Ayub 2:6

2:6 So the Lord said to Satan, “All right, ¹  he is ²  in your power; ³  only preserve ⁴  his life.”

Ayub 4:18

4:18 If ⁵  God ⁶  puts no trust in ⁷  his servants ⁸ 

and attributes ⁹  folly ¹⁰  to his angels,

Ayub 8:19-20

8:19 Indeed, this is the joy of his way, ¹¹ 

and out of the earth ¹²  others spring up. ¹³ 

8:20 “Surely, God does not reject a blameless man, ¹⁴ 

nor does he grasp the hand ¹⁵ 

of the evildoers.

Ayub 9:11-12

9:11 If ¹⁶  he passes by me, I cannot see ¹⁷  him, ¹⁸ 

if he goes by, I cannot perceive him. ¹⁹ 

9:12 If he snatches away, ²⁰  who can turn him back? ²¹ 

Who dares to say to him, ‘What are you doing?’

Ayub 12:14-15

12:14 If ²²  he tears down, it cannot be rebuilt;

if he imprisons a person, there is no escape. ²³ 

12:15 If he holds back the waters, then they dry up; ²⁴ 

if he releases them, ²⁵  they destroy ²⁶  the land.

Ayub 13:1

Job Pleads His Cause to God ²⁷ 

13:1 “Indeed, my eyes have seen all this, ²⁸ 

my ears have heard and understood it.

Ayub 13:15

13:15 Even if he slays me, I will hope in him; ²⁹ 

I will surely ³⁰  defend ³¹  my ways to his face!

Ayub 15:15

15:15 If God places no trust in his holy ones, ³² 

if even the heavens ³³  are not pure in his eyes,

Ayub 19:7

Job’s Abandonment and Affliction

19:7 “If ³⁴  I cry out, ³⁵  ‘Violence!’ ³⁶ 

I receive no answer; ³⁷ 

I cry for help,

but there is no justice.

Ayub 21:16

21:16 But their prosperity is not their own doing. ³⁸ 

The counsel of the wicked is far from me! ³⁹ 

Ayub 21:27

Futile Words, Deceptive Answers

21:27 “Yes, I know what you are thinking, ⁴⁰ 

the schemes ⁴¹  by which you would wrong me. ⁴² 

Ayub 23:8

The Inaccessibility and Power of God

23:8 “If I go to the east, he is not there,

and to the west, yet I do not perceive him.

Ayub 24:5

24:5 Like ⁴³  wild donkeys in the desert

they ⁴⁴  go out to their labor, ⁴⁵ 

seeking diligently for food;

the wasteland provides ⁴⁶  food for them

and for their children.

Ayub 25:5

25:5 If even the moon is not bright,

and the stars are not pure as far as he is concerned, ⁴⁷ 

Ayub 26:14

26:14 Indeed, these are but the outer fringes of his ways! ⁴⁸ 

How faint is the whisper ⁴⁹  we hear of him!

But who can understand the thunder of his power?”

Ayub 27:12

27:12 If you yourselves have all seen this,

Why in the world ⁵⁰  do you continue this meaningless talk? ⁵¹ 

Ayub 28:28

28:28 And he said to mankind,

‘The fear of the Lord ⁵²  – that is wisdom,

and to turn away from evil is understanding.’” ⁵³ 

Ayub 31:35

Job’s Appeal

31:35 “If only I had ⁵⁴  someone to hear me!

Here is my signature – ⁵⁵ 

let the Almighty answer me!

If only I had an indictment ⁵⁶ 

that my accuser had written. ⁵⁷ 

Ayub 32:11

32:11 Look, I waited for you to speak; ⁵⁸ 

I listened closely to your wise thoughts, ⁵⁹ while you were searching for words.

Ayub 33:6

33:6 Look, I am just like you in relation to God;

I too have been molded ⁶⁰  from clay.

Ayub 33:10

33:10 ⁶¹ Yet God ⁶²  finds occasions ⁶³  with me;

he regards me as his enemy!

