[220] This is one of the very few passages in the Poem which throw light upon the date of its composition.
[221] I.e., the object for which he bartered righteousness.
[222] Host of evils which has attacked me from all sides.
[223] Ironical.
[224] An allusion to the promises made by the friends on the part of God that Job would, if he repented and asked for pardon, recover his former prosperity.
[225] Lit., the pieces of his skin.
[226] Probably an allusion to elephantiasis.
[227] The personification of death.
[228] Either "the sons of the womb which has borne me," as in iii. 10, or else "my own children," the poet forgetting that in the prologue they are described as having been killed.
[229] I.e., when it is too late.