20:12 “If 1 evil is sweet in his mouth
and he hides it under his tongue, 2
30:7 They brayed 3 like animals among the bushes
and were huddled together 4 under the nettles.
1 tn The conjunction אִם (’im) introduces clauses that are conditional or concessive. With the imperfect verb in the protasis it indicates what is possible in the present or future. See GKC 496 §159.q).
2 sn The wicked person holds on to evil as long as he can, savoring the taste or the pleasure of it.
3 tn The verb נָהַק (nahaq) means “to bray.” It has cognates in Arabic, Aramaic, and Ugaritic, so there is no need for emendation here. It is the sign of an animal’s hunger. In the translation the words “like animals” are supplied to clarify the metaphor for the modern reader.
4 tn The Pual of the verb סָפַח (safakh, “to join”) also brings out the passivity of these people – “they were huddled together” (E. Dhorme, Job, 434).