Ayub 6:26

6:26 Do you intend to criticize mere words,

and treat ¹  the words of a despairing man as wind?

Ayub 16:2

16:2 “I have heard many things like these before.

What miserable comforters ²  are you all!

Ayub 19:2

19:2 “How long will you torment me ³ 

and crush ⁴  me with your words? ⁵ 

Ayub 19:5

19:5 If indeed ⁶  you would exalt yourselves ⁷  above me

and plead my disgrace against me, ⁸ 

Ayub 19:22

19:22 Why do you pursue me like God does? ⁹ 

Will you never be satiated with my flesh? ¹⁰ 

Ayub 19:28-29

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

since the root of the trouble is found in him!’ ¹¹ 

19:29 Fear the sword yourselves,

for wrath ¹²  brings the punishment ¹³  by the sword,

so that you may know

that there is judgment.” ¹⁴ 

Ayub 21:3

21:3 Bear with me ¹⁵  and I ¹⁶  will speak,

and after I have spoken ¹⁷  you may mock. ¹⁸ 

Ayub 21:5

21:5 Look ¹⁹  at me and be appalled;

put your hands over your mouths. ²⁰ 

Ayub 21:27

Futile Words, Deceptive Answers

21:27 “Yes, I know what you are thinking, ²¹ 

the schemes ²²  by which you would wrong me. ²³ 

Ayub 27:5

27:5 I will never ²⁴  declare that you three ²⁵  are in the right;

until I die, I will not set aside my integrity!

Ayub 27:11

27:11 I will teach you ²⁶  about the power ²⁷  of God;

What is on the Almighty’s mind ²⁸  I will not conceal.

Ayub 32:11

32:11 Look, I waited for you to speak; ²⁹ 

I listened closely to your wise thoughts, ³⁰ while you were searching for words.

[6:26]  ¹ tn This, in the context, is probably the meaning, although the Hebrew simply has the line after the first half of the verse read: “and as/to wind the words of a despairing man.” The line could be translated “and the words of a despairing man, [which are] as wind.” But this translation follows the same approach as RSV, NIV, and NAB, which take the idiom of the verb (“think, imagine”) with the preposition on “wind” to mean “reckon as wind” – “and treat the words of a despairing man as wind.”

[16:2]  ² tn The expression uses the Piel participle in construct: מְנַחֲמֵי עָמָל (mÿnahame ’amal, “comforters of trouble”), i.e., comforters who increase trouble instead of relieving it. D. W. Thomas translates this “breathers out of trouble” (“A Note on the Hebrew Root naham,” ExpTim 44 [1932/33]: 192).

[19:2]  ³ tn Heb “torment my soul,” with “soul” representing the self or individual. The MT has a verb from יָגָה (yagah, “to afflict; to torment”). This is supported by the versions. But the LXX has “to tire” which is apparently from יָגַע (yaga’). The form in the MT is unusual because it preserves the final (original) yod in the Hiphil (see GKC 214 §75.gg). So this unusual form has been preserved, and is the correct reading. A modal nuance for the imperfect fits best here: “How long do you intend to do this?”

[19:2]  ⁴ tn The MT has דָּכָא (dakha’), “to crush” in the Piel. The LXX, however, has a more general word which means “to destroy.”

[19:2]  ⁵ tn The LXX adds to the verse: “only know that the Lord has dealt with me thus.”

[19:5]  ⁶ tn The introductory particles repeat אָמְנָם (’amnam, “indeed”) but now with אִם (’im, “if”). It could be interpreted to mean “is it not true,” or as here in another conditional clause.

[19:5]  ⁷ tn The verb is the Hiphil of גָּדַל (gadal); it can mean “to make great” or as an internal causative “to make oneself great” or “to assume a lofty attitude, to be insolent.” There is no reason to assume another root here with the meaning of “quarrel” (as Gordis does).

[19:5]  ⁸ sn Job’s friends have been using his shame, his humiliation in all his sufferings, as proof against him in their case.

[19:22]  ⁹ sn Strahan comments, “The whole tragedy of the book is packed into these extraordinary words.”

[19:22]  ¹⁰ sn The idiom of eating the pieces of someone means “slander” in Aramaic (see Dan 3:8), Arabic and Akkadian.

[19:28]  ¹¹ 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.

[19:29]  ¹² tn The word “wrath” probably refers to divine wrath for the wicked. Many commentators change this word to read “they,” or more precisely, “these things.”

[19:29]  ¹³ tn The word is “iniquities”; but here as elsewhere it should receive the classification of the punishment for iniquity (a category of meaning that developed from a metonymy of effect).

[19:29]  ¹⁴ tc The last word is problematic because of the textual variants in the Hebrew. In place of שַׁדִּין (shaddin, “judgment”) some have proposed שַׁדַּי (shadday, “Almighty”) and read it “that you may know the Almighty” (Ewald, Wright). Some have read it יֵשׁ דַּיָּן (yesh dayyan, “there is a judge,” Gray, Fohrer). Others defend the traditional view, arguing that the שׁ (shin) is the abbreviated relative particle on the word דִּין (din, “judgment”).

[21:3]  ¹⁵ tn The verb נָשָׂא (nasa’) means “to lift up; to raise up”; but in this context it means “to endure; to tolerate” (see Job 7:21).

[21:3]  ¹⁶ tn The conjunction and the independent personal pronoun draw emphatic attention to the subject of the verb: “and I on my part will speak.”

[21:3]  ¹⁷ tn The adverbial clauses are constructed of the preposition “after” and the Piel infinitive construct with the subjective genitive suffix: “my speaking,” or “I speak.”

[21:3]  ¹⁸ tn The verb is the imperfect of לָעַג (la’ag). The Hiphil has the same basic sense as the Qal, “to mock; to deride.” The imperfect here would be modal, expressing permission. The verb is in the singular, suggesting that Job is addressing Zophar; however, most of the versions put it into the plural. Note the singular in 16:3 between the plural in 16:1 and 16:4.

[21:5]  ¹⁹ tn The verb פְּנוּ (pÿnu) is from the verb “to turn,” related to the word for “face.” In calling for them to turn toward him, he is calling for them to look at him. But here it may be more in the sense of their attention rather than just a looking at him.

[21:5]  ²⁰ tn The idiom is “put a hand over a mouth,” the natural gesture for keeping silent and listening (cf. Job 29:9; 40:4; Mic 7:16).

[21:27]  ²¹ tn The word is “your thoughts.” The word for “thoughts” (from חָצַב [khatsav, “to think; to reckon; to plan”]) has more to do with their intent than their general thoughts. He knows that when they talked about the fate of the wicked they really were talking about him.

[21:27]  ²² tn For the meaning of this word, and its root זָמַם (zamam), see Job 17:11. It usually means the “plans” or “schemes” that are concocted against someone.

[21:27]  ²³ tn E. Dhorme (Job, 321) distinguishes the verb חָמַס (khamas) from the noun for “violence.” He proposes a meaning of “think, imagine”: “and the ideas you imagined about me.”

[27:5]  ²⁴ tn The text uses חָלִילָה לִּי (khalilah li) meaning “far be it from me,” or more strongly, something akin to “sacrilege.”

[27:5]  ²⁵ tn In the Hebrew text “you” is plural – a reference to Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad. To make this clear, “three” is supplied in the translation.

[27:11]  ²⁶ tn The object suffix is in the plural, which gives some support to the idea Job is speaking to them.

[27:11]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the hand of.”

[27:11]  ²⁸ tn Heb “[what is] with Shaddai.”

[32:11]  ²⁹ tn Heb “for your words.”

[32:11]  ³⁰ tn The word means “understanding.” It refers to the faculty of perception and comprehension; but it also can refer to what that produces, especially when it is in the plural (see Ps 49:4). See R. Gordis, Job, 368. Others translate it “reasonings,” “arguments,” etc.