Job 20:4

20:4 “Surely you know ¹  that it has been from old,

ever since humankind was placed ²  on the earth,

Isaiah 64:4

64:4 Since ancient times no one has heard or perceived, ³ 

no eye has seen any God besides you,

who intervenes for those who wait for him.

Luke 1:70

1:70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago, ⁴ 

Revelation 16:18

16:18 Then ⁵  there were flashes of lightning, roaring, ⁶  and crashes of thunder, and there was a tremendous earthquake – an earthquake unequaled since humanity ⁷  has been on the earth, so tremendous was that earthquake.

¹ tn The MT has “Do you not know?” The question can be interpreted as a rhetorical question affirming that Job must know this. The question serves to express the conviction that the contents are well-known to the audience (see GKC 474 §150.e).

² tn Heb “from the putting of man on earth.” The infinitive is the object of the preposition, which is here temporal. If “man” is taken as the subjective genitive, then the verb would be given a passive translation. Here “man” is a generic, referring to “mankind” or “the human race.”

³ tn Heb “from ancient times they have not heard, they have not listened.”

⁴ tn Grk “from the ages,” “from eternity.”

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

⁶ tn Or “sounds,” “voices.” It is not entirely clear what this refers to. BDAG 1071 s.v. φωνή 1 states, “In Rv we have ἀστραπαὶ καὶ φωναὶ καὶ βρονταί (cp. Ex 19:16) 4:5; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18 (are certain other sounds in nature thought of here in addition to thunder, as e.g. the roar of the storm?…).”

⁷ tn The singular ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used generically here to refer to the human race.