Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 10:14
If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity.
14. If I sin, then thou markest ] Rather, if I sinned then thou wouldst mark. Similarly, wouldst not acquit. “To sin” here appears to mean, to be guilty of trivial sins (ch. Job 7:20, Job 13:26); if he sinned even venially his sin would be held in remembrance against him and not remitted. This is the first supposition included in the Divine purpose with Job.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
If I sin – The object of this verse and the following is, evidently, to say that he was wholly perplexed. He did not know how to act. He could not understand the reason of the divine dealings, and he was wholly unable to explain them, and hence, he did not know how to act in a proper manner. It is expressive of a state of mind where the individual wishes to think and feel right, but where he finds so much to perplex him, that he does not know what to do. Job was sure that his friends were not right in the position which they maintained – that he was a sinner of enormous character, and that his sufferings were proof of this, and yet he did not know how to answer their arguments. He desired to have confidence in God, and yet he knew not how to reconcile his dealings with his sense of right. He felt that he was a friend of God, and he did not know why he should visit one who had this consciousness in this distressing and painful manner. His mind was perplexed, vacillating, embarrassed, and he did not know what to do or say. The truth in this whole argument was, that he was more often right than his friends, but that he, in common with them, had embraced some principles which he was compelled to admit to be true, or which he could not demonstrate to be false, which gave them greatly the advantage in the argument, and which they pressed upon him now with overwhelming force.
Then thou markest me – Dost carefully observe every fault. Why he did this, Job could not see. The same difficulty he expressed in Job 7:17-19; see the notes at that place.
And wilt not acquit me – Wilt not pardon me. Job did not understand why God would not do this. It was exceedingly perplexing to him that God held him to be guilty, and would not pardon him if he had sinned. The same perplexity he expressed in Job 7:21; see the note at that verse.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 14. If I sin] From thee nothing can be hidden; if I sin, thou takest account of the transgression, and canst not hold me for innocent when thou knowest I am guilty.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
If I commit the least sin, (as who is there that liveth, and sinneth not?) thou dost not wink at or pass by my sins, as thou usually dost other mens, but dost severely and diligently observe them all, that thou mayst punish them: compare Job 14:16; 31:4.
Thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity; I perceive thou art resolved to punish me with rigour, and that thou wilt not pardon, and pity, and help me: words of great impatience and distrust.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14, 15. Job is perplexed becauseGod “marks” every sin of his with such ceaseless rigor.Whether “wicked” (godless and a hypocrite) or “righteous”(comparatively sincere), God condemns and punishes alike.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
If I sin, then thou markest me,…. Or “observest me” t; that is, he took notice of his sins, strictly inquired into them and all the circumstances of them, watched the motions and progress of them, and carefully laid them up, in order to bring them out against him another day, and afflict or punish him for them; or he set a watch about him, “kept [him] in” u, and enclosed him on every side with affliction, as if he was in a watch or prison, as Gersom; or, “wilt thou keep me” w? that is, in such close confinement: Gussetius x renders it, “if I have offered a sacrifice for sin”, as the word is sometimes used; signifying, that though he should, as no doubt he did, offer sacrifice for himself, as it is certain he did for his children, yet even that was not regarded by the Lord; he still marked and observed him and his sins, and would not forgive him, or absolve him from his sins, as follows; see Job 7:12;
and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity; clear him of it, and discharge him from it; pronounce him innocent, or pardon him; but, on the contrary, hold him guilty, and deal with him as such in a rigorous way; or wilt not “cleanse” or purify me, as the Targum and others y, but let me continue, or treat me as an impure person, not fit for communion or converse.
t “observasti me”, Beza, Mercerus; “tum observas me”, Schmidt. u “Custodisti me”, Drusius. w “Custodies me”, Vatablus. x Ebr. Comment. p. 923. y “mundabis”, Mercerus; “mundes”, Pagninus, Montanus, Bolducius; “purges me”, Junius & Tremellius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
14 If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity. 15 If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction; 16 For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou showest thyself marvellous upon me. 17 Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me. 18 Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me! 19 I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave. 20 Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, 21 Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; 22 A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.
