Logos Bible Study

Job 22:12–20

The NET BibleOther versions

English

Arabic

Czech

French

German

Hebrew

Hungarian

Italian

Korean

Latin

Portuguese

Russian

Simplified Chinese

Spanish

Traditional Chinese

22:12“Is not God on high in heaven?18

And see19 the lofty stars,20 how high they are!

22:13But you have said, ‘What does God know?

Does he judge through such deep darkness?21

22:14Thick clouds are a veil for him, so he does not see us,22

as he goes back and forth

in the vault23 of heaven.’24

22:15Will you keep to the old path25

that evil men have walked—

22:16men26 who were carried off27 before their time,28

when the flood29 was poured out30

on their foundations?31

22:17They were saying to God, ‘Turn away from us,’

and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’32

22:18But it was he33 who filled their houses

with good things—

yet the counsel of the wicked34

was far from me.35

22:19The righteous see their destruction36 and rejoice;

the innocent mock them scornfully,37 saying,

22:20‘Surely our enemies38 are destroyed,

and fire consumes their wealth.’

Read in Logos

Footnotes

  1. 18 This reading preserves the text as it is. The nouns “high” and “heavens” would then be taken as adverbial accusatives of place (see §118.g).
  2. 19 The parallel passage in Isa 40:26–27, as well as the context here, shows that the imperative is to be retained here. The has “he sees.”
  3. 20 Heb “head of the stars.”
  4. 21 Eliphaz is giving to Job the thoughts and words of the pagans, for they say, “How does God know, and is there knowledge in the Most High?” (see Ps 73:11; 94:11).
  5. 22 Heb “and he does not see.” The implied object is “us.”
  6. 23 The word is “circle; dome”; here it is the dome that covers the earth, beyond which God sits enthroned. A. B. Davidson (Job, 165) suggests “on the arch of heaven” that covers the earth.
  7. 24 The idea suggested here is that God is not only far off, but he is unconcerned as he strolls around heaven—this is what Eliphaz says Job means.
  8. 25 The “old path” here is the way of defiance to God. The text in these two verses is no doubt making reference to the flood in Genesis, one of the perennial examples of divine judgment.
  9. 26 The word “men” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied to clarify the relative pronoun “who.”
  10. 27 The verb קָמַט (qamat) basically means “to seize; to tie together to make a bundle.” So the Pual will mean “to be bundled away; to be carried off.”
  11. 28 The clause has “and [it was] not the time.” It may be used adverbially here.
  12. 29 The word is נָהַר (nahar, “river” or “current”); it is taken here in its broadest sense of the waters on the earth that formed the current of the flood (Gen 7:6, 10).
  13. 30 The verb יָצַק (yatsaq) means “to pour out; to shed; to spill; to flow.” The Pual means “to be poured out” (as in Lev 21:10 and Ps 45:3).
  14. 31 This word is then to be taken as an adverbial accusative of place. Another way to look at this verse is what A. B. Davidson (Job, 165) proposes “whose foundation was poured away and became a flood.” This would mean that that on which they stood sank away.
  15. 32 The form in the text is “to them.” The and the versions have “to us.”
  16. 33 The pronoun is added for this emphasis; it has “but he” before the verb.
  17. 35 The has “from him,” and this is followed by several commentators. But the is to be retained, for Eliphaz is recalling the words of Job. Verses 17 and 18 are deleted by a number of commentators as a gloss because they have many similarities to 21:14–16. But Eliphaz is recalling what Job said, in order to say that the prosperity to which Job alluded was only the prelude to a disaster he denied (H. H. Rowley, Job [], 156).
  18. 36 The line is talking about the rejoicing of the righteous when judgment falls on the wicked. An object (“destruction”) has to be supplied here to clarify this (see Pss 52:6 [8]; 69:32 [33]; 107:42).
  19. 37 In Ps 2:4 it was God who mocked the wicked by judging them.
  20. 38 The word translated “our enemies” is found only here. The word means “hostility,” but used here as a collective for those who are hostile—“enemies.” Some commentators follow the and read “possessions,” explaining its meaning and derivation in different ways. Gordis simply takes the word in the text and affirms that this is the meaning. On the other hand, to get this, E. Dhorme (Job, 336) repoints קִימָנוּ (qimanu) of the to יְקוּמַם (yéqumam), arguing that יְקוּם (yéqum) means “what exists [or has substance]” (although that is used of animals). He translates: “have not their possessions been destroyed.”

Cross references

  1. 34 See Job 10:3.

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“Is not God high in the heavens?

See the highest stars, how lofty they are!

But you say, ‘What does God know?

Can he judge through the deep darkness?

Thick clouds veil him, so that he does not see,

and he walks on the vault of heaven.’

Will you keep to the old way

that wicked men have trod?

They were snatched away before their time;

their foundation was washed away.

They said to God, ‘Depart from us,’

and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’

Yet he filled their houses with good things—

but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

The righteous see it and are glad;

the innocent one mocks at them,

saying, ‘Surely our adversaries are cut off,

and what they left the fire has consumed.’

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“Is not God in the heights of heaven?

And see how lofty are the highest stars!

Yet you say, ‘What does God know?

Does he judge through such darkness?

Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us

as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.’

Will you keep to the old path

that the wicked have trod?

They were carried off before their time,

their foundations washed away by a flood.

They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!

What can the Almighty do to us?’

Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,

so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.

The righteous see their ruin and rejoice;

the innocent mock them, saying,

‘Surely our foes are destroyed,

and fire devours their wealth.’

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Isn’t God as high as the heavens?

And look at the highest stars—how lofty they are!

Yet you say, “What does God know?

Can he judge through total darkness?

Clouds veil him so that he cannot see,

as he walks on the circle of the sky.”

Will you continue on the ancient path

that wicked men have walked?

They were snatched away before their time,

and their foundations were washed away by a river.

They were the ones who said to God, “Leave us alone!”

and “What can the Almighty do to us?”

But it was he who filled their houses with good things.

The counsel of the wicked is far from me!

The righteous see this and rejoice;

the innocent mock them, saying,

“Surely our opponents are destroyed,

and fire has consumed what they left behind.”

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

“God is so great—higher than the heavens,

higher than the farthest stars.

But you reply, ‘That’s why God can’t see what I am doing!

How can he judge through the thick darkness?

For thick clouds swirl about him, and he cannot see us.

He is way up there, walking on the vault of heaven.’

“Will you continue on the old paths

where evil people have walked?

They were snatched away in the prime of life,

the foundations of their lives washed away.

For they said to God, ‘Leave us alone!

What can the Almighty do to us?’

Yet he was the one who filled their homes with good things,

so I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.

“The righteous will be happy to see the wicked destroyed,

and the innocent will laugh in contempt.

They will say, ‘See how our enemies have been destroyed.

The last of them have been consumed in the fire.’

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“Is not God in the height of the heavens?

But see how lofty are the highest stars.

And you ask, ‘What does God know?

Can he judge through deep gloom?

Thick clouds are a covering for him, so that he does not see;

and he walks about on the dome of heaven.’

Will you keep to the way of old

that the people of mischief have trod,

who were snatched away before their time,

whose foundation was washed away by a current?

Those who said to God, ‘Turn away from us,’

and ‘What can Shaddai do to us?’

Yet he himself filled up their houses with good things,

but the schemes of the wicked are repugnant to me.

The righteous see, and they rejoice,

but the innocent one mocks at them.

Surely our foe perishes,

and fire has consumed their remainder.

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

Is not God in the height of heaven?

And behold the height of the stars, how high they are!

And thou sayest, How doth God know?

Can he judge through the dark cloud?

Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not;

And he walketh in the circuit of heaven.

Hast thou marked the old way

Which wicked men have trodden?

Which were cut down out of time,

Whose foundation was overflown with a flood:

Which said unto God, Depart from us:

And what can the Almighty do for them?

Yet he filled their houses with good things:

But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

The righteous see it, and are glad:

And the innocent laugh them to scorn.

Whereas our substance is not cut down,

But the remnant of them the fire consumeth.

Public Domain