he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it, and the innocent will divide the silver.
Job is still answering the friends who accused him, and near the end of his speech he turns to the fate of the wicked man. It raises the question the friends never settled: if God repays the wicked, why did Job lose everything?
Their Own Argument, Turned Around
The friends had described the ruin of the wicked to place Job among them. One writer notes that Job describes it too, and that the picture itself clears him.
Leslie M. GrantJob now goes on to declare the eventual doom of the wicked, in language like that of his friends. But unlike his friends, he showed this in contrast to his own eventual end. They had spoken this way to identify Job as being wicked. But his summary of the wicked and their end shows that Job cannot be one of them.
A Subject Only a Clear Conscience Could Raise
Job can take up this theme because nothing inside accused him. He says he will hold back nothing of what he knows about God's hand.
William KellyIt is the end of the godless, a theme he would have avoided if his conscience were not good. They had treated the matter lightly and got nowhere. He would teach them about God's hand, and keep back nothing of what is with the Almighty… His treasures go to strangers who are worthy.
God's Doing, Not Chance
One writer sets this reversal beside the inheritance a good man leaves behind. What looks like a chance change of owner, he calls God's care for His own.
William KellyGod blesses the good man, and he leaves an inheritance to his children's children — if not of gold and silver, then something better and lasting. The wealth of the sinner, great as it may seem, is laid up for the just. Ungodliness may prepare, plan, and lock up an inheritance for its heirs; but God cares for those who serve Him. So the just will put on the clothing meant for others, and the innocent will divide the silver if He sees fit.
Note the closing words — "if He sees fit." Kelly leaves the outcome in God's hands rather than turning it into a rule.
Piling Up for a Person You Will Never Meet
The man is busy preparing, and never asks who will enjoy it. One writer ties him to the rich man in Luke 12, who planned for many years and got one night.
Leslie M. GrantHe may heap up great riches. He is like the rich man of Luke 12:16-21, who said to himself, "Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry." But God said to him, "Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?" So one may pile up riches, but others, less foolish than he, will reap its benefit. The folly of mankind is plain in all this. We all know that our lives are very short at best. What is a hundred years compared to eternity?
Job's Loss — a Different Case
Job had lost everything, so this description comes close to his own life. Yet the differences prove his point, and the way he speaks of wealth shows where his confidence lay.
Samuel RidoutThey may gather silver and wealth as the dust, only to have the righteous enjoy it — "the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous." Was Job's case like this? Had the righteous obtained the wealth that once was his?… Job can speak like this about the perishing things of this world's greatness. That shows he was conscious of a far different heritage for himself. Let moth and rust destroy — he seems to say that he knows he has a better and more lasting possession.
Gain That Ends in Kinder Hands
Dishonest gain runs the same course. One writer names who ends up with it.
Leslie M. GrantMan may use his wits to take dishonest advantage of another, legal as it may be. He may lend money at high interest, or use other means that are not fully honest. But in the end he will lose it, whether before or at death. Then another may use it in compassion toward the poor. At least God will pity the poor, and greed will have its just recompense.
Summary
- Prepares. All the wicked man does in this verse is prepare. He piles up silver and clothing. The effort is real; the ownership is temporary.
- Loses. He loses it "whether before or at death." The rich man with full barns got one night: goods prepared, and the question left hanging — whose will they be?
- Passes. Others wear what he prepared and divide his silver. Kelly reads this as God's care for those who serve Him, not blind chance — with the guard "if He sees fit."
- Contrasts. Job's loss was not this. He can speak of perishing wealth without fear, because he counted on a better and more lasting possession.
- Redirects. Money squeezed out of others ends up in hands that pity the poor. Greed does not just fail; it funds the opposite of itself.