The wicked man is proud all his days, and the number of the years of his tyranny is uncertain.

“Ver. 20. The wicked man feels proud all his days. LITERAL AND MORAL INTERPRETATION The Elect also are apt to feel pride in some of their thoughts and actions. But because they are Elect persons, they cannot feel pride all their days, because before they end their lives, they turn their hearts from self-exaltation to the fearing of humility. But 'the wicked man feels pride all his days,' in that he so brings his life to an end, that he never departs from self-exalting. He looks round him on all that is flourishing in time, and he neglects to consider whither he is being carried for ever. He puts his trust in the life of the flesh, and thinks that those things continue for long, which he holds at the moment. His mind is set firm in self-exaltation, every one of his kin is brought into contempt, how suddenly death creeps upon him he never takes thought, how certain his happiness he never reflects; whereas if he did but turn his eyes to the uncertainty of fleeting life, he would never keep for a certainty things uncertain. And hence it is well added; And the number of the years of his tyranny is uncertain. For he ought not to have felt pride at all, even if he might have had the number of his years assured, so that knowing how long he should live, he might know beforehand when to withdraw himself from self-exaltation. But since the present life is always uncertain, death's creeping upon him ought always to be apprehended the more, insomuch as it can never be foreseen. And he rightly calls the pride of the wicked, 'tyranny.' For he is justly styled a tyrant, who in the commonwealth takes the lead without right. And be it known that every proud man, according to his several measure, exercises tyranny. For what sometimes one person practises in the commonwealth, in this case, by power of high office accorded to him, another in a province, another in a city, another in his own family, this same another by concealed wickedness practises to himself in the thought of his own heart. Nor does the Lord regard what amount of evil each person may be able to do, but what amount he may have the mind to do. And when the power is wanting without, he is, a tyrant within himself, whom iniquity lords it over within; for though he does not oppress his neighbours outwardly, yet inwardly he seeks to possess power, in order to oppress them; and because Almighty God considers the hearts of men, the wicked man has already done in his eyes the thing that he conceived. Now our Creator willed that our end should be hidden from us with this view, that whereas we are uncertain when we may die, we may always be found ready for death. Hence after it has been said, All his days the wicked man feels proud, he rightly adds, and the number of the years of his tyranny is uncertain. As if it were said in plain words, 'Wherefore is he lifted up as if on the grounds of a certainty, the tenure of whose life is held under the penalty of uncertainty?' But Almighty God not only reserves future punishments for those that live wickedly, but even here, where they go wrong, he besets their hearts with punishments, that by this alone, viz. that they sin, they should be smiting themselves, and that always trembling, always full of suspicion, they should be afraid of meeting with those mischiefs from others, which they remember themselves to have done to others.”

“All the days of a wicked man who does not repent of his sin and does not confess his transgressions, all his days... he mourns and grieves over his certainty of being requited for his evil that he committed. All the number of years that were laid up for the oppressor, he mourns. The word מתחולל is an expression of mourning, but I did not hear this.”

“But Eliphaz the Temanite, answering, said. Having heard Job's words, Eliphaz does not respond to the depth of his statements but strives to reprove, in a slanderous manner, certain words spoken by Job, considering them according to the surface of the words themselves and not according to the depth of their meaning. And first indeed he reproves that which Job had said at the beginning of his speech, "and I too have a heart, just as you do, nor am I inferior to you," in which he indeed notes two things about him: first, empty glory, because he commends himself, and this is what he says: "will a wise man answer as though he were speaking into the wind?" — for one who composes words in order to catch glory seems to speak into the wind; second, wrath, because he had begun to speak reproachfully when he said "therefore you alone are men," etc., and therefore he adds "and fill his stomach with heat," that is, his mind with wrath? Then he reproves him for having said, "I desire to dispute with God," and again, "only do not do two things to me, and then I shall not be hidden from your face," etc., in which he notes him in many ways: first, of pride, because he contends against one greater than himself, and this is what he says: "you argue against him with words, who is not your equal"; second, of folly, because Eliphaz reckoned such a dispute harmful, whence he adds: "and you speak what is not expedient for you," namely, in disputing with God. And why it is not expedient to dispute with him, he shows by this: that a dispute of this kind seems to exclude two things that are very necessary, of which the first is the fear of God — for he who fears someone does not presume to contend with him, whence also Job had said above, "let not your strength terrify me," and therefore Eliphaz here adds, "as much as is in you, you have emptied fear," because, namely, you have striven to exclude the fear of God from yourself; the second is prayer to God — for it does not belong to