Ayub 35:7

35:7 If you are righteous, what do you give to God,

or what does he receive from your hand?

Ayub 22:22

22:22 Accept instruction ¹  from his mouth

and store up his words ²  in your heart.

Ayub 27:13

27:13 This is the portion of the wicked man

allotted by God, ³ 

the inheritance that evildoers receive

from the Almighty.

Ayub 2:10

2:10 But he replied, ⁴  “You’re talking like one of the godless ⁵  women would do! Should we receive ⁶  what is good from God, and not also ⁷  receive ⁸  what is evil?” ⁹  In all this Job did not sin by what he said. ¹⁰ 

Ayub 11:2

11:2 “Should not this ¹¹  abundance of words be answered, ¹² 

or should this ¹³  talkative man ¹⁴ 

be vindicated? ¹⁵ 

Ayub 17:5

17:5 If a man denounces his friends for personal gain, ¹⁶ 

the eyes of his children will fail.

Ayub 42:9

42:9 So they went, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, and did just as the Lord had told them; and the Lord had respect for Job. ¹⁷ 

Ayub 3:3

3:3 “Let the day on which ¹⁸  I was born ¹⁹  perish,

and the night that said, ²⁰ 

‘A man ²¹  has been conceived!’ ²² 

Ayub 3:12

3:12 Why did the knees welcome me, ²³ 

and why were there ²⁴  two breasts ²⁵ 

that I might nurse at them? ²⁶ 

Ayub 6:7

6:7 I ²⁷  have refused ²⁸  to touch such things; ²⁹ 

they are like loathsome food to me. ³⁰ 

Ayub 24:3

24:3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey;

they take the widow’s ox as a pledge.

Ayub 31:11

31:11 For I would have committed ³¹  a shameful act, ³² 

an iniquity to be judged. ³³ 

Ayub 11:6

11:6 and reveal to you the secrets of wisdom –

for true wisdom has two sides ³⁴  –

so that you would know ³⁵ 

that God has forgiven some of your sins. ³⁶ 

Ayub 33:26

33:26 He entreats God, and God ³⁷  delights in him,

he sees God’s face ³⁸  with rejoicing,

and God ³⁹  restores to him his righteousness. ⁴⁰ 

Ayub 1:9

1:9 Then Satan answered the Lord, “Is it for nothing that Job fears God? ⁴¹ 

Ayub 5:27

5:27 Look, we have investigated this, so it is true.

Hear it, ⁴²  and apply it for your own ⁴³  good.” ⁴⁴ 

Ayub 6:24

No Sin Discovered

6:24 “Teach ⁴⁵  me and I, for my part, ⁴⁶  will be silent;

explain to me ⁴⁷  how I have been mistaken. ⁴⁸ 

Ayub 12:8

12:8 Or speak ⁴⁹  to the earth ⁵⁰  and it will teach you,

or let the fish of the sea declare to you.

Ayub 15:11

15:11 Are God’s consolations ⁵¹  too trivial for you; ⁵² 

or a word spoken ⁵³  in gentleness to you?

Ayub 15:18

15:18 what wise men declare,

hiding nothing,

from the tradition of ⁵⁴  their ancestors, ⁵⁵ 

Ayub 15:31

15:31 Let him not trust in what is worthless, ⁵⁶ 

deceiving himself;

for worthlessness will be his reward. ⁵⁷ 

Ayub 21:29

21:29 Have you never questioned those who travel the roads?

Do you not recognize their accounts ⁵⁸  –

Ayub 34:13

34:13 Who entrusted ⁵⁹  to him the earth?

And who put him over ⁶⁰  the whole world?

Ayub 35:3

35:3 But you say, ‘What will it profit you,’ ⁶¹ 

and, ‘What do I gain by not sinning?’ ⁶² 

Ayub 36:10

36:10 And he reveals ⁶³  this ⁶⁴  for correction,

and says that they must turn ⁶⁵  from evil.

Ayub 36:17

36:17 But now you are preoccupied with the judgment due the wicked,

judgment and justice take hold of you.

