31:1 “I made a covenant with 1 my eyes;
how then could I entertain thoughts against a virgin? 2
31:2 What then would be one’s lot from God above,
one’s heritage from the Almighty 3 on high?
31:3 Is it not misfortune for the unjust,
and disaster for those who work iniquity?
31:4 Does he not see my ways
and count all my steps?
31:5 If 4 I have walked in falsehood,
and if 5 my foot has hastened 6 to deceit –
31:6 let him 7 weigh me with honest 8 scales;
then God will discover 9 my integrity.
31:7 If my footsteps have strayed from the way,
if my heart has gone after my eyes, 10
or if anything 11 has defiled my hands,
31:8 then let me sow 12 and let another eat,
and let my crops 13 be uprooted.
31:9 If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door, 14
31:10 then let my wife turn the millstone 15 for another man,
and may other men have sexual relations with her. 16
31:11 For I would have committed 17 a shameful act, 18
an iniquity to be judged. 19
31:12 For it is a fire that devours even to Destruction, 20
and it would uproot 21 all my harvest.
31:13 “If I have disregarded the right of my male servants
or my female servants
when they disputed 22 with me,
31:14 then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment; 23
when he intervenes, 24
how will I respond to him?
31:15 Did not the one who made me in the womb make them? 25
Did not the same one form us in the womb?
31:16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, 26
or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
31:17 If I ate my morsel of bread myself,
and did not share any of it with orphans 27 –
31:18 but from my youth I raised the orphan 28 like a father,
and from my mother’s womb 29
I guided the widow! 30
31:19 If I have seen anyone about to perish for lack of clothing,
or a poor man without a coat,
31:20 whose heart did not bless me 31
as he warmed himself with the fleece of my sheep, 32
31:21 if I have raised my hand 33 to vote against the orphan,
when I saw my support in the court, 34
31:22 then 35 let my arm fall from the shoulder, 36
let my arm be broken off at the socket. 37
31:23 For the calamity from God was a terror to me, 38
and by reason of his majesty 39 I was powerless.
31:24 “If I have put my confidence in gold
or said to pure gold,
‘You are my security!’
31:25 if I have rejoiced because of the extent of my wealth,
or because of the great wealth my hand had gained,
31:26 if I looked at the sun 40 when it was shining,
and the moon advancing as a precious thing,
31:27 so that my heart was secretly enticed,
and my hand threw them a kiss from my mouth, 41
31:28 then this 42 also would be iniquity to be judged, 43
for I would have been false 44 to God above.
31:29 If 45 I have rejoiced over the misfortune of my enemy 46
or exulted 47 because calamity 48 found him –
31:30 I 49 have not even permitted my mouth 50 to sin
by asking 51 for his life through a curse –
31:31 if 52 the members of my household 53 have never said, 54
‘If only there were 55 someone
who has not been satisfied from Job’s 56 meat!’ –
31:32 But 57 no stranger had to spend the night outside,
for I opened my doors to the traveler 58 –
31:33 if 59 I have covered my transgressions as men do, 60
by hiding 61 iniquity in my heart, 62
31:34 because I was terrified 63 of the great multitude, 64
and the contempt of families terrified me,
so that I remained silent
and would not go outdoors – 65
31:35 “If only I had 66 someone to hear me!
Here is my signature – 67
let the Almighty answer me!
If only I had an indictment 68
that my accuser had written. 69
31:36 Surely 70 I would wear it proudly 71 on my shoulder,
I would bind 72 it on me like a crown;
31:37 I would give him an accounting of my steps;
like a prince I would approach him.
31:38 “If my land cried out against me 74
and all its furrows wept together,
31:39 if I have eaten its produce without paying, 75
or caused the death 76 of its owners, 77
31:40 then let thorns sprout up in place of wheat,
and in place of barley, weeds!” 78
The words of Job are ended.
V. The Speeches of Elihu (32:1-37:24)
Elihu’s First Speech 7932:1 So these three men refused to answer 80 Job further, because he was righteous in his 81 own eyes. 32:2 Then Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry. 82 He was angry 83 with Job for justifying 84 himself rather than God. 85 32:3 With Job’s 86 three friends he was also angry, because they could not find 87 an answer, and so declared Job guilty. 88 32:4 Now Elihu had waited before speaking 89 to Job, because the others 90 were older than he was. 32:5 But when Elihu saw 91 that the three men had no further reply, 92 he became very angry.
