Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 9:22

This [is] one [thing], therefore I said [it], He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.

22. This verse reads,

It is all one, therefore I say,

He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked,

that is, indiscriminately. Here there is not only the former statement of ch. 7. that the destiny of man at the hands of God is hard and crushing, but in addition an express denial of the position of Bildad that God’s dealing with men was discriminating. An emphasis falls on He. It is not quite easy to decide what is meant by it is all one. The close connexion with Job 9:21 makes it most natural to understand: it is all one whether I live or die; so that the Job 9:21-24 are all one outburst, in which the Almighty is described as a crushing force that bears down on all good and bad without distinction.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

This is one thing, therefore I said it – This may mean, it is all the same thing. It makes no difference whether a man be righteous or wicked. God treats them substantially alike; he has one and the same rule on the subject. Nothing can be argued certainly about the character of a man from the divine dealings with him here. This was the point in dispute, this the position that Job maintained – that God did not deal with people here in strict accordance with their character, but that the righteous and the wicked in this world were afflicted alike.

He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked – He makes no distinction among them. That Job was right in this his main position there can be no doubt; and the wonder is, that his friends did not all see it. But it required a long time in the course of events, and much observation and discussion, before this important point was made clear. With our full views of the state of retribution in the future world, we can have no doubt on the subject. Heavy and sudden judgments do not necessarily prove that they who are cut off are especially guilty, and long prosperity is no evidence that a man is holy. Calamity, by fire and flood, on a steamboat, or in the pestilence, does not demonstrate the unusual and eminent wickedness of those who suffer (compare Luk 13:1-5), nor should those who escape from such calamities infer that of necessity they are the objects of the divine favor.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 22. This is one thing] My own observation shows, that in the course of providence the righteous and the wicked have an equal lot; for when any sudden calamity comes, the innocent and the guilty fall alike. There may be a few exceptions, but they are very extraordinary, and very rare.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

In the other things which you have spoken of Gods greatness, justice, &c., I do not contend with you, but this one thing I do and must affirm against you.

Therefore I said it; I did not utter it rashly, but upon deep consideration. God sends afflictions promiscuously upon good and bad men. Compare Psa 73:2; Ecc 9:2; Jer 12:1, &c.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

22. one thing“It is allone; whether perfect or wickedHe destroyeth.” This was thepoint Job maintained against his friends, that the righteous andwicked alike are afflicted, and that great sufferings here donot prove great guilt (Luk 13:1-5;Ecc 9:2).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

This [is] one [thing],…. Or “one thing [there] is” x in the world, as Jarchi adds; or “one measure”, as the Targum, to good and bad men; one event alike to the righteous, and to the wicked, Ec 9:2; so that, as others render it, “it is all one” y, whether a man righteous and perfect, or whether he is not, he is equally liable to be afflicted and distressed: and “this is one thing, [very] singular” z, amazing and astonishing, and very unaccountable; but so it is, and which he differed from his three friends about; as to the justice of God, he agreed with them in that; yea, he believed he was righteous in whatever he did, and even in this, which was so strange and surprising, though he could not account for it: and “this is uniform”, as Mr. Broughton translates it; either God acts uniformly in what he does, treating all men alike, good and bad men; or Job was uniform in his sentiments, he was all of a piece, steady and constant, retaining the same sense of things, from which he had not departed, nor could he depart:

therefore I said [it]; with the greatest confidence and assurance, because he believed it, and would say it again, seeing no reason at all to alter his judgment; the thing was quite clear to him, of which he had, at least as he thought, unquestionable evidence; and the thing he has respect to is as follows:

he destroyeth the perfect and the wicked; this is thought by some to be a very bad expression, bordering on blasphemy, and contrary to the nature and perfections of God, and to the methods of his providence,

