Ayub 16:21

16:21 and ¹  he contends with God on behalf of man

as a man ²  pleads ³  for his friend.

Ayub 13:8

13:8 Will you show him partiality? ⁴ 

Will you argue the case ⁵  for God?

[16:21]  ¹ tn E. Dhorme (Job, 240) alters this slightly to read “Would that” or “Ah! if only.”

[16:21]  ² tn This is the simple translation of the expression “son of man” in Job. But some commentators wish to change the word בֵּן (ben, “son”) to בֵּין (ben, “between”). It would then be “[as] between a man and [for] his friend.” Even though a few mss have this reading, it is to be rejected. But see J. Barr, “Some Notes on ‘ben’ in Classical Hebrew,” JSS 23 (1978): 1-22.

[16:21]  ³ tn The verb is supplied from the parallel clause.

[13:8]  ⁴ sn The idiom used here is “Will you lift up his face?” Here Job is being very sarcastic, for this expression usually means that a judge is taking a bribe. Job is accusing them of taking God’s side.

[13:8]  ⁵ tn The same root is used here (רִיב, riv, “dispute, contention”) as in v. 6b (see note).