Job 3:24

3:24 For my sighing comes in place of ¹  my food, ² 

and my groanings ³  flow forth like water. ⁴ 

Job 5:6

5:6 For evil does not come up from the dust, ⁵ 

nor does trouble spring up from the ground,

Job 9:18

9:18 He does not allow ⁶  me to recover ⁷  my breath,

for he fills ⁸  me with bitterness.

Job 9:32

9:32 For he ⁹  is not a human being like I am,

that ¹⁰  I might answer him,

that we might come ¹¹  together in judgment.

Job 11:11

11:11 For he ¹²  knows deceitful ¹³  men;

when he sees evil, will he not ¹⁴  consider it? ¹⁵ 

Job 13:18

13:18 See now, ¹⁶  I have prepared ¹⁷  my ¹⁸  case; ¹⁹ 

I know that I am right. ²⁰ 

Job 15:31

15:31 Let him not trust in what is worthless, ²¹ 

deceiving himself;

for worthlessness will be his reward. ²² 

Job 15:34

15:34 For the company of the godless is barren, ²³ 

and fire ²⁴  consumes the tents of those who accept bribes. ²⁵ 

Job 16:22

16:22 For the years that lie ahead are few, ²⁶ 

and then I will go on the way of no return. ²⁷ 

Job 18:8

18:8 For he has been thrown into a net by his feet ²⁸ 

and he wanders into a mesh. ²⁹ 

Job 21:21

21:21 For what is his interest ³⁰  in his home

after his death, ³¹ 

when the number of his months

has been broken off? ³² 

Job 21:28

21:28 For you say,

‘Where now is the nobleman’s house, ³³ 

and where are the tents in which the wicked lived?’ ³⁴ 

Job 23:14

23:14 For he fulfills his decree against me, ³⁵ 

and many such things are his plans. ³⁶ 

Job 27:8

27:8 For what hope does the godless have when he is cut off, ³⁷ 

when God takes away his life? ³⁸ 

Job 30:23

30:23 I know that you are bringing ³⁹  me to death,

to the meeting place for all the living.

Job 31:28

31:28 then this ⁴⁰  also would be iniquity to be judged, ⁴¹ 

for I would have been false ⁴²  to God above.

Job 32:18

32:18 For I am full of words,

and the spirit within me ⁴³  constrains me. ⁴⁴ 

Job 33:13

33:13 Why do you contend against him,

that he does not answer all a person’s ⁴⁵  words?

Job 33:32

33:32 If you have any words, ⁴⁶  reply to me;

speak, for I want to justify you. ⁴⁷ 

Job 34:9

34:9 For he says, ‘It does not profit a man

when he makes his delight with God.’ ⁴⁸ 

Job 34:21

34:21 For his eyes are on the ways of an individual,

he observes all a person’s ⁴⁹  steps.

Job 36:4

36:4 For in truth, my words are not false;

it is one complete ⁵⁰  in knowledge

who is with you.

Job 36:31

36:31 It is by these that he judges ⁵¹  the nations

and supplies food in abundance.

Job 38:21

38:21 You know, for you were born before them; ⁵² 

and the number of your days is great!

[3:24]  ¹ tn For the prepositional לִפְנֵי (lifne), the temporal meaning “before” (“my sighing comes before I eat”) makes very little sense here (as the versions have it). The meaning “in place of, for” fits better (see 1 Sam 1:16, “count not your handmaid for a daughter of Belial”).

[3:24]  ² sn The line means that Job’s sighing, which results from the suffering (metonymy of effect) is his constant, daily food. Parallels like Ps 42:3 which says “my tears have been my bread/food” shows a similar figure.

[3:24]  ³ tn The word normally describes the “roaring” of a lion (Job 4:10); but it is used for the loud groaning or cries of those in distress (Pss 22:1; 32:3).

[3:24]  ⁴ tn This second colon is paraphrased in the LXX to say, “I weep being beset with terror.” The idea of “pouring forth water” while groaning can be represented by “I weep.” The word “fear, terror” anticipates the next verse.

[5:6]  ⁵ sn The previous discussion shows how trouble rises, namely, from the rebelliousness of the fool. Here Eliphaz simply summarizes the points made with this general principle – trouble does not come from outside man, nor does it come as a part of the natural order, but rather it comes from the evil nature of man.

[9:18]  ⁶ tn The verb נָתַן (natan) essentially means “to give”; but followed by the infinitive (without the ל [lamed] here) it means “to permit; to allow.”

[9:18]  ⁷ tn The Hiphil of the verb means “to bring back”; with the object “my breath,” it means “get my breath” or simply “breathe.” The infinitive is here functioning as the object of the verb (see GKC 350 §114.m).

[9:18]  ⁸ sn The meaning of the word is “to satiate; to fill,” as in “drink to the full, be satisfied.” Job is satiated – in the negative sense – with bitterness. There is no room for more.

[9:32]  ⁹ tn The personal pronoun that would be expected as the subject of a noun clause is sometimes omitted (see GKC 360 §116.s). Here it has been supplied.

[9:32]  ¹⁰ tn The consecutive clause is here attached without the use of the ו (vav), but only by simple juxtaposition (see GKC 504-5 §166.a).

[9:32]  ¹¹ tn The sense of the verb “come” with “together in judgment” means “to confront one another in court.” See Ps 143:2.

[11:11]  ¹² tn The pronoun is emphatic implying that Zophar indicates that God indeed knows Job’s sin even if Job does not.

[11:11]  ¹³ tn The expression is literally “men of emptiness” (see Ps 26:4). These are false men, for שָׁוְא (shavÿ’) can mean “vain, empty, or false, deceitful.”

[11:11]  ¹⁴ tn E. Dhorme (Job, 162) reads the prepositional phrase “to him” rather than the negative; he translates the line as “he sees iniquity and observes it closely.”

[11:11]  ¹⁵ tn Some commentators do not take this last clause as a question, but simply as a statement, namely, that when God sees evil he does not need to ponder or consider it – he knows it instantly. In that case it would be a circumstantial clause: “without considering it.” D. J. A. Clines lists quite an array of other interpretations for the line (Job [WBC], 255); for example, “and he is himself unobserved”; taking the word לֹא (lo’) as an emphatic; taking the negative as a noun, “considering them as nothing”; and others that change the verb to “they do not understand it.” But none of these are compelling; they offer no major improvement.

[13:18]  ¹⁶ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) functions almost as an imperative here, calling attention to what follows: “look” (archaic: behold).

[13:18]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn The pronoun is added because this is what the verse means.

[13:18]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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.

[15:31]  ²¹ tn The word, although difficult in its form, is “vanity,” i.e., that which is worthless. E. Dhorme (Job, 224) thinks that the form שָׁוְא (shav’) conceals the word שִׁיאוֹ (shi’o, “his stature”). But Dhorme reworks most of the verse. He changes נִתְעָה (nit’ah, “deceived”) to נֵדַע (neda’, “we know”) to arrive at “we know that it is vanity.” The last two words of the verse are then moved to the next. The LXX has “let him not think that he shall endure, for his end shall be vanity.”

[15:31]  ²² tn This word is found in Job 20:18 with the sense of “trading.” It can mean the exchange of goods or the profit from them. Some commentators change תְמוּרָתוֹ (tÿmurato, “his reward”) because they wish to put it with the next verse as the LXX seems to have done (although the LXX does not represent this). Suggestions include תִּמֹרָתוֹ (timorato, “his palm tree”) and זְמֹרָתוֹ (zÿmorato, “his vine shoot”). A number of writers simply delete all of v. 31. H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 115) suggests the best reading (assuming one were going to make changes) would be, “Let him not trust in his stature, deceiving himself, for it is vanity.” And then put “his palm tree” with the next verse, he thinks that achieves the proper balance.

