meanwhile this comfort they have:

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 36:6-7. He preserveth not the life of the wicked — Namely, for ever: but will in due time forsake them, and give them up to the destroyer. Ab. Ezra interprets it, The years of the wicked shall be shortened. But giveth right to the poor — He upholds, and will certainly, at the proper time, deliver his poor, oppressed ones, from all their oppressors. He will avenge their quarrel upon their persecutors, and force them to make restitution of what they have unjustly robbed them of. For if men will not right the injured poor, God will. He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous — He never ceases to care for and watch over them; no, not when they are afflicted or persecuted, when he may seem to neglect them. If our eye be ever toward God in duty, his eye will be ever upon us in mercy, and when we are at the lowest will not overlook us. With kings are they on the throne — He sometimes raises them to the highest offices that kings can confer upon them; yea, he doth establish them for ever — Their felicity is more stable and permanent than that of the wicked; they are established as long as they live. And they are exalted — Above the power of their enemies, that would pull them down: or, they continue to be exalted, and are not cast down from their dignity, as the wicked commonly are.

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

Therefore he will not preserve the wicked: but to the humble and afflicted heart he will show grace.

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

right . . . poor--He espouses the cause of the afflicted.

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 6. He preserveth not the life] He will not give life to the wicked; all such forfeit life by their transgressions.

But giveth right] Justice will he give to the afflicted or humble, עניים aniyim.

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

6. Illustration of the operation of God’s understanding, giving to all conditions of men their due.

right to the poor] Rather, his right; poor may be, as marg., afflicted.

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.

He preserveth not the life of the wicked,.... He makes a difference between wicked and righteous men, which shows him to be a holy and righteous God; though he preserves the life of all men so long as they live, yet not in the same way; he preserves the lives of wicked men in the common course of his providence, but not in a special way and manner, as he does the lives of the righteous, which are dear and precious to him; nor does he preserve to any great length such as are notorious sinners, who are guilty of capital crimes, as murder, &c. their lives are shortened, and they do not live out half their days: or he does not quicken them, bestow his spiritual favour upon them, in which only is life; and though they will be quickened and raised at the last day, as well as the righteous, yet not to the resurrection of life, but to the resurrection of damnation;

but giveth right to the poor; pleads their cause and rights their wrongs, administers justice to them, especially to the poor in spirit, who hunger and thirst after righteousness; to these he gives freely the righteousness of his son, which only denominates persons truly righteous: of whom in Job 36:7.

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

He preserveth not the life of the wicked - Elihu here maintains substantially the same sentiment which the three friends of Job had done, that the dealings of God in this life are in accordance with character, and that strict justice is thus maintained.

But giveth right to the poor - Margin, “or afflicted.” The Hebrew word often refers to the afflicted, to the humble, or the lowly; and the reference here is to the “lower classes” of society. The idea is, that God deals justly with them, and does not overlook them because they are so poor and feeble that they cannot contribute anything to him. In this sentiment Elihu was undoubtedly right, though, like the three friends of Job, he seems to have adopted the principle that the dealings of God here are according to the “characters” of people. He had some views in advance of theirs. He saw that affliction is designed for “discipline” Job 33; that God is willing to show mercy to the sufferer on repentance; that he is not dependent upon human beings, and that his dealings “cannot” be graduated by any reference to what he would receive or suffer from people; but still he clung to the idea that the dealings of God here are a proof of the character of the afflicted. What was mysterious about it he resolved into sovereignty, and showed that man “ought” to be submissive to God, and to “believe” that he was qualified to govern. He lacked the views which Christianity has furnished, that the inequalities that appear in the divine dealings here will be made clear in the retributions of another world.

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

He preserveth not the life of the wicked, to wit, for ever; but will in his due time forsake them, and give them up to the destroyer. Or, he doth not or will not preserve, is put for he will certainly and dreadfully destroy, by the figure called meiosis, used Pro 17:21, and oft elsewhere.

Giveth right to the poor; he doth uphold, and he certainly will in his time deliver, his poor oppressed ones from all their oppressors.

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

6. He preserveth not the life — In allusion to Job’s question, (Job_21:7.) “Wherefore do the wicked live?” See also Job_24:22, with note. The verb יחיה will admit the reading of Gesenius and Furst: — “He prospereth not the wicked.” It is not because of their wickedness that prosperity attends their ways. The economy that God has established tends to the overthrow of evil doers no less than to the exaltation of the righteous, a thought Elihu in the next verse proceeds to expand.

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

He preserveth not the life of the wicked. There is no special providence over the life of the wicked, as Job had supposed, or pretended to suppose. (Job_21:7; comp. Job_12:6) On the contrary, God "overturneth" wicked men "in the night, so that they are destroyed; he striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others". (Job_34:25, Job_34:26) But giveth right to the poor. The poor and afflicted, the meek and humble, God vindicates. They are his special charge. So far is he from favouring the ungodly.

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

But - He will certainly in his time deliver his oppressed ones.

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

He does not withdraw his eyes from righteous people

Elihu speaks of God protecting righteous people as if God were watching them with his eyes, and of God ceasing to protect them as if he withdrew his eyes from them. AT: "He does not stop protecting the righteous people" (See: Metaphor)

sets them on thrones like kings

Elihu speaks of God honoring the righteous people as if God were causing them to sit on thrones like kings do. (See: Metaphor)

they are lifted up

Elihu speaks of God honoring the righteous people as if he lifted them up to a high place. This can be stated in active form. AT: "he lifts them up" or "he honors them" (See: Metaphor and Active or Passive)

translationWords

life

evil

suffer

throne

king

eternity

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