Ayub 38:3-4

38:3 Get ready for a difficult task ¹  like a man;

I will question you

and you will inform me!

God’s questions to Job

38:4 “Where were you

when I laid the foundation ²  of the earth?

Tell me, ³  if you possess understanding!

Ayub 42:4

42:4 You said, ⁴ 

‘Pay attention, and I will speak;

I will question you, and you will answer me.’

[38:3]  ¹ tn Heb “Gird up your loins.” This idiom basically describes taking the hem of the long garment or robe and pulling it up between the legs and tucking it into the front of the belt, allowing easier and freer movement of the legs. “Girding the loins” meant the preparation for some difficult task (Jer 1:17), or for battle (Isa 5:27), or for running (1 Kgs 18:46). C. Gordon suggests that it includes belt-wrestling, a form of hand-to-hand mortal combat (“Belt-wrestling in the Bible World,” HUCA 23 [1950/51]: 136).

[38:4]  ² tn The construction is the infinitive construct in a temporal clause, using the preposition and the subjective genitive suffix.

[38:4]  ³ tn The verb is the imperative; it has no object “me” in the text.

[42:4]  ⁴ tn This phrase, “you said,” is supplied in the translation to introduce the recollection of God’s words.