the same man both to contend with someone and to entreat him, and therefore he adds, "and you have taken away," that is, removed, "prayers from before the Lord," contrary to what Eliphaz had said above, "wherefore I will entreat the Lord." Now Job had disputed with God not out of pride but out of confidence in the truth, but Eliphaz rashly judged that this proceeded from iniquity, whence he adds: "for your iniquity has taught your mouth"; and this appears from its effect, because you blaspheme, whence there follows: "and you imitate the tongue of blasphemers." For he who blasphemes is one who denies the justice of God, but he who disputes with God about his justice seems to imitate the tongue of a blasphemer: for to dispute about something seems to belong to one who doubts concerning it, and one who doubts is close to one who denies. Therefore Eliphaz, wishing to speak against Job's dispute, first says that Job spoke so manifestly ill that he needs no other reprover, but his own words indicate his malice, and this is what he says: "your own mouth will condemn you, and not I, and your own lips will answer you," as if to say: your words need no other to answer them, but they destroy themselves. He shows, however, in many ways that this dispute was not fitting: first, by a comparison of him to all creatures; for if any creature could contend with God, this would belong especially to the first and most excellent creature — which did not apply to Job, whence he says: "were you born the first man, and formed before all the hills," that is, that on this account it would belong to you, on behalf of the whole human race or of the whole of creation, to dispute with God? Second, by comparison to God: for he can fittingly dispute with someone about his deeds who knows the reason by which the one with whom he disputes operates, which indeed he can know in two ways — one, as learning it from him; the other, as judging the deeds of another by a superior wisdom; but neither applies to Job in the comparison of man to God, and this is what he says: "have you heard the counsel of God," as to the first, "and will his wisdom be inferior to you," as to the second, so that you could thus dispute with God? Third, by comparison to other men, to whom he does not appear more knowing, so that out of confidence in greater knowledge he might presume to dispute with God, whence he says: "what do you know," namely by faith or revelation, "that we do not know? What do you understand," by natural knowledge, "that we are ignorant of?" But because Job might boast of knowledge received from others, he adds: "and there are among us men both old," namely in dignity of knowledge and of life, "and ancient in time, much older than your fathers," that is, than your teachers from whom you received your knowledge, or, according to the letter, than your forebears; and by greater age he wishes greater wisdom to be understood, because through the experience of a long time someone is rendered wiser. Fourth, on the part of Job himself, he shows that his dispute with God was unfitting, and first indeed because it was harmful to him, explaining what he had said above, "you speak what is not expedient for you," whence he says: "is it a great thing that God should console you?" As if to say: it is easy for God to bring you back to a state of prosperity, since he himself wounds and heals, as he had said above, but your wicked words prevent this, by which you provoke the wrath of God against you all the more. Second, he shows that it was vain and proud, as if explaining what he had said above, "will a wise man answer as though he were speaking into the wind?" Whence he adds: "what does your heart lift you up," namely through pride, that you presume so far concerning your wisdom? And he shows the sign of pride, adding: "and, as if thinking great things, do you have astonished eyes?" For when someone considers certain great and wondrous things, he is brought into amazement, and from this it happens that he has astonished eyes. Third, he shows that his dispute was presumptuous and impious, explaining what he had said above, "you argue against him with words, who is not your equal," whence he adds: "why does your spirit swell against God, that you utter from your mouth words of this kind," namely by which you provoke God to a dispute? "What is man, that he should be spotless," etc. After Eliphaz had reproved Job for this, that he had provoked God to a dispute, which seemed to pertain to a presumption of wisdom, now he reproves him for a presumption of righteousness, because he had said, "if I am judged, I know that I shall be found just." This indeed Eliphaz attacks, first from the frailty of the human condition, through which man both with difficulty avoids sin, whence he says: "what is man, that he should be spotless?" And also with difficulty performs good, whence he adds: "and that he who is born of woman should appear just?" For, as it is said in Proverbs, "in abundant righteousness there is the greatest power," which does not seem to belong to one who has his origin from a weak thing. Second, he attacks the same point from a comparison with the higher creatures, whence he adds: "behold, among his holy ones," that is, the angels, "no one is unchangeable," namely by his own nature but only by the gift of divine grace, so that he could not be turned aside into sin; "and the heavens," which hold the highest place of purity among bodies, "are not clean in his sight," that is, in comparison to him, because they are material and corporeal and changeable. Third, he attacks the same point from Job's own condition, arguing as it were from the greater to the lesser: how much more abominable, through sin, and useless, through a defect of righteousness, is man, who drinks