Job 37:24

Job 37:24 Men do therefore fear him: he respecteth not any [that are] wise of heart.

Ver. 24. Men do therefore fear him] They do, or should do, for his excellent greatness and goodness, Psa 130:4 Mat 10:28. But in case they do not,

He respecteth not any that are wise of heart] That out of a conceit of their own wisdom stand it out against him, and think to reason it out with him, as thou hast done. Or, But he seeth not all wise in heart; he findeth not all wise, whom he beholdeth here upon earth. Stultorum plena sunt omnia, and thou also hast dealt very foolishly, as God hath seen, and wilt shortly show thee better than I can do.

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.

do--rather, "ought."

wise--in their own conceits.

Next: Job Chapter 38

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 24. Men do therefore] Therefore men, אנשים anashim, wretched, miserable, ignorant, sinful men, should fear him.

He respecteth not any] No man is valuable in his sight on account of his wisdom; for what is his wisdom when compared with that of the Omniscient? Whatever good is in man, God alone is the author of it. Let him, therefore, that glorieth, glory in the Lord.

THUS ends the speech of Elihu; a speech of a widely different description, on the whole, from that of the three friends of Job who had spoken so largely before him. In the speeches of Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad, there is little besides a tissue of borrowed wise sayings, and ancient proverbs and maxims, relative to the nature of God, and his moral government of the world. In the speech of Elihu every thing appears to be original; he speaks from a deep and comprehensive mind, that had profoundly studied the subjects on which he discoursed. His descriptions of the Divine attributes, and of the wonderful works of God, are correct, splendid, impressive, and inimitable. Elihu, having now come nearly to a close, and knowing that the Almighty would appear and speak for himself, judiciously prepares for and announces his coming by the thunder and lightning of which he has given so terrific and majestic a description in this and the preceding chapter. The evidences of the Divine presence throng on his eyes and mind; the incomprehensible glory and excellency of God confound all his powers of reasoning and description; he cannot arrange his words by reason of darkness; and he concludes with stating, that to poor weak man God must for ever be incomprehensible, and to him a subject of deep religious fear and reverence. Just then the terrible majesty of the Lord appears! Elihu is silent! The rushing mighty wind, for which the description of the thunder and lightning had prepared poor, confounded, astonished Job, proclaims the presence of Jehovah: and out of this whirlwind God answers for and proclaims himself! Reader, canst thou not conceive something of what these men felt? Art thou not astonished, perplexed, confounded, in reading over these descriptions of the thunder of God's power? Prepare, then, to hear the voice of God himself out of this whirlwind.

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

(24) Men do therefore fear him.—Or, “Therefore men may fear Him; but as for the wise in heart, no one even of them shall see Him.” This may be, and probably is, the meaning, though the literal rendering is that of the Authorised Version, which, however, involves a somewhat doubtful sentiment in itself, for God, we may believe, does regard or respect those who are truly wise. In the original there is a very manifest play on the words, which it is impossible to preserve, between yĕre’u and yireh—men shall fear, but none shall see.

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

24. wise of heart] That is, wise in their own thoughts. God has respect unto the humble—a final exhortation to Job to abstain from presumptuous complaints of God, and to unite with mankind everywhere in fearing Him.

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.

Men do therefore fear him,.... Or should, because of his greatness in power, judgment, and justice; and because of his goodness, in not afflicting for his pleasure's sake, but for the profit of men; and therefore they should reverence and adore him, submit to his will, patiently bear afflictions, serve him internally and externally, with reverence and godly fear;

he respecteth not any that are wise of heart; that are wise in a natural sense: these are not always regarded by God, or are his favourites; neither temporal blessings, nor special grace, or the knowledge of spiritual things, are always given to the wise and prudent, Ecc 9:11. Or that are wise in their own conceit; there is a woe to such; and there is more hope of a fool than of him, Isa 5:21. Or he is not "afraid" of them (c), as some choose to render the word; he fears not to reprove them and correct them for their faults, or the schemes they form to counterwork him; for he can take them in their craftiness, and carry their counsel headlong. Or "every wise in heart shall not see him" (d): the world by wisdom knows him not; nor can any look into his heart, his thoughts, purposes, and designs, and into the causes and reasons of his actions; nor have those that are truly wise perfect vision and knowledge of him now, Co1 13:9.

(c) "non timebit", Osiander. (d) "Non videbit eum omuis sapiens corde"; so some in Drusius.