Ayub 33:12

33:12 Now in this, you are not right – I answer you, ⁶⁴ 

for God is greater than a human being. ⁶⁵ 

Ayub 33:29

Elihu’s Appeal to Job ⁶⁶ 

33:29 “Indeed, God does all these things,

twice, three times, in his dealings ⁶⁷  with a person,

Ayub 36:5

36:5 Indeed, God is mighty; and he does not despise people, ⁶⁸ 

he ⁶⁹  is mighty, and firm ⁷⁰  in his intent. ⁷¹ 

Ayub 36:22

36:22 Indeed, God is exalted in his power;

who is a teacher ⁷²  like him?

Ayub 36:26

The Work and Wisdom of God

36:26 “Yes, God is great – beyond our knowledge! ⁷³ 

The number of his years is unsearchable.

Ayub 36:30

36:30 See how he scattered ⁷⁴  his lightning ⁷⁵  about him;

he has covered the depths ⁷⁶  of the sea.

Ayub 38:35

38:35 Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go?

Will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?

Ayub 40:4

40:4 “Indeed, I am completely unworthy ⁷⁷  – how could I reply to you?

I put ⁷⁸  my hand over my mouth to silence myself. ⁷⁹ 

Ayub 40:23

40:23 If the river rages, ⁸⁰  it is not disturbed,

it is secure, ⁸¹  though the Jordan

should surge up to its mouth.

Ayub 41:9

41:9 (41:1) ⁸²  See, his expectation is wrong, ⁸³ 

he is laid low even at the sight of it. ⁸⁴ 

[2:6]  ¹ tn The particle הִנּוֹ (hinno) is literally, “here he is!” God presents Job to Satan, with the restriction on preserving Job’s life.

[2:6]  ² tn The LXX has “I deliver him up to you.”

[2:6]  ³ tn Heb “hand.”

[2:6]  ⁴ sn The irony of the passage comes through with this choice of words. The verb שָׁמַר (shamar) means “to keep; to guard; to preserve.” The exceptive clause casts Satan in the role of a savior – he cannot destroy this life but must protect it.

[4:18]  ⁵ tn The particle הֵן (hen) introduces a conditional clause here, although the older translations used “behold.” The clause forms the foundation for the point made in the next verse, an argument by analogy – if this be true, then how much more/less the other.

[4:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:18]  ⁷ tn The verb יַאֲמִין (ya’amin), a Hiphil imperfect from אָמַן (’aman) followed by the preposition בּ (bet), means “trust in.”

[4:18]  ⁸ sn The servants here must be angels in view of the parallelism. The Targum to Job interpreted them to be the prophets. In the book we have already read about the “sons of God” who take their stand as servants before the Lord (1:6; 2:1). And Ps 104:4 identifies the angels as servants (using שָׁרַת, sharat).

[4:18]  ⁹ tn The verb שִׂים (sim, “set”) with the preposition בּ (bet) has the sense of “impute” or “attribute something to someone.”

[4:18]  ¹⁰ tn The word תָּהֳלָה (toholah) is a hapax legomenon, and so has created some confusion in the various translations. It seems to mean “error; folly.” The word is translated “perverseness” in the LXX; but Symmachus connects it with the word for “madness.” “Some commentators have repointed the word to תְּהִלָּה (tÿhillah, “praise”) making the line read: “he finds no [cause for] praise in his angels.” Others suggest תִּפְלָה (tiflah, “offensiveness, silliness”) a bigger change; this matches the idiom in Job 24:12. But if the etymology of the word is הָלַל (halal, “to be mad”) then that change is not necessary. The feminine noun “madness” still leaves the meaning of the line a little uncertain: “[if] he does not impute madness to his angels.” The point of the verse is that God finds flaws in his angels and does not put his trust in them.

