Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 30:25
Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was [not] my soul grieved for the poor?
25. The compassion which Job seeks in his affliction it was his practice and nature to bestow.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Did not I weep … – Job here appeals to his former life, and says that it had been a characteristic of his life to manifest compassion to the afflicted and the poor. His object in doing this is, evidently, to show how remarkable it was that he was so much afflicted. Did I deserve, the sense is, such a hard lot? Has it been brought on me by my own fault, or as a punishment for a life where no compassion was shown to others? So far from it, he says, that his whole life had been distinguished for tender compassion for those in distress and want.
In trouble – Margin, as in Hebrew, hard of day. So we say, a man has a hard time of it, or has a hard lot.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Job 30:25
Did I not weep for him that was in trouble.
Tears for the oppressed
By noticing the care with which Job throws back the insinuation of Eliphaz, how much he valued the character of charity, and how he esteemed it his bounden duty to contribute to the wants and necessities of others. Our text is a pathetic appeal, displaying the truly compassionate character of the patriarch. What are the tears which we may imagine fell from the eyes of Job, and which do fall from the eyes of every compassionate man that witnesses suffering and sorrow? They were tears of grief, of sincerity, of self-condemnation. But the compassionate man, like Job, may pour forth tears of indignation. For whom did compassionate Job thus weep? Lit. for him in a hard day. He that was suffering from privation. I now have to plead for such, for men who are suffering from over-toil and over-exertion. Special reference may be made to the late-hour system. (J. MConnell Hussey, B. A.)
Christian sympathy
In endeavouring to justify the ways of God, Jobs three friends came to the harsh conclusion that he would not have been so severely afflicted if he had not been a very great sinner. Among other accusations against the afflicted patriarch, Eliphaz the Temanite had the cruelty to lay this at his door, Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. Richly did the three miserable comforters deserve the burning rebuke of their slandered friend, Ye are forgers of lies, ye are physicians of no value. O that ye would altogether hold your peace and it shall be your wisdom.
I. Human sympathy, its commendations.
1. We may say of it, first, that even nature dictateth that man should feel a sympathy for his kind. Humanity, had it remained in its unfallen estate, would have been one delightful household of brothers and sisters. Alas! for us, when Adam fell he not only violated his Makers laws, but in the fall he broke the unity of the race, and now we are isolated particles of manhood, instead of being what we should have been, members of one body, moved by one and the same spirit. Called with a nobler calling, let us exhibit as the result of our regenerate nature a loftier compassion for the suffering sons of men.
2. Further, we may remark that the absence of sympathy has always been esteemed, in all countries, and in all ages, one of the most abominable of vices. In old classic history who are the men held up to everlasting execration? Are they not those who had no mercy on the poor?
3. Sympathy is especially a Christians duty.
4. Remember the blessed example of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor, that we through His poverty might be rich.
5. Sympathy is essential to our usefulness.
6. Here I must supplement that thought with another; sympathy may often be the direct means of conversion.
7. And I shall say here, that this sympathy is sure to be a great blessing to yourselves. If you want joy–joy that you may think upon at nights, and live upon day after day, next to the joy of the Lord, which is our strength, is the joy of doing good. The selfish man thinks that he has the most enjoyment in laying out his wealth upon himself. Poor fool!
II. The hindrances to Christian sympathy.
1. One of the great impediments to Christian sympathy is our own intense selfishness. We are all selfish by nature, and it is a work of grace to break this thoroughly down, until we live to Christ, and not to self any longer. How often is the rich man tempted to think that his riches are his own.
2. Another hindrance lies in the customs of our country. We still have amongst us too much of caste and custom. The exclusiveness of rank is not readily overcome.
3. Much want of sympathy is produced by our ignorance of one another. We do not know the sufferings of our fellows.
4. No doubt the abounding deception which exists among those who seek our help has checked much liberality.
III. The fruits of Christian sympathy.
1. The fruit of Christian sympathy will be seen in a kindly association with all Christians: we shall not shun them nor pass them by.
2. It will be seen next, in a kindly encouragement of those who want aid, constantly being ready to give a word of good advice, and good cheer to the heart which is ready to faint.
3. Show it, also, whenever you hear the good name of any called into doubt. Stand up for your brethren. Tis an ill bird that fouls its own nest, but there are some such birds.
