Ayub 11:20

11:20 But the eyes of the wicked fail, ¹ 

and escape ²  eludes them;

their one hope ³  is to breathe their last.” ⁴ 

Ayub 15:7

15:7 “Were you the first man ever born?

Were you brought forth before the hills?

Ayub 19:27

19:27 whom I will see for myself, ⁵ 

and whom my own eyes will behold,

and not another. ⁶ 

My heart ⁷  grows faint within me. ⁸ 

Ayub 23:13

23:13 But he is unchangeable, ⁹  and who can change ¹⁰  him?

Whatever he ¹¹  has desired, he does.

Ayub 34:25

34:25 Therefore, he knows their deeds,

he overthrows them ¹²  in the night ¹³ 

and they are crushed.

Ayub 41:26

41:26 Whoever strikes it with a sword ¹⁴ 

will have no effect, ¹⁵ 

nor with the spear, arrow, or dart.

[11:20]  ¹ tn The verb כָּלָה (kalah) means “to fail, cease, fade away.” The fading of the eyes, i.e., loss of sight, loss of life’s vitality, indicates imminent death.

[11:20]  ² tn Heb a “place of escape” (with this noun pattern). There is no place to escape to because they all perish.

[11:20]  ³ tn The word is to be interpreted as a metonymy; it represents what is hoped for.

[11:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “the breathing out of the soul”; cf. KJV, ASV “the giving up of the ghost.” The line is simply saying that the brightest hope that the wicked have is death.

[19:27]  ⁵ tn The emphasis is on “I” and “for myself.” No other will be seeing this vindication, but Job himself will see it. Of that he is confident. Some take לִי (li, “for myself”) to mean favorable to me, or on my side (see A. B. Davidson, Job, 143). But Job is expecting (not just wishing for) a face-to-face encounter in the vindication.

[19:27]  ⁶ tn Hitzig offered another interpretation that is somewhat forced. The “other” (זָר, zar) or “stranger” would refer to Job. He would see God, not as an enemy, but in peace.

[19:27]  ⁷ tn Heb “kidneys,” a poetic expression for the seat of emotions.

[19:27]  ⁸ tn Heb “fail/grow faint in my breast.” Job is saying that he has expended all his energy with his longing for vindication.

[23:13]  ⁹ tc The MT has “But he [is] in one.” Many add the word “mind” to capture the point that God is resolute and unchanging. Some commentators find this too difficult, and so change the text from בְאֶחָד (bÿ’ekhad, here “unchangeable”) to בָחָר (bakhar, “he has chosen”). The wording in the text is idiomatic and should be retained. R. Gordis (Job, 262) translates it “he is one, i.e., unchangeable, fixed, determined.” The preposition בּ (bet) is a bet essentiae – “and he [is] as one,” or “he is one” (see GKC 379 §119.i).

[23:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “cause him to return.”

[23:13]  ¹¹ tn Or “his soul.”

[34:25]  ¹² tn The direct object “them” is implied and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[34:25]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew term “night” is an accusative of time.

[41:26]  ¹⁴ tn This is the clearest reading, following A. B. Davidson, Job, 285. The versions took different readings of the construction.

[41:26]  ¹⁵ tn The verb קוּם (qum, “stand”) with בְּלִי (bÿli, “not”) has the sense of “does not hold firm,” or “gives way.”