Ayub 3:26

3:26 I have no ease, ¹  I have no quietness;

I cannot rest; ²  turmoil has come upon me.” ³ 

Ayub 5:8

Blessings for the One Who Seeks God ⁴ 

5:8 “But ⁵  as for me, ⁶  I would seek ⁷  God, ⁸ 

and to God ⁹  I would set forth my case. ¹⁰ 

Ayub 9:22

Accusation of God’s Justice

9:22 “It is all one! ¹¹  That is why I say, ¹² 

‘He destroys the blameless and the guilty.’

Ayub 9:35

9:35 Then ¹³  would I speak and not fear him,

but it is not so with me. ¹⁴ 

Ayub 10:2

10:2 I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn ¹⁵  me;

tell me ¹⁶  why you are contending ¹⁷  with me.’

Ayub 13:3

13:3 But I wish to speak ¹⁸  to the Almighty, ¹⁹ 

and I desire to argue ²⁰  my case ²¹  with God.

Ayub 13:18

13:18 See now, ²²  I have prepared ²³  my ²⁴  case; ²⁵ 

I know that I am right. ²⁶ 

Ayub 13:25

13:25 Do you wish to torment ²⁷  a windblown ²⁸  leaf

and chase after dry chaff? ²⁹ 

Ayub 15:10-11

15:10 The gray-haired ³⁰  and the aged are on our side, ³¹ 

men far older than your father. ³² 

15:11 Are God’s consolations ³³  too trivial for you; ³⁴ 

or a word spoken ³⁵  in gentleness to you?

Ayub 17:12

17:12 These men ³⁶  change ³⁷  night into day;

they say, ³⁸  ‘The light is near

in the face of darkness.’ ³⁹ 

Ayub 19:2

19:2 “How long will you torment me ⁴⁰ 

and crush ⁴¹  me with your words? ⁴² 

Ayub 19:22

19:22 Why do you pursue me like God does? ⁴³ 

Will you never be satiated with my flesh? ⁴⁴ 

Ayub 21:34

21:34 So how can you console me with your futile words?

Nothing is left of your answers but deception!” ⁴⁵ 

Ayub 28:17

28:17 Neither gold nor crystal ⁴⁶  can be compared with it,

nor can a vase ⁴⁷  of gold match its worth.

Ayub 32:17

32:17 I too will answer my part,

I too will explain what I know.

Ayub 33:3

33:3 My words come from the uprightness of my heart, ⁴⁸ 

and my lips will utter knowledge sincerely. ⁴⁹ 

Ayub 33:32

33:32 If you have any words, ⁵⁰  reply to me;

speak, for I want to justify you. ⁵¹ 

Ayub 35:4

35:4 I ⁵²  will reply to you, ⁵³ 

and to your friends with you.

Ayub 40:2

40:2 “Will the one who contends ⁵⁴  with the Almighty correct him? ⁵⁵ 

Let the person who accuses God give him an answer!”

Ayub 41:8

41:8 If you lay your hand on it,

you will remember ⁵⁶  the fight,

and you will never do it again!

[3:26]  ¹ tn The LXX “peace” bases its rendering on שָׁלַם (shalam) and not שָׁלָה (shalah), which retains the original vav (ו). The verb means “to be quiet, to be at ease.”

[3:26]  ² tn The verb is literally “and I do/can not rest.” A potential perfect nuance fits this passage well. The word נוּחַ (nuakh, “rest”) implies “rest” in every sense, especially in contrast to רֹגֶז (rogez, “turmoil, agitation” [vv. 26 and 17]).

[3:26]  ³ tn The last clause simply has “and trouble came.” Job is essentially saying that since the trouble has come upon him there is not a moment of rest and relief.

[5:8]  ⁴ sn Eliphaz affirms that if he were in Job’s place he would take refuge in God, but Job has to acknowledge that he has offended God and accept this suffering as his chastisement. Job eventually will submit to God in the end, but not in the way that Eliphaz advises here, for Job does not agree that the sufferings are judgments from God.

[5:8]  ⁵ tn The word אוּלָם (’ulam) is a strong adversative “but.” This forms the contrast with what has been said previously and so marks a new section.

[5:8]  ⁶ tn The independent personal pronoun here adds emphasis to the subject of the verb, again strengthening the contrast with what Job is doing (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 22, §106).

[5:8]  ⁷ tn The imperfect verbs in this verse express not so much what Eliphaz does as what he would do if he were in Job’s place (even though in 13:3 we have the affirmation). The use fits the category of the imperfect used in conditional clauses (see GKC 319 §107.x).

[5:8]  ⁸ tn The verb דָּרַשׁ (darash, “to seek”) followed by the preposition אֶל (’el, “towards”) has the meaning of addressing oneself to (God). See 8:19 and 40:10.

[5:8]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew employs אֵל (’el) in the first line and אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) in the second for “God”, but the LXX uses κύριος (kurio", “Lord”) in both places in this verse. However, in the second colon it also has “Lord of all.” This is replaced in the Greek version of Aquila by παντοκράτωρ (pantokratwr, traditionally translated “Almighty”). On the basis of this information, H. M. Orlinsky suggests that the second name for God in the verses should be “Shaddai” (JQR 25 [1934/35]: 271).

[5:8]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew simply has “my word”; but in this expression that uses שִׂים (sim) with the meaning of “lay before” or “expound a cause” in a legal sense, “case” or “cause” would be a better translation.

[9:22]  ¹¹ tc The LXX omits the phrase “It is all one.” Modern scholars either omit it or transpose it for clarity.

[9:22]  sn The expression “it is one” means that God’s dealings with people is undiscriminating. The number “one” could also be taken to mean “the same” – “it is all the same.” The implication is that it does not matter if Job is good or evil, if he lives or dies. This is the conclusion of the preceding section.

[9:22]  ¹² tn The relationships of these clauses is in some question. Some think that the poet has inverted the first two, and so they should read, “That is why I have said: ‘It is all one.’” Others would take the third clause to be what was said.

[9:35]  ¹³ tn There is no conjunction with this cohortative; but the implication from the context is that if God’s rod were withdrawn, if the terror were removed, then Job would speak up without fear.

[9:35]  ¹⁴ tn The last half of the verse is rather cryptic: “but not so I with me.” NIV renders it “but as it now stands with me, I cannot.” This is very smooth and interpretive. Others transpose the two halves of the verse to read, “Since it is not so, I with myself // will commune and not fear him.” Job would be saying that since he cannot contend with God on equal terms, and since there is no arbiter, he will come on his own terms. English versions have handled this differently: “for I know I am not what I am thought to be” (NEB); “since this is not the case with me” (NAB); “I do not see myself like that at all” (JB).

[10:2]  ¹⁵ tn The negated jussive is the Hiphil jussive of רָשַׁע (rasha’); its meaning then would be literally “do not declare me guilty.” The negated jussive stresses the immediacy of the request.

[10:2]  ¹⁶ tn The Hiphil imperative of יָדַע (yada’) would more literally be “cause me to know.” It is a plea for God to help him understand the afflictions.

[10:2]  ¹⁷ tn The verb is רִיב (riv), meaning “to dispute; to contend; to strive; to quarrel” – often in the legal sense. The precise words chosen in this verse show that the setting is legal. The imperfect verb here is progressive, expressing what is currently going on.

[13:3]  ¹⁸ tn The verb is simply the Piel imperfect אֲדַבֵּר (’adabber, “I speak”). It should be classified as a desiderative imperfect, saying, “I desire to speak.” This is reinforced with the verb “to wish, desire” in the second half of the verse.

[13:3]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew title for God here is אֶל־שַׁדַּי (’el shadday, “El Shaddai”).

[13:3]  ²⁰ tn The infinitive absolute functions here as the direct object of the verb “desire” (see GKC 340 §113.b).

[13:3]  ²¹ tn The infinitive הוֹכֵחַ (hokheakh) is from the verb יָכַח (yakhakh), which means “to argue, plead, debate.” It has the legal sense here of arguing a case (cf. 5:17).

[13:18]  ²² tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) functions almost as an imperative here, calling attention to what follows: “look” (archaic: behold).

[13:18]  ²³ tn The verb עָרַךְ (’arakh) means “to set in order, set in array [as a battle], prepare” in the sense here of arrange and organize a lawsuit.

[13:18]  ²⁴ tn The pronoun is added because this is what the verse means.

[13:18]  ²⁵ tn The word מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) usually means “judgment; decision.” Here it means “lawsuit” (and so a metonymy of effect gave rise to this usage; see Num 27:5; 2 Sam 15:4).

[13:18]  ²⁶ tn The pronoun is emphatic before the verb: “I know that it is I who am right.” The verb means “to be right; to be righteous.” Some have translated it “vindicated,” looking at the outcome of the suit.

[13:25]  ²⁷ tn The verb תַּעֲרוֹץ (ta’arots, “you torment”) is from עָרַץ (’arats), which usually means “fear; dread,” but can also mean “to make afraid; to terrify” (Isa 2:19,21). The imperfect is here taken as a desiderative imperfect: “why do you want to”; but it could also be a simple future: “will you torment.”

[13:25]  ²⁸ tn The word נִדָּף (niddaf) is “driven” from the root נָדַף (nadaf, “drive”). The words “by the wind” or the interpretation “windblown” has to be added for the clarification. Job is comparing himself to this leaf (so an implied comparison, called hypocatastasis) – so light and insubstantial that it is amazing that God should come after him. Guillaume suggests that the word is not from this root, but from a second root נָדַף (nadaf), cognate to Arabic nadifa, “to dry up” (A. Guillaume, “A Note on Isaiah 19:7,” JTS 14 [1963]: 382-83). But as D. J. A. Clines notes (Job [WBC], 283), a dried leaf is a driven leaf – a point Guillaume allows as he says there is ambiguity in the term.

[13:25]  ²⁹ tn The word קַשׁ (qash) means “chaff; stubble,” or a wisp of straw. It is found in Job 41:20-21 for that which is so worthless and insignificant that it is hardly worth mentioning. If dried up or withered, it too will be blown away in the wind.