4. But still, there is no Christian sympathy in all this if it does not, when needed, prove itself by real gifts of our substance. Zealous words will not warm the cold; delicate words will not feed the hungry; the freest speech will not set free the captive, or visit him in prison. (C. H. Spurgeon.).
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 25. Did not I weep for him that was in trouble?] Mr. Good translates much nearer the sense of the original, liksheh yom. “Should I not then weep for the ruthless day?” May I not lament that my sufferings are only to terminate with my life? Or, Did I not mourn for those who suffered by times of calamity?
Was not my soul grieved for the poor? Did I not relieve the distressed according to my power; and did I not sympathize with the sufferer?
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Whence is it that neither God nor man show any compassion to me, but both conspire to afflict me, and increase my torments? Doth God now mete out to me the same measure which I meted out to others? Have I now judgment without mercy, because I afforded no mercy nor pity to others in misery? No, my conscience acquits me from this inhumanity. I did not slightly resent, but bitterly mourn and weep over others in their miseries; and therefore I had reason to expect more compassion than I find.
Was not my soul grieved for the poor, even for him who was not capable of requiting my kindness in case of his recovery? which shows that my sympathy was real, and not reigned, as it is in some who pretend great sorrow for the rich in their troubles, hoping thereby to insinuate themselves into their favour and friendship, and thereby to procure some advantage to themselves.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25. May I not be allowed tocomplain of my calamity, and beg relief, seeing that I myselfsympathized with those “in trouble” (literally, “hardof day”; those who had a hard time of it).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Did not I weep for him that was in trouble?…. In outward trouble, whether personal in his own body, or in his family, or in his worldly affairs, or from wicked men, the men of the world; or in inward trouble, in soul trouble, on account of indwelling sin, the breakings forth of it, the lowness of grace, as to exercise, the hidings of God’s face, and the temptations of Satan: or “for him that is hard of day” l; with whom times are hard, the days are evil, with respect either to things temporal or spiritual; now Job had a sympathizing heart with such persons; he wept with them that wept; his bowels yearned towards them; he felt their sufferings and their sorrows, which is a Godlike frame of soul; for God, in all the afflictions of his people, is afflicted; a disposition of mind like that of the living Redeemer, who cannot but be touched with the feeling of the infirmities of saints, having been in all points tempted as they; and is a fruit of the Spirit of God, and very becoming the relation the saints stand in to one another, being members of the same body, and of each other; and therefore, when one member suffers, all the rest should sympathize with it, and, being brethren, should be loving, pitiful, and courteous to each other; and should consider that they also are in the body, and liable to the same distresses, whether outward or inward:
was [not] my soul grieved for the poor? in general, and especially for the Lord’s poor, for such in all ages have been chosen and called by him; for these Job was grieved at heart, when he saw their distress through poverty; and he not only expressed his concern for them by tears and words, but by distributing liberally to their necessities,
Job 31:17; and by which he showed his grief was real, hearty, and sincere, as here expressed; his soul was grieved, and he was sorry at his very heart for them: some render the words, “was not my soul like a pool of water?” m not only his head and his eyes, as Jeremiah’s on another account, but his soul melted, and flowed like water with grief for them; and others, as Mr. Broughton, “did not my soul burn for the poor?” with sorrow for them, and an ardent desire to relieve them; see 2Co 9:12; now this was the frame of Job’s mind in the time of his prosperity, very different from that in Am 6:4; and was certain and well known; he could appeal to all that knew him for the truth of it, it being what, none could deny that had any knowledge of him; yea, he could appeal to an omniscient God, he was now speaking to, for the truth of it; nay, it is delivered in the form of an oath, “if I did not weep”, c. n, as in Job 31:16.
l “ob durum die”, Montanus, Mercerus, Drusius “cui dura crant tempora”, Junius Tremellius “ei cui durus dies”, Cocceius. m “restagnavit”, some in Mercerus. n “si non deflevi”, Tigurine version; “si non flevi”, Piscator.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(25) Did not I weep for him?Job declares that he has not withheld that sympathy with sorrow and suffering for which he himself has asked in vain.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
25. Him that was in trouble Literally, the hard of day. Job seems to intimate that the sympathizer with men has reason to expect divine sympathy. Psa 41:1-3. And yet the sympathy he has freely poured forth for others is withheld from him by God and man. Like Jeremiah and our Saviour. Job was pre-eminent in sympathy. The touching pathos of this appeal must commend itself to each heart.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
DISCOURSE: 481
JOBS COMPASSION FOR THE POOR
Job 30:25. Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? Was not my soul grieved for the poor?