Ayub 42:8

42:8 So now take ⁶⁶  seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job will intercede ⁶⁷  for you, and I will respect him, ⁶⁸  so that I do not deal with you ⁶⁹  according to your folly, ⁷⁰  because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has.” ⁷¹ 

Ayub 15:10

15:10 The gray-haired ⁷²  and the aged are on our side, ⁷³ 

men far older than your father. ⁷⁴ 

Ayub 22:6

22:6 “For you took pledges ⁷⁵  from your brothers

for no reason,

and you stripped the clothing from the naked. ⁷⁶ 

Ayub 24:9

24:9 The fatherless child is snatched ⁷⁷  from the breast, ⁷⁸ 

the infant of the poor is taken as a pledge. ⁷⁹ 

Ayub 24:5

24:5 Like ⁸⁰  wild donkeys in the desert

they ⁸¹  go out to their labor, ⁸² 

seeking diligently for food;

the wasteland provides ⁸³  food for them

and for their children.

[22:22]  ¹ tn The Hebrew word here is תּוֹרָה (torah), its only occurrence in the book of Job.

[22:22]  ² tc M. Dahood has “write his words” (“Metaphor in Job 22:22,” Bib 47 [1966]: 108-9).

[27:13]  ³ tn The expression “allotted by God” interprets the simple prepositional phrase in the text: “with/from God.”

[2:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “he said to her.”

[2:10]  ⁵ tn The word “foolish” (נָבָל, naval) has to do with godlessness more than silliness (Ps 14:1). To be foolish in this sense is to deny the nature and the work of God in life its proper place. See A. Phillips, “NEBALA – A Term for Serious Disorderly Unruly Conduct,” VT 25 (1975): 237-41; and W. M. W. Roth, “NBL,” VT 10 (1960): 394-409.

[2:10]  ⁶ tn The verb קִבֵּל (qibbel) means “to accept, receive.” It is attested in the Amarna letters with the meaning “receive meekly, patiently.”

[2:10]  ⁷ tn The adverb גָּם (gam, “also, even”) is placed here before the first clause, but belongs with the second. It intensifies the idea (see GKC 483 §153). See also C. J. Labuschagne, “The Emphasizing Particle GAM and Its Connotations,” Studia Biblica et Semitica, 193-203.

[2:10]  ⁸ tn The two verbs in this sentence, Piel imperfects, are deliberative imperfects; they express the reasoning or deliberating in the interrogative sentences.

[2:10]  ⁹ tn A question need not be introduced by an interrogative particle or adverb. The natural emphasis on the words is enough to indicate it is a question (GKC 473 §150.a).

[2:10]  sn The Hebrew words טוֹב (tov, “good”) and רַע (ra’, “evil”) have to do with what affects life. That which is good benefits people because it produces, promotes and protects life; that which is evil brings calamity and disaster, it harms, pains, or destroys life.

[2:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “sin with his lips,” an idiom meaning he did not sin by what he said.

[11:2]  ¹¹ tc The LXX, Targum Job, Symmachus, and Vulgate all assume that the vocalization of רֹב (rov, “abundance”) should be רַב (rav, “great”): “great of words.” This would then mean “one who is abundant of words,” meaning, “a man of many words,” and make a closer parallel to the second half. But the MT makes good sense as it stands.

[11:2]  tn There is no article or demonstrative with the word; it has been added here simply to make a smoother connection between the chapters.

[11:2]  ¹² tn The Niphal verb יֵעָנֶה (ye’aneh, “he answered”) would normally require a personal subject, but “abundance” functions as the subject in this sentence. The nuance of the imperfect is obligatory.

[11:2]  ¹³ tn The word is supplied here also for clarification.

[11:2]  ¹⁴ tn The bound construction “man of lips” means “a boaster” or “proud talker” (attributive genitive; and see GKC 417 §128.t). Zophar is saying that Job pours out this stream of words, but he is still not right.

[11:2]  ¹⁵ tn The word is literally “be right, righteous.” The idea of being right has appeared before for this word (cf. 9:15). The point here is that just because Job talks a lot does not mean he is right or will be shown to be right through it all.

[17:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for a portion.” This verse is rather obscure. The words are not that difficult, but the sense of them in this context is. Some take the idea to mean “he denounces his friends for a portion,” and others have a totally different idea of “he invites his friends to share with him.” The former fits the context better, indicating that Job’s friends speak out against him for some personal gain. The second half of the verse then promises that his children will suffer loss for this attempt at gain. The line is surely proverbial. A number of other interpretations can be found in the commentaries.

[42:9]  ¹⁷ tn The expression “had respect for Job” means God answered his prayer.

[3:3]  ¹⁸ tn The relative clause is carried by the preposition with the resumptive pronoun: “the day [which] I was born in it” meaning “the day on which I was born” (see GKC 486-88 §155.f, i).

[3:3]  ¹⁹ tn The verb is the Niphal imperfect. It may be interpreted in this dependent clause (1) as representing a future event from some point of time in the past – “the day on which I was born” or “would be born” (see GKC 316 §107.k). Or (2) it may simply serve as a preterite indicating action that is in the past.

[3:3]  ²⁰ tn The MT simply has “and the night – it said….” By simple juxtaposition with the parallel construction (“on which I was born”) the verb “it said” must be a relative clause explaining “the night.” Rather than supply “in which” and make the verb passive (which is possible since no specific subject is provided, but leaves open the question of who said it), it is preferable to take the verse as a personification. First Job cursed the day; now he cursed the night that spoke about what it witnessed. See A. Ehrman, “A Note on the Verb ‘amar,” JQR 55 (1964/65): 166-67.

[3:3]  ²¹ tn The word is גֶּבֶר (gever, “a man”). The word usually distinguishes a man as strong, distinct from children and women. Translations which render this as “boy” (to remove the apparent contradiction of an adult being “conceived” in the womb) miss this point.

[3:3]  ²² sn The announcement at birth is to the fact that a male was conceived. The same parallelism between “brought forth/born” and “conceived” may be found in Ps 51:7 HT (51:5 ET). The motifs of the night of conception and the day of birth will be developed by Job. For the entire verse, which is more a wish or malediction than a curse, see S. H. Blank, “‘Perish the Day!’ A Misdirected Curse (Job 3:3),” Prophetic Thought, 61-63.

[3:12]  ²³ tn The verb קִדְּמוּנִי (qiddÿmuni) is the Piel from קָדַם (qadam), meaning “to come before; to meet; to prevent.” Here it has the idea of going to meet or welcome someone. In spite of various attempts to connect the idea to the father or to adoption rites, it probably simply means the mother’s knees that welcome the child for nursing. See R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 42.

[3:12]  sn The sufferer is looking back over all the possible chances of death, including when he was brought forth, placed on the knees or lap, and breastfed.

[3:12]  ²⁴ tn There is no verb in the second half of the verse. The idea simply has, “and why breasts that I might suck?”

[3:12]  ²⁵ sn The commentaries mention the parallel construction in the writings of Ashurbanipal: “You were weak, Ashurbanipal, you who sat on the knees of the goddess, queen of Nineveh; of the four teats that were placed near to your mouth, you sucked two and you hid your face in the others” (M. Streck, Assurbanipal [VAB], 348).

[3:12]  ²⁶ tn Heb “that I might suckle.” The verb is the Qal imperfect of יָנַק (yanaq, “suckle”). Here the clause is subordinated to the preceding question and so function as a final imperfect.

[6:7]  ²⁷ tn The traditional rendering of נַפְשִׁי (nafshi) is “my soul.” But since נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) means the whole person, body and soul, it is best to translate it with its suffix simply as an emphatic pronoun.

[6:7]  ²⁸ tn For the explanation of the perfect verb with its completed action in the past and its remaining effects, see GKC 311 §106.g.

[6:7]  ²⁹ tn The phrase “such things” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied.

[6:7]  ³⁰ tn The second colon of the verse is difficult. The word דְּוֵי (dÿve) means “sickness of” and yields a meaning “like the sickness of my food.” This could take the derived sense of דָּוָה (davah) and mean “impure” or “corrupt” food. The LXX has “for I loathe my food as the smell of a lion” and so some commentators emend “they” (which has no clear antecedent) to mean “I loathe it [like the sickness of my food].” Others have more freely emended the text to “my palate loathes my food” (McNeile) or “my bowels resound with suffering” (I. Eitan, “An unknown meaning of RAHAMIÝM,” JBL 53 [1934]: 271). Pope has “they are putrid as my flesh [= my meat].” D. J. A. Clines (Job [WBC], 159) prefers the suggestion in BHS, “it [my soul] loathes them as my food.” E. Dhorme (Job, 80) repoints the second word of the colon to get כְּבֹדִי (kÿvodi, “my glory”): “my heart [glory] loathes/is sickened by my bread.”

