Job 8:2

Job 8:2 How long wilt thou speak these [things]? and [how long shall] the words of thy mouth [be like] a strong wind?

Ver. 2. How long wilt thou speak these things?] Quousque effaberis ista. q.d. Hast thou nothing better than this to utter? (Tremel.) Be silent for shame, or forbear at least to vent thy spleen against God, of whose proceedings with thee thou hast heavily complained; thy words have been stout against the Lord, and thou hast taken too much liberty of language in this tempest of talk.

And how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind?] Big and boisterous, rude and robustuous, as if thou wouldst Dominum impetere, evertere, et deiecere, blow down God and his proceedings at a breath (Mercer). The Tigurine translation is, Quandiu verba oris sui sonabunt pertinaciam? How long shall the words of thy mouth sound out thine obstinacy? If evil thoughts be maioris reatus, of greater guilt, as the schools speak; yet evil words and works are maioris infamiae, of greater scandal, and do more corrupt others. This Bildad was sensible of, and conceiving that Job complained of God as dealing hardly with him, and unjustly afflicting him, he addeth,

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 8:2. How long wilt thou speak these things? &c. — Why dost thou persist to talk in this manner? and why are thy words thus vehement? As a strong wind which overturns all things without any moderation, and suffers nothing else to be heard, so thy boisterous and violent words will not permit the voice of truth and wisdom to be heard.

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

The first strophe — THE COURSE OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE DISPLAYS THE JUSTICE OF GOD, Job_8:2-7.

a. Since God cannot pervert the right, the death of Job’s children shows that they must have sinned, Job_8:2-4.

2. A strong wind — Omit like. A common figure with poets. The irony of Aristophanes furnishes a good comment: “A whirlwind of words is preparing to burst forth.” Job’s words are also boisterous, but none the less empty.

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

8:2 How long? Bildad’s question might be an ironic parody of Job’s question in 7:19.

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

He declareth that their words which would diminish anything from the justice of God, is but as a puff of wind that vanisheth away.

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

Verse 2. How long wilt thou speak these things?] Wilt thou still go on to charge God foolishly? Thy heavy affliction proves that thou art under his wrath; and his wrath, thus manifested, proves that it is for thy sins that he punisheth thee.

Be like a strong wind?] The Arabic, with which the Syriac agrees, is [Syriac] rucholazomati, the spirit of pride. Wilt thou continue to breathe forth a tempest of words? This is more literal.

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

Doth God pervert judgment?.... In his dealings with men in the way of his providence; no, he does not; here Bildad opposes himself to Job, who he thought had charged God with injustice in dealing with him, and his children, in the manner he had done: the same thing is intended in the following question:

or doth the Almighty pervert justice? for judgment and justice are the same, and often go together in Scripture, as being done either by God or men, when righteousness is executed by them, and this is never perverted by the Lord; there is no unrighteousness in him, neither in his nature, nor in his ways and works, either of providence or of grace; he is the Judge of all the earth, that does and will do right; to subvert a man in his cause, he approves not of in others, and will never do it himself; to justify the wicked, and condemn the just, are both an abomination to him, and therefore neither of these can ever be thought to be done by him; for though he justifies the ungodly, he does not justify their ungodliness, nor them in it, but from it, and that by the perfect righteousness of his Son; whereby the law is fulfilled, and justice satisfied, and so he is just while he is the justifier of him that believes in Jesus; though he is gracious and merciful, he is also righteous, and will not clear the guilty, or pardon sin without satisfaction to his justice; and such as are truly just or righteous, he never condemns here or hereafter; he may afflict them, but he delivers them out of their afflictions, nor are they ever forsaken by him; and, on the contrary, he punishes wicked men in this world, and in that to come, as he has the angels that sinned, the old world, Sodom and Gomorrah, and many others, and all wicked men will be punished with everlasting destruction; yea, even so strict is his punitive justice, that the sins of his own people being laid and found on his Son as their surety, he has most severely punished him for them; he awoke the sword of justice against him, spared him not, but delivered him to death for us all; and though he forgives the iniquities of his children, he takes vengeance on their inventions, and chastises them for their sins, that they may not be condemned with the world; and, on the other hand, he is not unrighteous to forget their work and labour of love, which he rewards in a way of grace, as well as it is a righteous thing with him to render tribulation to them that trouble them: the righteousness of God is known by the judgments he executes on wicked men, and especially will be manifest in his judgments on antichrist; and though the justice of God in the course of his providence, in some instances, may not now be so clear, his judgments will be made manifest, and especially at the great day of judgment, when everything shall be brought to account, and God will judge the world in righteousness; all which, we may be assured of, is and will be executed by him, from the consideration of his nature and perfections, and particularly from the name he goes by in this passage, being El, the mighty God, who is able to save and to destroy, to save the righteous, and destroy the wicked; and is Shaddai, all sufficient, stands in need of nothing; nor can he receive anything that is not his own, and therefore incapable of being bribed to the perversion of justice and judgment.

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

How long wilt thou speak these things? - The flyings of murmuring and complaint, such as he had uttered in the previous chapters.

The words of thy mouth be like a strong wind? - The Syriac and Arabic (according to Walton) render this, “the spirit of pride fill thy mouth.” The Septuagint renders it, “The spirit of thy mouth is profuse of words” - πολυῤῥῆμον polurrēmon. But the common rendering is undoubtedly correct, and the expression is a very strong and beautiful one. His language of complaint and murmuring was like a tempest. It swept over all barriers, and disregarded all restraint. The same figure is found in Aristophanes, Ran. 872, as quoted by Schultens, Τυφὼς ἐχβαίειν παρασκενάξεται Tuphōs ekbainein paraskeuacetai - a tempest of words is preparing to burst forth. And in Silius Italicus, xxi. 581:

- qui tanta superbo

Facta sonas ore, et spumanti turbine perflas

Ignorantum aures.

The Chaldee renders it correctly רבא זעפא - a great tempest.

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

How long. He seems tired with hearing, (Haydock) and accuses Job of want of moderation, representing him as a hypocrite, (Calmet) and an obstinate defender of his own opinion, against the better judgment of Eliphaz; (Menochius) though he was in reality only a constant asserter of truth. (Worthington)

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).

i.e. Boisterous and violent, swelling and furious, opposing all persons and things that stand in thy way, not sparing either God or men.

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

How long wilt thou speak these things? An exclamation like that of Cicero, "Quousque tandem?" One or two outbreaks might be pardoned; but to persist was to abuse the patience of his hearers. And how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind? literally, be a strong wind; i.e. have all the bluster and vehemence of a tempest, which seeks to carry everything before it by sheer force and fury. The address is rude and unsympathetic.

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

Strong wind - Boisterous and violent.

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

Bildad’s Addressa mighty wind Many words.

mighty Heb. כביר, an expression of multiplicity.

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.