Ayub 5:3

5:3 I myself ¹  have seen the fool ²  taking root,

but suddenly I cursed his place of residence. ³ 

Ayub 6:29

6:29 Relent, ⁴  let there be no falsehood; ⁵ 

reconsider, ⁶  for my righteousness is intact! ⁷ 

Ayub 7:3

7:3 thus ⁸  I have been made to inherit ⁹ 

months of futility, ¹⁰ 

and nights of sorrow ¹¹ 

have been appointed ¹²  to me.

Ayub 9:25

Renewed Complaint

9:25 “My days ¹³  are swifter than a runner, ¹⁴ 

they speed by without seeing happiness.

Ayub 17:9

17:9 But the righteous man holds to his way,

and the one with clean hands grows stronger. ¹⁵ 

Ayub 18:18

18:18 He is driven ¹⁶  from light into darkness

and is banished from the world.

Ayub 20:19

20:19 For he has oppressed the poor and abandoned them; ¹⁷ 

he has seized a house which he did not build. ¹⁸ 

Ayub 21:12

21:12 They sing ¹⁹  to the accompaniment of tambourine and harp,

and make merry to the sound of the flute.

Ayub 21:23

Death Levels Everything

21:23 “One man dies in his full vigor, ²⁰ 

completely secure and prosperous,

Ayub 22:26

22:26 Surely then you will delight yourself ²¹  in the Almighty,

and will lift up your face toward God.

Ayub 24:8

24:8 They are soaked by mountain rains

and huddle ²²  in the rocks because they lack shelter.

Ayub 24:17

24:17 For all of them, ²³  the morning is to them

like deep darkness;

they are friends with the terrors of darkness.

Ayub 26:5

A Better Description of God’s Greatness ²⁴ 

26:5 “The dead ²⁵  tremble ²⁶  –

those beneath the waters

and all that live in them. ²⁷ 

Ayub 27:3

27:3 for while ²⁸  my spirit ²⁹  is still in me,

and the breath from God is in my nostrils,

Ayub 27:14

27:14 If his children increase – it is for the sword! ³⁰ 

His offspring never have enough to eat. ³¹ 

Ayub 29:2

29:2 “O that I could be ³²  as ³³  I was

in the months now gone, ³⁴ 

in the days ³⁵  when God watched ³⁶  over me,

Ayub 29:18

Job’s Confidence

29:18 “Then I thought, ‘I will die in my own home, ³⁷ 

my days as numerous as the grains of sand. ³⁸ 

Ayub 30:6

30:6 so that they had to live ³⁹ 

in the dry stream beds, ⁴⁰ 

in the holes of the ground, and among the rocks.

Ayub 30:11

30:11 Because God has untied ⁴¹  my tent cord and afflicted me,

people throw off all restraint in my presence. ⁴² 

Ayub 30:15

30:15 Terrors are turned loose ⁴³  on me;

they drive away ⁴⁴  my honor like the wind,

and like a cloud my deliverance has passed away.

Ayub 31:16

31:16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, ⁴⁵ 

or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

Ayub 31:18

31:18 but from my youth I raised the orphan ⁴⁶  like a father,

and from my mother’s womb ⁴⁷ 

I guided the widow! ⁴⁸ 

Ayub 36:21

36:21 Take heed, do not turn to evil,

for because of this you have been tested ⁴⁹  by affliction.

Ayub 36:31

36:31 It is by these that he judges ⁵⁰  the nations

and supplies food in abundance.

Ayub 38:21

38:21 You know, for you were born before them; ⁵¹ 

and the number of your days is great!

Ayub 40:24

40:24 Can anyone catch it by its eyes, ⁵² 

or pierce its nose with a snare? ⁵³ 

Ayub 41:4

41:4 Will it make a pact ⁵⁴  with you,

so you could take it ⁵⁵  as your slave for life?

[5:3]  ¹ tn The use of the pronoun here adds emphasis to the subject of the sentence (see GKC 437 §135.a).

[5:3]  ² tn This word is אֱוִיל (’evil), the same word for the “senseless man” in the preceding verse. Eliphaz is citing an example of his principle just given – he saw such a fool for a brief while appearing to prosper (i.e., taking root).

