So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
The saying stands inside Eliphaz's address in the extended dispute between Job and his three companions over the meaning of his suffering. Utterances in this portion of the book are not to be received at face value as trustworthy doctrine concerning Job or concerning God, but have to be measured by the testimony of the rest of inspired Scripture. The saying forms part of the friends' broad contention that wrongdoing meets punishment and rightdoing meets reward, a rule they misapplied when they pressed it upon Job's calamity.
Its first half holds out hope to the poor and downtrodden. Its second half holds that wrong will have its mouth shut in the end when right prevails. Want tends to leave the mind lighter and more expectant toward what is coming, whereas riches tend to breed unceasing care and dread.
The saying stands inside Eliphaz's address in the extended dispute between Job and his three companions over the meaning of his suffering. Utterances in this portion of the book are not to be received at face value as trustworthy doctrine concerning Job or concerning God, but have to be measured by the testimony of the rest of inspired Scripture. The saying forms part of the friends' broad contention that wrongdoing meets punishment and rightdoing meets reward, a rule they misapplied when they pressed it upon Job's calamity.
Its first half holds out hope to the poor and downtrodden. Its second half holds that wrong will have its mouth shut in the end when right prevails. Want tends to leave the mind lighter and more expectant toward what is coming, whereas riches tend to breed unceasing care and dread.