Ayub 2:13

2:13 Then they sat down with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, yet no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain ¹  was very great. ² 

Mazmur 39:2

39:2 I was stone silent; ³ 

I held back the urge to speak. ⁴ 

My frustration grew; ⁵ 

Yesaya 36:21

36:21 They were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, “Don’t respond to him.”

Yeremia 8:14

Jeremiah Laments over the Coming Destruction

8:14 The people say, ⁶ 

“Why are we just sitting here?

Let us gather together inside the fortified cities. ⁷ 

Let us at least die there fighting, ⁸ 

since the Lord our God has condemned us to die.

He has condemned us to drink the poison waters of judgment ⁹ 

because we have sinned against him. ¹⁰ 

Ratapan 3:28

י (Yod)

3:28 Let a person ¹¹  sit alone in silence,

when the Lord ¹²  is disciplining him. ¹³ 

Amos 5:13

5:13 For this reason whoever is smart ¹⁴  keeps quiet ¹⁵  in such a time,

for it is an evil ¹⁶  time.

Amos 8:3

8:3 The women singing in the temple ¹⁷  will wail in that day.”

The sovereign Lord is speaking.

“There will be many corpses littered everywhere! ¹⁸  Be quiet!”

Mikha 7:5

7:5 Do not rely on a friend;

do not trust a companion!

Don’t even share secrets with the one who lies in your arms! ¹⁹ 

[2:13]  ¹ tn The word כְּאֵב (kÿ’ev) means “pain” – both mental and physical pain. The translation of “grief” captures only part of its emphasis.

[2:13]  ² sn The three friends went into a more severe form of mourning, one that is usually reserved for a death. E. Dhorme says it is a display of grief in its most intense form (Job, 23); for one of them to speak before the sufferer spoke would have been wrong.

[39:2]  ³ tn Heb “I was mute [with] silence.”

[39:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “I was quiet from good.” He kept quiet, resisting the urge to find emotional release and satisfaction by voicing his lament.

[39:2]  sn I held back the urge to speak. For a helpful discussion of the relationship (and tension) between silence and complaint in ancient Israelite lamentation, see E. S. Gerstenberger, Psalms, Part I (FOTL), 166-67.

[39:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “and my pain was stirred up.” Emotional pain is in view here.

[8:14]  ⁶ tn The words “The people say” are not in the text but are implicit in the shift of speakers between vv. 4-13 and vv. 14-16. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “Gather together and let us enter into the fortified cities.”

[8:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “Let us die there.” The words “at least” and “fighting” are intended to bring out the contrast of passive surrender to death in the open country and active resistance to the death implicit in the context.

[8:14]  ⁹ tn The words “of judgment” are not in the text but are intended to show that “poison water” is not literal but figurative of judgment at the hands of God through the agency of the enemy mentioned in v. 16.

[8:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “against the Lord.” The switch is for the sake of smoothness in English.

[3:28]  ¹¹ tn Heb “him.” The speaking voice in this chapter continues to be that of the גֶּבֶר (gever, “man”). The image of female Jerusalem in chs. 1-2 was fluid, being able to refer to the city or its inhabitants, both female and male. So too the “defeated soldier” or “everyman” (see note at 3:1 on “man”) is fluid and can represent any member of the Jewish community, male and female. This line especially has a proverbial character which can be extended to any person, hence the translation. But masculine pronouns are otherwise maintained reflecting the Hebrew grammatical system and the speaking voice of the poem.

[3:28]  ¹² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:28]  ¹³ tn Heb “has laid it on him.” The verb נָטַל (natal) is used 4 times in Biblical Hebrew; the related noun refers to heaviness or a burden. The entry of BDB 642 s.v. is outdated while HALOT 694 s.v. נטל is acceptable for the Qal. See D. R. Hillers, Lamentations (AB), 57. Hillers’ suggestion of a stative meaning for the Qal is followed here, though based on 2 Sam 24:12 “impose” is also possible.

[5:13]  ¹⁴ tn Or “the wise”; or “the prudent.” Another option is to translate “the successful, prosperous” and understand this as a reference to the rich oppressors. See G. V. Smith, Amos, 169-70. In this case the following verb will also have a different nuance, that is, the wealthy remain silent before the abuses they perpetuate. See the note on the verb translated “keeps quiet” later in this verse.

[5:13]  ¹⁵ tn Or “moans, laments,” from a homonymic verbal root. If the rich oppressors are in view, then the verb (whether translated “will be silenced” or “will lament”) describes the result of God’s judgment upon them. See G. V. Smith, Amos, 170.

[5:13]  ¹⁶ tn If this is a judgment announcement against the rich, then the Hebrew phrase עֵת רָעָה (’et ra’ah) must be translated, “[a] disastrous time.” See G. V. Smith, Amos, 170.

[8:3]  ¹⁷ tn Or “palace” (NASB, NCV, TEV).

[8:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Many corpses in every place he will throw out.” The subject of the verb is probably impersonal, though many emend the active (Hiphil) form to a passive (Hophal): “Many corpses in every place will be thrown out.”

[7:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “from the one who lies in your arms, guard the doors of your mouth.”