19:18 Even youngsters have scorned me;
when I get up, 1 they scoff at me. 2
3:5 The people will treat each other harshly;
men will oppose each other;
neighbors will fight. 3
Youths will proudly defy the elderly
and riffraff will challenge those who were once respected. 4
1 sn The use of the verb “rise” is probably fairly literal. When Job painfully tries to get up and walk, the little boys make fun of him.
2 tn The verb דִּבֵּר (dibber) followed by the preposition בּ (bet) indicates speaking against someone, namely, scoffing or railing against someone (see Ps 50:20; 78:19). Some commentators find another root with the meaning “to turn one’s back on; to turn aside from.” The argument is rendered weak philologically because it requires a definition “from” for the preposition bet. See among others I. Eitan, “Studies in Hebrew Roots,” JQR 14 (1923-24): 31-52 [especially 38-41].
3 tn Heb “man against man, and a man against his neighbor.”
4 tn Heb “and those lightly esteemed those who are respected.” The verb רָהַב (rahav) does double duty in the parallelism.