Ayub 4:17

4:17 “Is ¹  a mortal man ²  righteous ³  before ⁴  God?

Or a man pure ⁵  before his Creator? ⁶ 

Ayub 5:27

5:27 Look, we have investigated this, so it is true.

Hear it, ⁷  and apply it for your own ⁸  good.” ⁹ 

Ayub 6:25

6:25 How painful ¹⁰  are honest words!

But ¹¹  what does your reproof ¹²  prove? ¹³ 

Ayub 19:28

19:28 If you say, ‘How we will pursue him,

since the root of the trouble is found in him!’ ¹⁴ 

Ayub 27:4

27:4 my ¹⁵  lips will not speak wickedness,

and my tongue will whisper ¹⁶  no deceit.

Ayub 32:9

32:9 It is not the aged ¹⁷  who are wise,

nor old men who understand what is right.

Ayub 34:4

34:4 Let us evaluate ¹⁸  for ourselves what is right; ¹⁹ 

let us come to know among ourselves what is good.

Ayub 36:6

36:6 He does not allow the wicked to live, ²⁰ 

but he gives justice to the poor.

[4:17]  ¹ tn The imperfect verbs in this verse express obvious truths known at all times (GKC 315 §107.f).

[4:17]  ² tn The word for man here is first אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh), stressing man in all his frailty, his mortality. This is paralleled with גֶּבֶר (gever), a word that would stress more of the strength or might of man. The verse is not making a great contrast between the two, but it is rhetorical question merely stating that no human being of any kind is righteous or pure before God the Creator. See H. Kosmala, “The Term geber in the OT and in the Scrolls,” VTSup 17 (1969): 159-69; and E. Jacob, Theology of the Old Testament, 156-57.

[4:17]  ³ tn The imperfect verb in this interrogative sentence could also be interpreted with a potential nuance: “Can a man be righteous?”

[4:17]  ⁴ tn The classification of מִן (min) as a comparative in this verse (NIV, “more righteous than God”; cf. also KJV, ASV, NCV) does not seem the most probable. The idea of someone being more righteous than God is too strong to be reasonable. Job will not do that – but he will imply that God is unjust. In addition, Eliphaz had this vision before hearing of Job’s trouble and so is not addressing the idea that Job is making himself more righteous than God. He is stating that no man is righteous before God. Verses 18-21 will show that no one can claim righteousness before God. In 9:2 and 25:4 the preposition “with” is used. See also Jer 51:5 where the preposition should be rendered “before” [the Holy One].

[4:17]  ⁵ sn In Job 15:14 and 25:4 the verb יִזְכֶּה (yizkeh, from זָכָה [zakhah, “be clean”]) is paralleled with יִצְדַּק (yitsdaq, from צָדֵק [tsadeq, “be righteous”).

[4:17]  ⁶ tn The double question here merely repeats the same question with different words (see GKC 475 §150.h). The second member could just as well have been connected with ו (vav).

[5:27]  ⁷ tn To make a better parallelism, some commentators have replaced the imperative with another finite verb, “we have found it.”

[5:27]  ⁸ tn The preposition with the suffix (referred to as the ethical dative) strengthens the imperative. An emphatic personal pronoun also precedes the imperative. The resulting force would be something like “and you had better apply it for your own good!”

[5:27]  ⁹ sn With this the speech by Eliphaz comes to a close. His two mistakes with it are: (1) that the tone was too cold and (2) the argument did not fit Job’s case (see further, A. B. Davidson, Job, 42).

[6:25]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn The וּ (vav) here introduces the antithesis (GKC 484-85 §154.a).

[6:25]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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.

[19:28]  ¹⁴ tc The MT reads “in me.” If that is retained, then the question would be in the first colon, and the reasoning of the second colon would be Job’s. But over 100 mss have “in him,” and so this reading is accepted by most editors. The verse is a little difficult, but it seems to form a warning by Job that God’s appearance which will vindicate Job will bring judgment on those who persecute him and charge him falsely.

[27:4]  ¹⁵ tn The verse begins with אִם (’im), the formula used for the content of the oath (“God lives…if I do/do not…”). Thus, the content of the oath proper is here in v. 4.

[27:4]  ¹⁶ tn The verb means “to utter; to mumble; to meditate.” The implication is that he will not communicate deceitful things, no matter how quiet or subtle.

[32:9]  ¹⁷ tn The MT has “the great” or “the many,” meaning great in years according to the parallelism.

[34:4]  ¹⁸ sn Elihu means “choose after careful examination.”

[34:4]  ¹⁹ tn The word is מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) again, with the sense of what is right or just.

[36:6]  ²⁰ tn Or “he does not keep the wicked alive.”