Job 10:16

For it increaseth,.... That is, the affliction increaseth; which is a reason why pity should be shown him, seeing his troubles instead of abating were growing upon him; he had as much, or more, than

For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me. For it increaseth , [ yig'eh (H1342)] - literally, (my affliction, Job 10:15) groweth up, as in Job 8:11.

As a fierce lion; which hunteth after his prey with great eagerness, and when he overtakes it, falls upon it with great fury. And again thou showest thyself marvellous upon me, Heb. and thou returnest and showest thyself marvellous upon, or in, or against me. The lion tears its prey speedily, and so ends its torments; but thou renewest my calamities again and again, and makest my plagues wonderful, both for kind, and extremity, and continuance.

Job 10:16 For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me.Ver. 16. For it increaseth] Heb. For it lifteth up itself; it even boileth up to the height, or it waxeth proud, as the proud surges of the sea. Broughton rendered it, Oh how it fleeth up! Why how? Surely, as a fierce lion, so it hunteth me; it riseth upon me, as a lion rampant doth upon his prey, or as a lion, when he is pursued, gives not place, hides not his head, but comes into the open fields as holding it a disgrace to withdraw; so some sense it: or, Thou huntest me as a fierce lion] Tanquam leo. God, when he afflicteth men, is oft compared to a lion, Isaiah 38:13 Hosea 5:14; Hosea 13:7. Or, tanquam leonem, as if I were a ravening lion; so thou huntest me, setting thy nets and toils, making thy snares and pits ut capiar ad occisionem (so the Septuagint), that I may be taken and destroyed, as 2 Peter 2:12. And again thou showest thyself marvellous upon me] Heb. And thou returnest. Here Job showeth, saith an interpreter, what a confidence he had, that God, returning to him in mercy, would do wonderfully for him in the end; the word turning here, and the turning his captivity, Job 42:10, so aptly answering the one to the other to approve this exposition. But others understand it to be the continued or repeated acts of Job’ s affliction, una vice post aliam; as if he should say, thou clappest one affliction upon another; my pains know not only no period, but no pause; thou layest upon me extraordinary sorrows, as if thou wouldest declare in me alone, quam mirus sis artifex, what an excellent artisan thou art when thou pleasest, and what thou canst do against a poor creature; surely thou hast made my plagues wonderful, Deuteronomy 28:59. So the apostles were made a gazing stock, a theatre, a spectacle of human misery, 1 Corinthians 4:9.

(16) For it increaseth.—This verse is very obscure. Some understand it thus: “But is it so glorious a thing that Thou shouldst hunt me like a fierce lion, and then again show Thyself mysterious and wonderful towards me? hunting me like a lion, and yet hiding alike Thy person and Thy motive from me?” Or the subject is the head of the former verse, “And if it exalt itself, Thou huntest me,” &c. Or again, as in the Authorised Version, the subject is the affliction, “For it increaseth: Thou huntest me,” &c.

Verse 16. For it increaseth.] Probably this refers to the affliction mentioned above, which is increased in proportion to its duration. Every day made his escape from such a load of evils less and less probable. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion] As the hunters attack the king of beasts in the forest, so my friends attack me. They assail me on every side. Thou showest thyself marvellous] Thy designs, thy ways, thy works, are all incomprehensible to me; thou dost both confound and overpower me. Mr. Good translates thus: - "For uprousing as a ravenous lion dost thou spring upon me. And again thou showest over me thy vast power."

16. This verse reads, and if it (i. e. my head) should lift itself up, thou wouldst hunt me as a fierce lion, and again shew &c. Cf. the figure of a wild beast again, ch. Job 16:9. There is a touch of sarcasm in the words “shew thyself marvellous upon me,”—marvellous in the variety and nature of His plagues, and in plaguing such an object.

For it increaseth - Our translators understand this as meaning that the calamities of Job, so far from becoming less, were constantly increasing, and thus augmenting his perplexity and embarrassment.

16. For it increaseth, etc. — And (if) it (the head) lift itself up, thou huntest me like the lion, (shahhal,) see note, Job 4:10. This image is of frequent occurrence.