Ayub 24:3

24:3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey;

they take the widow’s ox as a pledge.

Ayub 24:21

24:21 He preys on ¹  the barren and childless woman, ² 

and does not treat the widow well.

Ayub 29:12-13

29:12 for I rescued the poor who cried out for help,

and the orphan who ³  had no one to assist him;

29:13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me, ⁴ 

and I made the widow’s heart rejoice; ⁵ 

Ayub 31:16-18

31:16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, ⁶ 

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 ⁷  –

31:18 but from my youth I raised the orphan ⁸  like a father,

and from my mother’s womb ⁹ 

I guided the widow! ¹⁰ 

Ayub 31:21

31:21 if I have raised my hand ¹¹  to vote against the orphan,

when I saw my support in the court, ¹² 

[24:21]  ¹ tc The form in the text is the active participle, “feed; graze; shepherd.” The idea of “prey” is not natural to it. R. Gordis (Job, 270) argues that third he (ה) verbs are often by-forms of geminate verbs, and so the meaning here is more akin to רָעַע (ra’a’, “to crush”). The LXX seems to have read something like הֵרַע (hera’, “oppressed”).

[24:21]  ² tn Heb “the childless [woman], she does not give birth.” The verbal clause is intended to serve as a modifier here for the woman. See on subordinate verbal clauses GKC 490 §156.d, f.

[29:12]  ³ tn The negative introduces a clause that serves as a negative attribute; literally the following clause says, “and had no helper” (see GKC 482 §152.u).

[29:13]  ⁴ tn The verb is simply בּוֹא (bo’, “to come; to enter”). With the preposition עַל (’al, “upon”) it could mean “came to me,” or “came upon me,” i.e., descended (see R. Gordis, Job, 320).

[29:13]  ⁵ tn The verb אַרְנִן (’arnin) is from רָנַן (ranan, “to give a ringing cry”) but here “cause to give a ringing cry,” i.e., shout of joy. The rejoicing envisioned in this word is far greater than what the words “sing” or “rejoice” suggest.

[31:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “kept the poor from [their] desire.”

[31:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “and an orphan did not eat from it.”

[31:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “he grew up with me.” Several commentators have decided to change the pronoun to “I,” and make it causative.

[31:18]  ⁹ tn The expression “from my mother’s womb” is obviously hyperbolic. It is a way of saying “all his life.”

[31:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I guided her,” referring to the widow mentioned in v. 16.

[31:21]  ¹¹ 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.

[31:21]  ¹² 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.