Ayub 18:17

18:17 His memory perishes from the earth,

he has no name in the land. ¹ 

Ayub 20:10

20:10 His sons must recompense ²  the poor;

his own hands ³  must return his wealth.

Ayub 20:29

20:29 Such is the lot God allots the wicked,

and the heritage of his appointment ⁴  from God.”

Ayub 24:10

24:10 They go about naked, without clothing,

and go hungry while they carry the sheaves. ⁵ 

Ayub 28:10

28:10 He has cut out channels ⁶  through the rocks;

his eyes have spotted ⁷  every precious thing.

Ayub 29:7-8

29:7 When I went out to the city gate

and secured my seat in the public square, ⁸ 

29:8 the young men would see me and step aside, ⁹ 

and the old men would get up and remain standing;

Ayub 31:38

Job’s Final Solemn Oath ¹⁰ 

31:38 “If my land cried out against me ¹¹ 

and all its furrows wept together,

Ayub 32:19

32:19 Inside I am like wine which has no outlet, ¹² 

like new wineskins ¹³  ready to burst!

Ayub 33:28

33:28 He redeemed my life ¹⁴ 

from going down to the place of corruption,

and my life sees the light!’

[18:17]  ¹ tn Heb “outside.” Cf. ESV, “in the street,” referring to absence from his community’s memory.

[20:10]  ² tn The early versions confused the root of this verb, taking it from רָצַץ (ratsats, “mistreat”) and not from רָצָה (ratsah, “be please with”). So it was taken to mean, “Let inferiors destroy his children.” But the verb is רָצָה (ratsah). This has been taken to mean “his sons will seek the favor of the poor.” This would mean that they would be reduced to poverty and need help from even the poor. Some commentators see this as another root רָצָה (ratsah) meaning “to compensate; to restore” wealth their father had gained by impoverishing others. This fits the parallelism well, but not the whole context that well.

[20:10]  ³ tn Some commentators are surprised to see “his hands” here, thinking the passage talks about his death. Budde changed it to “his children,” by altering one letter. R. Gordis argued that “hand” can mean offspring, and so translated it that way without changing anything in the text (“A note on YAD,” JBL 62 [1943]: 343).

[20:29]  ⁴ tn For the word אִמְרוֹ (’imro) some propose reading “his appointment,” and the others, “his word.” Driver shows that “the heritage of his appointment” means “his appointed heritage” (see GKC 440 §135.n).

[24:10]  ⁵ sn The point should not be missed – amidst abundant harvests, carrying sheaves about, they are still going hungry.

[28:10]  ⁶ tn Or “tunnels.” The word is יְאֹרִים (yÿ’orim), the word for “rivers” and in the singular, the Nile River. Here it refers to tunnels or channels through the rocks.

[28:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “his eye sees.”

[29:7]  ⁸ sn In the public square. The area referred to here should not be thought of in terms of modern western dimensions. The wide space, plaza, or public square mentioned here is the open area in the gate complex where legal and business matters were conducted. The area could be as small as a few hundred square feet.

[29:8]  ⁹ tn The verb means “to hide; to withdraw.” The young men out of respect would withdraw or yield the place of leadership to Job (thus the translation “step aside”). The old men would rise and remain standing until Job took his seat – a sign of respect.

[31:38]  ¹⁰ sn Many commentators place vv. 38-40b at the end of v. 34, so that there is no return to these conditional clauses after his final appeal.

[31:38]  ¹¹ sn Some commentators have suggested that the meaning behind this is that Job might not have kept the year of release (Deut 15:1), and the law against mixing seed (Lev 19:19). But the context will make clear that the case considered is obtaining the land without paying for it and causing the death of its lawful owner (see H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 206). Similar to this would be the case of Naboth’s vineyard.

[32:19]  ¹² tn Heb “in my belly I am like wine that is not opened” (a Niphal imperfect), meaning sealed up with no place to escape.

[32:19]  ¹³ tc The Hebrew text has כְּאֹבוֹת חֲדָשִׁים (kÿ’ovot khadashim), traditionally rendered “like new wineskins.” But only here does the phrase have this meaning. The LXX has “smiths” for “new,” thus “like smith’s bellows.” A. Guillaume connects the word with an Arabic word for a wide vessel for wine shaped like a cup (“Archaeological and philological note on Job 32:19,” PEQ 93 [1961]: 147-50). Some have been found in archaeological sites. The poor would use skins, the rich would use jars. The key to putting this together is the verb at the end of the line, יִבָּקֵעַ (yibbaqea’, “that are ready to burst”). The point of the statement is that Elihu is bursting to speak, and until now has not had the opening.

[33:28]  ¹⁴ sn See note on “him” in v. 24.