Even so would he have removed thee out of the strait [into] a broad place, where [there is] no straitness; and that which should be set on thy table [should be] full of fatness.
16. The words even so connect Job’s case with the general principles in regard to suffering just inculcated by Elihu. The figures of “straitness” and “broad place” are usual for affliction and prosperity, cf. ch. Job 18:7. The figure of a plenteous table is also common, Psa 23:5. The speaker does not say by what means God is alluring the sufferer out of the mouth or jaws of distress into a broad place. He means probably the disciplining effects of the distress itself, unless the “distress” here refer to a future, greater evil, from which Job’s present affliction is designed to save him. Comp., however, ch. Job 33:14-28.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
16 25. Application to Job of the principles in regard to affliction just enunciated by Elihu.
Job 36:16-19 are difficult and have been understood in a great variety of ways. The general sense expressed by the A. V. is probably correct, unless probability be considered too strong a term to employ of any rendering.
16. Even so doth he allure thee out of the mouth of distress
Into a broad place, where there is no straitness;
And that which is set on thy table shall be full of fatness.
17. But if thou art filled with the judgment of the wicked,
Judgment and justice shall keep hold on thee.
18. For beware lest wrath entice thee into scorning,
And let not the greatness, of the ransom lead thee astray.
19. Will thy riches suffice, without stint?
Or all the forces of wealth?
Many objections may be urged against this rendering, as may be against any rendering that can be proposed.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Even so would he have removed thee – That is, if you had been patient and resigned, and if you had gone to him with a broken heart. Having stated the principles in regard to affliction which he held to be indisputable, and having affirmed that God was ever ready to relieve the sufferer if he would apply to him with a proper spirit, it was natural to infer from this that the reason why Job continued to suffer was, that he did not manifest a proper spirit in his trials. Had he done this, Elihu says, the hand of God would have been long since withdrawn, and his afflictions would have been removed.
Out of the strait into a broad place – From the narrow, pent up way, where it is impossible to move, into a wide and open path. Afflictions are compared with a narrow path, in which it is impossible to get. along; prosperity with a broad and open road in which there are no obstructions; compare Psa 18:19; Psa 31:8. And that which should be set on thy table. Margin, the rest of thy table. The Hebrew word ( nachath – from nuach, to rest, and in the Hiphil to set down, to cause to rest) means properly a letting, or settling down; and then that which is set down – as e. g. food on a table. This is the idea here. that the food which would be set on his table would be rich and abundant; that is, he would be restored to prosperity, if he envinced a penitent spirit in his trials, and confessed his sins to God. The same image of piety occurs in Psa 23:5, Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Job 36:16
Out of the strait into a broad place.
An invitation to straitened souls
What is literally straitness? The word strait means narrow. The place between two mountains or two seas is a strait or narrow passage. A strait implies a difficulty of choice. I am in a strait betwixt two. We say of a man, when he cannot pay his debts, that he is in straitened circumstances. Other countries have similar terms. In Scotland they say pinched, or hampered, in America that he has a hard row to hoe, alluding to the hoeing of sugar or corn. We say a man is in a strait when he has a large family and a small income. As strait places are unpleasant in temporal circumstances, they are also unpleasant in spiritual affairs. Then pray Bring me out of a strait place tonight.
1. One reason is, that the grand design of Christ may be answered.
2. Another reason is, that our heavenly Father wants to take us into a broad place.
3. His desire is, that we should be contented with all our circumstances. Contentment is great gain. (J. Caughey.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 16. Even so would he have removed thee] If thou hadst turned to, obeyed, and served him, thy present state would have been widely different from what it is.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Even so, if thou hadst opened thine ear to Gods counsels, and humbled thyself under his correcting hand, and sued to God for mercy,
would he have removed thee; as this verb is used, 2Ch 18:31. Or, allured, or enticed, or persuaded thee, as the word properly signifies; which possibly may here be emphatical, and may imply, as that Job had by his sins brought himself into these straits, so that God would have brought him out of them by the usual and regular way, to wit, by persuading him to turn from his sins, and humbly and earnestly to cry to God for mercy, which if he had complied with, God would have delivered him.
Out of the strait, Heb. out of the mouth or jaws of tribulation; which like a wild beast was read to swallow him up.
Into a broad place, i.e. into a state of ease and freedom.