Here we have,
I. Job’s passionate complaints. On this harsh and unpleasant string he harps much, in which, though he cannot be justified, he may be excused. He complained not for nothing, as the murmuring Israelites, but had cause to complain. If we think it looks ill in him, let it be a warning to us to keep our temper better.
1. He complains of the strictness of God’s judgment and the rigour of his proceedings against him, and is ready to call it summum jus–justice bordering on severity. That he took all advantages against him: “If I sin, then thou markest me, v. 14. (1.) If I do but take one false step, misplace a word, or cast a look awry, I shall be sure to hear of it. Conscience, thy deputy, will be sure to upbraid me with it, and to tell me that this gripe, this twitch of pain, is to punish me for that.” If God should thus mark iniquities, we should be undone; but we must acknowledge the contrary, that, though we sin, God does not deal in extremity with us. (2.) That he prosecuted those advantages to the utmost: Thou wilt not acquit me from my iniquity. While his troubles he could not take the comfort of his pardon, nor hear that voice of joy and gladness; so hard is it to see love in God’s heart when we see frowns in his face and a rod in his hand. (3.) That, whatever was his character, his case at present was very uncomfortable, v. 15. [1.] If he be wicked, he is certainly undone in the other world: If I be wicked, woe to me. Note, A sinful state is a woeful state. This we should each of us believe, as Job here, with application to ourselves: “If I be wicked, though prosperous and living in pleasure, yet woe to me.” Some especially have reason to dread double woes if they be wicked. “I that have knowledge, that have made a great profession of religion, that have been so often under strong convictions, and have made so many fair promises–I that was born of such good parents, blessed with a good education, that have lived in good families, and long enjoyed the means of grace–if I be wicked, woe, and a thousand woes, to me.” [2.] If he be righteous, yet he dares not lift up his head, dares not answer as before, ch. ix. 15. He is so oppressed and overwhelmed with his troubles that he cannot look up with any comfort or confidence. Without were fightings, within were fears; so that, between both, he was full of confusion, not only confusion of face for the disgrace he was brought down to and the censures of his friends, but confusion of spirit; his mind was in a constant hurry, and he was almost distracted, Ps. lxxxviii. 15.
2. He complains of the severity of the execution. God (he thought) did not only punish him for every failure, but punish him in a high degree, Job 10:16; Job 10:17. His affliction was, (1.) Grievous, very grievous, marvellous, exceedingly marvellous. God hunted him as a lion, as a fierce lion hunts and runs down his prey. God was not only strange to him, but showed himself marvellous upon him, by bringing him into uncommon troubles and so making him prodigy, a wonder unto many. All wondered that God would inflict and that Job could bear so much. That which made his afflictions most grievous was that he felt God’s indignation in them; it was this that made them taste so bitter and lie so heavy. They were God’s witnesses against him, tokens of his displeasure; this made the sores of his body wounds in his spirit. (2.) It was growing, still growing worse and worse. This he insists much upon; when he hoped the tide would turn, and begin to ebb, still it flowed higher and higher. His affliction increased, and God’s indignation in the affliction. He found himself no better, no way better. These witnesses were renewed against him, that, if one did not reach to convict him, another might. Changes and war were against him. If there was any change with him, it was not for the better; still he was kept in a state of war. As long as we are here in this world we must expect that the clouds will return after the rain, and perhaps the sorest and sharpest trials may be reserved for the last. God was at war with him, and it was a great change. He did not use to be so, which aggravated the trouble and made it truly marvellous. God usually shows himself kind to his people; if at any time he shows himself otherwise, it is his strange work, his strange act, and he does in it show himself marvellous.
