Mazmur 109:28-29

109:28 They curse, but you will bless. ¹ 

When they attack, they will be humiliated, ² 

but your servant will rejoice.

109:29 My accusers will be covered ³  with shame,

and draped in humiliation as if it were a robe.

Mazmur 132:18

132:18 I will humiliate his enemies, ⁴ 

and his crown will shine.

Ayub 8:22

8:22 Those who hate you ⁵  will be clothed with shame, ⁶ 

and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”

Ayub 8:1

Bildad’s First Speech to Job ⁷ 

8:1 Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said:

Pengkhotbah 5:5

5:5 It is better for you not to vow

than to vow and not pay it. ⁸ 

[109:28]  ¹ tn Another option is to translate the imperfect as a prayer/request (“may you bless”).

[109:28]  ² tn The verbal sequence is perfect + prefixed form with vav (ו) consecutive. Since the psalmist seems to be anticipating the demise of his enemies, he may be using these forms rhetorically to describe the enemies’ defeat as if it were already accomplished. Some emend the text to קָמוּ יֵבֹשׁוּ (qamu yevoshu, “may those who attack me be humiliated”). See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 75.

[109:29]  ³ tn Heb “clothed.” Another option is to translate the prefixed verbal forms in this line and the next as jussives (“may my accusers be covered with shame”).

[132:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “his enemies I will clothe [with] shame.”

[8:22]  ⁵ sn These verses show several points of similarity with the style of the Book of Psalms. “Those who hate you” and the “evil-doers” are fairly common words to describe the ungodly in the Psalms. “Those who hate you” are enemies of the righteous man because of the parallelism in the verse. By this line Bildad is showing Job that he and his friends are not among those who are his enemies, and that Job himself is really among the righteous. It is an appealing way to end the discourse. See further G. W. Anderson, “Enemies and Evil-doers in the Book of Psalms,” BJRL 48 (1965/66): 18-29.

[8:22]  ⁶ tn “Shame” is compared to a garment that can be worn. The “shame” envisioned here is much more than embarrassment or disgrace – it is utter destruction. For parallels in the Psalms, see Pss 35:26; 132:18; 109:29.

[8:1]  ⁷ sn This speech of Bildad ignores Job’s attack on his friends and focuses rather on Job’s comments about God’s justice. Bildad cannot even imagine saying that God is unjust. The only conclusion open to him is that Job’s family brought this on themselves, and so the only recourse is for Job to humble himself and make supplication to God. To make his point, Bildad will appeal to the wisdom of the ancients, for his theology is traditional. The speech has three parts: vv. 2-7 form his affirmation of the justice of God; vv. 8-19 are his appeal to the wisdom of the ancients, and vv. 20-22 are his summation. See N. C. Habel, “Appeal to Ancient Tradition as a Literary Form,” ZAW 88 (1976): 253-72; W. A. Irwin, “The First Speech of Bildad,” ZAW 51 (1953): 205-16.

[5:5]  ⁸ tn The word “it” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.