Job 5:2

2 Resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.

Job 5:2 in Other Translations

2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.

2 Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple.

2 Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple.

2 The hot temper of a fool eventually kills him, the jealous anger of a simpleton does her in.

2 For vexation killeth the foolish man, And jealousy slayeth the silly one.

2 Certainly, anger kills a stubborn fool, and jealousy murders a gullible person.

2 For anger kills a fool, and jealousy slays the gullible.

2 Anger kills foolish people. Jealousy destroys those who are childish.

Job 5:2 Meaning and Commentary

Job 5:2

For wrath killeth the foolish man
Not one that is an idiot, and destitute of common sense, and has no understanding in things natural and civil; but a wicked man, who has no knowledge of things divine and spiritual, and so foolish; which is the character of every natural man, and of God's people before conversion; and even of some professors, who are foolish virgins, and carry the lamp of a religious profession without the oil of grace; and such an one Eliphaz took Job to be, whom sooner or later the wrath of the Lord, as the Targum interprets it, which is revealed from heaven, and comes down upon the children of disobedience, would consume like devouring fire: or this may be understood of the wrath and passion of such men themselves, which sometimes rises in them to such an height, as that they die in a fit of it; or do those things which bring them to death, either by the hand of God, or by the civil magistrate:

and envy slayeth the silly one;
one that is simple and void of understanding, and is easily persuaded and drawn into sin, either by his own heart, or by evil men, or by the temptations of Satan; and in whose heart envy at the prosperity of others dwells, and which insensibly preys upon him, eats up his own spirits, and is rottenness to his bones, and crumbles them into dust, ( Proverbs 14:30 ) ; or the word may be rendered "jealousy", or "zeal" ^F17, as it sometimes is, and may signify the jealousy of the Lord, zeal for his own glory, which he sometimes stirs up as a man of war, and which smokes against wicked men, and consumes them as fire, see ( Isaiah 42:13 ) ( Psalms 79:5 ) ( Deuteronomy 29:20 ) ; Eliphaz by all this would represent and insinuate that Job was such a man, hot, passionate, and angry with God and his providence, and envious at the prosperity of others, particularly his friends; and so was a foolish and silly man, in whose breast wrath and envy rested, and would be his ruin and destruction, as he was already under slaying and killing providences.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F17 (hanq) "zelus", Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Schmidt, Michaelis, Schultens.

Job 5:2 In-Context

1 “Call if you will, but who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?

2 Resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.

3 I myself have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.

4 His children are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender.

5 The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from among thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.

Cross References

• 1. Job 21:15; Job 36:13
• 2. Proverbs 12:16; Galatians 5:26