Ayub 9:24

9:24 If a land ¹  has been given

into the hand of a wicked man, ² 

he covers ³  the faces of its judges; ⁴ 

if it is not he, then who is it? ⁵ 

Ayub 10:3

10:3 Is it good for you ⁶  to oppress, ⁷ 

to ⁸  despise the work of your hands,

while ⁹  you smile ¹⁰ 

on the schemes of the wicked?

Ayub 11:20

11:20 But the eyes of the wicked fail, ¹¹ 

and escape ¹²  eludes them;

their one hope ¹³  is to breathe their last.” ¹⁴ 

Ayub 21:16-17

21:16 But their prosperity is not their own doing. ¹⁵ 

The counsel of the wicked is far from me! ¹⁶ 

How Often Do the Wicked Suffer?

21:17 “How often ¹⁷  is the lamp of the wicked extinguished?

How often does their ¹⁸  misfortune come upon them?

How often does God apportion pain ¹⁹  to them ²⁰  in his anger?

Ayub 22:18

22:18 But it was he ²¹  who filled their houses

with good things –

yet the counsel of the wicked ²² 

was far from me. ²³ 

Ayub 40:12

40:12 Look at every proud man and abase him;

crush the wicked on the spot! ²⁴ 

[9:24]  ¹ tn Some would render this “earth,” meaning the whole earth, and having the verse be a general principle for all mankind. But Job may have in mind the more specific issue of individual land.

[9:24]  ² sn The details of the verse are not easy to explain, but the meaning of the whole verse seems to be about the miscarriage of justice in the courts and the failure of God to do anything about it.

[9:24]  ³ tn The subject of the verb is God. The reasoning goes this way: it is the duty of judges to make sure that justice prevails, that restitution and restoration are carried through; but when the wicked gain control of the land of other people, and the judges are ineffective to stop it, then God must be veiling their eyes.

[9:24]  ⁴ sn That these words are strong, if not wild, is undeniable. But Job is only taking the implications of his friends’ speeches to their logical conclusion – if God dispenses justice in the world, and there is no justice, then God is behind it all. The LXX omitted these words, perhaps out of reverence for God.

[9:24]  ⁵ tn This seems to be a broken-off sentence (anacoluthon), and so is rather striking. The scribes transposed the words אֵפוֹא (’efo’) and הוּא (hu’) to make the smoother reading: “If it is not he, who then is it?”

[10:3]  ⁶ tn Or “Does it give you pleasure?” The expression could also mean, “Is it profitable for you?” or “Is it fitting for you?”

[10:3]  ⁷ tn The construction uses כִּי (ki) with the imperfect verb – “that you oppress.” Technically, this clause serves as the subject, and “good” is the predicate adjective. In such cases one often uses an English infinitive to capture the point: “Is it good for you to oppress?” The LXX changes the meaning considerably: “Is it good for you if I am unrighteous, for you have disowned the work of your hands.”

[10:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “that you despise.”

[10:3]  ⁹ tn Now, in the second half of the verse, there is a change in the structure. The conjunction on the preposition followed by the perfect verb represents a circumstantial clause.

[10:3]  ¹⁰ tn The Hiphil of the verb יָפַע (yafa’) means “shine.” In this context the expression “you shine upon” would mean “have a glowing expression,” be radiant, or smile.

[11:20]  ¹¹ tn The verb כָּלָה (kalah) means “to fail, cease, fade away.” The fading of the eyes, i.e., loss of sight, loss of life’s vitality, indicates imminent death.

[11:20]  ¹² tn Heb a “place of escape” (with this noun pattern). There is no place to escape to because they all perish.

[11:20]  ¹³ tn The word is to be interpreted as a metonymy; it represents what is hoped for.

[11:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the breathing out of the soul”; cf. KJV, ASV “the giving up of the ghost.” The line is simply saying that the brightest hope that the wicked have is death.

[21:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “is not in their hand.”

[21:16]  sn The implication of this statement is that their well-being is from God, which is the problem Job is raising in the chapter. A number of commentators make it a question, interpreting it to mean that the wicked enjoy prosperity as if it is their right. Some emend the text to say “his hands” – Gordis reads it, “Indeed, our prosperity is not in his hands.”

[21:16]  ¹⁶ sn Even though their life seems so good in contrast to his own plight, Job cannot and will not embrace their principles – “far be from me their counsel.”

[21:17]  ¹⁷ tn The interrogative “How often” occurs only with the first colon; it is supplied for smoother reading in the next two.

[21:17]  ¹⁸ tn The pronominal suffix is objective; it re-enforces the object of the preposition, “upon them.” The verb in the clause is בּוֹא (bo’) followed by עַל (’al), “come upon [or against],” may be interpreted as meaning attack or strike.

[21:17]  ¹⁹ tn חֲבָלִים (khavalim) can mean “ropes” or “cords,” but that would not go with the verb “apportion” in this line. The meaning of “pangs (as in “birth-pangs”) seems to fit best here. The wider meaning would be “physical agony.”

[21:17]  ²⁰ tn The phrase “to them” is understood and thus is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[22:18]  ²¹ tn The pronoun is added for this emphasis; it has “but he” before the verb.

[22:18]  ²² tn See Job 10:3.

[22:18]  ²³ tc The LXX has “from him,” and this is followed by several commentators. But the MT is to be retained, for Eliphaz is recalling the words of Job. Verses 17 and 18 are deleted by a number of commentators as a gloss because they have many similarities to 21:14-16. But Eliphaz is recalling what Job said, in order to say that the prosperity to which Job alluded was only the prelude to a disaster he denied (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 156).

[40:12]  ²⁴ tn The expression translated “on the spot” is the prepositional phrase תַּחְתָּם (takhtam, “under them”). “Under them” means in their place. But it can also mean “where someone stands, on the spot” (see Exod 16:29; Jos 6:5; Judg 7:21, etc.).