Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 20:27
The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.
27. Heaven and earth conspire together against the sinner. There may be allusion to Job’s appeal to the earth, ch. Job 16:18, and his pretended assurance of having a witness in heaven, ch. Job 16:19, Job 19:25. Heaven “reveals” his iniquity in the chastisements, e.g. the fire of heaven, ch. Job 1:16, that fall on him; and earth rises up against him in the hostility of men, ch. Job 1:15; Job 1:17, cf. ch. Job 17:6.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The heaven shall reveal his iniquity – The meaning here is, that the whole creation would conspire against such a man. Heaven and earth would be arrayed against him. The course of events would be so ordered as to seem designed to bring his character out, and to show what he was. He would attempt to conceal his sin, but it would be in vain. He would hide it in his bosom, but it would be developed. He would put on the air of piety and innocence, but his secret sin would be known. This seems to be the general sense of the verse; and it is not necessary to attempt to show how it would be done – whether by lightning from heaven, as Noyes supposes, or whether by some direct manifestation from the skies. Probably the meaning is, that the divine dispensations toward such a man – the overwhelming calamities which he would experience, would show what he was. The word heaven is not unfrequently put for God himself. Dan 4:23, the heavens do rule. Luk 15:21, I have sinned against heaven.
The earth shall rise up against him – Calamities from the earth. The course of events here. Want of success – sterility of soil – blight and mildew, would rise up against such a man and show what he was. His real character would in some way be brought out, and it would be seen that he was a wicked man; compare Jdg 5:20.
They fought from heaven;
The stars in their courses fought against Sisera.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 27. The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.] Another allusion, if I mistake not, to the destruction of Korah and his company. The heaven revealed their iniquity; God declared out of heaven his judgment of their rebellion. “And the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the congregation;” Nu 16:20, c. And then the earth rose up against them. “The ground clave asunder that was under them, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up and they went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them;” Nu 16:31-33.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The heaven shall reveal his iniquity, i.e. God shall be a swift witness against him by some extraordinary judgments: still he reflects upon Jobs case, and the fire from heaven, Job 1.
The earth i.e. all creatures upon earth shall conspire with God to destroy him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
27. All creation is at enmitywith him, and proclaims his guilt, which he would fain conceal.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The heaven shall reveal his iniquity,…. Either God the Maker and Possessor of heaven, who dwells there, and is sometimes so called, Da 4:25; who sees and knows all things, even those that are most secret, as well as more openly committed, and will make all manifest, sooner or later; or else the angels of heaven, the inhabitants of it, so the Targum; who in the last day will be employed in gathering out of Christ’s kingdom all that offend, and do iniquity,
Mt 13:41; or the judgments of God descending from heaven, or appear there, and are owing to it; such as drowning the old world by opening the windows of heaven, Ge 7:11; the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire and brimstone from thence, Ge 19:24; and the destruction of persons by thunder, 2Sa 22:15, and lightning, 1Sa 2:10, and the like; which judgments falling upon men, show them to be guilty of crimes deserving of the wrath of God, see Ro 1:18;
and the earth shall rise up against him; when that becomes barren for the sins of men, and nothing but things hurtful to man rise up out of it; when it discloses the blood of murdered persons, and will at last give up the wicked dead that are buried in it; the Targum is,
“the inhabitants of the earth;”
and may be interpreted of their enmity, opposition, and hostility.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(27) The heaven shall reveal his iniquity.All nature shall combine to bring about his ruin, which is, in fact, decreed by God. We here take leave of Zophar, who does not reply again; he has exhausted himself, notwithstanding Job. 20:2.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
27. The heaven and the earth Zophar may have had in mind Job’s appeal to the heaven and earth, (Job 16:18-19.) With the good man, Eliphaz had said, (Job 5:22-23,) all nature stands in loving concord: against the bad man, adds Zophar, the heavens and the earth (as in Job’s case, chaps. i, ii) rise in dread conspiracy. The catastrophe of the wicked serves to bring to light their secret sins, a truth he bends into a boomerang to hurl at Job. Nature has no burial place for sin. God’s word is pledged that all sin shall finally be brought forth to the light. The earth, unwilling to tolerate the sinner any longer, is represented as rising up against him. The new heaven and the new earth (Rev 21:1) cannot be inaugurated until the last sinner has been cast forth from his grave.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 20:27 The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.
Ver. 27. The heaven shall reveal his iniquity ] Job had called heaven and earth to record his innocence, Job 16:19 . This is not to do now, saith Zophar, for all creatures have conspired thy ruin, and contributed thereunto, wind, fire, Sabeans, &c., so that he that hath but half an eye may see thee to be a wicked person. Such as are wicked indeed, not only secundum dici, as Job, but secundum esse, as Ahab, cannot look to heaven above, or to earth beneath, without horror to think even these, if other witnesses fail, shall bring to light their secret sins, and come to give testimony against them before the great Judge at the last day.
And the earth shall arise up against him
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
heaven: Psa 44:20, Psa 44:21, Jer 29:23, Mal 3:5, Luk 12:2, Luk 12:3, Rom 2:16, 1Co 4:5
earth: Job 16:18, Job 18:18, Isa 26:21
Reciprocal: Job 31:38 – cry Joh 8:9 – went out
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 20:27-28. The heaven shall reveal his iniquity God shall be a swift witness against him by extraordinary judgments; still he reflects upon Jobs case, and the fire from heaven. And the earth shall rise up against him All creatures upon earth shall conspire to destroy him. If the God of heaven and earth be his enemy, neither heaven nor earth will show him any kindness, but all the hosts of both are, and will be, at war with him. The increase of his house , jebul, proventus, his income, revenue, or his estate got by the labour, and employed for the use of his family; shall depart Shall be lost or taken away from him: shall flow away Like waters, swiftly and strongly, and so as to return no more: in the day of his wrath That is, of Gods wrath; when God shall come to execute judgment upon him. The abundance of his house, Heath renders it, shall roll away like the torrents in the day of his fury.