16 And God hath made my heart soft, And the Mighty hath troubled me.
God liveth! He turned aside my judgment, And the Mighty -- He made my soul bitter.
As waters I have been poured out, And separated themselves have all my bones, My heart hath been like wax, It is melted in the midst of my bowels.
And she saith unto them, `Call me not Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly to me,
Over me hath Thy wrath passed, Thy terrors have cut me off,
For, not to the age do I strive, nor for ever am I wroth, For the spirit from before Me is feeble, And the souls I have made.
And lest your heart be tender, And ye be afraid of the report that is heard in the land, And come in a year hath the report, And after it in a year the report, And violence `is' in the land, ruler against ruler;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Job 23
Commentary on Job 23 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 23
This chapter begins Job's reply to Eliphaz. In this reply he takes no notice of his friends, either because he saw it was to no purpose or because he liked the good counsel Eliphaz gave him in the close of his discourse so well that he would make no answer to the peevish reflections he began with; but he appeals to God, begs to have his cause heard, and doubts not but to make it good, having the testimony of his own conscience concerning his integrity. Here seems to be a struggle between flesh and spirit, fear and faith, throughout this chapter.
Job 23:1-7
Job is confident that he has wrong done him by his friends, and therefore, ill as he is, he will not give up the cause, nor let them have the last word. Here,
Job 23:8-12
Here,
Job 23:13-17
Some make Job to complain here that God dealt unjustly and unfairly with him in proceeding to punish him without the least relenting or relaxation, though he had such incontestable evidences to produce of his innocency. I am loth to think holy Job would charge the holy God with iniquity; but his complaint is indeed bitter and peevish, and he reasons himself into a sort of patience per force, which he cannot do without reflecting upon God as dealing hardly with him, but he must bear it because he cannot help it; the worst he says is that God deals unaccountably with him.