Ayub 3:14

3:14 with kings and counselors of the earth

who built for themselves places now desolate, ¹ 

Ayub 9:23

9:23 If a scourge brings sudden death, ² 

he mocks ³  at the despair ⁴  of the innocent. ⁵ 

Ayub 12:20

12:20 He deprives the trusted advisers ⁶  of speech ⁷ 

and takes away the discernment ⁸  of elders.

Ayub 26:3

26:3 How you have advised the one without wisdom,

and abundantly ⁹  revealed your insight!

Ayub 29:16

29:16 I was a father ¹⁰  to the needy,

and I investigated the case of the person I did not know;

Ayub 30:23

30:23 I know that you are bringing ¹¹  me to death,

to the meeting place for all the living.

Ayub 33:4

33:4 The Spirit of God has made me,

and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. ¹² 

Ayub 35:13

35:13 Surely it is an empty cry ¹³  – God does not hear it;

the Almighty does not take notice of it.

Ayub 37:10

37:10 The breath of God produces ice,

and the breadth of the waters freeze solid.

Ayub 37:22

37:22 From the north he comes in golden splendor; ¹⁴ 

around God is awesome majesty.

Ayub 39:8

39:8 It ranges the hills as its pasture,

and searches after every green plant.

[3:14]  ¹ tn The difficult term חֳרָבוֹת (khoravot) is translated “desolate [places]”. The LXX confused the word and translated it “who gloried in their swords.” One would expect a word for monuments, or tombs (T. K. Cheyne emended it to “everlasting tombs” [“More Critical Gleanings in Job,” ExpTim 10 (1898/99): 380-83]). But this difficult word is of uncertain etymology and therefore cannot simply be made to mean “royal tombs.” The verb means “be desolate, solitary.” In Isa 48:21 there is the clear sense of a desert. That is the meaning of Assyrian huribtu. It may be that like the pyramids of Egypt these tombs would have been built in the desert regions. Or it may describe how they rebuilt ruins for themselves. He would be saying then that instead of lying here in pain and shame if he had died he would be with the great ones of the earth. Otherwise, the word could be interpreted as a metonymy of effect, indicating that the once glorious tomb now is desolate. But this does not fit the context – the verse is talking about the state of the great ones after their death.

[9:23]  ² tc The LXX contains a paraphrase: “for the worthless die, but the righteous are laughed to scorn.”

[9:23]  sn The point of these verses is to show – rather boldly – that God does not distinguish between the innocent and the guilty.

[9:23]  ³ sn This bold anthropomorphism means that by his treatment of the despair of the innocent, God is in essence mocking them.

[9:23]  ⁴ tn The term מַסַּת (massat), a hapax legomenon, was translated “trial” in the older versions; but it is not from נָסָה (nasah, “to tempt; to test; to try”), but from מָסַס (masas, “to flow”). It is used in the Niphal to speak of the heart “melting” in suffering. So the idea behind this image is that of despair. This is the view that most interpreters adopt; it requires no change of the text whatsoever.

[9:23]  ⁵ sn Job uses this word to refute Eliphaz; cf. 4:7.

[12:20]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew נֶאֱמָנִים (ne’emanim) is the Niphal participle; it is often translated “the faithful” in the Bible. The Rabbis rather fancifully took the word from נְאֻם (nÿ’um, “oracle, utterance”) and so rendered it “those who are eloquent, fluent in words.” But that would make this the only place in the Bible where this form came from that root or any other root besides אָמַן (’aman, “confirm, support”). But to say that God takes away the speech of the truthful or the faithful would be very difficult. It has to refer to reliable men, because it is parallel to the elders or old men. The NIV has “trusted advisers,” which fits well with kings and judges and priests.

[12:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “he removes the lip of the trusted ones.”

[12:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “taste,” meaning “opinion” or “decision.”

[26:3]  ⁹ tc The phrase לָרֹב (larov) means “to abundance” or “in a large quantity.” It is also used ironically like all these expressions. This makes very good sense, but some wish to see a closer parallel and so offer emendations. Reiske and Kissane thought “to the tender” for the word. But the timid are not the same as the ignorant and unwise. So Graetz supplied “to the boorish” by reading לְבָעַר (lÿba’ar). G. R. Driver did the same with less of a change: לַבּוֹר (labbor; HTR 29 [1936]: 172).

[29:16]  ¹⁰ sn The word “father” does not have a wide range of meanings in the OT. But there are places that it is metaphorical, especially in a legal setting like this where the poor need aid.

[30:23]  ¹¹ tn The imperfect verb would be a progressive imperfect, it is future, but it is also already underway.

[33:4]  ¹² tc Some commentators want to put this verse after v. 6, while others omit the verse entirely. Elihu is claiming here that he is inspired by God.

[33:4]  tn The verb תְּחַיֵּנִי (tÿkhayyeni) is the Piel imperfect of the verb “to live.” It can mean “gives me life,” but it can also me “quickens me, enlivens me.”

[35:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “surely – vanity, he does not hear.” The cry is an empty cry, not a prayer to God. Dhorme translates it, “It is a pure waste of words.”

[37:22]  ¹⁴ tn The MT has “out of the north comes gold.” Left in that sense the line seems irrelevant. The translation “golden splendor” (with RV, RSV, NRSV, NIV) depends upon the context of theophany. Others suggest “golden rays” (Dhorme), the aurora borealis (Graetz, Gray), or some mythological allusion (Pope), such as Baal’s palace. Golden rays or splendor is what is intended, although the reference is not to a natural phenomenon – it is something that would suggest the glory of God.