Job 5

15. "From the sword" which proceedeth "from their mouth" ( Psalms 59:7 , 57:4 ).

16. the poor hath hope--of the interposition of God.
iniquity stoppeth her mouth--( Psalms 107:42 , Micah 7:9 Micah 7:10 , Isaiah 52:15 ). Especially at the last day, through shame ( Jude 1:15 , Matthew 22:12 ). The "mouth" was the offender ( Job 5:15 ), and the mouth shall then be stopped ( Isaiah 25:8 ) at the end.

17. happy--not that the actual suffering is joyous; but the consideration of the righteousness of Him who sends it, and the end for which it is sent, make it a cause for thankfulness, not for complaints, such as Job had uttered ( Hebrews 12:11 ). Eliphaz implies that the end in this case is to call back Job from the particular sin of which he takes for granted that Job is guilty. Paul seems to allude to this passage in Hebrews 12:5 ; so 1:12 , Proverbs 3:12 . Eliphaz does not give due prominence to this truth, but rather to Job's sin. It is Elihu alone (Job 32:1-37:24') who fully dwells upon the truth, that affliction is mercy and justice in disguise, for the good of the sufferer.

18. he maketh sore, and bindeth up--( Deuteronomy 32:39 , Hosea 6:1 , 1 Samuel 2:6 ). An image from binding up a wound. The healing art consisted much at that time in external applications.

19. in six . . . yea, in seven--( Proverbs 6:16 , Amos 1:3 ). The Hebrew idiom fixes on a certain number (here "six"), in order to call attention as to a thing of importance; then increases the force by adding, with a "yea, nay seven," the next higher number; here "seven," the sacred and perfect number. In all possible troubles; not merely in the precise number "seven."

20. power--Hebrew, "hands" ( Ezekiel 35:5 , Margin).
of the sword--( Jeremiah 5:12 ). Hands are given to the sword personified as a living agent.

21. ( Psalms 31:20 , Jeremiah 18:18 ).

22. famine thou shalt laugh--Not, in spite of destruction and famine, which is true ( Habakkuk 3:17 Habakkuk 3:18 ), though not the truth meant by Eliphaz, but because those calamities shall not come upon thee. A different Hebrew word from that in Job 5:20 ; there, famine in general; here, the languid state of those wanting proper nutriment [BARNES].

23. in league with the stones of the field--They shall not hurt the fertility of thy soil; nor the wild beasts thy fruits; spoken in Arabia-Deserta, where stones abounded. Arabia, derived from Arabah--a desert plain. The first clause of this verse answers to the first clause of Job 5:22 ; and the last of this verse to the last of that verse. The full realization of this is yet future ( Isaiah 65:23 Isaiah 65:25 , Hosea 2:18 ).

24. know--"Thou shalt rest in the assurance, that thine habitation is the abode of peace; and (if) thou numberest thine herd, thine expectations prove not fallacious" [UMBREIT]. "Sin" does not agree with the context. The Hebrew word--"to miss" a mark, said of archers ( Judges 20:16 ). The Hebrew for "habitation" primarily means "the fold for cattle"; and for "visit," often to "take an account of, to number." "Peace" is the common Eastern salutation; including inward and outward prosperity.

25. as the grass--( Psalms 72:16 ). Properly, "herb-bearing seed" ( Genesis 1:11 Genesis 1:12 ).

26. in a full age--So "full of days" ( Job 42:17 , Genesis 35:29 ). Not mere length of years, but ripeness for death, one's inward and outward full development not being prematurely cut short, is denoted ( Isaiah 65:22 ).
Thou shalt come--not literally, but expressing willingness to die. Eliphaz speaks from the Old Testament point of view, which made full years a reward of the righteous ( Psalms 91:16 , Exodus 20:12 ), and premature death the lot of the wicked ( Psalms 55:23 ). The righteous are immortal till their work is done. To keep them longer would be to render them less fit to die. God takes them at their best ( Isaiah 57:1 ). The good are compared to wheat ( Matthew 13:30 ).
cometh in--literally, "ascends." The corn is lifted up off the earth and carried home; so the good man "is raised into the heap of sheaves" [UMBREIT].

27. searched it . . . for thy good--literally, "for thyself" ( Psalms 111:2 , Proverbs 2:4 , 9:12 ).