Ayub 16:6

Abandonment by God and Man

16:6 “But ¹  if I speak, my pain is not relieved, ² 

and if I refrain from speaking

– how ³  much of it goes away?

Ayub 22:3

22:3 Is it of any special benefit ⁴  to the Almighty

that you should be righteous,

or is it any gain to him

that you make your ways blameless? ⁵ 

[16:6]  ¹ tn “But” is supplied in the translation to strengthen the contrast.

[16:6]  ² tn The Niphal יֵחָשֵׂךְ (yekhasekh) means “to be soothed; to be assuaged.”

[16:6]  ³ tn Some argue that מָה (mah) in the text is the Arabic ma, the simple negative. This would then mean “it does not depart far from me.” The interrogative used rhetorically amounts to the same thing, however, so the suggestion is not necessary.

[22:3]  ⁴ 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.

[22:3]  ⁵ 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.