Job 18 · The Lantern

Bildad: God Punishes the Wicked

And Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

It seems that Bildad ignores Job when he draws his resolutions, or when the logic of his words comes to him or when the power of his words comes to him, and where his will leads him, because the fighter "continues" to fight. The more Job sees his enemies increase, the more he grows strong against them.

Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, Unto what end will ye cast abroad words? understand first, and so let us speak.

Since Baldath of Shuah could not understand what blessed Job meant with his intellect, he thought that what he himself did not understand was spoken without basis even by the speaker, and so in the beginning of his answer he says, "To what end will you just toss out words?" Here he blames Job for three things: first, the ineffectual character of his speech, as though the words…

How long until you make an end of words? Understand, and afterward we will speak.

Why are we counted as cattle, and reckoned unclean in your eyes?

You who tear your own soul in your anger — shall the earth be forsaken for your sake, and a rock move from its place?

Bildad speaks these words because Job did not refrain from complaining by saying that he wanted to die. What sort of consolation is this? How could he have disheartened him in another way? He said, in fact, that the "stretches under heaven would be desolate," or did he mention his death as if it brought a great contribution to this life that is common to us?

Why dost thou ruin thy soul in thy fury? Heretics esteem whether a strong feeling for the rule of right, or the spiritual grace of holy preaching, not as good weight of virtue, but as the madness of fury.

Consequently he finds fault him about anger because he had said, "Anger misted over my vision." (17:7) He had taken this in the wrong way believing that it was the sort of anger that had taken away from him the light of wisdom, not listening to what he had said after this, "The just will preserve his course." (17:9) So he then says, "Why do you lose your soul in your anger?" Fo…

Yes, the light of the wicked goes out, and the flame of his fire does not shine.

Light grows dark in his tent, and his lamp goes out above him.

The steps of his strength are hemmed in, and his own counsel throws him down.

Bildad says these things using the metaphor of the birds or the animals that are captured in the hunt. In fact, as they can no longer escape after falling into snares and nets, so the impious are caught by inevitable calamities that overwhelm them.

The steps of his strength shalt be straitened. For now as it were he puts forth 'the steps of his strength,' as often as he executes the violent acts of his power. But 'the steps of his strength shall be straitened,' in that the resources of his wickedness, which he now displays in his own gratification, punishment hereafter binds fast.

After he has treated prosperity lost he then speaks about adversity, concerning which he first places the impediments to action and effort. Man struggles to attain the effect of his action in two ways: in one way by his own courage, and against this he says, "The steps of his power will be extinguished," because courageous assertion cannot advance further.

For he is sent into a net by his own feet, and he walks about on a lattice.

A trap seizes him by the heel; a snare holds fast on him.

His rope is hidden in the ground, and his trap on the path.

Terrors dismay him on every side, and chase him at his heels.

His strength is hungry, and calamity is ready at his side.

These words are appropriate to the impious but not at all to Job, because "pains have not destroyed him" but have made him appear to be a powerful fighter, have made him appear doubly just.

Let his strength be hungerbitten, and starvation invade his ribs. After the manner of Holy Scripture, he has the appearance of wishing that which he foresees will be, not surely in the spirit of one uttering curses, but of one pronouncing prophesies. Thus every man, in that he consists of soul and flesh, is as it were made up of strength and weakness.

In the foregoing Baldath had premised the punishments of sinners found in exterior adversities, but here he begins to pursue the punishments pertaining to the persons. One must note that sins themselves implicate the sinner in exterior adversities, and so he pursued exterior adversities as though predicting them with some certitude.

It eats the parts of his skin; the firstborn of death eats his parts.

He calls the "soles of their feet" the products of their journeys, in order to say that the impious are not prosperous in their travels when they fall into "a violent ruin." But also their fruits of season, that is, their children, are insatiately consumed by death; and from this entire condition, in which they find themselves, all healing withdraws.

Let it devour the beauty of his skin; and let the firstborn death consume his arms. 'The beauty of his skin' is temporal glory, which whereas it is coveted as an object without us, is retained as a beauty on the skin. But by the title of 'arms' works are not unfitly set forth, in that the work of the body is done by the arms.

The goods of the body which hunger begins to weaken are totally consumed by death. The principal goods of the body are beauty and strength, and so he then says, "may his skin lose its beauty," because beauty regards exterior appearance, and "may the arms of that man," in which strength is especially found, "be consumed by a premature," i.e.

He is torn from his tent, his confidence; and it marches him to the king of terrors.

What is none of his dwells in his tent; sulfur is scattered on his homestead.

Beneath, his roots dry up; and above, his branch withers.

His memory perishes from the earth, and he has no name on the face of the open field.

"Their memory perishes from the earth." In order that Bildad may not appear to speak inconsistently after saying, "Their roots dry up beneath," he had added, "Their crops are ruined above." He then concludes with what he wanted to convey through such a sequel of expressions, that is, "Their memory perishes from the earth." In fact, it could happen that the ripening of the fruit…

Let his remembrance perish from the earth, and let not his name be repeated in the streets. PROPHETICAL INTERPRETATION It is deserving of our notice, that Bildad the Shuhite so expresses himself of each one of the wicked, that his words are secretly directed against the head of all the wicked; for the head of the wicked is the devil.

He then proceeds to the renown which remains about a man after his death, by which some men desire to live in the memories of men and to also have glory after death.

They thrust him from light into darkness, and drive him out of the world.

He has no offspring and no descendant among his people, and no survivor where he sojourned.

At his day those in the west are appalled, and those in the east are seized with horror.

Surely these are the dwellings of the unjust, and this is the place of one who did not know God.

Job18

Bildad: God Punishes the Wicked