IN the midst of any heavy calamities, a recollection that we have abused the season of prosperity must add greatly to our distress: whereas a consciousness that we have endeavoured to fulfil the duties of our station, must afford a rich consolation to the afflicted mind. It was a matter of self-congratulation to David under the persecutions that he met with from his inveterate enemies, that he had done nothing to provoke their enmity; and that, instead of retaliating their injuries even in thought or desire, he had tenderly felt for them in their troubles, and earnestly sought their welfare [Note: Psa 35:11-14.]. To Job also this thought was a source of much comfort under his accumulated trials. In the passage before us he complains bitterly of his friends, and too rashly also concerning God. And the words of the text may be considered as reflecting on them for treating him otherwise than he had deserved. But we rather suppose the words were introduced as a consolatory reflection, that, though unkindly treated under his own afflictions, he could appeal to God he had conducted himself differently towards others: Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? Was not my soul grieved for the poor?
There are two observations naturally arising from these words, which we shall make the foundation of the following discourse:
I.
The poor, when they are in trouble, are great objects of compassion
[The poor, whilst they enjoy their health, and are under no extraordinary pressure, are quite as happy as the rich. If they have fewer comforts, they do not feel the want of them; and they are, in a great measure, strangers to those vexations and disappointments, which are the usual attendants of wealth. They, for the most part, enjoy their homely meal with a keener appetite and relish, than they who are fed with delicacies: and, while their richer and more luxurious masters are wakeful upon beds of down, they rest in comfort on a bed of straw, and their sleep is sweet unto them. If we had complete access both to the rich and poor, and could perfectly weigh the personal and domestic happiness of each, I am persuaded we should find the scale very generally turn in favour of the poor: for what they lose in respect of carnal indulgences, is more than made up to them by peace and contentment.
But when sickness comes, then the inconveniences of poverty begin to be deeply felt. The well-earned pittance which was adequate to the wants of a man and his family while in health, is utterly insufficient to procure medical assistance, and to provide those comforts which are requisite for the alleviation of pain, or the restoration of health and strength. The industrious husband finds all his exertions ineffectual; and is reduced to the necessity of leaving his wife or child to languish without help, or of plunging himself into inextricable difficulties, by his endeavours to obtain a suitable, but uncertain, relief.
But suppose the head of the family himself to be seized with sickness; then, with increasing wants, there comes an increased incapacity to supply them. The little stream that before nourished and refreshed the family, is cut off, and ceases to flow in its accustomed channel. What now can he do? Perhaps it may be said Let him apply to his parish for relief. True; but it is painful to a generous mind to become burthensome to others. He who has been accustomed to maintain his family by his own labour, does not like to become a pensioner on the bounty of others without an absolute and irresistible necessity. He knows, possibly from his own experience, that many are obliged to pay rates for the support of others, while they themselves scarcely know how to provide for their own subsistence. Hence he nobly struggles with his difficulties; and carries the conflict perhaps beyond the bounds of prudence, while from tenderness to others he forgets the regard which he should shew to himself and his own family. Conceive, then, his distress: behold him debilitated with disease, and racked with pain: behold him destitute of the remedies that might remove his disorder: see him incurring debts which it will be difficult for him ever to discharge. Perhaps at last he applies for relief: and then is told, that, while he has this or that comfort, which the industry of former years had enabled him to procure, he cannot be relieved. See him then compelled to sell first one thing, then another; thus stripping himself and family of the little comforts that remained to them; and, after all, witnessing the privations, the wants, the miseries of his benumbed and starving dependents. This is no uncommon picture: it is seen in every town, and almost in every village, through the kingdom; though, probably, less in this than in any other nation upon earth. And is not such a person an object of compassion? must not he be lost to all the feelings of humanity, who does not weep over him, and whose soul is not grieved for him?]
Yes; we must declare to all, that,
II.
To exercise compassion towards them is one of the principal duties of a Christian
There is no duty more strongly inculcated than that of compassion to the poor: every species of argument is used in Scripture in order to enforce the observance of it. It is enforced by arguments taken,
1.
