Job 8:19

8:19 Indeed, this is the joy of his way, ¹ 

and out of the earth ²  others spring up. ³ 

Job 27:8

27:8 For what hope does the godless have when he is cut off, ⁴ 

when God takes away his life? ⁵ 

Matthew 7:21

Judgment of Pretenders

7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ ⁶  will enter into the kingdom of heaven – only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

Matthew 13:20-21

13:20 The ⁷  seed sown on rocky ground ⁸  is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 13:21 But he has no root in himself and does not endure; ⁹  when ¹⁰  trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.

Galatians 6:4

6:4 Let each one examine ¹¹  his own work. Then he can take pride ¹²  in himself and not compare himself with ¹³  someone else.

James 4:16

4:16 But as it is, ¹⁴  you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

¹ tn This line is difficult. If the MT stands as it is, the expression must be ironic. It would be saying that the joy (all the security and prosperity) of its way (its life) is short-lived – that is the way its joy goes. Most commentators are not satisfied with this. Dhorme, for one, changes מְשׂוֹשׂ (mÿsos, “joy”) to מְסוֹס (mÿsos, “rotting”), and gets “behold him lie rotting on the path.” The sibilants can interchange this way. But Dhorme thinks the MT was written the way it was because the word was thought to be “joy,” when it should have been the other way. The word “way” then becomes an accusative of place. The suggestion is rather compelling and would certainly fit the context. The difficulty is that a root סוּס (sus, “to rot”) has to be proposed. E. Dhorme does this by drawing on Arabic sas, “to be eaten by moths or worms,” thus “worm-eaten; decaying; rotting.” Cf. NIV “its life withers away”; also NAB “there he lies rotting beside the road.”

² tn Heb “dust.”

³ sn As with the tree, so with the godless man – his place will soon be taken by another.

⁴ tn The verb יִבְצָע (yivtsa’) means “to cut off.” It could be translated transitively or intransitively – the latter is better here (“when he is cut off”). Since the next line speaks of prayer, some have thought this verse should be about prayer. Mandelkern, in his concordance (p. 228b), suggested the verb should be “when he prays” (reading יִפְגַּע [yifga’] in place of יִבְצָע [yivtsa’]).

⁵ tn The verb יֵשֶׁל (yeshel) is found only here. It has been related spoils [or sheaves]”); שָׁאַל (sha’al, “to ask”); נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to lift up” [i.e., pray]); and a host of others.

⁶ sn The double use of the vocative is normally used in situations of high emotion or emphasis. Even an emphatic confession without action means little.

⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁸ tn Grk “The one sown on rocky ground, this is the one.” The next two statements like this one have this same syntactical structure.

⁹ tn Grk “is temporary.”

¹⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹¹ tn Or “determine the genuineness of.”

¹² tn Grk “he will have a reason for boasting.”

¹³ tn Or “and not in regard to.” The idea of comparison is implied in the context.

¹⁴ tn Grk “but now.”