3:24 So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Abner 1 has come to you! Why would you send him away? Now he’s gone on his way! 2 3:25 You know Abner the son of Ner! Surely he came here to spy on you and to determine when you leave and when you return 3 and to discover everything that you are doing!”
34:18 who says to a king, 9 ‘Worthless man’ 10
and to nobles, ‘Wicked men,’
34:19 who shows no partiality to princes,
and does not take note of 11 the rich more than the poor,
because all of them are the work of his hands?
5:1 (4:14) 12 But now slash yourself, 13 daughter surrounded by soldiers! 14
We are besieged!
With a scepter 15 they strike Israel’s ruler 16
on the side of his face.
1 tn Heb “Look, Abner.”
2 tc The LXX adds “in peace.”
3 tn Heb “your going out and your coming in.” The expression is a merism. It specifically mentions the polar extremities of the actions but includes all activity in between the extremities as well, thus encompassing the entirety of one’s activities.
4 tn Heb “are hard from me.”
5 tn Heb “May the
6 tn Heb “man of worthlessness.”
7 tn Heb “has brought back upon you.”
8 tn Heb “and speak to the heart of.”
9 tc Heb “Does one say,” although some smooth it out to say “Is it fit to say?” For the reading “who says,” the form has to be repointed to הַאֹמֵר (ha’omer) meaning, “who is the one saying.” This reading is supported by the LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac. Also it seems to flow better with the following verse. It would be saying that God is over the rulers and can rebuke them. The former view is saying that no one rebukes kings, much less Job rebuking God.
10 tn The word בְּלִיָּעַל (bÿliyya’al) means both “worthless” and “wicked.” It is common in proverbial literature, and in later writings it became a description of Satan. It is usually found with “son of.”
11 tn The verb means “to give recognition; to take note of” and in this passage with לִפְנֵי (lifne, “before”) it means to show preferential treatment to the rich before the poor. The word for “rich” here is an unusual word, found parallel to “noble” (Isa 32:2). P. Joüon thinks it is a term of social distinction (Bib 18 [1937]: 207-8).
12 sn Beginning with 5:1, the verse numbers through 5:15 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 5:1 ET = 4:14 HT, 5:2 ET = 5:1 HT, 5:3 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:15 ET = 5:14 HT. From 6:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
13 tn The Hebrew verb גָדַד (gadad) can be translated “slash yourself” or “gather in troops.” A number of English translations are based on the latter meaning (e.g., NASB, NIV, NLT).
14 tn Heb “daughter of a troop of warriors.”
15 tn Or “staff”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “rod”; CEV “stick”; NCV “club.”
16 tn Traditionally, “the judge of Israel” (so KJV, NASB).
17 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
18 tn Grk “one of the high priest’s servants standing by gave Jesus a strike, saying.” For the translation of ῥάπισμα (rJapisma), see L&N 19.4.