Bible Commentaries

Job 13:28 — condition is like that of the man at large, for “Man, the offspring of a woman, Is short-lived, and is full of trouble.”As a rotten thing, - כרקב kerâqâb. The word רקב râqab means rottenness, or caries of bones; Proverbs 12:4; Proverbs 14:30; Hosea 5:12. Here it means anything that is going to decay, and the comparison is that of man to anything that is thus constantly decaying, and that will soon be wholly gone.Consumeth. - Or rather “decays,” יבלה yı̂bâlâh. The word בלה bâlâh is applied to

Job 27:10 — altogether. One of the best tests of character is the feeling with which we pray, and the habit which we have of calling on God. The man who loves secret prayer has one of the most certain evidences that he is a pious man; compare the notes at Job 20:5.

Job 29:23 — which are so necessary in order to bring forward the harvest, which ripens early in May or June. If those rains fail, the harvest materially suffers, and hence, the expressions in the Scriptures, that “the husbandman waits for that rain;” compare James 5:7; Proverbs 16:15. The expression, “the early and the latter rain” seems, unless some material change has occurred in Palestine, not to imply that no rain fell in the interval, but that those rains were usually more copious, or were especially necessary,

Job 29:24 — with the great should produce contempt.” Grotius explains it to mean, “Even my jests, they thought, contained something serious.” The word used here, however (שׂחק śâchaq), means not only to laugh or smile upon, but; to laugh at, or deride; Psalms 52:6; Job 30:1; compare Job 5:22; Job 39:7; Job 22:19. It seems to me, that the sense is that so great was his influence, that he was able to control them even with a smile, without saying a word; that if, when a measure was proposed in debate, he should

Psalms 116:3 — actual suffering from some bodily malady which threatened his life, Psalms 116:3, Psalms 116:6,Psalms 116:8-10;(2) mental sorrow as produced by the remembrance of his sins, and the apprehension of the future, Psalms 116:4. See the notes at Psalms 18:5.And the pains of hell - The pains of Sheol - Hades; the grave. See Psalms 16:10, note; Job 10:21-22, notes; Isaiah 14:9, note. The pain or suffering connected with going down to the grave, or the descent to the nether world; the pains of death. There

Psalms 122:6 — Pray for the peace of Jerusalem - The prosperity, the welfare of Jerusalem - for peace is everywhere the image of prosperity and happiness. Compare Psalms 51:18. This is the language which those who were going up to the city - to the house of the Lord - addressed to each other, expressing the joyful feelings of their hearts at their own near approach to the city. It breathes the desire that all would pray

Psalms 128:3 — the East was a numerous posterity, and this, in the case of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was among the chief blessings which God promised to them - a posterity that should resemble in number the sands of the sea or the stars of heaven. Compare Genesis 15:5; Genesis 22:17; Genesis 32:12. These two things - the right to the avails of one’s labor Psalms 128:2, and a numerous family - are the blessings which are first specified as constituting the happiness of a pious household.Thy children like olive plants

Psalms 138:2 — I will worship - I will bow down and adore.Toward thy holy temple - See the notes at Psalms 5:7. The word temple here undoubtedly refers to the tabernacle.And praise thy name for thy loving-kindness - Praise thee for thy benignity; thy mercy; thy benevolence.And for thy truth - Thy truthfulness; thy faithfulness to thy promises.For thou hast

Psalms 18:11 — “Now he wrapped himself in darkness; Clouds on clouds enclosed him round.”The word rendered “secret place” - סתר sêther - means properly a hiding; then something hidden, private, secret. Hence, it means a covering, a veil. Compare Job 22:14; Job 24:15. In Psalms 81:7 it is applied to thunder: “I answered thee in the secret place of thunder;” that is, in the secret place or retreat - the deep, dark cloud, from where the thunder seems to come. Here the meaning seems to be, that God was encompassed

Psalms 25:14 — The secret of the Lord - On the word here rendered “secret,” see the notes at Job 15:8. It properly means a couch or cushion; and then, a divan or circle of friends sitting together; then, deliberation or consultation; then, familiar contact, intimacy; and then, a “secret,” - as if it were the result of a private consultation among

Psalms 27:5 — cavern, and thus rendered safe from pursuers, or from the threatening evil.In his pavilion - The word “pavilion” means “tent” or “tabernacle.” The Hebrew word - סכה sukâh - means properly a booth, hut, or cot formed of green branches interwoven: Jonah 4:5; Job 27:18; see the notes at Isaiah 4:6. Then it is applied to tents made of skins: Leviticus 23:43; 2 Samuel 11:11. It thus is used to denote the tabernacle, considered as the dwelling-place of God on earth, and the meaning here is, that God would

