Job 11:16

16 For thou shalt forget thy misery; Thou shalt remember it as waters that are passed away,

Job 11:16 Meaning and Commentary

Job 11:16

Because thou shall forget [thy] misery
Former afflictions and distresses; having an abundance of prosperity and happiness, and long continued; and so, in process of time, the miseries and distresses before endured are forgotten; thus it was with Joseph in his advanced state, and therefore he called one of his sons Manasseh, ( Genesis 41:51 ) ; and as it is with convinced and converted persons and believers in Christ, who, under first convictions and awakenings, are filled with sorrow and distress, on a view of their miserable estate by nature; but when Christ is revealed to them as their Saviour and Redeemer, and the love of God is shed abroad in their hearts, and they have faith and hope in Jesus, and a comfortable view of heaven and happiness, and eternal life, by him, they forget their spiritual poverty, and remember their misery no more, unless it be to magnify the riches of the grace of God; see ( Proverbs 31:6 Proverbs 31:7 ) ;

[and] remember [it] as waters [that] pass away;
either the waters of the stream in a river, which, when gone, are seen and remembered no more or as waters occasioned by floods in the winter season, which when over, and summer is come, are gone and are no more discerned; and as they pass from the places where they were, so from the minds of men: or it may be respect is had to the waters of Noah's flood, which, according to the divine promise and oath, should no more go over the earth, ( Genesis 9:15 ) ; and being past and gone, and no fear or danger of their returning, are forgotten.

Job 11:16 In-Context

14 If iniquity be in thy hand, put it far away, And let not unrighteousness dwell in thy tents.
15 Surely then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; Yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear:
16 For thou shalt forget thy misery; Thou shalt remember it as waters that are passed away,
17 And [thy] life shall be clearer than the noonday; Though there be darkness, it shall be as the morning.
18 And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; Yea, thou shalt search [about thee], and shalt take thy rest in safety.
The American Standard Version is in the public domain.