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job 22:6-9

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Job 22:6-9

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”

— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

6. For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing. 7. Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. 8. But [as for] the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it. 9. Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.

Job 22:6-9 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Job 22:6

Theological / Devotional

Taken a pledge. A “pledge” is that which is given by a debtor to a creditor for security. The crime here charged against Job was that he had exacted such pledges without just reason: that is, where there was no debt, where the debt was paid, or where the security was far beyond the value of the debt (see Neh. 5:2-11). According to the Levitical code, clothing taken as a pledge must be returned by the going down of the sun (Ex. 22:26, 27). It was also prohibited to take millstones as pledges (Deut. 24:6). Taking unfair advantage of the poor has been a common failing of mankind in all ages.

The sins of which Eliphaz accuses Job are the misdeeds that are often committed by men of wealth and influence. Most of the verbs in vs. 6-9 are in a tense that suggests the idea of frequency, indicating that Eliphaz represented these sins as Job’s regular manner of life. The only evidence he had that Job had committed these sins as far as is known was the fact of his suffering. Terrible misfortune, according to Eliphaz’ philosophy, implied grave sins.

By SdaBc