Job 6:27

Job 6:27 Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig [a pit] for your friend.

Ver. 27. Yea, you overwhelm the fatherless] Heb. Ye throw yourselves upon the fatherless, that is, upon miserable me, who am helpless, friendless, comfortless: see Gen 43:18, that he may roll himself upon us, say they there, as hunters and wild beasts fall upon their prey.

And you dig a pit for your friend] Who had better deserved of you, and expected better usage from you. Here he taxeth them for craft, as before for cruelty, and this to his friend, whom they sought to circumvent, and to drive into desperation. Some read the words thus, You make a feast upon your friend; you banquet upon your companion, and make great cheers, being glad of my calamity, which you make an argument of mine impiety. See Job 41:6 2Ki 6:23.

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 6:27. Ye overwhelm the fatherless — Your words are not only vain, useless, and uncomfortable to me, but also grievous and pernicious. Hebrew, תפילו, tappilu, you rush, or throw yourselves upon him. You fall upon him with all your might, and say all that you can devise to charge and grieve him. You load him with censures and calumnies. The word יתום, jathom, here rendered fatherless, means a solitary person in distress, as well as an orphan; or one desolate. Job intends himself by the expression, being deprived of all his children, and of all his estate, and forsaken by his friends. And you dig a pit for your friend — You insult and triumph over me, whom once you owned for your friend. I spoke all I thought, as to my friends, and you from thence take occasion to cast me down. There is nothing in the Hebrew for the word pit: it is literally, You dig for your friend; or as Heath and Houbigant render it, make a mock of your friend.

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

6:27 even send an orphan into slavery: Job, the former protector of orphans (31:17, 21), used a proverbial example of his counselors’ hard-heartedness toward the defenseless (see 17:5).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

literally, "ye cause" (supply, "your anger") [UMBREIT], a net, namely, of sophistry [NOYES and SCHUTTENS], to fall upon the desolate (one bereft of help, like the fatherless orphan);

and ye dig (a pit) for your friend--that is, try to ensnare him, to catch him in the use of unguarded language [NOYES]. (Psa 57:6); metaphor from hunters catching wild beasts in a pit covered with brushwood to conceal it. UMBREIT from the Syriac, and answering to his interpretation of the first clause, has, "Would you be indignant against your friend?" The Hebrew in Job 41:6, means to "feast upon." As the first clause asks, "Would you catch him in a net?" so this follows up the image, "And would you next feast upon him, and his miseries?" So the Septuagint.

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 27. Ye overwhelm the fatherless] Ye see that I am as destitute as the most miserable orphan; would ye overwhelm such a one? and would you dig a pit for your friend - do ye lay wait for me, and endeavour to entangle me in my talk? I believe this to be the spirit of Job's words.

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

(27) Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless.—Rather, probably, Ye would cast lots upon the fatherless, and make merchandise of your friend. This is more

in accordance with the language, and preserves the parallelism.

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

27. This verse probably reads,

Yea, ye would cast lots upon the fatherless,

And bargain over your friend.

A strong invective against their unfeeling behaviour. The words are severe; the preceding passage, however, in which their refusal of sympathy (Job_6:22-23), and their petty faultfinding with Job’s language (Job_6:25-26), are referred to, naturally leads up to the idea. The same phrase to cast lots occurs 1Sa_14:42, and the phrase, bargain over or make merchandise of, occurs again, Job_41:6 (Heb. 40:30), “will the partners bargain over him?” The “fatherless” is probably the child of the debtor. After his death the ruthless creditors cast lots for possession of the child as a slave.

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.

Now therefore be content,.... Or, "may it now please you" (f); Job addresses them in a respectful manner, and entreats them they would be so kind as to look favourably on him, and entertain better thoughts of him; and give a fresh and friendly hearing of his case, when he doubted not he should be acquitted by them of the charge of iniquity, and that his cause would appear to be a righteous one:

look upon me: upon my countenance; and see if you can find any traces of fear and falsehood, of dishonesty and hypocrisy, of shame and blushing; and observe if there is not all the appearance of an honest mind, of a good conscience within, that has nothing to fear from the strictest examination; or look upon my body, covered all over with boils and ulcers, and see if there is not occasion for those expressions of grief, and those heavy complaints that I have made; or rather, look upon me with an eye of pity and compassion, with affection, favour, and benevolence, and not bear so hard upon me:

for it is evident unto you if I lie; or, it is "before your faces" (g); should I attempt to deceive you by telling you a parcel of lies, you would soon discern the falsehood in my countenance; you would easily find it out in my words, which would issue in my shame and confusion; I could not expect to go undetected by men of such sagacity and penetration; but I am not afraid of the most diligent scrutiny that can be made into my words and actions.

(f) "sed nunc placeat vebis", Schmidt. (g) "coram facie vestra", Bolducius, Schultens; Ben Melech interprets it, "by your life if I lie", as being an oath.

