Ayub 6:5

Complaints Reflect Suffering

6:5 “Does the wild donkey ¹  bray ²  when it is near grass? ³ 

Or ⁴  does the ox low near its fodder? ⁵ 

Ayub 10:3

10:3 Is it good for you ⁶  to oppress, ⁷ 

to ⁸  despise the work of your hands,

while ⁹  you smile ¹⁰ 

on the schemes of the wicked?

Ayub 19:1

Job’s Reply to Bildad ¹¹ 

19:1 Then Job answered:

Ayub 21:1

Job’s Reply to Zophar ¹² 

21:1 Then Job answered:

Ayub 34:17

34:17 Do you really think ¹³ 

that one who hates justice can govern? ¹⁴ 

And will you declare guilty

the supremely righteous ¹⁵  One,

Ayub 38:17

38:17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? ¹⁶ 

Have you seen the gates of deepest darkness? ¹⁷ 

Ayub 39:2

39:2 Do you count the months they must fulfill,

and do you know the time they give birth? ¹⁸ 

[6:5]  ¹ tn There have been suggestions to identify this animal as something other than a wild donkey, but the traditional interpretation has been confirmed (see P. Humbert, “En marge du dictionnaire hébraïque,” ZAW 62 [1950]: 199-207).

[6:5]  ² tn The verb נָהַק (nahaq, “bray”) occurs in Arabic and Aramaic and only in Job 30:7 in Hebrew, where it refers to unfortunate people in the wilderness who utter cries like the hungry wild donkey.

[6:5]  ³ sn In this brief section Job indicates that it would be wiser to seek the reason for the crying than to complain of the cry. The wild donkey will bray when it finds no food (see Jer 14:6).

[6:5]  ⁴ tn The construction forms a double question (אִם...הֲ, ha…’im) but not to express mutually exclusive questions in this instance. Instead, it is used to repeat the same question in different words (see GKC 475 §150.h).

[6:5]  ⁵ tc The LXX captures the meaning of the verse, but renders it in a more expansive way.

[6:5]  tn This word occurs here and in Isa 30:24. In contrast to the grass that grows on the fields for the wild donkey, this is fodder prepared for the domesticated animals.

[10:3]  ⁶ tn Or “Does it give you pleasure?” The expression could also mean, “Is it profitable for you?” or “Is it fitting for you?”

[10:3]  ⁷ tn The construction uses כִּי (ki) with the imperfect verb – “that you oppress.” Technically, this clause serves as the subject, and “good” is the predicate adjective. In such cases one often uses an English infinitive to capture the point: “Is it good for you to oppress?” The LXX changes the meaning considerably: “Is it good for you if I am unrighteous, for you have disowned the work of your hands.”

[10:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “that you despise.”

[10:3]  ⁹ tn Now, in the second half of the verse, there is a change in the structure. The conjunction on the preposition followed by the perfect verb represents a circumstantial clause.

[10:3]  ¹⁰ tn The Hiphil of the verb יָפַע (yafa’) means “shine.” In this context the expression “you shine upon” would mean “have a glowing expression,” be radiant, or smile.

[19:1]  ¹¹ sn Job is completely stunned by Bildad’s speech, and feels totally deserted by God and his friends. Yet from his despair a new hope emerges with a stronger faith. Even though he knows he will die in his innocence, he knows that God will vindicate him and that he will be conscious of the vindication. There are four parts to this reply: Job’s impatience with the speeches of his friends (2-6), God’s abandonment of Job and his attack (7-12), Job’s forsaken state and appeal to his friends (13-22), and Job’s confidence that he will be vindicated (23-29).

[21:1]  ¹² sn In this chapter Job actually answers the ideas of all three of his friends. Here Job finds the flaw in their argument – he can point to wicked people who prosper. But whereas in the last speech, when he looked on his suffering from the perspective of his innocence, he found great faith and hope, in this chapter when he surveys the divine government of the world, he sinks to despair. The speech can be divided into five parts: he appeals for a hearing (2-6), he points out the prosperity of the wicked (7-16), he wonders exactly when the godless suffer (17-22), he shows how death levels everything (23-26), and he reveals how experience contradicts his friends’ argument (27-34).

[34:17]  ¹³ tn The force of הַאַף (ha’af) is “Is it truly the case?” The point is being made that if Job were right God could not be judging the world.

[34:17]  ¹⁴ tn The verb חָבַשׁ (khavash) has the basic idea of “to bind,” as in binding on the yoke, and then in the sense of subduing people under authority (cf. Assyrian absanu). The imperfect verb here is best expressed with the potential nuance.

[34:17]  ¹⁵ tn The two words could be taken separately, but they seem to form a fine nominal hendiadys, because the issue is God’s justice. So the word for power becomes the modifier.

[38:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “uncovered to you.”

[38:17]  ¹⁷ 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).

[39:2]  ¹⁸ tn Here the infinitive is again a substantive: “the time of their giving birth.”