Ayub 14:3

14:3 Do you fix your eye ¹  on such a one? ² 

And do you bring me ³  before you for judgment?

Ayub 17:8

17:8 Upright men are appalled ⁴  at this;

the innocent man is troubled ⁵  with the godless.

Ayub 19:9

19:9 He has stripped me of my honor

and has taken the crown off my head. ⁶ 

Ayub 22:28

22:28 Whatever you decide ⁷  on a matter,

it will be established for you,

and light will shine on your ways.

Ayub 23:2

23:2 “Even today my complaint is still bitter; ⁸ 

his ⁹  hand is heavy despite ¹⁰  my groaning.

Ayub 25:3

25:3 Can his armies be numbered? ¹¹ 

On whom does his light ¹²  not rise?

Ayub 29:13

29:13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me, ¹³ 

and I made the widow’s heart rejoice; ¹⁴ 

Ayub 30:5

30:5 They were banished from the community ¹⁵  –

people ¹⁶  shouted at them

like they would shout at thieves ¹⁷  –

Ayub 33:13

33:13 Why do you contend against him,

that he does not answer all a person’s ¹⁸  words?

Ayub 33:19

33:19 Or a person is chastened ¹⁹  by pain on his bed,

and with the continual strife of his bones, ²⁰ 

Ayub 41:22

41:22 Strength lodges in its neck,

and despair ²¹  runs before it.

[14:3]  ¹ tn Heb “open the eye on,” an idiom meaning to prepare to judge someone.

[14:3]  ² tn The verse opens with אַף־עַל־זֶה (’af-’al-zeh), meaning “even on such a one!” It is an exclamation of surprise.

[14:3]  ³ tn The text clearly has “me” as the accusative; but many wish to emend it to say “him” (אֹתוֹ, ’oto). But D. J. A. Clines rightly rejects this in view of the way Job is written, often moving back and forth from his own tragedy and others’ tragedies (Job [WBC], 283).

[17:8]  ⁴ tn This verb שָׁמַם (shamam, “appalled”) is the one found in Isa 52:14, translated there “astonished.”

[17:8]  ⁵ tn The verb means “to rouse oneself to excitement.” It naturally means “to be agitated; to be stirred up.”

[19:9]  ⁶ sn The images here are fairly common in the Bible. God has stripped away Job’s honorable reputation. The crown is the metaphor for the esteem and dignity he once had. See 29:14; Isa 61:3; see Ps 8:5 [6].

[22:28]  ⁷ tn The word is גָּזַר (gazar, “to cut”), in the sense of deciding a matter.

[23:2]  ⁸ tc The MT reads here מְרִי (mÿri, “rebellious”). The word is related to the verb מָרָה (marah, “to revolt”). Many commentators follow the Vulgate, Targum Job, and the Syriac to read מַר (mar, “bitter”). The LXX offers no help here.

[23:2]  ⁹ tc The MT (followed by the Vulgate and Targum) has “my hand is heavy on my groaning.” This would mean “my stroke is heavier than my groaning” (an improbable view from Targum Job). A better suggestion is that the meaning would be that Job tries to suppress his groans but the hand with which he suppresses them is too heavy (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 159). Budde, E. Dhorme, J. E. Hartley, and F. I. Andersen all maintain the MT as the more difficult reading. F. I. Andersen (Job [TOTC], 208) indicates that the ִי(i) suffix could be an example of an unusual third masculine singular. Both the LXX and the Syriac versions have “his hand,” and many modern commentators follow this, along with the present translation. In this case the referent of “his” would be God, whose hand is heavy upon Job in spite of Job’s groaning.

[23:2]  ¹⁰ tn The preposition can take this meaning; it could be also translated simply “upon.” R. Gordis (Job, 260) reads the preposition “more than,” saying that Job had been defiant (he takes that view) but God’s hand had been far worse.

[25:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Is there a number to his troops?” The question is rhetorical: there is no number to them!

[25:3]  ¹² tc In place of “light” here the LXX has “his ambush,” perhaps reading אֹרְבוֹ (’orÿvo) instead of אוֹרֵהוּ (’orehu, “his light”). But while that captures the idea of troops and warfare, the change should be rejected because the armies are linked with stars and light. The expression is poetic; the LXX interpretation tried to make it concrete.

[29:13]  ¹³ tn The verb is simply בּוֹא (bo’, “to come; to enter”). With the preposition עַל (’al, “upon”) it could mean “came to me,” or “came upon me,” i.e., descended (see R. Gordis, Job, 320).

[29:13]  ¹⁴ tn The verb אַרְנִן (’arnin) is from רָנַן (ranan, “to give a ringing cry”) but here “cause to give a ringing cry,” i.e., shout of joy. The rejoicing envisioned in this word is far greater than what the words “sing” or “rejoice” suggest.

[30:5]  ¹⁵ tn The word גֵּו (gev) is an Aramaic term meaning “midst,” indicating “midst [of society].” But there is also a Phoenician word that means “community” (DISO 48).

[30:5]  ¹⁶ tn The form simply is the plural verb, but it means those who drove them from society.

[30:5]  ¹⁷ tn The text merely says “as thieves,” but it obviously compares the poor to the thieves.

[33:13]  ¹⁸ tc The MT has “all his words.” This must refer to “man” in the previous verse. But many wish to change it to “my words,” since it would be summarizing Job’s complaint to God.

[33:19]  ¹⁹ tc The MT has the passive form, and so a subject has to be added: “[a man] is chastened.” The LXX has the active form, indicating “[God] chastens,” but the object “a man” has to be added. It is understandable why the LXX thought this was active, within this sequence of verbs; and that is why it is the inferior reading.

[33:19]  ²⁰ tc The Kethib “the strife of his bones is continual,” whereas the Qere has “the multitude of his bones are firm.” The former is the better reading in this passage. It indicates that the pain is caused by the ongoing strife.

[41:22]  ²¹ tn This word, דְּאָבָה (dÿ’avah) is a hapax legomenon. But the verbal root means “to languish; to pine.” A related noun talks of dejection and despair in Deut 28:65. So here “despair” as a translation is preferable to “terror.”