Ayub 6:11

6:11 What is my strength, that I should wait? ¹ 

and what is my end, ² 

that I should prolong my life?

Ayub 21:18

21:18 How often ³  are they like straw before the wind,

and like chaff swept away ⁴  by a whirlwind?

Ayub 29:3

29:3 when ⁵  he caused ⁶  his lamp ⁷ 

to shine upon my head,

and by his light

I walked ⁸  through darkness; ⁹ 

Ayub 30:12

30:12 On my right the young rabble ¹⁰  rise up;

they drive me from place to place, ¹¹ 

and build up siege ramps ¹²  against me. ¹³ 

Ayub 40:24

40:24 Can anyone catch it by its eyes, ¹⁴ 

or pierce its nose with a snare? ¹⁵ 

[6:11]  ¹ sn Now, in vv. 11-13, Job proceeds to describe his hopeless condition. In so doing, he is continuing his defense of his despair and lament. The section begins with these rhetorical questions in which Job affirms that he does not have the strength to wait for the blessings that Eliphaz is talking about.

[6:11]  ² tn The word translated “my end” is קִצִּי (qitsi). It refers to the termination of his life. In Ps 39:5 it is parallel to “the measure of my days.” In a sense, Job is asking what future he has. To him, the “end” of his affliction can only be death.

[21:18]  ³ tn To retain the sense that the wicked do not suffer as others, this verse must either be taken as a question or a continuation of the question in v. 17.

[21:18]  ⁴ tn The verb used actually means “rob.” It is appropriate to the image of a whirlwind suddenly taking away the wisp of straw.

[29:3]  ⁵ tn This clause is in apposition to the preceding (see GKC 426 §131.o). It offers a clarification.

[29:3]  ⁶ tn The form בְּהִלּוֹ (bÿhillo) is unusual; it should be parsed as a Hiphil infinitive construct with the elision of the ה (he). The proper spelling would have been with a ַ (patakh) under the preposition, reflecting הַהִלּוֹ (hahillo). If it were Qal, it would just mean “when his light shone.”

[29:3]  ⁷ sn Lamp and light are symbols of God’s blessings of life and all the prosperous and good things it includes.

[29:3]  ⁸ tn Here too the imperfect verb is customary – it describes action that was continuous, but in a past time.

[29:3]  ⁹ tn The accusative (“darkness”) is here an adverbial accusative of place, namely, “in the darkness,” or because he was successfully led by God’s light, “through the darkness” (see GKC 374 §118.h).

[30:12]  ¹⁰ tn This Hebrew word occurs only here. The word פִּרְחַח (pirkhakh, “young rabble”) is a quadriliteral, from פָּרַח (parakh, “to bud”) The derivative אֶפְרֹחַ (’efroakh) in the Bible refers to a young bird. In Arabic farhun means both “young bird” and “base man.” Perhaps “young rabble” is the best meaning here (see R. Gordis, Job, 333).

[30:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they cast off my feet” or “they send my feet away.” Many delete the line as troubling and superfluous. E. Dhorme (Job, 438) forces the lines to say “they draw my feet into a net.”

[30:12]  ¹² tn Heb “paths of their destruction” or “their destructive paths.”

[30:12]  ¹³ sn See Job 19:12.

[40:24]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Ehrlich altered the MT slightly to get “with thorns,” a view accepted by Driver, Dhorme and Pope.