Job 42:2

I know that thou canst do every [thing],.... As the works of creation, and the sustentation of them, show; so the Targum, "thou sustainest all things,'' and can manage, every creature made by him,

I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.

Thou canst do; not only by power, (for that he always thought,) but also by right; about which he had in some sort doubted and disputed. It is a maxim in law, that a man can only do that which he hath a right to do. Every thing; whatsoever it pleaseth thee to do with thy creatures. No thought can be withholden from thee; he speaks either, 1. Of Job’ s thoughts. Thou knowest me and all my sinful and unworthy thoughts of thy providential dealings with me, though I was not able to see the evil of them. Or, 2. Of God’ s thoughts. Whatsoever thou thinkest or proposest to do thou canst or mayst do it; and neither I nor any of thy creatures can either restrain thee from it, or condemn thee for it, as I have boldly and wickedly presumed to do. So this last clause of the verse explains the former.

Job 42:2 I know that thou canst do every [thing], and [that] no thought can be withholden from thee.Ver. 2. I know that thou canst do everything] God’ s power is either absolute or actual. By the former he can do everything, make a world, and unmake it in an instant; of stones raise up children to Abraham, &c. By the latter, whatsoever he willeth, that he doth both in heaven and in earth, and none can withstand him. This Job knew before, but now better, because by experience and unquestionable evidence given in by God’ s own mouth. And although this be but a short acknowledgment of God’ s power and justice, yet is it well accepted, as proceeding from a true sense of faith. Neque exigit Deus a nobis multa verba, sed multam fidem (Merlin). And that no thought can be withholden from thee] Te non solum omnia posse, sed et omnia nosse, That thou art not only omnipotent, but omniscient, and that not so much as a thought of any man’ s heart (which also is of thy making) can be hid from thee; since which way soever he turneth him, he shall find thee both potent and present. The words may be read thus, And that no thought of thine can be cut off or hindered. Having spoken of God’ s power, he speaketh of his thoughts; to teach, saith Calvin, That God’ s power and his will are things inseparable, his mind and hand agree together; the one to determine, the other to effect, Parem in eo esse voluntatem et facultatem (Mercer). ‘Aδυνατειδεσοιουδεν (Sept.).

Verse 2. I know that thou canst do every thing] Thy power is unlimited; thy wisdom infinite.

2. do every thing] Or, canst do all. no thought can be withholden] That is, no purpose. The meaning is that there is no purpose which the Almighty cannot carry out. Though literally the words seem merely an acknowledgement of power, they are also an admission of wisdom, the plans or purposes of which may be beyond the understanding of man (Job 42:3). Job does not, as might have been expected, acknowledge the Divine righteousness. His confession corresponds to the Almighty’s address to him. That address did not insist on any one Divine attribute, but rather presented God in the whole circle of His attributes, power and wisdom but also goodness, for He refreshes the thirsty ground where no man is. He feeds the ravens, and presides over the birth-pangs of the goats of the rock; and His omnipotence goes hand in hand with His moral rule (ch. Job 40:9 seq.). The Divine nature is not a segment but a circle. Any one Divine attribute implies all others. Omnipotence cannot exist apart from righteousness. Similarly Job’s reply reflects the great, general impression of God now made on him. The exhibition of the Divine wisdom as it operates in nature has led him to feel that within his own history also there is a divine “thought” or “counsel,” though he is unable to understand it. It can hardly, however, be the Author’s purpose to teach the general principle that the “counsel” of God is incomprehensible, because he gives an explanation of it in the Prologue. He is not teaching general principles here, but shewing the position which just thoughts of God will induce a man to take, even when God’s dealings may be beyond his understanding.

I know that thou canst do everything - This is said by Job in view of what had been declared by the Almighty in the previous chapters.

2. Thought — îæîä, 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.