Thy table; thy dishes, or the food in them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16. Rather, “He willlead forth thee also out of the jaws of a strait”(Psa 18:19; Psa 118:5).
broad placeexpressesthe liberty, and the well-supplied “table” theabundance of the prosperous (Psa 23:5;Isa 25:6).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Even so,…. Here Elihu accommodates what he had said to the case of Job; that had he hearkened and been obedient to the voice of God in his rod, and had submitted to his chastening hand, and patiently bore his afflictions;
he, God,
would have removed thee out of the strait [into] a broad place, where [there is] no straitness: that is, out of the strait circumstances in which he was, into liberty; would have brought him into a large place, where he might walk at liberty, as David experienced, Ps 4:1; and may be understood both in a temporal and spiritual sense. In a temporal sense; he was now in great straits, in poverty and affliction; these pressed him hard on every side, so that his way, as he says, was “fenced up, that he could not pass”,
Job 19:8. Now had he been rightly humbled under his affliction, God would have taken him out of the straits of adversity, and set his feet in a large room of prosperity; see Ps 31:7. In a spiritual sense; persons are as in a strait place and pent up, when they cannot come forth in the free exercise of grace and duty; their souls are as it were in prison, they are shut up, and have not freedom with God nor man; their faith is ready to fail, their hope is sunk very low, they are straitened in their own bowels or affections, in their love to God and his people: and then they are removed into a large place, when it is the reverse with them; when they are favoured with the free spirit of the Lord, for where he is there is liberty; and when their hearts are enlarged with the love of God, and in the exercise of grace; and then they can run cheerfully the ways of his commandments;
and that which should be set on thy table [should be] full of fatness; which in a temporal sense denotes, that he should have had a plentiful table, spread with the best of provisions, the richest dainties, the finest of the wheat, and the fattest of the creatures; and these should rest and remain upon his table, or be constantly renewed there: and in a spiritual sense, that his soul should have been satisfied with the love of God, shed abroad in his heart; with the blessings of the everlasting covenant of grace applied unto him; and with the goodness of the house of God, his word and ordinances, as with marrow and fatness; see Ps 63:5.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
16 And He even bringeth thee out of the jaws of distress
To a broad place, whose ground hath no straitness,
And the adorning of thy table shall be full of fatness.
17 Yet thou art become full of the judging of the evil-doer:
Judging and judgment lay hold on one another!
18 For let not anger indeed entice thee to scorning,
And let not the greatness of the ransom mislead thee.
With Job 36:16 Elihu passes over to the application to Job of what he said in the preceding strophe. Since it is usual to place (like and ) at the beginning of the sentence, although not belonging to the member of the sentence which immediately follows, for cannot be remarkable. The praet. is not promissory, but Elihu says with what design God has decreed the present suffering for Job. is like 2Ch 18:31: out of distress ( for by Rebia magnum), which has him in its jaws, and threatens to swallow him, God brings him away to great prosperity; a thought which Elihu expresses in the imagery of the Psalms of a broad place and a bountiful table (comp. e.g., Psa 4:2; Psa 23:5). is locative, and is either a relative clause: whose beneath (ground) is not straitened, no-straitness (in which case would not be constr. from the n. hophal. , Isa. Isa 9:1, but absol. after the form , Job 7:15, Ew. 160, c, Anm. 4), Saad. Arab. la dq f mudha ( cujus in loco non angustiae ); or it is virtually an adj.: without ( = , as Job 34:24), comp. on Job 12:24) straitness of what is beneath them, eorum quae sub se habet (comp. on Job 28:5). is fem., like , Dan 9:25. A special clause takes the place of the locative, Job 36:16: and the settling or spreading, i.e., the provision (from , to come down gradually, to seat one’s self) of thy table shall be full of fatness. (whether it be adj. or verb) is treated by attraction, according to the gender of the governed noun; and it is unnecessary, with Rosenm. and others, to derive from (Aram. for ).
In Job 36:17, is intended of Job’s negative judgment concerning God and His dealings (comp. Psa 76:9, where it signifies a judicial decision, and Pro 22:10, where it signifies a wrangling refusal of a fair decision). Job 36:17 is not a conditional clause (Hahn), in which case the praet. hypothet. would have a prominent position, but an adversative predicative clause: but (nevertheless) thou art full of the judging of the evil-doer (evil judging); after which, just as as Job 36:14, the sad issue in which this judging after the manner of evil-doers results is expressed: such judging and judgment border closely upon one another. Rd., Dietr., and Schlottm. have wrongly reproduced this idea, discerned by Ges., when they translate: judgment and sentence (guilt and punishment) shall seize thee. , prehendunt scil. se (Ebr.: put forth the hand), is used like the Aram. , to draw nearer, fasten together (Rabb. , near at hand), Arab. tamasaka (from Arab. msk = , as e.g., hanash = ). In Job 36:18 we leave the signification thick milk or cream ( = , as Job 29:6) to those who persuade themselves that cream can be metaphorically equivalent to superfluity (Ew., Hirz., Vaih., Hlgst.). Renan’s translation: N’espre pas dtourner la colre de Dieu par une amende , we also leave as a simple puzzle to its discoverer, who, with this one exception, is destitute of thoughts proper to the book of Job. In general, the thought, “do not imagine by riches, by a great ransom, to be able to satisfy the claims of God,” is altogether out of place here. Moreover, , which, as e.g., , Pro 12:25 (Ew. 174, g), is construed as masc., cannot be understood of God’s wrath, since the poet by will not at one time have ascribed to God a well-meant incitation, at another an enticement in malam partem . That which allures is Job’s own , and that not the excitement of his affliction (Hahn), but of his passion; comp. , Job 36:13. is, however, to be explained according to Job 34:37, comp. Job 27:23 (clapping of hands = derision); and signifies reconciliation or expiation, as Job 33:24. Elihu admonishes Job not to allow himself to be drawn by the heat of passion into derision, or to deride; nor to be allured from the right way by the ransom which is required of him as the price of restoration to happiness, viz., humble submission to the divine chastisement, as though this ransom were exceeding great. The connection is clear: an adverse verdict ( ) and condemnation ( ) are closely connected; for ( ) hastiness of temper, let it not ( ( ton ti ) lead thee astray … thou wouldst not escape the judgment of God!
