Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 14:16
For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin?
16. Figures expressing the keen scrutiny with which God watches man’s life in order to detect his false steps and observe his every sin, cf. ch. Job 13:27.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
16 22. This prayer for a second life is supported by a picture of the severity with which God deals with man in this life and the mournful consequences of it.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For now thou numberest my steps – Thou dost make strict inquiry into all my conduct, that thou mayest mark my errors, and hold me bound to punishment. The sense is, that God treated him now with severity; and he besought him to have pity on him, and bring him to trial, and give him an opportunity to vindicate himself.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Job 14:16
For Thou numberest my steps.
God compassing our paths
Some people think this idea is oppressive. They shrink from it. It contracts their being, and depresses their energy. You have seen a ripe apple that has been kept in the storeroom all the winter until all its juices have evaporated, and its skin becomes dry and wrinkled, and it has shrunk in size to a fourth of what it was. Take that withered, wizened apple, and place it under the bell glass of an air pump, and as you withdraw the air that presses on it from the outside, the air within itself causes it to expand, smooths out its wrinkles, and makes it once more the plump, fresh apple it was when newly plucked. A similar effect, they suppose, would be produced upon their being were the oppressive compassing by God removed. They would move more easily under their own indulgent eye than they could under the strict eye of Gods righteousness. But this is a vain expectation. A heavier burden would press upon them than the compassing of their path by God. The apple swells mechanically only with its own internal gas, and not with the fresh juices of life. It is empty and without substance. And so is the life from which the conscious pressure of God upon it is removed. To be without God in the world is to be without hope. There may be the appearance of living, but the soul is dead. (Hugh Macmillan, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 16. For now thou numberest my steps] ki attah, ALTHOUGH thou, &c. Though thou, by thy conduct towards me, seemest bent on my utter destruction, yet thou delightest in mercy, and I shall be saved.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
For now; so this is a reason of his desire of death, Job 14:13. Or rather, But now; for this seems to be added by way of opposition. I believe thou wilt pity and help me, but for the present it is far otherwise with me.
Thou, numberest my steps; thou makest a strict inquiry into all my actions, that thou mayst find out all mine errors, and punish them. Compare Job 13:27; 31:4; 34:1; Psa 56:6.
Dost thou not watch over my sin, i.e. dost thou not watch for my haltings, or miscarriages, as if thou wast glad of an occasion to punish me? Or, thou dost not delay the punishment of my sin; for the same Hebrew word signifies both sin and its punishments.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16. Rather, “Yea, thou wiltnumber my steps, and wilt not (as now) jealously watch over my sin.”Thenceforward, instead of severe watching for every sin of Job, Godwill guard him against every sin.
number . . . stepsthatis, minutely attend to them, that they may not wander [UMBREIT](1Sa 2:9; Psa 37:23).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For now thou numberest my steps,…. Or “but now” g, at this present time thou seemest to have no desire to me, or affection for me, but the reverse. Job was in a pretty good frame of mind a little before, having in view his last change, and the glorious resurrection; but on a sudden he returns to his former complaints of God, and here of the rigour and strictness of his justice in marking his steps, and correcting him for his sin; so very uncertain are the best of frames: the outward conversation of men, whether good or bad, is often in Scripture expressed by walking, and the actions of men, good or evil, are the steps taken therein; here they signify evil ones, irregular steps, steps out of the way of God’s commandments, aberrations, strayings from thence, false steps; these Job supposed God not only had knowledge of, as he has of all the ways, paths, and goings of men, but took very exact notice of his wrong steps; looked very narrowly to his paths, as in Job 13:27; and strictly marked them; yea, told them one by one, that he might miss none, and make up a large account, which he put down in his book, in order to produce against him; in which Job was mistaken: he thought God dealt with him as he does with wicked men, whose evil actions are not only known and observed, but are counted and put down in the book of his remembrance, which will be opened at the last day, and produced against them; but God has blotted out of his book the sins of his people, and will remember them no more; he has a book of remembrance for their good works, words, and thoughts, but none for their evil ones:
dost thou not watch over my sin? of error, infirmity, and weakness; observe it, mark it in a strict and rigorous way, which, when God does, who can stand before him? or “watch for my sin?” Da 9:14 as Jeremiah’s enemies watched for his halting; so Job here represents God very wrongly, as if he watched for an opportunity against him, to take the advantage of it, and severely chastise him: or “thou dost not wait for my sin” h; that is, the punishment of it as many of the Jewish writers i carry the sense; which is, that God did not defer the punishment of sin, or give him any respite or breathing time, but as soon as ever he committed any offence, immediately, at once, he was rough with him, and used him with great severity. Aben Ezra inserts the word “only”, as explanative of the meaning of the words, thus, “thou watchest only over my sin”, or dost not mark and observe anything but my sins; not my good deeds, only my evil ones; which is a wrong charge, for God takes notice of the good works of his people, and rewards them in a way of grace, though not of debt, as well as of their evil works, and chastises for them in a fatherly way: others render the words to this sense, what is not, or of no moment or consequence, thou keepest for me in mind and memory, as sin k; that which is not sin, or at least not known to me to be sin, or however something very trifling, scarce to be called a sin, yet I am dealt with for it as if a very heinous one; or I am afflicted for I know not what, or, which is all one, for what is not known to me. Some take the words to be a petition, “do not observe my sin” l; or mark it strictly, or keep it in mind, or reserve it against another time, but hide thy face from it, and remember it no more, nor never against me.
g “at nunc”, Piscator. h “non differes punitionem meam”, Pagninus, i Jarchi, Gersom, Bar Tzemach. k So Schultens. l “Nec serves, id est, observes peccatum meum”; some in Mercerus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| Complainings of Job. | B. C. 1520. |
16 For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin? 17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity. 18 And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place. 19 The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man. 20 Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away. 21 His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them. 22 But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.
Job here returns to his complaints; and, though he is not without hope of future bliss, he finds it very hard to get over his present grievances.
I. He complains of the particular hardships he apprehended himself under from the strictness of God’s justice, Job 14:16; Job 14:17. Therefore he longed to go hence to that world where God’s wrath will be past, because now he was under the continual tokens of it, as a child, under the severe discipline of the rod, longs to be of age. “When shall my change come? For now thou seemest to me to number my steps, and watch over my sin, and seal it up in a bag, as bills of indictment are kept safely, to be produced against the prisoner.” See Deut. xxxii. 34. “Thou takest all advantages against me; old scores are called over, every infirmity is animadverted upon, and no sooner is a false step taken than I am beaten for it.” Now, 1. Job does right to the divine justice in owning that he smarted for his sins and transgressions, that he had done enough to deserve all that was laid upon him; for there was sin in all his steps, and he was guilty of transgression enough to bring all this ruin upon him, if it were strictly enquired into: he is far from saying that he perishes being innocent. But, 2. He does wrong to the divine goodness in suggesting that God was extreme to mark what he did amiss, and made the worst of every thing. He spoke to this purport, ch. xiii. 27. It was unadvisedly said, and therefore we will not dwell too much upon it. God does indeed see all our sins; he sees sin in his own people; but he is not severe in reckoning with us, nor is the law ever stretched against us, but we are punished less than our iniquities deserve. God does indeed seal and sew up, against the day of wrath, the transgression of the impenitent, but the sins of his people he blots out as a cloud.
II. He complains of the wasting condition of mankind in general. We live in a dying world. Who knows the power of God’s anger, by which we are consumed and troubled, and in which all our days are passed away? See Psa 90:7-9; Psa 90:11. And who can bear up against his rebukes? Ps. xxxix. 11.
1. We see the decays of the earth itself. (1.) Of the strongest parts of it, v. 18. Nothing will last always, for we see even mountains moulder and come to nought; they wither and fall as a leaf; rocks wax old and pass away by the continual beating of the sea against them. The waters wear the stones with constant dropping, non vi, sed spe cadendo–not by the violence, but by the constancy with which they fall. On this earth every thing is the worse for the wearing. Tempus edax rerum–Time devours all things. It is not so with the heavenly bodies. (2.) Of the natural products of it. The things which grow out of the earth, and seem to be firmly rooted in it, are sometimes by an excess of rain washed away, v. 19. Some think he pleads this for relief: “Lord, my patience will not hold out always; even rocks and mountains will fail at last; therefore cease the controversy.”
