Ayub 19:13

Job’s Forsaken State

19:13 “He has put my relatives ¹  far from me;

my acquaintances only ²  turn away from me.

Mazmur 31:12

31:12 I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about; ³ 

I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar. ⁴ 

[19:13]  ¹ tn Heb “brothers.”

[19:13]  ² tn The LXX apparently took אַךְ־זָרוּ (’akh, “even, only,” and zaru, “they turn away”) together as if it was the verb אַכְזָרוּ (’akhzaru, “they have become cruel,” as in 20:21). But the grammar in the line would be difficult with this. Moreover, the word is most likely from זוּר (zur, “to turn away”). See L. A. Snijders, “The Meaning of zar in the Old Testament,” OTS 10 (1964): 1-154 (especially p. 9).

[31:12]  ³ tn Heb “I am forgotten, like a dead man, from [the] heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the center of one’s thoughts.

[31:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “I am like a broken jar.” One throws away a broken jar without a second thought because it is considered worthless and useless.