Ayub 1:22

1:22 In all this Job did not sin, nor did he charge God with moral impropriety. ¹ 

Ayub 3:19

3:19 Small and great are ²  there,

and the slave is free ³  from his master. ⁴ 

Ayub 4:3

4:3 Look, ⁵  you have instructed ⁶  many;

you have strengthened ⁷  feeble hands. ⁸ 

Ayub 4:5

4:5 But now the same thing ⁹  comes to you,

and you are discouraged; ¹⁰ 

it strikes you,

and you are terrified. ¹¹ 

Ayub 4:17

4:17 “Is ¹²  a mortal man ¹³  righteous ¹⁴  before ¹⁵  God?

Or a man pure ¹⁶  before his Creator? ¹⁷ 

Ayub 4:20

4:20 They are destroyed ¹⁸  between morning and evening; ¹⁹ 

they perish forever ²⁰  without anyone regarding it. ²¹ 

Ayub 5:17

5:17 “Therefore, ²²  blessed ²³  is the man whom God corrects, ²⁴ 

so do not despise the discipline ²⁵  of the Almighty. ²⁶ 

Ayub 9:34

9:34 who ²⁷  would take his ²⁸  rod ²⁹  away from me

so that his terror ³⁰  would not make me afraid.

Ayub 12:8

12:8 Or speak ³¹  to the earth ³²  and it will teach you,

or let the fish of the sea declare to you.

Ayub 13:7

13:7 Will you speak wickedly ³³  on God’s behalf? ³⁴ 

Will you speak deceitfully for him?

Ayub 15:16

15:16 how much less man, who is abominable and corrupt, ³⁵ 

who drinks in evil like water! ³⁶ 

Ayub 16:19

16:19 Even now my witness ³⁷  is in heaven;

my advocate ³⁸  is on high.

Ayub 17:16

17:16 Will ³⁹  it ⁴⁰  go down to the barred gates ⁴¹  of death?

Will ⁴²  we descend ⁴³  together into the dust?”

Ayub 18:15

18:15 Fire resides in his tent; ⁴⁴ 

over his residence burning sulfur is scattered.

Ayub 18:17

18:17 His memory perishes from the earth,

he has no name in the land. ⁴⁵ 

Ayub 19:8

19:8 He has blocked ⁴⁶  my way so I cannot pass,

and has set darkness ⁴⁷  over my paths.

Ayub 19:13

Job’s Forsaken State

19:13 “He has put my relatives ⁴⁸  far from me;

my acquaintances only ⁴⁹  turn away from me.

Ayub 20:15

20:15 The wealth that he consumed ⁵⁰  he vomits up,

God will make him throw it out ⁵¹  of his stomach.

Ayub 21:22

21:22 Can anyone teach ⁵²  God knowledge,

since ⁵³  he judges those that are on high? ⁵⁴ 

Ayub 22:12

22:12 “Is not God on high in heaven? ⁵⁵ 

And see ⁵⁶  the lofty stars, ⁵⁷  how high they are!

Ayub 22:28

22:28 Whatever you decide ⁵⁸  on a matter,

it will be established for you,

and light will shine on your ways.

Ayub 23:16

23:16 Indeed, God has made my heart faint; ⁵⁹ 

the Almighty has terrified me.

Ayub 24:8

24:8 They are soaked by mountain rains

and huddle ⁶⁰  in the rocks because they lack shelter.

Ayub 24:17

24:17 For all of them, ⁶¹  the morning is to them

like deep darkness;

they are friends with the terrors of darkness.

Ayub 25:4

25:4 How then can a human being be righteous before God?

How can one born of a woman be pure? ⁶² 

Ayub 28:11

28:11 He has searched ⁶³  the sources ⁶⁴  of the rivers

and what was hidden he has brought into the light.

Ayub 28:15

28:15 Fine gold cannot be given in exchange for it,

nor can its price be weighed out in silver.

Ayub 29:24

29:24 If I smiled at them, they hardly believed it; ⁶⁵ 

and they did not cause the light of my face to darken. ⁶⁶ 

Ayub 31:12

31:12 For it is a fire that devours even to Destruction, ⁶⁷ 

and it would uproot ⁶⁸  all my harvest.

Ayub 31:19

31:19 If I have seen anyone about to perish for lack of clothing,

or a poor man without a coat,

Ayub 31:32

31:32 But ⁶⁹  no stranger had to spend the night outside,

for I opened my doors to the traveler ⁷⁰  –

Ayub 32:4

32:4 Now Elihu had waited before speaking ⁷¹  to Job, because the others ⁷²  were older than he was.

Ayub 32:14

32:14 Job ⁷³  has not directed ⁷⁴  his words to me,

and so I will not reply to him with your arguments. ⁷⁵ 

Ayub 34:22

34:22 There is no darkness, and no deep darkness,

where evildoers can hide themselves. ⁷⁶ 

Ayub 34:36

34:36 But ⁷⁷  Job will be tested to the end,

because his answers are like those of wicked men.

Ayub 35:7

35:7 If you are righteous, what do you give to God,

or what does he receive from your hand?

Ayub 35:15

35:15 And further, ⁷⁸  when you say

that his anger does not punish, ⁷⁹ 

and that he does not know transgression! ⁸⁰ 

Ayub 36:22

36:22 Indeed, God is exalted in his power;

who is a teacher ⁸¹  like him?

Ayub 36:24

36:24 Remember to extol ⁸²  his work,

which people have praised in song.

Ayub 37:21

37:21 But now, the sun ⁸³  cannot be looked at ⁸⁴  –

it is bright in the skies –

after a wind passed and swept the clouds away. ⁸⁵ 

Ayub 38:14

38:14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; ⁸⁶ 

its features ⁸⁷  are dyed ⁸⁸  like a garment.

Ayub 39:13

39:13 ⁸⁹ “The wings of the ostrich ⁹⁰  flap with joy, ⁹¹ 

but are they the pinions and plumage of a stork? ⁹² 

Ayub 39:20

39:20 Do you make it leap ⁹³  like a locust?

Its proud neighing ⁹⁴  is terrifying!

Ayub 39:27

39:27 Is it at your command ⁹⁵  that the eagle soars,

and builds its nest on high?

Ayub 41:9

41:9 (41:1) ⁹⁶  See, his expectation is wrong, ⁹⁷ 

he is laid low even at the sight of it. ⁹⁸ 

[1:22]  ¹ tn The last clause is difficult to translate. It simply reads, “and he did not give unseemliness to God.” The word תִּפְלָה (tiflah) means “unsavoriness” or “unseemliness” in a moral sense. The sense is that Job did not charge God with any moral impropriety in his dealings with him. God did nothing worthless or tasteless. The ancient versions saw the word connected with “foolishness” or “stupidity” (תָּפֵל, tafel, “to be tasteless”). It is possible that “folly” would capture some of what Job meant here. See also M. Dahood, “Hebrew-Ugaritic Lexicography XII,” Bib 55 (1974): 381-93.

[3:19]  ² tn The versions have taken the pronoun in the sense of the verb “to be.” Others give it the sense of “the same thing,” rendering the verse as “small and great, there is no difference there.” GKC 437 §135.a, n. 1, follows this idea with a meaning of “the same.”

[3:19]  ³ tn The LXX renders this as “unafraid,” although the negative has disappeared in some mss to give the reading “and the servant that feared his master.” See I. Mendelsohn, “The Canaanite Term for ‘Free Proletarian’,” BASOR 83 (1941): 36-39; idem, “New Light on hupsu,” BASOR 139 (1955): 9-11.

[3:19]  ⁴ tn The plural “masters” could be taken here as a plural of majesty rather than as referring to numerous masters.

[4:3]  ⁵ tn The deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “behold”) summons attention; it has the sense of “consider, look.”

[4:3]  ⁶ tn The verb יָסַר (yasar) in the Piel means “to correct,” whether by words with the sense of teach, or by chastening with the sense of punish, discipline. The double meaning of “teach” and “discipline” is also found with the noun מוּסָר (musar).

[4:3]  ⁷ tn The parallelism again uses a perfect verb in the first colon and an imperfect in the second; but since the sense of the line is clearly what Job has done in the past, the second verb may be treated as a preterite, or a customary imperfect – what Job repeatedly did in the past (GKC 315 §107.e). The words in this verse may have double meanings. The word יָסַר (yasar, “teach, discipline”) may have the idea of instruction and correction, but also the connotation of strength (see Y. Hoffmann, “The Use of Equivocal Words in the First Speech of Eliphaz [Job IV–V],” VT 30 [1980]: 114-19).

