Ayub 26:4

26:4 To whom ¹  did you utter these words?

And whose spirit has come forth from your mouth? ² 

Ayub 15:11

15:11 Are God’s consolations ³  too trivial for you; ⁴ 

or a word spoken ⁵  in gentleness to you?

Ayub 38:20

38:20 that you may take them to their borders

and perceive the pathways to their homes? ⁶ 

Ayub 17:11

17:11 My days have passed, my plans ⁷  are shattered,

even ⁸  the desires ⁹  of my heart.

Ayub 19:12

19:12 His troops ¹⁰  advance together;

they throw up ¹¹  a siege ramp against me,

and they camp around my tent.

Ayub 30:12

30:12 On my right the young rabble ¹²  rise up;

they drive me from place to place, ¹³ 

and build up siege ramps ¹⁴  against me. ¹⁵ 

Ayub 39:26

39:26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars, ¹⁶ 

and spreads its wings toward the south?

Ayub 32:14

32:14 Job ¹⁷  has not directed ¹⁸  his words to me,

and so I will not reply to him with your arguments. ¹⁹ 

Ayub 38:19

38:19 “In what direction ²⁰  does light reside,

and darkness, where is its place,

Ayub 21:16

21:16 But their prosperity is not their own doing. ²¹ 

The counsel of the wicked is far from me! ²² 

Ayub 34:34

34:34 Men of understanding say to me –

any wise man listening to me says –

Ayub 37:13

37:13 Whether it is for punishment ²³  for his land,

or whether it is for mercy,

he causes it to find its mark. ²⁴ 

Ayub 7:6

7:6 My days ²⁵  are swifter ²⁶  than a weaver’s shuttle ²⁷ 

and they come to an end without hope. ²⁸ 

Ayub 33:22

33:22 He ²⁹  draws near to the place of corruption,

and his life to the messengers of death. ³⁰ 

Ayub 6:25

6:25 How painful ³¹  are honest words!

But ³²  what does your reproof ³³  prove? ³⁴ 

Ayub 7:3

7:3 thus ³⁵  I have been made to inherit ³⁶ 

months of futility, ³⁷ 

and nights of sorrow ³⁸ 

have been appointed ³⁹  to me.

Ayub 10:21

10:21 before I depart, never to return, ⁴⁰ 

to the land of darkness

and the deepest shadow, ⁴¹ 

Ayub 21:4

21:4 Is my ⁴²  complaint against a man? ⁴³ 

If so, ⁴⁴  why should I not be impatient? ⁴⁵ 

Ayub 36:32

36:32 With his hands ⁴⁶  he covers ⁴⁷  the lightning,

and directs it against its target.

Ayub 38:24

38:24 In what direction is lightning ⁴⁸  dispersed,

or the east winds scattered over the earth?

Ayub 41:4

41:4 Will it make a pact ⁴⁹  with you,

so you could take it ⁵⁰  as your slave for life?

Ayub 12:24

12:24 He deprives the leaders of the earth ⁵¹ 

of their understanding; ⁵² 

he makes them wander

in a trackless desert waste. ⁵³ 

Ayub 14:3

14:3 Do you fix your eye ⁵⁴  on such a one? ⁵⁵ 

And do you bring me ⁵⁶  before you for judgment?

Ayub 17:3

17:3 Make then my pledge ⁵⁷  with you.

Who else will put up security for me? ⁵⁸ 

Ayub 23:13

23:13 But he is unchangeable, ⁵⁹  and who can change ⁶⁰  him?

Whatever he ⁶¹  has desired, he does.

Ayub 28:8

28:8 Proud beasts ⁶²  have not set foot on it,

and no lion has passed along it.

Ayub 34:33

34:33 Is it your opinion ⁶³  that God ⁶⁴  should recompense it,

because you reject this? ⁶⁵ 

But you must choose, and not I,

so tell us what you know.

Ayub 42:9

42:9 So they went, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, and did just as the Lord had told them; and the Lord had respect for Job. ⁶⁶ 

[26:4]  ¹ tn The verse begins with the preposition and the interrogative: אֶת־מִי (’et-mi, “with who[se help]?”). Others take it as the accusative particle introducing the indirect object: “for whom did you utter…” (see GKC 371 §117.gg). Both are possible.

[26:4]  ² tn Heb “has gone out from you.”

[15:11]  ³ sn The word תַּנְחֻמוֹת (tankhumot) occurs here and only in Job 21:34. The words of comfort and consolation that they have been offering to Job are here said to be “of God.” But Job will call them miserable comforters (16:2).

