15:5 Your sin inspires 2 your mouth;
you choose the language 3 of the crafty. 4
15:6 Your own mouth condemns 5 you, not I;
your own lips testify against 6 you.
1 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the first slave mentioned in v. 24) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn The verb אַלֵּף (’allef) has the meaning of “to teach; to instruct,” but it is unlikely that the idea of revealing is intended. If the verb is understood metonymically, then “to inspire; to prompt” will be sufficient. Dahood and others find another root, and render the verb “to increase,” reversing subject and object: “your mouth increases your iniquity.”
3 tn Heb “tongue.”
4 tn The word means “shrewd; crafty; cunning” (see Gen 3:1). Job uses clever speech that is misleading and destructive.
5 tn The Hiphil of this root means “declare wicked, guilty” (a declarative Hiphil), and so “condemns.”
6 tn The verb עָנָה (’anah) with the ל (lamed) preposition following it means “to testify against.” For Eliphaz, it is enough to listen to Job to condemn him.