John Gill Commentary Job 28:4

"He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; They are forgotten of the foot; They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro." — Job 28:4 (ASV)

The flood breaks out from the inhabitant
Or, "so that there is no inhabitant" ^F26 ; of the mine, as the miner may be said to be, who lives there continually; and, when a flood of water arises, which is a usual thing in mines, he is obliged to flee and make haste to save his life:

[even the waters] forgotten of the foot ;
such as never any foot of man touched or was acquainted with, being subterraneous water, and never seen with the eye of man before, and who before knew not there were such floods underground ^F1 . A like figurative expression in (Psalms 137:5);

they are dried up, they are gone away from men ;
Though such a flood of waters rises apace, and flows in with great force, and threatens the miners' lives and the ruin of their works, yet they are not discouraged, but by means of engines, pumps, buckets, and such like things, draw up the waters and clear the mines of them; and they are gone from the workmen, who return to their work again and go on with their mining: And so sometimes spiritual miners are interrupted by a flood of Satan's temptations, the world's persecutions, and various afflictions; but by the assistance of the Spirit and grace of God, whereby a standard is lifted up against them, they get clear of them and receive no hurt by them, but go on cheerfully in the work of the Lord, (Isaiah 59:19) (Revelation 12:15Revelation 12:16) .

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FOOTNOTES:

• F26: (rg Mem) "qui accolas non fert", Tigurine version; "dimisso accola", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "ut non sit accola", Mercerus.
• F1: Vid. Senecae Nat. Quaest. l. 5. c. 15.