3:38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that everything comes –
both calamity and blessing? 1
3:39 Why should any living person 2 complain
when punished for his sins? 3
1 tn Heb “From the mouth of the Most High does it not go forth, both evil and good?”
2 tn The Hebrew word here is אָדָם (’adam) which can mean “man” or “person.” The second half of the line is more personalized to the speaking voice of the defeated soldier using גֶּבֶר (gever, “man”). See the note at 3:1.
3 tc Kethib reads the singular חֶטְאוֹ (khet’o, “his sin”), which is reflected in the LXX. Qere reads the plural חֲטָאָיו (khata’ayv, “his sins”) which is preserved in many medieval Hebrew