Commentaries:
Barnes' Notes
Is not thy wickedness great? - That is, "Is it not utter presumption and folly for a man, whose wickedness is undoubtedly so great, to presume to enter into a litigation with God?" Eliphaz here "assumes" it as an undeniable proposition, that Job was a great sinner. This charge had not been directly made before. He and his friends had argued evidently on that supposition, and had maintained that one who was a great sinner would be punished in this life for it, and they had left it to be implied, in no doubtful manner, that they so regarded Job. But the charge had not been before so openly made. Here Eliphaz argues as if that were a point that could not be disputed. The only "proof" that he had, so far as appears, was, that Job had been afflicted as they maintained great sinners "would be," and they, therefore, concluded that he must be such. No facts are referred to, except that he was a great sufferer, and yet, on the ground of this, he proceeds to take for granted that he "must have been" a man who had taken a pledge for no cause; had refused to give water to the thirsty; had been an oppressor, etc.
And thine iniquities infinite? - Hebrew "And there is no end to thine iniquities," that is, they are without number. This does not mean that sin is an "infinite evil," or that his sins were infinite in degree; but that if one should attempt to reckon up the number of his transgressions, there would be no end to them. This, I believe, is the only place in the Bible where sin is spoken of, in any respect, as "infinite;" and this cannot be used as a proof text, to show that sin is an infinite evil, for:
(1) that is not the meaning of the passage even with respect to Job;
(2) it makes no affirmation respecting sin in general; and
(3) it was untrue, even in regard to Job, and in the sense in which Zophar meant to use the phrase.
There is no intelligible sense in which it can be said that sin is "an infinite evil;" and no argument should be based on such a declaration, to Proverbs that sin demanded an infinite atonement, or that it deserves eternal sufferings. Those doctrines can be defended on solid grounds - they should not be made to rest on a false assumption, or on a false interpretation of the Scriptures.
Other commentary entries containing this verse:
Job 22:4
Matthew 18:24
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