Job 8:19

Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man,.... A sincere, upright, good man; one that is truly gracious; who, though he is not "perfect" in himself, yet in Christ; and though not with respect to sanctification, which is as yet imperfect in him, yet with respect to justification, being perfectly justified by the righteousness of Christ, and all his sins pardoned for his sake: such an one God will never "cast away"; not out of his sight, being engraven on the palms of his hands, nor out of his heart's love; or will not "loath" (r) him, as the Targum, or reject him with abhorrence and contempt; he will not cast him out of his covenant, which is ordered in all things and sure; nor out of the hands of his son, where he has put him, and from whence none can pluck; nor out of his family, where the son abides for ever; or so as to perish eternally, this would be contrary to his love, to his foreknowledge, and to his covenant; so far is he from it, that he has the greatest regard for such, delights in them, admits thereto nearness to himself, sets them as a seal on his heart, keeps them as the apple of his eye, and preserves them safe to his kingdom and glory:

neither will he help the evil doers; meaning, not everyone that does evil, or sins, but such who live in sin, make a trade of sinning, are frequent and constant in the commission of it; such God will not help, or "take by the hand" (s), in order to deliver from evil, as Gersom observes; to help them out of mischief and trouble their sins have brought upon them; or to strengthen them, support and uphold them, in their present circumstances, and much less so as to admit them to fellowship and communion with him: these words, with what follow, are Bildad's conclusion upon the sayings and sentiments of the ancients, which may be supposed, and are thought by some, to end at the preceding Job 8:19.

(r) "abominatur", Vatablus; "aversatur", Beza, Mercerus, Drusius, Piscator. (s) "nec apprehendit manum", Pagninus, Vatablus, Mercerus, Piscator, Cocceius, Michaelis.

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

Job 8:19 Behold, this [is] the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow.

Ver. 19. Behold, this is the joy of his way] q.d. A goodly joy! sure the hypocrite’s joy is but the hypocrisy of joy, a little counterfeit complexion, like a slight dash of rain, a handful of brushwood, or sear thorn under the pot, Ecc 7:6, or as weeds that grow on the top of the water, floating aloft, but touch not the bottom. Though it be an exulting joy (as the word signifieth), a leaping joy (such as is that of dogs leaping upon their masters returning home after a journey, Ut canes solent quando peregre advenienti domino adulantur), yet it is not lasting: it goes out as a snuff, or as a blazing star, or at best as the fire of thorns, Psa 118:12. Yea, though for the time it hath been so great that if it had continued but a while it would have overwhelmed them, so that their spirits would have expired, as some apostates have professed; they have thought themselves in heaven sometimes, and have rejoiced accordingly, ουδεν δε π ροσποιητον υονιμον (Naz.).

And out of the earth shall others grow] Alii qui alieni erunt ab eo (Drus.). Others who had no relation to him shall succeed him, enjoy his estate, and eat the sweet of all his labours, Job 27:16-17 Ecc 2:18; Ecc 4:8 Pro 12:3, "A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved." See another sense of this, and the three foregoing verses, Job 8:18.

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 8:19. Behold, this is the joy of his way — Or, rather, This is the way of his joy: it all ends in this: this is the issue of his flourishing state. He falls into heavy calamities, from which he can never deliver himself again. And out of the earth shall others grow — Out of the same earth or place shall other trees arise. Heath reads the verse, Behold him now; destruction is his path; and strangers out of the dust shall spring up in his room. In other words, The wicked come speedily to an end, and strangers with whom they had no affinity come in to possess what they had gathered up, in expectation of making their name and family endure a long time.

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

To be planted in another place, where it may grow at pleasure.

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

Bitter irony. The hypocrite boasts of joy. This then is his "joy" at the last.

and out of the earth--others immediately, who take the place of the man thus punished; not godly men (Mat 3:9). For the place of the weeds is among stones, where the gardener wishes no plants. But, ungodly; a fresh crop of weeds always springs up in the place of those torn up: there is no end of hypocrites on earth [UMBREIT].

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 19. Behold this is the joy of his way] A strong irony. Here is the issue of all his mirth, of his sports, games, and pastimes! See the unfeeling, domineering, polluting and polluted scape-grace, levelled with those whom he had despised, a servant of servants, or unable to work through his debaucheries, cringing for a morsel of bread, or ingloriously ending his days in that bane of any well-ordered and civilized state, a parish workhouse. This also I have most literally witnessed.

Out of the earth shall others gross.] As in the preceding case, when one plant or tree is blasted or cut down, another may be planted in the same place; so, when a spendthrift has run through his property, another possesses his inheritance, and grows up from that soil in which he himself might have continued to flourish, had it not been for his extravagance and folly.

This verse Mr. Good applies to GOD himself, with no advantage to the argument, nor elucidation of the sense, that I can see. I shall give his translation, and refer to his learned notes for his vindication of the version he has given: -

"Behold the Eternal (הוא) exulting in his course;

Even over his dust shall raise up another."

In this way none of the ancient versions have understood the passage. I believe it to be a strong irony, similar to that which some think flowed from the pen of the same writer: Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth; and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes. But know thou, that for all these God will bring thee into judgment; Ec 11:9. These two places illustrate each other.