From political expediency
[God does not disdain to urge upon us such considerations as are calculated to affect even a selfish mind.
Does not every one desire to relieve himself? This we do, in fact, when we relieve the poor: for all of us are members of one body: consequently our neighbour demands the same attention from us as ourselves [Note: 1Co 12:25-26.]: and, in neglecting him, we hide ourselves from our own flesh [Note: Isa 58:7.].
Are we not ourselves liable to fall into adversity? No man knows what circumstances he may be brought into before he die. We have seen in our day princes and nobles subsisting upon charity, and many of them on a very slender pittance too. Would not we then, if reduced to want, desire to find compassion in the breast of others? And, if so, ought we not to exercise it ourselves [Note: Heb 13:3.]? Methinks our charity should be extended to the utmost verge of prudence and propriety [Note: Ecc 11:1-2.].
Would we desire Divine consolations under our afflictions? To be charitable to others is one way to secure them. Hear what God has said: Blessed is the man that considereth (not slightly pitieth, but with a deep interest in their welfare considereth) the poor and needy: the Lord shall deliver him in the time of trouble The Lord will make all his bed in his sickness [Note: Psa 41:1-3. See also Isa 58:10-11. Draw out thy soul, not thy purse merely.]. What greater inducement to charity would we desire, than such a hope and prospect as this?
Would we get the best possible interest for our money? There is no such bank in the universe as this. To enrich ourselves by giving away, and by giving the very first-fruits, and that too of all our increase, may seem strange indeed: reason would say that it was the way to impoverish ourselves: but God tells us that it is the way to fill our barns with plenty, and to make our presses burst out with new wine [Note: Pro 13:7; Pro 3:9-10.]. And experience proves, that, if we give to others, men will in our necessity give into our bosom, good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over [Note: Luk 6:38.].
To complete this argumentWould we keep our wealth for ever? This is the way to do so. They who hoard up their riches must leave them all behind them [Note: Luk 12:33.]: but they who dispose of their wealth in acts of charity, carry it with them into the eternal world, where it shall be restored to them with interest [Note: Luk 18:22.]. They lend their money to the Lord, who has pledged himself to repay them [Note: Pro 19:17.] in full, yea, to recompense them in the resurrection of the just [Note: Luk 14:12-14.]; and, provided they have acted from Christian principles, to give them eternal life [Note: 1Ti 6:17-19.]. He has even promised to proportion their harvest to the seed they have sown [Note: 2Co 9:6.]. So that if the children of light were as wise in their generation as the children of this world, they would, like the poor widow, and the first Christians, be ready to give their whole substance to the poor.]
2.
From Christian necessity
[Here the arguments are far more forcible and impressive.
The exercise of charity is imposed on us, with the authority of a law, by Christ himself. And shall we despise that law? Yea rather, when it comes to us so recommended and enjoined, shall we not labour to the uttermost to fulfil it? This is an argument urged by the great Apostle: Bear ye one anothers burthens, and so fulfil the law of Christ [Note: Gal 6:2.].
Our obedience to this law is the criterion whereby we must judge of our regard to Christ.St. Paul exhorts the Corinthians to liberality, in order to prove the sincerity of their love [Note: 2Co 8:8.]. And St. John tells us that all our professions are hypocrisy, and all our experiences a delusion, if we do not exercise this virtue [Note: 1Jn 3:17.]. Would we then contentedly rest in a state, wherein all our pretensions to religion are vain? Would we proclaim to all men that we have no love to the Father or to Christ? If not, we must delight ourselves in doing good according to our ability.
Our exercise, or neglect, of charity will be the ground of the sentence that in the last day shall be passed upon us.The Judge of quick and dead informs us, that the strictest enquiries will be made relative to this point; and that they who have not relieved him in his poor members, will be bidden to depart accursed; while they who have manifested a tender regard for the poor shall be welcomed by him as the children of his heavenly Father, and be exalted by him to the possession of his eternal kingdom [Note: Mat 25:34-46.]. To the same effect he elsewhere says, Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy [Note: Mat 5:7.]: and St. James, on the contrary part, says, He shall have judgment without mercy that hath shewed no mercy [Note: Jam 2:13.].
Weigh now these considerations, and see if they do not amount to necessity; and whether we must not say, Woe is unto me, if I do not cultivate a compassionate and liberal spirit!]
