Ayub 6:15

6:15 My brothers ¹  have been as treacherous ²  as a seasonal stream, ³ 

and as the riverbeds of the intermittent streams ⁴ 

that flow away. ⁵ 

Ayub 10:13

10:13 “But these things ⁶  you have concealed in your heart;

I know that this ⁷  is with you: ⁸ 

Ayub 15:7

15:7 “Were you the first man ever born?

Were you brought forth before the hills?

Ayub 15:17

15:17 “I will explain to you;

listen to me,

and what ⁹  I have seen, I will declare, ¹⁰ 

Ayub 32:8

32:8 But it is a spirit in people,

the breath ¹¹  of the Almighty,

that makes them understand.

Ayub 37:5

37:5 God thunders with his voice in marvelous ways; ¹² 

he does great things beyond our understanding. ¹³ 

Ayub 38:17

38:17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? ¹⁴ 

Have you seen the gates of deepest darkness? ¹⁵ 

Ayub 40:7

40:7 “Get ready for a difficult task ¹⁶  like a man.

I will question you and you will inform me!

[6:15]  ¹ sn Here the brothers are all his relatives as well as these intimate friends of Job. In contrast to what a friend should do (show kindness/loyalty), these friends have provided no support whatsoever.

[6:15]  ² tn The verb בָּגְדוּ (bagÿdu, “dealt treacherously) has been translated “dealt deceitfully,” but it is a very strong word. It means “to act treacherously [or deceitfully].” The deception is the treachery, because the deception is not innocent – it is in the place of a great need. The imagery will compare it to the brook that may or may not have water. If one finds no water when one expected it and needed it, there is deception and treachery. The LXX softens it considerably: “have not regarded me.”

[6:15]  ³ tn The Hebrew term used here is נָחַל (nakhal); this word differs from words for rivers or streams in that it describes a brook with an intermittent flow of water. A brook where the waters are not flowing is called a deceitful brook (Jer 15:18; Mic 1:14); one where the waters flow is called faithful (Isa 33:16).

[6:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “and as a stream bed of brooks/torrents.” The word אָפִיק (’afiq) is the river bed or stream bed where the water flows. What is more disconcerting than finding a well-known torrent whose bed is dry when one expects it to be gushing with water (E. Dhorme, Job, 86)?

[6:15]  ⁵ tn The verb is rather simple – יַעֲבֹרוּ (ya’avoru). But some translate it “pass away” or “flow away,” and others “overflow.” In the rainy season they are deep and flowing, or “overflow” their banks. This is a natural sense to the verb, and since the next verse focuses on this, some follow this interpretation (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 15). But this idea does not parallel the first part of v. 15. So it makes better sense to render it “flow away” and see the reference to the summer dry spells when one wants the water but is disappointed.

[10:13]  ⁶ sn “These things” refers to the affliction that God had brought on Job. They were concealed by God from the beginning.

[10:13]  ⁷ sn The meaning of the line is that this was God’s purpose all along. “These things” and “this” refer to the details that will now be given in the next few verses.

[10:13]  ⁸ sn The contradiction between how God had provided for and cared for Job’s life and how he was now dealing with him could only be resolved by Job with the supposition that God had planned this severe treatment from the first as part of his plan.

[15:17]  ⁹ tn The demonstrative pronoun is used here as a nominative, to introduce an independent relative clause (see GKC 447 §138.h).

[15:17]  ¹⁰ tn Here the vav (ו) apodosis follows with the cohortative (see GKC 458 §143.d).

[32:8]  ¹¹ 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.

[37:5]  ¹² tn The form is the Niphal participle, “wonders,” from the verb פָּלָא (pala’, “to be wonderful; to be extraordinary”). Some commentators suppress the repeated verb “thunders,” and supply other verbs like “shows” or “works,” enabling them to make “wonders” the object of the verb rather than leaving it in an adverbial role. But as H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 236) notes, no change is needed, for one is not surprised to find repetition in Elihu’s words.

[37:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “and we do not know.”

[38:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “uncovered to you.”

[38:17]  ¹⁵ tn Some still retain the traditional phrase “shadow of death” in the English translation (cf. NIV). The reference is to the entrance to Sheol (see Job 10:21).

[40:7]  ¹⁶ tn See note on “task” in 38:3.