Ayub 10:5

10:5 Are your days like the days of a mortal,

or your years like the years ¹  of a mortal,

Ayub 10:2

10:2 I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn ²  me;

tell me ³  why you are contending ⁴  with me.’

1 Petrus 3:8

Suffering for Doing Good

3:8 Finally, all of you be harmonious, ⁵  sympathetic, affectionate, compassionate, and humble.

[10:5]  ¹ tn The Hebrew has repeated here “like the days of,” but some scholars think that this was an accidental replacement of what should be here, namely, “like the years of.” D. J. A. Clines notes that such repetition is not uncommon in Job, but suggests that the change should be made for English style even if the text is not emended (Job [WBC], 221). This has been followed in the present translation.

[10:5]  sn The question Job asks concerns the mode of life and not just the length of it (see Job 7:1). Humans spend their days and years watching each other and defending themselves. But there is also the implication that if God is so limited like humans he may not uncover Job’s sins before he dies.

[10:2]  ² tn The negated jussive is the Hiphil jussive of רָשַׁע (rasha’); its meaning then would be literally “do not declare me guilty.” The negated jussive stresses the immediacy of the request.

[10:2]  ³ tn The Hiphil imperative of יָדַע (yada’) would more literally be “cause me to know.” It is a plea for God to help him understand the afflictions.

[10:2]  ⁴ tn The verb is רִיב (riv), meaning “to dispute; to contend; to strive; to quarrel” – often in the legal sense. The precise words chosen in this verse show that the setting is legal. The imperfect verb here is progressive, expressing what is currently going on.

[3:8]  ⁵ tn There is no main verb in this verse (Grk “Finally, all [ ] harmonious”), but it continues the sense of command from the previous paragraphs.