Bible Commentaries

Job 34:31-37 — without knowledge, And his words are without wisdom. Would that Job were tried unto the end, Because of his answering like wicked men. For he addeth rebellion unto his sin; He clappeth his hands among us, And multiplieth his words against God." "Job 34:28-33 are replete with difficulty, and the LXX omitted them entirely."The Anchor Bible (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1982), op. cit., p. 225. Also, Driver noted that, "These verses, as a whole, are unintelligible, or at least very ambiguous;

Psalms 141:1-4 — Testament Commentary, Old Testament, p. 548. Halley also stressed this, writing that, "It is another of David's prayers for protection against being driven himself to sin."Henry H. Halley's Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House), p. 249 "Let my prayer be as incense… the lifting up my hands as the evening sacrifice" At both the morning and evening sacrifices, incense was offered (Exodus 29:38-41; Exodus 30:7-8; Numbers 28:4-8). The prayer here is that David's prayer, and his

Psalms 145:8-14 — programs are loaded with prime-time preachers proclaiming that the kingdom has NOT yet been established! "Jehovah is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, etc" Other Old Testament passages setting forth the attributes of God are Exodus 34:6-7 and Jonah 4:2. "All thy works shall give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah" Reginald Heber, in his immortal hymn, "Holy, Holy, Holy," honors this line in the last verse. "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty! All thy works shall praise thy name,In earth and sky and sea."Great

Psalms 33:1-3 — upright" (Psalms 33:1). This means simply that it is becoming of righteous people to praise their God and Redeemer. The paraphrase of this in the Book of Common Prayer is, "For it becometh well the just to be thankful."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 8, p. 245. "Rejoice… Praise" (Psalms 33:1). "The response of the righteous to the goodness of God takes the form of public worship."Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, Old Testament, p. 507. We believe that this is always true. The people who love God

Psalms 34:7-10 — anything too hard for God? What a great comfort it is to know that, "This great and mighty divine being from days of old, who so often dealt with the patriarchs and figured so effectively in the history of Israel is indeed our protector."H. C. Leupold, p. 280. "Taste and see that Jehovah is good" (Psalms 34:8). God has made it possible for men to know whether or not his word is true. The person who receives it, obeys it, and trusts its promises will shortly come to know, "Whom he has believed," having

Psalms 44:9-16 — post-exilic period; and that no doubt influenced Calvin's finding a date for this psalm in the times of the Maccabees; but that "guess" like all the others is unacceptable because nearly a century before the Maccabees, the LXX published this psalm about 250 B.C. If the psalm was written by David, these central verses are a prophecy, describing what is in store for Christians in the era of the Messiah, and probably inspired by some events in David's reign with which we are not familiar. The terminology

Psalms 52:5-7 — likewise destroy thee" "The word `likewise' introduces the corresponding behavior of another. Destroyers shall be destroyed. `With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again'" (Matthew 7:2).Wilson Jones, p. 264. "Pluck thee out of thy tent" This is another sarcastic word in the psalm. Saul's mighty deputy, in all probability, was not living in a tent, but in a palace; but it was as vulnerable to the judgment of God as the flimsiest kind

Psalms 75:2-3 — to be destroyed by the violence and injustice of men, The Judge of all the Earth has not abdicated his throne. At the correct time, he will restore the balance, capping a `Thousand-Year Reich' with a Nuremburg."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 652. More recently we have seen the incredible collapse of the madness known as Communism, and the "Mother of All Battles" turned into the "Mother of All Defeats." God still rules in the kingdoms of men. The wickedness of men being what it is, the world

Psalms 78:1-8 — principal device in his teachings. We have already noted that the two principal purposes of the psalm are: (1) to give a warning to Israel against their continuing in the unbelieving and rebellious patterns of conduct established by their forefathers; and (2) to provide adequate instruction for the children of each generation. These are evident enough in these verses. "But keep his commandments" This is proof enough that the "law" of God mentioned in verse 1 is indeed the Torah, containing the commandments

Psalms 8:3-4 — my generation were swept away in the twinkling of an eye, we should be no more missed than a grain of dust blown into the crater of a volcano."C. Clemance, The Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1050), p. 52. However that is only part of the story; and the far more important part of it is explained this way: "In man's insignificance is lodged a Divine spark; and, lowly as is his head as he stands beneath the midnight sky blazing with inaccessible lights,

Psalms 91:1-4 — temple. It seems rather to mean those who consistently worship the God who is enshrined there, or to, "Those who make the temple of God their habitual resort."Ibid. "He will deliver thee" Two perils are mentioned here, (1) the snare of the fowler, and (2) the deadly pestilence. Both of these indicate the type of peril that is unseen, striking the strong and the weak alike. "The snare of the fowler is a metaphor for evil plots,"Derek Kidner, Vol. II, p. 332. that might inflict loss or even death. The

Proverbs 2:16-19 — truth appears to be that. "The strange woman here is any meretricious person who indulges in illicit sex."The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 40. (This is the first of several warnings against adultery in the book of Proverbs; others are in Proverbs 5:3-23; Proverbs 6:20-35; Proverbs 7:1-27; Proverbs 9:13-18). The thing that amazes this writer is that the author of these instructions was himself the most fantastic violator of these warnings ever known. "Some Jewish commentators personify the strange

Ecclesiastes 12:1 — and vanities of life. The loving and faithful service of God our Creator is that third remedy. "It is a plea for a strong religious faith to be founded in youth as a safeguard against old age."Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1972), Vol. 5, p. 126. "Creator here is not merely a synonym for God; it is an emphasis upon the fact that he is the Creator."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 749. God created all of us; we are his; we owe him everything; his authority is eternal and

Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 — man prevail against him that is alone, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken." Barton gave only one subject to this whole chapter, calling it, "Man's Inhumanity, namely, (1) man's inhumanity to men (Ecclesiastes 4:1-3), (2) the inhumanity caused by rivalry and envy (Ecclesiastes 4:4-6), and (3) man's inhumanity to himself."International Critical Commentary, Vol. 18, p. 113. "No end of all his labor, neither is his eye satisfied with riches" This denounces avarice, especially

Ecclesiastes 7:26-29 — found. Behold, this only have I found: that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions." "I have found more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets" This is fully in harmony with what Solomon had written in Proverbs 2:14; Proverbs 5:3-4, etc. "Solomon himself had experienced much bitterness from the sin and misery into which women can lead their victims."The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 165. In this verse, however, he is speaking particularly of the wicked woman

Isaiah 30:12-17 — therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. One thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on a hill." The mention of "oppression" in Isaiah 30:12 "is a reference to oppressive measures employed to procure the rich gifts that had to be sent to Egypt (Compare 2 Kings 15:20)."The Pulpit Commentary, p. 491. In the first paragraph here, Isaiah, as he frequently did, resorted to a double metaphor to

Isaiah 37:8-13 — repetition of the message he had already sent to Hezekiah by Rabshakeh. He did mention a few more cities that had fallen to previous Assyrian kings, such as Gozan, one of the towns to which the Assyrians had deported some of the Northern Israelites (2 Kings 17:6). Haran was located on a tributary to the Euphrates river and was prominent in Jewish history; for that was where Abraham settled when he left Ur of the Chaldees; there Terah died; and there the Word of God came the second time to Abraham.

Isaiah 46:8-11 — the worship of God."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 10b, p. 196. There are three reasons visible in these verses which are designed to inspire trust in the chosen people: (1) they should recall the many wonders God has already performed on their behalf; (2) they should especially remember his power and ability to prophecy events before they occur; and (3) they should dwell upon the fact that God has promised to deliver them from captivity. That "ravenous bird from the east" is of course a reference to

Jeremiah 16:5-7 — consequences of the withdrawal of this peace is the death of great and small in such multitudes that they could neither be buried nor mourned for."C. F. Keil, Keil-Delitzsch's Old Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 268. The natural emotion of pity and regret rises in the heart as one contemplates such terrible disasters in Judah; but, in this connection, one should recall the terrible manner in which God instructed Joshua to destroy in the most ruthless and complete

Jeremiah 41:4-7 — destruction of the house of God."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 651. Some significant facts are implied by this account of the slain pilgrims. (1) The Jews still honored the commandment to worship God at one altar only, namely, the One in Jerusalem. (2) Also, even though the temple was destroyed, the ruins of it were considered sacred and "holy unto the Lord." "By the Jewish people, the Western wall of the temple in Jerusalem until this day is considered sacred."Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Chicago: