Job 42

1 Forsooth Job answered to the Lord, and said,

2 I know, that thou mayest (do) all things, and that no thought/and that nothing is hid from thee.

3 Who is this, that covereth counsel without knowing? Therefore I have spoken unwisely, and those things that pass over-measure my knowing. (Who is this, you ask, who telleth out counsel without any true knowledge? And so yes, I have spoken unwisely, and of those things that, beyond measure, surpass my knowledge.)

4 Hear thou, and I shall speak; I shall ask thee, and answer thou to me. (Listen thou, and I shall speak; and then, I pray, that thou shalt answer me.)

5 By (the) hearing of (mine) ear I have heard thee, but now mine eye seeth thee (too).

6 Therefore I reprove myself, and do penance in dead spark and ashes. (And so now I rebuke myself, and repent in dust and ashes.)

7 And after that the Lord had spoken these words to Job, he said to Eliphaz (the) Temanite, My strong vengeance is wroth against thee, and against thy two friends; for ye have not spoken before me rightful things, as my servant Job (hath). (And after that the Lord had spoken these words to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My strong vengeance is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends; for ye have not spoken rightly, or correctly, about me, like my servant Job hath.)

8 Therefore take ye (un)to you seven bulls, and seven rams; and go ye to my servant Job, and offer ye (a) burnt sacrifice for you(rselves). Forsooth Job, my servant, shall pray for you; (and) I shall receive his face, (so) that folly be not areckoned to you; certainly ye have not spoken before me rightful thing, as hath my servant Job (for certainly ye have not spoken rightly, or correctly, about me, like my servant Job hath).

9 Therefore Eliphaz (the) Temanite, and Bildad (the) Shuhite, and Zophar (the) Naamathite, went, and did, as the Lord had spoken to them; and the Lord received the face of Job (and then the Lord received Job into his presence).

10 Also the Lord was converted to the penance of Job, when he prayed for his friends. And the Lord added all things double, whichever were of Job. (And after that he prayed for his friends, the Lord was converted by the penance of Job/the Lord turned the fortunes of Job. And the Lord restored all things double to Job.)

11 And all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all that knew him before, came to him; and they ate bread with him in his house, and they moved their head upon him; and they comforted him on all the evil, that the Lord had brought in upon him; and they gave to him each man a sheep, and a golden earring. (And all his brothers, and all his sisters, and all those who knew him before, came to him; and they ate bread with him in his house, and they shook their heads about him; and they comforted him over all the evil, which the Lord had brought in upon him; and each man gave him a sheep, and a gold earring.)

12 Forsooth the Lord blessed the last things of Job, more than the beginning of him; and fourteen thousand of sheep were made to him, and six thousand of camels, and a thousand yokes of oxen, and a thousand female asses. (And the Lord blessed the last part of Job's life, more than he did the beginning; and so Job had in possession fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys.)

13 And he had seven sons, and three daughters;

14 and he called the name of the one daughter Jemima, and the name of the second daughter Kezia, and the name of the third daughter he called Kerenhappuch, that is, a horn of women's ointment. (and he called his first daughter Jemima, and his second daughter Kezia, and his third daughter Kerenhappuch, that is, a box of women's ointment.)

15 And there were not found so fair women in all the land, as were the daughters of Job; and their father gave heritage to them among their brethren. (And in all the land, there were not found any women as beautiful, as Job's daughters; and their father gave each of them an inheritance, along with their brothers.)

16 Forsooth Job lived after these beatings, or scourgings, an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and the sons of his sons, till to the fourth generation; (And after these tribulations, Job lived a hundred and forty years, and he saw his sons, and the sons of his sons, unto the fourth generation;)

17 and he was dead eld [and he died old], and full of days, that is, he had length and prosperity of life.

Job 42 Commentary

Chapter 42

Job humbly submits unto God. (1-6) Job intercedes for his friends. (7-9) His renewed prosperity. (10-17)

Verses 1-6 Job was now sensible of his guilt; he would no longer speak in his own excuse; he abhorred himself as a sinner in heart and life, especially for murmuring against God, and took shame to himself. When the understanding is enlightened by the Spirit of grace, our knowledge of Divine things as far exceeds what we had before, as the sight of the eyes excels report and common fame. By the teachings of men, God reveals his Son to us; but by the teachings of his Spirit he reveals his Son in us, ( Galatians 1:16 ) , and ( 2 Corinthians. 3:18 ) deeply humbled for the sins of which we are convinced. Self-loathing is ever the companion of true repentance. The Lord will bring those whom he loveth, to adore him in self-abasement; while true grace will always lead them to confess their sins without self-justifying.

Verses 7-9 After the Lord had convinced and humbled Job, and brought him to repentance, he owned him, comforted him, and put honour upon him. The devil had undertaken to prove Job a hypocrite, and his three friends had condemned him as a wicked man; but if God say, Well done, thou good and faithful servant, it is of little consequence who says otherwise. Job's friends had wronged God, by making prosperity a mark of the true church, and affliction a certain proof of God's wrath. Job had referred things to the future judgment and the future state, more than his friends, therefore he spake of God that which was right, better than his friends had done. And as Job prayed and offered sacrifice for those that had grieved and wounded his spirit, so Christ prayed for his persecutors, and ever lives, making intercession for the transgressors. Job's friends were good men, and belonged to God, and He would not let them be in their mistake any more than Job; but having humbled him by a discourse out of the whirlwind, he takes another way to humble them. They are not to argue the matter again, but they must agree in a sacrifice and a prayer, and that must reconcile them, Those who differ in judgment about lesser things, yet are one in Christ the great Sacrifice, and ought therefore to love and bear with one another. When God was angry with Job's friends, he put them in a way to make peace with him. Our quarrels with God always begin on our part, but the making peace begins on his. Peace with God is to be had only in his own way, and upon his own terms. These will never seem hard to those who know how to value this blessing: they will be glad of it, like Job's friends, upon any terms, though ever so humbling. Job did not insult over his friends, but God being graciously reconciled to him, he was easily reconciled to them. In all our prayers and services we should aim to be accepted of the Lord; not to have praise of men, but to please God.

Verses 10-17 In the beginning of this book we had Job's patience under his troubles, for an example; here, for our encouragement to follow that example, we have his happy end. His troubles began in Satan's malice, which God restrained; his restoration began in God's mercy, which Satan could not oppose. Mercy did not return when Job was disputing with his friends, but when he was praying for them. God is served and pleased with our warm devotions, not with our warm disputes. God doubled Job's possessions. We may lose much for the Lord, but we shall not lose any thing by him. Whether the Lord gives us health and temporal blessings or not, if we patiently suffer according to his will, in the end we shall be happy. Job's estate increased. The blessing of the Lord makes rich; it is he that gives us power to get wealth, and gives success in honest endeavours. The last days of a good man sometimes prove his best, his last works his best works, his last comforts his best comforts; for his path, like that of the morning light, shines more and more unto the perfect day.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 42

This chapter contains Job's answer to the last speech of the Lord's, in which he acknowledges his omnipotence, and his certain performance of his purposes and pleasure; owns his own folly and ignorance, and confesses his sins; for which he abhorred himself, and of which he repented, Job 42:1-6; it also gives an account of the Lord's decision of the controversy between Job and his friends, blaming them and commending him above them; and ordered them to take sacrifices and go to Job and offer them, who should pray for them and be accepted, which was done, Job 42:7-9; and it closes with a relation of the great prosperity Job was restored unto, in which he lived and died, Job 42:10-17.