[8:19]  ¹¹ tn This line is difficult. If the MT stands as it is, the expression must be ironic. It would be saying that the joy (all the security and prosperity) of its way (its life) is short-lived – that is the way its joy goes. Most commentators are not satisfied with this. Dhorme, for one, changes מְשׂוֹשׂ (mÿsos, “joy”) to מְסוֹס (mÿsos, “rotting”), and gets “behold him lie rotting on the path.” The sibilants can interchange this way. But Dhorme thinks the MT was written the way it was because the word was thought to be “joy,” when it should have been the other way. The word “way” then becomes an accusative of place. The suggestion is rather compelling and would certainly fit the context. The difficulty is that a root סוּס (sus, “to rot”) has to be proposed. E. Dhorme does this by drawing on Arabic sas, “to be eaten by moths or worms,” thus “worm-eaten; decaying; rotting.” Cf. NIV “its life withers away”; also NAB “there he lies rotting beside the road.”

[8:19]  ¹² tn Heb “dust.”

[8:19]  ¹³ sn As with the tree, so with the godless man – his place will soon be taken by another.

[8:20]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ sn The idiom “to grasp the hand” of someone means to support or help the person.

[9:11]  ¹⁶ tn The NIV has “when” to form a temporal clause here. For the use of “if,” see GKC 497 §159.w.

[9:11]  ¹⁷ tn The imperfect verbs in this verse are consistent with the clauses. In the conditional clauses a progressive imperfect is used, but in the following clauses the verbs are potential imperfects.

[9:11]  ¹⁸ tn The pronoun “him” is supplied here; it is not in MT, but the Syriac and Vulgate have it (probably for translation purposes as well).

[9:11]  ¹⁹ sn Like the mountains, Job knows that God has passed by and caused him to shake and tremble, but he cannot understand or perceive the reasons.

[9:12]  ²⁰ tn E. Dhorme (Job, 133) surveys the usages and concludes that the verb חָתַף (khataf) normally describes the wicked actions of a man, especially by treachery or trickery against another. But a verb חָתַף (khataf) is found nowhere else; a noun “robber” is found in Prov 23:28. Dhorme sees no reason to emend the text, because he concludes that the two verbs are synonymous. Job is saying that if God acts like a plunderer, there is no one who can challenge what he does.

[9:12]  ²¹ tn The verb is the Hiphil imperfect (potential again) from שׁוּב (shuv). In this stem it can mean “turn back, refute, repel” (BDB 999 s.v. Hiph.5).

[12:14]  ²² tn The use of הֵן (hen, equivalent to הִנֵּה, hinneh, “behold”) introduces a hypothetical condition.

[12:14]  ²³ tn The verse employs antithetical ideas: “tear down” and “build up,” “imprison” and “escape.” The Niphal verbs in the sentences are potential imperfects. All of this is to say that humans cannot reverse the will of God.

[12:15]  ²⁴ tc The LXX has a clarification: “he will dry the earth.”

[12:15]  ²⁵ sn The verse is focusing on the two extremes of drought and flood. Both are described as being under the power of God.

[12:15]  ²⁶ tn The verb הָפַךְ (hafakh) means “to overthrow; to destroy; to overwhelm.” It was used in Job 9:5 for “overturning” mountains. The word is used in Genesis for the destruction of Sodom.

[13:1]  ²⁷ sn Chapter 13 records Job’s charges against his friends for the way they used their knowledge (1-5), his warning that God would find out their insincerity (6-12), and his pleading of his cause to God in which he begs for God to remove his hand from him and that he would not terrify him with his majesty and that he would reveal the sins that caused such great suffering (13-28).

[13:1]  ²⁸ tn Hebrew has כֹּל (kol, “all”); there is no reason to add anything to the text to gain a meaning “all this.”

[13:15]  ²⁹ tn There is a textual difficulty here that factors into the interpretation of the verse. The Kethib is לֹא (lo’, “not”), but the Qere is לוֹ (lo, “to him”). The RSV takes the former: “Behold, he will slay me, I have no hope.” The NIV takes it as “though he slay me, yet will I hope in him.” Job is looking ahead to death, which is not an evil thing to him. The point of the verse is that he is willing to challenge God at the risk of his life; and if God slays him, he is still confident that he will be vindicated – as he says later in this chapter. Other suggestions are not compelling. E. Dhorme (Job, 187) makes a slight change of אֲיַחֵל (’ayakhel, “I will hope”) to אַחִיל (’akhil, “I will [not] tremble”). A. B. Davidson (Job, 98) retains the MT, but interprets the verb more in line with its use in the book: “I will not wait” (cf. NLT).

[13:15]  ³⁰ tn On אַךְ (’akh, “surely”) see GKC 483 §153 on intensive clauses.

[13:15]  ³¹ tn The verb once again is יָכָה (yakhah, in the Hiphil, “argue a case, plead, defend, contest”). But because the word usually means “accuse” rather than “defend,” I. L. Seeligmann proposed changing “my ways” to “his ways” (“Zur Terminologie für das Gerichtsverfahren im Wortschatz des biblischen Hebräisch,” VTSup 16 [1967]: 251-78). But the word can be interpreted appropriately in the context without emendation.

[15:15]  ³² tn Eliphaz here reiterates the point made in Job 4:18.

[15:15]  ³³ sn The question here is whether the reference is to material “heavens” (as in Exod 24:10 and Job 25:5), or to heavenly beings. The latter seems preferable in this context.

[19:7]  ³⁴ tn The particle is used here as in 9:11 (see GKC 497 §159.w).

[19:7]  ³⁵ tc The LXX has “I laugh at reproach.”

[19:7]  ³⁶ tn The same idea is expressed in Jer 20:8 and Hab 1:2. The cry is a cry for help, that he has been wronged, that there is no justice.

[19:7]  ³⁷ tn The Niphal is simply “I am not answered.” See Prov 21:13b.

[21:16]  ³⁸ tn Heb “is not in their hand.”

[21:16]  sn The implication of this statement is that their well-being is from God, which is the problem Job is raising in the chapter. A number of commentators make it a question, interpreting it to mean that the wicked enjoy prosperity as if it is their right. Some emend the text to say “his hands” – Gordis reads it, “Indeed, our prosperity is not in his hands.”

[21:16]  ³⁹ sn Even though their life seems so good in contrast to his own plight, Job cannot and will not embrace their principles – “far be from me their counsel.”

[21:27]  ⁴⁰ tn The word is “your thoughts.” The word for “thoughts” (from חָצַב [khatsav, “to think; to reckon; to plan”]) has more to do with their intent than their general thoughts. He knows that when they talked about the fate of the wicked they really were talking about him.

[21:27]  ⁴¹ tn For the meaning of this word, and its root זָמַם (zamam), see Job 17:11. It usually means the “plans” or “schemes” that are concocted against someone.

[21:27]  ⁴² tn E. Dhorme (Job, 321) distinguishes the verb חָמַס (khamas) from the noun for “violence.” He proposes a meaning of “think, imagine”: “and the ideas you imagined about me.”

[24:5]  ⁴³ tc The verse begins with הֵן (hen); but the LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac all have “like.” R. Gordis (Job, 265) takes הֵן (hen) as a pronoun “they” and supplies the comparative. The sense of the verse is clear in either case.

[24:5]  ⁴⁴ tn That is, “the poor.”

[24:5]  ⁴⁵ tc The MT has “in the working/labor of them,” or “when they labor.” Some commentators simply omit these words. Dhorme retains them and moves them to go with עֲרָבָה (’aravah), which he takes to mean “evening”; this gives a clause, “although they work until the evening.” Then, with many others, he takes לוֹ (lo) to be a negative and finishes the verse with “no food for the children.” Others make fewer changes in the text, and as a result do not come out with such a hopeless picture – there is some food found. The point is that they spend their time foraging for food, and they find just enough to survive, but it is a day-long activity. For Job, this shows how unrighteous the administration of the world actually is.

[24:5]  ⁴⁶ tn The verb is not included in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation.

[25:5]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “not pure in his eyes.”

