Job 5:21,22 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Thou shalt be hid Protected, as in some secret and safe place; from the scourge of the tongue From false accusations, and virulent slanders and reproaches. Neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction Thou shalt have no cause to fear it, because God will secure thee in it and from it: when it cometh Namely, upon others, near or round about thee. Bishop Patrick's paraphrase on the verse is, “False accusers shall not be able to hurt thee; and when whole countries are depopulated, thou shalt be secure.” At destruction, &c., thou shalt laugh With a laughter of joy and triumph; arising from a just security and confidence in God's watchful and gracious providence. Neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the field The wild beasts, which were numerous and mischievous in those parts. As no apprehensions of fear shall possess thee in other heavy calamities, so neither shalt thou be under any dreadful consternation, should even the most fierce and savage beasts of the earth rise up against and be ready to devour thee. Perhaps it is not possible for that peace of mind, which arises from a good conscience and a confidence in the divine care and protection, to be expressed more elegantly or poetically than it is in this verse. Thus, leviathan, so far from being terrified, is said to laugh at the shaking of a spear, Job 41:29. And God himself, in the same beautiful style, is represented as disdaining the politic intrigues of kings, and the crafty counsels of the rulers of the earth against his church. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision, Psalms 2:4.