Ayub 36:26

The Work and Wisdom of God

36:26 “Yes, God is great – beyond our knowledge! ¹ 

The number of his years is unsearchable.

Mazmur 39:6

39:6 Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. ² 

Surely they accumulate worthless wealth

without knowing who will eventually haul it away.” ³ 

Mazmur 90:2

90:2 Even before the mountains came into existence, ⁴ 

or you brought the world into being, ⁵ 

you were the eternal God. ⁶ 

Mazmur 90:4

90:4 Yes, ⁷  in your eyes a thousand years

are like yesterday that quickly passes,

or like one of the divisions of the nighttime. ⁸ 

Mazmur 102:25

102:25 In earlier times you established the earth;

the skies are your handiwork.

Mazmur 102:2

102:2 Do not ignore me in my time of trouble! ⁹ 

Listen to me! ¹⁰ 

When I call out to you, quickly answer me!

1 Petrus 3:8

Suffering for Doing Good

3:8 Finally, all of you be harmonious, ¹¹  sympathetic, affectionate, compassionate, and humble.

[36:26]  ¹ tn The last part has the verbal construction, “and we do not know.” This clause is to be used adverbially: “beyond our understanding.”

[39:6]  ² tn Heb “surely, as an image man walks about.” The preposition prefixed to “image” indicates identity here.

[39:6]  sn People go through life (Heb “man walks about”). “Walking” is here used as a metaphor for living. The point is that human beings are here today, gone tomorrow. They have no lasting substance and are comparable to mere images or ghosts.

[39:6]  ³ tc Heb “Surely [in] vain they strive, he accumulates and does not know who gathers them.” The MT as it stands is syntactically awkward. The verb forms switch from singular (“walks about”) to plural (“they strive”) and then back to singular (“accumulates and does not know”), even though the subject (generic “man”) remains the same. Furthermore there is no object for the verb “accumulates” and no plural antecedent for the plural pronoun (“them”) attached to “gathers.” These problems can be removed if one emends the text from הֶבֶל יֶהֱמָיוּן (hevel yehemaun, “[in] vain they strive”) to הֶבְלֵי הָמוֹן (hevley hamon, “vain things of wealth”). This assumes a misdivision in the MT and a virtual dittography of vav (ו) between the mem and nun of המון. The present translation follows this emendation.

[90:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “were born.”

[90:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “and you gave birth to the earth and world.” The Polel verbal form in the Hebrew text pictures God giving birth to the world. The LXX and some other ancient textual witnesses assume a polal (passive) verbal form here. In this case the earth becomes the subject of the verb and the verb is understood as third feminine singular rather than second masculine singular.

[90:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “and from everlasting to everlasting you [are] God.” Instead of אֵל (’el, “God”) the LXX reads אַל (’al, “not”) and joins the negative particle to the following verse, making the verb תָּשֵׁב (tashev) a jussive. In this case v. 3a reads as a prayer, “do not turn man back to a low place.” However, taking תָּשֵׁב as a jussive is problematic in light of the following following wayyiqtol form וַתֹּאמֶר (vato’mer, “and you said/say”).

[90:4]  ⁷ tn Or “for.”

[90:4]  ⁸ sn The divisions of the nighttime. The ancient Israelites divided the night into distinct periods, or “watches.”

[102:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “do not hide your face from me in the day of my trouble.” The idiom “to hide the face” can mean “to ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or carry the stronger idea of “to reject” (see Pss 29:7; 30:7; 88:14).

[102:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “turn toward me your ear.”

[3:8]  ¹¹ tn There is no main verb in this verse (Grk “Finally, all [ ] harmonious”), but it continues the sense of command from the previous paragraphs.