Ge 18:23; and that Job speaks in the person of one destitute of the grace of God: but nothing is more certain than that this was the real sentiment of his mind, his firm belief, nor could he be persuaded to the contrary; indeed it may be understood in a good sense: by a “perfect” man we are to understand a truly good man, one that has received the grace of God in truth, and is perfectly justified and pardoned through the blood and righteousness of Christ; and by a “wicked” man one that is under the influence of his lusts, is abandoned to them, and never easy but while he is serving them, which he is continually doing. Now the destruction of these is not to be interpreted of everlasting destruction; this indeed will be the case of wicked men, but not of perfect and good men: God by his grace has made a difference between them in this world, and so he will in the next; the one will go into everlasting punishment, the other into everlasting life, and will never come together in the same place or state; nor will the perfect man be destroyed at all in such sense; the grace of God within him, and the righteousness of Christ upon him, will eternally secure him from everlasting wrath and ruin: but it is meant of temporal destruction; sometimes indeed a remarkable distinction is made between the one and the other in a time of general calamity, as Noah, a perfect man, was saved, when the world of the ungodly were destroyed by water, Ge 7:23; and Lot, a righteous man, when Sodom and Gomorrah were consumed by fire, Ge 19:29; but frequently they fall together in the same common distress; good and bad men, among the Jews were alike carried captive into Babylon, signified by Jeremiah’s good and bad figs, Jer 24:2; of good men, Ezekiel, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego, are instances; though indeed it is on different accounts, and with different views, that the one and the other are destroyed with a temporal destruction, in their persons, their health, their families, or in their estates; such calamities upon good men are not as punishments for their sins, as on the wicked; but as fatherly chastisements, and for the trial of their graces, for their spiritual and eternal good, and that they might not be condemned with the world. Job’s view in saying this is to observe, that a man’s state God-ward is not to be judged of by his outward circumstances, whether he is a good man or a bad man, since they may both be in the same afflictions and distress, and which he opposes to the sentiments and sayings of Eliphaz and Bildad, Job 4:7.

x “unum est”, Munster, Mercerus, Schmidt. y “Perinde est”, Cocceius. z “Singulare enimvero id!”, Schultens.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

      22 This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.   23 If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent.   24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he?

      Here Job touches briefly upon the main point now in dispute between him and his friends. They maintained that those who are righteous and good always prosper in this world, and none but the wicked are in misery and distress; he asserted, on the contrary, that it is a common thing for the wicked to prosper and the righteous to be greatly afflicted. This is the one thing, the chief thing, wherein he and his friends differed; and they had not proved their assertion, therefore he abides by his: “I said it, and day it again, that all things come alike to all.” Now, 1. It must be owned that there is very much truth in what Job here means, that temporal judgments, when they are sent abroad, fall both upon good and bad, and the destroying angel seldom distinguishes (though once he did) between the houses of Israelites and the houses of Egyptians. In the judgment of Sodom indeed, which is called the vengeance of eternal fire (Jude 7), far be it from God to slay the righteous with the wicked, and that the righteous should be as the wicked (Gen. xviii. 25); but, in judgments merely temporal, the righteous have their share, and sometimes the greatest share. The sword devours one as well as another, Josiah as well as Ahab. Thus God destroys the perfect and the wicked, involves them both in the same common ruin; good and bad were sent together into Babylon, Jer 24:5; Jer 24:9. If the scourge slay suddenly, and sweep down all before it, God will be well pleased to see how the same scourge which is the perdition of the wicked is the trial of the innocent and of their faith, which will be found unto praise, and honour, and glory,1Pe 1:7; Psa 66:10.

Against the just th’ Almighty’s arrows fly, For he delights the innocent to try, To show their constant and their Godlike mind, Not by afflictions broken, but refined.–Sir R. BLACKMORE.

