Text -- Job 21:23-26 (NET)

Death Levels Everything

21:23 “One man dies in his full vigor, completely secure and prosperous, 21:24 his body well nourished, and the marrow of his bones moist. 21:25 And another man dies in bitterness of soul, never having tasted anything good. 21:26 Together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover over them both.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Job 21:23

¹ 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.

NET Notes: Job 21:24

¹ tn The verb עָטַן (’atan) has the precise meaning of “press olives.” But because here it says “full of milk,” the derived meaning for the noun has been made to mean “breasts” or “pails” (although in later Hebrew this word occurs – but with olives, not with milk). Dhorme takes it to refer to “his sides,” and repoints the word for “milk” (חָלָב, khalav) to get “fat” (חֶלֶב, khelev) – “his sides are full of fat,” a rendering followed by NASB. However, this weakens the parallelism.

² tn This interpretation, adopted by several commentaries and modern translations (cf. NAB, NIV), is a general rendering to capture the sense of the line.

³ tn The verb שָׁקָה (shaqah) means “to water” and here “to be watered thoroughly.” The picture in the line is that of health and vigor.

NET Notes: Job 21:25

¹ tn The expression “this (v. 23)…and this” (v. 25) means “one…the other.”

² tn The text literally has “and this [man] dies in soul of bitterness.” Some simply reverse it and translate “in the bitterness of soul.” The genitive “bitterness” may be an attribute adjective, “with a bitter soul.”

³ tn Heb “eaten what is good.” It means he died without having enjoyed the good life.