32:6 So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite spoke up: 93
“I am young, 94 but you are elderly;
that is why I was fearful, 95
and afraid to explain 96 to you what I know.
32:7 I said to myself, ‘Age 97 should speak, 98
and length of years 99 should make wisdom known.’
32:8 But it is a spirit in people,
the breath 100 of the Almighty,
that makes them understand.
32:9 It is not the aged 101 who are wise,
nor old men who understand what is right.
32:10 Therefore I say, ‘Listen 102 to me.
I, even I, will explain what I know.’
32:11 Look, I waited for you to speak; 103
I listened closely to your wise thoughts, 104 while you were searching for words.
32:12 Now I was paying you close attention, 105
yet 106 there was no one proving Job wrong, 107
not one of you was answering his statements!
32:13 So do not say, 108 ‘We have found wisdom!
God will refute 109 him, not man!’
32:14 Job 110 has not directed 111 his words to me,
and so I will not reply to him with your arguments. 112
32:15 “They are dismayed 114 and cannot answer any more;
they have nothing left to say. 115
32:16 And I have waited. 116 But because they do not speak,
because they stand there and answer no more,
32:17 I too will answer my part,
I too will explain what I know.
32:18 For I am full of words,
and the spirit within me 117 constrains me. 118
32:19 Inside I am like wine which has no outlet, 119
like new wineskins 120 ready to burst!
32:20 I will speak, 121 so that I may find relief;
I will open my lips, so that I may answer.
32:21 I will not show partiality to anyone, 122
nor will I confer a title 123 on any man.
32:22 for I do not know how to give honorary titles, 124
if I did, 125 my Creator would quickly do away with me. 126
1 tn The idea of cutting a covenant for something may suggest a covenant that is imposed, except that this construction elsewhere argues against it (see 2 Chr 29:10).
2 tn This half-verse is the effect of the covenant. The interrogative מָה (mah) may have the force of the negative, and so be translated “not to pay attention.”
3 tn Heb “lot of Shaddai,” which must mean “the lot from Shaddai,” a genitive of source.
5 tn The normal approach is to take this as the protasis, and then have it resumed in v. 7 after a parenthesis in v. 6. But some take v. 6 as the apodosis and a new protasis in v. 7.
6 tn The “if” is understood by the use of the consecutive verb.
7 sn The verbs “walk” and “hasten” (referring in the verse to the foot) are used metaphorically for the manner of life Job lived.
7 tn “God” is undoubtedly the understood subject of this jussive. However, “him” is retained in the translation at this point to avoid redundancy since “God” occurs in the second half of the verse.
8 tn The word צֶדֶךְ (tsedeq, “righteousness”) forms a fitting genitive for the scales used in trade or justice. The “scales of righteousness” are scales that conform to the standard (see the illustration in Deut 25:13-15). They must be honest scales to make just decisions.
9 tn The verb is וְיֵדַע (vÿyeda’, “and [then] he [God] will know”). The verb could also be subordinated to the preceding jussive, “so that God may know.” The meaning of “to know” here has more the idea of “to come to know; to discover.”
9 sn The meaning is “been led by what my eyes see.”
10 tc The word מֻאוּם (mu’um) could be taken in one of two ways. One reading is to represent מוּם (mum, “blemish,” see the Masorah); the other is for מְאוּמָה (mÿ’umah, “anything,” see the versions and the Kethib). Either reading fits the passage.
11 tn The cohortative is often found in the apodosis of the conditional clause (see GKC 320 §108.f).
12 tn The word means “what sprouts up” (from יָצָא [yatsa’] with the sense of “sprout forth”). It could refer metaphorically to children (and so Kissane and Pope), as well as in its literal sense of crops. The latter fits here perfectly.
13 tn Gordis notes that the word פֶּתַח (petakh, “door”) has sexual connotations in rabbinic literature, based on Prov 7:6ff. (see b. Ketubbot 9b). See also the use in Song 4:12 using a synonym.
15 tn Targum Job interpreted the verb טָחַן (takhan, “grind”) in a sexual sense, and this has influenced other versions and commentaries. But the literal sense fits well in this line. The idea is that she would be a slave for someone else. The second line of the verse then might build on this to explain what kind of a slave – a concubine (see A. B. Davidson, Job, 215).
16 tn Heb “bow down over her,” an idiom for sexual relations.
17 tn Heb “for that [would be].” In order to clarify the referent of “that,” which refers to v. 9 rather than v. 10, the words “I have committed” have been supplied in the translation.
18 tn The word for “shameful act” is used especially for sexual offenses (cf. Lev 18:27).
19 tc Some have deleted this verse as being short and irrelevant, not to mention problematic. But the difficulties are not insurmountable, and there is no reason to delete it. There is a Kethib-Qere reading in each half verse; in the first the Kethib is masculine for the subject but the Qere is feminine going with “shameless deed.” In the second colon the Kethib is the feminine agreeing with the preceding noun, but the Qere is masculine agreeing with “iniquity.”
19 tn Heb “to Abaddon.”
20 tn The verb means “to root out,” but this does not fit the parallelism with fire. Wright changed two letters and the vowels in the verb to get the root צָרַף (tsaraf, “to burn”). The NRSV has “burn to the root.”
21 tn This construction is an adverbial clause using the temporal preposition, the infinitive from רִיב (riv, “contend”), and the suffix which is the subjective genitive.
23 tn Heb “arises.” The LXX reads “takes vengeance,” an interpretation that is somewhat correct but unnecessary. The verb “to rise” would mean “to confront in judgment.”
24 tn The verb פָקַד (paqad) means “to visit,” but with God as the subject it means any divine intervention for blessing or cursing, anything God does that changes a person’s life. Here it is “visit to judge.”
25 tn Heb “him,” but the plural pronoun has been used in the translation to indicate that the referent is the servants mentioned in v. 13 (since the previous “him” in v. 14 refers to God).
27 tn Heb “kept the poor from [their] desire.”
29 tn Heb “and an orphan did not eat from it.”
31 tn Heb “he grew up with me.” Several commentators have decided to change the pronoun to “I,” and make it causative.
32 tn The expression “from my mother’s womb” is obviously hyperbolic. It is a way of saying “all his life.”
33 tn Heb “I guided her,” referring to the widow mentioned in v. 16.
33 tn The MT has simply “if his loins did not bless me.” In the conditional clause this is another protasis. It means, “if I saw someone dying and if he did not thank me for clothing them.” It is Job’s way of saying that whenever he saw a need he met it, and he received his share of thanks – which prove his kindness. G. R. Driver has it “without his loins having blessed me,” taking “If…not” as an Aramaism, meaning “except” (AJSL 52 [1935/36]: 164f.).
34 tn This clause is interpreted here as a subordinate clause to the first half of the verse. It could also be a separate clause: “was he not warmed…?”
35 tn The expression “raised my hand” refers to a threatening manner or gesture in the court rather than a threat of physical violence in the street. Thus the words “to vote” are supplied in the translation to indicate the setting.
36 tn Heb “gate,” referring to the city gate where judicial decisions were rendered in the culture of the time. The translation uses the word “court” to indicate this to the modern reader, who might not associate a city gate complex with judicial functions.
37 sn Here is the apodosis, the imprecation Job pronounces on himself if he has done any of these things just listed.
38 tn The point is that if he has raised his arm against the oppressed it should be ripped off at the joint. The MT has “let fall my shoulder [כְּתֵפִי, kÿtefi] from the nape of the neck [or shoulder blade (מִשִּׁכְמָה, mishikhmah)].”
39 tn The word קָנֶה (qaneh) is “reed; shaft; beam,” and here “shoulder joint.” All the commentaries try to explain how “reed” became “socket; joint.” This is the only place that it is used in such a sense. Whatever the exact explanation – and there seems to be no convincing view – the point of the verse is nonetheless clear.
39 tc The LXX has “For the terror of God restrained me.” Several commentators changed it to “came upon me.” Driver had “The fear of God was burdensome.” I. Eitan suggested “The terror of God was mighty upon me” (“Two unknown verbs: etymological studies,” JBL 42 [1923]: 22-28). But the MT makes clear sense as it stands.
40 tn The form is וּמִשְּׂאֵתוֹ (umissÿ’eto); the preposition is causal. The form, from the verb נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to raise; to lift high”), refers to God’s exalted person, his majesty (see Job 13:11).
41 tn Heb “light”; but parallel to the moon it is the sun. This section speaks of false worship of the sun and the moon.
43 tn Heb “and my hand kissed my mouth.” The idea should be that of “my mouth kissed my hand.” H. H. Rowley suggests that the hand was important in waving or throwing the kisses of homage to the sun and the moon, and so it receives the focus. This is the only place in the OT that refers to such a custom. Outside the Bible it was known, however.
