Ayub 13:18

13:18 See now, ¹  I have prepared ²  my ³  case; ⁴ 

I know that I am right. ⁵ 

Ayub 15:1

Eliphaz’s Second Speech ⁶ 

15:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

Ayub 31:30

31:30 I ⁷  have not even permitted my mouth ⁸  to sin

by asking ⁹  for his life through a curse –

Ayub 33:5

33:5 Reply to me, if you can;

set your arguments ¹⁰  in order before me

and take your stand!

[13:18]  ¹ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) functions almost as an imperative here, calling attention to what follows: “look” (archaic: behold).

[13:18]  ² tn The verb עָרַךְ (’arakh) means “to set in order, set in array [as a battle], prepare” in the sense here of arrange and organize a lawsuit.

[13:18]  ³ tn The pronoun is added because this is what the verse means.

[13:18]  ⁴ tn The word מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) usually means “judgment; decision.” Here it means “lawsuit” (and so a metonymy of effect gave rise to this usage; see Num 27:5; 2 Sam 15:4).

[13:18]  ⁵ tn The pronoun is emphatic before the verb: “I know that it is I who am right.” The verb means “to be right; to be righteous.” Some have translated it “vindicated,” looking at the outcome of the suit.

[15:1]  ⁶ sn In the first round of speeches, Eliphaz had emphasized the moral perfection of God, Bildad his unwavering justice, and Zophar his omniscience. Since this did not bring the expected response from Job, the friends see him as a menace to true religion, and so they intensify their approach. Eliphaz, as dignified as ever, rebukes Job for his arrogance and warns about the judgment the wicked bring on themselves. The speech of Eliphaz falls into three parts: the rebuke of Job for his irreverence (2-6); the analysis of Job’s presumption about wisdom (7-16), and his warning about the fate of the wicked (17-35).

[31:30]  ⁷ tn This verse would then be a parenthesis in which he stops to claim his innocence.

[31:30]  ⁸ tn Heb “I have not given my palate.”

[31:30]  ⁹ tn The infinitive construct with the ל (lamed) preposition (“by asking”) serves in an epexegetical capacity here, explaining the verb of the first colon (“permitted…to sin”). To seek a curse on anyone would be a sin.

[33:5]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text does not contain the term “arguments,” but this verb has been used already for preparing or arranging a defense.