[4:3]  ⁸ tn The “feeble hands” are literally “hands hanging down.” This is a sign of weakness, helplessness, or despondency (see 2 Sam 4:1; Isa 13:7).

[4:5]  ⁹ tn The sentence has no subject, but the context demands that the subject be the same kind of trouble that has come upon people that Job has helped.

[4:5]  ¹⁰ tn This is the same verb used in v. 2, meaning “to be exhausted” or “impatient.” Here with the vav (ו) consecutive the verb describes Job’s state of mind that is a consequence of the trouble coming on him. In this sentence the form is given a present tense translation (see GKC 329 §111.t).

[4:5]  ¹¹ tn This final verb in the verse is vivid; it means “to terrify, dismay” (here the Niphal preterite). Job will go on to speak about all the terrors that come on him.

[4:17]  ¹² tn The imperfect verbs in this verse express obvious truths known at all times (GKC 315 §107.f).

[4:17]  ¹³ tn The word for man here is first אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh), stressing man in all his frailty, his mortality. This is paralleled with גֶּבֶר (gever), a word that would stress more of the strength or might of man. The verse is not making a great contrast between the two, but it is rhetorical question merely stating that no human being of any kind is righteous or pure before God the Creator. See H. Kosmala, “The Term geber in the OT and in the Scrolls,” VTSup 17 (1969): 159-69; and E. Jacob, Theology of the Old Testament, 156-57.

[4:17]  ¹⁴ tn The imperfect verb in this interrogative sentence could also be interpreted with a potential nuance: “Can a man be righteous?”

[4:17]  ¹⁵ tn The classification of מִן (min) as a comparative in this verse (NIV, “more righteous than God”; cf. also KJV, ASV, NCV) does not seem the most probable. The idea of someone being more righteous than God is too strong to be reasonable. Job will not do that – but he will imply that God is unjust. In addition, Eliphaz had this vision before hearing of Job’s trouble and so is not addressing the idea that Job is making himself more righteous than God. He is stating that no man is righteous before God. Verses 18-21 will show that no one can claim righteousness before God. In 9:2 and 25:4 the preposition “with” is used. See also Jer 51:5 where the preposition should be rendered “before” [the Holy One].

[4:17]  ¹⁶ sn In Job 15:14 and 25:4 the verb יִזְכֶּה (yizkeh, from זָכָה [zakhah, “be clean”]) is paralleled with יִצְדַּק (yitsdaq, from צָדֵק [tsadeq, “be righteous”).

[4:17]  ¹⁷ tn The double question here merely repeats the same question with different words (see GKC 475 §150.h). The second member could just as well have been connected with ו (vav).

[4:20]  ¹⁸ tn The form יֻכַּתּוּ (yukkatu) is the Hophal imperfect of the root כָּתַת (katat, “to be pounded, pulverized, reduced to ashes” [Jer 46:5; Mic 1:7]). It follows the Aramaic formation (see GKC 182 §67.y). This line appears to form a parallelism with “they are crushed like a moth,” the third unit of the last verse; but it has its own parallel idea in this verse. See D. J. A. Clines, “Verb Modality and the Interpretation of Job 4:20, 21,” VT 30 (1980): 354-57.

[4:20]  ¹⁹ tn Or “from morning to evening.” The expression “from morning to evening” is probably not a merism, but rather describes the time between the morning and the evening, as in Isa 38:12: “from day to night you make an end of me.”

[4:20]  ²⁰ sn The second colon expresses the consequence of this day-long reducing to ashes – they perish forever! (see 20:7 and 14:20).

[4:20]  ²¹ tn This rendering is based on the interpretation that מִבְּלִי מֵשִׂים (mibbÿli mesim) uses the Hiphil participle of שִׂים (sim, “set”) with an understood object “heart” to gain the idiom of “taking to heart, considering, regarding it” – hence, “without anyone regarding it.” Some commentators have attempted to resolve the difficulty by emending the text, a procedure that has no more support than positing the ellipses. One suggested emendation does have the LXX in its favor, namely, a reading of מֹשִׁיעַ (moshia’, “one who saves”) in place of מֵשִׂים (mesim, “one who sets”). This would lead to “without one who saves they perish forever” (E. Dhorme, Job, 55).

[5:17]  ²² tn The particle “therefore” links this section to the preceding; it points this out as the logical consequence of the previous discussion, and more generally, as the essence of Job’s suffering.

