Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 24:23
[Though] it be given him [to be] in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes [are] upon their ways.
23. though it be given ] Rather, he giveth them to be in safety. God makes the tents of the violent men to be secure, ch. Job 12:6; He watches over them, His eyes being upon their ways; comp. ch. Job 10:3, “He shines upon the counsel of the wicked.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Though it be given him to be in safety – That is, God gives him safety. The name God is often understood, or not expressed. The meaning is, that God gives this wicked man, or oppressor, safety. He is permitted to live a life of security and tranquility.
Whereon he resteth – Or, rather, And he is sustained, or upheld – ( veyshaan). The meaning is, that he is sustained or upheld by God.
Yet his eyes are upon their ways – And the eyes of God are upon the ways of such men. That is, God guards and defends them. He seems to smile upon them, and to prosper all their enterprises.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Job 24:23
Yet His eyes are upon thy ways.
God observes the ways of the wicked
To call them to account for them. We have here a threefold act of providence about wicked oppressors, whom yet God suffereth to prosper.
1. That Gods eye is upon them, to mark all their debordings.
2. That after their exaltation for a little while, they are cut off.
3. That yet this is done but in an ordinary way, as befalls all others. As the tops of the ripe ears of corn are cut down and gathered in.
Learn–
1. Outward safety is in itself a mercy. Therefore men ought to improve this mercy aright, and should be sensible of their ill-improvement thereof, when they are deprived of it.
2. Safety is from God, and gifted by Him. No man can secure himself without God.
3. God in His long suffering and indulgence may set the wicked in safety for a time, for a snare upon them.
4. It is a plague upon the wicked that they rest and secure in the enjoyment of outward mercies.
5. It is, in particular, a plague upon the wicked, that their outward security and safety quiets all their fears, so that they have no doubt of Gods favour, or of their own good estate, so long as they are in such a condition.
6. God does not give safety to wicked men because He approves of them or seeth not their wickedness; but He hath an eye upon them all the while, and particularly notices how they abuse these providences.
7. Albeit the Lord be not still punishing the wicked, yet this is sad, that He is still observing and marking all their ways, to call them to account for them in a day of reckoning. (George Hutcheson.)
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Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 23. Though it be given him to be in safety] The Vulgate gives this verse a singular turn: Dedit ei Deus locum paenitentiae, et ille abutitur eo in superbiam, “God gave him space for repentance, but he has abused it through pride.” This is by no means conformable to the original. I think the words should be translated thus: “He gives them (i.e., the guards) to him for security, and he leans upon them; yet his eyes are upon their ways.” Though he have taken the guards, mentioned in the preceding verse, for his personal defence, and for this purpose he uses them; yet he is full of diffidence, and he is continually watching them lest they should be plotting his destruction. The true picture of an Eastern tyrant. Without are fightings; within are fears.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Heb. He giveth to him to be in safety, or all things necessary for his safety, &c. This verse is understood either,
1. Of the oppressor; if the oppressor give a man his hand or promise that he shall live in safety by him, or if the oppressed give gifts to the oppressor to purchase his quiet and safety, and, as it follows, he resteth upon that assurance given him;
yet his, i.e. the oppressors,
eyes are upon their ways; he watcheth for their halting, and seeks for all occasions to quarrel with them, and to destroy them. Or rather,
2. Of God; and so the words are fitly rendered thus, He, i.e. God, giveth or granteth to him, i.e. to the oppressor, to be in safety, i.e. to live a quiet and comfortable life, and he resteth secure, or he resteth or leaneth upon him, i.e. upon God; his former experience of Gods favour makes him confident of the continuance of it: so he is not only happy in his present enjoyments, but also in his freedom from distracting fears of future miseries; and his, i.e. Gods, eyes
are upon their ways, i.e. God blesseth and prospereth him in all his undertakings, as this phrase most commonly signifies, as Deu 11:12; Ezr 5:5; Psa 33:18. Or,
yet his eyes are upon their ways, i.e. although God giveth them such strange successes, this doth not proceed from his ignorance or regardlessness of their wicked actions; for he sees and observes them all, and will in due time punish them, though not always in this life, nor as soon as their sins are committed, but in such time and way as he in deep wisdom seeth most fit.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
23. Literally, “He (Godomitted, as often; Job 3:20;Ecc 9:9; reverentially) giveth tohim (the wicked, to be) in safety, or security.”
yetJob means, Howstrange that God should so favor them, and yet have His eyes all thetime open to their wicked ways (Pro 15:3;Psa 73:4)!
