Ayub 15:1

Eliphaz’s Second Speech ¹ 

15:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

Ayub 22:1

Eliphaz’s Third Speech ² 

22:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

Ayub 30:16

Job’s Despondency

30:16 “And now my soul pours itself out within me; ³ 

days of suffering take hold of me.

Ayub 34:7

34:7 What man is like Job,

who ⁴  drinks derision ⁵  like water!

Ayub 34:9

34:9 For he says, ‘It does not profit a man

when he makes his delight with God.’ ⁶ 

Ayub 39:3

39:3 They crouch, they bear ⁷  their young,

they bring forth the offspring they have carried. ⁸ 

[15:1]  ¹ sn In the first round of speeches, Eliphaz had emphasized the moral perfection of God, Bildad his unwavering justice, and Zophar his omniscience. Since this did not bring the expected response from Job, the friends see him as a menace to true religion, and so they intensify their approach. Eliphaz, as dignified as ever, rebukes Job for his arrogance and warns about the judgment the wicked bring on themselves. The speech of Eliphaz falls into three parts: the rebuke of Job for his irreverence (2-6); the analysis of Job’s presumption about wisdom (7-16), and his warning about the fate of the wicked (17-35).

[22:1]  ² sn The third and final cycle of speeches now begins with Eliphaz’ final speech. Eliphaz will here underscore the argument that man’s ills are brought about by sin; he will then deduce from Job’s sufferings the sins he must have committed and the sinful attitude he has about God. The speech has four parts: Job’s suffering is proof of his sin (2-5), Job’s sufferings demonstrate the kinds of sin Job committed (6-11), Job’s attitude about God (12-20), and the final appeal and promise to Job (21-30).

[30:16]  ³ tn This line can either mean that Job is wasting away (i.e., his life is being poured out), or it can mean that he is grieving. The second half of the verse gives the subordinate clause of condition for this.

[34:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “he drinks,” but coming after the question this clause may be subordinated.

[34:7]  ⁵ tn The scorn or derision mentioned here is not against Job, but against God. Job scorns God so much, he must love it. So to reflect this idea, Gordis has translated it “blasphemy” (cf. NAB).

[34:9]  ⁶ tn Gordis, however, takes this expression in the sense of “being in favor with God.”

[39:3]  ⁷ tc The Hebrew verb used here means “to cleave,” and this would not have the object “their young.” Olshausen and others after him change the ח (khet) to ט (tet) and get a verb “to drop,” meaning “drop [= give birth to] young” as used in Job 21:10. G. R. Driver holds out for the MT, arguing it is an idiom, “to breach the womb” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 92-93).

[39:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “they cast forth their labor pains.” This word usually means “birth pangs” but here can mean what caused the pains (metonymy of effect). This fits better with the parallelism, and the verb (“cast forth”). The words “their offspring” are supplied in the translation for clarity; direct objects were often omitted when clear from the context, although English expects them to be included.