Job 11:16
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For you will forget your misery, recalling it only as waters gone by.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
16 For thou shalt forget thy grief, Shalt remember it as waters that flow by. 17 And thy path of life shall be brighter than mid-day; If it be dark, it shall become as morning. 18 And thou shalt take courage, for now there is hope; And thou shalt search, thou shalt lie down in safety. 19 And thou liest down without any one making thee afraid; And many shall caress thy cheeks. 20 But the eyes of the wicked languish, And refuge vanisheth from them, And their hope is the breathing forth of the soul. The grief that has been surmounted will then leave no trace in the memory, like water that flows by (not: water that flows away, as Olshausen explains it, which would be differently expressed; comp. Job 20:28 with Sa2 14:14). It is not necessary to change אתּה כּי into עתּה כּי (Hirzel); אתה, as in Job 11:13, strengthens the force of the application of this conclusion of his speech. Life (חלד, from חלד to glide away, slip, i.e., pass away unnoticed, (Note: Vid., Hupfeld on Psa 17:14, and on the other hand Bttcher, infer. 275 s., who, taking חלד in the sense of rooting into, translates: "the mildew springs up more brilliant than mid-day." But whatever judgment one may form of the primary idea of חלד, this meaning of חלד is too imaginary.) as αἰών, both life-time, Psa 39:6, and the world, Psa 49:2, here in the former sense), at the end of which thou thoughtest thou wert already, and which seemed to thee to run on into dismal darkness, shall be restored to thee (יקום with Munach on the ult. as Job 31:14, not on the penult.) brighter than noon-day (מן, more than, i.e., here: brighter than, as e.g., Mic 7:4, more thorny than); and be it ever so dark, it shall become like morning. Such must be the interpretation of תּעפה. It cannot be a substantive, for it has the accent on the pen…
Open source ↗Poor Job's wound's were yet bleeding, his sore still runs and ceases not, but none of his friends bring him any oil, any balm; Zophar, the third, pours into them as much vinegar as the two former had done. I. He exhibits a very high charge against Job, as proud and false in justifying himself (Job 11:1-4). II. He appeals to God for his conviction, and begs that God would take him to task (Job 11:5) and that Job might be made sensible, 1. Of God's unerring wisdom and his inviolable justice (Job 11:6). 2. Of his unsearchable perfections (Job 11:7-9). 3. Of his incontestable sovereignty and uncontrollable power (Job 11:10). 4. Of the cognizance he takes of the children of men (Job 11:11, Job 11:12). III. He assures him that, upon his repentance and reformation (Job 11:13, Job 11:14), God would restore him to his former prosperity and safety (Job 11:15-19); but that, if he were wicked it was in vain to expect it (Job 11:20).
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
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Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth, and whoever takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the former troubles will be forgotten and hidden from My sight.
For a man seldom considers the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.
Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame; do not be intimidated, for you will not be humiliated. For you will forget the shame of your youth and will remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
“For to Me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you.
A woman has pain in childbirth because her time has come; but when she brings forth her child, she forgets her anguish because of her joy that a child has been born into the world.
Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.”
And I establish My covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
But my brothers are as faithless as wadis, as seasonal streams that overflow,
it is so dark you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you.