Ayub 11:15

11:15 For ¹  then you will lift up your face

without ²  blemish; ³ 

you will be securely established ⁴ 

and will not fear.

Mazmur 37:23

37:23 The Lord grants success to the one

whose behavior he finds commendable. ⁵ 

Amsal 10:25

10:25 When the storm ⁶  passes through, the wicked are swept away, ⁷ 

but the righteous are an everlasting foundation. ⁸ 

Yesaya 7:9

7:9 Ephraim’s leader is Samaria,

and Samaria’s leader is the son of Remaliah.

If your faith does not remain firm,

then you will not remain secure.” ⁹ 

[11:15]  ¹ tn The absolute certainty of the statement is communicated with the addition of כִּי (ki) (see GKC 498 §159.ee).

[11:15]  ² tn For this use of the preposition מִן (min) see GKC 382 §119.w.

[11:15]  ³ tn The word “lift up” is chosen to recall Job’s statement that he could not lift up his head (10:15); and the words “without spot” recall his words “filled with shame.” The sentence here says that he will lift up his face in innocence and show no signs of God’s anger on him.

[11:15]  ⁴ tn The form מֻצָק (mutsaq) is a Hophal participle from יָצַק (yatsaq, “to pour”). The idea is that of metal being melted down and then poured to make a statue, and so hard, firm, solid. The LXX reads the verse, “for thus your face shall shine again, like pure water, and you shall divest yourself of uncleanness, and shall not fear.”

[37:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “from the Lord the steps of a man are established, and in his way he delights.” The second line qualifies the first. The man whose behavior is commendable in God’s sight is the one whose ways are established by God. Another option is that the second line refers to the godly man delighting in God’s “way,” namely the lifestyle which he prescribes for men. In this case one might translate, “The Lord grants success to the one who desires to obey his commands.”

[10:25]  ⁶ sn The word for “storm wind” comes from the root סוּף (suf, “to come to an end; to cease”). The noun may then describe the kind of storm that makes an end of things, a “whirlwind” (so KJV, NASB; NLT “cyclone”). It is used in prophetic passages that describe swift judgment and destruction.

[10:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “the wicked are not”; ASV, NAB, NASB “is no more.”

[10:25]  ⁸ tn Heb “a foundation forever”; NLT “have a lasting foundation.”

[10:25]  sn The metaphor compares the righteous to an everlasting foundation to stress that they are secure when the catastrophes of life come along. He is fixed in a covenantal relationship and needs not to fear passing misfortunes. The wicked has no such security.

[7:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “if you do not believe, you will not endure.” The verb forms are second plural; the Lord here addresses the entire Davidic family and court. (Verse 4 was addressed to the king.) There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text, designed to draw attention to the alternatives set before the king (cf. 1:20). “Believe” (תַאֳמִינוּ, ta’aminu) is a Hiphil form of the verb אָמָן (’aman); “endure” (תֵאָמֵנוּ, te’amenu) is a Niphal form of this same verb.