Bible Commentary

Job 19:21

Job 19:21

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible · John Gill (1697–1771) · Public Domain

The words may be rendered, "the men of thy hand" ; who are raised up by thine hand to the power and dignity they have; and who can easily be pulled down by it; and who are in thine hand, and at thy beck and control, and whose wrath and fury thou canst restrain.

Or they may be rendered, "from men by thy hand" ; that is, deliver me from them by thy strong hand and mighty power; as Israel of old was delivered from the Egyptians by the strong and mighty hand of God;from men of the world: who are, as they were when they came into the world, in sin, in darkness, and in a carnal and unregenerate state; who are not only in the world, but of it, and belong to it, and to it only; and are under the influence of the god of the world, and are taken with the lusts and pleasures of it, and live in them and serve them: and are of worldly spirits, inordinately love the things of the world, mind earth and earthly things, and are unconcerned about the things of another world; see Lu 16:8;[which have] their portion in [this] life; and in this only; have a large share of the good things of this life; and which is all their portion, Lu 16:25;and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid [treasure]: earthly treasure, as gold and silver, which is called hid treasure, because it is first hid in the bowels of the earth, out of which it is dug, and afterwards hid in the coffers of worldly men; and oftentimes kept to the hurt of the owners of it.

Or the phrase may denote the value and preciousness of it.

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