Psalms 4:8 — preserve him. He had put his trust in him; he had sought his happiness in him, and now he felt assured that he had nothing to fear, and, at peace with God, he would lie down and compose himself to rest. This is the counterpart of what is said in Psalms 3:5. There he says in the morning, that, though surrounded by fear, he “had” been permitted to lie calmly down and sleep; here he says, that, though he is surrounded by fear, he has such confidence in God, that he “will” give himself to quiet slumber. His

Psalms 45:1 — the things which I have made - literally, “I say my works to the king.” That is, My work - that which I meditate and am about to compose - pertains to the king.Touching the king - He is to be the main subject of my song. Compare the notes at Isaiah 5:1. If the remarks made in the introduction to the psalm are correct, then the “king” here referred to was the future Messiah - the great personage to whom all the writers of the Old Testament looked forward, and whose glory they were so anxious to see

Psalms 49:11 — possessions will be perpetuated in their own families. The word rendered “inward thought” - קרב qereb - means properly “the midst, the middle, inner part;” and hence it comes to mean the heart, or the mind, as the seat of thought and affection: Psalms 5:9; Psalms 64:6. It means here, their hope, their calculation, their secret expectation; and the whole verse is designed to show the value or importance which they attach to wealth as being, in their apprehension, suited to build up their families forever.That

Psalms 51:14 — Luther renders it “blood-guilt.” DeWette, “from blood.” Compare Isaiah 4:4. The “plural” form - “bloods” - is used probably to mark “intensity,” or to denote “great” guilt. The allusion is to the guilt of shedding blood, or taking life (compare Genesis 9:5-6), and the reference is undoubtedly to his guilt in causing Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba, to be slain. 2 Samuel 11:14-17. It was this which weighed upon his conscience, and filled him with alarm. The guilt of this he prayed might be taken away,

Psalms 57:8 — his powers into exercise; all that was noble in him as a man. The words “awake up” are equivalent to “arouse;” a solemn appeal to put forth all the powers of the soul.Awake, psaltery and harp - In regard to these instruments, see the notes at Isaiah 5:12. The instrument denoted by the word “psaltery” - נבל nebel - was a stringed instrument, usually with twelve strings, and played with the fingers. See the notes at Psalms 33:2. The “harp” or “lyre” - כנור kinnôr - was also a stringed instrument,

Psalms 60:4 — elevated or lifted up, and hence, a standard, a flag, a sign, or a signal. It may refer to a standard reared on lofty mountains or high places during an invasion of a country, to point out to the people a place of rendezvous or a rallying place Isaiah 5:26; Isaiah 11:12; Isaiah 18:3; or it may refer to a standard or ensign borne by an army; or it may refer to the flag of a ship, Ezekiel 27:7; Isaiah 33:23. Here it doubtless refers to the flag, the banner, the standard of an army; and the idea is that

Psalms 81:13 — is not one intimation that he wishes the death of the sinner. The contrary is implied in all the declarations which God has made - in all his commands, warnings, and invitations - in all his arrangements for the salvation of people. See Deuteronomy 5:29; Deuteronomy 32:29-30; Isaiah 48:18; Ezekiel 18:23, Ezekiel 18:32; Ezekiel 33:11; 2 Peter 3:9; Luke 19:42.And Israel had walked in my ways! - Had kept my commandments; had been obedient to my laws. When people, therefore, do not walk in the ways

Psalms 89:47 — Remember how short my time is - The word rendered “time” - חלד cheled - means duration; lifetime. Psalms 39:5. Then it means life; time; age; the world. Literally, here, “Remember; I; what duration.” The meaning is plain. Bear in remembrance that my time must soon come to an end. Life is brief. In a short period the time will come for me to die; and if these

Isaiah 12:6 — Cry out - (צהלי tsahalı̂y). This word is usually applied to the neighing of a horse Jeremiah 5:8; Jeremiah 8:16. It is also used to express joy, pleasure, exultation, by a clear and loud sound of the voice Isaiah 10:30; Isaiah 12:6; Isaiah 14:14; Isaiah 54:1; Jeremiah 31:7; Jeremiah 50:11. It is here synonymous with the numerous passages in the