[15:10]  ³⁰ tn The participle שָׂב (sav), from שִׂיב (siv, “to have white hair”; 1 Sam 12:2), only occurs elsewhere in the Bible in the Aramaic sections of Ezra. The word יָשִׁישׁ (yashish, “aged”) occurred in 12:12.

[15:10]  ³¹ tn Heb “with us.”

[15:10]  ³² tn The line reads: “[men] greater than your father [in] days.” The expression “in days” underscores their age – they were older than Job’s father, and therefore wiser.

[15:11]  ³³ sn The word תַּנְחֻמוֹת (tankhumot) occurs here and only in Job 21:34. The words of comfort and consolation that they have been offering to Job are here said to be “of God.” But Job will call them miserable comforters (16:2).

[15:11]  ³⁴ tn The formula “is it too little for you” or “is it too slight a matter for you” is also found in Isa 7:13 (see GKC 430 §133.c).

[15:11]  ³⁵ tn The word “spoken” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation.

[17:12]  ³⁶ tn The verse simply has the plural, “they change.” But since this verse seems to be a description of his friends, a clarification of the referent in the translation is helpful.

[17:12]  ³⁷ tn The same verb שִׂים (sim, “set”) is used this way in Isa 5:20: “…who change darkness into light.”

[17:12]  ³⁸ tn The rest of the verse makes better sense if it is interpreted as what his friends say.

[17:12]  ³⁹ tn This expression is open to alternative translations: (1) It could mean that they say in the face of darkness, “Light is near.” (2) It could also mean “The light is near the darkness” or “The light is nearer than the darkness.”

[19:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “torment my soul,” with “soul” representing the self or individual. The MT has a verb from יָגָה (yagah, “to afflict; to torment”). This is supported by the versions. But the LXX has “to tire” which is apparently from יָגַע (yaga’). The form in the MT is unusual because it preserves the final (original) yod in the Hiphil (see GKC 214 §75.gg). So this unusual form has been preserved, and is the correct reading. A modal nuance for the imperfect fits best here: “How long do you intend to do this?”

[19:2]  ⁴¹ tn The MT has דָּכָא (dakha’), “to crush” in the Piel. The LXX, however, has a more general word which means “to destroy.”

[19:2]  ⁴² tn The LXX adds to the verse: “only know that the Lord has dealt with me thus.”

[19:22]  ⁴³ sn Strahan comments, “The whole tragedy of the book is packed into these extraordinary words.”

[19:22]  ⁴⁴ sn The idiom of eating the pieces of someone means “slander” in Aramaic (see Dan 3:8), Arabic and Akkadian.

[21:34]  ⁴⁵ tn The word מָעַל (ma’al) is used for “treachery; deception; fraud.” Here Job is saying that their way of interpreting reality is dangerously unfaithful.

[28:17]  ⁴⁶ tn The word is from זָכַךְ (zakhakh, “clear”). It describes a transparent substance, and so “glass” is an appropriate translation. In the ancient world it was precious and so expensive.

[28:17]  ⁴⁷ tc The MT has “vase”; but the versions have a plural here, suggesting jewels of gold.

[33:3]  ⁴⁸ tc This expression is unusual; R. Gordis (Job, 371) says it can be translated, “the purity of my heart [is reflected] in my words,” but that is far-fetched and awkward. So there have been suggestions for emending יֹשֶׁר (yosher, “uprightness”). Kissane’s makes the most sense if a change is desired: “shall reveal” (an Arabic sense of yasher), although Holscher interpreted “shall affirm” (yasher, with a Syriac sense). Dhorme has “my heart will repeat” (יָשׁוּר, yashur), but this is doubtful. If Kissane’s view is taken, it would say, “my heart will reveal my words.” Some commentators would join “and knowledge” to this colon, and read “words of knowledge” – but that requires even more emendations.

[33:3]  ⁴⁹ tn More literally, “and the knowledge of my lips they will speak purely.”

[33:32]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “if there are words.”

[33:32]  ⁵¹ tn The infinitive construct serves as the complement or object of “I desire.” It could be rendered “to justify you” or “your justification, “namely, “that you be justified.”

[35:4]  ⁵² tn The emphatic pronoun calls attention to Elihu who will answer these questions.

[35:4]  ⁵³ tn The Hebrew text adds, “with words,” but since this is obvious, for stylistic reasons it has not been included in the translation.

[40:2]  ⁵⁴ tn The form רֹב (rov) is the infinitive absolute from the verb רִיב (riv, “contend”). Dhorme wishes to repoint it to make it the active participle, the “one who argues with the Almighty.”

[40:2]  ⁵⁵ tn The verb יִסּוֹר (yissor) is found only here, but comes from a common root meaning “to correct; to reprove.” Several suggestions have been made to improve on the MT. Dhorme read it יָסוּר (yasur) in the sense of “to turn aside; to yield.” Ehrlich read this emendation as “to come to an end.” But the MT could be read as “to correct; to instruct.”

[41:8]  ⁵⁶ tn The verse uses two imperatives which can be interpreted in sequence: do this, and then this will happen.