38:33 Do you know the laws of the heavens,
or can you set up their rule over the earth?
34:30 so that the godless man should not rule,
and not lay snares for the people. 1
25:2 “Dominion 2 and awesome might 3 belong to 4 God;
he establishes peace in his heights. 5
34:17 Do you really think 6
that one who hates justice can govern? 7
And will you declare guilty
the supremely righteous 8 One,
40:10 Adorn yourself, then, with majesty and excellency,
and clothe yourself with glory and honor!
1 tn This last verse is difficult because it is unbalanced and cryptic. Some have joined the third line of v. 29 with this entire verse to make a couplet. But the same result is achieved by simply regarding this verse as the purpose of v. 29. But there still are some words that must be added. In the first colon, “[he is over the nations]…preventing from ruling.” And in the second colon, “laying” has to be supplied before “snares.”
1 tn The word הַמְשֵׁל (hamshel) is a Hiphil infinitive absolute used as a noun. It describes the rulership or dominion that God has, that which gives power and authority.
2 tn The word פָּחַד (pakhad) literally means “fear; dread,” but in the sense of what causes the fear or the dread.
3 tn Heb “[are] with him.”
4 sn The line says that God “makes peace in his heights.” The “heights” are usually interpreted to mean the highest heaven. There may be a reference here to combat in the spiritual world between angels and Satan. The context will show that God has a heavenly host at his disposal, and nothing in heaven or on earth can shatter his peace. “Peace” here could also signify the whole order he establishes.
1 tn The force of הַאַף (ha’af) is “Is it truly the case?” The point is being made that if Job were right God could not be judging the world.
2 tn The verb חָבַשׁ (khavash) has the basic idea of “to bind,” as in binding on the yoke, and then in the sense of subduing people under authority (cf. Assyrian absanu). The imperfect verb here is best expressed with the potential nuance.
3 tn The two words could be taken separately, but they seem to form a fine nominal hendiadys, because the issue is God’s justice. So the word for power becomes the modifier.