Ayub 9:22

Accusation of God’s Justice

9:22 “It is all one! ¹  That is why I say, ² 

‘He destroys the blameless and the guilty.’

Ayub 12:11

12:11 Does not the ear test words,

as ³  the tongue ⁴  tastes food? ⁵ 

Ayub 27:7

The Condition of the Wicked

27:7 “May my enemy be like the wicked, ⁶ 

my adversary ⁷  like the unrighteous. ⁸ 

Ayub 33:3

33:3 My words come from the uprightness of my heart, ⁹ 

and my lips will utter knowledge sincerely. ¹⁰ 

[9:22]  ¹ 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]  ² 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.

[12:11]  ³ tn The ו (vav) introduces the comparison here (see 5:7; 11:12); see GKC 499 §161.a.

[12:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “the palate.”

[12:11]  ⁵ tn The final preposition with its suffix is to be understood as a pleonastic dativus ethicus and not translated (see GKC 439 §135.i).

[12:11]  sn In the rest of the chapter Job turns his attention away from creation to the wisdom of ancient men. In Job 13:1 when Job looks back to this part, he refers to both the eye and the ear. In vv. 13-25 Job refers to many catastrophes which he could not have seen, but must have heard about.

[27:7]  ⁶ sn Of course, he means like his enemy when he is judged, not when he is thriving in prosperity and luxury.

[27:7]  ⁷ tn The form is the Hitpolel participle from קוּם (qum): “those who are rising up against me,” or “my adversary.”

[27:7]  ⁸ tc The LXX made a free paraphrase: “No, but let my enemies be as the overthrow of the ungodly, and they that rise up against me as the destruction of transgressors.”

[33:3]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn More literally, “and the knowledge of my lips they will speak purely.”