Ayub 8:8

8:8 “For inquire now of the former ¹  generation,

and pay attention ²  to the findings ³ 

of their ancestors; ⁴ 

Ayub 38:3

38:3 Get ready for a difficult task ⁵  like a man;

I will question you

and you will inform me!

Ayub 12:7

Knowledge of God’s Wisdom ⁶ 

12:7 “But now, ask the animals and they ⁷  will teach you,

or the birds of the sky and they will tell you.

Ayub 20:7

20:7 he will perish forever, like his own excrement; ⁸ 

those who used to see him will say, ‘Where is he?’

Ayub 40:7

40:7 “Get ready for a difficult task ⁹  like a man.

I will question you and you will inform me!

Ayub 21:29

21:29 Have you never questioned those who travel the roads?

Do you not recognize their accounts ¹⁰  –

Ayub 42:4

42:4 You said, ¹¹ 

‘Pay attention, and I will speak;

I will question you, and you will answer me.’

Ayub 1:7

1:7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” ¹²  And Satan answered the Lord, ¹³  “From roving about ¹⁴  on the earth, and from walking back and forth across it.” ¹⁵ 

Ayub 2:2

2:2 And the Lord said to Satan, “Where do you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, ¹⁶  “From roving about on the earth, and from walking back and forth across it.” ¹⁷ 

Ayub 9:3

9:3 If someone wishes ¹⁸  to contend ¹⁹  with him,

he cannot answer ²⁰  him one time in a thousand.

Ayub 21:28

21:28 For you say,

‘Where now is the nobleman’s house, ²¹ 

and where are the tents in which the wicked lived?’ ²² 

Ayub 35:3

35:3 But you say, ‘What will it profit you,’ ²³ 

and, ‘What do I gain by not sinning?’ ²⁴ 

Ayub 10:6

10:6 that ²⁵  you must search out ²⁶  my iniquity,

and inquire about my sin,

Ayub 42:3

42:3 you asked, ²⁷ 

‘Who is this who darkens counsel

without knowledge?’

But ²⁸  I have declared without understanding ²⁹ 

things too wonderful for me to know. ³⁰ 

Ayub 22:13

22:13 But you have said, ‘What does God know?

Does he judge through such deep darkness? ³¹ 

Ayub 31:14

31:14 then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment; ³² 

when he intervenes, ³³ 

how will I respond to him?

Ayub 35:10

35:10 But no one says, ‘Where is God, my Creator,

who gives songs in the night, ³⁴ 

Ayub 1:8

1:8 So the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered ³⁵  my servant Job? There ³⁶  is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away ³⁷  from evil.”

Ayub 3:4

3:4 That day ³⁸  – let it be darkness; ³⁹ 

let not God on high regard ⁴⁰  it,

nor let light shine ⁴¹  on it!

Ayub 9:12

9:12 If he snatches away, ⁴²  who can turn him back? ⁴³ 

Who dares to say to him, ‘What are you doing?’

Ayub 35:9

35:9 “People ⁴⁴  cry out

because of the excess of oppression; ⁴⁵ 

they cry out for help

because of the power ⁴⁶  of the mighty. ⁴⁷ 

Ayub 40:2

40:2 “Will the one who contends ⁴⁸  with the Almighty correct him? ⁴⁹ 

Let the person who accuses God give him an answer!”

Ayub 2:3

2:3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil. And he still holds firmly ⁵⁰  to his integrity, ⁵¹  so that ⁵²  you stirred me up to destroy him ⁵³  without reason.” ⁵⁴ 

[8:8]  ¹ sn Bildad is not calling for Job to trace through the learning of antiquity, but of the most recent former generation. Hebrews were fond of recalling what the “fathers” had taught, for each generation recalled what their fathers had taught.

[8:8]  ² tn The verb כוֹנֵן (khonen, from כּוּן, kun) normally would indicate “prepare yourself” or “fix” one’s heart on something, i.e., give attention to it. The verb with the ל (lamed) preposition after it does mean “to think on” or “to meditate” (Isa 51:13). But some commentators wish to change the כּ (kaf) to a בּ (bet) in the verb to get “to consider” (from בִּין, bin). However, M. Dahood shows a connection between כּנן (knn) and שׁאל (sh’l) in Ugaritic (“Hebrew-Ugaritic Lexicography,” Bib 46 [1965]: 329).

[8:8]  ³ tn The Hebrew has “the search of their fathers,” but the word is probably intended to mean what that observation or search yielded (so “search” is a metonymy of cause).

[8:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “fathers.”

[38:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “Gird up your loins.” This idiom basically describes taking the hem of the long garment or robe and pulling it up between the legs and tucking it into the front of the belt, allowing easier and freer movement of the legs. “Girding the loins” meant the preparation for some difficult task (Jer 1:17), or for battle (Isa 5:27), or for running (1 Kgs 18:46). C. Gordon suggests that it includes belt-wrestling, a form of hand-to-hand mortal combat (“Belt-wrestling in the Bible World,” HUCA 23 [1950/51]: 136).

[12:7]  ⁶ sn As J. E. Hartley (Job [NICOT], 216) observes, in this section Job argues that respected tradition “must not be accepted uncritically.”

[12:7]  ⁷ tn The singular verb is used here with the plural collective subject (see GKC 464 §145.k).

[20:7]  ⁸ tn There have been attempts to change the word here to “like a whirlwind,” or something similar. But many argue that there is no reason to remove a coarse expression from Zophar.

[40:7]  ⁹ tn See note on “task” in 38:3.

[21:29]  ¹⁰ tc The LXX reads, “Ask those who go by the way, and do not disown their signs.”

[21:29]  tn The idea is that the merchants who travel widely will talk about what they have seen and heard. These travelers give a different account of the wicked; they tell how he is spared. E. Dhorme (Job, 322) interprets “signs” concretely: “Their custom was to write their names and their thoughts somewhere at the main cross-roads. The main roads of Sinai are dotted with these scribblings made by such passers of a day.”

[42:4]  ¹¹ tn This phrase, “you said,” is supplied in the translation to introduce the recollection of God’s words.

[1:7]  ¹² tn The imperfect may be classified as progressive imperfect; it indicates action that although just completed is regarded as still lasting into the present (GKC 316 §107.h).

[1:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “answered the Lord and said” (also in v. 9). The words “and said” here and in v. 9 have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:7]  ¹⁴ tn The verb שׁוּט (shut) means “to go or rove about” (BDB 1001-2 s.v.). Here the infinitive construct serves as the object of the preposition.

[1:7]  ¹⁵ tn The Hitpael (here also an infinitive construct after the preposition) of the verb הָלַךְ (halakh) means “to walk to and fro, back and forth, with the sense of investigating or reconnoitering (see e.g. Gen 13:17).

[1:7]  sn As the words are spoken by Satan, there is no self-condemnation in them. What they signify is the swiftness and thoroughness of his investigation of humans. The good angels are said to go to and fro in the earth on behalf of the suffering righteous (Zech 1:10, 11; 6:7), but Satan goes seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet 5:8).

[2:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “answered the Lord and said” (also in v. 4). The words “and said” here and in v. 9 have not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:2]  ¹⁷ tn See the note on this phrase in 1:7.

[9:3]  ¹⁸ tn Some commentators take God to be the subject of this verb, but it is more likely that it refers to the mortal who tries to challenge God in a controversy. The verb is used of Job in 13:3.

[9:3]  ¹⁹ tn The verb רִיב (riv) is a common one; it has the idea of “contention; dispute; legal dispute or controversy; go to law.” With the preposition אִם (’im) the idea must be “to contend with” or “to dispute with.” The preposition reflects the prepositional phrase “with God” in v. 2, supporting the view that man is the subject.

[9:3]  ²⁰ tn This use of the imperfect as potential imperfect assumes that the human is the subject, that in a dispute with God he could not answer one of God’s questions (for which see the conclusion of the book when God questions Job). On the other hand, if the interpretation were that God does not answer the demands of mortals, then a simple progressive imperfect would be required. In support of this is the frustration of Job that God does not answer him.

[21:28]  ²¹ sn The question implies the answer will be “vanished” or “gone.”

[21:28]  ²² tn Heb “And where is the tent, the dwellings of the wicked.” The word “dwellings of the wicked” is in apposition to “tent.” A relative pronoun must be supplied in the translation.

[35:3]  ²³ tn The referent of “you” is usually understood to be God.

[35:3]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew text merely says, “What do I gain from my sin?” But Job has claimed that he has not sinned, and so this has to be elliptical: “more than if I had sinned” (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 224). It could also be, “What do I gain without sin?”

[10:6]  ²⁵ tn The clause seems to go naturally with v. 4: do you have eyes of flesh…that you have to investigate? For that reason some like Duhm would delete v. 5. But v. 5 adds to the premise: are you also like a human running out of time that you must try to find out my sin?

[10:6]  ²⁶ tn The imperfect verbs in this verse are best given modal nuances. Does God have such limitations that he must make such an investigation? H. H. Rowley observes that Job implies that God has not yet found the iniquity, or extracted a confession from him (Job [NCBC], 84).

[42:3]  ²⁷ tn The expression “you asked” is added here to clarify the presence of the line to follow. Many commentators delete it as a gloss from Job 38:2. If it is retained, then Job has to be recalling God’s question before he answers it.

[42:3]  ²⁸ tn The word לָכֵן (lakhen) is simply “but,” as in Job 31:37.

[42:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and I do not understand.” The expression serves here in an adverbial capacity. It also could be subordinated as a complement: “I have declared [things that] I do not understand.”

[42:3]  ³⁰ tn The last clause is “and I do not know.” This is also subordinated to become a dependent clause.

[22:13]  ³¹ sn Eliphaz is giving to Job the thoughts and words of the pagans, for they say, “How does God know, and is there knowledge in the Most High?” (see Ps 73:11; 94:11).

[31:14]  ³² tn Heb “arises.” The LXX reads “takes vengeance,” an interpretation that is somewhat correct but unnecessary. The verb “to rise” would mean “to confront in judgment.”

[31:14]  ³³ tn The verb פָקַד (paqad) means “to visit,” but with God as the subject it means any divine intervention for blessing or cursing, anything God does that changes a person’s life. Here it is “visit to judge.”

[35:10]  ³⁴ tn There have been several attempts to emend the line, none of which are particularly helpful or interesting. H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 225) says, “It is a pity to rob Elihu of a poetic line when he creates one.”

[1:8]  ³⁵ tn The Hebrew has “have you placed your heart on Job?” This means “direct your mind to” (cf. BDB 963 s.v. I שׂוּם 2.b).

[1:8]  sn The question is undoubtedly rhetorical, for it is designed to make Satan aware of Job as God extols his fine qualities.

[1:8]  ³⁶ tn The Hebrew conjunction כִּי (ki) need not be translated in this case or it might be taken as emphatic (cf. IBHS 665 §39.3.4e): “Certainly there is no one like him.”

[1:8]  ³⁷ tn The same expressions that appeared at the beginning of the chapter appear here in the words of God. In contrast to that narrative report about Job, the emphasis here is on Job’s present character, and so the participle form is translated here asa gnomic or characteristic present (“turns”). It modifies “man” as one who is turning from evil.

[3:4]  ³⁸ tn The first two words should be treated as a casus pendens (see D. J. A. Clines, Job [WBC], 69), referred to as an extraposition in recent grammarians.

[3:4]  ³⁹ sn This expression by Job is the negation of the divine decree at creation – “Let there be light,” and that was the first day. Job wishes that his first day be darkness: “As for that day, let there be darkness.” Since only God has this prerogative, Job adds the wish that God on high would not regard that day.

[3:4]  ⁴⁰ tn The verb דָּרַשׁ (darash) means “to seek, inquire,” and “to address someone, be concerned about something” (cf. Deut 11:12; Jer 30:14,17). Job wants the day to perish from the mind of God.

[3:4]  ⁴¹ tn The verb is the Hiphil of יָפַע (yafa’), which means here “cause to shine.” The subject is the term נְהָרָה (nÿharah,“light”), a hapax legomenon which is from the verb נָהַר (nahar, “to gleam” [see Isa 60:5]).

[9:12]  ⁴² tn E. Dhorme (Job, 133) surveys the usages and concludes that the verb חָתַף (khataf) normally describes the wicked actions of a man, especially by treachery or trickery against another. But a verb חָתַף (khataf) is found nowhere else; a noun “robber” is found in Prov 23:28. Dhorme sees no reason to emend the text, because he concludes that the two verbs are synonymous. Job is saying that if God acts like a plunderer, there is no one who can challenge what he does.

[9:12]  ⁴³ tn The verb is the Hiphil imperfect (potential again) from שׁוּב (shuv). In this stem it can mean “turn back, refute, repel” (BDB 999 s.v. Hiph.5).

[35:9]  ⁴⁴ tn The word “people” is supplied, because the sentence only has the masculine plural verb.

[35:9]  ⁴⁵ tn The final noun is an abstract plural, “oppression.” There is no reason to change it to “oppressors” to fit the early versions. The expression is literally “multitude of oppression.”

[35:9]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “the arm,” a metaphor for strength or power.

[35:9]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “of the many” (see HALOT 1172 s.v. I רַב 6.a).

[40:2]  ⁴⁸ tn The form רֹב (rov) is the infinitive absolute from the verb רִיב (riv, “contend”). Dhorme wishes to repoint it to make it the active participle, the “one who argues with the Almighty.”

[40:2]  ⁴⁹ tn The verb יִסּוֹר (yissor) is found only here, but comes from a common root meaning “to correct; to reprove.” Several suggestions have been made to improve on the MT. Dhorme read it יָסוּר (yasur) in the sense of “to turn aside; to yield.” Ehrlich read this emendation as “to come to an end.” But the MT could be read as “to correct; to instruct.”

[2:3]  ⁵⁰ tn The form is the Hiphil participle, “make strong, seize, hold fast.” It is the verbal use here; joined with עֹדֶנּוּ (’odennu, “yet he”) it emphasizes that “he is still holding firmly.” The testing has simply strengthened Job in his integrity.

[2:3]  ⁵¹ tn This is the same word used to describe Job as “blameless, pure.” Here it carries the idea of “integrity”; Job remained blameless, perfect.

[2:3]  ⁵² tn The vav (ו) with the preterite is used here to express the logical conclusion or consequence of what was stated previously. God is saying that Job has maintained his integrity, so that now it is clear that Satan moved against him groundlessly (GKC 328 §111.l).

[2:3]  ⁵³ tn The verb literally means “to swallow”; it forms an implied comparison in the line, indicating the desire of Satan to ruin him completely. See A Guillaume, “A Note on the Root bala`,” JTS 13 (1962): 320-23; and N. M. Sarna, “Epic Substratum in the Prose of Job,”JBL 76 (1957): 13-25, for a discussion of the Ugaritic deity Mot swallowing up the enemy.

[2:3]  ⁵⁴ sn Once again the adverb חִנָּם (khinnam, “gratis”) is used. It means “graciously, gratis, free, without cause, for no reason.” Here the sense has to be gratuitously, for no reason.” The point of the verb חָנַן (khanan, “to be gracious”) and its derivatives is that the action is undeserved. In fact, they would deserve the opposite. Sinners seeking grace deserve punishment. Here, Job deserves reward, not suffering.