Job 30:23 Commentary and Bible Study

Connecting this thought with the previous – that God spoils human success – Job contemplates death and sees it as the end to which he is inevitably moving. These trials sent from God will sooner or later bring him to death at which point he will arrive at the common destination of all mankind. Death is set in place for spiritually therapeutic reasons so that we do not think too highly of any of the achievements of this life, for they must all be left behind. In spite of the bright hope of chapter 19:25 Job has lapsed back into a more gloomy state of mind; he does not now speak of the triumph of the resurrection that follows death but focuses on death itself.Verse 24 is another verse which has given trouble to the translators as evidenced by the variety of translations. Barnes says, ‘In our common version this verse gives no very clear idea, and it is quite evident that our translators despaired of giving it a consistent sense, and attempted merely to translate it literally.’ The KJV has translated as ‘grave’ a word that means ‘heap of ruins’. The context both before and after leads us to expect an amplification of Job’s complaint and this must guide us when things are unclear. It is therefore unlikely that Job suddenly expresses a positive thought here as some translate it. The sense of the NKJV is good which has Job complain that it is pointless for God to expend further effort destroying his servant Job who has already been reduced to a mere heap of ruins – ‘Surely He would not stretch out His hand against a heap of ruins, If they cry out when He destroys it.’ He says, I know that it is you that have done this to me, but it makes no sense. Why go on and on sending one punishment after another on me when I have already been reduced to a heap of ruins? Even if I deserved this punishment, such a sustained attack against one person when others suffer nothing is pointless.