18:15 Fire resides in his tent; 1
over his residence burning sulfur is scattered.
24:2 Men 2 move boundary stones;
they seize the flock and pasture them. 3
24:1 “Why are times not appointed by 4 the Almighty? 5
Why do those who know him not see his days?
21:19 You may say, 6 ‘God stores up a man’s 7 punishment for his children!’ 8
Instead let him repay 9 the man himself 10
so that 11 he may know it!
5:7 Indeed 12 Israel 13 is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,
the people 14 of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.
He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience! 15
He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help! 16
5:8 Those who accumulate houses are as good as dead, 17
those who also accumulate landed property 18
until there is no land left, 19
and you are the only landowners remaining within the land. 20
2:2 They confiscate the fields they desire,
and seize the houses they want. 21
They defraud people of their homes, 22
and deprive people of the land they have inherited. 23
2:9 You wrongly evict widows 24 among my people from their cherished homes.
You defraud their children 25 of their prized inheritance. 26
1 tn This line is difficult as well. The verb, again a third feminine form, says “it dwells in his tent.” But the next part (מִבְּלִי לוֹ, mibbÿli lo) means something like “things of what are not his.” The best that can be made of the MT is “There shall live in his tent they that are not his” (referring to persons and animals; see J. E. Hartley, Job [NICOT], 279). G. R. Driver and G. B. Gray (Job [ICC], 2:161) refer “that which is naught of his” to weeds and wild animals. M. Dahood suggested a reading מַבֶּל (mabbel) and a connection to Akkadian nablu, “fire” (cf. Ugaritic nbl). The interchange of m and n is not a problem, and the parallelism with the next line makes good sense (“Some Northwest Semitic words in Job,” Bib 38 [1957]: 312ff.). Others suggest an emendation to get “night-hag” or vampire. This suggestion, as well as Driver’s “mixed herbs,” are linked to the idea of exorcism. But if a change is to be made, Dahood’s is the most compelling.
2 tn The line is short: “they move boundary stones.” So some commentators have supplied a subject, such as “wicked men.” The reason for its being wicked men is that to move the boundary stone was to encroach dishonestly on the lands of others (Deut 19:14; 27:17).
3 tc The LXX reads “and their shepherd.” Many commentators accept this reading. But the MT says that they graze the flocks that they have stolen. The difficulty with the MT reading is that there is no suffix on the final verb – but that is not an insurmountable difference.
4 tn The preposition מִן (min) is used to express the cause (see GKC 389 §121.f).
5 tc The LXX reads “Why are times hidden from the Almighty?” as if to say that God is not interested in the events on the earth. The MT reading is saying that God fails to set the times for judgment and vindication and makes good sense as it stands.
6 tn These words are supplied. The verse records an idea that Job suspected they might have, namely, that if the wicked die well God will make their children pay for the sins (see Job 5:4; 20:10; as well as Exod 20:5).
7 tn The text simply has אוֹנוֹ (’ono, “his iniquity”), but by usage, “the punishment for the iniquity.”
8 tn Heb “his sons.”
9 tn The verb שָׁלַם (shalam) in the Piel has the meaning of restoring things to their normal, making whole, and so reward, repay (if for sins), or recompense in general.
10 tn The text simply has “let him repay [to] him.”
11 tn The imperfect verb after the jussive carries the meaning of a purpose clause, and so taken as a final imperfect: “in order that he may know [or realize].”
12 tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
13 tn Heb “the house of Israel” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
14 tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.
15 tn Heb “but, look, disobedience.” The precise meaning of מִשְׂפָּח (mishpakh), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Some have suggested a meaning “bloodshed.” The term is obviously chosen for its wordplay value; it sounds very much like מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, “justice”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.
16 tn Heb “but, look, a cry for help.” The verb (“he waited”) does double duty in the parallelism. צְעָקָה (tsa’qah) refers to the cries for help made by the oppressed. It sounds very much like צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.
17 tn Heb “Woe [to] those who make a house touch a house.” The exclamation הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) was used in funeral laments (see 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5) and carries the connotation of death.
18 tn Heb “[who] bring a field near a field.”
19 tn Heb “until the end of the place”; NASB “until there is no more room.”
20 tn Heb “and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.”
21 tn Heb “they desire fields and rob [them], and houses and take [them] away.”
22 tn Heb “and they oppress a man and his home.”
23 tn Heb “and a man and his inheritance.” The verb עָשַׁק (’ashaq, “to oppress”; “to wrong”) does double duty in the parallel structure and is understood by ellipsis in the second line.
24 tn Heb “women.” This may be a synecdoche of the whole (women) for the part (widows).
25 tn Heb “her little children” or “her infants”; ASV, NRSV “young children.”
26 tn Heb “from their children you take my glory forever.” The yod (י) ending on הֲדָרִי (hadariy) is usually taken as a first person common singular suffix (“my glory”). But it may be the archaic genitive ending (“glory of”) in the construct expression “glory of perpetuity,” that is, “perpetual glory.” In either case, this probably refers to the dignity or honor the