Albert Barnes Commentary


Albert Barnes Commentary
"As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away, So he that goeth down to Sheol shall come up no more." — Job 7:9 (ASV)
As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away—This image is taken from the light and fleecy clouds, which become smaller and smaller until they completely vanish. For an illustration of a similar phrase, see the notes at Isaiah 44:22.
To the grave—שׁאול she'ôl. Septuagint, εἰς ᾅδην eis hadēn, to Hades. The word may mean grave, or the place of departed spirits; see Isaiah 5:14, note; Isaiah 14:9, note; compare the notes at Job 10:21-22. Either meaning will apply here.
Shall come up no more—he shall no longer live on the earth. It would be pressing this too far to use it as proof that Job did not believe in the doctrine of the resurrection. The connection here requires us to understand him as meaning only that he would not appear again on the earth.