Ayub 8:20

8:20 “Surely, God does not reject a blameless man, ¹ 

nor does he grasp the hand ² 

of the evildoers.

Ayub 9:22-23

Accusation of God’s Justice

9:22 “It is all one! ³  That is why I say, ⁴ 

‘He destroys the blameless and the guilty.’

9:23 If a scourge brings sudden death, ⁵ 

he mocks ⁶  at the despair ⁷  of the innocent. ⁸ 

Pengkhotbah 7:15

Exceptions to the Law of Retribution

7:15 During the days of my fleeting life ⁹  I have seen both ¹⁰  of these things:

Sometimes ¹¹  a righteous person dies prematurely ¹²  in spite of ¹³  his righteousness,

and sometimes ¹⁴  a wicked person lives long ¹⁵  in spite of his evil deeds.

Pengkhotbah 8:12-13

8:12 Even though a sinner might commit a hundred crimes ¹⁶  and still live a long time, ¹⁷ 

yet I know that it will go well with God-fearing people ¹⁸  – for they stand in fear ¹⁹  before him.

8:13 But it will not go well with the wicked,

nor will they ²⁰  prolong their ²¹  days like a shadow, ²² 

because they ²³  do not stand in fear ²⁴  before God.

Yesaya 3:10-11

3:10 Tell the innocent ²⁵  it will go well with them, ²⁶ 

for they will be rewarded for what they have done. ²⁷ 

3:11 Too bad for the wicked sinners!

For they will get exactly what they deserve. ²⁸ 

Yesaya 57:1-2

57:1 The godly ²⁹  perish,

but no one cares. ³⁰ 

Honest people disappear, ³¹ 

when no one ³²  minds ³³ 

that the godly ³⁴  disappear ³⁵  because of ³⁶  evil. ³⁷ 

57:2 Those who live uprightly enter a place of peace;

they rest on their beds. ³⁸ 

Maleakhi 3:18

3:18 Then once more you will see that I make a distinction between ³⁹  the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not.

[8:20]  ¹ sn This is the description that the book gave to Job at the outset, a description that he deserved according to God’s revelation. The theme “God will not reject the blameless man” becomes Job’s main point (see 9:20,21; 10:3).

[8:20]  ² sn The idiom “to grasp the hand” of someone means to support or help the person.

[9:22]  ³ tc The LXX omits the phrase “It is all one.” Modern scholars either omit it or transpose it for clarity.

[9:22]  sn The expression “it is one” means that God’s dealings with people is undiscriminating. The number “one” could also be taken to mean “the same” – “it is all the same.” The implication is that it does not matter if Job is good or evil, if he lives or dies. This is the conclusion of the preceding section.

[9:22]  ⁴ tn The relationships of these clauses is in some question. Some think that the poet has inverted the first two, and so they should read, “That is why I have said: ‘It is all one.’” Others would take the third clause to be what was said.

[9:23]  ⁵ tc The LXX contains a paraphrase: “for the worthless die, but the righteous are laughed to scorn.”

[9:23]  sn The point of these verses is to show – rather boldly – that God does not distinguish between the innocent and the guilty.

[9:23]  ⁶ sn This bold anthropomorphism means that by his treatment of the despair of the innocent, God is in essence mocking them.

[9:23]  ⁷ tn The term מַסַּת (massat), a hapax legomenon, was translated “trial” in the older versions; but it is not from נָסָה (nasah, “to tempt; to test; to try”), but from מָסַס (masas, “to flow”). It is used in the Niphal to speak of the heart “melting” in suffering. So the idea behind this image is that of despair. This is the view that most interpreters adopt; it requires no change of the text whatsoever.

[9:23]  ⁸ sn Job uses this word to refute Eliphaz; cf. 4:7.

[7:15]  ⁹ tn The word “life” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness and clarity.

[7:15]  ¹⁰ tn As is the case throughout Ecclesiastes, the term הַכֹּל (hakkol) should be nuanced “both” rather than “all.”

[7:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “There is.” The term יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is”) is often used in aphorisms to assert the existence of a particular situation that occurs sometimes. It may indicate that the situation is not the rule but that it does occur on occasion, and may be nuanced “sometimes” (Prov 11:24; 13:7, 23; 14:12; 16:25; 18:24; 20:15; Eccl 2:21; 4:8; 5:12; 6:1; 7:15 [2x]; 8:14 [3x]).

[7:15]  ¹² tn Heb “perishes.”

[7:15]  ¹³ tn Or “in his righteousness.” The preposition בְּ (bet) on the terms בְּצִרְקוֹ (bÿtsirqo, “his righteousness”) and בְּרָעָתוֹ (bÿra’ato, “his evil-doing”) in the following line are traditionally taken in a locative sense: “in his righteousness” and “in his wickedness” (KJV, NASB, NIV). However, it is better to take the בְּ (bet) in the adversative sense “in spite of” (e.g., Lev 26:27; Num 14:11; Deut 1:32; Isa 5:25; 9:11, 16, 20; 10:4; 16:14; 47:9; Pss 27:3; 78:32; Ezra 3:3); cf. HALOT 104 s.v. בְּ 7; BDB 90 s.v. בְּ 3.7. NJPS renders it well: “Sometimes a good man perishes in spite of his goodness, and sometimes a wicked one endures in spite of his wickedness.” In a similar vein, D. R. Glenn (“Ecclesiastes,” BKCOT, 993–94) writes: “The word ‘in’ in the phrases ‘in his righteousness’ and ‘in his wickedness’ can here mean ‘in spite of.’ These phrases…argue against the common view that in 7:16 Solomon was warning against legalistic or Pharisaic self-righteousness. Such would have been a sin and would have been so acknowledged by Solomon who was concerned about true exceptions to the doctrine of retribution, not supposed ones (cf. 8:10–14 where this doctrine is discussed again).”

[7:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “There is.” The term יֵשׁ (yesh,“there is”) is often used in aphorisms to assert the existence of a particular situation that occurs sometimes. It may indicate that the situation is not the rule but that it does occur on occasion, and may be nuanced “sometimes” (Prov 11:24; 13:7, 23; 14:12; 16:25; 18:24; 20:15; Eccl 2:21; 4:8; 5:12; 6:1; 7:15 [2x]; 8:14 [3x]).

[7:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a wicked man endures.”

[8:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “does evil one hundred [times].”

[8:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and prolongs his [life].”

[8:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “those who fear God.”

[8:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they fear.”

[8:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “he.”

[8:13]  ²¹ tn The word “their” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

[8:13]  ²² tn The phrase “like a shadow” (כַּצֵּל, katsel) modifies the verb (“prolong”) rather than the noun (“days”). Several English versions misconstrue the line: “he will not prolong his days, [which are] like a shadow” (KJV, ASV); “the man who does not fear God is like a shadow” (NEB); and “he will not prolong his shadowy days” (NAB). It should be rendered “he will not prolong his days like a shadow” (RSV, NRSV, NASB, MLB, NIV). Unlike a shadow that lengthens at sunset, the wicked do not normally live long.

[8:13]  ²³ tn Heb “he.”

[8:13]  ²⁴ tn Heb “they do not fear.”

[3:10]  ²⁵ tn Or “the righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, TEV); NLT “those who are godly.”

[3:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “that it is good.”

[3:10]  ²⁷ tn Heb “for the fruit of their deeds they will eat.”

[3:11]  ²⁸ tn Heb “for the work of his hands will be done to him.”

[57:1]  ²⁹ tn Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the just man”; TEV “Good people.”

[57:1]  ³⁰ tn Or perhaps, “understands.” Heb “and there is no man who sets [it] upon [his] heart.”

[57:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “Men of loyalty are taken away.” The Niphal of אָסַף (’asaf) here means “to die.”

[57:1]  ³² tn The Hebrew term בְּאֵין (bÿ’en) often has the nuance “when there is no.” See Prov 8:24; 11;14; 14:4; 15:22; 26:20; 29:18.

[57:1]  ³³ tn Or “realizes”; Heb “understands” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[57:1]  ³⁴ tn Or “righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the just man.”

[57:1]  ³⁵ tn Heb “are taken away.” The Niphal of אָסַף (’asaf) here means “to die.”

[57:1]  ³⁶ tn The term מִפְּנֵי (mippÿne, “from the face of”) often has a causal nuance. It also appears with the Niphal of אָסַף (’asaph, “gather”) in 2 Chr 12:5: אֲשֶׁר־נֶאֶסְפוּ אֶל־יְרוּשָׁלַם מִפְּנֵי שִׁישָׁק (’asher-ne’esphu ’el-yÿrushalam mippÿney shishaq, “who had gathered at Jerusalem because of [i.e., due to fear of] Shishak”).

[57:1]  ³⁷ tn The translation assumes that this verse, in proverbial fashion, laments society’s apathy over the persecution of the godly. The second half of the verse observes that such apathy results in more widespread oppression. Since the next verse pictures the godly being taken to a place of rest, some interpret the second half of v. 1 in a more positive vein. According to proponents of this view, God removes the godly so that they might be spared suffering and calamity, a fact which the general populace fails to realize.

[57:2]  ³⁸ tn Heb “he enters peace, they rest on their beds, the one who walks straight ahead of himself.” The tomb is here viewed in a fairly positive way as a place where the dead are at peace and sleep undisturbed.

[3:18]  ³⁹ tn Heb “you will see between.” Cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT “see the difference.”