Job 11:17

King James Version (KJV)

And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

Thine age shall be clearer than the noonday - The rest of thy life shall be unclouded prosperity.

Thou shalt shine forth - Thou shalt be in this unclouded state, as the sun in the firmament of heaven, giving light and heat to all around thee.

Thou shalt be as the morning - Thus the sun of thy prosperity shall arise, and shine more and more unto the perfect day. This is the image which the sacred writer employs, and it is correct and elegant.

Was this helpful?

Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

And thine age - Thy life. This does not mean old age, but the idea is, that his life would be cheerful and happy.

Clearer than the noon-day - Margin, “Arise above the noon-day.” The margin is a literal rendering; but the sense is clear in the text. The idea is, that the remainder of his life would be bright as the sun if he would return to God.

Thou shalt shine forth - Or rather, “thou art now in darkness, but thou shalt be as the morning.” The word used here - תעפה tā‛upâh is from עוּף ‛ûph to cover - as with wings, to fly, to cover with darkness. In no instance does it mean to shine, or to be clear and bright; and why our translators attached that idea to it, it is now difficult to conjecture. The Chaldee and Syriac read the word as a noun, and render the passage, “and thy darkness shall be as the aurora.” The Vulgate renders it, “and meridian splendor, as it were, shall arise upon thee at the evening.” The Septuagint, “and thy prayer shall be like the morning star, and life shall rise upon thee from noon-day.” The sense in the Hebrew is plain. He was then in darkness. Clouds and calamities were round about him, but if he would return to God, he would be permitted to enjoy a bright day of prosperity. Such a day would return to him like the morning after a long and gloomy night.

Was this helpful?

Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

Zophar exhorts Job to repentance, and gives him encouragement, yet mixed with hard thoughts of him. He thought that worldly prosperity was always the lot of the righteous, and that Job was to be deemed a hypocrite unless his prosperity was restored. Then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; that is, thou mayst come boldly to the throne of grace, and not with the terror and amazement expressed in ch. 9:34. If we are looked upon in the face of the Anointed, our faces that were cast down may be lifted up; though polluted, being now washed with the blood of Christ, they may be lifted up without spot. We may draw near in full assurance of faith, when we are sprinkled from an evil conscience, Heb 10:22.

Was this helpful?

Ellen G. White
Prophets and Kings, 163

“O that I might have my request;
And that God would grant me the thing that I long for!
Even that it would please God to destroy me;
That He would let loose His hand, and cut me off!
Then should I yet have comfort.” PK 163.1

“I will not refrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.” PK 163.2

“My soul chooseth ... death rather than my life.
I loathe it;
I would not live alway:
Let me alone;
For my days are vanity.” PK 163.3

Read in context »

Was this helpful?

BibleTools.info

Bible Verse Explanations and Resources

Job 11:17