20 They die in an instant, in the middle of the night; the people are shaken and they pass away; the mighty are removed without human hand.
20 In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty
20 In a moment they die; at midnight the people are shaken and pass away, and the mighty are taken away by no human hand.
20 Don't people who deserve it die without notice? Don't wicked rulers tumble to their doom? When the so-called great ones are wiped out, we know God is working behind the scenes.
20 In a moment they die, in the middle of the night; The people are shaken and pass away; The mighty are taken away without a hand.
20 In a moment they die. In the middle of the night they pass away; the mighty are removed without human hand.
30 When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.
30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
30 When you send forth your Spirit,
30 Send out your Spirit and they spring to life - the whole countryside in bloom and blossom.
30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth.
30 When you give them your breath, life is created, and you renew the face of the earth.
(Read Psalm 104:19-30)
We are to praise and magnify God for the constant succession of day and night. And see how those are like to the wild beasts, who wait for the twilight, and have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. Does God listen to the language of mere nature, even in ravenous creatures, and shall he not much more interpret favourably the language of grace in his own people, though weak and broken groanings which cannot be uttered? There is the work of every day, which is to be done in its day, which man must apply to every morning, and which he must continue in till evening; it will be time enough to rest when the night comes, in which no man can work. The psalmist wonders at the works of God. The works of art, the more closely they are looked upon, the more rough they appear; the works of nature appear more fine and exact. They are all made in wisdom, for they all answer the end they were designed to serve. Every spring is an emblem of the resurrection, when a new world rises, as it were, out of the ruins of the old one. But man alone lives beyond death. When the Lord takes away his breath, his soul enters on another state, and his body will be raised, either to glory or to misery. May the Lord send forth his Spirit, and new-create our souls to holiness.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Job 34:20
Commentary on Job 34:16-30
(Read Job 34:16-30)
Elihu appeals directly to Job himself. Could he suppose that God was like those earthly princes, who hate right, who are unfit to rule, and prove the scourges of mankind? It is daring presumption to condemn God's proceedings, as Job had done by his discontents. Elihu suggests divers considerations to Job, to produce in him high thoughts of God, and so to persuade him to submit. Job had often wished to plead his cause before God. Elihu asks, To what purpose? All is well that God does, and will be found so. What can make those uneasy, whose souls dwell at ease in God? The smiles of all the world cannot quiet those on whom God frowns.