Job 20:20-23 | Clarke | e4.org | Verse 20. Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly ] I have already remarked that the word beten , which we translate belly , often means in the sacred Scriptures the whole of the human trunk; the regions of the thorax and abdomen , with their contents; the heart, lungs, liver, &c., and consequently all the thoughts, purposes , and inclinations of the mind, of which those viscera were supposed to be the functionaries. The meaning seems to be, "He shall never be satisfied; he shall have an endless desire after secular good, and shall never be able to obtain what he covets."

‏ Job 20:20-23

Verse 20. Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly] I have already remarked that the word beten, which we translate belly, often means in the sacred Scriptures the whole of the human trunk; the regions of the thorax and abdomen, with their contents; the heart, lungs, liver, &c., and consequently all the thoughts, purposes, and inclinations of the mind, of which those viscera were supposed to be the functionaries. The meaning seems to be, "He shall never be satisfied; he shall have an endless desire after secular good, and shall never be able to obtain what he covets."

Verse 21. There shall none of his meat be left] Coverdale translates thus: He devoured so gredily, that he left nothinge behynde, therefore his goodes shal not prospere. He shall be stripped of every thing.

Verse 22. In the fullness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits] This is a fine saying, and few of the menders of Job's text have been able to improve the version. It is literally true of every great, rich, wicked man; he has no God, and anxieties and perplexities torment him, notwithstanding he has his portion in this life.

Every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.] All kinds of misery shall be his portion. Coverdale translates: Though he had plenteousnesse of every thinge, yet was he poore; and, therefore, he is but a wretch on every syde.

Verse 23. When he is about to fill his belly] Here seems a plain allusion to the lustings of the children of Israel in the desert. God showered down quails upon them, and showered down his wrath while the flesh was in their mouth. The allusion is too plain to be mistaken; and this gives some countenance to the bishop of Killala's version of the 20th verse, Job 20:20:-

"Because he acknowledged not the quail in his stomach,

In the midst of his delight he shall not escape."

That , which we translate quietness, means a quail, also the history of the Hebrews' lustings, Ex 16:2-11, and Nu 11:31-35, sufficiently proves. Let the reader mark all the expressions here, Job 20:20-23, and compare them with Nu 11:31-35, and he will probably be of opinion that Zophar has that history immediately in view, which speaks of the Hebrews' murmurings for bread and flesh, and the miraculous showers of manna and quails, and the judgments that fell on them for their murmurings. Let us compare a few passages:-

Ver. 20. He shall not feel quietness] selav, the quail. "He shall not save of that which he desired."

Ver. 21: There shall none of his meat be left.] Ex 16:19: "Let no man leave of it till the morning."

Ver. 22. In the fulness of his sufficiency, he shall be in straits.] Ex 16:20: "But some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms and stank."

Ver. 23. When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.] Nu 11:33: "And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague." Ps 78:26-30: "He rained flesh upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea: so they did eat and were filled-but, while the meat was in their mouth, the wrath of God came upon them," &c. These show to what Zophar refers.