[26:14]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “the ends of his ways,” meaning “the fringes.”

[26:14]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “how little is the word.” Here “little” means a “fraction” or an “echo.”

[27:12]  ⁵⁰ tn The interrogative uses the demonstrative pronoun in its emphatic position: “Why in the world…?” (IBHS 312-13 §17.4.3c).

[27:12]  ⁵¹ tn The text has the noun “vain thing; breath; vapor,” and then a denominative verb from the same root: “to become vain with a vain thing,” or “to do in vain a vain thing.” This is an example of the internal object, or a cognate accusative (see GKC 367 §117.q). The LXX has “you all know that you are adding vanity to vanity.”

[28:28]  ⁵² tc A number of medieval Hebrew manuscripts have YHWH (“Lord”); BHS has אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Lord”). As J. E. Hartley (Job [NICOT], 383) points out, this is the only occurrence of אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Lord”) in the book of Job, creating doubt for retaining it. Normally, YHWH is avoided in the book. “Fear of” (יִרְאַת, yir’at) is followed by שַׁדַּי (shadday, “Almighty”) in 6:14 – the only other occurrence of this term for “fear” in construct with a divine title.

[28:28]  ⁵³ tc Many commentators delete this verse because (1) many read the divine name Yahweh (translated “Lord”) here, and (2) it is not consistent with the argument that precedes it. But as H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 185) points out, there is inconsistency in this reasoning, for many of the critics have already said that this chapter is an interpolation. Following that line of thought, then, one would not expect it to conform to the rest of the book in this matter of the divine name. And concerning the second difficulty, the point of this chapter is that wisdom is beyond human comprehension and control. It belongs to God alone. So the conclusion that the fear of the Lord is wisdom is the necessary conclusion. Rowley concludes: “It is a pity to rob the poem of its climax and turn it into the expression of unrelieved agnosticism.”

[31:35]  ⁵⁴ tn The optative is again introduced with “who will give to me hearing me? – O that someone would listen to me!”

[31:35]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “here is my ‘tav’” (הֵן תָּוִי, hen tavi). The letter ת (tav) is the last letter of the alphabet in Hebrew. In paleo-Hebrew the letter was in the form of a cross or an “X,” and so used for one making a mark or a signature. In this case Job has signed his statement and delivered it to the court – but he has yet to be charged. Kissane thought that this being the last letter of the alphabet, Job was saying, “This is my last word.” Others take the word to mean “desire” – “this is my desire, that God would answer me” (see E. F. Sutcliffe, “Notes on Job, textual and exegetical,” Bib 30 [1949]: 71-72; G. R. Driver, AJSL 3 [1935/36]: 166; P. P. Saydon, “Philological and Textual Notes to the Maltese Translation of the Old Testament,” CBQ 23 [1961]: 252). R. Gordis (Job, 355) also argues strongly for this view.

[31:35]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “a scroll,” in the context referring to a scroll containing the accusations of Job’s legal adversary (see the next line).

[31:35]  ⁵⁷ tn The last line is very difficult; it simply says, “a scroll [that] my [legal] adversary had written.” The simplest way to handle this is to see it as a continuation of the optative (RSV).

[32:11]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “for your words.”

[32:11]  ⁵⁹ tn The word means “understanding.” It refers to the faculty of perception and comprehension; but it also can refer to what that produces, especially when it is in the plural (see Ps 49:4). See R. Gordis, Job, 368. Others translate it “reasonings,” “arguments,” etc.

[33:6]  ⁶⁰ tn The verb means “nipped off,” as a potter breaks off a piece of clay when molding a vessel.

[33:10]  ⁶¹ sn See Job 10:13ff.; 19:6ff.; and 13:24.

[33:10]  ⁶² tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:10]  ⁶³ tn The Hebrew means “frustrations” or “oppositions.” The RSV has “displeasure,” NIV “faults,” and NRSV “occasions.” Rashi chose the word found in Judg 14:4 – with metathesis – meaning “pretexts” (תֹּאֲנוֹת, to’anot); this is followed by NAB, NASB.