[15:34]  ²³ tn The LXX renders this line: “for death is the witness of an ungodly man. “Death” represents “barren/sterile,” and “witness” represents “assembly.”

[15:34]  ²⁴ sn This may refer to the fire that struck Job (cf. 1:16).

[15:34]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the tents of bribery.” The word “bribery” can mean a “gift,” but most often in the sense of a bribe in court. It indicates that the wealth and the possessions that the wicked man has gained may have been gained unjustly.

[16:22]  ²⁶ tn The expression is “years of number,” meaning that they can be counted, and so “the years are few.” The verb simply means “comes” or “lie ahead.”

[16:22]  ²⁷ tn The verbal expression “I will not return” serves here to modify the journey that he will take. It is “the road [of] I will not return.”

[18:8]  ²⁸ tn See Ps 25:15.

[18:8]  ²⁹ tn The word שְׂבָכָה (sÿvakhah) is used in scripture for the lattice window (2 Kgs 1:2). The Arabic cognate means “to be intertwined.” So the term could describe a net, matting, grating, or lattice. Here it would be the netting stretched over a pit.

[21:21]  ³⁰ tn Heb “his desire.” The meaning is that after he is gone he does not care about what happens to his household (“house” meaning “family” here).

[21:21]  ³¹ tn Heb “after him,” but clearly the meaning is “after he is gone.”

[21:21]  ³² tc The rare word חֻצָּצוּ (khutsatsu) is probably a cognate of hassa in Arabic, meaning “to cut off.” There is also an Akkadian word “to cut in two” and “to break.” These fit the context here rather well. The other Hebrew words that are connected to the root חָצַצ (khatsats) do not offer any help.

[21:28]  ³³ sn The question implies the answer will be “vanished” or “gone.”

[21:28]  ³⁴ tn Heb “And where is the tent, the dwellings of the wicked.” The word “dwellings of the wicked” is in apposition to “tent.” A relative pronoun must be supplied in the translation.

[23:14]  ³⁵ tn The text has “my decree,” which means “the decree [plan] for/against me.” The suffix is objective, equivalent to a dative of disadvantage. The Syriac and the Vulgate actually have “his decree.” R. Gordis (Job, 262) suggests taking it in the same sense as in Job 14:5: “my limit.”.

[23:14]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and many such [things] are with him.”

[27:8]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ 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.

[30:23]  ³⁹ tn The imperfect verb would be a progressive imperfect, it is future, but it is also already underway.

[31:28]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “it.”

[31:28]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² 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.

[32:18]  ⁴³ tn Heb “the spirit of my belly.”

[32:18]  ⁴⁴ tn The verb צוּק (tsuq) means “to constrain; to urge; to press.” It is used in Judg 14:17; 16:16 with the sense of wearing someone down with repeated entreaties. Elihu cannot withhold himself any longer.

[33:13]  ⁴⁵ 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.

[33:32]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “if there are words.”

[33:32]  ⁴⁷ 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.”

[34:9]  ⁴⁸ tn Gordis, however, takes this expression in the sense of “being in favor with God.”

[34:21]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (a person) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[36:4]  ⁵⁰ tn The word is תְּמִים (tÿmim), often translated “perfect.” It is the same word used of Job in 2:3. Elihu is either a complete stranger to modesty or is confident regarding the knowledge that he believes God has revealed to him for this situation. See the note on the heading before 32:1.

[36:31]  ⁵¹ tn The verb is יָדִין (yadin, “he judges”). Houbigant proposedיָזוּן (yazun, “he nourishes”). This has found wide acceptance among commentators (cf. NAB). G. R. Driver retained the MT but gave a meaning “enriches” to the verb (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 88ff.).

[38:21]  ⁵² tn The imperfect verb after the adverb אָז (’az, “then”) functions as a preterite: “you were born.” The line is sarcastic.