Job Chapter 7 verse 17 Holy Bible
What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him, And that thou shouldest set thy mind upon him,
read chapter 7 in ASV
What is man, that you have made him great, and that your attention is fixed on him,
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What is man, that thou makest much of him? and that thou settest thy heart upon him?
read chapter 7 in DARBY
What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?
read chapter 7 in KJV
What is man, that thou shouldst magnify him? and that thou shouldst set thy heart upon him?
read chapter 7 in WBT
What is man, that you should magnify him, That you should set your mind on him,
read chapter 7 in WEB
What `is' man that Thou dost magnify him? And that Thou settest unto him Thy heart?
read chapter 7 in YLT
Job 7 : 17 Bible Verse Songs
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 17. - What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? or, make so much of him - regard him as of such great importance (comp. Psalm 8:4). It seems, at first sight, an exalted idea of God to regard him as too lofty, too great, to be really concerned about so mean a creature, so poor a being, as man. Hence, among the Greeks, the Epicureans maintained that God paid no attention at all to this world, or to anything that happened in it, but dwelt secure and tranquil in the empyrean, with nothing to disturb, displease, or vex him. And the holy men of old sometimes fell into this same phase of thought, and expressed surprise and wonder that God, who dwelt on high, should "humble himself to consider the things in heaven and earth." "Lord," says David, or whoever was the author of the hundred and forty-fourth psalm, "what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him? or the son of man, that thou makest account of him? Man k like to vanity; his days are as a shadow that passeth away" (Psalm 144:3, 4). But all, except Epicureans, agree that God does, in fact, so concern himself, and a little reflection is enough to show us that the opposite view, instead of exalting, really degrades God. To bring conscious, sentient beings into the world - beings capable of the intensest happiness or misery, and then to leave them wholly to themselves, to have no further care or thought of them, would be the part, not of a grand, glorious, and adorable Being, but of one destitute of any claim to our admiration. And that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him? This strong expression is not used of God elsewhere. But it well expresses the extreme tenderness and consideration that God has for man, and the deep love from which that tenderness and consideration spring.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(17, 18) What is man . . .?--Here is another point of contact with Psalm 8:5; but the spirit of the Psalmist was one of devout adoration, whereas that of Job is one of agony and desperation.
