Ayub 10:17

10:17 You bring new witnesses ¹  against me,

and increase your anger against me;

relief troops ²  come against me.

Ayub 12:6

12:6 But ³  the tents of robbers are peaceful,

and those who provoke God are confident ⁴  –

who carry their god in their hands. ⁵ 

Ayub 16:8

16:8 You have seized me, ⁶ 

and it ⁷  has become a witness;

my leanness ⁸  has risen up against me

and testifies against me.

Ayub 31:34

31:34 because I was terrified ⁹  of the great multitude, ¹⁰ 

and the contempt of families terrified me,

so that I remained silent

and would not go outdoors – ¹¹ 

Ayub 37:19

37:19 Tell us what we should ¹²  say to him.

We cannot prepare a case ¹³ 

because of the darkness.

Ayub 38:37

38:37 Who by wisdom can count the clouds,

and who can tip over ¹⁴  the water jars of heaven,

Ayub 40:5

40:5 I have spoken once, but I cannot answer;

twice, but I will say no more.” ¹⁵ 

[10:17]  ¹ tn The text has “you renew/increase your witnesses.” This would probably mean Job’s sufferings, which were witness to his sins. But some suggested a different word here, one that is cognate to Arabic ’adiya, “to be an enemy; to be hostile”: thus “you renew your hostility against me.” Less convincing are suggestions that the word is cognate to Ugaritic “troops” (see W. G. E. Watson, “The Metaphor in Job 10,17,” Bib 63 [1982]: 255-57).

[10:17]  ² tn The Hebrew simply says “changes and a host are with me.” The “changes and a host” is taken as a hendiadys, meaning relieving troops (relief troops of the army). The two words appear together again in 14:14, showing that emendation is to be avoided. The imagery depicts blow after blow from God – always fresh attacks.

[12:6]  ³ tn The verse gives the other side of the coin now, the fact that the wicked prosper.

[12:6]  ⁴ tn The plural is used to suggest the supreme degree of arrogant confidence (E. Dhorme, Job, 171).

[12:6]  ⁵ sn The line is perhaps best understood as describing one who thinks he is invested with the power of God.

[16:8]  ⁶ tn The verb is קָמַט (qamat) which is used only here and in 22:16; it means “to seize; to grasp.” By God’s seizing him, Job means his afflictions.

[16:8]  ⁷ tn The subject is “my calamity.”

[16:8]  ⁸ tn The verb is used in Ps 109:24 to mean “to be lean”; and so “leanness” is accepted here for the noun by most. Otherwise the word is “lie, deceit.” Accordingly, some take it here as “my slanderer” or “my liar” (gives evidence against me).

[31:34]  ⁹ tn Here too the verb will be the customary imperfect – it explains what he continually did in past time.

[31:34]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the great multitude.” But some commentators take רַבָּה (rabbah) adverbially: “greatly” (see RSV).

[31:34]  ¹¹ sn There is no clear apodosis for all these clauses. Some commentators transfer the verses around to make them fit the constructions. But the better view is that there is no apodosis – that Job broke off here, feeling it was useless to go further. Now he will address God and not men. But in vv. 38-40b he does return to a self-imprecation. However, there is not sufficient reason to start rearranging all the verses.

[37:19]  ¹² tn The imperfect verb here carries the obligatory nuance, “what we should say?”

[37:19]  ¹³ tn The verb means “to arrange; to set in order.” From the context the idea of a legal case is included.

[38:37]  ¹⁴ tn The word actually means “to cause to lie down.”

[40:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will not add.”