My soul is weary of my life, I will let go my speech against myself, I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

“But he also said above, "God would not hearken to him, so that he should answer to one of his charges or of a thousand." How can Job speak so here? "In the bitterness of my soul," he says. Therefore it is not him who speaks but his bitterness, insofar as the reflections of Job allow us to express what he means. "Would that one were present who should hear the cause between both" not in order to examine his life in detail and to show that he is unjustly suffering. He does not say that actually, as in the previous passages. He has often said that it is "because of his iniquity." He wants to demonstrate that the persisting oppression overwhelms him. And this is what Isaiah says, "You became angry, and we, we are distraught," and in another passage, "Why did you lead us astray from your path?" "I fear, [Job] says, lest I fall or capsize; I am afraid to be forced, one day, to blaspheme or to commit suicide."”

“My soul is weary of my life. Now whensoever the present life has once begun to grow tasteless, and the love of the Creator to become sweet, the soul inflames itself against self, that it may accuse self for the sins, wherein it formerly vindicated itself, being ignorant of the things above. Whence he yet further adds with propriety, I will let my speech go against myself. He as it were employs his speech in behalf of himself, who tries to defend by excuses the evil things he has done. But he 'lets his speech go against himself,' who begins to accuse himself of that which he has done amiss. Now very frequently even when we commit sin, we go on to try the things we have done. The mind of itself brings what it does to trial; but forasmuch as it does not at all forsake this in the desire, it is ashamed to acknowledge what it has done; but when it now comes down upon the indulgence of the flesh with the whole weight of its judgment, it lifts itself with a bold voice in the acknowledgment of that self-accusing. Whence it is rightly said here, I will let my speech go against myself; in that the resolute mind begins to let loose against itself words of abhorrence, which aforetime from a feeling of shame it kept to itself through weakness. But there be some that confess their sins in explicit words, but yet know nothing how to bewail in confessing them. And they utter things with pleasure, that they ought to bewail. Hence it is further added with propriety; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. He that tells his sins abhorring them, must needs likewise 'speak of them in the bitterness of his soul,' that that very bitterness may punish whatsoever the tongue accuses of in the warrant of conscience. But we must bear in mind, that from the pains of penitence, which the mind inflicts upon itself, it derives a certain degree of security; and rises with the greater confidence to meet the inquest of the heavenly Judge, that it may make itself out more thoroughly, and ascertain how each particular is appointed towards, it.”

“My soul is weary of my life, and so on. After Job had proposed above that both innocent and wicked are afflicted in this age, and had touched upon one cause of the punishment of the innocent that might be supposed, namely that the earth is as it were abandoned by God and exposed to the will of a power that is, as it were, unjust, punishing the innocent at its pleasure — this cause being set aside because it contains a manifest impropriety — he inquired who was the punisher of the innocent and for what cause, and he intends here to pursue this question further. But before he proceeds to the inquiry, he shows in what frame of mind he is speaking here: for he speaks in the person of an afflicted man, according to the conceptions which sorrow supplies to him; whence first he sets down the weariness he suffers in this life on account of the tribulations he suffers, which are so grave that they even render life itself wearisome: for although to live is delightful, yet to live in straits is wearisome, whence he says, "My soul is weary of my life." And just as a man to whom his life is delightful wishes to go on living, so one to whom his life is wearisome wishes to be deprived of life, and therefore he adds, "I will let loose my speech against myself"; for that is said "against" someone which is destructive of him: therefore a man speaks against himself when he desires to be deprived of life. But he says pointedly "I will let loose," for often a man suffers certain movements in his heart on account of some passion, whether of sorrow or of desire or of anger or of any other, and yet so restrains all these movements by reason that they do not proceed into outward speech; but when reason, wishing to show what he suffers within, brings forth the hidden movements into words, then he is said to let loose his speech, as one previously held back, and for this reason he adds, "I will speak in the bitterness of my soul," as if to say: the words which I shall utter outwardly show my inward bitterness, so as to give one to understand that he speaks in the person of an embittered man. But lest it again be understood that this letting loose of speech comes about because reason is overcome by sorrow, he adds, "I will say to God: Do not condemn me"; for when reason is conquered by passion, a man murmurs against God and sometimes proceeds even to blasphemy, but while amid tribulations a man's reason remains upright, he submits himself to God and awaits remedy from him, saying to God, "Do not condemn me." At the same time, in this he also approaches the question: for whereas above he had asked who was the cause of the punishment of the innocent in this world, here he now confesses that God is the author of the punishment, since he asks that he not be condemned by him, according to that word of 1 Kings 2:6, "The Lord kills and brings to life," by which the heresy of the Manichaeans is refuted. These things having been premised, on the supposition that God is the author of the punishment, he inquires of God concerning the cause of his own punishment, saying, "Show me why you judge me so," that is, make me know the cause on account of which I am punished by you: for he knew that the investigation of reason cannot arrive at the terminus of truth unless it be taught by God. Now to know the cause of one's own punishment is necessary for a man either for correction or that he may bear the scourges more patiently. He proceeds to the inquiry of this question under a certain disjunction: for it is necessary that the one who is punished be either innocent or a sinner. First he proceeds by supposing that he is innocent; and because we arrive at knowledge of divine things through human things, he sets forth two ways by which, in human judgment, the innocent are sometimes punished. The first way is on account of the malice of the one punishing, from which it happens in three ways that punishments are inflicted upon the innocent: sometimes indeed when through cunning they bring false charges against the innocent, and as to this he says, "Does it seem good to you that you should falsely accuse"; sometimes they oppress by power, and as to this he adds, "and oppress me, the work of your hands"; sometimes again they themselves do not punish the innocent from their own impulse, but because they inordinately love certain wicked men, they help them even in the oppression of the innocent, whence it is added, "and favor the counsel of the wicked?" But it must be considered that sometimes one and the same thing can be good for different natures and evil for others, just as to be irascible is good for a dog, but evil for a man; but no one of sound mind calls into doubt whether God works anything out of malice, for there cannot be anything evil in the highest good; yet it can happen that something which is evil in man pertains to divine goodness, just as not to have mercy, insofar as mercy sounds as a passion in man, is indeed blamed in man, which nevertheless the divine goodness, out of its perfection, requires. Now it is manifest that the three things aforesaid — to falsely accuse, to oppress, and to favor the counsel of the wicked — are evils in men: whence he brings this into question, whether they can be good in God, whence he does not ask, "Do you falsely accuse and oppress?" but "Does it seem good to you that you should falsely accuse and oppress?" as if presupposing as certain that God never does anything except what seems good to him, and this is truly good. Likewise it must be considered that those things which happen naturally are imputed to no one as fault or as evil; and it is natural that each thing should destroy its contrary, whence also God, who is supremely good, hates those things which are done against him and destroys them, according to that word of the Psalm, "You have hated all who work iniquity, you will destroy," etc.; if therefore men had not been made by God but by a contrary principle, as the Manichaeans fable, it would seem good that God should oppress men for his own sake; therefore to exclude this he does not simply say, "that you should oppress me," but adds, "the work of your hands." Likewise it seems good that God should fulfill the wills of the just; but those who wish to falsely accuse or oppress an innocent man are not just but wicked, and especially if they wish this not out of ignorance or by chance but out of counsel and deliberation: whence, since he supposes himself innocent in the first part of the question, it follows that those would be wicked who wished to oppress or falsely accuse him out of deliberate counsel, and therefore he says pointedly, "and favor the counsel of the wicked." This cause therefore being set aside, since this cannot seem good to God, seeing that he himself is the work of God's hands and since his enemies who had oppressed him are proved to be wicked, he proceeds accordingly to the second way by which, in human judgment, the innocent are sometimes afflicted. For it happens sometimes that when someone innocent is falsely accused before a judge, the judge, in order to search out the truth, subjects him to torments, acting according to justice, but the cause of this thing is a defect of human knowledge, which is threefold: one indeed, because all human knowledge proceeds from sense, and since the senses are of bodily things and are themselves bodily, the judge cannot know the interior conscience of the accused; therefore, to exclude this from God, he says, "Do you have eyes of flesh?" As if he were to say: Do you know by bodily senses, so that you see only bodily things and cannot know interior things? He mentions the eyes because sight excels among the other senses. The second defect is that man, through the bodily senses, cannot even behold all bodily things: for he cannot know what is done in remote and hidden places, which he removes from God, saying, "or do you see as man sees," namely so that you cannot know the things that are done everywhere, even hidden things? The third defect of human knowledge is from time, both because man knows more from day to day, and also because through length of time he forgets the things he knew, so that he must, as it were, learn again: this therefore he removes from God, saying, "Are your days as the days of man," namely so that your knowledge grows from day to day; "and your years as the times of man," namely so that something is lost to your knowledge through the course of time? And he adds, "that you should inquire after my iniquity and search out my sin," that is, that through scourges you should inquire whether I have sinned in deed and am wicked in mind, as men search out sins through torments? And thus, after such an inquiry, finding no sins in me, you may know that I have done nothing impious, as if you could not know this otherwise except by searching out my sins through scourges; and that you should do this freely, without contradiction, since there is no one who can snatch anything out of your hand: for sometimes judges fail in this inquiry which is carried out through torments, when those who ought to be tortured are snatched from their hands. And because he had said above that he was the work of God's hands, in order to show from this that it cannot seem good to God to oppress him for his own sake, as if delighting in his oppression, he now makes manifest what he had supposed, whence he adds, "Your hands have made me." And lest anyone believe, according to the heresy of the Manichaeans, that man's soul was made by God but his body formed by a contrary author, he adds, "and fashioned me wholly round about." He says "round about" because the body appears to be, as it were, round about the soul, like a garment around the one clothed, or like a house around its inhabitant; he says "wholly" so that it may be referred to each of the body's members; he says "fashioned" so as to allude to the fact that man is said to have been formed from the slime of the earth; and by "hands" the divine operation is understood, whence he says "hands" in the plural, because although the divine power operating is one, yet its operation is multiplied in its effects, both on account of the diversity of the effects and also on account of the variety of the intermediate causes through which it produces its effects. He adds, moreover, "and will you thus destroy me suddenly?" Because it seems sudden that someone who has produced a thing should corrupt it without a manifest cause: for whoever makes something wills it to be — for he makes it in order that it may be — but whoever destroys something wills it not to be; it seems therefore, if someone destroys what he had previously made, that this is a sudden change of will, unless some manifest cause newly arises from which it may appear that what before was to be made ought now to be destroyed; but such a sudden change of will cannot fall upon God, and therefore, as it were in wonder, he asks, "and will you thus destroy me suddenly?" as if to say: it seems improper that you should now destroy without cause one whom you formerly made. Or what he said, "have made me," can be referred to the constitution of the substance, while what he said, "and fashioned me wholly round about," can be referred to those things which accrue to the substance, whether they be goods of the soul or of the body or of external fortune. And because he had in general set down that he was made and fashioned by God, he pursues in particular the manner of his making, after the likeness of someone who wishes to bring back to another's memory something which he seems to have forgotten: he expounds everything to him in particular so that in this way it may be brought back to his memory. Now God seems to forget the benevolence which he has toward his creature when he exposes it to corruption, for he behaves after the manner of one forgetting; and according to this manner it is said in the Psalm, "How long, O Lord, will you forget me unto the end?" And therefore he says, "Remember, I beseech you, that you made me as clay." Here it must be considered that he commemorates a twofold making of man: first indeed that which pertains to the first institution of nature, alluding to what is said in Genesis 1, "God formed man from the slime of the earth," and therefore he says, "that you made me as clay," where he also seems to touch upon the composition of man from the first elements. And because it was also said to the first man, "You are dust and unto dust you shall return," he consequently adds, "and will bring me back into dust," which also befits natural matter: for it is a consequence of the order of nature that those things which are generated from the earth should be resolved back into the earth. But concerning this someone might wonder, since it seems a greater thing to form man from the earth than to preserve man once formed from being reduced to dust, whence it is that God, who formed man from clay, permits him to be reduced to dust: namely, whether this is solely from the necessity of matter, so that man in this has nothing more than the other things that are formed from the earth, or whether this is from divine providence punishing some fault of man. He then next touches upon the making of man with respect to the work of propagation, according as man is generated by man. Here it must be considered that he attributes all the works of nature to God, not so as to exclude the operation of nature, but in the manner in which those things that are done through second causes are attributed to the principal agent, as the operation of the saw is attributed to the craftsman: for this very fact, that nature operates, it has from God, who instituted it to this end. Now in this generation of man there occurs first the resolution of the seed, and as to this he says, "Have you not milked me like milk?" For just as seed is a superfluity of nourishment, so also is milk. Secondly there occurs the compacting of the bodily mass in the womb of the woman, and as to this he adds, "and curdled me like cheese?" For the seed of the male stands to the matter which the female supplies in the generation of man and of other animals just as rennet stands in the generation of cheese. Thirdly there occurs the distinction of the organs, whose consistency and strength are from the sinews and bones, while they are surrounded on the outside by skin and flesh, whence he says, "You have clothed me with skin and flesh, you have knit me together with bones and sinews." The fourth is the animation of the fetus, and especially with respect to the rational soul, which is not infused except after organization; and together with the rational soul there are divinely infused into man certain seedbeds of the virtues, some indeed common to all, but some proper to certain individuals, according as some men are naturally disposed to one virtue, others to another: for Job says below, "From my infancy mercy grew up with me, and it came out with me from the womb," whence here too he says, "You have granted me life and mercy." The last is the preservation of life, both in the maternal womb and after departure from the womb, which preservation indeed comes about partly through natural principles and partly through other benefits of God added over and above nature, whether they pertain to the soul or to the body or to external goods, and as to this he adds, "and your visitation has preserved my spirit": for just as God is said in the Scriptures to withdraw from someone when God takes away his gifts from him, so he is said to visit him when he bestows his gifts upon him. And lest, from the fact that he had said to God, "Remember, I beseech you, that you made me as clay," anyone might believe him to hold the opinion that forgetfulness could fall upon God, he excuses himself from this, adding, "although you conceal these things in your heart, yet I know that you remember all things"; and God is said, after the likeness of man, to conceal something in his heart when he does not show through effect what he has in knowledge or affection: thus therefore he says God conceals the aforesaid things in his heart because it is not shown in effect that he recognizes him as his own creature, whom he seems thus to destroy so suddenly. If I have sinned, and you have spared me for an hour, and so on. Above, Job inquired into the cause of his punishment on the supposition that he was innocent; now, however, he proceeds to inquire whether he is punished on this account, that he is a sinner. And that he is not punished on account of sin he first shows, using this argument: for if he committed a sin, it seems most likely that he committed it in the time of his prosperity; but if sin were the whole cause why some sustain adversities in the present, then, the cause being posited, the effect is posited, so that it would be necessary that as soon as someone sins, adversity should follow; but it was manifest that Job, in the time of his prosperity, kept the same manner of living: whence if he sinned by living in this manner, he had sinned long before he suffered adversity; it would therefore be necessary to say that, since adversity did not follow immediately after the sin, God spared him for that time in which he did not bring in adversities; but it is improper to say that a sin which God spared should again be imputed unto punishment: it does not seem, therefore, that he is now punished for a sin previously committed by him. This, then, is what he says: "If I have sinned," namely in the time of my prosperity, "and you have spared me for an hour," namely because you did not immediately bring in adversity, "why do you not allow me to be clean from my iniquity?" As if to say: why, since you reckoned me for some time as it were pure, sparing me my iniquity, do you now punish me again as though I were not pure? He then subjoins another argument as well, which is this: if sin is the whole cause of present adversities, it would follow that not so much the just as the sinners suffer adversities in this world; but we see that adversities are common to both the just and to sinners, and this is what he says: "And if I shall be wicked, woe is me" — that is, I sustain adversities; "and if just, either I was so before, or have now become so, I shall not lift up my head" — as if raised up from misery: "I say this, being filled with affliction," as to sorrows, "and misery," as to want and confusion. Now by "being filled" he designates the abundance of affliction and misery, and this he seems to say against the statement of Eliphaz and Baldad, who had said that if he were converted he would be freed from adversity: against which he says that even if he had become just, he is nevertheless not thereby relieved from misery, although for preceding sins, if there were any, he is now sufficiently punished, which he designates by the fullness of affliction and misery. And because Eliphaz had imputed it to him as pride that he called himself innocent, he adds, "and on account of my pride you will seize me as a lioness": for Eliphaz had said above, in denunciation of Job, "the roaring of the lion, and the voice of the lioness, and the teeth of the young lions have been broken"; he says therefore, "on account of my pride you will seize me as a lioness," as if to say: you cause me to be reckoned by those who catch at my words as a lioness because of pride. And this very fact, that he was thus reckoned wicked, was to him a punishment upon punishment, whence he adds, "and returning, you torment me wonderfully" — as if to say: you came before, afflicting me through the taking away of possessions and wounds of the body, and now you have returned again and torment me through my friends, which is wondrous because I ought rather to receive consolation from friends; or he says this because a man is afflicted most of all when he is derided by friends. But of what sort this torment is he shows, adding, "you renew your witnesses against me": for Eliphaz, while he seemed to defend the justice of God, and likewise his companions, in which they showed themselves as it were witnesses of God, spoke against Job, accusing him of sin; "and you multiply your wrath against me," that is, the effect of your wrath, in that you punish me in many ways, "and afflictions war against me," as if they attack me with a certain authority and without contradiction: for soldiers are accustomed to attack, with royal authority and without any contradiction, one who is reckoned guilty. Why then have you brought me forth out of the womb, and so on. Job had ended his inquiry with this, that whether he were just or a sinner, he lay under manifold tribulations; and lest anyone should believe that God delights in his tribulations, he wishes to inquire whether this can be true. Now it seems improper that anyone should produce his own effect for this purpose, that it should fare ill, since rather every agent intends good in its effect; but he supposes, as is clear from what has been said, that he is the work of God, and therefore he asks him, "Why have you brought me forth out of the womb?" As if to say: did you cause me to be born for this reason, to subject me to tribulations? And because someone might say that even so, to be amid tribulations is simply better than not to have been born, he excludes this, saying, "Oh, that I had been consumed," namely in the maternal womb, "so that no eye might see me" — that is, so that I might not suffer the confusion which I suffer from such great evils as the eyes of men behold in me; and yet, if I had been consumed in the maternal womb, I would have had the dignity of being without the misery which has befallen me in my existing, and this is what he says, "I would have been" — as it were participating, that is, I would have participated in that which is good in being — "as if I had not been," that is, I would have been free from the evils of this life, as though I had never existed; for it is not the dignity of human being that it should be preserved forever, but that a man should at length die and be carried to the tomb which is prepared for the dead so that some memory of him might remain after death; and this too would not have been lacking to me, whence there follows, "carried from the womb to the tomb." Now no one is found so cruel, delighting in another's punishments, that he does not cease from afflicting even a little; granted, then, that God were not the cause of man's birth, still the days of man are few, especially in comparison to the eternity of God, and this brevity too, when a man has already passed a great part of his life, is expected to be soon ended, and this is what he says: "Shall not the fewness of my days be ended soon," since all the days of my life are few, a great part of that very fewness having already passed? It is not a great thing, therefore, if for the rest you should cease from striking, and this is what he concludes: "Suffer me therefore." And if it seems hard to you that I should be even for an hour without afflictions, it is certain that even with you ceasing from striking, there remains to me nothing whereby I might rejoice but whereby I might grieve, and this is what he adds, "that I may bewail my sorrow a little" — namely, that which I have conceived from the preceding blows; and he says this because he still reckoned himself struck while his friends reproached him, of whom he had said, "you renew your witnesses against me." And because it could be answered to him, "rather, you are to be afflicted here for a little time; when you pass from here you will find consolation," which could be understood in two ways: in one way, by returning again to this life, and this he excludes when he says, "before I go" — namely through death — "and shall not return" — so as to live again — which can be expounded in two ways: in one way, that he says he will not return to a like manner of living, as some fabled; or better, it should be said that he speaks after the manner of a disputant, according to what his adversaries held, before the truth is made manifest: for below, Job will clearly indicate the truth of the resurrection, and therefore in all the foregoing he speaks of the resurrection while supposing the opinion of those with whom he was disputing, who did not believe there was any other life than this one, but that in this life alone men are either punished or rewarded for the evils and goods which they do — in another way, he could expect consolation after the end of this life in the very state of death itself, but this he excludes, saying, "to the land that is dark," namely to which I shall go after death. And this can be expounded in two ways: in one way, of Hell, to which the souls of all men descended, even of the just, before Christ, although the just did not there suffer sensible pains but only darkness, while the others suffered both pains and darkness; but because Job had spoken as though it were doubtful whether he himself were just, as the truth of the matter was, or a sinner, as his friends falsely charged, he describes Hell in common, both as to the good and as to the wicked. Taking Hell, then, in this common sense, it is called a "dark land" insofar as it lacks the brightness of the divine vision; it is called "covered with the mist of death" with respect to original sin, which is a mist inducing death; it is called a "land of misery" with respect to the punishments which the reprobate suffer there; it is called a "land of darkness" with respect to the obscurities of actual sins in which the wicked are involved; and it is said that there is there a "shadow," that is, a likeness, of death, because they are afflicted there just as if they were always dying; and it is said that there is no order there, either on account of the confusion of mind which the damned suffer, or because that order is not observed there which is observed here — for here fire burns and gives light, which is not the case there; and everlasting horror dwells there, because although they always grieve over present punishments, they always likewise fear future ones. But because those against whom he was disputing did not posit the immortality of the soul such that it would remain after death, and he himself still speaks according to their positions, it is expounded better, as to the sense of the letter, that the whole be referred to the body, which is buried in the earth and turned into earth. He says, then, "to the dark land," with respect to the very property of earth, which is in itself opaque; but although it is in itself opaque, yet the living who dwell upon the earth are illumined by the light of the air covering the earth, but the dead do not enjoy this light, whence he adds, "and covered with the mist of death," as if to say: death brings it about that after death one no longer uses the light which the living use. Now it happens sometimes that although someone living does not enjoy the light surrounding the earth, yet, existing in some hidden place of the earth, he enjoys the things he desires as to appetite and considers truths as to intellect, but the dead lack this, whence he adds "a land of misery" with respect to the lack of all desirable things, and "of darkness" insofar as the consideration of truths is wanting. Among the other things, moreover, in which the living delight, the chief is human society with its due order, whereby some preside and others are subject and others serve, but the dead are deprived of this, whence he adds, "where is the shadow of death" — as if to say: among the dead there are nothing but shadows, according to the estimation of the living, as is said in Wisdom 17:4, "Persons appearing sad gave them fright"; "and no order," because, without difference of honor and dignity, the condition of the dead is alike; "but everlasting horror dwells there," with respect to the living, to whom the dead are a horror — as if to say: there is nothing in the state of the dead except what men shudder at, and this will be everlasting among them if they do not return to life. Thus, therefore, Job, in inquiring into the cause of his tribulation, has shown that it is not from some wicked man into whose hand the earth has been given, that it is not from God oppressing him through false accusation, that it is not from God searching out his fault, that it is not from God punishing sins, that it is not from God taking delight in his punishments: whence the cause of his tribulation still remains in doubt. All these things Job pursues so as necessarily to lead his hearers to posit another life in which both the just are rewarded and the wicked punished, since, this not being posited, no cause can be given for the tribulation of the just, who, it is certain, are sometimes afflicted in this world.”

“Here is, I. A passionate resolution to persist in his complaint, Job 10:1. Being daunted with the dread of God's majesty, so that he could not plead his cause with him, he resolves to give himself some ease by giving vent to his resentments. He begins with vehement language: "My soul is weary of my life, weary of this body, and impatient to get clear of it, fallen out with life, and displeased at it, sick of it, and longing for death." Through the weakness of grace he went contrary to the dictates even of nature itself. We should act more like men did we act more like saints. Faith and patience would keep us from being weary of our lives (and cruel to them, as some read it), even when Providence has made them most wearisome to us; for that is to be weary of God's correction. Job, being weary of his life and having ease no other way, resolves to complain, resolves to speak. He will not give vent to his soul by violent hands, but he will give vent to the bitterness of his soul by violent words. Losers think they may have leave to speak; and unbridled passions, as well as unbridled appetites, are apt to think it an excuse for their excursions that they cannot help them: but what have we wisdom and grace for, but to keep the mouth as with a bridle? Job's corruption speaks here, yet grace puts in a word. 1. He will complain, but he will leave his complaint upon himself. He would not impeach God, nor charge him with unrighteousness or unkindness; but, though he knew not particularly the ground of God's controversy with him and the cause of action, yet, in the general, he would suppose it to be in himself and willingly bear all the blame. 2. He will speak, but it shall be the bitterness of his soul that he will express, not his settled judgment. If I speak amiss, it is not I, but sin that dwells in me, not my soul, but its bitterness. II. A humble petition to God. He will speak, but the first word shall be a prayer, and, as I am willing to understand it, it is a good prayer, Job 10:2. 1. That he might be delivered from the sting of his afflictions, which is sin: "Do not condemn me; do not separate me for ever from thee. Though I lie under the cross, let me not lie under the curse; though I smart by the rod of a Father, let me not be cut off by the sword of a Judge. Thou dost correct me; I will bear that as well as I can; but O do not condemn me!" It is the comfort of those who are in Christ Jesus that, though they are in affliction, there is no condemnation to them, Rom 8:1. Nay, they are chastened of the Lord that they may not be condemned with the world, Co1 11:32. This therefore we should deprecate above any thing else, when we are in affliction. "However thou art pleased to deal with me, Lord, do not condemn me; my friends condemn me, but do not thou." 2. That he might be made acquainted with the true cause of his afflictions, and that is sin too: Lord, show me wherefore thou contendest with me. When God afflicts us he contends with us, and when he contends with us there is always a reason. He is never angry without a cause, though we are; and it is desirable to know what the reason is, that we may repent of, mortify, and forsake the sin for which God has a controversy with us. In enquiring it out, let conscience have leave to do its office and to deal faithfully with us, as Gen 42:21. III. A peevish expostulation with God concerning his dealings with him. Now he speaks in the bitterness of his soul indeed, not without some ill-natured reflections upon the righteousness of his God. 1. He thinks it unbecoming the goodness of God, and the mercifulness of his nature, to deal so hardly with his creature as to lay upon him more than he can bear (Job 10:3): Is it good unto thee that thou shouldst oppress? No, certainly it is not; what he approves no in men (Lam 3:34-36) he will not do himself. "Lord, in dealing with me, thou seemest to oppress thy subject, to despise thy workmanship, and to countenance thy enemies. Now, Lord, what is the meaning of this? Such is thy nature that this cannot be a pleasure to thee; and such is thy name that it cannot be an honour to thee. Why then dealest thou thus with me? What profit is there in my blood?" Far be it from Job to think that God did him wrong, but he is quite at a loss how to reconcile his providences with his justice, as good men have often been, and must wait until the day shall declare it. Let us therefore now harbour no hard thoughts of God, because we shall then see there was no cause for them. 2. He thinks it unbecoming the infinite knowledge of God to put his prisoner thus upon the rack, as it were, by torture, to extort a confession from him, Job 10:4-6. (1.) He is sure that God does not discover things, nor judge of them, as men do: He has not eyes of flesh (Job 10:4), for he is a Spirit. Eyes of flesh cannot see in the dark, but darkness hides not from God. Eyes of flesh are but in one place at a time, and can see but a little way; but the eyes of the Lord are in every place, and run to and fro through the whole earth. Many things are hidden from eyes of flesh, the most curious and piercing; there is a path which even the vulture's eye has not seen: but nothing is, or can be, hidden from the eye of God, to which all things are naked and open. Eyes of flesh see the outward appearance only, and may be imposed upon by a deceptio visus - an illusion of the senses; but God sees every thing truly. His sight cannot be deceived, for he tries the heart, and is a witness to the thoughts and intents of that. Eyes of flesh discover things gradually, and, when we gain the sight of one thing, we lose the sight of another; but God sees every thing at one view. Eyes of flesh are soon tired, must be closed every night but the keeper of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps, nor does his sight ever decay. God sees not as man sees, that is, he does not judge as man judges, at the best secundum allegata et probata - according to what is alleged and proved, as the thing appears rather than as it is, and too often according to the bias of the affections, passions, prejudices, and interest; but we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth, and that he knows truth, not by information, but by his own inspection. Men discover secret things by search, and examination of witnesses, comparing evidence and giving conjectures upon it, wheedling or forcing the parties concerned to confess; but God needs not any of these ways of discovery: he sees not as man sees. (2.) He is sure that as God is not short-sighted, like man, so he is not short-lived (Job 10:5): "Are thy days as the days of man, few and evil? Do they roll on in succession, or are they subject to change, like the days of man? No, by no means." Men grow wiser by experience and more knowing by daily observation; with them truth is the daughter of time, and therefore they must take time for their searches, and, if one experiment fail, must try another. But it is not so with God; to him nothing is past, nothing future, but every thing present. The days of time, by which the life of man is measured, are nothing to the years of eternity, in which the life of God is wrapped up. (3.) He therefore thinks it strange that God should thus prolong his torture, and continue him under the confinement of this affliction, and neither bring him to a trial nor grant him a release, as if he must take time to enquire after his iniquity and use means to search after his sin, Job 10:6. Not as if Job thought that God did thus torment him that he might find occasion against him; but his dealings with him had such an aspect, which was dishonourable to God, and would tempt men to think him a hard master. "Now, Lord, if thou wilt not consult my comfort, consult thy own honour; do something for thy great name, and do not disgrace the throne of thy glory," Jer 14:21. 3. He thinks it looked like an abuse of his omnipotence to keep a poor prisoner in custody, whom he knew to be innocent, only because there was none that could deliver him out of his hand (Job 10:7): Thou knowest that I am not wicked. He had already owned himself a sinner, and guilty before God; but he here stands to it that he was not wicked, not devoted to sin, not an enemy to God, not a dissembler in his religion, that he had not wickedly departed from his God, Psa 18:21. "But there is none that can deliver out of thy hand, and therefore there is no remedy; I must be content to lie there, waiting thy time, and throwing myself on thy mercy, in submission to thy sovereign will." Here see, (1.) What ought to quiet us under our troubles - that it is to no purpose to contend with Omnipotence. (2.) What will abundantly comfort us - if we are able to appeal to God, as Job here, "Lord, thou knowest that I am not wicked. I cannot say that l am not wanting, or I am not weak; but, through grace, I can say, I am not wicked: thou knowest I am not, for thou knowest I love thee."”

