John Gill Commentary Job 5:15

"But he saveth from the sword of their mouth, Even the needy from the hand of the mighty." — Job 5:15 (ASV)

But he saveth the poor
Who are so in a literal sense, and whom the Lord saves with a temporal salvation; these being the butt of the crafty, wise, and cunning, on whom their eyes are, for whom they lay snares, and lie in wait to draw them in; and these being helpless and without friends, God takes notice of them, appears for them, and arises for their help, and saves them:

from the sword ;
of their enemies, drawn against them and ready to be sheathed in them:

from their mouth ;
from their reproaches, calumnies, detraction, and evil speaking; or "from the sword, their mouth" ^F23 , as some; or "from the sword of their mouth" ^F24 , as others; or which comes out of it; whose mouths and tongues are as sharp swords, which destroy their credit and reputation, and threaten them with ruin; the Targum is, ``from the slaughter of their mouth:''

and from the hand of the mighty ;
their mighty enemies, that, are mightier than they; the Targum is, ``from the hand of a mighty king;'' such an one as Pharaoh, which the same paraphrase makes mention of in (Job 5:14) , and from whom the poor Israelites were delivered:

this may be applied to the poor in a spiritual sense, who are poor in spirit, and are sensible of their spiritual poverty, whom the Lord looks unto, has a regard for, and saves them from "the sword" of avenging justice; that being awaked against the man, his fellow, and so warded off from them, and from the mouth of a cursing and condemning law, and from Satan the accuser of the brethren; and of wicked men, whose tongue rising up in judgment against them, he condemns; and from the "hand" of Satan the strong man armed, and who is stronger than they; and of all their spiritual enemies.

---

FOOTNOTES:

• F23: So some in Michaelis.
• F24: "A gladio oris eorum", V. L. "a gladio qui ex ore eorum", De Dieu, Schultens.