13:8 Will you show him partiality? 1
Will you argue the case 2 for God?
21:14 So they say to God, ‘Turn away from us!
We do not want to 3 know your ways. 4
22:17 They were saying to God, ‘Turn away from us,’
and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’ 5
24:25 “If this is not so, who can prove me a liar
and reduce my words to nothing?” 6
31:28 then this 7 also would be iniquity to be judged, 8
for I would have been false 9 to God above.
33:6 Look, I am just like you in relation to God;
I too have been molded 10 from clay.
34:10 “Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding. 11
Far be it from 12 God to do wickedness,
from the Almighty to do evil.
34:37 For he adds transgression 13 to his sin;
in our midst he claps his hands, 14
and multiplies his words against God.”
1 sn The idiom used here is “Will you lift up his face?” Here Job is being very sarcastic, for this expression usually means that a judge is taking a bribe. Job is accusing them of taking God’s side.
2 tn The same root is used here (רִיב, riv, “dispute, contention”) as in v. 6b (see note).
3 tn The absence of the preposition before the complement adds greater vividness to the statement: “and knowing your ways – we do not desire.”
4 sn Contrast Ps 25:4, which affirms that walking in God’s ways means to obey God’s will – the Torah.
5 tn The form in the text is “to them.” The LXX and the Syriac versions have “to us.”
7 tn The word אַל (’al, “not”) is used here substantivally (“nothing”).
9 tn Heb “it.”
10 tn See v. 11 for the construction. In Deut 17:2ff. false worship of heavenly bodies is a capital offense. In this passage, Job is talking about just a momentary glance at the sun or moon and the brief lapse into a pagan thought. But it is still sin.
11 tn The verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the Piel means “to deny.” The root meaning is “to deceive; to disappoint; to grow lean.” Here it means that he would have failed or proven unfaithful because his act would have been a denial of God.
11 tn The verb means “nipped off,” as a potter breaks off a piece of clay when molding a vessel.
13 tn Heb “men of heart.” The “heart” is used for the capacity to understand and make the proper choice. It is often translated “mind.”
14 tn For this construction, see Job 27:5.
15 tn Although frequently translated “rebellion,” the basic meaning of this Hebrew term is “transgression.”
16 tc If this reading stands, it would mean that Job shows contempt, meaning that he mocks them and accuses God. It is a bold touch, but workable. Of the many suggested emendations, Dhorme alters some of the vowels and obtains a reading “and casts doubt among us,” and then takes “transgression” from the first colon for the complement. Some commentators simply delete the line.