[31:11]  ³¹ tn Heb “for that [would be].” In order to clarify the referent of “that,” which refers to v. 9 rather than v. 10, the words “I have committed” have been supplied in the translation.

[31:11]  ³² tn The word for “shameful act” is used especially for sexual offenses (cf. Lev 18:27).

[31:11]  ³³ tc Some have deleted this verse as being short and irrelevant, not to mention problematic. But the difficulties are not insurmountable, and there is no reason to delete it. There is a Kethib-Qere reading in each half verse; in the first the Kethib is masculine for the subject but the Qere is feminine going with “shameless deed.” In the second colon the Kethib is the feminine agreeing with the preceding noun, but the Qere is masculine agreeing with “iniquity.”

[31:11]  tn The expression עָוֹן פְּלִילִים (’avon pÿlilim) means “an iniquity of the judges.” The first word is not spelled as a construct noun, and so this has led some to treat the second word as an adjective (with enclitic mem [ם]). The sense is similar in either case, for the adjective occurs in Job 31:28 meaning “calling for judgment” (See GKC 427 §131.s).

[11:6]  ³⁴ tn The text seems to be saying “that it [wisdom] is double in understanding.” The point is that it is different than Job conceived it – it far exceeded all perception. But some commentators have thought this still too difficult, and so have replaced the word כִפְלַיִם (khiflayim, “two sides”) with כִפְלָאִים (khifla’im, “like wonders,” or, more simply, “wonders” without the preposition). But it is still a little strange to talk about God’s wisdom being like wonders. Others have had more radical changes in the text; J. J. Slotki has “for sound wisdom is his. And know that double [punishment] shall God exact of you” (“Job 11:6,” VT 35 [1985]: 229-30).

[11:6]  ³⁵ tn The verb is the imperative with a ו (vav). Following the jussive, this clause would be subordinated to the preceding (see GKC 325 §110.i).

[11:6]  ³⁶ tn Heb “God causes to be forgotten for you part of your iniquity.” The meaning is that God was exacting less punishment from Job than Job deserved, for Job could not remember all his sins. This statement is fitting for Zophar, who is the cruelest of Job’s friends (see H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 88). Others in an attempt to improve the text make too many unwarranted changes. Some would read יִשְׁאָלְךָ (yish’alkha, “he asks of you”) instead of יַשֶּׂה לְךָ (yasseh lÿka, “he causes to be forgotten for you”). This would mean that God demands an account of Job’s sin. But, as D. J. A. Clines says, this change is weak and needless (Job [WBC], 254-55).

[33:26]  ³⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:26]  ³⁸ tn Heb “his face”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:26]  sn This is usually taken to mean that as a worshiper this individual comes into the presence of the Lord in prayer, and in the sanctuary he sees God’s face, i.e., he sees the evidence of God’s presence.

[33:26]  ³⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:26]  ⁴⁰ tc Many commentators think this line is superfluous and so delete it. The RSV changed the verb to “he recounts,” making the idea that the man publishes the news of his victory or salvation (taking “righteousness” as a metonymy of cause).

[1:9]  ⁴¹ tn The Hebrew form has the interrogative ה (he) on the adverb חִנָּם (khinnam, “gratis”), a derivative either of the verb חָנַן (khanan, “to be gracious, show favor”), or its related noun חֵן (khen, “grace, favor”). The adverb has the sense of “free; gratis; gratuitously; for nothing; for no reason” (see BDB 336 s.v. חִנָּם). The idea is that Satan does not disagree that Job is pious, but that Job is loyal to God because of what he receives from God. He will test the sincerity of Job.

[5:27]  ⁴² tn To make a better parallelism, some commentators have replaced the imperative with another finite verb, “we have found it.”

[5:27]  ⁴³ tn The preposition with the suffix (referred to as the ethical dative) strengthens the imperative. An emphatic personal pronoun also precedes the imperative. The resulting force would be something like “and you had better apply it for your own good!”

[5:27]  ⁴⁴ sn With this the speech by Eliphaz comes to a close. His two mistakes with it are: (1) that the tone was too cold and (2) the argument did not fit Job’s case (see further, A. B. Davidson, Job, 42).

[6:24]  ⁴⁵ tn The verb “teach” or “instruct” is the Hiphil הוֹרוּנִי (horuni), from the verb יָרָה (yarah); the basic idea of “point, direct” lies behind this meaning. The verb is cognate to the noun תּוֹרָה (torah, “instruction, teaching, law”).

[6:24]  ⁴⁶ tn The independent personal pronoun makes the subject of the verb emphatic: “and I will be silent.”

[6:24]  ⁴⁷ tn The verb is הָבִינוּ (havinu, “to cause someone to understand”); with the ל (lamed) following, it has the sense of “explain to me.”

[6:24]  ⁴⁸ tn The verb שָׁגָה (shagah) has the sense of “wandering, getting lost, being mistaken.”

[12:8]  ⁴⁹ tn The word in the MT means “to complain,” not simply “to speak,” and one would expect animals as the object here in parallel to the last verse. So several commentators have replaced the word with words for animals or reptiles – totally different words (cf. NAB, “reptiles”). The RSV and NRSV have here the word “plants” (see 30:4, 7; and Gen 21:15).

[12:8]  ⁵⁰ tn A. B. Davidson (Job, 90) offers a solution by taking “earth” to mean all the lower forms of life that teem in the earth (a metonymy of subject).

[15:11]  ⁵¹ sn The word תַּנְחֻמוֹת (tankhumot) occurs here and only in Job 21:34. The words of comfort and consolation that they have been offering to Job are here said to be “of God.” But Job will call them miserable comforters (16:2).

[15:11]  ⁵² tn The formula “is it too little for you” or “is it too slight a matter for you” is also found in Isa 7:13 (see GKC 430 §133.c).

[15:11]  ⁵³ tn The word “spoken” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation.

[15:18]  ⁵⁴ tn The word “tradition” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation.

[15:18]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “their fathers.” Some commentators change one letter and follow the reading of the LXX: “and their fathers have not hidden.” Pope tries to get the same reading by classifying the מ (mem) as an enclitic mem. The MT on first glance would read “and did not hide from their fathers.” Some take the clause “and they did not hide” as adverbial and belonging to the first part of the verse: “what wise men declare, hiding nothing, according to the tradition of their fathers.”

[15:31]  ⁵⁶ tn The word, although difficult in its form, is “vanity,” i.e., that which is worthless. E. Dhorme (Job, 224) thinks that the form שָׁוְא (shav’) conceals the word שִׁיאוֹ (shi’o, “his stature”). But Dhorme reworks most of the verse. He changes נִתְעָה (nit’ah, “deceived”) to נֵדַע (neda’, “we know”) to arrive at “we know that it is vanity.” The last two words of the verse are then moved to the next. The LXX has “let him not think that he shall endure, for his end shall be vanity.”

[15:31]  ⁵⁷ tn This word is found in Job 20:18 with the sense of “trading.” It can mean the exchange of goods or the profit from them. Some commentators change תְמוּרָתוֹ (tÿmurato, “his reward”) because they wish to put it with the next verse as the LXX seems to have done (although the LXX does not represent this). Suggestions include תִּמֹרָתוֹ (timorato, “his palm tree”) and זְמֹרָתוֹ (zÿmorato, “his vine shoot”). A number of writers simply delete all of v. 31. H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 115) suggests the best reading (assuming one were going to make changes) would be, “Let him not trust in his stature, deceiving himself, for it is vanity.” And then put “his palm tree” with the next verse, he thinks that achieves the proper balance.

[21:29]  ⁵⁸ tc The LXX reads, “Ask those who go by the way, and do not disown their signs.”

[21:29]  tn The idea is that the merchants who travel widely will talk about what they have seen and heard. These travelers give a different account of the wicked; they tell how he is spared. E. Dhorme (Job, 322) interprets “signs” concretely: “Their custom was to write their names and their thoughts somewhere at the main cross-roads. The main roads of Sinai are dotted with these scribblings made by such passers of a day.”

[34:13]  ⁵⁹ tn The verb פָּקַד (paqad) means “to visit; to appoint; to number.” Here it means “to entrust” for care and governing. The implication would be that there would be someone higher than God – which is what Elihu is repudiating by the rhetorical question. No one entrusted God with this.

[34:13]  ⁶⁰ tn The preposition is implied from the first half of the verse.

[35:3]  ⁶¹ tn The referent of “you” is usually understood to be God.

[35:3]  ⁶² tn The Hebrew text merely says, “What do I gain from my sin?” But Job has claimed that he has not sinned, and so this has to be elliptical: “more than if I had sinned” (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 224). It could also be, “What do I gain without sin?”

[36:10]  ⁶³ tn The idiom once again is “he uncovers their ear.”

[36:10]  ⁶⁴ tn The revelation is in the preceding verse, and so a pronoun must be added to make the reference clear.

[36:10]  ⁶⁵ tn The verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to turn; to return”) is one of the two major words in the OT for “repent” – to return from evil. Here the imperfect should be obligatory – they must do it.

[42:8]  ⁶⁶ tn The imperatives in this verse are plural, so all three had to do this together.

[42:8]  ⁶⁷ tn The verb “pray” is the Hitpael from the root פָּלַל (palal). That root has the main idea of arbitration; so in this stem it means “to seek arbitration [for oneself],” or “to pray,” or “to intercede.”

[42:8]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “I will lift up his face,” meaning, “I will regard him.”

[42:8]  ⁶⁹ tn This clause is a result clause, using the negated infinitive construct.

[42:8]  ⁷⁰ tn The word “folly” can also be taken in the sense of “disgrace.” If the latter is chosen, the word serves as the direct object. If the former, then it is an adverbial accusative.

[42:8]  ⁷¹ sn The difference between what they said and what Job said, therefore, has to do with truth. Job was honest, spoke the truth, poured out his complaints, but never blasphemed God. For his words God said he told the truth. He did so with incomplete understanding, and with all the impatience and frustration one might expect. Now the friends, however, did not tell what was right about God. They were not honest; rather, they were self-righteous and condescending. They were saying what they thought should be said, but it was wrong.

[15:10]  ⁷² tn The participle שָׂב (sav), from שִׂיב (siv, “to have white hair”; 1 Sam 12:2), only occurs elsewhere in the Bible in the Aramaic sections of Ezra. The word יָשִׁישׁ (yashish, “aged”) occurred in 12:12.

[15:10]  ⁷³ tn Heb “with us.”

[15:10]  ⁷⁴ tn The line reads: “[men] greater than your father [in] days.” The expression “in days” underscores their age – they were older than Job’s father, and therefore wiser.

[22:6]  ⁷⁵ tn The verb חָבַל (khaval) means “to take pledges.” In this verse Eliphaz says that Job not only took as pledge things the poor need, like clothing, but he did it for no reason.

[22:6]  ⁷⁶ tn The “naked” here refers to people who are poorly clothed. Otherwise, a reading like the NIV would be necessary: “you stripped the clothes…[leaving them] naked.” So either he made them naked by stripping their garments off, or they were already in rags.

[24:9]  ⁷⁷ tn The verb with no expressed subject is here again taken in the passive: “they snatch” becomes “[child] is snatched.”

[24:9]  ⁷⁸ tn This word is usually defined as “violence; ruin.” But elsewhere it does mean “breast” (Isa 60:16; 66:11), and that is certainly what it means here.

[24:9]  ⁷⁹ tc The MT has a very brief and strange reading: “they take as a pledge upon the poor.” This could be taken as “they take a pledge against the poor” (ESV). Kamphausen suggested that instead of עַל (’al, “against”) one should read עוּל (’ul, “suckling”). This is supported by the parallelism. “They take as pledge” is also made passive here.

[24:5]  ⁸⁰ 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]  ⁸¹ tn That is, “the poor.”

[24:5]  ⁸² 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]  ⁸³ tn The verb is not included in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation.