Albert Barnes Commentary Job 15:33

"He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, And shall cast off his flower as the olive-tree." — Job 15:33 (ASV)

He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine - The idea here is that the wicked man will be like a vine that casts off its grapes while they are still sour and green, and brings none to perfection; compare with the notes on (Isaiah 18:5). Scott renders this:

“As when the vine her half-grown berries showers,
Or poisoned olive her unfolding flowers.”

It would seem from this passage that the vine might be so blasted by a hot wind or other cause that it casts its unripe grapes to the earth. The use of a figure of this kind to illustrate an idea implies that such a situation was familiar to those who were addressed.

It is well known that in the East the grape and the olive might be blasted while in blossom, or when the fruit was setting, just as all fruit can be. The injury is usually done in the flower, or when the fruit is just forming.

Yet, our observations of the effects of the burning winds that pass over the deserts on half-formed fruit, blasting it and causing it to fall, are too limited for us to reach any definite conclusion regarding such effects in general. Anyone, however, can see the beauty of this image.

The plans and purposes of wicked people are immature. Nothing is carried to perfection. They are cut off, their plans are blasted, and all the results of their living are like the sour, hard, stunted, and useless fruit that falls from the tree before it is ripe. The results of the life of the righteous, on the other hand, are like a tree loaded with ripe and mellow fruit—their plans are brought to maturity and resemble the rich and heavy clusters of grapes or the abundant fruits of the olive when ripe.

And shall cast off his flower as the olive - The olive is a well-known tree that abounds in the East. The fruit is chiefly valuable for the oil it produces; compare with the notes on (Romans 11:17). The olive is liable to be blasted while the fruit is setting, or while the tree is in blossom.

In Greece, a northeast wind often proves destructive to the olive, and the same may be true of other places. Dr. Chandler, speaking of Greece, says, “The olive groves are now, as in ancient times, a principal source of Athens’ wealth. The crops had failed for five successive years when we arrived; the cause assigned was a northerly wind, called Greco-tramontane, which destroyed the flower. The fruit sets in about a fortnight, when the apprehension from this unfavorable quarter ceases. The bloom in the following year was unhurt, and we had the pleasure of leaving the Athenians happy in the prospect of a plentiful harvest.”

A wicked man is here elegantly compared with such a tree that casts off its flowers and produces no fruit.