45 tn Heb “it.”
46 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.
47 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.
47 tn The problem with taking this as “if,” introducing a conditional clause, is finding the apodosis, if there is one. It may be that the apodosis is understood, or summed up at the end. This is the view taken here. But R. Gordis (Job, 352) wishes to take this word as the indication of the interrogative, forming the rhetorical question to affirm he has never done this. However, in that case the parenthetical verses inserted become redundant.
48 sn The law required people to help their enemies if they could (Exod 23:4; also Prov 20:22). But often in the difficulties that ensued, they did exult over their enemies’ misfortune (Pss 54:7; 59:10 [11], etc.). But Job lived on a level of purity that few ever reach. Duhm said, “If chapter 31 is the crown of all ethical developments of the O.T., verse 29 is the jewel in that crown.”
49 tn The Hitpael of עוּר (’ur) has the idea of “exult.”
50 tn The word is רָע (ra’, “evil”) in the sense of anything that harms, interrupts, or destroys life.
49 tn This verse would then be a parenthesis in which he stops to claim his innocence.
50 tn Heb “I have not given my palate.”
51 tn The infinitive construct with the ל (lamed) preposition (“by asking”) serves in an epexegetical capacity here, explaining the verb of the first colon (“permitted…to sin”). To seek a curse on anyone would be a sin.
51 tn Now Job picks up the series of clauses serving as the protasis.
52 tn Heb “the men of my tent.” In context this refers to members of Job’s household.
53 sn The line is difficult to sort out. Job is saying it is sinful “if his men have never said, ‘O that there was one who has not been satisfied from his food.’” If they never said that, it would mean there were people out there who needed to be satisfied with his food.
54 tn The optative is again expressed with “who will give?”
55 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Job) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
53 tn This verse forms another parenthesis. Job stops almost at every point now in the conditional clauses to affirm his purity and integrity.
54 tn The word in the MT, אֹרחַ (’orakh, “way”), is a contraction from אֹרֵחַ (’oreakh, “wayfarer”); thus, “traveler.” The same parallelism is found in Jer 14:8. The reading here “on/to the road” is meaningless otherwise.
55 tn Now the protasis continues again.
56 sn Some commentators suggest taking the meaning here to be “as Adam,” referring to the Paradise story of the sin and denial.
57 tn The infinitive is epexegetical, explaining the first line.
58 tn The MT has “in my bosom.” This is the only place in the OT where this word is found. But its meaning is well attested from Aramaic.
57 tn Here too the verb will be the customary imperfect – it explains what he continually did in past time.
58 tn Heb “the great multitude.” But some commentators take רַבָּה (rabbah) adverbially: “greatly” (see RSV).
59 sn There is no clear apodosis for all these clauses. Some commentators transfer the verses around to make them fit the constructions. But the better view is that there is no apodosis – that Job broke off here, feeling it was useless to go further. Now he will address God and not men. But in vv. 38-40b he does return to a self-imprecation. However, there is not sufficient reason to start rearranging all the verses.
59 tn The optative is again introduced with “who will give to me hearing me? – O that someone would listen to me!”
60 tn Heb “here is my ‘tav’” (הֵן תָּוִי, hen tavi). The letter ת (tav) is the last letter of the alphabet in Hebrew. In paleo-Hebrew the letter was in the form of a cross or an “X,” and so used for one making a mark or a signature. In this case Job has signed his statement and delivered it to the court – but he has yet to be charged. Kissane thought that this being the last letter of the alphabet, Job was saying, “This is my last word.” Others take the word to mean “desire” – “this is my desire, that God would answer me” (see E. F. Sutcliffe, “Notes on Job, textual and exegetical,” Bib 30 [1949]: 71-72; G. R. Driver, AJSL 3 [1935/36]: 166; P. P. Saydon, “Philological and Textual Notes to the Maltese Translation of the Old Testament,” CBQ 23 [1961]: 252). R. Gordis (Job, 355) also argues strongly for this view.
61 tn Heb “a scroll,” in the context referring to a scroll containing the accusations of Job’s legal adversary (see the next line).
62 tn The last line is very difficult; it simply says, “a scroll [that] my [legal] adversary had written.” The simplest way to handle this is to see it as a continuation of the optative (RSV).
61 tn The clause begins with the positive oath formula, אִם־לֹא (’im-lo’).
62 tn The word “proudly” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied (note the following line).
63 tn This verb is only found in Prov 6:21. But E. Dhorme (Job, 470) suggests that (with metathesis) we have a derivative מַעֲדַנּוֹת (ma’adannot, “bonds; ties”) in 38:31.
63 sn Many commentators place vv. 38-40b at the end of v. 34, so that there is no return to these conditional clauses after his final appeal.
64 sn Some commentators have suggested that the meaning behind this is that Job might not have kept the year of release (Deut 15:1), and the law against mixing seed (Lev 19:19). But the context will make clear that the case considered is obtaining the land without paying for it and causing the death of its lawful owner (see H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 206). Similar to this would be the case of Naboth’s vineyard.
65 tn Heb “without silver.”
66 tc The versions have the verb “grieved” here. The Hebrew verb means “to breathe,” but the form is Hiphil. This verb in that stem could mean something of a contemptuous gesture, like “sniff” in Mal 1:13. But with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) in Job 11:20 it means “to cause death,” i.e., “to cause to breathe out; to expire.” This is likely the meaning here, although it is possible that it only meant “to cause suffering” to the people.
67 tn There is some debate over the meaning of בְּעָלֶיהָ (bÿ’aleyha), usually translated “its owners.” Dahood, following others (although without their emendations), thought it referred to “laborers” (see M. Dahood, Bib 41 [1960]: 303; idem, Bib 43 [1962]: 362).
67 tn The word בָּאְשָׁה (bo’shah, from בָּאַשׁ [ba’as, “to have a foul smell”]) must refer to foul smelling weeds.
69 sn There are now four speeches from another friend of Job, Elihu. But Job does not reply to any of these, nor does the
70 tn The form is the infinitive construct (“answer”) functioning as the object of the preposition; the phrase forms the complement of the verb “they ceased to answer” (= “they refused to answer further”).
71 tc The LXX, Syriac, and Symmachus have “in their eyes.” This is adopted by some commentators, but it does not fit the argument.
71 tn The verse begins with וַיִּחַר אַף (vayyikhar ’af, “and the anger became hot”), meaning Elihu became very angry.
72 tn The second comment about Elihu’s anger comes right before the statement of its cause. Now the perfect verb is used: “he was angry.”
73 tn The explanation is the causal clause עַל־צַדְּקוֹ נַפְשׁוֹ (’al-tsaddÿqo nafsho, “because he justified himself”). It is the preposition with the Piel infinitive construct with a suffixed subjective genitive.
74 tc The LXX and Latin versions soften the expression slightly by saying “before God.”
73 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Job) has been specified in the translation to indicate whose friends they were.
74 tn The perfect verb should be given the category of potential perfect here.
75 tc This is one of the eighteen “corrections of the scribes” (tiqqune sopherim); it originally read, “and they declared God [in the wrong].” The thought was that in abandoning the debate they had conceded Job’s point.
75 tc This reading requires repointing the word בִּדְבָרִים (bidbarim, “with words”) to בְּדָבְּרָם (bÿdabbÿram, “while they spoke [with Job]”). If the MT is retained, it would mean “he waited for Job with words,” which while understandable is awkward.
76 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the other friends) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
77 tn The first clause beginning with a vav (ו) consecutive and the preterite can be subordinated to the next similar verb as a temporal clause.
78 tn Heb “that there was no reply in the mouth of the three men.”
79 tn Heb “answered and said.”
80 tn The text has “small in days.”
81 tn The verb זָחַלְתִּי (zakhalti) is found only here in the OT, but it is found in a ninth century Aramaic inscription as well as in Biblical Aramaic. It has the meaning “to be timid” (see H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 208).
82 tn The Piel infinitive with the preposition (מֵחַוֹּת, mekhavvot) means “from explaining.” The phrase is the complement: “explain” what Elihu feared.
81 tn Heb “days.”
82 tn The imperfect here is to be classified as an obligatory imperfect.
83 tn Heb “abundance of years.”
83 tn This is the word נְשָׁמָה (nÿshamah, “breath”); according to Gen 2:7 it was breathed into Adam to make him a living person (“soul”). With that divine impartation came this spiritual understanding. Some commentators identify the רוּחַ (ruakh) in the first line as the Spirit of God; this “breath” would then be the human spirit. Whether Elihu knew that much, however, is hard to prove.
85 tn The MT has “the great” or “the many,” meaning great in years according to the parallelism.
87 tc In most Hebrew
89 tn Heb “for your words.”
90 tn The word means “understanding.” It refers to the faculty of perception and comprehension; but it also can refer to what that produces, especially when it is in the plural (see Ps 49:4). See R. Gordis, Job, 368. Others translate it “reasonings,” “arguments,” etc.
91 tn The verb again is from בִּין (bin, “to perceive; to understand”); in this stem it means to “to pay close attention.”
92 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “behold”) has a deictic force here, calling attention to the thought that is now presented.
93 tn The participle מוֹכִיחַ (mokhiakh) is from the verb יָכַח (yakhakh) that has been used frequently in the book of Job. It means “to argue; to contend; to debate; to prove; to dispute.” The usage of the verb shows that it can focus on the beginning of an argument, the debating itself, or the resolution of the conflict. Here the latter is obviously meant, for they did argue and contend and criticize – but could not prove Job wrong.
93 tn Heb “lest you say.” R. Gordis (Job, 368) calls this a breviloquence: “beware lest [you say].” He then suggests the best reading for their quote to be, “We have attained wisdom, but only God can refute him, not man.” H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 209) suggests the meaning is a little different, namely, that they are saying they have found wisdom in Job, and only God can deal with it. Elihu is in effect saying that they do not need God, for he is quite capable for this.
94 tn The root is נָדַף (nadaf, “to drive away; to drive off”). Here it is in the abstract sense of “succeed in doing something; confound,” and so “refute; rebut.” Dhorme wants to change the meaning of the word with a slight emendation in the text, deriving it from אָלַף (’alaf, “instruct”) the form becoming יַלְּפֶנוּ (yallÿfenu) instead of יִדְּפֶנּוּ (yiddÿfenu), obtaining the translation “God will instruct us.” This makes a smoother reading, but does not have much support for it.
95 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Job) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
96 tn The verb עַרַךְ (’arakh) means “to arrange in order; to set forth; to direct; to marshal.” It is used in military contexts for setting the battle array; it is used in legal settings for preparing the briefs.
97 tn Heb “your words.”
97 sn Elihu now will give another reason why he will speak – the arguments of these friends failed miserably. But before he gets to his argument, he will first qualify his authority.
98 tn The verb חַתּוּ (khattu) is from חָתַת (khatat) which means “to be terrified.” But here it stresses the resulting dilemma. R. Gordis (Job, 369) renders it, “they are shattered, beaten in an argument.”
99 tn Heb “words have moved away from them,” meaning words are gone from them, they have nothing left to say.
99 tn Some commentators take this as a question: “And shall [or must] I wait because they do not speak?” (A. B. Davidson, R. Gordis). But this is not convincing because the silence of the friends is the reason for him to speak, not to wait.
101 tn Heb “the spirit of my belly.”
102 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.
103 tn Heb “in my belly I am like wine that is not opened” (a Niphal imperfect), meaning sealed up with no place to escape.
104 tc The Hebrew text has כְּאֹבוֹת חֲדָשִׁים (kÿ’ovot khadashim), traditionally rendered “like new wineskins.” But only here does the phrase have this meaning. The LXX has “smiths” for “new,” thus “like smith’s bellows.” A. Guillaume connects the word with an Arabic word for a wide vessel for wine shaped like a cup (“Archaeological and philological note on Job 32:19,” PEQ 93 [1961]: 147-50). Some have been found in archaeological sites. The poor would use skins, the rich would use jars. The key to putting this together is the verb at the end of the line, יִבָּקֵעַ (yibbaqea’, “that are ready to burst”). The point of the statement is that Elihu is bursting to speak, and until now has not had the opening.
105 tn The cohortative expresses Elihu’s resolve to speak.
107 tn The idiom is “I will not lift up the face of a man.” Elihu is going to show no favoritism, but speak his mind.
108 tn The verb means “to confer an honorary title; to give a mark of distinction,” but it is often translated with the verb “flatter.” Elihu will not take sides, he will not use pompous titles.
109 tn The construction uses a perfect verb followed by the imperfect. This is a form of subordination equivalent to a complementary infinitive (see GKC 385-86 §120.c).
110 tn The words “if I did” are supplied in the translation to make sense out of the two clauses.
111 tn Heb “quickly carry me away.”