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(16) Even so would he have removed thee. It is possible to understand this verse somewhat otherwise, and the sense may perhaps be improved. Elihu may be speaking, not of what God would have done, but of what He has actually done: Yea, also He hath removed thee from the mouth of an adversary, even case and abundance in the place of which there was no straitness, and that which came down upon thy table full of fatness; but thou art full of the judgment of the wicked, therefore justice and judgment take hold on thee. God, in His mercy, saw that thou wast in danger, and He removed the cause of temptation, and thy chastisement would have been of short duration hadst thou been submissive and resigned; but thou hast been bold and daring, like the wicked, and hast reaped the judgment of the wicked.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
. AN APPLICATION TO JOB OF THE PRECEDING PRINCIPLES, ENFORCED BY A POINTED EXHORTATION, Job 36:16-21.
Strophe a An affectionate God seeks to lure the soul out of the narrow straits of trouble into the broad and rich experiences of spiritual prosperity: but if the soul prove contumacious against God, and be filled with the counsel of the wicked, then there is danger of destruction, from which no ransom shall avail to deliver, Job 36:16-18.
16. Even so thee Literally, “God also allures [ urges ] thee from the jaws of trouble into a broad place, [with] no straitness beneath it,” which stands as a figure for greater glory and happiness. The rendering of the Authorized Version is substantially that of Furst, Delitzsch, and Umbreit. On improbable grounds Ewald makes unbounded prosperity the subject of the sentence; prosperity having had the effect to seduce Job from hearkening to the voice of afflictions.
Out of the strait , literally, from the mouth of trouble. Distress is conceived of as a monster out of whose mouth God is seeking to deliver Job.
Table A well-filled table among the Orientals was an image of the highest earthly bliss. It is also frequently employed in the Scriptures to denote spiritual enjoyment and salvation. Psa 22:26-29; Psa 23:5; Isa 25:6; Isa 55:1-5, etc. Rich ( Nineveh 1:117) describes the table at which he sat with the Pasha as an oblong tray, with feet raising it a few inches from the floor. Such dishes as it would not contain were put beside it on the ground.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Job 36:16. Even so would he have removed thee, &c. He would have also screened thee from the edge of the broad sword, against which nothing can make resistance; and the provision of thy table should have been full.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Job 36:16 Even so would he have removed thee out of the strait [into] a broad place, where [there is] no straitness; and that which should be set on thy table [should be] full of fatness.
Ver. 16. Even so would he have removed thee, &c. ] Thesin revocat ad hypothesin. Here Elihu applieth to Job that which he had more generally discoursed concerning godly men’s afflictions turned to their greatest good, if they be careful to improve the same. Heb. He would have persuaded, or gently removed thee.
Out of the strait, &c.
And that which should be set on the table, &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
a broad: Job 19:8, Job 42:10-17, Psa 18:19, Psa 31:8, Psa 40:1-3, Psa 118:5
that which should be set on thy table: Heb. the rest of thy table
full: Psa 23:5, Psa 36:8, Psa 63:5, Isa 25:6, Isa 55:2
Reciprocal: 2Ki 6:1 – too strait for us Job 18:7 – steps Psa 4:1 – thou Psa 18:36 – enlarged Psa 66:12 – but thou Psa 119:32 – enlarge 2Co 6:12 – are not
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
36:16 Even so would he have removed thee out of the strait [into] a broad place, where [there is] no straitness; and {l} that which should be set on thy table [should be] full of fatness.
(l) If you had been obedient to God, he would have brought you to freedom and wealth.