      Let this reconcile God’s children to their troubles; they are but trials, designed for their honour and benefit, and, if God be pleased with them, let not them be displeased; if he laugh at the trial of the innocent, knowing how glorious the issue of it will be, at destruction and famine let them also laugh (ch. v. 22), and triumph over them, saying, O death! where is thy sting? On the other hand, the wicked are so far from being made the marks of God’s judgments that the earth is given into their hand, v. 24 (they enjoy large possessions and great power, have what they will and do what they will), into the hand of the wicked one (in the original, the word is singular); the devil, that wicked one, is called the god of this world, and boasts that into his hands it is delivered, Luke iv. 6. Or into the hand of a wicked man, meaning (as bishop Patrick and the Assembly’s Annotations conjecture) some noted tyrant then living in those parts, whose great wickedness and great prosperity were well known both to Job and his friends. The wicked have the earth given them, but the righteous have heaven given them, and which is better–heaven without earth or earth without heaven? God, in his providence, advances wicked men, while he covers the faces of those who are fit to be judges, who are wise and good, and qualified for government, and buries them alive in obscurity, perhaps suffers them to be run down and condemned, and to have their faces covered as criminals by those wicked ones into whose hand the earth is given. We daily see that this is done; if it be not God that does it, where and who is he that does it? To whom can it be ascribed but to him that rules in the kingdoms of men, and gives them to whom he will? Dan. iv. 32. Yet, 2. It must be owned that there is too much passion in what Job here says. The manner of expression is peevish. When he meant that God afflicts he ought not to have said, He destroys both the perfect and the wicked; when he meant that God pleases himself with the trial of the innocent he ought not to have said, He laughs at it, for he doth not afflict willingly. When the spirit is heated, either with dispute or with discontent, we have need to set a watch before the door of our lips, that we may observe a due decorum in speaking of divine things.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

22. This is one thing It is all one, “a matter of indifference whether I live or die.” Dillmann. The Chaldee rendering, “There is one and the same measure,” Wordsworth thus follows: “There is one and the same thing to the wicked and righteous;” but this would tautologically anticipate the same thought in the next clause. “It is all one,” Job cries; I have nothing more to hope or fear; therefore I will say it (out with it) the good and the wicked are involved in the same doom. HE destroys; (God, whom he names not,) thus giving terrific emphasis to the question in Job 9:24. Job 9:23-24 give the specifications under this charge.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Job Insists that God Visits also the Righteous with Affliction

v. 22. This is one thing, it is all one, or, it makes no difference whether a person is innocent or guilty; therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked; this statement Job feels constrained to make against God.

v. 23. If the scourge slay suddenly, namely, by means of any calamity, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent, God will mock at the despair of the guiltless, not permitting Himself to be disturbed in the enjoyment of His heavenly bliss.

v. 24. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked, this God readily permits; He covereth the faces of the judges thereof, veiling their eyes and permitting them to render wicked decisions, to practise unrighteousness; if not, where and who is He? Who but God could it be that does this!

v. 25. Now, my days are swifter than a post, flying away more swiftly than the motion of a courier, or runner; they flee away, they see no good; Job despairs of ever being released of his affliction, he has entirely forgotten his former state of prosperity.

v. 26. They are passed away as the swift ships, sweeping past like vessels of bulrush, known for their lightness and swiftness; as the eagle that hasteth to the prey, swooping down upon it with almost incredible speed. Thus Job illustrates the hasty flight of his life.

v. 27. If I say, I will forget my complaint, making an attempt to rouse himself from his stupor, I will leave off my heaviness, literarily, “my countenance,” that is, his gloomy and downcast look, and comfort myself, looking cheerful once more.

v. 28. I am afraid of all my sorrows, he is once more forced to shudder with pain; I know that Thou wilt not hold me innocent, that God would not declare him guiltless.

v. 29. If I be wicked, rather, “I am to be guilty,” declared to be wicked by the decree of God, why, then, labor I in vain? It was a useless endeavor on his part trying to appear innocent; he felt that he was tiring himself out without result.

v. 30. If I wash myself with snow-water, which was considered as containing greater cleansing power than ordinary water, and make my hands never so clean, literally, “cleansing my hands with lye,” in an effort to purge away all impurities,

v. 31. yet shalt Thou plunge me in the ditch, into a sink or sewer, and mine own clothes shall abhor me. This would happen while he was still naked after his washing and would cause him to become so filthy as to make his own clothes ashamed of him. That is: “Not even the best grounded self-justification can avail him; for God, would still bring it to pass that his clearly proved innocence should change to the most horrible impurity. ” (Delitzsch. )

v. 32. For He is not a man, as I am, that I should answer Him, standing on the same level with Him before a court of justice, and we should come together in judgment.