“My soul is weary of my life,.... And yet nothing of a temporal blessing is more desirable than life; every man, generally speaking, is desirous of life, and of a long life too; soul and body are near and intimate companions, and are usually loath to part; but Job was weary of his life, willing to part with it, and longed to be rid of it; he "loathed" it, and so it may be here rendered (x), he would not live always, Job 7:15; his "soul" was uneasy to dwell any longer in the earthly tabernacle of his body, it being so full of pains and sores; for this weariness was not through the guilt of sin pressing him sore, or through the horror of conscience arising from it, so that he could not bear to live, as Cain and Judas; nor through indwelling sin being a burden to him, and a longing desire to be rid of it, and to be perfectly holy, to be with Christ in heaven, as the Apostle Paul, and other saints, at certain times; or through uneasiness at the sins of others, as Isaac and Rebekah, Lot, David, Isaiah, and others; nor on the account of the temptations of Satan, his fiery darts, his buffetings and siftings, which are very distressing; but on account of his outward afflictions, which were so very hard and pressing, and the apprehension he had of the anger and wrath of God, he treating him, as he thought, very severely, and as his enemy, together with the ill usage of his friends. The Targum renders it,"my soul is cut off in my life;''or I am dying while I live; I live a dying life, being in such pain of body, and distress of mind; and so other versions (y): I will leave my complaint upon myself: not that he would leave complaining, or lay it aside, though some (z) render it to this sense; rather give a loose to it, and indulge it, than attempt to ease himself, and give vent to his grief and sorrow by it; but it should be "upon himself", a burden he would take upon himself, and not trouble others with it; he would not burden their ears with his complaints, but privately and secretly utter them to himself; for the word (a) used signifies "meditation", private discourse with himself, a secret and inward "bemoaning" of his case; but he did not continue long in this mind, as appears by the following clause: or since I can do no other but complain; if there is any blame in it, I will take it wholly upon myself; complain I must, let what will be the consequence of it; see Job 13:13; though the phrase may be rendered, as it is sometimes, "within myself", see Hos 11:8; (b); and then the sense may be, shall I leave my inward moan within myself, and no longer contain? I will give myself vent; and though I have been blamed for saying so much as I have, I will say yet more: I will speak in the bitterness of my soul: as one whose life is made bitter, against whom God had wrote and said bitter things, and had brought bitter afflictions upon him, which had occasioned bitter complaints in him, as well as he had been bitterly used by his friends; and amidst all this bitterness he is determined to speak out his mind freely and fully; or to speak "of the bitterness" (c) of his soul, and declare, by words, what he in his mind and body endured. (x) "fastidit anima mea vitam meam", Beza, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. (y) "Excisa est anima mea in vita mea", Pagninus, Vatablus; so Ben Gersom & Ben Melech. (z) So Junius & Tremellius. (a) "meditationem meam", Schindler, col. 1823. "my sighing", Broughton. (b) "intra me". Vid. Noldium, p. 701. (c) "in vel de a maritudine", Mercerus.”

“Life. Job had intimated a fear to proceed any farther. (Calmet) — But perceiving that he had not convinced his friends, he continues his discourse (Haydock) in still stronger terms, yet so as to acknowledge the justice of God. (Calmet) — Speech against. Hebrew, “complaint upon, (Haydock) or respecting myself,” I will deplore my misfortunes, (Calmet) or I will say no more about them. (Menochius)”

“1 My soul is full of disgust with my life, Therefore I will freely utter my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. 2 I will say to Eloah: Condemn me not; Let me know wherefore Thou contendest with me! His self-consciousness makes him desire that the possibility of answering for himself might be granted him; and since he is weary of life, and has renounced all claim for its continuance, he will at least give his complaints free course, and pray the Author of his sufferings that He would not permit him to die the death of the wicked, contrary to the testimony of his own conscience. נקטה is equivalent to נקטּה ot tnel, Eze 6:9, after the usual manner of the contraction of double Ayin verbs (Gen 11:6-7; Isa 19:3; Jdg 5:5; Eze 41:7; vid., Ges. 67, rem. 11); it may nevertheless be derived directly from נקט, for this secondary verb formed from the Niph. נקט is supported by the Aramaic. In like manner, in Gen 17:11 perhaps a secondary verb נמל, and certainly in Gen 9:19 and Isa 23:3 a secondary verb נפץ (Sa1 13:11), formed from the Niph. נפץ (Gen 10:18), is to be supposed; for the contraction of the Niphal form נקומה into נקמה is impossible; and the supposition which has been advanced, of a root פצץ = פוץ in the signification diffundere, dissipare is unnecessary. His soul is disgusted (fastidio affecta est, or fastidit) with his life, therefore he will give free course to his plaint (comp. Job 7:11). עלי is not super or de me, but, as Job 30:16, in me; it belongs to the Ego, as an expression of spontaneity: I in myself, since the Ego is the subject, ὑποκείμενον, of his individuality (Psychol. S. 151f.). The inner man is meant, which has the Ego over or in itself; from this the complaint shall issue forth as a stream without restraint; not, however, a mere gloomy lamentation over his pain, but a supplicatory complaint directed to God respecting the peculiar pang of his suffering, viz., this stroke which seems to come upon him from his Judge (ריב, seq. acc., as Isa 27:8), without his being conscious of that for which he is accounted guilty.”