2. No marvel then if we see the decays of man upon the earth, for he is of the earth, earthy. Job begins to think his case is not singular, and therefore he ought to reconcile himself to the common lot. We perceive by many instances, (1.) How vain it is to expect much from the enjoyments of life: “Thou destroyest the hope of man,” that is, “puttest an end to all the projects he had framed and all the prospects of satisfaction he had flattered himself with.” Death will be the destruction of all those hopes which are built upon worldly confidences and confined to worldly comforts. Hope in Christ, and hope in heaven, death will consummate and not destroy. (2.) How vain it is to struggle against the assaults of death (v. 20): Thou prevailest for ever against him. Note, Man is an unequal match for God. Whom God contends with he will certainly prevail against, prevail for ever against so that they shall never be able to make head again. Note further, The stroke of death is irresistible; it is to no purpose to dispute its summons. God prevails against man and he passes away, and lo he is not. Look upon a dying man, and see, [1.] How his looks are altered: Thou changest his countenance, and this in two ways:–First, By the disease of his body. When a man has been a few days sick what a change is there in his countenance! How much more when he has been a few minutes dead! The countenance which was majestic and awful becomes mean and despicable–that was lovely and amiable becomes ghastly and frightful. Bury my dead out of my sight. Where then is the admired beauty? Death changes the countenance, and then sends us away out of this world, gives us one dismission hence, never to return. Secondly, By the discomposure of his mind. Note, The approach of death will make the strongest and stoutest to change countenance; it will make the most merry smiling countenance to look grave and serious, and the most bold daring countenance to look pale and timorous. [2.] How little he is concerned in the affairs of his family, which once lay so near his heart. When he is in the hands of the harbingers of death, suppose struck with a palsy or apoplexy, or delirious in a fever, or in conflict with death, tell him then the most agreeable news, or the most painful, concerning his children, it is all alike, he knows it not, he perceives it not, v. 21. He is going to that world where he will be a perfect stranger to all those things which here filled and affected him. The consideration of this should moderate our cares concerning our children and families. God will know what comes of them when we are gone. To him therefore let us commit them, with him let us leave them, and not burden ourselves with needless fruitless cares concerning them. [3.] How dreadful the agonies of death are (v. 22): While his flesh is upon him (so it may be read), that is, the body he is so loth to lay down,: it shall have pain; and while his soul is within him, that is, the spirit he is so loth to resign, it shall mourn. Note, Dying work is hard work; dying pangs are, commonly, sore pangs. It is folly therefore for men to defer their repentance to a death-bed, and to have that to do which is the one thing needful when they are really unfit to do any thing: but it is true wisdom by making our peace with God in Christ and keeping a good conscience, to treasure up comforts which will support and relieve us against the pains and sorrows of a dying hour.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
(16) For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin?It is sealed up in a bag, and Thou fastenest up mine iniquity. But persecution so persistent would wear out the strongest, even as the mountain and the rock are gradually worn away. How much more then must I be the subject of decay? for Thou destroyest the hope of man when he dieth, so that he no longer has any interest in the welfare or any concern in the adversity of his children after him; only in his own person he has pain, and his own soul within him mourneth.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
16. For now Returning to his complaint concerning the evils of life, he gives the reason why he desires the release or respite spoken of in the preceding verse. It is that God “numbers his steps;” that is, holds him as a transgressor, (as in Job 13:27,) and keeps watch for his sins, lest, perchance, any of them should escape punishment. Dost thou not watch, etc. Some (as Delitzsch) construe this phrase to be an affirmation that God does not keep back wrath, but punishes immediately. To this there is the twofold objection of weakened and unharmonious sense and of the necessity of supplying aph, wrath.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 14:16. For now, &c. But now thou, &c. Do not watch mine offences so narrowly: Job 14:17. Do not seal up my transgression in a bag, or note mine iniquities in thy register. The word rendered sewest up in our version, signifies the taking down any remark or memorandum in a table-book. Heath.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
(16) For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin? (17) My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity. (18) And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place. (19) The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man. (20) Thou prevailest forever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away. (21) His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them. (22) But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.
