29:23 They waited for me as people wait 1 for the rain,
and they opened their mouths 2
as for 3 the spring rains.
16:10 People 4 have opened their mouths against me,
they have struck my cheek in scorn; 5
they unite 6 together against me.
1 tn The phrase “people wait for” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation.
2 sn The analogy is that they received his words eagerly as the dry ground opens to receive the rains.
3 tn The כּ (kaf) preposition is to be supplied by analogy with the preceding phrase. This leaves a double proposition, “as for” (but see Job 29:2).
4 tn “People” is supplied; the Hebrew verb is third plural. The colon reads, “they have opened against me with [the preposition is instrumental] their mouth.” The gestures here follow the animal imagery; they reflect destructive opposition and attack (see Ps 22:13 among others).
5 tn This is an “insult” or a “reproach.”
6 tn The verb יִתְמַלָּאוּן (yitmalla’un) is taken from מָלֵא (male’), “to be full,” and in this stem, “to pile up; to press together.” The term has a military connotation, such as “to mobilize” (see D. W. Thomas, “ml'w in Jeremiah 4:5 : a military term,” JJS 3 [1952]: 47-52). Job sees himself surrounded by enemies who persecute him and mock him.