The wicked man travaileth with pain all [his]
days
Either to commit iniquity, which he is at great pains to do, and
even to weariness; and, agreeably to the metaphor used, he
conceives it in his heart, he travails with it in his mind, and
he brings forth falsehood and a lie, what disappoints him, and
which issues in death, eternal death, see ( Psalms
7:14-16 ) ( James 1:14 James 1:15 ) ; or to get
wealth and riches, in obtaining of which he pierces himself
through with many sorrows; and these being like thorns, in using
them he gets many a scratch, and has a good deal of trouble,
pain, and uneasiness in keeping them, insomuch that he cannot
sleep comfortably through fear of losing them; wherefore he does
not enjoy that peace, comfort, and happiness, it may be thought
he does; and, besides all this, he has many an inward pain and
gripe of conscience for his many sins and transgressions, which
lie at the door of conscience, and when it is opened rush in, and
make sad work, and put him to great pain and distress; for
otherwise this cannot be said of every wicked man, that they are
in outward pain and distress, or in uncomfortable circumstances,
at least in appearance; for of some it is said, "they are not in
trouble as other men, neither are they plagued like other men", (
Psalms 73:5 )
; they live wholly at ease, and are quiet, and die so, at least
seemingly: some restrain this to some particular person whom
Eliphaz might have in view; the Targum paraphrases it of wicked
Esau, who it was expected would repent, but did not; others think
that he had in his eye some notorious oppressor, that had lived
formerly, or in his time, as Nimrod, the mighty hunter and
tyrant, or Chedorlaomer, who held for some years several kings in
subjection to him; but it is much if he does not design Job
himself; however, he forms the description of the wicked man in
such a manner, that it might as near as possible suit his case,
and in many things he plainly refers to it: and this is a sad
case indeed, for a wicked man to travail in pain all his days in
this life, and in the world to come to suffer the pains of hell
fire to all eternity; the pains of a woman, to which the allusion
is, are but short at most, but those of the wicked man are for
life, yea, for ever; and among the rest of his pains of mind,
especially in this world, what follows is one, and which gives
much uneasiness: and the number of years is hidden to the
oppressor; Mr. Broughton renders it, soon numbered years; that
is, few, as the years of man's life at most are but few, and
those of the oppressor fewer still, since bloody and deceitful
men do not live out half the days of the years of man's life, but
are oftentimes cut off in the midst of their days; and be they
more or fewer, they are all numbered and fixed, and the number of
them is with God, and him only; they are fixed and settled by the
decree of God, and laid up in his purposes, and reserved for the
oppressor; but they are a secret to him, he does not know how
long he shall live, or how soon he may die, and then there will
be an end of his oppression and tyranny, and of his enjoyment of
his wealth and riches unjustly got; and this frets him, and gives
him pain, and makes him uneasy; whereas a good man is easy about
it, he is willing to wait his appointed time, till his change
comes; he is not so much concerned to know the time of his death
as to be in a readiness for it. The Targum paraphrases this of
Ishmael the mighty: the oppressor is the same with the wicked man
in the preceding clause.