Job is here getting again into his old note of complaining. The poor man seems at times, when his whole soul felt warmed with the subject of divine love, to lose both a sight and sense of his own sorrows. But the clouds return after the rain. Probably some new pains of body, and distress of mind, breaking out afresh, like a captive awaking from sleep, whose refreshment, during that state of nature’s forgetfulness, had been sweet, finds himself still in prison; so Job, after dwelling upon the LORD’S goodness, falls back again to the feeling of his own misery, and laments it. Alas! what is the sum total of life, but what Job observes, both in the opening and close of this chapter? Without an eye to JESUS, without an interest in JESUS, as an hireling’s is his day, and that day a day only of trouble! Oh! how sweet that prayer; So teach us to number our days, as to apply our hearts unto wisdom. Psa 90:12 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Job 14:16 For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin?
Ver. 16. For now thou numberest my steps ] Or, But now thou numberest, &c., thou keepest an exact account of every sin of mine, of every step that I have trod awry; yea, though it be but some wry motion of my mind (as the Septuagint here translate), so curious art thou and critical in thine observations of mine outstrays, . See Job 10:14 . But is this Job that speaketh, or some other? How confident was he erewhile, and comfortable in the hope of a glorious resurrection! but now down again upon all four, as we say; and like an aguish man in a great fit of impatience, which holdeth him to the end of the chapter. But for this, who knoweth not that every new man is two men? that in the saints the flesh is ever lusting against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh? that in the Shulamite is, as it were, the company of two armies maintaining a continual contest? Son 6:13 . “I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple,” Joh 2:4 . See Trapp on “ Jon 2:4 “
Dost thou not watch over my sin?
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
sin. Hebrew. Chata App-44.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
thou numberest: Job 10:6, Job 10:14, Job 13:27, Job 31:4, Job 33:11, Job 34:21, Psa 56:6, Psa 139:1-4, Pro 5:21, Jer 32:19
Reciprocal: Job 7:20 – I have sinned Job 9:28 – I know Job 31:37 – declare Job 33:10 – he findeth Job 40:2 – he that reproveth Psa 139:3 – compassest Jam 5:3 – Ye have
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 14:16-17. For now Or rather, But now, for this seems to be added by way of opposition, as if he had said, I believe thou wilt pity, help, and deliver me, and even wonderfully change my person, state, and place; but, for the present, it is far otherwise with me. Thus Job returns to his complaints; and, though he is not without hope of future felicity, he finds it hard to get over his present grievances. Thou numberest my steps Thou makest a strict inquiry into all my actions, that thou mayest find out all my errors. Dost thou not watch over my sin? The Hebrew should rather be rendered, Do not watch over, or take notice of, my sin, as the Chaldee paraphrast writes. Thus the vulgar Latin, Parce peccatis meis, Spare my sins; that is, forbear to punish me for them. He longed to go hence, to that world where Gods wrath would be past, because now he was under the continual tokens of it; as a child, under the severe discipline of the rod, longs to be of age! As if he had said, O that my change were come! for now thou seemest to number my steps, and watch over my sin, and seal it up in a bag, Job 14:17, as writings, or other choice things are preserved, that they may be all brought forth upon occasion, and not one of them forgotten; or, as bills of endictment are kept safe to be produced against the prisoner. Thou keepest all my sins in thy memory. But herein Job speaks rashly; or, rather, this verse ought to be rendered, in conformity with what was observed concerning a clause of the last, Do not seal up my transgressions in a bag, nor note my iniquities in thy register.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 14:16-22 turns to the contrast of Jobs present misery and hopeless end. Now God watches Job (Job 14:16). God writes down his sins, and seals up the indictments in a bag (Job 14:17). The mountains perish and the stones are worn away: so God destroys mans hope, and the man himself (Job 14:18-20). He is sunk in Sheol where he neither knows nor cares for the concerns of his family (Job 14:21). Only his flesh upon him hath pain and his soul within him mourneth (Job 14:22). [The flesh suffers pain through the process of decomposition in the grave; but the soul in Sheol also participates in the pain of its body, for though death has rent them apart, they still belong to the same self and sympathetically feel each others experiences. Cf. Jer 8:2*.A. S. P.] He is wholly shut up in his own misery.