iniquity like water, that is, who commits iniquity for nothing and without any restraint; for he who drinks wine drinks with some restraint lest he become drunk, which is not observed in the drinking of water: in this, therefore, he notes of Job himself that he would easily incline to iniquity, just as someone easily and readily has it to drink water. "I will show you, hear me," etc. After Eliphaz had reproved Job for having provoked God to a dispute and for presuming upon his own righteousness, now he reproves him concerning the words that he had spoken in disputing, and especially those: "you think me your enemy"; "you show your power against a leaf that is carried off by the wind"; and "you have put me in the stocks," etc. And first he stirs up attention, saying, "I will show you," namely that which you were seeking from God, "hear me attentively"; but from whence he can show it, he makes clear by adding, "what I have seen," namely finding it out from his own understanding, "I will tell you"; and again he will not be ashamed to say what he has heard from others, bringing them forward as authorities, because "the wise confess and do not hide their fathers," namely those from whom they received wisdom — for it belongs to fools and the proud to ascribe to themselves what they have received from others. And why they are not to be hidden, he shows from their dignity when he adds, "to whom alone the land was given"; and this can indifferently and in the same sense be referred either to the wise or to the fathers of the wise, whom he wishes also to be understood as wise — for the land is said to be given to the wise alone because they are the lords of earthly goods, using them for their own good, whereas fools use them to their own harm, according to that word of Wisdom 14:11: "creatures were made a snare for the feet of the foolish." And again, to show their dignity, he adds, "and no stranger will pass through them," namely because those who are strangers to wisdom cannot be numbered in the company of the wise; or because the wise are not supplied by outsiders — for a stranger is said to pass through those who are conquered and subjected by some outsider. After, then, he had made his hearer attentive, he now strives to answer against the words of Job disputing, from which he understood two things: first, that Job lived in anguish and fear, as though God were persecuting him and laying snares for him, because he had said, "you think me your enemy" and "you have observed all my paths"; second, that he believed him to doubt concerning his own destruction, because he had said, "you write bitter things against me, and want to consume me for the sins of my youth": therefore he speaks first against the first point, and second against the second, at the place "he will dwell in desolate cities." He shows, then, first, from what root this suspicion arises in Job's heart: because from his impiety and will to harm, whence he says: "the wicked man is proud all his days," that is, he is lifted up against God and to the harm of men. Now by "his days" he means not the days of his life but the days of his power or prosperity; but because the will to harm is in man from himself, while the power is from God, he cannot know for how long a time the power to fulfill his impious will is given to him, whence there is added: "and the number of the years of his tyranny is uncertain." And from this uncertainty follow suspicion and fear, which he consequently describes, saying: "the sound of terror is always in his ears," because, namely, at any rumor whatsoever he fears that something is being prepared against him, trusting in no one, as it were, on account of which he adds: "and when there is peace, he suspects ambushes," that is, when no one is contriving anything against him, he nevertheless dreads everyone on account of his own impious will, by which he would be ready to harm everyone. Now when someone fears certain of his enemies, he can hope for deliverance, even if he succumbs for a time, through the help of friends; but he who trusts in no one but fears everyone cannot hope that he will be relieved after being oppressed, and therefore he adds: "he does not believe that he can return from darkness to light," that is, from a state of adversity to a state of prosperity, "looking about on every side for the sword," that is, seeing enemies threatening him from every direction; and he says this particularly on account of the fact that Job had said, "I am to be consumed like rottenness, and like a garment that is eaten by a moth," by which Eliphaz understood Job to despair of his own deliverance. Now it sometimes happens that some tyrant, even though he fears all outsiders, nevertheless has some intimates and household members with whom he associates in security; but when his malice is overflowing, he fears even his own household members with whom he lives, whence there follows: "when he has moved to seek bread, he knows that the day of darkness is ready at hand," that is, the day of death, as if to say: he suspects ambushes not only in outward acts, in which he must necessarily associate with outsiders, but also in domestic acts, in eating and drinking and the like, believing that death is being prepared for him by his own household. And since he thus fears concerning everyone, he does not rest but always contrives something against those he fears, and thus the occasion of his fear grows, whence he adds: "tribulation will terrify him," namely, threatening him from others, "and anguish will surround him," namely, through fear of heart from every side, "as a king who is preparing for battle" — for a king who is preparing for battle is thus straitened by the fear of losing, and yet he still strives to destroy his enemies. By what