Ayub 11:20

11:20 But the eyes of the wicked fail, ¹ 

and escape ²  eludes them;

their one hope ³  is to breathe their last.” ⁴ 

Ayub 13:16

13:16 Moreover, this will become my deliverance,

for no godless person would come before him. ⁵ 

Ayub 15:34

15:34 For the company of the godless is barren, ⁶ 

and fire ⁷  consumes the tents of those who accept bribes. ⁸ 

Ayub 18:14

18:14 He is dragged from the security of his tent, ⁹ 

and marched off ¹⁰  to the king ¹¹  of terrors.

Ayub 20:5

20:5 that the elation of the wicked is brief, ¹² 

the joy of the godless ¹³  lasts but a moment. ¹⁴ 

Ayub 27:8-10

27:8 For what hope does the godless have when he is cut off, ¹⁵ 

when God takes away his life? ¹⁶ 

27:9 Does God listen to his cry

when distress overtakes him?

27:10 Will he find delight ¹⁷  in the Almighty?

Will he call out to God at all times?

Ayub 36:13

36:13 The godless at heart ¹⁸  nourish anger, ¹⁹ 

they do not cry out even when he binds them.

[11:20]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb a “place of escape” (with this noun pattern). There is no place to escape to because they all perish.

[11:20]  ³ tn The word is to be interpreted as a metonymy; it represents what is hoped for.

[11:20]  ⁴ 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.

[13:16]  ⁵ sn The fact that Job will dare to come before God and make his case is evidence – to Job at least – that he is innocent.

[15:34]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ sn This may refer to the fire that struck Job (cf. 1:16).

[15:34]  ⁸ 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.

[18:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “from his tent, his security.” The apposition serves to modify the tent as his security.

[18:14]  ¹⁰ tn The verb is the Hiphil of צָעַד (tsa’ad, “to lead away”). The problem is that the form is either a third feminine (Rashi thought it was referring to Job’s wife) or the second person. There is a good deal of debate over the possibility of the prefix t- being a variant for the third masculine form. The evidence in Ugaritic and Akkadian is mixed, stronger for the plural than the singular. Gesenius has some samples where the third feminine form might also be used for the passive if there is no expressed subject (see GKC 459 §144.b), but the evidence is not strong. The simplest choices are to change the prefix to a י (yod), or argue that the ת (tav) can be masculine, or follow Gesenius.

[18:14]  ¹¹ sn This is a reference to death, the king of all terrors. Other identifications are made in the commentaries: Mot, the Ugaritic god of death; Nergal of the Babylonians; Molech of the Canaanites, the one to whom people sent emissaries.

[20:5]  ¹² tn The expression in the text is “quite near.” This indicates that it is easily attained, and that its end is near.

[20:5]  ¹³ tn For the discussion of חָנֵף (khanef, “godless”) see Job 8:13.

[20:5]  ¹⁴ tn The phrase is “until a moment,” meaning it is short-lived. But see J. Barr, “Hebrew ’ad, especially at Job 1:18 and Neh 7:3,” JSS 27 (1982): 177-88.

[27:8]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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.

[27:10]  ¹⁷ tn See the note on 22:26 where the same verb is employed.

[36:13]  ¹⁸ tn The expression “godless [or hypocrite] in heart” is an intensification of the description. It conveys that they are intentionally godless. See Matt 23:28.

[36:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they put anger.” This is usually interpreted to mean they lay up anger, or put anger in their hearts.