Job 41:8

Job 41:8 Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.

Ver. 8. Lay thy hand upon him] Stroke him, clap him on the back, and see if that way thou canst win upon him, since by force thou canst not catch and kill him. Or draw near and offer but the least violence to him if thou darest, and he will quickly make thee repent it; so that thou wilt have little joy either to flatter him or to fight it out with him, for he will be the death of thee.

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.

b. If Job by no means dare to stand before the creature, how dare he appear before the Creator, prating of his rights, and urging preposterous claims upon a Being who has received nothing from man, and is, therefore, untrammelled by obligaions; but who is, on the contrary, the sole proprietor of all things, Job_41:8-11. “In these two questions, Who am I? and Who art thou? is expressed the ruling thought of the Almighty’s discourses.” — Hengstenberg.

8. Do no more — The Hebrew may be rendered either as an imperative or as a second person singular. He who enters alone upon an encounter with this monster will not care to try it again.

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

If thou lay . . . thou wilt have reason ever to remember . . . and thou wilt never try it again.

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 8. Lay thine hand upon him?] Mr. Heath translates, "Be sure thou strike home. Mind thy blow: rely not upon a second stroke." Mr. Good translates: -

"Make ready thy hand against him.

Dare the contest: be firm."

He is a dangerous animal; when thou attackest him, be sure of thy advantage; if thou miss, thou art ruined. Depend not on other advantages, if thou miss the first. Kill him at once, or he will kill thee.

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

(8) Remember the battle.—“Bear in mind what thou dost attempt, and thou wilt not do it again.”

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

8. The verse is ironical,

Lay thine hand upon him!

Think of the battle: thou shalt do so no more.

The last words, thou shalt do so no more (so the Geneva), refer to the ironical advice given in the first clause, “lay thine hand upon him”! The thought of the “battle,” that is, the conflict, will be sufficient to deter from any attempt to renew it.

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.

Lay thine hand upon him,.... If thou canst or darest. It is dangerous so to do, either to the whale or crocodile;

remember the battle; or "look for war", as Mr. Broughton renders it; expect a fight will ensue, in which thou wilt have no share with this creature:

do no more; if thou canst by any means escape, take care never to do the like again; or thou wilt never do so any more, thou wilt certainly die for it.

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

Lay thine hand upon him - Prof. Lee renders this, very improperly, as it seems to me, “Lay thine hand on thy mouth respecting him,” supposing it means that he should be awed into silence by dread of the animal referred to. But the meaning of the passage evidently is, “Endeavor to seize him by laying the hand on him, and you will soon desist from the fearful conflict, and will not renew it.”

Remember the battle - Remember what a fearful conflict will ensue. Perhaps there is an allusion to some fact fresh in the mind of Job, where such an attempt had been made to secure the leviathan, attended with fearful disaster to those who had made the attempt.

Do no more - Or, rather, “Thou wilt not do it again.” That is, he would be deterred from ever renewing the attempt, or the conflict would be fatal to him.

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

Lay thine hand upon him; either,

1. In a familiar and friendly manner, that thou mayst catch him by deceit, when thou canst not do it by force. Or rather,

2. In way of hostility, seize upon him and take him by a strong hand, if thou darest do so.

Remember the battle; but ere thou do attempt that, consider what thou art doing, and how hazardous thy enterprise is, and with whom and with what disadvantage thou art going to fight, and, as it follows, do no more, proceed no further, draw back thy hand, and be thankful for so great a deliverance. Or the verse may be rendered thus, If (which particle is oft understood) thou offerest or attemptest to lay violent hands on him, thou wilt have cause to remember (the imperative being put for the future, which is frequent in the Hebrew language) the battle, and thou wilt do so no more; if thou dost escape, thou wilt never forget thy danger, nor attempt any thing of like nature for the time to come.

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

Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more. This is again ironical, like vers. 3-6. "Only just put forth thy hand against him bethink thee of war do it once and no more." (comp. Rosenmuller, "Scholia in Jobum," p. 976). The idea is that once will be enough. A man will not live to do it a second time.

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

Lay - Seize upon him, if thou darest. Battle - But ere thou attempt it consider what thou art doing, and with whom, thou art going to fight. Do no more - Proceed no farther, draw back thy hand.

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