And openeth their ears That is, causeth them to hear, and understand, and do the will of God; hearing being often put for obeying; in oppression That is, in the time of their oppression; or, by oppression, or tribulation, as the means of opening their ears and hearts. He will not deliver all afflicted persons, but only those whose ears he openeth to receive his counsels. Even so would he have removed thee If thou hadst opened thine ear to God's counsels, humbled thyself under his correcting hand, and sued to him for mercy; out of the strait into a broad place Hebrew, מפי צר, mippi tzar, out of the mouth or jaws of tribulation; which, like a wild beast, is ready to swallow thee up, into a state of ease and freedom. That which should be set on thy table Thy dishes, or the food in them; should be full of fatness Should be rich, nourishing, agreeable, and delicious. Such are the expressions which Elihu uses to denote that liberty and plenty to which he thought the righteous were entitled; in opposition to confinement and scarcity, the portion of the wicked.

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