Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 20:22
In the fullness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.
22. In the moment of his great abundance his straitness comes suddenly upon him.
every hand of the wicked ] Rather, of the wretched (ch. Job 3:20, him that is in misery). All those in destitution, and the lawless, both those whom he has oppressed and those perhaps who make common cause with them, shall rise up against him and make him their prey. The picture is similar to that drawn by Eliphaz, ch. Job 5:5.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
In the fulness of his sufficiency – When he seems to have an abundance.
He shall be in straits – Either by the dread of calamity, or because calamity shall come suddenly upon him, and his property shall be swept away. When everything seemed to be abundant he should be reduced to want.
Every hand of the wicked shall come upon him – Margin, or, troublesome The meaning is, that all that the wretched or miserable endure should come suddenly upon him. Rosenmuller suggests, however, that it means that all the poor, and all who had been oppressed and robbed by him, would suddenly come upon him to recover their own property, and would scatter all that he had. The general meaning is clear, that he would be involved in misery from every quarter, or on every hand.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 22. In the fullness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits] This is a fine saying, and few of the menders of Job’s text have been able to improve the version. It is literally true of every great, rich, wicked man; he has no God, and anxieties and perplexities torment him, notwithstanding he has his portion in this life.
Every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.] All kinds of misery shall be his portion. Coverdale translates: Though he had plenteousnesse of every thinge, yet was he poore; and, therefore, he is but a wretch on every syde.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits; i.e. the height of prosperity and abundance he shall be distressed and tormented, either by the horrors of an unquiet mind and guilty conscience, which makes him every moment expect Divine vengeance to fall upon his head; or rather, because of the sudden and unexpected assault of other men combining against him, and spoiling all his goods, as it follows.
Every hand of the wicked, who lives by injury and the spoiling of others, and by Gods providence are directed to fall upon him. Or, of the labourer, whose wages possibly he hath detained; or, of such as are in trouble or misery, as this word signifies, Job 3:20, who may jointly invade him, either because their necessity tempts and drives them to spoil others; or rather, because they were such as had been brought into their calamity by his oppressions, and therefore now take reparations from him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
22. shall berather, “heis (feeleth) straitened.” The next clause explains in whatrespect.
wickedRather, “thewhole hand of the miserable (whom he had oppressed) comethupon him”; namely, the sense of his having oppressed the poor,now in turn comes with all its power (hand) on him. This caused his”straitened” feeling even in prosperity.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits,…. For though he may not only have a sufficient competency to live upon, but even a fulness of temporal blessings, have as much as heart can wish, or more, even good things, and plenty of them laid up for many years; yet amidst it all shall be reduced to the utmost straits and difficulties, either through fear of losing what he has, insomuch that his abundance will not suffer him to sleep in the night, nor to enjoy an hour’s pleasure in the day; or being so narrow spirited, notwithstanding his fulness, that he cannot allow himself to eat of the fruit of his labours, and rejoice therein; or fearing, notwithstanding all his plenty, that he shall come to want and poverty; or rather while he is in the most flourishing circumstances, and in the height of his prosperity, he is suddenly, as Nebuchadnezzar was, dispossessed of all, and reduced to the utmost extremity, Da 4:31; the Targum is,
“when his measure is filled, he shall take vengeance on him:”
every hand of the wicked shall come upon him: or of the labourer, as the Targum, the hire of whose labour he has detained, or has taken away from him that which he laboured for; and so Broughton,
“the hand of the injured or grieved;”
such as he had been injurious to, and had grieved by his oppressions of them; or rather every troublesome wicked man, the hand of every thief or robber; respect seems to be had to the hand of the Sabeans and Chaldeans, that had been on Job and his substance.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(22) The hand of every one that is in misery shall come upon him: i.e., in retaliation, or possibly, but less probably, every blow of a miserable man, which can render a man miserable, shall come upon him.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
22. The wicked , wretched. Covetousness, which is the idolatry of wealth, shrivels the soul, and converts the imagination into an engine of terror. The fear of want comes upon the soul like “a strong man armed.” A guilty conscience sees in every man an enemy, “an officer in every bush,” every hand of the wretched comes upon him.
Job 20:22. Every hand of the wicked, &c. All kind of misery, &c.
DISCOURSE: 471 Job 20:22. In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits.
MEN universally, by nature, seek their happiness in earthly things: and though they meet with continual disappointment, they will persevere in the same unprofitable course, spending their money for that which is not bread, and their labour for that which satisfieth not. The question, Who will shew us any good? is asked by every man: but it is the godly man alone that answers it aright, Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me [Note: Hamans state, Est 5:11-13, may here be opened to advantage.]. The godly man attains the object of his pursuit: but the ungodly man finds, by bitter experience, that, whatever be the measure of his success in the attainment of earthly things, in the fulness of his sufficiency he is in straits.
From these words, I will take occasion to shew what a poor wretched creature a mere worldly man is;
I.
As viewed in himself
It is here supposed, that he may not only possess a very large measure of earthly things, but may have a consciousness that his portion is, as it were, shaken together, pressed down, and running over. Yet, in the fulness of his sufficiency, he will be in straits;
1.