merit, however, the wicked man and tyrant comes into such misery of fear, he shows, adding: "for he has stretched out his hand against God," by acting against God, "and has strengthened himself against the Almighty," that is, he has used the power given to him against God. And how he has acted against God, he shows, adding: "he ran against him with outstretched neck," that is, by being proud — for it is especially through pride that man resists God, to whom he ought to be subjected through humility, according to that word of Ecclesiasticus 10:14: "the beginning of man's pride is to apostatize from God"; and just as he who loves God is said to run in his way on account of the readiness of his will to serve him, so also the proud man is said to run against God on account of the presumption of his spirit. Now pride is accustomed to arise from an abundance of temporal things, and therefore there follows: "and he is armed with a fat neck," namely, by being proud against God — for fatness is caused by an abundance of humors, whence it signifies an abundance of temporal things. Now just as humility is the beginning of wisdom, so also pride is an impediment to wisdom, whence there follows: "fatness has covered his face" — for by the covering of the face is designated an impediment to knowledge. Nor is the opulence which is the cause of pride found only in him, but it is also derived to those beside him, whence there follows: "and fat hangs down from his sides." By all of which he intends to signify that Job fell from opulence into pride, through which he raised himself up against God and exercised tyranny over men, and therefore came into this suspicion, that he suspected God to be his adversary and one laying snares for him. "He will dwell in desolate cities," etc. After Eliphaz has shown the anguishes of fear which the wicked man suffers even while existing in a state of prosperity, he now speaks of the bitternesses by which, cast down into adversity, he is consumed, on account of the fact that Job had said, "you write bitter things against me, and want to consume me for the sins of my youth." Among the other bitternesses he sets down first that he is made a fugitive; now it is the custom of fugitives to seek hidden and uninhabited places, and therefore he says: "he will dwell in desolate cities and in deserted houses, which have been reduced to heaps" — for places of this kind are accustomed to be the shelters of fugitives. As the second, that he is despoiled of his riches, whence he says: "he will not be enriched," namely so as to acquire riches anew, "nor will his substance persist," so that he could retain riches previously acquired. As the third he sets down the impossibility of recovering, saying: "nor will he put his root into the earth" — for a tree, if it is uprooted and planted again, grows strong again if it puts its root into the earth, but if it cannot put its root into the earth, it cannot grow strong again. And as if explaining this, he adds: "he will not depart from the darkness," that is, from the state of adversity; and he assigns the reason for not returning to the light, adding: "the flame will dry up his branches" — for if a tree is uprooted, while the branches remain green there still remains hope of restoration, because they can be grafted in or planted, but if the branches are burned, no hope of recovery remains any further; now the branches of a man are his sons and other conjoined persons through whom a man sometimes rises again from a state of adversity, but Job's sons had been killed and his household had perished; and he himself was oppressed by infirmity, which he hints at, adding: "and he will be taken away by the breath of his own mouth," that is, by the pride of his own words, so that he could in no way hope for recovery, not even from God, whom he has offended by the pride of his words, whence he adds: "let him not believe, vainly deceived by error, that he is to be redeemed at any price," that is, that he is to be freed from tribulation by any help. As the fourth bitterness he sets down the shortening of life, whence he adds: "before his days are fulfilled he will perish," that is, he will die before the time of his life is completed, "and his hands will wither," that is, his sons and kinsmen will fail. And he adds an example, saying: "his cluster of grapes will be harmed, like a vine, in its first blossom" — which harm is indeed accustomed to happen from cold, whence it signifies external persecution; "and like an olive tree casting off its flower," which is accustomed to happen from some interior cause, whence it signifies the merit of the adversity on the part of the one who suffers it. Whence, concerning this merit, he adds: "for the congregation of the hypocrite is barren," that is, those things which are gathered together by the hypocrite are rendered fruitless, "and fire will devour the tabernacles of those who gladly receive gifts" — for it sometimes happens, by divine judgment, that things which have been ill acquired are easily consumed; and he says this, noting Job for rapacity and hypocrisy, as though adversity had befallen him on account of sins of this kind. And he adds a third sin, namely deceitfulness, whence there follows: "he has conceived sorrow," that is, he devised beforehand in his heart how he might inflict sorrow upon another; and the offspring of this conception indeed is the harm unjustly inflicted, whence there follows: "and has brought forth iniquity." He subsequently adds the manner in which he accomplishes this, saying: "and his womb prepares deceits" — for it belongs to hypocrites to inflict harm on others not openly but deceitfully; and by "womb" is understood the heart, in which spiritual conceptions occur, just as bodily conceptions occur in the womb.”

