22:3 Is it of any special benefit 1 to the Almighty
that you should be righteous,
or is it any gain to him
that you make your ways blameless? 2
37:16 Do you know about the balancing 3 of the clouds,
that wondrous activity of him who is perfect in knowledge?
12:13 “With God 4 are wisdom and power;
counsel and understanding are his. 5
1 tn The word חֵפֶץ (khefets) in this passage has the nuance of “special benefit; favor.” It does not just express the desire for something or the interest in it, but the profit one derives from it.
2 tn The verb תַתֵּם (tattem) is the Hiphil imperfect of תָּמַם (tamam, “be complete, finished”), following the Aramaic form of the geminate verb with a doubling of the first letter.
3 tn As indicated by HALOT 618 s.v. מִפְלָשׂ, the concept of “balancing” probably refers to “floating” or “suspension” (cf. NIV’s “how the clouds hang poised” and J. E. Hartley, Job [NICOT], 481-82, n. 2).
4 tn Heb “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 sn A. B. Davidson (Job, 91) says, “These attributes of God’s [sic] confound and bring to nought everything bearing the same name among men.”