[5:3]  ³ tn A. B. Davidson argues that the verse does not mean that Eliphaz cursed his place during his prosperity. This line is metonymical (giving the effect). God judged the fool and his place was ruined; consequently, Eliphaz pronounced it accursed of God (see A. B. Davidson, Job, 36). Many emend the verb slightly to read “and it was suddenly cursed” (וַיֻּכַב [vayyukhav] instead of וָאֶקּוֹב [va’eqqov]; see H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 51).

[6:29]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew verb שֻׁבוּ (shuvu) would literally be “return.” It has here the sense of “to begin again; to adopt another course,” that is, proceed on another supposition other than my guilt (A. B. Davidson, Job, 49). The LXX takes the word from יָשַׁב (yashav, “sit, dwell”) reading “sit down now.”

[6:29]  ⁵ tn The word עַוְלָה (’avlah) is sometimes translated “iniquity.” The word can mean “perversion, wickedness, injustice” (cf. 16:11). But here he means in regard to words. Unjust or wicked words would be words that are false and destroy.

[6:29]  ⁶ tn The verb here is also שֻׁבוּ (shuvu), although there is a Kethib-Qere reading. See R. Gordis, “Some Unrecognized Meanings of the Root Shub,” JBL 52 (1933): 153-62.

[6:29]  ⁷ tn The text has simply “yet my right is in it.” A. B. Davidson (Job, 49, 50) thinks this means that in his plea against God, Job has right on his side. It may mean this; it simply says “my righteousness is yet in it.” If the “in it” does not refer to Job’s cause, then it would simply mean “is present.” It would have very little difference either way.

[7:3]  ⁸ tn “Thus” indicates a summary of vv. 1 and 2: like the soldier, the mercenary, and the slave, Job has labored through life and looks forward to death.

[7:3]  ⁹ tn The form is the Hophal perfect of נָחַל (nakhal): “I have been made to inherit,” or more simply, “I have inherited.” The form occurs only here. The LXX must have confused the letters or sounds, a ו (vav) for the ן (nun), for it reads “I have endured.” As a passive the form technically has two accusatives (see GKC 388 §121.c). Job’s point is that his sufferings have been laid on him by another, and so he has inherited them.

[7:3]  ¹⁰ tn The word is שָׁוְא (shav’, “vanity, deception, nothingness, futility”). His whole life – marked here in months to show its brevity – has been futile. E. Dhorme (Job, 98) suggests the meaning “disillusionment,” explaining that it marks the deceptive nature of mortal life. The word describes life as hollow, insubstantial.

[7:3]  ¹¹ tn “Sorrow” is עָמָל (’amal), used in 3:10. It denotes anxious toil, labor, troublesome effort. It may be that the verse expresses the idea that the nights are when the pains of his disease are felt the most. The months are completely wasted; the nights are agonizing.

[7:3]  ¹² tn The verb is literally “they have appointed”; the form with no expressed subject is to be interpreted as a passive (GKC 460 §144.g). It is therefore not necessary to repoint the verb to make it passive. The word means “to number; to count,” and so “to determine; to allocate.”

[9:25]  ¹³ tn The text has “and my days” following the thoughts in the previous section.

[9:25]  ¹⁴ sn Job returns to the thought of the brevity of his life (7:6). But now the figure is the swift runner instead of the weaver’s shuttle.

[17:9]  ¹⁵ tn The last two words are the imperfect verb יֹסִיף (yosif) which means “he adds,” and the abstract noun “energy, strength.” This noun is not found elsewhere; its Piel verb occurs in Job 4:4 and 16:5. “he increases strength.”

[18:18]  ¹⁶ tn The verbs in this verse are plural; without the expressed subject they should be taken in the passive sense.

[20:19]  ¹⁷ tc The verb indicates that after he oppressed the poor he abandoned them to their fate. But there have been several attempts to improve on the text. Several have repointed the text to get a word parallel to “house.” Ehrlich came up with עֹזֵב (’ozev, “mud hut”), Kissane had “hovel” (similar to Neh 3:8). M. Dahood did the same (“The Root ’zb II in Job,” JBL 78 [1959]: 306-7). J. Reider came up with עֶזֶב (’ezev, the “leavings”), what the rich were to leave for the poor (“Contributions to the Scriptural text,” HUCA 24 [1952/53]: 103-6). But an additional root עָזַב (’azav) is questionable. And while the text as it stands is general and not very striking, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Dhorme reverses the letters to gain בְּעֹז (bÿ’oz, “with force [or violence]”).

