Albert Barnes Commentary


Albert Barnes Commentary
"He hath broken me down on every side, and I am gone; And my hope hath he plucked up like a tree." — Job 19:10 (ASV)
He has destroyed me on every side - He has left me nothing. The word used here is commonly applied to destroying cities, towns, and houses. “Rosenmuller.”
And I am gone - That is, I am near death. I cannot recover myself.
And my hope has he removed like a tree - A tree, which is plucked up by the roots, and which does not grow again. That is, his hopes of life and happiness, of an honored old age, and of a continuance of his prosperity, had been wholly destroyed. This does not refer to his religious hope - as the word hope is often used now - but to his desire of future comfort and prosperity in this life. It appears that his religious hope, arising from confidence in God, remained unaffected.