To conclude
[We have inculcated the necessity of liberality and compassion. But let us not be misunderstood; alms-giving does not make us Christians; but only proves us so. Nor does it prove us Christians, unless it arise from Christian principles. It is faith in Christ that makes us his: and obedience to his will proves us to be his.
But we must further guard the subject from mistake. It is not a transient emotion, or a falling tear, that will suffice, (for many will shed a tear at a moving tale, who have no principle of love in their hearts); but our souls must be grieved for the poor: we must lay to heart their wants and miseries, and make it our study and delight to administer to their relief [Note: Here the particular institution, or occasion, may be mentioned; and the usefulness of the particular charity insisted on.].
Let not any then be contented with approving the things which they have heard, or with wishing well to the institution that has been recommended to their care: for St. James justly says, If ye merely say to a brother or sister, Be ye warmed, be ye filled; and yet neglect to give them the things they need: what doth it profit [Note: Jam 2:15-16.]? Such compassion will neither profit them nor you. Let such of you then as profess yourselves the elect of God, put on bowels of mercies [Note: Col 3:12.]: yea, let all of us stir up within our own breasts a tender concern for the welfare of our fellow-creatures; and so act now, that on our dying bed we may appeal to God himself, Did I not weep for him that was in trouble? Was not my soul grieved for the poor?]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
“Handfuls of Purpose”
For All Gleaners
“Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor? When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness? Job 30:25-26
Job did not always see the connection between cause and effect. It is idle to deny that there are surprises in the working of this law in daily providence. Events do not occur as we should have predicted. It would even seem as if wheat brought forth tares, and thistles grew upon the vine. The facts of life are very hard; they are moral mysteries, even such as trouble the conscience. The assurance is that if we care for the poor the Lord will care for us; yet here is a man whose soul was grieved for the poor, and he himself was thrust down into the greatest distress. The question arises whether we see the whole of the case, or whether at best we see but transient phases of things that are real and permanent. It would seem as if every day we needed the comfort which arises from the exercise of patience in this matter of time. The patriarch, having wept for him that was in trouble, expected that good would come, and whilst he stood at his door looking for the radiant angel to advance, behold, evil came upon him! a great dense cloud gathered over his head and discharged its floods upon his house. Job was conscious of having done right, of having been kind, of having spared nothing of all his wealth from the cry of the poor and the needy: then said he to himself, “Light will surely come,” and when he looked for the light the whole heaven blackened into a frown. We must look at facts in all their reality and seriousness. Within points that can be easily fixed, the argument of facts would often seem to be dead against the doctrine of a benign and watchful providence. We have to wait for the latter end. It is often a long time to wait, and many hearts break down in the weary process. Surely God will not be harsh with such hearts, for his trials are very many and very great. We may learn a good deal from our inability as well as our ability in the matter of bearing trial. It is right that our pride should be humbled and crushed, and that we should know ourselves to be but men. When the unbeliever taxes us with having done good, and yet with having received evil at the hand of the Lord, our reply should be a frank avowal of the fact, and our argument should be that as yet we know only in part. There is a time in the process of germination when everything seems to be against the seed which has been sown: there is a point at which it is true, Thou fool! that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die. How absurd the suggestion that we too must die in order to live, we must become weak that we may be strong, we must empty ourselves that we may be filled of God. No doubt, the atheist has occasions on which the argument seems to be wholly on his side. Beyond all question, he can point to men of prayer who are doomed to poverty, men of faith who are slaves to circumstances, over-burdened and over-driven every day, their best toil coming back upon them like a mockery and a penalty. So again and again we have to fall back upon the exhortation which bids us rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him; he knows exactly how much purification we need, how much disappointment is best for us, how many days we have to be in the prison of fear, in order to prepare us for the joy of liberty. Not my will, but thine, be done: I long to see another process in providence, one which will bear more directly upon the belief of unwilling minds, and the surrender of reluctant wills; I long for thee, O God, to triumph, and to make manifest thy kingdom; but thou art wise and I am foolish; I came up from the emptiness and ignorance of yesterday, and will not dictate to the eternal God: O teach me from my heart to say, “Thy will, my God, be done!”
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
Job 30:25 Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was [not] my soul grieved for the poor?