3. He complains of his life, and that ever he was born to all this trouble and misery (Job 10:18; Job 10:19): “If this was designed for my lot, why was I brought out of the womb, and not smothered there, or stifled in the birth?” This was the language of his passion, and it was a relapse into the same sin he fell into before. He had just now called life a favour (v. 12), yet now he calls it a burden, and quarrels with God for giving it, or rather laying it upon him. Mr. Caryl gives this a good turn in favour of Job. “We may charitably suppose,” says he, “that what troubled Job was that he was in a condition of life which (as he conceived) hindered the main end of his life, which was the glorifying of God. His harp was hung on the willow-trees, and he was quite out of tune for praising God. Nay, he feared lest his troubles should reflect dishonour upon God and give occasion to his enemies to blaspheme; and therefore he wishes, O that I had given up the ghost! A godly man reckons that he lives to no purpose if he do not live to the praise and glory of God.” If that was his meaning, it was grounded on a mistake; for we may glorify the Lord in the fires. But this use we may make of it, not to be over-fond of life, since the case has been such sometimes, even with wise and good men, that they have complained of it. Why should we dread giving up the ghost, or covet to be seen of men, since the time may come when we may be ready to wish we had given up the ghost and no eye had seen us? Why should we inordinately lament the death of our children in their infancy, that are as if they had not been, and are carried from the womb to the grave, when perhaps we ourselves may sometimes wish it had been our own lot?
II. Job’s humble requests. He prays, 1. That God would see his affliction (v. 15), take cognizance of his case, and take it into his compassionate consideration. Thus David prays (Ps. xxv. 18), Look upon my affliction and my pain. Thus we should, in our troubles, refer ourselves to God, and may comfort ourselves with this, that he knows our souls in adversity. 2. That God would grant him some ease. If he could not prevail for the removal of his trouble, yet might he not have some intermission? “Lord, let me not be always upon the rack, always in extremity: O let me alone, that I may take comfort a little! v. 20. Grant me some respite, some breathing-time, some little enjoyment of myself.” This he would reckon a great favour. Those that are not duly thankful for constant ease should think how welcome one hour’s ease would be if they were in constant pain. Two things he pleads:– (1.) That life and its light were very short: “Are not my days few? v. 20. Yes, certainly they are, very few. Lord, let them not be all miserable, all in the extremity of misery. I have but a little time to live; let me have some comfort of life while it does last.” This plea fastens on the goodness of God’s nature, the consideration of which is very comfortable to an afflicted spirit. And, if we would use this as a plea with God for mercy (“Are not my days few? Lord, pity me”), we should use it as a plea with ourselves, to quicken us to duty: “Are not my days few? Then it concerns me to redeem time, to improve opportunities, what my hand finds to do to do it with all my might, that I may be ready for the days of eternity, which shall be many.” (2.) That death and its darkness were very near and would be very long (Job 10:21; Job 10:22): “Lord, give me some ease before I die,” that is, “lest I die of my pain.” Thus David pleads (Ps. xiii. 3), “Lest I sleep the sleep of death, and then it will be too late to expect relief; for wilt thou show wonders to the dead?” Ps. lxxxviii. 10. “Let me have a little comfort before I die, that I may take leave of this world calmly, and not in such confusion as I am now in.” Thus earnest should we be for grace, and thus we should plead, “Lord, renew me in the inward man; Lord, sanctify me before I die, for otherwise it will never be done.” See how he speaks here of the state of the dead. [1.] It is a fixed state, whence we shall not return ever again to live such a life as we now live, ch. vii. 10. At death we must bid a final farewell to this world. The body must then be laid where it will lie long, and the soul adjudged to that state in which it must be for ever. That had need be well done which is to be done but once, and done for eternity. [2.] It is a very melancholy state; so it appears to us. Holy souls, at death, remove to a land of light, where there is no death; but their bodies they leave to a land of darkness and the shadow of death. He heaps up expressions here of the same import to show that he has as dreadful apprehensions of death and the grave as other men naturally have, so that it was only the extreme misery he was in that made him wish for it. Come and let us look a little into the grave, and we shall find, First, That there is no order there: it is without any order, perpetual night, and no succession of day. All there lie on the same level, and there is no distinction between prince and peasant, but the servant is there free from his master, ch. iii. 19. No order is observed in bringing people to the grave, not the eldest first, not the richest, not the poorest, and yet every one in his own order, the order