to lift · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
persons
פְּנֵ֥יpe.Nei
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct
princes
שָׂרִ֗יםsa.Rim
H8269
a head person (of any rank or class) · noun, common masculine plural absolute
regardeth
נִכַּרni.kar-
H5234
properly · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
rich
שׁ֭וֹעַSho.a'
H7771
a noble · noun, common masculine singular absolute
than
לִפְנֵיlif.nei-
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
poor
דָ֑לDal
H1800
properly · adjective, masculine singular absolute
work
מַעֲשֵׂ֖הma.'a.Seh
H4639
an action (good or bad) · noun, common masculine singular construct
hands
יָדָ֣יוya.Dav
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Deuteronomy 10:17 For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh rewa…
Acts 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
James 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to t…
Romans 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
Colossians 3:25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
Leviticus 19:15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in right…
2 Chronicles 19:7 Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of pers…
Galatians 2:6 But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person:) for they who seeme…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Job 34:16-30
Elihu here addresses himself more directly to Job. He had spoken to the rest (Job 34:10) as men of understanding; now, speaking to Job; he puts an if upon his understanding: If thou hast understanding, hear this and observe it, Job 34:16.
I. Hear this, That God is not to be quarrelled with for any thing that he does. It is daring presumption to arraign and condemn God's proceedings, as Job had done by his discontents. It was, 1. As absurd as it would be to advance one to power that is a professed enemy to justice: Shall even he that hates right govern? Job 34:17. The righteous Lord so loves righteousness that, in comparison with him, even Job himself, though a perfect and upright man, might…
That accepteth not - If it be utterly improper to speak against a king or civil governor, how much more so to speak disrespectfully of God, who is not influenced by human caprices or considerations, and who regards the rich and the poor alike, being equally his creatures, and equally dependent on his providence and mercy for their support and salvation.
John Gill on Job 34:19
How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes,.... And indeed God is not the respecter of the persons of any, no, not of the greatest men on earth, kings and princes, Acts 10:34; these are alike dealt with by him as others in the dispensations of his providence; nor do they escape the marks of his displeasure, wrath and vengeance, when they sin against him:
nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? by showing favour to them, or conniving at them,
for they are all the work of his hands; both the rich and the poor; not only as creatures made by him, but as rich men and poor men; it is God that makes men rich or poor, 1 Samuel 2:7; instances follow proving this, that God is…
Who accepteth not the person of princes, and hath not regarded a tyrant, when disputing against the poor. The very mode of man's creation shews, how far he surpasses all things beside. For the reason which has been conferred on man proclaims how far a rational nature surpasses all things which are deficient in either life, or sense, or reason. And yet, because we close our eyes to inward and invisible objects, and feast them on those which are seen, we most commonly esteem a man, not for what he is in himself, but from what is accidental to him. And since we do not look at what a man is in himself, but what he can do, in our acceptance of persons we are influenced, not by the persons themselves, but by what accidentally belongs to them. And thus it comes to pass, that even that person is inwardly despised by us, who is outwardly held in honour; for whilst he is honoured for that which is about him, he is, from his own doings, placed low in our judgment. But Almighty God examines the conduct of men, solely on the nature of their deserts, and frequently inflicts severer punishment, from the very fact, that He has here given greater opportunities of serving Him. As the Truth Itself bears witness, saying, To whom much is given, of him much will be required. [Luke 12, 48] Whence it is now well said by Eliu, Who accepteth not the person of princes, and hath not regarded a tyrant, when disputing against the poor. But by prince, or tyrant, may be understood every proud person; but the humble may be designated by the poor. He does not regard then a tyrant, when disputing against the poor, because He declares that He knows not, in the judgment, any proud men who now oppress the life of the humble, saying, I know you not, whence ye are. [Luke 13, 25] And because He thus destroys him, when He wills, by His power, as He created him, when He willed, by His power, is fitly added in argument, For they are all the work of His hands.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Blasphemy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Infidelity · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Poor · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Poor, The · Made by God — Made by God
Respect Of Persons · God does not have — God does not have
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Keil & Delitzsch on Job 34:16-20
16 And oh understand now, hear this;
Hearken to the sound of my words.
17 Would one who hateth right also be able to subdue?
Or wilt thou condemn the All-just?
18 Is it becoming to say to a king: Worthless One!?
Thou evil-doer! to princes?
19 To Him who accepteth not the person of rulers,
And regardeth not the noble before the poor:
For they are all the work of His hands.
20 In a moment they die, and at midnight
The people are overthrown and perish,
And they put aside the mighty - not by the hand of man.
This strophe contains several grammatical rarities. At first sight it appears that Job 34:16 ought to be translated: "and if there is understanding (viz., to thee = if thou hast), then hear…
doesn’t care how great a person may be: Impartiality flows from God’s justice (Acts 10:34; Rom 2:11; Gal 2:6; Eph 6:9; Col 3:25; 1 Pet 1:17).
Rashi on Job 34:19
Who did not respect princes That is to say, the King of the world, before Whom there is no favoritism.
a prince Heb. שוע, a prince, as in (Isa. 32:5), “nor shall a deceitful person be said to be noble (שוע).”
