37:6 He will vindicate you in broad daylight,
and publicly defend your just cause. 1
97:11 The godly bask in the light;
the morally upright experience joy. 2
11:17 And life 3 will be brighter 4 than the noonday;
though there be darkness, 5
it will be like the morning.
50:10 Who among you fears the Lord?
Who obeys 6 his servant?
Whoever walks in deep darkness, 7
without light,
should trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on his God.
58:10 You must 8 actively help the hungry
and feed the oppressed. 9
Then your light will dispel the darkness, 10
and your darkness will be transformed into noonday. 11
7:8 My enemies, 12 do not gloat 13 over me!
Though I have fallen, I will get up.
Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. 14
7:9 I must endure 15 the Lord’s anger,
for I have sinned against him.
But then 16 he will defend my cause, 17
and accomplish justice on my behalf.
He will lead me out into the light;
I will experience firsthand 18 his deliverance. 19
1 tn Heb “and he will bring out like light your vindication, and your just cause like noonday.”
2 tn Heb “Light is planted for the godly, and for the upright of heart joy.” The translation assumes an emendation of זָרַע (zara’, “planted”) to זָרַח (zara’, “shines”) which collocates more naturally with “light.” “Light” here symbolizes the joy (note the following line) that accompanies deliverance and the outpouring of divine favor.
3 tn Some translations add the pronoun to make it specifically related to Job (“your life”), but this is not necessary. The word used here has the nuance of lasting life.
4 tn Heb “and more than the noonday life will arise.” The present translation is an interpretation in the context. The connotation of “arise” in comparison with the noonday, and in contrast with the darkness, supports the interpretation.
5 tn The form in the MT is the 3fsg imperfect verb, “[though] it be dark.” Most commentators revocalize the word to make it a noun (תְּעֻפָה, tÿ’ufah), giving the meaning “the darkness [of your life] will be like the morning.” The contrast is with Job 10:22; here the darkness will shine like the morning.
6 tn Heb “[who] listens to the voice of his servant?” The interrogative is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
7 tn The plural indicates degree. Darkness may refer to exile and/or moral evil.
8 tn Heb “if you.” See the note on “you must” in v. 9b.
9 tn Heb “If you furnish for the hungry [with] your being, and the appetite of the oppressed you satisfy.”
10 tn Heb “will rise in the darkness.”
11 tn Heb “and your darkness [will be] like noonday.”
12 tn The singular form is understood as collective.
13 tn Or “rejoice” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NCV “don’t laugh at me.”
14 sn Darkness represents judgment; light (also in v. 9) symbolizes deliverance. The
15 tn Heb “lift, bear.”
16 tn Heb “until.”
17 tn Or “plead my case” (NASB and NIV both similar); NRSV “until he takes my side.”
18 tn Heb “see.”
19 tn Or “justice, vindication.”
20 tn Here the Hebrew word צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah), usually translated “righteousness” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT; cf. NAB “justice”), has been rendered as “vindication” because it is the vindication of God’s people that is in view in the context. Cf. BDB 842 s.v. צְדָקָה 6; “righteousness as vindicated, justification, salvation, etc.”
21 sn The point of the metaphor of healing wings is unclear. The sun seems to be compared to a bird. Perhaps the sun’s “wings” are its warm rays. “Healing” may refer to a reversal of the injury done by evildoers (see Mal 3:5).
22 tn Heb “you will go out and skip about.”