Ayub 5:9

5:9 He does ¹  great and unsearchable ²  things,

marvelous things without ³  number; ⁴ 

Ayub 14:10

14:10 But man ⁵  dies and is powerless; ⁶ 

he expires – and where is he? ⁷ 

Ayub 15:29

15:29 He will not grow rich,

and his wealth will not endure,

nor will his possessions ⁸  spread over the land.

Ayub 16:3

16:3 Will ⁹  there be an end to your ¹⁰  windy words? ¹¹ 

Or what provokes ¹²  you that you answer? ¹³ 

Ayub 21:12

21:12 They sing ¹⁴  to the accompaniment of tambourine and harp,

and make merry to the sound of the flute.

Ayub 24:19

24:19 The drought as well as the heat carry away

the melted snow; ¹⁵ 

so the grave ¹⁶  takes away those who have sinned. ¹⁷ 

Ayub 27:8

27:8 For what hope does the godless have when he is cut off, ¹⁸ 

when God takes away his life? ¹⁹ 

[5:9]  ¹ tn Heb “who does.” It is common for such doxologies to begin with participles; they follow the pattern of the psalms in this style. Because of the length of the sentence in Hebrew and the conventions of English style, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[5:9]  ² tn The Hebrew has וְאֵין חֵקֶר (vÿ’en kheqer), literally, “and no investigation.” The use of the conjunction on the expression follows a form of the circumstantial clause construction, and so the entire expression describes the great works as “unsearchable.”

[5:9]  ³ tn The preposition in עַד־אֵין (’ad ’en, “until there was no”) is stereotypical; it conveys the sense of having no number (see Job 9:10; Ps 40:13).

[5:9]  ⁴ sn H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 54) notes that the verse fits Eliphaz’s approach very well, for he has good understanding of the truth, but has difficulty in making the correct conclusions from it.

[14:10]  ⁵ tn There are two words for “man” in this verse. The first (גֶּבֶר, gever) can indicate a “strong” or “mature man” or “mighty man,” the hero; and the second (אָדָם, ’adam) simply designates the person as mortal.

[14:10]  ⁶ tn The word חָלַשׁ (khalash) in Aramaic and Syriac means “to be weak” (interestingly, the Syriac OT translated חָלַשׁ [khalash] with “fade away” here). The derived noun “the weak” would be in direct contrast to “the mighty man.” In the transitive sense the verb means “to weaken; to defeat” (Exod 17:13); here it may have the sense of “be lifeless, unconscious, inanimate” (cf. E. Dhorme, Job, 199). Many commentators emend the text to יַחֲלֹף (yakhalof, “passes on; passes away”). A. Guillaume tries to argue that the form is a variant of the other, the letters שׁ (shin) and פ (pe) being interchangeable (“The Use of halas in Exod 17:13, Isa 14:12, and Job 14:10,” JTS 14 [1963]: 91-92). G. R. Driver connected it to Arabic halasa, “carry off suddenly” (“The Resurrection of Marine and Terrestrial Creatures,” JSS 7 [1962]: 12-22). But the basic idea of “be weak, powerless” is satisfactory in the text. H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 105) says, “Where words are so carefully chosen, it is gratuitous to substitute less expressive words as some editors do.”

[14:10]  ⁷ tn This break to a question adds a startling touch to the whole verse. The obvious meaning is that he is gone. The LXX weakens it: “and is no more.”

[15:29]  ⁸ tn This word מִנְלָם (minlam) also is a hapax legomenon, although almost always interpreted to mean “possession” (with Arabic manal) and repointed as מְנֹלָם (mÿnolam). M. Dahood further changes “earth” to the netherworld, and interprets it to mean “his possessions will not go down to the netherworld (“Value of Ugaritic for Textual Criticism,” Bib 40 [1959]: 164-66). Others suggest it means “ear of grain,” either from the common word for “ears of grain” or a hapax legomenon in Deuteronomy 23:26 [25].

[16:3]  ⁹ tn Disjunctive questions are introduced with the sign of the interrogative; the second part is introduced with אוֹ (’o, see GKC 475 §150.g).

[16:3]  ¹⁰ tn In v. 3 the second person singular is employed rather than the plural as in vv. 2 and 4. The singular might be an indication that the words of v. 3 were directed at Eliphaz specifically.

[16:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “words of wind.”

[16:3]  ¹² tn The Hiphil of מָרַץ (marats) does not occur anywhere else. The word means “to compel; to force” (see 6:25).

[16:3]  ¹³ tn The LXX seems to have gone a different way: “What, is there any reason in vain words, or what will hinder you from answering?”

[21:12]  ¹⁴ tn The verb is simply “they take up [or lift up],” but the understood object is “their voices,” and so it means “they sing.”

[24:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the waters of the snow.”

[24:19]  ¹⁶ tn Or “so Sheol.”

[24:19]  ¹⁷ tn This is the meaning of the verse, which in Hebrew only has “The grave / they have sinned.”

[27:8]  ¹⁸ tn The verb יִבְצָע (yivtsa’) means “to cut off.” It could be translated transitively or intransitively – the latter is better here (“when he is cut off”). Since the next line speaks of prayer, some have thought this verse should be about prayer. Mandelkern, in his concordance (p. 228b), suggested the verb should be “when he prays” (reading יִפְגַּע [yifga’] in place of יִבְצָע [yivtsa’]).

[27:8]  ¹⁹ tn The verb יֵשֶׁל (yeshel) is found only here. It has been related spoils [or sheaves]”); שָׁאַל (sha’al, “to ask”); נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to lift up” [i.e., pray]); and a host of others.