Commentaries:
Barnes' Notes
He draweth also the mighty with his power - The word here rendered draweth ( ׁ mâshak ), means to draw; and then, to lay hold of, to take, to take away, and, hence, to remove, to destroy; Psalms 28:3; Ezekiel 22:20. The idea here seems to be, that his acts of oppression and cruelty were not confined to the poor and the defenseless. Even the great and the mighty were also exposed, and he spared none. No one was safe, and no rights could be regarded as secure. The character here described is one that pertains to a tyrant, or a conqueror, and Job probably meant to describe some such mighty man, who was regardless alike of the rights of the high and the low.
He riseth up - When he rises up; that is, when he enters on an enterprise, or goes forth to accomplish his wicked purposes.
And no man is sure of life - From the dread of him even the great and mighty have no security. This language will well describe the character of an Oriental despot. Having absolute power, no man, not even the highest in rank, can feel that his life is safe if the monarch becomes in any way offended. Yet, Job says that even such a despot was permitted to live in prosperity, and to die without any remarkable proof of the divine displeasure.
Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Job 24:22:
Psalms 78:25
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