Adam Clarke's Bible Commentary Verse 5. Mark me, and be astonished ] Consider and compare the state in which I was once, with that in which I am now; and be astonished at the judgments and dispensations of God. You will then be confounded; you will put your hands upon your mouths, and keep silent. Putting the hand on the mouth, or the finger on the lips, was the token of silence. The Egyptian god Harpocrates, who was the god of silence, is represented with his finger compressing his upper lip.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-6 - Job comes closer to the question in dispute. This was, Whether outwar prosperity is a mark of the true church, and the true members of it, s that ruin of a man's prosperity proves him a hypocrite? This the asserted, but Job denied. If they looked upon him, they might se misery enough to demand compassion, and their bold interpretations of this mysterious providence should be turned into silent wonder.
Original Hebrew פנו6437 אלי413 והשׁמו8074 ושׂימו7760 יד3027 על5921 פה׃6310