v. 33. Neither is there any daysman, arbitrator or mediator, betwixt us that might lay his hand upon us both, acting as umpire between God and Job to settle his case; for God was both accuser and judge.

v. 34. Let Him take His rod away from me, the scourge and calamity wherewith He was smiting Job, and let not His fear terrify me, stupefying him by His majestic presence;

v. 35. then would I speak and not fear Him, namely, with this handicap of overpowering majesty removed; but it is not so with me, in his own person he was not conscious of any reason why he should fear Him. Job’s defense of himself becomes so emphatic that it verges on self-righteous boasting, an act against which every believer must guard with the greatest care.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

(22) This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked. (23) If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent. (24) The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he? (25) Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good. (26) They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey. (27) If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself:

Job, in those verses, makes an inference from what he had before laid down as a doctrine: This one thing therefore I said; meaning, what he had insisted upon before, that by outward providences, no man should draw conclusions of GOD’S favor or disapprobation. To speak of it in gospel terms, the LORD causeth his sun to shine upon the evil and upon the good, and sendeth the blessings of rain upon the just and upon the unjust. Mat 5:45 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Job 9:22 This [is] one [thing], therefore I said [it], He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.

Ver. 22. This is one thing, therefore I say it ] And will stand to it, though I stand alone; this being the one thing wherein I differ in opinion from you; and because it is the hinge upon which the whole dispute between us is turned, therefore I will abide by it, and be Doctor resolutus, resolute in the maintenance of it, viz.

He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked ] A harsh doctrine, yet a good one, saith an interpreter. Grace is no shield against the greatest affliction. See Ecc 9:1-3 Mal 3:14 Eze 21:3 Heb 11:36-38 shows that none out of hell have ever suffered more than God’s dearest children; and Heb 12:6 , He not only chasteneth, but scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. God will not cast away a righteous man, said Bildad, Job 8:20 ; that is, totally destroy him in temporals, but restore him again. No such matter, saith Job, for it may, and many times doth happen, that a godly man may, as to this life present, perish, as well as a wicked man; he may be totally and finally bereft of outward comforts, the righteous perisheth, Isa 57:1 ; only with this difference, as hath been before noted, God’s judgments on the wicked are penal and typical of eternal torment; whereas upon the godly they are no more than medicinal or probational, &c.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

the wicked = a lawless one. Hebrew. rasha, App-44.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

He destroyeth: Ecc 9:1-3, Eze 21:3, Eze 21:4, Luk 13:2-4

Reciprocal: Gen 18:25 – that the Job 1:8 – a perfect Job 4:7 – who ever Job 8:20 – God Job 9:29 – General Job 15:5 – uttereth Job 34:9 – It Job 35:3 – what advantage Ecc 7:15 – there is a just Ecc 8:14 – there be just

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Job 9:22-23. This one thing In the other things which you have spoken of, Gods greatness, power, and justice, I do not contend with you; but this one thing I do, and must affirm against you. Therefore I said it I did not utter it rashly, but upon deep consideration. He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked God sends afflictions promiscuously upon good and bad men. If the scourge slay suddenly If some common judgment come upon a people, which destroys both good and bad: or if God inflict some grievous and unexpected stroke upon a holy person. He will laugh at the trial of the innocent God will be pleased to see how the same, or a similar scourge, which is the perdition of the wicked, is only the trial of the integrity, faith, and patience of the innocent, that is, of his own people, and a means of their further purification and improvement.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

9:22 This [is] one [thing], therefore I said [it], He destroyeth the {p} perfect and the wicked.

(p) If God punishes according to his justice, he will destroy them who are counted perfect as well as them that are wicked.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes