Ayub 22:30

22:30 he will deliver even someone who is not innocent, ¹ 

who will escape ²  through the cleanness of your hands.”

Mazmur 24:4

24:4 The one whose deeds are blameless

and whose motives are pure, ³ 

who does not lie, ⁴ 

or make promises with no intention of keeping them. ⁵ 

[22:30]  ¹ tc The Hebrew has אִי־נָקִי (’i naqi), which could be taken as “island of the innocent” (so Ibn-Ezra), or “him that is not innocent” (so Rashi). But some have changed אִי (’i) to אִישׁ (’ish, “the innocent man”). Others differ: A. Guillaume links אִי (’i) to Arabic ‘ayya “whosoever,” and so leaves the text alone. M. Dahood secures the same idea from Ugaritic, but reads it אֵי (’e).

[22:30]  ² tc The MT has “he will escape [or be delivered].” Theodotion has the second person, “you will be delivered.”

[24:4]  ³ tn Heb “the innocent of hands and the pure of heart.” The “hands” allude to one’s actions, the “heart” to one’s thought life and motives.

[24:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “who does not lift up for emptiness my life.” The first person pronoun on נַפְשִׁי (nafshiy, “my life”) makes little sense here; many medieval Hebrew mss support the ancient versions in reading a third person pronoun “his.” The idiom “lift the life” here means to “long for” or “desire strongly.” In this context (note the reference to an oath in the following line) “emptiness” probably refers to speech (see Ps 12:2).

[24:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “and does not swear an oath deceitfully.”