Job 37:24

Men do therefore fear him,.... Or should, because of his greatness in power, judgment, and justice; and because of his goodness, in not afflicting for his pleasure's sake, but for the profit of men;

Men do therefore fear him: he respecteth not any that are wise of heart. Do - rather, ought. Wise - in their own conceits.

Men do therefore fear him; for this cause, to wit, because of God’ s infinite and excellent perfections, and especially those mentioned in the foregoing verse, men do or should (for the future tense is oft used potentially, as Hebricians know) fear or reverence him, and humbly submit to him, and not presume to quarrel or dispute with him, as thou, O Job, hast done. He respecteth not, Heb. he doth not, or will not behold, to wit, with respect or approbation; he beholdeth them afar off with scorn and contempt. Any that are wise of heart, i. e. such as are wise in their own eyes, that lean to their own understandings, and despise all other men in comparison of themselves, and scorn all their counsels; that are so puffed up with the opinion of their own wisdom, that they dare contend with their Maker, and presume to censure his counsels and actions; which he hereby intimates to be Job’ s fault, and to be the true reason why God did not respect nor regard him, nor his prayers and tears, as Job complained. And so this is also a tacit advice and exhortation to Job to be humble and little ill his own eyes, if ever he expected or desired any favour from God.

Job 37:24 Men do therefore fear him: he respecteth not any [that are] wise of heart.Ver. 24. Men do therefore fear him] They do, or should do, for his excellent greatness and goodness, Psalms 130:4 Matthew 10:28. But in case they do not, He respecteth not any that are wise of heart] That out of a conceit of their own wisdom stand it out against him, and think to reason it out with him, as thou hast done. Or, But he seeth not all wise in heart; he findeth not all wise, whom he beholdeth here upon earth. Stultorum plena sunt omnia, and thou also hast dealt very foolishly, as God hath seen, and wilt shortly show thee better than I can do.

(24) Men do therefore fear him.—Or, “Therefore men may fear Him; but as for the wise in heart, no one even of them shall see Him.” This may be, and probably is, the meaning, though the literal rendering is that of the Authorised Version, which, however, involves a somewhat doubtful sentiment in itself, for God, we may believe, does regard or respect those who are truly wise. In the original there is a very manifest play on the words, which it is impossible to preserve, between yĕ ?re’u and yireh—men shall fear, but none shall see.

Verse 24. Men do therefore] Therefore men, אנשים anashim, wretched, miserable, ignorant, sinful men, should fear him. He respecteth not any] No man is valuable in his sight on account of his wisdom; for what is his wisdom when compared with that of the Omniscient? Whatever good is in man, God alone is the author of it. Let him, therefore, that glorieth, glory in the Lord. THUS ends the speech of Elihu; a speech of a widely different description, on the whole, from that of the three friends of Job who had spoken so largely before him. In the speeches of Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad, there is little besides a tissue of borrowed wise sayings, and ancient proverbs and maxims, relative to the nature of God, and his moral government of the world. In the speech of Elihu every thing appears to be original; he speaks from a deep and comprehensive mind, that had profoundly studied the subjects on which he discoursed. His descriptions of the Divine attributes, and of the wonderful works of God, are correct, splendid, impressive, and inimitable. Elihu, having now come nearly to a close, and knowing that the Almighty would appear and speak for himself, judiciously prepares for and announces his coming by the thunder and lightning of which he has given so terrific and majestic a description in this and the preceding chapter. The evidences of the Divine presence throng on his eyes and mind; the incomprehensible glory and excellency of God confound all his powers of reasoning and description; he cannot arrange his words by reason of darkness; and he concludes with stating, that to poor weak man God must for ever be incomprehensible, and to him a subject of deep religious fear and reverence. Just then the terrible majesty of the Lord appears! Elihu is silent! The rushing mighty wind, for which the description of the thunder and lightning had prepared poor, confounded, astonished Job, proclaims the presence of Jehovah: and out of this whirlwind God answers for and proclaims himself! Reader, canst thou not conceive something of what these men felt? Art thou not astonished, perplexed, confounded, in reading over these descriptions of the thunder of God's power? Prepare, then, to hear the voice of God himself out of this whirlwind.

24. wise of heart] That is, wise in their own thoughts. God has respect unto the humble—a final exhortation to Job to abstain from presumptuous complaints of God, and to unite with mankind everywhere in fearing Him.

Men do therefore fear him - There is reason why they should fear him, or why they should treat him with reverence. He respecteth not any that are wise of heart - He pursues his own plans, and forms and executes his own counsels.

24. He respecteth not — He regardeth not, (or, as nothing — Schultens,) any of the wise of heart. “who seem to themselves to be wise.” (Vulgate.) The self-conceited wisdom of men is beneath the contempt of God.