איוב 20:10

Hebrew Modern Translation

בניו ירצו דלים וידיו תשבנה אונו׃

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Aleppo Codex
ירצו דלים וידיו תשבנה אונו

Biblia Hebrica Stuttgartensia (1967/77)
בָּ֭נָיו יְרַצּ֣וּ דַלִּ֑ים וְ֝יָדָ֗יו תָּשֵׁ֥בְנָה אוֹנֹֽו ׃

Westminster Leningrad Codex
בָּנָיו יְרַצּוּ דַלִּים וְיָדָיו תָּשֵׁבְנָה אוֹנֹֽו ׃

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

His children: etc. or, The poor shall oppress his children, Proverbs 28:3

seek: Psalms 109:10

his hands: Job 20:18, Exodus 12:36, Exodus 22:1, Exodus 22:3, Exodus 9:2, 2 Samuel 12:6, Proverbs 6:31, Luke 19:8

Reciprocal: Job 20:28 - increase Job 21:8 - General

Gill's Notes on the Bible

His children shall seek to please the poor,.... In this and some following verses the miserable state of a wicked man is described, and which begins with his children, who are often visited in wrath for their parents' sins, especially when they tread in their steps, and follow their example; and it is an affliction to parents to see their children in distress, and particularly on their account, and even to be threatened with it. According to our version, the sense of this clause is, that after a wicked man's death his children shall seek to gain the good will and favour of the poor who have been oppressed by him, that they may not reproach them, or take revenge on them, or apply to the civil magistrate to have justice done them; but Jarchi renders the words,

"the poor shall oppress or destroy his children;''

and so the margin of our Bible, who, being enraged with the ill usage of their parents, shall fall upon them in great wrath, and destroy them, Proverbs 28:3; and the same Jewish writer restrains the words to the men of Sodom, who were oppressive and cruel to the poor; or rather the sense is, that the children of the wicked man shall be reduced to such extreme poverty, that they shall even seek relief of the poor, and supplicate and entreat them to give them something out of their small pittance; with which others in a good measure agree, who render the words, "his children shall please, [being] poor" n; it shall be a pleasure and satisfaction to those they have been injurious to, to see their children begging their bread from door to door, see

Psalms 109:5;

and his hands shall restore their goods: or "for his hands", c. o and so are a reason why his children shall be so reduced after his death as to need the relief of others, because their parent, in his lifetime, was obliged to make restitution of his ill gotten goods, so that in the end he had nothing to leave his children at his death; for this restitution spoken of is not voluntary, but forced. Sephorno thinks reference is had to the Egyptians lending jewels and other riches to the Israelites, whereby they were obliged to repay six hundred thousand men for their service.

n בניו ירצו דלים "filii ejus placabunt, mendici", Montanus. o So the English annotator.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

His children shall seek to please the poor - Margin, or, “the poor shall oppress his children.” The idea in the Hebrew seems to be, that his sons shall be reduced to the humiliating condition of asking the aid of the most needy and abject. Instead of being in a situation to assist others, and to indulge in a liberal hospitality, they themselves shall be reduced to the necessity of applying to the poor for the means of subsistence. There is great strength in this expression. It is usually regarded as humiliating to be compelled to ask aid at all; but the idea here is, that they would be reduced to the necessity of asking it of those who themselves needed it, “or would be beggars of beggars.”

And his hands shall restore their goods - Noyes renders this, “And their hands shall give back his wealth.” Rosenmuller supposes it means, “And their hands shall restore his iniquity;” that is, what their father took unjustly away. There can be but little doubt that this refers to his “sons,” and not to himself - though the singular suffix in the word (ידיו yâdāŷ), “his hands” is used. But the singular is sometimes used instead of the plural. The word rendered “goods” (און 'ôn), means “strength, power, and then wealth;” and the idea here is, that the hands of his sons would be compelled to give back the property which the father had unjustly acquired. Instead of retaining and enjoying it, they would be compelled to make restitution, and thus be reduced to penury and want.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 20:10. His children shall seek to please the poor — They shall be reduced to the lowest degree of poverty and want, so as to be obliged to become servants to the poor. Cursed be Ham, a servant of servants shall he be. There are cases where the poor actually serve the poor; and this is the lowest or most abject state of poverty.

His hands shall restore their goods. — He shall be obliged to restore the goods that he has taken by violence.

Mr. Good translates: His branches shall be involved in his iniquity; i.e., his children shall suffer on his account. "His own hands shall render to himself the evil that he has done to others." - Calmet. The clause is variously translated.