Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.Who — What am I that I should be guilty of such madness! Therefore - Because my mind was without knowledge.Knew not — I have spoken foolishly and unadvisedly of all things far above my reach. read more
Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.Hear — Hear and accept my humble confession.Enquire — I will no more dispute the matter with thee, but beg information from thee. The words which God had uttered to Job by way of challenge, Job returns to him in way of submission. read more
I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.Seeth thee — The knowledge which I had of thy nature, perfections and counsels, was hitherto grounded chiefly, upon the instructions of men; but now it is clear and certain, as being immediately inspired into my mind by this thy glorious apparition and revelation, and by the operation of thy holy spirit; which makes these things as evident to me, as if I saw them with my bodily eyes. When the mind is enlightened by the... read more
JOB’S SECOND AND LAST REPLY, Job 42:2-6. In recognising the almightiness of God his infinite power in its relations not only to the diversified types of evil, but to evil itself Job declares God to be just and wise, and in all things governed by the highest principles of right. At the contemplation of the inmost harmony in the divine Being between almightiness, justice, goodness, and wisdom, and by contrast his own rampant folly and wickedness, he abhors himself, and repents in dust and ashes,... read more
2. Thought מזמה , signifies meditation, thinking, thence purpose or plan, very frequently in a bad sense. Comp. Job 21:27; Psalms 10:2; Psalms 21:12; Proverbs 14:17; Proverbs 24:8; Jeremiah 23:20; Jeremiah 30:24. “Perhaps this ambiguous word is selected designedly, in order to express the thought, that, from the circumscribed nature of Job’s views, the plans of God appeared to him to be bad, while to the Allwise they continued unhindered, and, as they originated from him, the... read more
3. Who is he… without knowledge He repeats God’s reproof, (Job 38:2,) as if he would say, I am the man the man of folly, arrogance, and sin, who measured himself with the Most High, and blasphemously arraigned his ways and dispensations. Or else, such is his confusion when overwhelmed with shame and contrition, that he fails in the expression of coherent thought. He repeats with variation, (to wit, the change of מחשׁיךְ , darkeneth, into מעלים , hideth, and the omission of bemillin, ... read more
4. Hear, I beseech… declare thou unto me הודיעני . Literally, make me to know. This verse cites the words of God, (Job 38:3; Job 40:7,) showing the profound impression they had made upon Job. Umbreit and Hitzig, on the other hand, against most commentators, represent Job as reproducing the substance of his own foolish demands of God. “Job’s want of understanding,” says the former, “was shown by this demand addressed to God. God alone could thus speak to Job, but not Job to him.” Such an... read more
5. Now mine eye seeth thee This vision of God is by no means to be taken literally, for there is no indication that God disclosed himself otherwise than through the veil of the terribly majestic cloud which apparently accompanied the storm out of which God spoke. (See note on Job 37:22; Job 38:1.) In the immediate presence of the glory of God, which, as it draws near, startled Elihu in vain strives to describe, Job’s consciousness is quickened by the reproofs of God, so that it beholds him... read more
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes - Job 42:2
I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.Thou canst, … — Job here subscribes to God's unlimited power, knowledge and dominion, to prove which was the scope of God's discourse out of the whirlwind. And his judgment being convinced of these, his conscience also was convinced, of his own folly in speaking so irreverently concerning him.No thought can be withholden from thee — No thought of ours can be withholden from thy knowledge. And there is no... read more