[5:17]  ²³ tn The word אַשְׁרֵי (’ashre, “blessed”) is often rendered “happy.” But “happy” relates to what happens. “Blessed” is a reference to the heavenly bliss of the one who is right with God.

[5:17]  ²⁴ tn The construction is an implied relative clause. The literal rendering would simply be “the man God corrects him.” The suffix on the verb is a resumptive pronoun, completing the use of the relative clause. The verb יָכַח (yakhakh) is a legal term; it always has some sense of a charge, dispute, or conflict. Its usages show that it may describe a strife breaking out, a charge or quarrel in progress, or the settling of a dispute (Isa 1:18). The derived noun can mean “reproach; recrimination; charge” (13:6; 23:4). Here the emphasis is on the consequence of the charge brought, namely, the correction.

[5:17]  ²⁵ tn The noun מוּסַר (musar) is parallel to the idea of the first colon. It means “discipline, correction” (from יָסַר, yasar). Prov 3:11 says almost the same thing as this line.

[5:17]  ²⁶ sn The name Shaddai occurs 31 times in the book. This is its first occurrence. It is often rendered “Almighty” because of the LXX and some of the early fathers. The etymology and meaning of the word otherwise remains uncertain, in spite of attempts to connect it to “mountains” or “breasts.”

[9:34]  ²⁷ tn The verse probably continues the description from the last verse, and so a relative pronoun may be supplied here as well.

[9:34]  ²⁸ tn According to some, the reference of this suffix would be to God. The arbiter would remove the rod of God from Job. But others take it as a separate sentence with God removing his rod.

[9:34]  ²⁹ sn The “rod” is a symbol of the power of God to decree whatever judgments and afflictions fall upon people.

[9:34]  ³⁰ tn “His terror” is metonymical; it refers to the awesome majesty of God that overwhelms Job and causes him to be afraid.

[12:8]  ³¹ tn The word in the MT means “to complain,” not simply “to speak,” and one would expect animals as the object here in parallel to the last verse. So several commentators have replaced the word with words for animals or reptiles – totally different words (cf. NAB, “reptiles”). The RSV and NRSV have here the word “plants” (see 30:4, 7; and Gen 21:15).

[12:8]  ³² tn A. B. Davidson (Job, 90) offers a solution by taking “earth” to mean all the lower forms of life that teem in the earth (a metonymy of subject).

[13:7]  ³³ tn The construction literally reads “speak iniquity.” The form functions adverbially. The noun עַוְלָה (’avlah) means “perversion; injustice; iniquity; falsehood.” Here it is parallel to רְמִיָּה (rÿmiyyah, “fraud; deceit; treachery”).

[13:7]  ³⁴ tn The expression “for God” means “in favor of God” or “on God’s behalf.” Job is amazed that they will say false things on God’s behalf.

[15:16]  ³⁵ tn The two descriptions here used are “abominable,” meaning “disgusting” (a Niphal participle with the value of a Latin participle [see GKC 356-57 §116.e]), and “corrupt” (a Niphal participle which occurs only in Pss 14:3 and 53:4), always in a moral sense. On the significance of the first description, see P. Humbert, “Le substantif toáe„ba„ et le verbe táb dans l’Ancien Testament,” ZAW 72 [1960]: 217ff.). On the second word, G. R. Driver suggests from Arabic, “debauched with luxury, corrupt” (“Some Hebrew Words,” JTS 29 [1927/28]: 390-96).

[15:16]  ³⁶ sn Man commits evil with the same ease and facility as he drinks in water – freely and in large quantities.

[16:19]  ³⁷ sn The witness in heaven must be God, to whom the cries and prayers come. Job’s dilemma is serious, but common to the human experience: the hostility of God toward him is baffling, but he is conscious of his innocence and can call on God to be his witness.

[16:19]  ³⁸ tn The parallelism now uses the Aramaic word “my advocate” – the one who testifies on my behalf. The word again appears in Gen 31:47 for Laban’s naming of the “heap of witness” in Aramaic – “Sahadutha.”

[17:16]  ³⁹ sn It is natural to assume that this verse continues the interrogative clause of the preceding verse.

[17:16]  ⁴⁰ tn The plural form of the verb probably refers to the two words, or the two senses of the word in the preceding verse. Hope and what it produces will perish with Job.

[17:16]  ⁴¹ tn The Hebrew word בַּדִּים (baddim) describes the “bars” or “bolts” of Sheol, referring (by synecdoche) to the “gates of Sheol.” The LXX has “with me to Sheol,” and many adopt that as “by my side.”

[17:16]  ⁴² tn The conjunction אִם (’im) confirms the interrogative interpretation.

[17:16]  ⁴³ tn The translation follows the LXX and the Syriac versions with the change of vocalization in the MT. The MT has the noun “rest,” yielding, “will our rest be together in the dust?” The verb נָחַת (nakhat) in Aramaic means “to go down; to descend.” If that is the preferred reading – and it almost is universally accepted here – then it would be spelled נֵחַת (nekhat). In either case the point of the verse is clearly describing death and going to the grave.

[18:15]  ⁴⁴ tn This line is difficult as well. The verb, again a third feminine form, says “it dwells in his tent.” But the next part (מִבְּלִי לוֹ, mibbÿli lo) means something like “things of what are not his.” The best that can be made of the MT is “There shall live in his tent they that are not his” (referring to persons and animals; see J. E. Hartley, Job [NICOT], 279). G. R. Driver and G. B. Gray (Job [ICC], 2:161) refer “that which is naught of his” to weeds and wild animals. M. Dahood suggested a reading מַבֶּל (mabbel) and a connection to Akkadian nablu, “fire” (cf. Ugaritic nbl). The interchange of m and n is not a problem, and the parallelism with the next line makes good sense (“Some Northwest Semitic words in Job,” Bib 38 [1957]: 312ff.). Others suggest an emendation to get “night-hag” or vampire. This suggestion, as well as Driver’s “mixed herbs,” are linked to the idea of exorcism. But if a change is to be made, Dahood’s is the most compelling.

[18:17]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “outside.” Cf. ESV, “in the street,” referring to absence from his community’s memory.

[19:8]  ⁴⁶ tn The verb גָּדַר (gadar) means “to wall up; to fence up; to block.” God has blocked Job’s way so that he cannot get through. See the note on 3:23. Cf. Lam 3:7.

[19:8]  ⁴⁷ tn Some commentators take the word to be חָשַׁךְ (hasak), related to an Arabic word for “thorn hedge.”

[19:13]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “brothers.”

[19:13]  ⁴⁹ tn The LXX apparently took אַךְ־זָרוּ (’akh, “even, only,” and zaru, “they turn away”) together as if it was the verb אַכְזָרוּ (’akhzaru, “they have become cruel,” as in 20:21). But the grammar in the line would be difficult with this. Moreover, the word is most likely from זוּר (zur, “to turn away”). See L. A. Snijders, “The Meaning of zar in the Old Testament,” OTS 10 (1964): 1-154 (especially p. 9).

[20:15]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “swallowed.”

[20:15]  ⁵¹ tn The choice of words is excellent. The verb יָרַשׁ (yarash) means either “to inherit” or “to disinherit; to dispossess.” The context makes the figure clear that God is administering the emetic to make the wicked throw up the wealth (thus, “God will make him throw it out…”); but since wealth is the subject there is a disinheritance meant here.

[21:22]  ⁵² tn The imperfect verb in this question should be given the modal nuance of potential imperfect. The question is rhetorical – it is affirming that no one can teach God.

[21:22]  ⁵³ tn The clause begins with the disjunctive vav (ו) and the pronoun, “and he.” This is to be subordinated as a circumstantial clause. See GKC 456 §142.d.

[21:22]  ⁵⁴ tc The Hebrew has רָמִים (ramim), a plural masculine participle of רוּם (rum, “to be high; to be exalted”). This is probably a reference to the angels. But M. Dahood restores an older interpretation that it refers to “the Most High” (“Some Northwest Semitic words in Job,”Bib 38 [1957]: 316-17). He would take the word as a singular form with an enclitic mem (ם). He reads the verse, “will he judge the Most High?”

[22:12]  ⁵⁵ tn This reading preserves the text as it is. The nouns “high” and “heavens” would then be taken as adverbial accusatives of place (see GKC 373-74 §118.g).

[22:12]  ⁵⁶ tn The parallel passage in Isa 40:26-27, as well as the context here, shows that the imperative is to be retained here. The LXX has “he sees.”

[22:12]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “head of the stars.”

[22:28]  ⁵⁸ tn The word is גָּזַר (gazar, “to cut”), in the sense of deciding a matter.

[23:16]  ⁵⁹ tn The verb הֵרַךְ (kherakh) means “to be tender”; in the Piel it would have the meaning “to soften.” The word is used in parallel constructions with the verbs for “fear.” The implication is that God has made Job fearful.

[24:8]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “embrace” or “hug.”

[24:17]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “together.”

[25:4]  ⁶² sn Bildad here does not come up with new expressions; rather, he simply uses what Eliphaz had said (see Job 4:17-19 and 15:14-16).

[28:11]  ⁶³ tc The translation “searched” follows the LXX and Vulgate; the MT reads “binds up” or “dams up.” This latter translation might refer to the damming of water that might seep into a mine (HALOT 289 s.v. חבשׁ; cf. ESV, NJPS, NASB, REB, NLT).

[28:11]  ⁶⁴ tc The older translations had “he binds the streams from weeping,” i.e., from trickling (מִבְּכִי, mibbÿkhi). But the Ugaritic parallel has changed the understanding, reading “toward the spring of the rivers” (`m mbk nhrm). Earlier than that discovery, the versions had taken the word as a noun as well. Some commentators had suggested repointing the Hebrew. Some chose מַבְּכֵי (mabbÿkhe, “sources”). Now there is much Ugaritic support for the reading (see G. M. Landes, BASOR 144 [1956]: 32f.; and H. L. Ginsberg, “The Ugaritic texts and textual criticism,” JBL 62 [1943]: 111).

[29:24]  ⁶⁵ tn The connection of this clause with the verse is difficult. The line simply reads: “[if] I would smile at them, they would not believe.” Obviously something has to be supplied to make sense out of this. The view adopted here makes the most sense, namely, that when he smiled at people, they could hardly believe their good fortune. Other interpretations are strained, such as Kissane’s, “If I laughed at them, they believed not,” meaning, people rejected the views that Job laughed at.

[29:24]  ⁶⁶ tn The meaning, according to Gordis, is that they did nothing to provoke Job’s displeasure.

[31:12]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “to Abaddon.”

[31:12]  ⁶⁸ 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.”

[31:32]  ⁶⁹ tn This verse forms another parenthesis. Job stops almost at every point now in the conditional clauses to affirm his purity and integrity.

[31:32]  ⁷⁰ 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.

[32:4]  ⁷¹ 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.

[32:4]  ⁷² tn Heb “they”; the referent (the other friends) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:14]  ⁷³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Job) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:14]  ⁷⁴ 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.

[32:14]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “your words.”

[34:22]  ⁷⁶ tn The construction of this colon uses the Niphal infinitive construct from סָתַר (satar, “to be hidden; to hide”). The resumptive adverb makes this a relative clause in its usage: “where the evildoers can hide themselves.”

[34:36]  ⁷⁷ tc The MT reads אָבִי (’avi, “my father”), which makes no sense. Some follow the KJV and emend the word to make a verb “I desire” or use the noun “my desire of it.” Others follow an Arabic word meaning “entreat, I pray” (cf. ESV, “Would that Job were tried”). The LXX and the Syriac versions have “but” and “surely” respectively. Since this is the only ms support, albeit weak, it may be the best choice. In this sense Elihu would be saying that because of Job’s attitude God will continue to test him.

[35:15]  ⁷⁸ tn The expression “and now” introduces a new complaint of Elihu – in addition to the preceding. Here the verb of v. 14, “you say,” is understood after the temporal ki (כִּי).

[35:15]  ⁷⁹ tn The verb פָקַד (paqad) means “to visit” (also “to appoint; to muster; to number”). When God visits, it means that he intervenes in one’s life for blessing or cursing (punishing, destroying).

[35:15]  ⁸⁰ tn The word פַּשׁ (pash) is a hapax legomenon. K&D 12:275 derived it from an Arabic word meaning “belch,” leading to the idea of “overflow.” BDB 832 s.v. defines it as “folly.” Several define it as “transgression” on the basis of the versions (Theodotion, Symmachus, Vulgate). The RSV took it as “greatly heed,” but that is not exactly “greatly know,” when the text beyond that requires “not know at all.” The NIV has “he does not take the least notice of wickedness.”

[36:22]  ⁸¹ tn The word מוֹרֶה (moreh) is the Hiphil participle from יָרַה (yarah). It is related to the noun תּוֹרָה (torah, “what is taught” i.e., the law).

[36:24]  ⁸² tn The expression is “that you extol,” serving as an object of the verb.

[37:21]  ⁸³ tn The light here must refer to the sun in the skies that had been veiled by the storm. Then, when the winds blew the clouds away, it could not be looked at because it was so dazzling. Elihu’s analogy will be that God is the same – in his glory one cannot look at him or challenge him.

[37:21]  ⁸⁴ tn The verb has an indefinite subject, and so should be a passive here.

[37:21]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “and cleaned them.” The referent is the clouds (v. 18), which has been supplied in the translation for clarity. There is another way of reading this verse: the word translated “bright” means “dark; obscured” in Syriac. In this interpretation the first line would mean that they could not see the sun, because it was darkened by the clouds, but then the wind came and blew the clouds away. Dhorme, Gray, and several others take it this way, as does the NAB.

[38:14]  ⁸⁶ sn The verse needs to be understood in the context: as the light shines in the dawn, the features of the earth take on a recognizable shape or form. The language is phenomenological.

[38:14]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the objects or features on the earth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[38:14]  ⁸⁸ tc The MT reads “they stand up like a garment” (NASB, NIV) or “its features stand out like a garment” (ESV). The reference could be either to embroidered decoration on a garment or to the folds of a garment (REB: “until all things stand out like the folds of a cloak”; cf. J. E. Hartley, Job [NICOT], 497, “the early light of day makes the earth appear as a beautiful garment, exquisite in design and glorious in color”). Since this is thought to be an odd statement, some suggest with Ehrlich that the text be changed to תִּצָּבַּע (titsabba’, “is dyed [like a garment]”). This reference would be to the colors appearing on the earth’s surface under daylight. The present translation follows the emendation.

[39:13]  ⁸⁹ tc This whole section on the ostrich is not included in the LXX. Many feel it is an interpolation and should therefore be deleted. The pattern of the chapter changes from the questions being asked to observations being made.

[39:13]  ⁹⁰ tn The word occurs only here and means “shrill cries.” If the MT is correct, this is a poetic name for the ostrich (see Lam 4:3).

[39:13]  ⁹¹ tn Many proposals have been made here. The MT has a verb, “exult.” Strahan had “flap joyously,” a rendering followed by the NIV. The RSV uses “wave proudly.”

[39:13]  ⁹² tn The point of this statement would be that the ostrich cannot compare to the stork. But there are many other proposals for this line – just about every commentator has a different explanation for it. Of the three words here, the first means “pinion,” the third “plumage,” and the second probably “stork,” although the LXX has “heron.” The point of this whole section is that the ostrich is totally lacking in parental care, whereas the stork is characterized by it. The Hebrew word for “stork” is the same word for “love”: חֲסִידָה (khasidah), an interpretation followed by the NASB. The most likely reading is “or are they the pinions and plumage of the stork?” The ostrich may flap about, but cannot fly and does not care for its young.

[39:20]  ⁹³ sn The same ideas are found in Joel 2:4. The leaping motion is compared to the galloping of the horse.

[39:20]  ⁹⁴ tn The word could mean “snorting” as well (see Jer 8:16). It comes from the root “to blow.” If the horse is running and breathing hard, this could be the sense here.

[39:27]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “your mouth.”

[41:9]  ⁹⁶ sn Job 41:9 in the English Bible is 41:1 in the Hebrew text (BHS). From here to the end of the chapter the Hebrew verse numbers differ from those in the English Bible, with 41:10 ET = 41:2 HT, 41:11 ET = 41:3 HT, etc. See also the note on 41:1.

[41:9]  ⁹⁷ tn The line is difficult. “His hope [= expectation]” must refer to any assailant who hopes or expects to capture the creature. Because there is no antecedent, Dhorme and others transpose it with the next verse. The point is that the man who thought he was sufficient to confront Leviathan soon finds his hope – his expectation – false (a derivative from the verb כָּזַב [kazab, “lie”] is used for a mirage).

[41:9]  ⁹⁸ tn There is an interrogative particle in this line, which most commentators ignore. But others freely emend the MT. Gunkel, following the mythological approach, has “his appearance casts down even a god.” Cheyne likewise has: “even divine beings the fear of him brings low” (JQR 9 [1896/97]: 579). Pope has, “Were not the gods cast down at the sight of him?” There is no need to bring in this mythological element.