Ver. 25. Did I not weep for him that was in trouble? ] Rursum, per pathos, excandescit (Mercer). Here Job wondereth and is much moved again at his unpitied condition, since he was so full of pity for the afflicted. He could safely say with Cyprian, Cum singulis pectus meum copulo, maeroris et funeris pondera luctuosa participo, cum plangentibus plango, cum deflentibus defico. He had tears ready for the afflicted, and wept with those that weep; not for a compliment, as the Brazilians, who
Ut flerent, oculos erudiere suos (Ovid),
nor out of tender heartedness, as Gordian the emperor, who would weep for the beating of a boy at school; but out of hearty compassion and commiseration, as good Nehemiah, Neh 2:2 , and those Christian Hebrews, Heb 10:33-34 . Now forasmuch as the merciful have the promises of mercy made unto them, Mat 5:7 Jas 2:13 , and all men say, Ab alio expectes alteri quod feceris, Job marvelleth at others’ hard heartedness toward him, and expostulateth the unkindness.
Was not my soul grieved for the poor?
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Did not I. ! Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6.
poor = helpless. Hebrew. ‘ebyon. See note on Pro 6:11,
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Job 30:25-31
Job 30:25-31
JOB SPEAKS OF THE EVIL THAT CAME UPON HIM; NOT AS SOMETHING GOD DID TO HIM; BUT AS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED.
If Job had been full of animosity toward God, as so many of the writers seem to believe, these final verses of the chapter would have been the proper place to say it; but there’s not the slightest hint in these final verses that God was the cause of Job’s suffering.
“Did not I weep for him that was in trouble?
Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
When I looked for good, then evil came;
And when I waited for light, there came darkness.
My heart is troubled, and resteth not;
Days of affliction are come upon me.
I go mourning without the sun:
I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.
I am a brother to jackals,
And a companion to ostriches.
My skin is black, and falleth from me,
And my bones are burned with heat.
Therefore is my harp turned to mourning,
And my pipe into the voice of them that weep.”
Note this paragraph. Job loves God, and trusts him, attends the assemblies, stands up and cries for help; and there’s not a word in it that may be construed as any kind of a false charge or allegations against God. How then can we explain the comment on this very paragraph? which construes it as Job’s charge that, “I was merciful; but you (God) are merciless.”
In the light of all that the Holy Scriptures teach regarding the God of heaven who is merciful, slow to anger, abundant in lovingkindness, etc., and along with that truth the statement of God at the close of this book that Job had always spoken the truth concerning God, we find it difficult indeed to accept some of the translations which seem to contradict this, especially when anywhere from one or two to six or eight verses in such passages are admittedly corrupt.
E.M. Zerr:
Job 30:25. Other unfortunate men had received the sympathetic help of Job.
Job 30:26. Good and evil are not moral terms here; they refer to temporal blessings and misfortunes.
Job 30:27. When used figuratively bowels refers to the emotions and yearnings. The condition was prevented or preceded by Job’s afflictions.
Job 30:28. As a person without the sun would be in darkness, so Job’s afflictions spread over him the cloud of mourning.
Job 30:29. Under the same figure of speech used in the preceding verse, Job was put in the same class with these creatures of the night.
Job 30:30. The condition of Job’s skin and bones was literally caused by the ulcers.
Job 30:31. Musical instruments are used generally in times of joy. Dispensing with them figuratively means that sadness had taken the place of joy.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Did not I: Psa 35:13, Psa 35:14, Jer 13:17, Jer 18:20, Luk 19:41, Joh 11:35, Rom 12:15
in trouble: Heb. hard of day
was: Job 31:16-21, Psa 12:1, Pro 14:21, Pro 14:31, Pro 17:5, Pro 19:17, Pro 28:8, Isa 58:7, Isa 58:8, Dan 4:27, 2Co 9:9
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 30:25-26. Did not I weep for him that was in trouble Have I now judgment without mercy, because I afforded no mercy or pity to others in misery? No; my conscience acquits me from this inhumanity: I did mourn over others in their misery. Was not my soul grieved for the poor? The negative particle not, which is not in the Hebrew, seems to be here improperly supplied. The sense will be stronger and more emphatical to understand the second part of the verse as containing an answer to the first, and to render it, My soul was grieved for the poor; that is, I not only wept, but my very soul was grieved for them; yea, even for those who were so necessitous as to be incapable of requiting my kindness in case of their recovery from affliction. When I looked for good, then evil came Yet trouble came upon myself when I expected it not.