“The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days,.... Either to commit iniquity, which he is at great pains to do, and even to weariness; and, agreeably to the metaphor used, he conceives it in his heart, he travails with it in his mind, and he brings forth falsehood and a lie, what disappoints him, and which issues in death, eternal death, see Psa 7:14; or to get wealth and riches, in obtaining of which he pierces himself through with many sorrows; and these being like thorns, in using them he gets many a scratch, and has a good deal of trouble, pain, and uneasiness in keeping them, insomuch that he cannot sleep comfortably through fear of losing them; wherefore he does not enjoy that peace, comfort, and happiness, it may be thought he does; and, besides all this, he has many an inward pain and gripe of conscience for his many sins and transgressions, which lie at the door of conscience, and when it is opened rush in, and make sad work, and put him to great pain and distress; for otherwise this cannot be said of every wicked man, that they are in outward pain and distress, or in uncomfortable circumstances, at least in appearance; for of some it is said, "they are not in trouble as other men, neither are they plagued like other men", Psa 73:5; they live wholly at ease, and are quiet, and die so, at least seemingly: some restrain this to some particular person whom Eliphaz might have in view; the Targum paraphrases it of wicked Esau, who it was expected would repent, but did not; others think that he had in his eye some notorious oppressor, that had lived formerly, or in his time, as Nimrod, the mighty hunter and tyrant, or Chedorlaomer, who held for some years several kings in subjection to him; but it is much if he does not design Job himself; however, he forms the description of the wicked man in such a manner, that it might as near as possible suit his case, and in many things he plainly refers to it: and this is a sad case indeed, for a wicked man to travail in pain all his days in this life, and in the world to come to suffer the pains of hell fire to all eternity; the pains of a woman, to which the allusion is, are but short at most, but those of the wicked man are for life, yea, for ever; and among the rest of his pains of mind, especially in this world, what follows is one, and which gives much uneasiness: and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor; Mr. Broughton renders it, soon numbered years; that is, few, as the years of man's life at most are but few, and those of the oppressor fewer still, since bloody and deceitful men do not live out half the days of the years of man's life, but are oftentimes cut off in the midst of their days; and be they more or fewer, they are all numbered and fixed, and the number of them is with God, and him only; they are fixed and settled by the decree of God, and laid up in his purposes, and reserved for the oppressor; but they are a secret to him, he does not know how long he shall live, or how soon he may die, and then there will be an end of his oppression and tyranny, and of his enjoyment of his wealth and riches unjustly got; and this frets him, and gives him pain, and makes him uneasy; whereas a good man is easy about it, he is willing to wait his appointed time, till his change comes; he is not so much concerned to know the time of his death as to be in a readiness for it. The Targum paraphrases this of Ishmael the mighty: the oppressor is the same with the wicked man in the preceding clause. ; they live wholly at ease, and are quiet, and die so, at least seemingly: some restrain this to some particular person whom Eliphaz might have in view; the Targum paraphrases it of wicked Esau, who it was expected would repent, but did not; others think that he had in his eye some notorious oppressor, that had lived formerly, or in his time, as Nimrod, the mighty hunter and tyrant, or Chedorlaomer, who held for some years several kings in subjection to him; but it is much if he does not design Job himself; however, he forms the description of the wicked man in such a manner, that it might as near as possible suit his case, and in many things he plainly refers to it: and this is a sad case indeed, for a wicked man to travail in pain all his days in this life, and in the world to come to