[33:12]  ⁶⁴ tn The meaning of this verb is “this is my answer to you.”

[33:12]  ⁶⁵ tc The LXX has “he that is above men is eternal.” Elihu is saying that God is far above Job’s petty problems.

[33:29]  ⁶⁶ sn Elihu will repeat these instructions for Job to listen, over and over in painful repetition. See note on the heading to 32:1.

[33:29]  ⁶⁷ tn The phrase “in his dealings” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[36:5]  ⁶⁸ tn The object “people” is not in the Hebrew text but is implied.

[36:5]  ⁶⁹ tn The text simply repeats “mighty.”

[36:5]  ⁷⁰ tn The last two words are simply כֹּחַ לֵב (koakh lev, “strong in heart”), meaning something like “strong; firm in his decisions.”

[36:5]  ⁷¹ tc There are several problems in this verse: the repetition of “mighty,” the lack of an object for “despise,” and the meaning of “strength of heart.” Many commentators reduce the verse to a single line, reading something like “Lo, God does not reject the pure in heart” (Kissane). Dhorme and Pope follow Nichols with: “Lo, God is mighty in strength, and rejects not the pure in heart.” This reading moved “mighty” to the first line and took the second to be בַּר (bar, “pure”).

[36:22]  ⁷² tn The word מוֹרֶה (moreh) is the Hiphil participle from יָרַה (yarah). It is related to the noun תּוֹרָה (torah, “what is taught” i.e., the law).

[36:26]  ⁷³ tn The last part has the verbal construction, “and we do not know.” This clause is to be used adverbially: “beyond our understanding.”

[36:30]  ⁷⁴ tn The word actually means “to spread,” but with lightning as the object, “to scatter” appears to fit the context better.

[36:30]  ⁷⁵ tn The word is “light,” but taken to mean “lightning.” Theodotion had “mist” here, and so most commentators follow that because it is more appropriate to the verb and the context.

[36:30]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “roots.”

[40:4]  ⁷⁷ tn The word קַלֹּתִי (qalloti) means “to be light; to be of small account; to be unimportant.” From this comes the meaning “contemptible,” which in the causative stem would mean “to treat with contempt; to curse.” Dhorme tries to make the sentence a conditional clause and suggests this meaning: “If I have been thoughtless.” There is really no “if” in Job’s mind.

[40:4]  ⁷⁸ tn The perfect verb here should be classified as an instantaneous perfect; the action is simultaneous with the words.

[40:4]  ⁷⁹ tn The words “to silence myself” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[40:23]  ⁸⁰ tn The word ordinarily means “to oppress.” So many commentators have proposed suitable changes: “overflows” (Beer), “gushes” (Duhm), “swells violently” (Dhorme, from a word that means “be strong”).

[40:23]  ⁸¹ tn Or “he remains calm.”

[41:9]  ⁸² sn Job 41:9 in the English Bible is 41:1 in the Hebrew text (BHS). From here to the end of the chapter the Hebrew verse numbers differ from those in the English Bible, with 41:10 ET = 41:2 HT, 41:11 ET = 41:3 HT, etc. See also the note on 41:1.

[41:9]  ⁸³ tn The line is difficult. “His hope [= expectation]” must refer to any assailant who hopes or expects to capture the creature. Because there is no antecedent, Dhorme and others transpose it with the next verse. The point is that the man who thought he was sufficient to confront Leviathan soon finds his hope – his expectation – false (a derivative from the verb כָּזַב [kazab, “lie”] is used for a mirage).

[41:9]  ⁸⁴ tn There is an interrogative particle in this line, which most commentators ignore. But others freely emend the MT. Gunkel, following the mythological approach, has “his appearance casts down even a god.” Cheyne likewise has: “even divine beings the fear of him brings low” (JQR 9 [1896/97]: 579). Pope has, “Were not the gods cast down at the sight of him?” There is no need to bring in this mythological element.