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
[Though] it be given him [to be] in safety,…. Or “he gives him” g, that is, it is God gives the wicked man to be in safety, notwithstanding all his wickedness; for Job, having described the wicked man, now represents him as in the greatest prosperity: safety is of God in every respect, not only the safety of good men, both in a way of providence and in a way of grace, but even of bad men; those are often preserved from the incursions and depredations of others, and their goods are kept, and they possess them in peace, and they dwell secure and confidently without care. The Vulgate Latin version is widely different,
“God gives him place of repentance, and he abuses it to pride;”
though the Targum somewhat agrees with it,
“he gives to him repentance, that he may trust, or be confident and be supported:”
so God gave space to repent to the old world; to whose case some Jewish writers apply the context, see Ge 6:3;
whereon he resteth; being in prosperity and safety, he trusts to it, and depends upon it it will ever be the case; he has much goods laid up for many years, and therefore sings “requiem” to his soul, saying, “take thine ease”; tomorrow will be as this day, and much more abundant; things will always be as they are, or better:
yet his eyes [are] upon their ways; or, “and his eyes” h, that is, the eyes of God, which are upon all men, good and bad, and upon all their ways and works; these are upon the wicked man and all his courses; not to punish him now for his sins; for, though he sees all his wicked actions, not one escapes his notice, yet he lays not folly to him, nor charges him with it, nor inflicts punishment on him for it; nay, his eyes are upon him to prosper and succeed him in all he does; which is the usual sense of the phrase, unless where there is an explanation, or anything said to show the contrary; see De 11:12. Some give a different sense of the words, as that such that fear the wicked man give him gifts, that they may be in safety, in which they trust; or he gives them his hand, or his word, or both, that they shall be, on which they rely; but his eyes are upon them, watching their ways and works, to take every opportunity and advantage against them; but the former is best.
g “dat ei”, Piscator, Mercerus, i.e., Deus, Beza, Drusius, Michaelis. h “et ejus”, Pagninus, Montanus, Bolducius, Beza, Cocceius, Schultens.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(23) Though it be given.Yea, he, that is each of them, giveth him tribute, &c., that he may be secure and stable.
Yet his eyesthat is, the great tyrants eyesare upon their ways.They are exalted for a little while, but are soon gone, and are taken out of the way like all others. Some understand the subject of the first verb, he giveth him to be in security, to be God, and that also makes very good sense, for while God so allows him to be secure, His eyes are on their ways, the ways of all of them. In this case, however, Job. 24:24 does not correspond so well with what Job has already said of the impunity with which the wicked are wicked, unless indeed the suddenness of their fate is the main point of his remarks, as in Job. 24:19.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
23. Given in safety, etc. Rather, He (God) giveth him to be in safety, and he is sustained.
His eyes God’s eyes are upon their ways, in order to keep and preserve them.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 24:23 [Though] it be given him [to be] in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes [are] upon their ways.
Ver. 23. Though it be given him to be in safety ] Heb. It is given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth. His safety and prosperity was given him for a better purpose; but (as if God had hired him to be wicked) he abuseth it to creature confidence, leaning too hard upon the arm of flesh.
Yet his eyes are upon their ways
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
it be given: Psa 73:3-12, Jer 12:1-3
whereon: Ecc 8:11, Isa 10:8-11, Isa 56:12, Luk 12:16-20, Luk 12:45, 1Th 5:3
yet his eyes: Psa 10:13, Psa 10:14, Psa 11:4, Psa 11:5, Pro 5:21, Pro 15:3, Pro 25:21-23, Ecc 5:8, Amo 8:7, Amo 9:2, Hab 1:13, Rev 2:23
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 24:23. Though it be given him Namely, of God; to be in safety That is, Though God granteth to the oppressor to be for a time in apparent safety, and to live a comfortable life; whereon he resteth His former experience of Gods long-suffering makes him confident of the continuance of it, so that he is not only happy in his present enjoyments, but also in his freedom from distracting fears of future miseries; yet his eyes are upon their ways That is, the eyes of God, who, although he gives wicked men such strange successes and great prosperity, yet he sees and observes them all, and marks their whole conduct, and will in due time punish them severely.