Ayub 1:22

1:22 In all this Job did not sin, nor did he charge God with moral impropriety. ¹ 

Ayub 6:24

No Sin Discovered

6:24 “Teach ²  me and I, for my part, ³  will be silent;

explain to me ⁴  how I have been mistaken. ⁵ 

Amsal 17:28

17:28 Even a fool who remains silent is considered ⁶  wise,

and the one who holds his tongue is deemed discerning. ⁷ 

Amsal 20:25

20:25 It is a snare ⁸  for a person ⁹  to rashly cry, ¹⁰  “Holy!”

and only afterward to consider ¹¹  what he has vowed. ¹² 

Amsal 21:23

21:23 The one who guards his mouth and his tongue ¹³ 

keeps his life ¹⁴  from troubles. ¹⁵ 

Yakobus 1:19

Living Out the Message

1:19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! ¹⁶  Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.

[1:22]  ¹ tn The last clause is difficult to translate. It simply reads, “and he did not give unseemliness to God.” The word תִּפְלָה (tiflah) means “unsavoriness” or “unseemliness” in a moral sense. The sense is that Job did not charge God with any moral impropriety in his dealings with him. God did nothing worthless or tasteless. The ancient versions saw the word connected with “foolishness” or “stupidity” (תָּפֵל, tafel, “to be tasteless”). It is possible that “folly” would capture some of what Job meant here. See also M. Dahood, “Hebrew-Ugaritic Lexicography XII,” Bib 55 (1974): 381-93.

[6:24]  ² tn The verb “teach” or “instruct” is the Hiphil הוֹרוּנִי (horuni), from the verb יָרָה (yarah); the basic idea of “point, direct” lies behind this meaning. The verb is cognate to the noun תּוֹרָה (torah, “instruction, teaching, law”).

[6:24]  ³ tn The independent personal pronoun makes the subject of the verb emphatic: “and I will be silent.”

[6:24]  ⁴ tn The verb is הָבִינוּ (havinu, “to cause someone to understand”); with the ל (lamed) following, it has the sense of “explain to me.”

[6:24]  ⁵ tn The verb שָׁגָה (shagah) has the sense of “wandering, getting lost, being mistaken.”

[17:28]  ⁶ tn The imperfect tense here denotes possibility: One who holds his tongue [may be considered] discerning.

[17:28]  ⁷ tn The Niphal participle is used in the declarative/estimative sense with stative verbs: “to be discerning” (Qal) becomes “to be declared discerning” (Niphal). The proverb is teaching that silence is one evidence of wisdom, and that even a fool can thereby appear wise. D. Kidner says that a fool who takes this advice is no longer a complete fool (Proverbs [TOTC], 127). He does not, of course, become wise – he just hides his folly.

[20:25]  ⁸ sn It would be a “snare” because it would lead people into financial difficulties; Leviticus 27 talks about foolish or rash vows.

[20:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “a man.”

[20:25]  ¹⁰ tn The verb is from לוּע (lu’) or לָעַע (la’a’); it means “to talk wildly” (not to be confused with the homonym “to swallow”). It occurs here and in Job 6:3.

[20:25]  sn This refers to speaking rashly in dedicating something to the sanctuary by calling it “Holy.”

[20:25]  ¹¹ tn Heb “reflect on.” The person is to consider the vows before making them, to ensure that they can be fulfilled. Too many people make their vow or promise without thinking, and then later worry about how they will fulfill their vows.

[20:25]  ¹² tn Heb “the vows” (so NASB); CEV “promises.”

[21:23]  ¹³ sn “Mouth” and “tongue” are metonymies of cause, signifying what one says (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV).

[21:23]  ¹⁴ tn This part could also be translated “keeps himself” (so NIV), for נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) often simply means “the whole person.” The participle שֹׁמֵר (shomer) is repeated from the first line in the parallelism – to guard what is said is to guard against difficulty.

[21:23]  ¹⁵ sn The “troubles” (צָרוֹת, tsarot) here could refer to social and legal difficulties into which careless talk might bring someone (e.g., 13:3; 18:21). The word means “a strait, a bind, difficulty.” Careless and free talking could get the person into a tight spot.

[1:19]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.