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

Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless - Job undoubtedly means that this should be applied to himself. He complains that they took advantage of his words, that they were disposed to pervert his meaning, and unkindly distorted what he said. The word rendered” fatherless” יתום yâthôm properly denotes an orphan; Exo 22:22; Deu 10:18; Deu 14:29. But it is possible that it is not to be taken in this limited signification here. The word is still retained in the Arabic language - the language spoken in the country where Job lived, - where the word יתום yâthôm means to be lonely, bereaved, etc. It may be that this idea occurs under the form of the word used here, that Job was lonely and bereaved; that he was as desolate and helpless as a fatherless child; and especially that they manifested a spirit like that of those who would oppress an orphan. The word “overwhelm” תפילוּ tapı̂ylû means properly, “ye fall upon;” that is, you deal with him violently. Or, it may mean here, in the Hiphil, “you cause to fall upon,” referring to a net, and meaning, that they sprung a net for the orphan. So Rosenmuller and Noyes understand it. To do this was, in Oriental countries, regarded as a crime of special enormity, and is often so spoken of in the Bible; see the notes at Isa 1:17.

And ye dig a pit for your friend - You act toward your friend as hunters do toward wild beasts. They dig a pit and cover it over with brushwood to conceal it, and the hunted animal, deceived, falls into it unawares. So you endeavor to entrap your friend. You lay a plan for it. You conceal your design. You contrive to drive him into the pit that you have made, and urge him on until you have caught him in the use of unguarded language, or driven him to vent expressions that cover him with confusion. Instead of throwing a mantle of charity over his frailties and infirmities, you make the most of every word, take it out of its proper connection, and attempt to overwhelm him in shame and disgrace. On the method of hunting in ancient times, see the notes at –Job 18:8-10.

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

CHAPTER VI.

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).

Yea; your words are not only vain, and useless, and uncomfortable to me, but also grievous and pernicious.

Ye overwhelm, Heb. you rush or throw yourselves upon him. For words in hiphil are oft put reciprocally as Hebricians know. You fall upon him with all your might, and say all that you can devise to charge and grieve him. A metaphor from wild beasts, that fall upon their prey to hold it fast and devour it. You load him with censures and calumnies.

The fatherless, or, the desolate, i.e. me, who am deprived of all my dear children, and of all my estate; forsaken by my friends, and by my heavenly Father; which should have procured me your pity rather than your censure.

Ye dig a pit for your friend; or, you feed or feast (for so this Hebrew word is oft used, as 2Sa 3:35; 2Ki 6:23; Job 40:15) upon your friend, i.e. you insult and triumph over me whom sometimes you owned for your friend.

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

27. Overwhelm — Literally, Cause to fall upon, (as in the margin,) here used elliptically. Accordingly, most moderns render the clause, Ye would even cast lots for the fatherless, in allusion to a custom by which the prey was divided by lot. (See 1Sa_14:42; Jon_1:7.) This is the cruelest charge that Job makes. Carey, however, would supply the word net — and read, “ye spring a net.” The ancient Egyptians, as is still seen on the monuments, ensnared birds with a net. The former rendering is better.

Dig a pit — כרה. Karah, also bears the meaning of traffic; thus, Ye would traffic in your friend; (Ewald, Furst, etc.;) for instance, as the brethren of Joseph trafficked in him. (Comp. Job_41:6.) According to Hitzig, Job sees in his friends a firm conviction that he has been guilty of some unknown offense. In their uncertainty as to its nature they leave (he says) its determination to chance. Serious objections to this view lie on the surface. Hirtzel and Dillmann suggest a painful thought — that the traffic alluded to was in the children of deceased friends, who were sold into captivity to pay the debts of their fathers. (2Ki_4:1.) The reading of the English version is preferred by Rosenmuller and Gesenius. To the present day, among wild nations, the mode mentioned in the text is followed for entrapping wild beasts. The “pit” that has been dug is covered with brushwood and earth. The spot selected is on the wonted path of the animal. Even the elephant falls into such traps. Job, we think, does not mean by this harsh language to charge his friends with having perpetrated these acts; but that their treatment of him contained all the elements of such cruelty.

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

Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless; rather, on the fatherless would ye east lots. (comp. Joe_3:3 Oba_1:11 Nah_3:10) Job means to say they are so pitiless that they would cast lots for the children of an insolvent debtor condemned to become slaves at his death. (2Ki_4:1 Neh_5:5) And ye dig a pit for your friend; or, ye would make merchandise of your friend"as in the Revised Version. Job does not speak of what his friends had done, but of what he deems them capable of doing.

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

Overwhelm - You load with censures and calumnies. Desolate - Me who am deprived of all my children, my estate, and my friends. I spoke all I thought, as to my friends, and you thence occasion to cast me down.

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

You cast with your judgment, you cast wrath upon a poor man like me, with the line of judgment; and you dig a pit for your friend into which to cast him.

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.