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

19. joy of his way] way may be “fate,” as often, and the words would be ironical; or “way” may be “course of life”—so ends what was to him the joy of his course of life.

shall others grow] Or, do others grow. Who the others are or what quality they are of is not the point, which is that his place is occupied by others as if he had never been. He leaves no trace, no blank, and no memory.

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.

Behold, this is the joy of his way - This is evidently sarcastic. “Lo! such is the joy of his course! He boasts of joy, as all hypocrites do, but his joy endures only for a little time. This is the end of it. He is cut down and removed, and the earth and the heavens disown him!”

And out of the earth shall others grow - This image is still derived from the tree or plant. The meaning is, that such a plant would be taken away, and that others would spring up in its place which the earth would not be ashamed of. So the hypocrite is removed to make way for others who will be sincere, and who will be useful. Hypocrites and useless people in the church are removed to make way for others who will be active and devoted to the cause of the Redeemer. A similar sentiment occurs in Job 27:16-17. This closes, as I suppose, the quotation which Bildad makes from the poets of the former age, and in the remainder of the chapter he states another truth pertaining to the righteous. This fragment is one of the most interesting that can be found any where. As a relic of the earliest times it is exceedingly valuable; as an illustration of the argument in hand; and of the course of events in this world, it is eminently beautiful. It is as true now as it was when uttered before the flood, and may be used now as describing the doom of the hypocrite, with as much propriety as then, and it may be regarded as one of the way-marks in human affairs, showing that the government of God, and the manner of his dispensations, are always substantially the same.

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

Joy. Septuagint, "the catastrophe of the wicked, for another shall spring," &c. Haydock)

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).

This is the joyful and happy issue of the flourishing course, state, and condition (which is frequently called a way) of this tree, or of the hypocrite, manifestly represented by it, and expressed Job 8:13. It is a sarcasm or irony, and is to be understood contrariwise of his sad and unhappy end.

Out of the earth shall others grow, i.e. out of the same earth or place shall another tree grow; which could not be if there had been but a stump of it left, though under ground. So it notes the total extirpation of the tree, and of the hypocrite, that his person and all his children and family shall be utterly extinct, and so a stranger shall come into his place, and enjoy the fruit of his labours. But the words are and may be otherwise rendered very agreeably to the Hebrew text, and out of other ground they (i.e. plants or trees, of which he is here speaking) shall grow, or others shall grow, or plants shall grow; the noun being contained in the verb. So the sense is, This tree shall be rooted up, and the very ground of it so cursed, that nothing shall grow or thrive in it; but other ground shall be fruitful, and other trees that stood round about it shall stand still and flourish in their places. His design in all this is to prove Job to be a hypocrite, because he meets with their lot, which is total destruction.

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

19. The joy of his way — Deeply ironical. With a touch the poet discloses hidden deeps of misery and of doom.

Shall others grow — אחר, another, used collectively. One crop of weeds is followed by another. The law of nature in the moral world is not the boasted law of science — “the selection of the best;” for, without the hand of the tiller, the worse overpowers the better. The wheat soon succumbs before the tares. One generation of evil doers is followed by “another and another.” In the protracted struggle between good and evil, evil alone has power to perpetuate itself. It may never come to pass that a generation of the godly shall bring forth a like godly generation. Of the hundred generations that have already lived, each one has been evil. Dark is the mystery. The labourer for God, like the sower in the parable, must toil on against fearful odds, knowing that with each generation be must begin anew.

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

Behold, this is the joy of his way. Bitterly ironical This is what his rapid and rampant greenery comes to; this is how his triumphant career ends! Utter destruction, disappearance, obliteration! And out of the earth shall others grow. The destruction leaves room for something better to follow a sounder, healthier, and less short-lived growth.

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

Behold - This is the issue of the flourishing state. This all his joy comes to. And, &c. - Out of the same earth or place shall another tree grow.

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

this is the "joy" of such a person's behavior

Bildad is speaking with irony to express that there is not any real joy for the godless person. AT: "this is all the joy they will receive from their godless actions" (See: Irony)

other plants will sprout out of the same soil in his place

Bildad continues the metaphor from Job 08:16-18. Other godless people are spoken of as plants who take the place of the first godless man when he dies. AT: "when one wicked man dies, another will take his place" (See: Metaphor)

sprout

"grow"

the same soil

"the rocky ground" or "the garden"

in his place

"in the place of the godless man"

God will not cast away an innocent man

This can be stated in positive form. AT: "God will accept an innocent man"

neither will he take the hand of evildoers

Here "take the hand" refers to help or support. AT: "God will not support people who do evil things" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

joy

God

cast out

innocent

evildoer

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

Behold this is the joy of his way Of the wicked man, for all his joy and also his success will end up without hope.

and from the earth, others will spring forth And people who were until now bent down to the ground will spring forth.

others Another man will spring forth to receive the greatness of this one, as we find (Eccles. 2:26): “and to the sinner He has given the task...” Therefore, you should know about yourself, if you were wicked, you will not rise after your downfall. If you were innocent...

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.