Ayub 31:28

31:28 then this ¹  also would be iniquity to be judged, ² 

for I would have been false ³  to God above.

Ayub 34:17

34:17 Do you really think ⁴ 

that one who hates justice can govern? ⁵ 

And will you declare guilty

the supremely righteous ⁶  One,

Ayub 37:4

37:4 After that a voice roars;

he thunders with an exalted voice,

and he does not hold back his lightning bolts ⁷ 

when his voice is heard.

[31:28]  ¹ tn Heb “it.”

[31:28]  ² tn See v. 11 for the construction. In Deut 17:2ff. false worship of heavenly bodies is a capital offense. In this passage, Job is talking about just a momentary glance at the sun or moon and the brief lapse into a pagan thought. But it is still sin.

[31:28]  ³ tn The verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the Piel means “to deny.” The root meaning is “to deceive; to disappoint; to grow lean.” Here it means that he would have failed or proven unfaithful because his act would have been a denial of God.

[34:17]  ⁴ tn The force of הַאַף (ha’af) is “Is it truly the case?” The point is being made that if Job were right God could not be judging the world.

[34:17]  ⁵ tn The verb חָבַשׁ (khavash) has the basic idea of “to bind,” as in binding on the yoke, and then in the sense of subduing people under authority (cf. Assyrian absanu). The imperfect verb here is best expressed with the potential nuance.

[34:17]  ⁶ tn The two words could be taken separately, but they seem to form a fine nominal hendiadys, because the issue is God’s justice. So the word for power becomes the modifier.

[37:4]  ⁷ tn The verb simply has the pronominal suffix, “them.” The idea must be that when God brings in all the thunderings he does not hold back his lightning bolts either.