Job 8:19

Behold, this [is] the joy of his way,.... Of the state and condition of the hypocrite, who, while he is in outward prosperity, exults and rejoices, but his joy is but short, it is but for a moment,

Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow. Behold, is the joy of his way. Bitter irony. The hypocrite boasts of joy. This then is his "joy" at the last.

This is the joyful and happy issue of the flourishing course, state, and condition (which is frequently called a way) of this tree, or of the hypocrite, manifestly represented by it, and expressed . It is a sarcasm or irony, and is to be understood contrariwise of his sad and unhappy end. Out of the earth shall others grow, i.e. out of the same earth or place shall another tree grow; which could not be if there had been but a stump of it left, though under ground. So it notes the total extirpation of the tree, and of the hypocrite, that his person and all his children and family shall be utterly extinct, and so a stranger shall come into his place, and enjoy the fruit of his labours. But the words are and may be otherwise rendered very agreeably to the Hebrew text, and out of other ground they (i.e. plants or trees, of which he is here speaking) shall grow, or others shall grow, or plants shall grow; the noun being contained in the verb. So the sense is, This tree shall be rooted up, and the very ground of it so cursed, that nothing shall grow or thrive in it; but other ground shall be fruitful, and other trees that stood round about it shall stand still and flourish in their places. His design in all this is to prove Job to be a hypocrite, because he meets with their lot, which is total destruction.

Job 8:19 Behold, this [is] the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow.Ver. 19. Behold, this is the joy of his way] q.d. A goodly joy! sure the hypocrite’ s joy is but the hypocrisy of joy, a little counterfeit complexion, like a slight dash of rain, a handful of brushwood, or sear thorn under the pot, Ecclesiastes 7:6, or as weeds that grow on the top of the water, floating aloft, but touch not the bottom. Though it be an exulting joy (as the word signifieth), a leaping joy (such as is that of dogs leaping upon their masters returning home after a journey, Ut canes solent quando peregre advenienti domino adulantur), yet it is not lasting: it goes out as a snuff, or as a blazing star, or at best as the fire of thorns, Psalms 118:12. Yea, though for the time it hath been so great that if it had continued but a while it would have overwhelmed them, so that their spirits would have expired, as some apostates have professed; they have thought themselves in heaven sometimes, and have rejoiced accordingly, ουδενδεπροσποιητονυονιμον (Naz.). And out of the earth shall others grow] Alii qui alieni erunt ab eo (Drus.). Others who had no relation to him shall succeed him, enjoy his estate, and eat the sweet of all his labours, Job 27:16-17 Ecclesiastes 2:18; Ecclesiastes 4:8 Proverbs 12:3, "A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved." See another sense of this, and the three foregoing verses, Job 8:18.

Verse 19. Behold this is the joy of his way] A strong irony. Here is the issue of all his mirth, of his sports, games, and pastimes! See the unfeeling, domineering, polluting and polluted scape-grace, levelled with those whom he had despised, a servant of servants, or unable to work through his debaucheries, cringing for a morsel of bread, or ingloriously ending his days in that bane of any well-ordered and civilized state, a parish workhouse. This also I have most literally witnessed. Out of the earth shall others gross.] As in the preceding case, when one plant or tree is blasted or cut down, another may be planted in the same place; so, when a spendthrift has run through his property, another possesses his inheritance, and grows up from that soil in which he himself might have continued to flourish, had it not been for his extravagance and folly. This verse Mr. Good applies to GOD himself, with no advantage to the argument, nor elucidation of the sense, that I can see. I shall give his translation, and refer to his learned notes for his vindication of the version he has given: - "Behold the Eternal (הוא) exulting in his course; Even over his dust shall raise up another." In this way none of the ancient versions have understood the passage. I believe it to be a strong irony, similar to that which some think flowed from the pen of the same writer: Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth; and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes. But know thou, that for all these God will bring thee into judgment; Ecclesiastes 11:9. These two places illustrate each other.

19. joy of his way] way may be “fate,” as often, and the words would be ironical; or “way” may be “course of life”—so ends what was to him the joy of his course of life. shall others grow] Or, do others grow. Who the others are or what quality they are of is not the point, which is that his place is occupied by others as if he had never been. He leaves no trace, no blank, and no memory.

Behold, this is the joy of his way - This is evidently sarcastic. “Lo! such is the joy of his course! He boasts of joy, as all hypocrites do, but his joy endures only for a little time. This is the end of it.

19. The joy of his way — Deeply ironical. With a touch the poet discloses hidden deeps of misery and of doom. Shall others grow — àçø, another, used collectively. One crop of weeds is followed by another.