Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Job 8:3
Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?
3. doth God pervert ] Or, will God pervert will the Almighty, &c.? This is what Bildad means by his reference to these things. Job’s speech put briefly is an assertion that God perverts justice. God is referred to in his character of ruler of the world. By the question Bildad expresses his astonishment and abhorrence of what seems the drift of Job’s language. The words “God” and “Almighty” stand first in the sentence for the sake of emphasis, will God ? and the same word “pervert” is also used in both clauses with an intonation of astonishment.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Doth God pervert judgment? – That is, Does God afflict people unjustly? Does he show favor to the evil, and punish the good? Bildad here undoubtedly refers to Job, and supposes that he had brought this charge against God. But he had not done it in so many words. He had complained of the severity of his sufferings, and had indulged in irreverent language toward God. But he had not advanced the charge openly that God had perverted right. Bildad strenuously maintains that God would do right. His argument is based on the supposition that God would deal with people in this life according to their character; and thus he infers that Job must have been guilty of some great wickedness, that punishment should come upon him in this manner.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Job 8:3
Doth the Almighty pervert justice?
Judgment and justice
These two words may be taken as expressing one and the same thing. If we distinguish them, judgment may serve to express Gods righteous procedure in punishing the wicked; and justice His procedure in vindicating the righteous when they are oppressed. Job is unjustly charged, and accordingly he vindicates himself.
1. Jobs maintaining of his own righteousness is not a quarrelling of Gods righteousness, who afflicted him. Job held both to be true, though he could not reconcile Gods dealing with the testimony of his own conscience, that did evidence his weakness, but not charge God With unrighteousness.
2. As for his complaints of Gods dealings, he was indeed more culpable therein than he would at first see and acknowledge; yet therein he intended no direct accusation against Gods righteousness. Learn–
(1) The justice of God is so uncontrovertedly clear in all His proceeding, whether He act immediately, or mediately by instruments, that the conscience of the greatest complainer, when put to it seriously, must subscribe to it; and all are bound to the defence of it, as witnesses for God.
(2) Such as know God, in His perfect and holy nature and attributes, will see clear cause to justify God in His proceeding; and particularly they who look upon His omniscient power and all-sufficiency, will see that He can neither be moved to injustice by hope of any reward, nor hindered to be just by the fear of the greatness of any, or any other by-respect.
(3) Though God be unquestionably just, yet His dispensations may, sometimes, be such toward His people as they cannot easily reconcile His justice in His dealing, with the testimony of their own consciences, concerning their own integrity.
(4) The study of Gods sovereignty will solve many difficulties in the sad lots and sufferings of saints. (George Hutcheson.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 3. Doth God pervert judgment!] God afflicts thee; can he afflict thee for naught? As he is just, his judgment is just; and he could not inflict punishment unless there be a cause.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
God, Heb. the mighty God, as this word signifies; the almighty or all-sufficient God, as the next name of God here implies. These names are emphatically used, to prove that God cannot deal unjustly or falsely with men, because he hath no need of it, nor temptation to it, being self-sufficient for his own happiness, and being able by his own invincible power to do whatsoever pleaseth him; unless men will impudently say that God doth falsely for mere love to falsehood, without any necessity of it, or advantage to himself by it, than which nothing can be more absurd and ridiculous; for this makes him worse than the vilest of men, who act unjustly and falsely because they cannot otherwise accomplish their designs.
Pervert judgment, i.e. overthrow the course of justice in giving judgment, or judge unrighteously. No, this is inconsistent with Gods nature, which is essentially and necessarily just, and with his office of Governor of the world, Gen 18:25.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. The repetition of “pervert”gives an emphasis galling to Job (Job34:12). “Wouldst thou have God,” as thy words imply,”pervert judgment,” by letting thy sins go unpunished? Heassumes Job’s guilt from his sufferings.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Doth God pervert judgment?…. In his dealings with men in the way of his providence; no, he does not; here Bildad opposes himself to Job, who he thought had charged God with injustice in dealing with him, and his children, in the manner he had done: the same thing is intended in the following question,
or doth the Almighty pervert justice? for judgment and justice are the same, and often go together in Scripture, as being done either by God or men, when righteousness is executed by them, and this is never perverted by the Lord; there is no unrighteousness in him, neither in his nature, nor in his ways and works, either of providence or of grace; he is the Judge of all the earth, that does and will do right; to subvert a man in his cause, he approves not of in others, and will never do it himself; to justify the wicked, and condemn the just, are both an abomination to him, and therefore neither of these can ever be thought to be done by him; for though he justifies the ungodly, he does not justify their ungodliness, nor them in it, but from it, and that by the perfect righteousness of his Son; whereby the law is fulfilled, and justice satisfied, and so he is just while he is the justifier of him that believes in Jesus; though he is gracious and merciful, he is also righteous, and will not clear the guilty, or pardon sin without satisfaction to his justice; and such as are truly just or righteous, he never condemns here or hereafter; he may afflict them, but he delivers them out of their afflictions, nor are they ever forsaken by him; and, on the contrary, he punishes wicked men in this world, and in that to come, as he has the angels that sinned, the old world, Sodom and Gomorrah, and many others, and all wicked men will be punished with everlasting destruction; yea, even so strict is his punitive justice, that the sins of his own people being laid and found on his Son as their surety, he has most severely punished him for them; he awoke the sword of justice against him, spared him not, but delivered him to death for us all; and though he forgives the iniquities of his children, he takes vengeance on their inventions, and chastises them for their sins, that they may not be condemned with the world; and, on the other hand, he is not unrighteous to forget their work and labour of love, which he rewards in a way of grace, as well as it is a righteous thing with him to render tribulation to them that trouble them: the righteousness of God is known by the judgments he executes on wicked men, and especially will be manifest in his judgments on antichrist; and though the justice of God in the course of his providence, in some instances, may not now be so clear, his judgments will be made manifest, and especially at the great day of judgment, when everything shall be brought to account, and God will judge the world in righteousness; all which, we may be assured of, is and will be executed by him, from the consideration of his nature and perfections, and particularly from the name he goes by in this passage, being El, the mighty God, who is able to save and to destroy, to save the righteous, and destroy the wicked; and is Shaddai, all sufficient, stands in need of nothing; nor can he receive anything that is not his own, and therefore incapable of being bribed to the perversion of justice and judgment.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
3. God the Almighty , el, and , shaddai. Though differing in form, the root idea of both is that of power. These, perhaps, were world-wide titles of God, while the name Jehovah was confined to the chosen people. Balaam (as well as the Gentile Job and his friends) uses the terms el and shaddai, (Num 24:4; Num 24:16,) and in a juxtaposition similar to that of our text. The latter name rarely appears in the later books of the Bible. it occurs nine times in the Pentateuch, twice in Ruth, thirty-one times in Job, and six times in all the other poets. The word shaddai is a plural of pre-eminence, probably from shadhadh, “to be strong.” Shaddai is the God who makes good his covenants, (Gen 17:1, see note,) who everywhere enforces his will, punishes the wicked, and protects the just. Here for the first time appears the favourite thought of Job’s co-reasoners, that an almighty being cannot do wrong. Bildad, the apostle of inexorable law, contemplated God only through the attribute of his almightiness, from which justice is inseparable.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 8:3 Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?
Ver. 3. Doth God prevent judgment? ] By not punishing the wicked; or doth the Almighty prevent justice? by not rewarding the righteous (so the Hebrews expound it). Why, no; neither did Job ever say such a thing; only he had pathetically set forth the greatness of his pain, and the unkindness of his friends, and wished to die rather than to endure it. Now this was construed for blasphemy, or little less; and Bildad is very hot in his invective against Job, as good reason he had, if he had not been so mistaken. Here he wresteth in a most true proposition ( commodam sane sed non accommodam ), but yet such a one as very little concerned this present disputation; and he doth it with as small wisdom and discretion, saith Beza, as with great pride and confidence. For doth it either argue Job a hypocrite and wicked man, or charge God with injustice, if it be said, that Job for his sins was not so afflicted by God (whereas he in the mean time denieth himself to be a sinner, and to have deserved God’s heavy hand upon him), but rather proved and tried by him according to his good pleasure? yet Bildad goeth on as if he had done very well; and in the next verse in plain words boldly avoucheth that Job’s children were by God’s judgment destroyed with the fall of the house, whatever betide their souls.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Doth . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6.
GOD. Hebrew. El. App-4.
THE ALMIGHTY. Hebrew. Shaddai. App-4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
God: Job 4:17, Job 9:2, Job 10:3, Job 19:7, Job 34:5, Job 34:12, Job 34:17-19, Job 40:8, Gen 18:25, Deu 32:4, 2Ch 19:7, Eze 18:25, Eze 33:17, Eze 33:20, Psa 89:14, Dan 9:14, Rom 2:5, Rom 3:4-6
Almighty: Job 21:15, Job 21:20, Job 34:10-12, Job 35:13, Job 40:2, Psa 99:4, Rev 15:3, Rev 16:7
Reciprocal: Gen 18:23 – Wilt Job 4:11 – the stout Job 13:4 – ye are forgers Job 21:27 – I know Job 22:20 – our substance Job 34:37 – multiplieth Job 36:23 – Thou Zep 3:5 – he will Rom 3:6 – for then Rom 9:14 – Is there unrighteousness 2Th 1:5 – righteous
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Job 8:3. Doth God Hebrew, , Eel, the mighty God, as this word signifies; pervert judgment? Judge unrighteously? No: this is inconsistent with Gods nature, Which is essentially and necessarily just, and with his office of governor of the world. Or doth the Almighty pervert justice? Hebrew, , Shaddai, a word that sets forth Gods omnipotence and all-sufficiency. These names are emphatically used to prove that God cannot deal unjustly or falsely with men: because he hath no need so to do, nor temptation to it, being self-sufficient for his own happiness, and being able, by his own invincible power, to do whatsoever pleaseth him.