suffer the pains of hell fire to all eternity; the pains of a woman, to which the allusion is, are but short at most, but those of the wicked man are for life, yea, for ever; and among the rest of his pains of mind, especially in this world, what follows is one, and which gives much uneasiness: and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor; Mr. Broughton renders it, soon numbered years; that is, few, as the years of man's life at most are but few, and those of the oppressor fewer still, since bloody and deceitful men do not live out half the days of the years of man's life, but are oftentimes cut off in the midst of their days; and be they more or fewer, they are all numbered and fixed, and the number of them is with God, and him only; they are fixed and settled by the decree of God, and laid up in his purposes, and reserved for the oppressor; but they are a secret to him, he does not know how long he shall live, or how soon he may die, and then there will be an end of his oppression and tyranny, and of his enjoyment of his wealth and riches unjustly got; and this frets him, and gives him pain, and makes him uneasy; whereas a good man is easy about it, he is willing to wait his appointed time, till his change comes; he is not so much concerned to know the time of his death as to be in a readiness for it. The Targum paraphrases this of Ishmael the mighty: the oppressor is the same with the wicked man in the preceding clause. Job 15:21 job 15:21 job 15:21 job 15:21A dreadful sound is in his ears,.... Or "a voice", or "sound of fears" (t), of what causes fears; and which are either imaginary; sometimes wicked men, fear when there is no cause or occasion for it; they fancy an enemy at their heels, and flee, when none pursues them; they are a "Magormissabib", or "terror on every side", a fear to themselves and all about them, Jer 20:3; like Cain, who fancied and feared that every man that met him would slay him Gen 4:13; such is the effect of a guilty conscience: or real; and these either extraordinary sounds, such as were made in the ears of the Syrian host, which caused them to flee, and leave their tents, and all their substance in them, Kg2 7:6; or ordinary, as the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war, wars and rumours which are very terrible, especially to some persons; or sounds of fears, reports of one calamity after another, which cause fears; and so may respect Job's troubles, and the dreadful sound of them in his ears, brought by one messenger of bad tidings after another: but there is a more dreadful sound than either of these, which is sometimes in the ears of wicked men; the terrors of the law of God broken by them, the menaces and curses of it, and a sound of hell and damnation, which continually rings in their ears, and fills the with horror and black despair; and so the Targum, "the voice or sound of the fears in hell is in his ears;'' and among the rest of his fears what follows is one, and so some connect the words, that (u). in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him; either God the lawgiver, whose law he has transgressed, and who is able, as to save his people, so to destroy the wicked, soul and body, in hell; and destruction from the Almighty, Job himself says, was a terror to him, Job 31:23; or a destroying angel, such an one as went through the land of Egypt, and destroyed the firstborn, and into the camp of Israel, when they committed sin, and were destroyed of the destroyer; or some enemy, plunderer, and robber, such as the Sabeans and Chaldeans were, and to whom respect may be had; or even the devil himself, Apollyon, the destroyer of the souls of men, and who sometimes wicked men fear will come and carry them away, soul and body, to hell; or it may be death is meant, which kills and destroys all men; and wicked men are afraid that in the midst of all their peace and prosperity sudden destruction by death should come upon them, like a thief in the night, and remove them from all their enjoyments; and whether they are or no under any fearful apprehensions of this, it certainly will be their case. (t) "sonitus timorum", Pagninus, Montanus, Bolducius; to the same sense Codurcus, Junius & Tremellius, Mercerus, Cocceius, Schmidt, Schultens. (u) "Vastatorem invasurum eum", Junius & Tremellius.”

“Proud; uncertain. Hebrew, “in pain.” (Haydock) — Septuagint, “numbered,” or few, Genesis xxxiv. 30. These are the maxims which Eliphaz had received in a vision, or from the ancients, ver. 17. The description of a tyrant’s life was admirably verified in Dionysius, of Syracuse, (Calmet) and in our Cromwell, (Haydock)— “—–pale and trembling in the dead of night.” (Pope) —who rarely lodged two night in one chamber. (Clarendon.) — Such live in dread, (Haydock) and seldom die a natural death. Ad generum Cereris sine cæde et vulnere pauci Descendunt reges et sicca morte Tyranni. (Juvenal x. 113.) Nocte dieque suum gestare in pectore testem. (Juvenal xiii.) They bear always about the witness, “conscience.” (Haydock) — They distrust every one, and are hated by all. Districtus ensis cui super impia Cervice pendet, &c. (Horace iii. Ode 1.) — These miseries are incident to the wicked, but are improperly addressed to Job. (Worthington)”

“20 So long as the ungodly liveth he suffereth, And numbered years are reserved for the tyrant. 21 Terrors sound in his ears; In time of peace the destroyer cometh upon him. 22 He believeth not in a return from darkness, And he is selected for the sword. 23 He roameth about after bread: "Ah! where is it?" He knoweth that a dark day is near at hand for him. 24 Trouble and anguish terrify him; They seize him as a king ready to the battle. All the days of the ungodly he (the ungodly) is sensible of pain. רשׁע stands, like Elohim in Gen 9:6, by the closer definition; here however so, that this defining ends after the manner of a premiss, and is begun by הוּא after the manner of a conclusion. מתחולל, he writhes, i.e., suffers inward anxiety and distress in the midst of all outward appearance of happiness. Most expositors translate the next line: and throughout the number of the years, which are reserved to the tyrant. But (1) this parallel definition of time appended by waw makes the sense drawling; (2) the change of עריץ (oppressor, tyrant) for רשׁע leads one to expect a fresh affirmation, hence it is translated by the lxx: ἔτη δὲ ἀριθμητὰ δεδομένα δυνάστῃ. The predicate is, then, like Job 32:7, comp. Job 29:10; Job 2:4 (Ges. 148), per attractionem in the plur. instead of in the sing., and especially with מספּר followed by gen. plur.; this attraction is adopted by our author, Job 21:21; Job 38:21. The meaning is not, that numbered, i.e., few, years are secretly appointed to the tyrant, which must have been sh'nôth mispâr, a reversed position of the words, as Job 16:22; Num 9:20 (vid., Gesenius' Thes.); but a (limited, appointed) number of years is reserved to the tyrant (צפן as Job 24:1; Job 21:19, comp. טמן, Job 20:26; Mercerus: occulto decreto definiti), after the expiration of which his punishment begins. The thought expressed by the Targ., Syr., and Jerome would be suitable: and the number of the years (that he has to live unpunished) is hidden from the tyrant; but if this were the poet's meaning, he would have written שׁניו, and must have written מן־העריץ. With regard to the following Job 15:21-24, it is doubtful whether only the evil-doer's anxiety of spirit is described in amplification of הוא מתחולל, or also how the terrible images from which he suffers in his conscience are realized, and how he at length helplessly succumbs to the destruction which his imagination had long foreboded. A satisfactory and decisive answer to this question is hardly possible; but considering that the real crisis is brought on by Eliphaz later, and fully described, it seems more probable that what has an objective tone in Job 15:21-24 is controlled by what has been affirmed respecting the evil conscience of the ungodly, and is to be understood accordingly. The sound of terrible things (startling dangers) rings in his ears; the devastator comes upon him (בוא seq. acc. as Job 20:22; Pro 28:22; comp. Isa 28:15) in the midst of his prosperity. He anticipates it ere it happens. From the darkness by which he feels himself menaced, he believes not (האמין seq. infin. as Psa 27:13, לראות, of confident hope) to return; i.e., overwhelmed with a consciousness of his guilt, he cannot, in the presence of this darkness which threatens him, raise to the hope of rescue from it, and he is really - as his consciousness tells him - צפוּ (like עשׂוּ, Job 41:25; Ges. 75, rem. 5; Keri צפוי, which is omitted in our printed copies, contrary to the testimony of the Masora and the authority of correct MSS), spied out for, appointed to the sword, i.e., of God (Job 19:29; Isa 31:8), or decreed by God. In the midst of abundance he is harassed by the thought of becoming poor; he wanders about in search of bread, anxiously looking out and asking where? (abrupt, like הנה, Job 9:19), i.e., where is any to be found, whence can I obtain it? The lxx translates contrary to the connection, and with a strange misunderstanding of the passage: κατατέτακται δὲ δἰς σῖτα γυψίν (איּה לחם, food for the vulture). He sees himself in the mirror of the future thus reduced to beggary; he knows that a day of darkness stands in readiness (נכון, like Job 18:12), is at his hand, i.e., close upon him (בּידו, elsewhere in this sense ליד, Psa 140:6; Sa1 19:3, and על־ידי, Job 1:14). In accordance with the previous exposition, we shall now interpret וּמצוּקה צר, Job 15:24, not of need and distress, but subjectively of fear and oppression. They come upon him suddenly and irresistibly; it seizes or overpowers him (תּתקפהוּ with neutral subject; an unknown something, a dismal power) as a king עתיד לכּידור. lxx ὥσπερ στρατηγὸς πρωτοστάτης πίπτων, like a leader falling in the first line of the battle, which is an imaginary interpretation of the text. The translation of the Targum also, sicut regem qui paratus est ad scabellum (to serve the conqueror as a footstool), furnishes no explanation. Another Targum translation (in Nachmani and elsewhere) is: sicut rex qui paratus est circumdare se legionibus. According to this, כידור comes from כּדר, to surround, be round (comp. כּתר, whence כּתר, Assyr. cudar, κίδαρις, perhaps also הזר, Syr. חדר, whence chedor, a circle, round about); and it is assumed, that as כּדּוּר signifies a ball (not only in Talmudic, but also in Isa 22:18, which is to be translated: rolling he rolleth thee into a ball, a ball in a spacious land), so כּידור, a round encampment, an army encamped in a circle, synon. of מעגּל. In the first signification the word certainly furnishes no suitable sense in connection with עתיד; but one may, with Kimchi, suppose that כידור, like the Italian torniamento, denotes the circle as well as the tournament, or the round of conflict, i.e., the conflict which moves round about, like tumult of battle, which last is a suitable meaning here. The same appropriate meaning is attained, however, if the root is taken, like the Arabic kdr, in the signification turbidum esse (comp. קדר, Job 6:16), which is adopted of misfortunes as troubled experiences of life (according to which Schultens translates: destinatus est ad turbulentissimas fortunas, beginning a new thought with עתיד, which is not possible, since כמלך by itself is no complete figure), and may perhaps also be referred to the tumult of battle, tumultus bellici conturbatio (Rosenm.); or of, with Fleischer, one starts from another turn of the idea of the root, viz., to be compressed, solid, thick, which is a more certain way gives the meaning of a dense crowd. (Note: The Arab. verb kdr belongs to the root kd, to smite, thrust, quatere, percutere, tundere, trudere; a root that has many branches. It is I. transitive cadara (fut. jacduru, inf. cadr) - by the non-adoption of which from the original lexicons our lexicographers have deprived the whole etymological development of its groundwork - in the signification to pour, hurl down, pour out, e.g., cadara-l-ma, he has spilt, poured out, thrown down the water; hence in the medial VII. form incadara intransitive, to fall, fall down, chiefly of water and other fluids, as of the rain which pours down from heaven, of a cascade, and the like; then improperly of a bird of prey which shoots down from the air upon its prey (e.g., in the poetry in Beidhwi on Sur. 81, 2: "The hawk saw some bustards on the plain f'ancadara, and rushed down"); of a hostile host which rushes upon the enemy first possible signification for כידור]; of a man, horse, etc., which runs very swiftly, effuse currit, effuso curru ruit; of the stars that shall fall from heaven at the last day (Sur. 81, 2). Then also II. intransitive cadara (fut. jacdiru) with the secondary form cadira (fut. jacdaru) and cadura (fut. jacduru), prop. to be shaken and jolted; then also of fluid things, mixed and mingled, made turgid, unclean, i.e., by shaking, jolting, stirring, etc., with the dregs (the cudre or cudde); then gen. turbidum, non limpidum (opp. Arab. ṣf'), with a similar transition of meaning to that in turbare (comp. deturbare) and the German trben (comp. traben or trappen, treiben, treffen). The primary meaning of the root takes another III. turn in the derived adjectives cudur, cudurr, cundur, cundir, compressed, solid, thick; the last word with us (Germans) forms a transition from cadir, cadr, cadr, dull, slimy, yeasty, etc., inasmuch as we speak of dickes Bier (thick beer), etc., cerevisia spissa, de la bire paisse. Here the point of contact of the word כידור, tumult of battle, κλόνος ἀνδρῶν, seems indicated: a dense crowd and tumult, where one is close upon another; as also נלחם, מלחמה, signify not reciprocal destruction, slaughter, but to press firmly and closely upon one another, a dense crowd. - Fl.) Since, therefore, a suitable meaning is obtained in two ways, the natural conjecture, which is commended by Pro 6:11, עתיד לכּידון, paratus ad hastam = peritus hastae (Hupf.), according to Job 3:8) where ערר = לערר), may be abandoned. The signification circuitus has the most support, according to which Saadia and Parchon also explain, and we have preferred to translate round of battle rather than tumult of conflict; Jerome's translation, qui praeparatur ad praelium, seems also to be gained in the same manner.”