They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish forever without any regarding it.
All Commentaries on Job 4:20 Go To Job 4
Gregory The Dialogist
AD 604
70. For the sinner is ‘cut off from morning to evening,’ in that from the beginning of his life to the end thereof he is ever getting wounded by the commission of sin. For the reprobate by increase in wickedness are at all times redoubling blows upon themselves, cut off by which, they may fall headlong into the pit. And it is well said of them by the Psalmist, Bloody and deceitful men shall not halve their days. [Ps. 55, 23] For to ‘halve our days’ is to part off the time of our life misspent in pleasure, for the purpose of penitential mourning, and in parting off to recover the same to a good use. But the wicked never ‘halve their days,’ in that not even in the end of their time do they change their frowardness of heart. Contrary whereunto Paul rightly exhorts, saying, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. [Eph. 5, 16] For we ‘redeem the time,’ when by tears we recover our past life, which by rioting we had lost. It goes on,
And because none understandeth, they perish for ever.
71. That is to say, ‘none’ of those, who ‘shall be cut off from morning unto evening.’ ‘None understandeth,’ whether of those that perish, or of those who follow the lost ways of the perishing. Whence it is elsewhere written, The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering. [Is. 57, 1] Thus, whereas the wicked are set upon temporal things alone, and are unconcerned to learn what blessings are in store for the Elect for everlasting, while they look to the affliction of the just, but never learn what is the recompense of that affliction, they put forth the foot of their conversation into the pit, for they willingly shut their eyes to the light of understanding. For being decoyed by foolish pleasures, whilst for objects, which they see, they entertain an affection, which belongs to time, being meanwhile strangers to themselves, they never see whereunto they are hurrying for all eternity. It is possible too that by the morning may be denoted the prosperous fortune of this world, and by the evening the adverse fortune thereof. So then ‘the wicked are cut off from morning to evening,’ in that by running riot through prosperity they are brought to ruin, and being made impatient by adversity they are lifted up to madness. These would never be cut off from morning to evening, by sin, if they either took prosperity for the salve or adversity for the knife to their sore.
72. But forasmuch as the assemblage of the human race is never so forsaken, that the whole is let to go to destruction, there be some, that look down upon the enjoyments [c] of the present life, even when they are present, consider that they are transient, and in the love of the eternal world tread them underfoot. And while they set the step of judgment on this first stage, they mount with invigorated soul to a loftier height, so that they not only contemn all temporal things, for that they must be quickly parted with, but have no desire to attach themselves thereto, even if they might last for ever. And they withdraw their love from the things created in beauty, because they stretch forth by the steps of the heart toward the Father of all Beauty Himself. And there are some that love the good things of the present life, yet never in any wise attain unto them, who pant after temporal blessings with all their hearts' desire, who covet the glory of the world, yet never can make themselves master thereof. For these, so to speak, the heart draws them on to seek the world, the world drives them back to search out the heart. For it often chances that, being bruised by those very adversities which they suffer, they are brought back to reason, and returning back into themselves, they consider how little there is in that, which they were seeking after, and forthwith betake themselves to weeping for the foolishness of their desire, and conceive the stronger yearnings for eternal things, in proportion to the folly in which they grieve that they once spent themselves for those of time. Hence, the wicked having been described.
