Ayub 30:20-23
Konteks30:20 I cry out to you, 1 but you do not answer me;
I stand up, 2 and you only look at me. 3
30:21 You have become cruel to me; 4
with the strength of your hand you attack me. 5
30:22 You pick me up on the wind and make me ride on it; 6
you toss me about 7 in the storm. 8
30:23 I know that you are bringing 9 me to death,
to the meeting place for all the living.
[30:20] 1 sn The implication from the sentence is that this is a cry to God for help. The sudden change from third person (v. 19) to second person (v. 20) is indicative of the intense emotion of the sufferer.
[30:20] 2 sn The verb is simple, but the interpretation difficult. In this verse it probably means he stands up in prayer (Jer 15:1), but it could mean that he makes his case to God. Others suggest a more figurative sense, like the English expression “stand pat,” meaning “remain silent” (see Job 29:8).
[30:20] 3 tn If the idea of prayer is meant, then a pejorative sense to the verb is required. Some supply a negative and translate “you do not pay heed to me.” This is supported by one Hebrew
[30:21] 4 tn The idiom uses the Niphal verb “you are turned” with “to cruelty.” See Job 41:20b, as well as Isa 63:10.
[30:21] 5 tc The LXX reads this verb as “you scourged/whipped me.” But there is no reason to adopt this change.
[30:22] 6 sn Here Job changes the metaphor again, to the driving storm. God has sent his storms, and Job is blown away.
[30:22] 7 tn The verb means “to melt.” The imagery would suggest softening the ground with the showers (see Ps 65:10 [11]). The translation “toss…about” comes from the Arabic cognate that is used for the surging of the sea.
[30:22] 8 tc The Qere is תּוּשִׁיָּה (tushiyyah, “counsel”), which makes no sense here. The Kethib is a variant orthography for תְּשֻׁאָה (tÿshu’ah, “storm”).
[30:23] 9 tn The imperfect verb would be a progressive imperfect, it is future, but it is also already underway.