appointed by the God of life. Secondly, That there is no light there. In the grave there is thick darkness, darkness that cannot be felt indeed, yet cannot but be feared by those that enjoy the light of life. In the grave there is no knowledge, no comfort, no joy, no praising God, no working out our salvation, and therefore no light. Job was so much ashamed that others should see his sores, and so much afraid to see them himself, that the darkness of the grave, which would hide them and huddle them up, would upon that account be welcome to him. Darkness comes upon us; and therefore let us walk and work while we have the light with us. The grave being a land of darkness, it is well we are carried thither with our eyes closed, and then it is all one. The grave is a land of darkness to man; our friends that have gone thither we reckon removed into darkness, Ps. lxxxviii. 18. But that it is not so to God will appear by this, that the dust of the bodies of the saints, though scattered, though mingled with other dust, will none of it be lost, for God’s eye is upon every grain of it and it shall be forth-coming in the great day.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
(14) If I sin . . .If I had sinned Thou wouldst have marked me for punishment, and from mine iniquity Thou wouldst not acquit me. If I had been guilty, woe unto me 1 and if righteous, I must not lift up my head like an innocent person. I am full of shame, therefore behold Thou mine affliction, for only by Thy taking note of it can I find relief.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. If I (should) sin The purpose Job thinks he has discovered, the Almighty carries into execution, whatever may be man’s moral character. He supposes four conditions of life: first, that of the ordinary sinner, (Job 10:14😉 second, that of the gross and willful transgressor, (15 a;) third, that of the righteous, such as Job claimed to be, (15 b;) fourth, that of those consciously proud of guiltlessness, (Pharisaical righteousness,) as seems implied in “the head lift itself up.” Job 10:16. The two suppositions of irreligious life are offset to the two of religious life, and make what Ewald truly calls “a horrible tetralemma” a cruel fourfold net.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
(14) If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity. (15) If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction; (16) For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me. (17) Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me. (18) Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me! (19) I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave. (20) Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, (21) Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; (22) A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.
What Job hath here said, that he was full of confusion, and that his affliction encreased, may serve to account, in some measure, for the many hasty complaints he throws out. It is one of the most interesting beauties of the scriptures, and for which we never can sufficiently offer up our praises to GOD the HOLY GHOST, that he hath not only recorded the faith of the eminent servants of the Lord, but their frailties also. And the gracious intention of that blessed, and condescending Teacher, in this kind and merciful act, no humble soul should be at a loss to understand. Surely it was to comfort the LORD’S people, under their infirmities, that, as these things were written aforetime, written for our learning, so we in the view of them through patience, and comfort of the scriptures, might have hope. Rom 15:4 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Job 10:14 If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity.
Ver. 14. If I sin, then thou markest me ] Though through human frailty only I offend ( et nimis dedignatur mortalitatem qui peccasse erubescit ), thou soon notest it, thou followest me up and down, as it were, with pen, ink, and paper, to set down my faults (Euphorm.). How, then say some, that God sees not sin in his children? Job thought the Lord was overstrict with him (which yet could not be), and that he put no difference between him and those that were notoriously wicked, as the next words import.
And thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
iniquity. Hebrew. ‘avah. App-44.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
then: Job 13:26, Job 13:27, Job 14:16, Psa 130:3, Psa 139:1
thou wilt: Job 7:21, Exo 34:7, Num 14:18
Reciprocal: Job 9:29 – General Job 10:6 – General Job 30:21 – become cruel Job 40:2 – he that reproveth Nah 1:3 – and will Phi 3:9 – not
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 10:14. If I sin If I commit the least sin; then thou markest me Thou dost not connive at, or pass by my sins, but dost severely and diligently observe them all, that thou mayest punish me. And thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity Wilt not pardon, pity, and help me, but art resolved to punish me with rigour: words of great impatience and distrust. But he was so oppressed and overwhelmed with his troubles that it seems he could not look up with any comfort or confidence. Without were fightings, within were fears, so that between both he was full of confusion.