[20:19]  ¹⁸ tn The last clause says, “and he did not build it.” This can be understood in an adverbial sense, supplying the relative pronoun to the translation.

[21:12]  ¹⁹ tn The verb is simply “they take up [or lift up],” but the understood object is “their voices,” and so it means “they sing.”

[21:23]  ²⁰ tn The line has “in the bone of his perfection.” The word עֶצֶם (’etsem), which means “bone,” is used pronominally to express “the same, very”; here it is “in the very fullness of his strength” (see GKC 449 §139.g). The abstract תֹּם (tom) is used here in the sense of physical perfection and strengths.

[22:26]  ²¹ tc This is the same verb as in Ps 37:4. G. R. Driver suggests the word comes from another root that means “abandon oneself to, depend on” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 84).

[24:8]  ²² tn Heb “embrace” or “hug.”

[24:17]  ²³ tn Heb “together.”

[26:5]  ²⁴ sn This is the section, Job 26:5-14, that many conclude makes better sense coming from the friend. But if it is attributed to Job, then he is showing he can surpass them in his treatise of the greatness of God.

[26:5]  ²⁵ tn The text has הָרְפָאִים (harÿfa’im, “the shades”), referring to the “dead,” or the elite among the dead (see Isa 14:9; 26:14; Ps 88:10 [11]). For further discussion, start with A. R. Johnson, The Vitality of the Individual, 88ff.

[26:5]  ²⁶ tn The verb is a Polal from חִיל (khil) which means “to tremble.” It shows that even these spirits cannot escape the terror.

[26:5]  ²⁷ tc Most commentators wish to lengthen the verse and make it more parallel, but nothing is gained by doing this.

[27:3]  ²⁸ tn The adverb עוֹד (’od) was originally a noun, and so here it could be rendered “all the existence of my spirit.” The word comes between the noun in construct and its actual genitive (see GKC 415 §128.e).

[27:3]  ²⁹ tn The word נְשָׁמָה (nÿshamah) is the “breath” that was breathed into Adam in Gen 2:7. Its usage includes the animating breath, the spiritual understanding, and the functioning conscience – so the whole spirit of the person. The other word in this verse, רוּחַ (ruakh), may be translated as “wind,” “breath,” or “spirit/Spirit” depending on the context. Here, since it talks about the nostrils, it should be translated “breath.”

[27:14]  ³⁰ tn R. Gordis (Job, 294) identifies this as a breviloquence. Compare Ps 92:8 where the last two words also constitute the apodosis.

[27:14]  ³¹ tn Heb “will not be satisfied with bread/food.”

[29:2]  ³² tn The optative is here expressed with מִי־יִתְּנֵנִי (mi-yittÿneni, “who will give me”), meaning, “O that I [could be]…” (see GKC 477 §151.b).

[29:2]  ³³ tn The preposition כּ (kaf) is used here in an expression describing the state desired, especially in the former time (see GKC 376 §118.u).

[29:2]  ³⁴ tn The expression is literally “months of before [or of old; or past].” The word קֶדֶם (qedem) is intended here to be temporal and not spatial; it means days that preceded the present.

[29:2]  ³⁵ tn The construct state (“days of”) governs the independent sentence that follows (see GKC 422 §130.d): “as the days of […] God used to watch over me.”

[29:2]  ³⁶ tn The imperfect verb here has a customary nuance – “when God would watch over me” (back then), or “when God used to watch over me.”

[29:18]  ³⁷ tc The expression in the MT is “with my nest.” The figure is satisfactory for the context – a home with all the young together, a picture of unity and safety. In Isa 16:2 the word can mean “nestlings,” and with the preposition “with” that might be the meaning here, except that his children had grown up and lived in their own homes. The figure cannot be pushed too far. But the verse apparently has caused enormous problems, because the versions offer a variety of readings and free paraphrases. The LXX has “My age shall grow old as the stem of a palm tree, I shall live a long time.” The Vulgate has, “In my nest I shall die and like the palm tree increase my days.” G. R. Driver found an Egyptian word meaning “strength” (“Birds in the Old Testament,” PEQ 87 [1955]: 138-39). Several read “in a ripe old age” instead of “in my nest” (Pope, Dhorme; see P. P. Saydon, “Philological and Textual Notes to the Maltese Translation of the Old Testament,” CBQ 23 [1961]: 252). This requires the verb זָקַן (zaqan, “be old”), i.e., בִּזְקוּנַי (bizqunay, “in my old age”) instead of קִנִּי (qinni, “my nest”). It has support from the LXX.

[29:18]  ³⁸ tc For חוֹל (khol, “sand”) the LXX has a word that is “like the palm tree,” but which could also be translated “like the phoenix” (cf. NAB, NRSV). This latter idea was developed further in rabbinical teaching (see R. Gordis, Job, 321). See also M. Dahood, “Nest and phoenix in Job 29:18,” Bib 48 (1967): 542-44. But the MT yields an acceptable sense here.

[30:6]  ³⁹ tn This use of the infinitive construct expresses that they were compelled to do something (see GKC 348-49 §114.h, k).

[30:6]  ⁴⁰ tn The adjectives followed by a partitive genitive take on the emphasis of a superlative: “in the most horrible of valleys” (see GKC 431 §133.h).

[30:11]  ⁴¹ tn The verb פָּתַח (patakh) means “to untie [or undo]” a rope or bonds. In this verse יִתְרוֹ (yitro, the Kethib, LXX, and Vulgate) would mean “his rope” (see יֶתֶר [yeter] in Judg 16:7-9). The Qere would be יִתְרִי (yitri, “my rope [or cord]”), meaning “me.” The word could mean “rope,” “cord,” or “bowstring.” If the reading “my cord” is accepted, the cord would be something like “my tent cord” (as in Job 29:20), more than K&D 12:147 “cord of life.” This has been followed in the present translation. If it were “my bowstring,” it would give the sense of disablement. If “his cord” is taken, it would signify that the restraint that God had in afflicting Job was loosened – nothing was held back.

[30:11]  ⁴² sn People throw off all restraint in my presence means that when people saw how God afflicted Job, robbing him of his influence and power, then they turned on him with unrestrained insolence (H. H. Rowley, Job [NCBC], 193).

[30:15]  ⁴³ tn The passive singular verb (Hophal) is used with a plural subject (see GKC 388 §121.b).

[30:15]  ⁴⁴ tc This translation assumes that “terrors” (in the plural) is the subject. Others emend the text in accordance with the LXX, which has, “my hope is gone like the wind.”

[31:16]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “kept the poor from [their] desire.”

[31:18]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “he grew up with me.” Several commentators have decided to change the pronoun to “I,” and make it causative.

[31:18]  ⁴⁷ tn The expression “from my mother’s womb” is obviously hyperbolic. It is a way of saying “all his life.”

[31:18]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “I guided her,” referring to the widow mentioned in v. 16.

[36:21]  ⁴⁹ tn Normally “tested” would be the translation for the Niphal of בָּחַר (bakhar). Although the Qal is employed here, the context favors “tested” rather than “chose.”

[36:31]  ⁵⁰ tn The verb is יָדִין (yadin, “he judges”). Houbigant proposedיָזוּן (yazun, “he nourishes”). This has found wide acceptance among commentators (cf. NAB). G. R. Driver retained the MT but gave a meaning “enriches” to the verb (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 88ff.).

[38:21]  ⁵¹ tn The imperfect verb after the adverb אָז (’az, “then”) functions as a preterite: “you were born.” The line is sarcastic.

[40:24]  ⁵² tn The idea would be either (1) catch it while it is watching, or (2) in some way disabling its eyes before the attack. But others change the reading; Ball suggested “with hooks” and this has been adopted by some modern English versions (e.g., NRSV).

[40:24]  ⁵³ tn Ehrlich altered the MT slightly to get “with thorns,” a view accepted by Driver, Dhorme and Pope.

[41:4]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “will he cut a covenant.”

[41:4]  ⁵⁵ tn The imperfect verb serves to express what the covenant pact would cover, namely, “that you take.”