Ayub 6:3

6:3 But because it is heavier ¹  than the sand ²  of the sea,

that is why my words have been wild. ³ 

Kejadian 41:6

41:6 Then ⁴  seven heads of grain, thin and burned by the east wind, were sprouting up after them.

Ayub 8:2

8:2 “How long will you speak these things, ⁵ 

seeing ⁶  that the words of your mouth

are like a great ⁷  wind? ⁸ 

Ayub 15:3

15:3 Does he argue ⁹  with useless ¹⁰  talk,

with words that have no value in them?

Ayub 16:3

16:3 Will ¹¹  there be an end to your ¹²  windy words? ¹³ 

Or what provokes ¹⁴  you that you answer? ¹⁵ 

Yeremia 5:13

5:13 The prophets will prove to be full of wind. ¹⁶ 

The Lord has not spoken through them. ¹⁷ 

So, let what they say happen to them.’”

[6:3]  ¹ tn E. Dhorme (Job, 76) notes that כִּי־עַתָּה (ki ’attah) has no more force than “but”; and that the construction is the same as in 17:4; 20:19-21; 23:14-15. The initial clause is causative, and the second half of the verse gives the consequence (“because”…“that is why”). Others take 3a as the apodosis of v. 2, and translate it “for now it would be heavier…” (see A. B. Davidson, Job, 43).

[6:3]  ² sn The point of the comparison with the sand of the sea is that the sand is immeasurable. So the grief of Job cannot be measured.

[6:3]  ³ tn The verb לָעוּ (la’u) is traced by E. Dhorme (Job, 76) to a root לָעָה (la’ah), cognate to an Arabic root meaning “to chatter.” He shows how modern Hebrew has a meaning for the word “to stammer out.” But that does not really fit Job’s outbursts. The idea in the context is rather that of speaking wildly, rashly, or charged with grief. This would trace the word to a hollow or geminate word and link it to Arabic “talk wildly” (see D. J. A. Clines, Job [WBC], 158). In the older works the verb was taken from a geminate root meaning “to suck” or “to swallow” (cf. KJV), but that yields a very difficult sense to the line.

[41:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “And look.”

[8:2]  ⁵ sn “These things” refers to all of Job’s speech, the general drift of which seems to Bildad to question the justice of God.

[8:2]  ⁶ tn The second colon of the verse simply says “and a strong wind the words of your mouth.” The simplest way to treat this is to make it an independent nominal sentence: “the words of your mouth are a strong wind.” Some have made it parallel to the first by apposition, understanding “how long” to do double duty. The line beginning with the ו (vav) can also be subordinated as a circumstantial clause, as here.

[8:2]  ⁷ tn The word כַּבִּיר (kabbir, “great”) implies both abundance and greatness. Here the word modifies “wind”; the point of the analogy is that Job’s words are full of sound but without solid content.

[8:2]  ⁸ tn See, however, G. R. Driver’s translation, “the breath of one who is mighty are the words of your mouth” (“Hebrew Studies,” JRAS 1948: 170).

[15:3]  ⁹ tn The infinitive absolute in this place is functioning either as an explanatory adverb or as a finite verb.

[15:3]  sn Eliphaz draws on Job’s claim with this word (cf. Job 13:3), but will declare it hollow.

[15:3]  ¹⁰ tn The verb סָכַן (sakhan) means “to be useful, profitable.” It is found 5 times in the book with this meaning. The Hiphil of יָעַל (ya’al) has the same connotation. E. LipinÃski offers a new meaning on a second root, “incur danger” or “run risks” with words, but this does not fit the parallelism (FO 21 [1980]: 65-82).

[16:3]  ¹¹ tn Disjunctive questions are introduced with the sign of the interrogative; the second part is introduced with אוֹ (’o, see GKC 475 §150.g).

[16:3]  ¹² tn In v. 3 the second person singular is employed rather than the plural as in vv. 2 and 4. The singular might be an indication that the words of v. 3 were directed at Eliphaz specifically.

[16:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “words of wind.”

[16:3]  ¹⁴ tn The Hiphil of מָרַץ (marats) does not occur anywhere else. The word means “to compel; to force” (see 6:25).

[16:3]  ¹⁵ tn The LXX seems to have gone a different way: “What, is there any reason in vain words, or what will hinder you from answering?”

[5:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “will be wind.”

[5:13]  sn There is a wordplay on the Hebrew word translated “wind” (רוּחַ, ruakh) which also means “spirit.” The prophets spoke by inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord (cf., e.g., 2 Chr 20:14); hence the prophet was sometimes called “the man of the spirit” (cf. Hos 9:7). The people were claiming that the prophets were speaking lies and hence were full of wind, not the Spirit.

[5:13]  ¹⁷ tc Heb “the word is not in them.” The MT has a highly unusual form here, the Piel perfect with the definite article (הַדִּבֵּר, haddibber). It is undoubtedly best to read with the LXX (Greek version) and one Hebrew ms the article on the noun (הַדָּבָר, haddavar).