Next: Job Chapter 38

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

Men do therefore fear him - There is reason why they should fear him, or why they should treat him with reverence.

He respecteth not any that are wise of heart - He pursues his own plans, and forms and executes his own counsels. He is not dependent upon the suggestions of people, and does not listen to their advice. In his schemes he is original and independent, and people should therefore regard him with profound veneration. This is the sum of all that Elihu had to say - that God was original and independent; that he did not ask counsel of people in his dealings; that he was great, and glorious, and inscrutable in his plans; and that people therefore should bow before him with profound submission and adoration. It was to be presumed that he was wise and good in all that he did, and to this independent and almighty Sovereign man ought to submit his understanding and his heart. Having illustrated and enforced this sentiment, Elihu, overwhelmed with the awful symbols of the approaching Deity, is silent, and God is introduced to close the controversy.

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

Fear him, and receive with respect whatever he shall appoint. (Haydock) --- And all. Hebrew, "he fears not any that are wise of heart." He knows that the most intelligent (Calmet) must confess their ignorance, when they attempt to examine his divine nature. Simonides being desired by Hiero to express his sentiments on this subject, always requested more time to consider of it. Quia, inquit, res videtur mihi tanto obscurior, quanto diutius eam considero. (Cicero, Nat. i. 60. Selectæ e Prof. i. 3.) --- "With thee (says St. Augustine, Confessions i. 6.) stand the causes of all instable things," &c. (Haydock) --- Those who are really wise, will therefore adore God’s judgments in silence, while the presumptuous will be forced to yield. This is the excellent conclusion of all that had been said. (Pineda) --- The sentence is beautiful, but ill-applied (Haydock) to Job. (Philip) See Proverbs iii. 7. (Haydock) --- He convinced the other three with sound arguments, "and this last and most arrogant disputant with silence." (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).

Men do therefore fear him; for this cause, to wit, because of God’s infinite and excellent perfections, and especially those mentioned in the foregoing verse, men do or should (for the future tense is oft used potentially, as Hebricians know) fear or reverence him, and humbly submit to him, and not presume to quarrel or dispute with him, as thou, O Job, hast done.

He respecteth not, Heb. he doth not, or will not behold, to wit, with respect or approbation; he beholdeth them afar off with scorn and contempt.

Any that are wise of heart, i. e. such as are wise in their own eyes, that lean to their own understandings, and despise all other men in comparison of themselves, and scorn all their counsels; that are so puffed up with the opinion of their own wisdom, that they dare contend with their Maker, and presume to censure his counsels and actions; which he hereby intimates to be Job’s fault, and to be the true reason why God did not respect nor regard him, nor his prayers and tears, as Job complained. And so this is also a tacit advice and exhortation to Job to be humble and little ill his own eyes, if ever he expected or desired any favour from God.

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

24. He respecteth not — He regardeth not, (or, as nothing — Schultens,) any of the wise of heart. “who seem to themselves to be wise.” (Vulgate.) The self-conceited wisdom of men is beneath the contempt of God. Even “the foolishness of God is wiser than men.” 1Co_1:25-29. The dispute, so long protracted, ends in the nothingness of man. Human wisdom, that flaunted high pretensions, trails in the dust. The murmuring and rebellious sufferer, who but a little before defied man and questioned God, is now abashed into silence, and by his silence acknowledges the justice of Elihu’s reasoning and rebuke, (comp. Job_6:24,) so that now naught remains but the divine disclosure, which Job has every reason to apprehend.

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

Men do therefore fear him; or, let men therefore fear him. Let them see in his unsearchableness, his almighty power, his absolute moral perfection, and his superiority to all human questioning, ample grounds for the profoundest reverence and fear. And let them remember that he respecteth not any that are wise of heart. However "wise of heart" men may be, God does not "respect" them, at any rate to the extent of submitting his conduct to their judgment, and answering their questionings (see ver. 20).

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

Fear - Fear or reverence him, and humbly submit to him, and not presume to quarrel or dispute with him. Wise of heart - Wise in their own eyes.

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

Therefore, men fear Him to debate with Him. (because) He does not look upon any wise of heart who want to deal wisely with Him, because their wisdom is as nothing in His eyes. Our Sages (Rosh Hashanah 17a) explained this as referring to Job. Elihu says to him, “Because you would impose excessive fear upon your generation, you did not merit having wise-hearted sons remain alive to you.”

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.