Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 21:25

And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure.

25. A different history; cf. Job’s words of himself, ch. Job 3:20, Job 7:11.

never eateth with pleasure ] Rather, and hath not tasted (lit. eaten) of good.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Job 21:23; Job 21:25-26

One dieth in his full strength . . . Another dieth in the bitterness of his soul.

Providence vindicated against the superficial observer

That which hampers men most in understanding providence is its tremendous extent. It is like a great poem, and all that one life or one observer can read is a few words, or at most, a few lines. God does not always show His hand. Sometimes He does, and when it suits Him better, He hides it. It is expedient that some mystery hang over the dispensations of this life. Whatever is unsatisfactory, therefore, at present plainly suggests that the scheme is yet unfinished. The unsatisfactory nature of the present suggests a future. Revelation steps in to tell us that this life is but the vestibule of existence. One or two considerations will modify our hasty conclusions in regard to the real fortunes of those who live and die around us, whether their circumstances be apparently prosperous or depressed.

1. Happiness and misery are by no means always according to appearance. They depend more upon the inner state of the soul than its outward surroundings, and are therefore put, to some extent, within the power of everyone.

2. Men make their judgments too much from the outside. It is the outside look of providence that puzzles us, and makes understanding difficult.

We arrive at the following conclusions–

1. God is no indifferent spectator of human fortunes, but manages them on a perfectly righteous plan.

2. The deceptive character of appearances makes it necessary to subtract a good deal from the apparent happiness and misery of the world at the outset of our investigations.

3. Physical disadvantages, and deprivation of the members and senses are capable of compensation in the other world.

4. The difficulty in understanding aright the providence of God, arises from the complex nature of many of His acts, which may have various distinct branches or departments, as penal, disciplinary, merciful, and even remunerative, all in a single stroke.

5. We can understand enough of the Divine doings to enable us to trust for the remainder.

6. The root of all happiness is a good conscience, and this is put within the reach of all.

7. A good conscience can only be had and maintained by seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness with all the means in our power.

8. And for all the purposes of practical piety, it is rather necessary we should remember the superintending arm of the great Worker, than that we should understand what He is doing. (William Isaac Keay.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Another; either,

1. Another wicked man. Or,

2. Any other man promiscuously considered, either good or bad. So hereby he shows how indifferently and alike God deals the concerns of this life to one and another, to good and bad. So he shows that there is a great variety in Gods dispensations; that he distributes great prosperity to one, and great afflictions to another no worse than he, according to his wise but secret counsel.

In the bitterness of his soul, i.e. with heart-breaking pains and sorrows.

Never eateth with pleasure, i.e. hath no pleasure in his life, no, not so much as at meal-time, when men usually are most free and pleasant.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul,…. Either another wicked man; for there is a difference among wicked men; some are outwardly happy in life, and in the circumstances of their death, as before described; and others are very unhappy in both; their life is a scene of afflictions which embitter life, and make death eligible; and in the midst of which they die, as well as oftentimes in bitter pains, and terrible agonies of body, as well as in great distress and horror of mind, and black despair, as Judas and others:

and never eateth with pleasure, or “of any good”, or “any good thing” y; either he has it not to eat, or what he has is not good, but like husks which swine eat, of which the prodigal would fain have filled his belly, when in extreme poverty, such as those words may describe; or else having what is good, has not an heart to eat of it; and so they describe a miser, living and dying such; see Ec 6:2; or rather the case of a man, who, through distempers and diseases of body, has lost his appetite, and cannot with any pleasure taste of the richest dainties; see Job 33:20. Some z interpret this verse and

Job 21:23 as what should be the case according to the sentiments of Job’s friends, who objected, that God punished the iniquities of wicked men, not in their own persons, but in their children; according to which, a wicked man then should die in the perfection of happiness, without weakness or want, in all quietness, ease, peace, and prosperity; and not in poverty and distress: but as Job 21:23 respect a wicked man, and his case and circumstances at death, agreeably to the whole context; so this relates to those of a good man, whom the Lord often deals bitterly with in life, as he did with Naomi, and was now the case of Job; see Ru 1:20; and who die in very poor and distressed circumstances; so that nothing is to be concluded from such appearances, with respect to the characters of men, as good or bad, and especially since both are brought into a like condition by death, as follows.

y “bonum”, Pagninus, Mercerus; so Junius Tremellius, Piscator & Bar Tzemach “de bono”, Cocceius, Michaelis, Schultens. z Bar Tzemach.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

25. Another The good man. Never eateth, etc. Rather, Has not enjoyed the good: the oft recurring , that is, the so-called greatest good of life.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Job 21:25 And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure.

Ver. 25. And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul ] Heb. And this dieth with a bitter soul; in a sad and sorrowful condition; having suffered many a little death all his life long (as godly men especially use to do, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, Heb 11:37 , seldom without a cross on their backs), and then dieth not only in the sorrows of death, but in the sorrows of life which to him hath been a lifeless life, because a joyless life.

And never eateth with pleasure ] Either because he hath but prisoners’ pittance, which will neither keep him alive nor suffer him to die; or, if he sit at a full table, yet his body is so ill affected by sickness, or his mind with sorrow, that he finds no good relish in what he eateth. That it is better with any of us, see a mercy and be thankful.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

soul. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

in the bitterness: Job 3:20, Job 7:11, Job 9:18, Job 10:1, 2Sa 17:8, *marg. Pro 14:10, Isa 38:15-17

never: Job 20:23, 1Ki 17:12, Ecc 6:2, Eze 4:16, Eze 4:17, Eze 12:18

Reciprocal: Ecc 5:17 – he eateth

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Job 21:25-26. Another dieth Another wicked man, or any other man promiscuously considered, either good or bad. In the bitterness of his soul With heart-breaking pains and sorrows; and never eateth with pleasure Hath no pleasure in his life, no, not so much as at meal-time, when men usually are most free and pleasant. So he shows there is a great variety in Gods dispensations; he distributes great prosperity to one, and great afflictions to another, according to his wise but secret counsel. They shall lie down alike in the dust All these worldly differences are ended by death, and they lie in the grave without any distinction till the time of the general resurrection. So that no man can tell who is good and who is bad, by events which befall them in this life. And if one wicked man die in a palace, and another in a dungeon, they will meet in the congregation of the dead and damned; and the worm that dieth not, and the fire that is not quenched, will be the same to both: which makes those differences inconsiderable, and not worth perplexing ourselves about.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

21:25 And another {n} dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure.

(n) That is, the godly.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes