Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person
Neither the person of Job, because of his poverty and affliction,
indulging too much to pity and commiseration, and affecting to
get a good name from others for it; nor the persons of his three
friends, on account of their wealth and grandeur; for neither the
persons of the poor, nor of the rich, are to be regarded in
judgment, or in the decision of any matter between them, but
truth and justice are to be attended to; see ( Exodus 23:3 ) (
Leviticus 19:15 ) .
Elihu was determined with himself not to respect the person of
any, and he hopes that Job and his friends would bear with him,
and excuse him on that account:
neither let me give flattering titles unto men;
he does not mean titles of civil honour and respect, which belong
to men, and are in common use among men, according to the
different stations of life, men are in; for honour is to be given
to whom it is due; and it is no piece of flattery to give men
their proper and usual titles, as it was not in the Evangelist
Luke, and in the Apostle Paul, ( Luke 1:3 ) ( Acts 26:25 ) ; but he
means such titles that do not belong to men, and are unsuitable
unto them, and only given them by way of flattery; as to call a
man wise and prudent when he is the reverse; or a holy, just, and
good man, when he is a very wicked one. Elihu was resolved not to
act such a part, and he hopes the persons he had to deal with
would not take it amiss that he spake his mind plainly and
freely, and called a spade a spade; not must they or any other
expect to be complimented by him with the characters of wise and
prudent, just and good, if they did not appear to him to be so.
According to Ben Gersom the sense is, that he would not hide a
man's name under epithets, but call him by his proper name; he
would not do as they had done by Job, who, under covert names,
meant him; as when they described a wicked man, and an hypocrite,
designed him, but did not say so express words; now Elihu
suggests, that, should Job or they appear to him to have acted a
wrong part, he should tell them plainly of it, and say, thou art
the man.