Job 5:14

Job 5:14 They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night.

Ver. 14. They meet with darkness in the daytime] They are infatuated and besotted; a spirit of giddiness seizeth them; ita ut in re clarissima destituantur prudentia, saith Vatablus, so that they cannot discern things that are evident and clear as the sun at noon day; they have light without, but want light within; they lack discretion and judgment to do for the best: this was threatened, Deu 28:29, and accordingly fulfilled upon those blind Pharisees, as our Saviour often calleth them, and now upon that whole nation, Rom 11:18 2Co 3:14. Since they crucified the Lord of glory, they never prospered in anything they uudertook, neither will they be driven out of that fool’s paradise of a sublime dotage whereinto they have long since wrought themselves: They had bribed our William Rufus to hear them and favour them in a disputation against the Christians; but they lost the day, and their money together. Rabbi Judah, surnamed The holy, was intimate with Antoninus Plus, the emperor, and thought to have proselyted him but it would not be. Rabbi David Reubenita and Rabbi Solomon Molchu set upon Charles V, in the year of grace 1530, to convert him to Judaism, but with ill success; for they were presently imprisoned, and shortly after executed, Rabbi Solomon at Mantua, and Rabbi David in Spain. How they are benighted in their expositions of Scripture, troubling those clear fountains with their ridiculous conceits and foolish fables, I need not relate. Neither are many of the Popish interpreters (as they will be accounted) much wiser, being judicially blinded, given over to an injudicious mind, Rom 1:28, to the efficacy of error, 2Th 2:11, so that

They grope at noonday, as in the night] They have neither light nor sight left them, and this by a just hand of God upon them, because they closed up their eyes lest they should see, Act 28:27, they would not receive the love of the truth, 2Th 2:10. Therefore now it is hid from their eyes, and the light that is in them is darkness. Women and children see further into the mysteries of religion, than many of these learned doctors, these idol shepherds; God’s sword being upon their arm, and upon their right eye, Zec 11:17, that is, both upon their power and policy, so that they are like owls, that can see better in the dark than in the light; and like moles, that dig dexterously underground, but are blind above ground, neither do they ever open their eyes till the pangs of death are upon them.

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.

In things plain and evident they show themselves fools instead of wise men.

This declareth that God punisheth the worldly wise, as he threatened, Deut. 28:29.

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

Judicial blindness often is sent upon keen men of the world (Deu 28:29; Isa 59:10; Joh 9:39).

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 14. They meet with darkness in the daytime] God confounds them and their measures; and, with all their cunning and dexterity, they are outwitted, and often act on their own projects, planned with care and skill, as if they had been the crudest conceptions of the most disordered minds. They act in noonday as if the sun were extinct, and their eyes put out. Thus does God "abate their pride, assuage their malice, and confound their devices."

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

(14) Darkness in the daytime.—This is possibly an allusion to the Egyptian plague of darkness “that may be felt” (Exo_10:21), as the words used are similar. This may be a note of probable date. (Compare Isa_59:10, where the thoughts correspond, but the words differ.) This is one of the many passages of Job in which there seems to be an indication of some acquaintance with the events related in the Pentateuch, though the points of contact are too slight for us to be quite sure of it.

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

14. A picture of the perplexity and bewilderment of those crafty men whose counsels God has come athwart, Job_5:13.

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.

They meet with darkness in the daytime,.... Which may denote their infatuation in things the most plain and clear, and which are obvious to everyone's view, even to such as are of much meaner capacities the themselves; and so it sometimes is, that the greatest politicians, men of the greatest sagacity and penetration, capable of forming and conducting the wisest counsels, yet blunder in things plain and easy to everyone; which must be imputed to their being given up to a judicial blindness of mind by the Lord, who destroys the wisdom of the wise, and brings to nothing the understanding of the prudent; or this may signify the defeat of their counsels, when they are in the highest pitch of esteem among men, as Ahithophel's counsel was as the oracle of God; or the destruction of such persons and their schemes when they are in the meridian of their glory, who being in high and slippery places, come to desolation in a moment:

and grope in the noon day as in the night; which intends the same as before; this was threatened to the Jews in case of disobedience, and was fulfilled in them, Deu 28:29; a learned man renders it, "as the night they grope", or "feel, at noon day" (t); as the Egyptians felt darkness when it was noon, and when light was in all the dwellings of the Israelites, Exo 10:22; this may be applied to the case of many in a land of Gospel light, who are in darkness, walk in darkness, and are darkness itself; though the light of the glorious Gospel shines all around them on others, and know no more of divine and spiritual things than the Gentiles, but grope or feel about like persons blind, and in the dark as much as they, Act 17:27; nay, they not only have the great things of the Gospel hid from them, and Satan blinds their minds lest this light should shine into them, but "they run into darkness" (u), as the words of the first clause may be rendered; those "lucifugae", such as the Jews were, and the Deists now are run from the light of divine revelation, and love darkness, and which is the aggravation of their condemnation, Joh 3:19.

(t) "tanquam noctum palpant", Schultens. (u) "incurrent", V. L. "incurrunt", Vatablus, Mercerus.

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

They meet with darkness in the day-time - Margin, “run into;” compare the notes at Isa 59:10. The sense is, that where there is really no obstacle to the accomplishment of an honest plan - any more than there is for a man to walk in the day-time - they become perplexed and embarrassed, as much as a man would be, should sudden darkness come around him at mid-day. The same sentiment occurs in Job 12:25. A life of honesty and uprightness will be attended with prosperity, but a man who attempts to carry his plans by trick and art, will meet with unexpected embarrassments. The sentiment in all these expressions is, that God embarrasses the cunning, the crafty, and the artful, but gives success to those who are upright; and that, therefore, he is worthy of confidence.

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

i.e. In plain things they run into gross mistakes and errors, and commonly choose those counsels and courses which are worst for themselves.

Darkness oft notes misery, but here ignorance or error, as it is also used Job 12:25; 37:19, and elsewhere.

Grope, like blind men to find their way, not knowing what to do.

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

14. They meet with darkness — They stumble against darkness. — GESENIUS, Thesaurus. A judicial visitation. They were deemed sharp-sighted among men. God sends upon them thick darkness.

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

They meet with darkness in the daytime. (comp Deu_28:29 and Isa_59:10) The metaphor expresses the bewilderment of the crafty, when they find their schemes foiled, and all their subtlety of no avail. Suddenly their light goes out; they know not what to do, or which way to turn; "their way is hid"; (Job_3:23) they are baffled, perplexed, confounded. And grope in the noonday as in the night. (comp. Job_12:25) A variant form of the preceding hemistich.

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

Meet - In plain things they run into gross mistakes, and chuse those courses which are worst for themselves. Darkness often notes misery, but here ignorance or error. Grope - Like blind men to find their way, not knowing what to do.

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

General Information:

The writer continues to use parallelism in each verse, conveying a single idea using two different statements to emphasize how God debases those who are cunning and saves those who are poor. (See: Parallelism)

They encounter darkness in the daytime

Here the cunning, wicked people whom God confuses are spoken of as if they unexpectedly are in the dark at noon, when the sun is at its highest position in the sky. They cannot do anything they wish to do, because they cannot see. AT: "Those who are cunning are in the dark, even at noontime" (See: Metaphor)

grope

feel around like a blind person

noonday

the middle of the day, when the sun is highest and brightest

But he saves the poor person from the sword in their mouths

Here the insulting and threatening things that people say are spoken of as if they were a sword in their mouths. AT: "But he saves the poor person from the threats of the mighty" or "But he saves the poor person when the mighty threaten or insult them" (See: Metaphor)

injustice shuts her own mouth

People who say unjust things are spoken of as if they were the injustice itself, who must stop speaking. AT: "It is as though injustice shut her own mouth" (See: Personification)

translationWords

darkness

save

sword

hand

might

hope

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

By day, they meet darkness For their counsel is not executed nor accomplished, and the light of their wisdom is converted to darkness.

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.