Job 34:31

Surely it is meet to be said unto God,.... By any afflicted person under his chastising hand, and particularly by Job, for whom the advice and instructions in this verse and Job 34:32 are designed: I

Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more: Job accordingly says so (Job 40:3-5; Micah 7:9; Leviticus 26:41). It was to lead him to this that Elihu was sent.

Certainly it is but fit and reasonable that man should say thus to his Maker and supreme Lord, and that instead of contending with God, he should submit to him. Or, (which comes to the same thing,) But hath he said? so the sense is, I have showed the absolute power which God hath over all his creatures, and that he may justly, and doth ofttimes severely, punish all sorts of men as he sees fit. And this Job should have applied to his own case. But, I appeal to all of you, hath he, i.e. Job, (who is the principal subject of this whole discourse, and to whom he now begins to direct his discourse,) said, that which here follows? which is a kind of form of confession or humiliation, which Elihu puts into Job’ s mouth, as fit to have been used by him. Nay, hath not his speech and carriage been of a directly contrary nature and tendency? Instead of humbling himself under God’ s hand, which was his duty, hath he not been full of murmurings and complaints against God? Unto God; unto one so much thy superior, so mighty and so righteous in all his ways; with such a one a weak and sinful creature (as thou art) should not presume to contest. I have borne chastisement; or, I do or shall bear it, to wit, quietly and contentedly; I will bear the Lord’ s indignation, and accept of the punishment of my own iniquity, and not accuse God falsely and foolishly, as I have done. I will not offend any more, Heb. I will not corrupt, to wit, myself or my ways; which is oft understood in like cases. Or, I will take or demand no pledge; for so this verb is oft used. So the sense may possibly be, I confess I have been too bold with God, in desiring that he would come with me into judgment, and that I could have a pledge or surety that he would do so; but I will no longer desire it, but submit myself wholly to him.

Job 34:31 Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne [chastisement], I will not offend [any more]:Ver. 31. Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement] To convince a man of a fault, and not to advise him how to do better, is to snuff a lamp and not pour more oil into it. Elihu therefore now sets himself to counsel Job, whom he conceiveth he had sufficiently convinced of injury done to God. Surely it is meet, &c. Par est; this is supplied by the translators to make sense; for the original is very concise and dark, and therefore diversely interpreted; as is also all this latter part of the chapter. Some render it thus, But to God who saith, I pardon, I will not destroy, it should be said, That which I see not, teach thou me, &c. Some thus, Therefore we ought thus to speak unto God, I suffer patiently, I will not break asunder; viz. these bonds wherewith thou hast fast bound me. Others thus: Hath Job said to God, I have borne, &c. q.d. Nothing less, as ye all are witnesses. Others again thus: Hath he (that is, the tyrant dethroned, as in the verse aforegoing) said to God, I have been, &c.? Hath he confessed his wickedness, and promised amendment? No such matter, surely; therefore is he justly punished. This is a very good sense, saith Mercer. But to stick to our last and best translation, Surely it is meet, &c., for is it fit that God should cast down the bucklers first, and not have the better of us? Should we not rather disarm his just indignation by a humble yieldance? I have borne chastisement] Heb. I have borne and will bear, being active in suffering and taking up my cross. I will not offend any more] Heb. I will not corrupt; to wit, my ways, and so undo myself.

(31, 32) I have borne chastisement . . .—These verses express the attitude that should be assumed towards God: one of submission and penitence.

Verse 31. Surely it is meet to be said unto God] This is Elihu's exhortation to Job: Humble thyself before God, and say, "I have suffered - I will not offend."

29–33. The connexion of the following verses is rather uncertain. The sense of Job 34:30 might suggest the connexion of Job 34:29-30 with the preceding. In this case Job 34:31 would make a new start, and the connexion would be maintained to the end of the chapter. It is probable, however, that Job 34:34-37 should be taken by themselves. In Job 34:29 the word he is emphatic; similarly in Job 34:31 an emphasis falls on God. This common emphasis, in Job 34:29-30 on the absoluteness of God’s operation and in Job 34:31-33 on the presumption of any one who questions it, seems to bind these two groups of verses together. The verses read as a whole, 29. When he giveth quietness, who shall condemn him? And when he hideth his face, who shall behold him? Whether it be done to a nation or to a man alike: 30. That the godless man reign not, That the people be not ensnared. 31. For hath any said unto God, I have borne (chastisement) though I offend not, 32. That which I see not teach thou me, If I have done iniquity I will do it no more?— 33. Shall God’s recompense be according to thy mind That thou dost reject it? For thou must choose, and not I; Therefore speak what thou knowest.

Surely it is meet to be said unto God - It is evident that this verse commences a new strain of remark, and that it is designed particularly to bring Job to proper reflections in view of what had occurred.

Conclusion — THE FOLLY OF JOB’S OF GOD IS EVIDENT, AND, IF OF, SHOULD LEAD TO .