6:11 What is my strength, that I should wait? 1
and what is my end, 2
that I should prolong my life?
42:16 After this Job lived 140 years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.
57:16 For I will not be hostile 3 forever
or perpetually angry,
for then man’s spirit would grow faint before me, 4
the life-giving breath I created.
1 sn Now, in vv. 11-13, Job proceeds to describe his hopeless condition. In so doing, he is continuing his defense of his despair and lament. The section begins with these rhetorical questions in which Job affirms that he does not have the strength to wait for the blessings that Eliphaz is talking about.
2 tn The word translated “my end” is קִצִּי (qitsi). It refers to the termination of his life. In Ps 39:5 it is parallel to “the measure of my days.” In a sense, Job is asking what future he has. To him, the “end” of his affliction can only be death.
3 tn Or perhaps, “argue,” or “accuse” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).
4 tn Heb “for a spirit from before me would be faint.”