8:20 “Surely, God does not reject a blameless man, 1
nor does he grasp the hand 2
of the evildoers.
9:22 “It is all one! 3 That is why I say, 4
‘He destroys the blameless and the guilty.’
1 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).
2 sn The idiom “to grasp the hand” of someone means to support or help the person.
3 tc The LXX omits the phrase “It is all one.” Modern scholars either omit it or transpose it for clarity.
4 tn The relationships of these clauses is in some question. Some think that the poet has inverted the first two, and so they should read, “That is why I have said: ‘It is all one.’” Others would take the third clause to be what was said.