But the eyes of the wicked shall decay, and the way to escape shall fail them, and their hope the abomination of the soul.

“But the eyes of the wicked shall fail and refuge shall perish from them, and their hope shall be the abomination of the soul. That by the designation of 'eyes' the energy of the intention is set forth to us, 'Truth' testifies in the Gospel, saying, If thine eye shall be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. Forasmuch as if a pure intention have preceded our action, howsoever it may seem otherwise to men, yet to the eyes of our interior Judge, the body of the deed that follows after is presented pure. Therefore the 'eyes' of the wicked are the intentions of carnal desires in them, and these fail for this reason, that they are careless of their eternal interests, and are ever looking for transitory advantages alone. For they aim to get themselves an earthly name, they wish above all things to grow and increase in temporal goods, they are daily advancing with the tide of transient things to the goal of death; but they think not to take account of the things of mortality upon the principles of their mortal nature. The life of the flesh is failing minute by minute, and yet the desire of the flesh is growing; property gotten is snatched off by an instant end, yet the eagerness in getting is not ended the more; but when death withdraws the wicked, then indeed their desires are ended with their life. And the eyes of these fail them through the Avenging of the Most High, for that they would not fail here by their own determination to earthly gratification. These same eyes of such persons the Psalmist had seen closed to their former enjoyment, when he said, In that day all their thoughts perish. For they meet at once with eternal woes they had never thought on, and on a sudden lose the temporal goods, they had long while held and dealt with. And for these 'all refuge shall perish,' in that their iniquity finds not where to hide itself from the visitation of the searching Judge. For now, when the wicked undergo some slight mishaps or evil chances, they find a hiding-place for refuge, in that they forthwith have recourse to the enjoyment of earthly objects of desire. For that poverty torment them not, they beguile the spirit with riches. Or lest the contempt of their neighbours sink them, they exalt themselves with titles. If the body is cloyed with satiety, it is pampered with the variety of viands set before it. If the mind is weighed down by any impulse to sadness, it is immediately relieved by the beguilements of sportiveness being introduced. Here therefore they have as many places of refuge as they make for themselves entertainments of delight; but one time 'refuge shall perish from them,' in that their soul, when all these are gone, sees only itself and the Judge. Then the pleasure is withdrawn, but the guilt of pleasure is preserved; and ere long the miserable wretches learn by their perishing that they were perishable things they had possession of. Yet these as long as they live in the body never cease to seek after things of a nature to do them harm. What does the sinner hope for here in all his thoughts saving to surpass others in power, to go beyond all men in the abundance of his stores, to bow down his rivals in lording it over them, to display himself as an object of admiration to his followers, to gratify anger at will, to make himself known as kind and gracious when he is commended, whatever the appetite longs for to offer to it, to acquiesce in all that pleasure dictates by the fulfilling of the thing? Well then is their hope said to be 'the abomination of the soul,' for the very same objects which carnal men go after, all spiritual persons abominate, according to the sentence of righteousness. For that which sinners account pleasure, the righteous, surely, hold for pain. Therefore the hope of the wicked is the abomination of the soul, for the spirit is wasted while the body is at ease. For as the flesh is sustained by soft treatment, so is the soul by hard dealing; soothing appliances cherish the first, harsh methods exercise the last. The one is fed with enjoyment, the last thrives on bitterness. And as hardships wound the flesh, so softness kills the spirit, as things laborious kill the one, so things delightful destroy the other. Therefore the hope of carnal men is said to be the abomination of the soul; in that the spirit perishes for ever by the same means whereby the flesh lives pleasantly for a while.”

“And the eyes of the wicked your enemies, will fail when they turn to your troubles to see, but will not achieve their desire. Every expression of כליון עינים failure of the eyes, in the holy tongue means one who looks forward to see something but does not achieve [his wish], and as (Deut. 28:32) “and languish (כלות) for them etc.” way to flee Heb. מנוס. That is a refuge and their hope What they hope to see in you will be intense grief for them.”

“But Zophar the Naamathite answering said, etc. Above, Job had said, among the other evils that he was suffering, that he was marvelously tormented by his friends who rose up against him as witnesses on God's behalf; touched by this word, Zophar answered. Hence it says, "But Zophar the Naamathite answering said: shall not he who speaks much also hear?" As if to say: you have spoken much and inordinately, wherefore it is no wonder if you have been rebuked by your friends; for if a man who speaks much were not to be rebuked, this inconvenient consequence would follow, that men would be reckoned just from the very fact that they are talkative. Hence it follows, "or shall a man full of talk be justified?" that is, be reckoned just? And because Job could say that deference ought to be shown to him on account of his dignity, Zophar excludes this, adding, "shall men hold their peace to you alone, and when you have mocked others, shall you not be refuted by anyone?" For he understood both himself and others to have been mocked in this, that Job had called them witnesses of God, and in that he had said above, "why do you detract from the words of truth?" And therefore he says it is not to be wondered at if others too speak against him. But perhaps Job could say that they had nothing to say against him or against his words, and to exclude this Zophar adds: "for you have said: my speech is pure" — this he takes from what Job had said above, "you will not find iniquity in my tongue, nor will folly resound in my jaws"; "and I am clean in your sight" — this Job had not said expressly, but Zophar wished to take it from his words, because he had argued that he was not being punished for sin, or from what he had said, "know that I have done nothing wicked," or from what he had said above, "have I not dissembled? have I not kept silence?" Now it is to be considered that, since sin is a deviation from the law of God, sin, or its magnitude, cannot be fully known unless the law of God is known: for "the right is judge both of itself and of the oblique." Since, therefore, Job said himself immune from sin, or that he had not sinned so gravely as he was being punished, Zophar reckoned this to happen because Job did not perfectly know the law of God, and therefore he says, "and would that God would speak with you, and would open his lips to you." This he seems to say in derision of Job, because Job had said, "show me why you judge me thus." And it can be said that God simply speaks to man when he inspires something of his wisdom into his heart, according to that word of the Psalm, "I will hear what the Lord God speaks in me"; but he opens his lips when through certain effects he reveals something to men, for by the lips the exterior voices are formed by which we express the interior conceptions of the heart. Now it is to be considered that we fall short of the understanding of divine things for a twofold reason. First, indeed, because since we cannot know the invisible things of God except through the things that have been made, and the things that have been made fall far short of the power of their maker, it is necessary that many things remain to be considered in the maker which are hidden from us; and these are called the secrets of God's wisdom, concerning which he says, "that he might show you the secrets of wisdom." Second, because we cannot even fully comprehend the very order of creatures, as it is dispensed by divine providence; for it is one way in human government and another in the divine. For among men, the higher someone is in ruling, the more his ordinance extends only to universal matters, leaving particulars to be dispensed by lower rulers, and thus the law of government of a higher ruler is universal and simple; but the higher God is in ruling, the more his ordinance extends even to the smallest things. Wherefore the law of his government is not only secret, if we look to the height of the ruler exceeding the whole proportion of the creature, but is also manifold, dispensing even singular and the smallest things under a fixed order; and therefore he added, "and that his law is manifold." And this indeed is to be considered not only in natural things, insofar as they are subject to the divine government, but also in human affairs. For human laws, because their framers could not have regard to all singular things, have regard to certain universals which occur for the most part; but how universal human statutes are to be applied to singular deeds is left to the prudence of the one acting. Wherefore in many things a man can fall short of rectitude, in which nevertheless he is not contrary to the law humanly enacted; but the divine law, insofar as it is in the wisdom of God, extends to all particular and the smallest things, and thus it cannot happen that a man discords from rectitude in something and is not contrary to the divine law. Since, therefore, man cannot attain to the divine law itself, as it is to be looked into in the secret of God's wisdom, and consequently cannot recognize its manifoldness, it happens that sometimes he does not think himself to be acting against the law of God when nevertheless he is so acting, or thinks he transgresses little when he transgresses much. Wherefore he adds, "and you would understand" — namely, if the secrets of wisdom and the manifoldness of the law of God were shown to you — "that much less is exacted of you by him," namely in enduring punishments, "than your iniquity deserves," which you either do not know or reckon small. And in this he seems to rebuke what Job had said above: "would that my sins, by which I have deserved wrath, and the calamity that I suffer, were weighed in a balance; this would appear heavier than the sand of the sea." And because he had supposed that in the divine wisdom there is something secret which had not yet been shown to Job, lest this could be denied, he confirms it by what follows, saying, "perhaps you will comprehend the footsteps of God." "Footsteps" are signs along the way of one who proceeds; but the works of God are called his ways, and the production of creatures by God is understood as a certain procession of God into creatures, insofar as the divine goodness, from him in whom it exists simply and supremely, proceeds, derived by degrees to its effects, while the higher things are found better than the lower. The footsteps of God, therefore, are certain signs found in creatures, from which God can be known to some extent through them. But since the human mind cannot totally and perfectly know even the creatures themselves, much less can it have perfect knowledge of the Creator himself, and therefore, asking, he adds, "and will you find the Almighty unto perfection?" As if to say: if you cannot perfectly know creatures, much less can you know the Creator; and he says pointedly "find," because reason, by a certain inquiry, proceeds from effects to the cause, which, while it comes to know through the effects, we are said to find. Nor is it a wonder if, the creatures not being perfectly known, the Creator is not perfectly known, because even if the creatures were perfectly known, the Creator would still not be perfectly known: for the cause can be perfectly known through the effects only when the effects equal the power of the cause, which cannot be said of God. And therefore he adds, "he is higher than heaven, and what will you do? deeper than hell, and how will you know? his measure is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea." These things are said under metaphor: for it must not be understood that God, who is incorporeal, is extended by corporeal dimensions, but he describes the greatness of his power under the likeness of corporeal greatness, because however great corporeal quantities appear to be, whether in height or depth or length or breadth, they nevertheless fall short of the greatness of God's power, which could make greater things; and therefore he pointedly named God "Almighty" beforehand. From this, therefore, he shows that he cannot be found perfectly in creatures, because, granted that all creatures were perfectly known, a power equal to him could not be known from them: what middle term, then, can be taken for knowing the power of God insofar as it exceeds every creature? And this he signifies when he says, "what will you do?" and "how will you know?" Now the divine power exceeds every creature not only in producing but also in preserving: for the preservation of a creature is from God alone, nor is there any power in a creature that could resist the divine will if it did not wish to preserve that creature any further. And therefore he adds, "if he overturns all things" — reducing them to nothing, namely by withdrawing being from them — "or gathers them into one" — bringing in confusion through the withdrawal of the order by which he distinguishes things — "who will contradict him?" that is, what power of a creature will be able to be contrary, preserving itself or other things in being against his will? But lest someone say that, although nothing could be preserved in being except through him, yet he preserves things in being as it were by debt, to exclude this he adds, "or who can say to him: why do you act thus?" as though demanding from him an account of a debt omitted. "For he knows the vanity of men," etc. After Zophar has shown that in the divine wisdom there is something secret which is incomprehensible to man, he proceeds to make manifest another thing that he had supposed earlier, namely that God exacts punishment from man for sin, and, to manifest this indeed, that God knows the deeds of men. Hence he says: I rightly say that less is exacted of you by God than your iniquity deserves, "for he knows the vanity of men," that is, the vain deeds of men. Now those things are usually called vain which are unstable because they are not made stable by their due ends; from this, therefore, comes the vanity of man, that his heart is not fixed in truth, by which alone it can be made stable, and from the fact that he withdraws from truth he works iniquity, inasmuch as he desires that which appears good in place of that which is good. Wherefore he adds, "and seeing" — namely, God — "iniquity," proceeding from the vanity of men, "does he not consider it?" namely, so as to punish it? For then a judge seems to let sin pass by inconsiderately when he dissembles and does not care to apply punishment, which does not seem to be said of God: since, therefore, he himself sees the vanity of men, he exacts punishment for iniquity. But just as it happens from vanity that a man declines toward iniquity, so from the same vanity it comes about that a man does not reckon himself subject to the divine judgment, and therefore he adds, "a vain man is lifted up into pride," namely so that he does not believe himself subject to his superior, and this is what he adds, "and thinks himself born free like a wild ass's colt." The wild ass is a forest ass, whose colt is born free from the dominion of man; but the colts of asses that are possessed by men are born into the servitude of men. Men, therefore, who do not think themselves subject to the divine judgment, reckon themselves as it were colts of the wild ass born free, although they see other men of the same condition constrained by divine judgment. This he seemed to say in derision of blessed Job, understanding from his words that he wished to contend as it were on equal terms with God, because he had said, "let him take his rod away from me, and let not his dread terrify me; I will speak and not fear him." And therefore he adds, "but you have hardened your heart," namely so as to defend your iniquity. And yet, with this hardening of heart, you have stretched out your hands to God in prayer, namely above, when he said, "I will say to God: do not condemn me"; and therefore your prayer is useless, for prayer is useful when a man first puts away his iniquity and afterward asks of God that he cease from punishing. And this is what he adds: "if you remove the iniquity that is in your hand from you," namely so that you cease from the wicked deed which you still have at hand, "and injustice does not remain in your tent," namely so that you restore what you have unjustly received and kept, or so that you correct your household, for whose offenses masters are sometimes punished on account of negligence in correcting them, "then you will be able to lift up," namely by praying to God, "your face without blemish," namely of guilt. And thus condemnation will cease, first indeed as regards the future, wherefore he adds, "and you will be steadfast," namely so that you are no longer shaken by tribulations, and you will also not fear future dangers. And because sometimes, although one does not fear the future, a man is nevertheless afflicted on account of the things he has lost or suffered, he adds, "you will also forget your misery," namely that which you have suffered up to now, on account of the abundance of goods that will come upon you; and he confirms this with an example when he adds, "and you will not remember it, like waters that have passed away," which he says because a man, after a rainstorm, when fair weather comes, forgets the preceding rains, or because the waters of rivers run very swiftly, and after they pass by no memory of them remains. But because Job had above raised two objections against the promise of prosperity in this life — namely, the devastation of his own body, when he said, "my flesh is clothed with rottenness," and the passing away of the days of his life, when he said, "my days have passed more swiftly," etc. — therefore, to exclude both objections, he adds, "and it will rise for you at evening like the brightness of noonday," as if to say: although it seems to you that your days have passed and your life is at its end, as it were toward evening, nevertheless so great a prosperity can come upon you that it will bring you back, as it were, to the joy of your youth; for just as by evening old age is understood, so by noonday youth, and he calls "brightness" the splendor of earthly prosperity. But against what he had said about the consumption of his own body, he adds, "and when you shall have thought yourself consumed" — namely on account of the infirmity you have suffered — "you shall rise like the morning star," that is, your body will return to its former beauty. And because Job had again said above that his days were consumed without any hope, he adds, "and you will have confidence, hope being set before you." And because Job had above disapproved the opinion of those who say that man, after death, after many ages have passed, returns again to this manner of living, Zophar says that this hope is not the one set before him, but rather the hope according to which man lives after death in the memories of men. This indeed happens from two things: in one way, from the tombs in which the bodies of the dead are laid up so that the memory of the departed may be preserved, whence they are also called monuments; and as to this he says, "and buried, you will sleep secure," as if no one will violate your sepulcher, nor will it even be feared that anyone will attempt it, wherefore he adds, "you will rest, and there will be none to terrify you." In another way, the dead live in the memories of men on account of the good deeds they did while alive, on account of which their life would be missed; and as to this he adds, "and many will entreat your face," that is, many will greatly desire your presence or will show reverence to your tomb, remembering your benefits. And because he had promised these things if Job wished to depart from iniquity, he consequently shows that these things are not given to the wicked, and therefore he adds, "but the eyes of the wicked will fail," because indeed the good things they desire they will not obtain: for then someone's eyes are said to fail when he looks to apprehend something that he is not able to attain. And just as the desired goods are not attained, so also the evils that they suffer or fear they cannot avoid, wherefore it follows, "and escape will perish from them," because indeed they will not be able to flee the evils. But after death they will not be in veneration or desire but in abomination on account of the evils they did, and this is what is added: "and their hope is the abomination of the soul," that is, that which can be hoped concerning them after death is that they be in abomination.”

“But the eyes of the wicked shall fail,.... Either through grief and envy at Job's prosperity, and with looking for his fall into troubles again; or rather through expectation of good things for themselves, and for deliverance out of trouble, but all in vain; see Lam 4:17; and they shall not escape; afflictions and calamities in this life, nor the righteous judgment, nor wrath to come: or, "refuge shall perish from them" (a); there will be none to betake themselves unto for safety; in vain will they seek it from men; refuge will fail them, and no man care for them; and in vain will they fly to rocks and mountains to fall upon them: and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost; it is with them as when a man is just expiring, and it is all over with him, and there is no hope of his reviving; so the hope of wicked men is a dying hope, a lost hope; it is not hope, but despair; their hope is gone, and they are lost and undone; and if they retain their hope in life, when they come to die they have none; though the righteous has hope in his death, their hope dies with them, if not before them: or, "their hope is the giving up of the ghost" (b); all they have to hope and wish for is death, to relieve them from their present troubles and agonies they are in; and sometimes are left amidst their guilt, despair, and horror, to destroy themselves: now Zophar by all this would suggest, that should not Job take his advice, he would appear to be such a wicked man, whose eyes would fail for his own help, and would not escape the judgments of God here and hereafter, and would die without hope, in black despair; or at least without any hope that would be of any avail. (a) "et refugium peribit ab eis", Pagninus, Montanus, Bolducius; "perfugium", Junius & Tremellius; "effugium", Mercerus, Cocceius, Schmidt, Schultens. (b) "Spes vel expectatio eorum est, vel erit efflatio animae", Mercerus, Cocceius. Next: Job Chapter 12”

“Soul, because hope deferred causeth pain to the soul, Proverbs xiii. 12. (Menochius) — Hebrew, “their hope shall be the sorrow, or the breathing out of the soul.” (Calmet) — Protestants, “the giving up of the ghost.” Marginal note, “a puff of breath,” chap. xviii. 14. (Haydock) Bible Text & Cross-references: Sophar reproveth Job for justifying himself, and inviteth him to repentance. 1 Then Sophar, the Naamathite, answered, and said: 2 Shall not he that speaketh much, hear also? or shall a man full of talk be justified? 3 Shall men hold their peace to thee only? and when thou hast mocked others, shall no man confute thee? 4 For thou hast said: My word is pure, and I am clean in thy sight. 5 And I wish that God would speak with thee, and would open his lips to thee, 6 That he might shew thee the secrets of wisdom, and that his law is manifold, and thou mightest understand that he exacteth much less of thee, than thy iniquity deserveth. 7 Peradventure thou wilt comprehend the steps of God, and wilt find out the Almighty perfectly? 8 He is higher than heaven, and what wilt thou do? he is deeper than hell, and how wilt thou know? 9 The measure of him is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. 10 If he shall overturn all things, or shall press them together, who shall contradict him? 11 For he knoweth the vanity of men, and when he seeth iniquity, doth he not consider it? 12 A vain man is lifted up into pride, and thinketh himself born free like a wild ass’s colt. 13 But thou hast hardened thy heart, and hast spread thy hands to him. 14 If thou wilt put away from thee the iniquity that is in thy hand, and lot not injustice remain in thy tabernacle: 15 Then mayst thou lift up thy face without spot, and thou shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear. 16 Thou shalt also forget misery, and remember it only as waters that are passed away. 17 And brightness like that of the noon-day, shall arise to thee at evening: and when thou shalt think thyself consumed, thou shalt rise as the day-star. 18 And thou shalt have confidence, hope being set before thee, and being buried thou shalt sleep secure. 19 *Thou shalt rest, and there shall be none to make thee afraid: and many shall entreat thy face. 20 *But the eyes of the wicked shall decay, and the way to escape shall fail them, and their hope the abomination of the soul.”

“A warning to Job, if he would not turn to God. The wicked--that is, obdurate sinners. eyes . . . fail--that is, in vain look for relief (Deu 28:65). Zophar implies Job's only hope of relief is in a change of heart. they shall not escape--literally, "every refuge shall vanish from them." giving up of the ghost--Their hope shall leave them as the breath does the body (Pro 11:7). Next: Job Chapter 12”