36:5 Indeed, God is mighty; and he does not despise people, 1
he 2 is mighty, and firm 3 in his intent. 4
8:20 “Surely, God does not reject a blameless man, 5
nor does he grasp the hand 6
of the evildoers.
1 tn The object “people” is not in the Hebrew text but is implied.
2 tn The text simply repeats “mighty.”
3 tn The last two words are simply כֹּחַ לֵב (koakh lev, “strong in heart”), meaning something like “strong; firm in his decisions.”
4 tc There are several problems in this verse: the repetition of “mighty,” the lack of an object for “despise,” and the meaning of “strength of heart.” Many commentators reduce the verse to a single line, reading something like “Lo, God does not reject the pure in heart” (Kissane). Dhorme and Pope follow Nichols with: “Lo, God is mighty in strength, and rejects not the pure in heart.” This reading moved “mighty” to the first line and took the second to be בַּר (bar, “pure”).
5 sn This is the description that the book gave to Job at the outset, a description that he deserved according to God’s revelation. The theme “God will not reject the blameless man” becomes Job’s main point (see 9:20,21; 10:3).
6 sn The idiom “to grasp the hand” of someone means to support or help the person.