Job 4:18, 15:14-16 | Clarke | e4.org | Verse 18. Behold, he put no trust in his servants ] This verse is generally understood to refer to the fall of angels; for there were some of those heavenly beings who kept not their first estate : they did not persevere to the end of their probation, and therefore fell into condemnation, and are reserved in chains of darkness unto the judgment of the great day ; . It is said he put no trust in them -he knew that nothing could be absolutely immutable but himself; and that no intelligent beings could subsist in a state of purity, unless continually dependent on himself, and deriving constant supplies of grace, power, and light, from him who gave them their being. And his angels he charged with folly ] Not chargeth , as many quote the passage. He charged those with folly who kept not their first estate. It does not appear that he is charging the others in the same way, who continue steadfast. The several translations of this verse, both ancient and modern, are different from each other. Here are the chief:- In angelis suis reperit pravitatem , "In his angels he found perverseness," VULGATE. The SEPTUAGINT is nearly the same. II met la lumiere dans ses anges , "He puts light into his angels," FRENCH BIBLE. Even those pure intelligences have continual need of being irradiated by the Almighty; [Syriac] wa-bemalakui neshim tempo , "And he hath put amazement in his angels," SYRIAC. The ARABIC is the same. In angelis suis ponet gloriationem , "In his angels he will put exultation," MONTANUS. The Hebrew is toholah, irradiation , from halah, to irradiate, glister , or shine . In this place we may consider angels ( malachim ) as heavenly or earthly messengers or angels of the Lord; and the glory, influence , and honour of their office as being put in them by the Most High. They are as planets which shine with a borrowed light . They have nothing but what they have received. Coverdale translates the whole verse thus: Beholde he hath founde unfaythfulnesse amonge his owne servaunts and proude disobedience amonge his angels . The sense is among all these interpreters; and if the fallen angels are meant, the passage is plain enough.

‏ Job 4:18

Verse 18. Behold, he put no trust in his servants] This verse is generally understood to refer to the fall of angels; for there were some of those heavenly beings who kept not their first estate: they did not persevere to the end of their probation, and therefore fell into condemnation, and are reserved in chains of darkness unto the judgment of the great day; Jude 1:6. It is said he put no trust in them-he knew that nothing could be absolutely immutable but himself; and that no intelligent beings could subsist in a state of purity, unless continually dependent on himself, and deriving constant supplies of grace, power, and light, from him who gave them their being.

And his angels he charged with folly] Not chargeth, as many quote the passage. He charged those with folly who kept not their first estate. It does not appear that he is charging the others in the same way, who continue steadfast.

The several translations of this verse, both ancient and modern, are different from each other. Here are the chief:-

In angelis suis reperit pravitatem, "In his angels he found perverseness," VULGATE. The SEPTUAGINT is nearly the same. II met la lumiere dans ses anges, "He puts light into his angels," FRENCH BIBLE. Even those pure intelligences have continual need of being irradiated by the Almighty; [Syriac] wa-bemalakui neshim tempo, "And he hath put amazement in his angels," SYRIAC. The ARABIC is the same. In angelis suis ponet gloriationem, "In his angels he will put exultation," MONTANUS. The Hebrew is toholah, irradiation, from halah, to irradiate, glister, or shine. In this place we may consider angels ( malachim) as heavenly or earthly messengers or angels of the Lord; and the glory, influence, and honour of their office as being put in them by the Most High. They are as planets which shine with a borrowed light. They have nothing but what they have received. Coverdale translates the whole verse thus: Beholde he hath founde unfaythfulnesse amonge his owne servaunts and proude disobedience amonge his angels. The sense is among all these interpreters; and if the fallen angels are meant, the passage is plain enough.

‏ Job 15:14-16

Verse 14. What is man, that he should be clean?] mah enosh; what is weak, sickly, dying, miserable man, that he should be clean? This is the import of the original word enosh.

And-born of a woman, that he should be righteous?] It appears, from many passages in the sacred writings, that natural birth was supposed to be a defilement; and that every man born into the world was in a state of moral pollution. Perhaps the word yitsdak should be translated, that he should justify himself, and not that he should be righteous.

Verse 15. Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.] The Vulgate has, "Behold, among his saints, none is immutable; and the heavens are not clean in his sight."

Coverdale.-Beholde, he hath found unfaithfulnesse amonge his owne sanctes, yea the very heavens are unclene in his sight.

Eliphaz uses the same mode of speech, Job 4:17, 18; where see the notes. Nothing is immutable but GOD: saints may fall; angels may fall; all their goodness is derived and dependent. The heavens themselves have no purity compared with his.

Verse 16. How much more abominable and filthy is man] As in the preceding verse it is said, he putteth no trust in his saints, it has appeared both to translators and commentators that the original words, aph ki, should be rendered how much LESS, not how much MORE: How much less would he put confidence in man, who is filthy and abominable in his natures and profligate in his practice, as he drinks down iniquity like water? A man who is under the power of sinful propensities commits sin as greedily as the thirsty man or camel drinks down water. He thinks he can never have enough. This is a finished character of a BAD man; he hungers and thirsts after SIN: on the contrary, the GOOD man hungers and thirsts after RIGHTEOUSNESS.