As it respects his present enjoyments
[Earthly things, of whatever kind they be, pleasures, riches, or honours, are all, in their nature, empty and unsatisfying in their use, transient and cloying and, in their effects, productive of trouble and vexation Our blessed Lord has told us, that a mans life consisteth not in the abundance of the things that he possesseth; and Solomon, after trying all things to an extent that no other man ever did, has given us his testimony respecting them, that they are all vanity and vexation of spirit.]
2.
As it respects his future prospects
[Every man has a consciousness that there is a future state; and that earthly possessions, so far from advancing our preparation for it, tend rather to divert our attention from it, and to obstruct our progress in the heavenly life. And it is no uncommon thing for a man, in the midst of all his earthly pleasures, to feel them embittered to him, by a consciousness that he is hastening to the eternal world, and is unprepared for it. In fact, though men may, for a season, shake off the thoughts of eternity, they cannot so divest themselves of it in a time of sickness, and in the approach of death, as not to feel exceedingly straitened in their spirit, and to acknowledge that they have been all their days following a phantom, that has eluded their grasp, and disappointed their expectations.] II.
As viewed in contrast with a godly man
As an ungodly man may possess an abundance of earthly comforts, so may a godly man be reduced to great straits. We can scarcely conceive a more destitute condition than that of Lazarus, or that of those persecuted saints who wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented [Note: Heb 11:37-38.]. Yet, as the worldling is in straits in the midst of his abundance, so these are in abundance in the midst of all their straits. They enjoy much,
1.
In possession
[They have peace with God: and that is more to them than ten thousand worlds. With this this have content; which reconciles them fully to their state, whatever that state may be. However great their distress may be, they are resigned to it as their fathers will, and they assure themselves that all things shall work together for their good. They know that their affliction is but light and momentary, and that it is working out for them a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Hence, so far from being dejected by their trials, they even glory in them, and find them a source of solid satisfaction [Note: 2Co 12:10.].]
2.
In reversion
[They are enabled to look up to heaven, with an assurance, that, however destitute here, they have in that blessed world an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away. They have already a foretaste of that bliss, in a spirit of adoption, and in the sealing of the Spirit, which is to them an earnest of what they are speedily to enjoy in all its fulness. How empty do all earthly things appear to him, whilst in such an elevated state as this! A king upon his throne, if not possessed of these spiritual treasures, is to him an object of pity rather than of admiration and envy: so infinitely is the worldly man below the child of God! The worldly man, in having all things, possesses nothing; but the saint, whilst having nothing, in reality possesses all things [Note: 2Co 6:10.].]
Application Seek not happiness in a way of sin
[Sin may afford a present gratification: but, though it be as honey in the mouth, it will be as gall in the stomach. So we are told in the preceding context [Note: ver. 1214.]; and so it is found by every child of man ]
2.
Be not too intent upon the things of this world
[In earthly business, of whatever kind, we may be diligent; yea, and great diligence will consist with great fervour of spirit, and spirituality of mind [Note: Rom 12:11.]. But our affections are not to be set on things below. In heaven alone is the treasure which we are to affect; and where that is, our heart must be also.]
3.
Seek your happiness in God alone
[There can be no disappointment, and no satiety. That will make you rich in possession, and in reversion too: for if Christ be yours, all other things must of necessity be yours also: whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours: and ye are Christs, and Christ is Gods [Note: 1Co 3:21-23.].]
Job 20:22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.
Ver. 22. In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits ] The covetous man never hath a sufficiency (but is as greedily gasping still after more, as if he were not worth a halfpenny), much less a fulness of sufficiency, a superfluity, a superabundance. Whatsoever Esau pretended in his, “I have enough, my brother,” Gen 33:9 , Jacob could indeed say truly, I have enough, Gen 33:11 , for godliness only hath an autarchy, 1Ti 6:6 . True piety hath true plenty, and is never without a well contenting sufficiency, wherein the good man is, when in the fulness of straits. See it in David, 1Sa 30:6 , in Habakkuk, Hab 3:16-17 , in Paul, 2Co 6:10 Phi 4:11 , he had nothing, and yet possessed all things. But that which Zophar here drives at, is to show that the oppressor shall be ruined when at highest, and when he least looketh for it; as was Nebuchadnezzar, Haman, Belshazzar, Babylon the Great, Rev 18:7-8 . How was Alexander the Great surprised at a feast! Caesar in the senate house! many of the emperors in their own palaces! &c.
Every hand of the wicked shall come upon him every hand of the wicked = all power of trouble.
hand. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), for the power exercised by it.
the fulness: Job 15:29, Job 18:7, Psa 39:5, Ecc 2:18-20, Rev 18:7
every hand: Job 1:15, Job 1:17, Job 16:11, 2Ki 24:2, Isa 10:6
wicked: or, troublesome, Job 3:17
Reciprocal: Job 15:21 – in prosperity Job 21:23 – in his full strength Job 33:6 – I am Hag 1:6 – eat
20:22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand {l} of the wicked shall come upon him.
(l) The wicked will never be in rest: for one wicked man will seek to destroy another.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
THE EMPTINESS OF EARTHLY POSSESSIONS
But, to see him in his true colours, look at him,
1.
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes