Job 40:12

Job 40:12 Look on every one [that is] proud, [and] bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place.

Ver. 12. Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low] This God doeth, Isa 2:11-12; Isa 2:17; Isa 5:15. The builders of Babel, Pharaoh, Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Herod, Dioclesian, Attilas, and others, for instances. Amurath III, king of Turks, in the pride of his heart, styled himself, God of the earth, governor of the whole world, the messenger of God, and faithful servant of the great prophet. This proud prince was slain by a half dead Christian soldier, who, coming to crave his life of him after a battle, stabbed him in the bottom of his belly with a short dagger, of which wound that king and conqueror presently died. {See Trapp on "Job 40:11"} (Turk. Hist.).

And tread down the wicked in their place] Heb. under them; lay them as low as may be. God putteth away all the wicked of the earth as dross, he treads them, as vile things, under his feet, Psa 110:1, till they bethink themselves, and humble their souls at his feet for mercy; for then he will make the place of his feet glorious, as he promiseth, Isa 60:13; and as, Exo 24:10, they saw uuder God’s feet, as it were, a paved work of sapphire stone; to show that he had now changed their condition, the bricks made in their bondage into sapphire. See Isa 54:11.

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.

proud--high (Dan 4:37).

in their place--on the spot; suddenly, before they can move from their place. (See on Job 34:26; Job 36:20).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

12. in their place] That is, where they stand; suddenly and on the spot, comp. ch. Job_34:26.

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.

Look on everyone that is proud, and bring him low,.... As the Lord often does; see Isa 2:11; this is the same as before;

and tread down the wicked in their place; the same with the proud, for pride makes men wicked; it is a sin, and very odious in the sight of God, and is highly resented by him; he resists the proud: now Job is bid, when he has brought proud men low, and laid their honour in the dust, to keep them there, to trample upon them, and tread them as mire in the street; and that in their own place, or wherever he should find them; the Septuagint render it "immediately"; see Isa 28:3.

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

And tread down the wicked in their place - Even in the very place where they are, crush them to the dust, as God can. It is implied that God was able to do this, and he appeals to it as a proof of his power.

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

Tail, which is very small, and without hair. (Calmet) --- Vavassor rather thinks "the trunk" is meant. (Du Hamel)

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).

Either,

1. Wheresoever they are. Or,

2. Where they are in their greatest strength and glory, and therefore are most secure and confident. Or,

3. Forthwith, upon the spot, that the quickness and immediateness of the strike may discover that it comes from a Divine hand.

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

12. In their place — Same as Job_36:20. See note.

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

Vers. 12, 13. Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret. The idea of ver. 11 is still further insisted on. Lot Job manifest himself as a power among men, if he cannot rival God in nature. Let him set the world to rights. Then he may claim to be heard with respect to the moral government of God.

The humiliation of the proud.

The idea is something like this: If Job can sit as a judge over what God does, he ought to be able to take God"s judgment-seat and execute justice among men. But can he do this? Can he humiliate the proud? If he is incapable of this act of justice, how small a creature he is before the great God who raises up and casts down!

I THE HUMILIATION OF THE PROUD IS GREATLY NEEDED, This particular act of justice is singled out as though it were pre-eminent in importance. It is important on many accounts.

1. For the sake of the proud. Pride is ruinous to the heart in which it has taken up its abode, eating up the better feelings and preparing for the incoming of other sins. The only hope for a proud man is that he should be brought low, and so emptied of self.

2. For the sake of others. The proud spirit is domineering. Pride is at the root of tyranny. If men are to have their rights, the pride of the exalted must be brought down.

3. For God"s sake. Pride is an insult to God, a usurpation of the Divine rights and honours. Before God man is small, weak, sinful. His only titling condition is one of humility and complete self-abasement in the sight of Heaven.

II THE HUMILIATION OF THE PROUD IS MOST DIFFICULT TO ACCOMPLISH, Can Job do this? It is not to be supposed that he can. Pride is doubly strong.

1. In its own character. It is of the nature of pride to induce self-confidence. Even while the world is pointing the finger of scorn at the proud man, he wraps himself in the mantle of his own self-importance, and despises contempt. Here is a great difference between pride and vanity, for vanity is easily cast down, because it lives on the admiration of the world, while pride is self-contained, and may be most intense when it is least honoured.

2. In its circumstances. There are poor and unfortunate proud men. But, as a rule, success and power are the temptations to pride. Thus the proud man is entrenched behind his good fortune, and he uses all the means that prosperity has given him to defend his position.

III THE HUMILIATION OF THE PROUD IS BROUGHT ABOUT BY GOD. This is most decidedly a Divine work. It is beyond the reach of Job or of any man. God humbles pride:

1. By his power. The proud man is helpless before his Maker. His resources are as poverty itself, and all his self-importance is but childish pretence. God lifts up the lowly, and sets down the mighty with a word.

2. In his justice. Man"s pride is not attacked simply because God is jealous of it, but because it is an evil thing. An insult to God, an injury to man, it needs to be cast out in order that a right spirit of humility and obedience may take the place of it.

3. For the sake of his love. God humbles the proud man because he loves him. The abasement is not a vindictive act, but a merciful preparation for salvation. The goodness of God leads him to cast down all pretence and self-importance, so that he may raise up a new and more stable structure of solid merit in place of these empty shows. The proud but useless forest is cleared that the precious grain of wheat may be sown in its place. God cuts down man"s pride to make room for Christ"s grace. 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.

their faces

The "face" represents the whole person. AT: "them" (See: Synecdoche)

the hidden place

a euphemism for the place where people's spirits go when they die (See: Euphemism)

translationWords

trample

evil

bury

face

right hand

save

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

and crush Heb. והדך, an expression of (Num. 11:8), “or crushed (דכו) it in mortars.”

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.