[15:11]  ⁴ tn The formula “is it too little for you” or “is it too slight a matter for you” is also found in Isa 7:13 (see GKC 430 §133.c).

[15:11]  ⁵ tn The word “spoken” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation.

[38:20]  ⁶ tn The suffixes are singular (“that you may take it to its border…to its home”), referring to either the light or the darkness. Because either is referred to, the translation has employed plurals, since singulars would imply that only the second item, “darkness,” was the referent. Plurals are also employed by NAB and NIV.

[17:11]  ⁷ tn This term usually means “plans; devices” in a bad sense, although it can be used of God’s plans (see e.g., Zech 8:15).

[17:11]  ⁸ tn Although not in the Hebrew text, “even” is supplied in the translation, because this line is in apposition to the preceding.

[17:11]  ⁹ tn This word has been linked to the root יָרַשׁ (yarash, “to inherit”) yielding a meaning “the possessions of my heart.” But it is actually to be connected to אָרַשׁ (’arash, “to desire”) cognate to the Akkadian eresu, “desire.” The LXX has “limbs,” which may come from an Aramaic word for “ropes.” An emendation based on the LXX would be risky.

[19:12]  ¹⁰ sn Now the metaphor changes again. Since God thinks of Job as an enemy, he attacks with his troops, builds the siege ramp, and camps around him to besiege him. All the power and all the forces are at God’s disposal in his attack of Job.

[19:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they throw up their way against me.” The verb סָלַל (salal) means “to build a siege ramp” or “to throw up a ramp”; here the object is “their way.” The latter could be taken as an adverbial accusative, “as their way.” But as the object it fits just as well. Some delete the middle clause; the LXX has “Together his troops fell upon me, they beset my ways with an ambush.”

[30:12]  ¹² tn This Hebrew word occurs only here. The word פִּרְחַח (pirkhakh, “young rabble”) is a quadriliteral, from פָּרַח (parakh, “to bud”) The derivative אֶפְרֹחַ (’efroakh) in the Bible refers to a young bird. In Arabic farhun means both “young bird” and “base man.” Perhaps “young rabble” is the best meaning here (see R. Gordis, Job, 333).

[30:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “they cast off my feet” or “they send my feet away.” Many delete the line as troubling and superfluous. E. Dhorme (Job, 438) forces the lines to say “they draw my feet into a net.”

[30:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “paths of their destruction” or “their destructive paths.”

[30:12]  ¹⁵ sn See Job 19:12.

[39:26]  ¹⁶ tn This word occurs only here. It is connected to “pinions” in v. 13. Dhorme suggests “clad with feathers,” but the line suggests more the use of the wings.

[32:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Job) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:14]  ¹⁸ tn The verb עַרַךְ (’arakh) means “to arrange in order; to set forth; to direct; to marshal.” It is used in military contexts for setting the battle array; it is used in legal settings for preparing the briefs.

[32:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “your words.”

[38:19]  ²⁰ tn The interrogative with דֶרֶךְ (derekh) means “in what road” or “in what direction.”

[21:16]  ²¹ tn Heb “is not in their hand.”

[21:16]  sn The implication of this statement is that their well-being is from God, which is the problem Job is raising in the chapter. A number of commentators make it a question, interpreting it to mean that the wicked enjoy prosperity as if it is their right. Some emend the text to say “his hands” – Gordis reads it, “Indeed, our prosperity is not in his hands.”

[21:16]  ²² sn Even though their life seems so good in contrast to his own plight, Job cannot and will not embrace their principles – “far be from me their counsel.”

[37:13]  ²³ tn Heb “rod,” i.e., a rod used for punishment.

[37:13]  ²⁴ tn This is interpretive; Heb “he makes find it.” The lightning could be what is intended here, for it finds its mark. But R. Gordis (Job, 429) suggests man is the subject – let him find what it is for, i.e., the fate appropriate for him.

[7:6]  ²⁵ sn The first five verses described the painfulness of his malady, his life; now, in vv. 6-10 he will focus on the brevity of his life, and its extinction with death. He introduces the subject with “my days,” a metonymy for his whole life and everything done on those days. He does not mean individual days – they drag on endlessly.

[7:6]  ²⁶ tn The verb קָלַל (qalal) means “to be light” (40:4), and then by extension “to be swift; to be rapid” (Jer 4:13; Hab 1:8).

[7:6]  ²⁷ sn The shuttle is the part which runs through the meshes of the web. In Judg 16:14 it is a loom (see BDB 71 s.v. אֶרֶג), but here it must be the shuttle. Hezekiah uses the imagery of the weaver, the loom, and the shuttle for the brevity of life (see Isa 38:12). The LXX used, “My life is lighter than a word.”

[7:6]  ²⁸ tn The text includes a wonderful wordplay on this word. The noun is תִּקְוָה (tiqvah, “hope”). But it can also have the meaning of one of its cognate nouns, קַו (qav, “thread, cord,” as in Josh 2:18,21). He is saying that his life is coming to an end for lack of thread/for lack of hope (see further E. Dhorme, Job, 101).

[33:22]  ²⁹ tn Heb “his soul [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh, “life”] draws near.”

[33:22]  ³⁰ tn The MT uses the Hiphil participle, “to those who cause death.” This seems to be a reference to the belief in demons that brought about death, an idea not mentioned in the Bible itself. Thus many proposals have been made for this expression. Hoffmann and Budde divide the word into לְמוֹ מֵתִּים (lÿmo metim) and simply read “to the dead.” Dhorme adds a couple of letters to get לִמְקוֹם מֵתִּים (limqom metim, “to the place [or abode] of the dead”).

[6:25]  ³¹ tn The word נִּמְרְצוּ (nimrÿtsu, “[they] painful are”) may be connected to מָרַץ (marats, “to be ill”). This would give the idea of “how distressing,” or “painful” in this stem. G. R. Driver (JTS 29 [1927/28]: 390-96) connected it to an Akkadian cognate “to be ill” and rendered it “bitter.” It has also been linked with מָרַס (maras), meaning “to be hard, strong,” giving the idea of “how persuasive” (see N. S. Doniach and W. E. Barnes, “Job 4:25: The Root Maras,” JTS [1929/30]: 291-92). There seems more support for the meaning “to be ill” (cf. Mal 2:10). Others follow Targum Job “how pleasant [to my palate are your words]”; E. Dhorme (Job, 92) follows this without changing the text but noting that the word has an interchange of letter with מָלַץ (malats) for מָרַץ (marats).

[6:25]  ³² tn The וּ (vav) here introduces the antithesis (GKC 484-85 §154.a).

[6:25]  ³³ tn The infinitive הוֹכֵחַ (hokheakh, “reproof,” from יָכַח [yakhakh, “prove”]) becomes the subject of the verb from the same root, יוֹכִיהַ (yokhiakh), and so serves as a noun (see GKC 340 §113.b). This verb means “to dispute, quarrel, argue, contend” (see BDB 406-7 s.v. יָכַח). Job is saying, “What does reproof from you prove?”

[6:25]  ³⁴ tn The LXX again paraphrases this line: “But as it seems, the words of a true man are vain, because I do not ask strength of you.” But the rest of the versions are equally divided on the verse.

[7:3]  ³⁵ tn “Thus” indicates a summary of vv. 1 and 2: like the soldier, the mercenary, and the slave, Job has labored through life and looks forward to death.

[7:3]  ³⁶ tn The form is the Hophal perfect of נָחַל (nakhal): “I have been made to inherit,” or more simply, “I have inherited.” The form occurs only here. The LXX must have confused the letters or sounds, a ו (vav) for the ן (nun), for it reads “I have endured.” As a passive the form technically has two accusatives (see GKC 388 §121.c). Job’s point is that his sufferings have been laid on him by another, and so he has inherited them.

[7:3]  ³⁷ tn The word is שָׁוְא (shav’, “vanity, deception, nothingness, futility”). His whole life – marked here in months to show its brevity – has been futile. E. Dhorme (Job, 98) suggests the meaning “disillusionment,” explaining that it marks the deceptive nature of mortal life. The word describes life as hollow, insubstantial.

[7:3]  ³⁸ tn “Sorrow” is עָמָל (’amal), used in 3:10. It denotes anxious toil, labor, troublesome effort. It may be that the verse expresses the idea that the nights are when the pains of his disease are felt the most. The months are completely wasted; the nights are agonizing.

[7:3]  ³⁹ tn The verb is literally “they have appointed”; the form with no expressed subject is to be interpreted as a passive (GKC 460 §144.g). It is therefore not necessary to repoint the verb to make it passive. The word means “to number; to count,” and so “to determine; to allocate.”

[10:21]  ⁴⁰ sn The verbs are simple, “I go” and “I return”; but Job clearly means before he dies. A translation of “depart” comes closer to communicating this. The second verb may be given a potential imperfect translation to capture the point. The NIV offered more of an interpretive paraphrase: “before I go to the place of no return.”

[10:21]  ⁴¹ tn See Job 3:5.

[21:4]  ⁴² tn The addition of the independent pronoun at the beginning of the sentence (“Is it I / against a man / my complaint”) strengthens the pronominal suffix on “complaint” (see GKC 438 §135.f).

[21:4]  ⁴³ sn The point seems to be that if his complaint were merely against men he might expect sympathy from other men; but no one dares offer him sympathy when his complaint is against God. So he will give free expression to his spirit (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 147).

[21:4]  ⁴⁴ tn On disjunctive interrogatives, see GKC 475 §150.g.

[21:4]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “why should my spirit/breath not be short” (see Num 21:4; Judg 16:16).

[36:32]  ⁴⁶ tn R. Gordis (Job, 422) prefers to link this word with the later Hebrew word for “arch,” not “hands.”

[36:32]  ⁴⁷ tn Because the image might mean that God grabs the lightning and hurls it like a javelin (cf. NLT), some commentators want to change “covers” to other verbs. Dhorme has “lifts” (נִשָּׂא [nissa’] for כִּסָּה [kissah]). This fit the idea of God directing the lightning bolts.

[38:24]  ⁴⁸ tn Because the parallel with “light” and “east wind” is not tight, Hoffmann proposed ‘ed instead, “mist.” This has been adopted by many. G. R. Driver suggests “parching heat” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 91-92).

[41:4]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “will he cut a covenant.”

[41:4]  ⁵⁰ tn The imperfect verb serves to express what the covenant pact would cover, namely, “that you take.”

[12:24]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “the heads of the people of the earth.”

[12:24]  ⁵² tn Heb “heart.”

[12:24]  ⁵³ tn The text has בְּתֹהוּ לֹא־דָרֶךְ (bÿtohu lo’ darekh): “in waste – no way,” or “in a wasteland [where there is] no way,” thus, “trackless” (see the discussion of negative attributes using לֹא [lo’] in GKC 482 §152.u).

[14:3]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “open the eye on,” an idiom meaning to prepare to judge someone.

[14:3]  ⁵⁵ tn The verse opens with אַף־עַל־זֶה (’af-’al-zeh), meaning “even on such a one!” It is an exclamation of surprise.

[14:3]  ⁵⁶ tn The text clearly has “me” as the accusative; but many wish to emend it to say “him” (אֹתוֹ, ’oto). But D. J. A. Clines rightly rejects this in view of the way Job is written, often moving back and forth from his own tragedy and others’ tragedies (Job [WBC], 283).

[17:3]  ⁵⁷ tn The MT has two imperatives: “Lay down, pledge me, with me.” Most commentators think that the second imperative should be a noun, and take it to say, “Lay my pledge with/beside you.” A. B. Davidson (Job, 126) suggests that the first verb means “give a pledge,” and so the two similar verbs would be emphatic: “Give a pledge, be my surety.” Other than such a change (which would involve changing the vowels) one would have to interpret similarly by seeing the imperatives as a kind of hendiadys, with the main emphasis being on the second imperative, “make a pledge.”

[17:3]  ⁵⁸ sn The idiom is “to strike the hand.” Here the wording is a little different, “Who is he that will strike himself into my hand?”

[23:13]  ⁵⁹ tc The MT has “But he [is] in one.” Many add the word “mind” to capture the point that God is resolute and unchanging. Some commentators find this too difficult, and so change the text from בְאֶחָד (bÿ’ekhad, here “unchangeable”) to בָחָר (bakhar, “he has chosen”). The wording in the text is idiomatic and should be retained. R. Gordis (Job, 262) translates it “he is one, i.e., unchangeable, fixed, determined.” The preposition בּ (bet) is a bet essentiae – “and he [is] as one,” or “he is one” (see GKC 379 §119.i).

[23:13]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “cause him to return.”

[23:13]  ⁶¹ tn Or “his soul.”

[28:8]  ⁶² tn Heb “the sons of pride.” In Job 41:26 the expression refers to carnivorous wild beasts.

[34:33]  ⁶³ tn Heb “is it from with you,” an idiomatic expression meaning “to suit you” or “according to your judgment.”

[34:33]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:33]  ⁶⁵ tn There is no object on the verb, and the meaning is perhaps lost. The best guess is that Elihu is saying Job has rejected his teaching.

[42:9]  ⁶⁶ tn The expression “had respect for Job” means God answered his prayer.